Want reference material? Look no further than Spy Kids, simply awesome! (1 Viewer)

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

Just rented it and boy am I impressed! It looks gorgeous, better than anything I've seen before. I am talking great detail, superb contrast and black level, and color saturation is perfect very vivid yet never over done. I am playing this movie at 8' wide and let me tell you, if all DVDs looked this good I can live without HD DVD for a long time. BTW my projector is LCD (SonyW400Q) and that means not very good blacks but with this movie it always deliver great blacks..I was stunted. Ok...deep breath...ready.
I may seem very excited but you should see it for yourself. Beats my previous reference DVDs by a mile. I am going shopping tomorrow

 

[Reginald Trent]

I agree and I'm surprised you make no mention of the great audio quality of this DVD.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...ML/030450.html

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

I was so impressed with the video that I forgot about the Audio which is also superb. Its just that I never thought DVDs could look this good...and to think that FinalFantasy looks so bad is unacceptable.

 

[Peter Overduin]

I agree with Spy Kids, which I bought having not seen it in theatres, but was bugged by my kids into buying it. What a cool flick.
I don't understand your comments on Final Fantasy and can assure you that any probs you are having with how it looks will be the result of what you are watching it on, and how you have the equipment set up. From 8 feet, FF on my Wega 36" played on a Denon 1000 DVD player, I see absolutely no scan lines. The blacks are deep and rich, no EE, and startling clarity all around.

 

[Todd_Peter]

Spy kids was super duper!
Peter, it isn't Luis Gabriel Gerena's equipment. See the "'FINAL FANTASY' dvd, absolutly INCREDIBLE!" thread in this forum. Several people share his opinion on the DVD transfer. Including me. You just don't happen to be one of them.
FF:TSW can be an excellent transfer at times but can be equally below what was expected at others.

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

Peter, FF is pretty bad due to lots of noise, mosquito or whatever you want to call it. At 8' from a 36" maybe is not noticable (I am going to check with my Toshiba 36") but at 11' from a 8' wide image, it is. If it was my equipment then why movies like T5E, Spy Kids, Gladiator, etc, look so good? The display and viewing distance many times help hide artifacts in dvd transfers. For instance, SWTPM has lots of EE but in a 27" even knowing where the EE was visible I couldn't see while on my 36" is easily visible at least from a near distance. I know the image is not really that bad but the thing is that it should have been a lot cleaner.
I also, agree with Todd that SWTPM has some very nice looking scenes and some others are not as good, like when they start the engines in the Pod racing scene...that looks aswesome.
I found that near the end there are some not as perfect shots on Spy Kids but overall is a superb transfer and a keeper if only for visual demo and after calibration tests.

 

[andreasingo]

I'm I wrong, or was Spy Kids shot with a digital camera? If so, the Spy Kids dvd is another example of the advantages of that. I think it would be relatively simple to create a perfect looking dvd from a pure digital source.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Luis Gabriel Gerena - I agree 100%. Which is one reason I posted http://www.geocities.com/mv_us_2000/Toshiba_50H81_HDTV4.html My HT Enthusiasts Website

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I'm I wrong, or was Spy Kids shot with a digital camera? If so, the Spy Kids dvd is another example of the advantages of that. I think it would be relatively simple to create a perfect looking dvd from a pure digital source.

You're wrong. Spy Kids 2 is being shot with the "Lucas" cameras. Spy Kids was shot on film. There was, however, a digital transfer done for it's digital screenings. I'd imagine this DVD was done from that (hense the lack of the Special Edition scenes). I agree about the picture and sound. Quite amazing.
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My Preorders
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Potter is coming...

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

I read somewhere that some parts were indeed film with digital cameras. I believe it was used for some of the FX shots...just dont quote on me on that
Hey, thats a nice website and the screenshots look very good too. Good work!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I read somewhere that some parts were indeed film with digital cameras. I believe it was used for some of the FX shots...just dont quote on me on that

My mind's a little fuzzy, but I thought he made film test while filming Spy Kids.
Also, that reminds me: Link Removed That's my review of the film, with screencaps.
------------------
My DVD Collection
My Preorders
My Wishlist
Potter is coming...

 

[Gary Kellerman]

The video portion of this disc is the best that I have scene to this posting. Amazing reproduction of colors. I did not feel any edge enhancement was used; the image was very filmlike playing over the S-VHS input. The sound was quite good too. The movie itself was so-so. The image quality of TPM dvd is different in some way and has its merits on some scenes, but SPY KIDS video seemed flawless from beginning to end.

 

[Jeffrey Bane]

This disc *is* my reference disc from this point forward. I've not seen anything as near perfection to date.

 

[Ben Crouse]

I'm surprised to hear you guys raving about the picture quality on the Spy Kids DVD, not that I'm doubting it. I've yet to see it for myself.

How does it compare with the Pixar DVD's? These have always been my reference discs. ...just wondering.

 

[Joseph S]

I'm still waiting for the "Special Edition" that was expected to be released after the original. However, I did make a point to watch it on Showtime HD yesterday afternoon. It looked fantastic.

Is the "Special Edition" expected with the release of Spy Kids 2 or has it been shelved for the near future?

 

[Ray H]

I believe the director said an SE would come out with the third film (as there's one planned).

 

[Jeffrey Bane]

Ben -

Aside from animation, it is the best I've seen. Bug's Life is a "10," but a 10 in animation. Spy Kid's is a 10 in the live action arena.

Jeff

 

[Ben Crouse]

Jeffrey,
oh okay. that makes sense. i may have to pick up spy kids then, & round out my robert rodriguez collection.
...i wonder how the AOTC DVD will compare. (10+ i imagine) although you could argue that Clones belongs in the animation category too...

 

[Bjoern Roy]

Don't understand the hype. Horrible edge enhancement. Heavy compression artefacts. Solid colors and delineation, though. About as mediocre a transfer as it gets. IMO.

 

[Ben Crouse]

Um... OK Bjoern. Maybe I'll just rent it first.

Anyone else want to chime in on Spy Kids' DVD?