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HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

#61
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Is anyone having problems with it on the XBOX 360 HDDVD player? I was just watching it and the web enabled thing comes on and the movie starts but now it does not even do that. Gives me some error code and it wont even read the disc. I was watching the movie and then the web enabled thing froze and now it wont run on the XBOX. I am so pissed off, I been waiting forever for the DVD release and now I cant even watch it??

anyone having the same issues?
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#62
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

hope i got this in the right place ?

just wanted to give my opinion on transformers hd dvd awesome !, without a doubt the best sound i have heard from an hd movie to date, and the pic via plasma was spot on thruout with hdmi at 1080i ( something i had yet to experience since my purchases into hd ).

after various movies, i had begun to wonder about pic quality, was it something wrong with my plasma, or my xa2 ? ......apparently not !

this movie rocked in every way possible, and i was totally blown away every min of the movie. stunning is how i would like to desribe it.

just unbeliveable .......get it .....spiderman 3 does not stand a chance against this title ..!
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#63
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Don't fiddle with your settings if nothing is wrong with them.

The downmixed 5.1 is weak. Pure and simple fact.
Compare it to the IRON MAN trailer at end of movie.

Good picture, good movie, weak sound.
Yumbiosis - all things Yumbo
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#64
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Najib_H
Is anyone having problems with it on the XBOX 360 HDDVD player? I was just watching it and the web enabled thing comes on and the movie starts but now it does not even do that. Gives me some error code and it wont even read the disc. I was watching the movie and then the web enabled thing froze and now it wont run on the XBOX. I am so pissed off, I been waiting forever for the DVD release and now I cant even watch it??

anyone having the same issues?
me too. put ln a different hd dvd and disable the network access in the hddvd menu and then you can play transformers again until they fix the problem.
Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.
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#65
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Yumbo, it is weak and I don't understand it. I have tried everything to get it to sound good on 5.1 and it just doesn't. DTS sounds great and that is how I will listen to it. I put in Superman Returns just to see if it was my player and it sounded great on 5.1. Oh well, DTS works and I really liike this movie so enough is enough.

Don
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#66
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Hey guys,

what is this web enable stuff you guys are talking about?

Do i have to have my player connected to the internet to watch the movie?

Thanks
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#67
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob_Lawrance
Hey guys,

what is this web enable stuff you guys are talking about?

Just plug-in your ethernet cable before you turn on your HD DVD player and let it down load any updates ... here's what of the download options looks like - INTELLIGENCE MODE w/GPS INFO ...

"Transformers" HD DVD Movie Scenes - WEB Enabled 'GPS' Next Generation Feature

DISPLAY: 62" Toshiba 62HM196 1080p HDTV
CAMERA: Canon A550 7MP on a Tripod / Distant approx. 10'
................Flash = OFF
................Manual Mode / ISO 100 / F-Stop variable between -1/3 to -1


WEB ENABLED FEATURES Menu - It took about approx. 10-15 secs. to download the INTELLIGENCE MODE w/GPS INFO - too fast to take a pic.


New Overlay Screen w/All Sorts of Cool INFO & GPS tracking of course (top right corner)


She looks familiar - Some background INFO.


1977 Camaro INFO.


Bumblebee signals the gang!


SKORPONOK, Decepticon INFO.

If you just press the LEFT or RIGHT Arrow keys, you'll get other Menu options (most 'coming soon') and the only one that's working right now is the "S7 icons which has short video funny clips. Three "S7" icons have clips right now, with 3 "S7" more video icons to come.

These images represents about 1/3 of what I took (Movie Scenes, H.U.D. - Text & PiP scenes w/a couple 30 -45 sec video clips, WEB scenes) , to see them all (including these images), go HERE!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob_Lawrance
Do i have to have my player connected to the internet to watch the movie?

Thanks

No - these are after you Watch the Movie Next Generation Features & Extras!!!

Have fun!!!

Phil

My HT Enthusiasts GeoCities Website
---- Toshiba 62HM196 62" 1080p DLP HDTV pic's (#1 in Consumer Reports)
DVD Aficionado (DVDAF) on-going list.
Acquisition Rule #59 “Free advice is seldom cheap.” (Quark @ DS9)
JBL S-Series + SVS 25-31PCi (SN: 00034) w/NSD Upgrade!

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#68
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Phil, thanks for the info. I am looking forward to watching this and playing with the WEB features this weekend.

Thomas Eisenmann(Last updated 12/02/08) HD-DVD CollectionBlu-Ray CollectionDVD CollectionToshiba HD-XA2, HD Add-on, Panasonic DMP-BD55KPioneer VSX-94TXH, Panasonic PT-AE 3000U 1080p 252 HDs, 167 BDs, 1560 - DVDs and going down

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#69
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by ppltd
Phil, thanks for the info. I am looking forward to watching this and playing with the WEB features this weekend.

You'll love it!!!

Besides the "INTELLIGENCE MODE w/GPS Tracking INFO (which my digital pics above shows ...), there is THREE "S7" ICONS active now, ... each "S7" ICON has one short video clip that you can download & delete after you watched them (which I did).

1st short video is a surveillance video clip in a garage (cool)
2nd short video viewing a street from an alley (funny)
3rd short video a family having a birthday party (could be unsettling?)

Since "Sector 7 (S7)" deals with the government alien cover-up, these clips of course shows something or object Transforming - I won't tell you what they are, but the 1st one is an homage to one of the G1 Transformers!!!

There will be SIX Total "S7" ICONS, I guess by tomorrow morning, the Fourth "S7" ICON will show-up and I'll check that out during breakfast!!! ;-)

-------

I brought the SD DVD version - Movie disc only (left the Optimus Prime Transforming DVD Case @ home!) to work so I can listen to Michael Bay's commentary during lunch via my HP Laptop. I listed to about 20 mins already @ home on my HD DVD, and since the SD DVD commentary is identical, I'll listen to more during lunch. He is very engaging, forthright and entertaining.

Anyway, have fun!!!

Phil

My HT Enthusiasts GeoCities Website
---- Toshiba 62HM196 62" 1080p DLP HDTV pic's (#1 in Consumer Reports)
DVD Aficionado (DVDAF) on-going list.
Acquisition Rule #59 “Free advice is seldom cheap.” (Quark @ DS9)
JBL S-Series + SVS 25-31PCi (SN: 00034) w/NSD Upgrade!

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#70
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

What about the rumors of a possible extended cut being released? I really want to pick up this HD DVD disk but I would be mad if they decided to release the extended cut with TrueHD and the works in a couple months...
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#71
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by jeff lam
What about the rumors of a possible extended cut being released? I really want to pick up this HD DVD disk but I would be mad if they decided to release the extended cut with TrueHD and the works in a couple months...

If you believe Michael Bay, you won't see the extended 2 mins. or so footage anytime soon!

From MichelBay.com ...


Quote:
IMAX and the DVD
09/18/2007 07:39 AM

I saw the IMAX print and it is awesome! It is the future of cinema to see movies in this format. I'm going to see Tranformers one last time and get ready to gear up for Transformers 2. I added two minutes of stuff for IMAX that will never make into any DVD's. There will never be an extended edition.

About the DVD. I like the two disc set. I has all the extras that the others don't have. It is the definitive edition of Transformers. It really breaks down how we made the movie.

Anyway hope you like the IMAX print!

Bay

Now, ... maybe in 2+ years from now just before the release of "Transformers 2"!?!?

Phil

My HT Enthusiasts GeoCities Website
---- Toshiba 62HM196 62" 1080p DLP HDTV pic's (#1 in Consumer Reports)
DVD Aficionado (DVDAF) on-going list.
Acquisition Rule #59 “Free advice is seldom cheap.” (Quark @ DS9)
JBL S-Series + SVS 25-31PCi (SN: 00034) w/NSD Upgrade!

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#72
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Thanks Phil for the help.
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#73
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Hitchman
DTS-MA just takes more horsepower to decode it due to its core+extension model (TrueHD has separate tracks for lossless and lossy versions of the soundtrack). But supposedly when you combine the two packets together you still come out with a lossless track.
Are we sure this is correct? The reason I ask is that I noticed when watching Immortal Beloved over the weekend that it only contained a TrueHD track. There was no corresponding Dolby Digital legacy track. This led me to believe that TrueHD also uses a core+extension.
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#74
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Well, I got to watch this tonight with my wife. She has never seen the movie and liked it. I thought it was a very good presentation and the disc is packed with some cool extras. The picture may not be the best I have ever seen, but it is very, very good and appears to be a solid transfer of the film. The audio is also very good.

I did notice one thing that I am hoping those with good sound setups can check out for me. During the last scene when the secdef is speaking of dismantling Sector 7 and burying Megatron at sea, I noticed a faint crackling sound in the audio. I did not notice is anywhere else and I have rechecked a sampling of scenes. So now I am wondering if it is just part of the disc's audio. Has anyone else heard this?
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#75
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

OK, this movie has by far the best sound I've ever heard at home. I did have to turn it up about 5db higher than most other discs, as it seems to be mastered quieter than other discs. But once I did that, Holy S**t!!

I suspect those that are reporting being underwhelmed by the audio
a) Do not have it turned up enough,
b) Do not have equipment set up and calibrated properly, or
c) Do not have a subwoofer capable of reproducing the low low low ends.

I read a post on AVM saying how insanely deep the bass is around 1hr55min when Ironhide flips and fires into the ground (right before he slow-mo flips above the screaming woman.) That part is quite nice, but let me tell you, it is NOTHING compared to about 10 minutes later when Bumblebee takes out Devastator (the tank robot) from the back of the towtruck. When Devastator goes down it shook the hell out of my room and I could feel it in my chest. I've never heard anything that deep on my system.

-Jeff Cooper

\"Curse you inspector Dim! You are too clever for us naughty people.\"

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#76
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

I wanted to add to my question above that I only hear the problem when listening through the analog outs and not when listening through the coaxial out (DD vs DD+).
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#77
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Honestly , the fascination with numbers continues as if it has some Biblical significance .

As a wise man once said : " Not everything that can be counted , counts ; and not everything that counts can be counted " .

This really is no different to SD dvd where studios could have given us multiple cuts ( eg. T2 seamless branching ) but they chose to constantly re-re-release . In this instance the studio chose not to use Lossless in favour
of extras which although maybe not admirable is understandable given the nature of the film and its target audience .

I wonder how many 13 year olds spend their evenings in front of their screens staring at Bitrate meters and wailing about Bandwith issues and the psychoacoustic consequences of only listening to 768dts instead of 1.5k dts
??

Hopefully , not many ?

Life's too short .

~M~

I have just two words to say to you..... Shut the f*** up !

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#78
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Brian L, Monteith, Bryant Trew

You all confirmed what I posted on page one. This is a very bombastic sound mix, great lfe, but the top end is a little subdued compared to newer muxes today. I can understand why this would get a 5/5 for sound but I believe there is something to my claim (regarding the top end).

Click on above image to enter " T H E . H O L O D E C K "
---------------------------------------------------------
The Holodeck. My DIY Screen. DIY Subwoofer: The MaxCaliber
My humble collection of DVD's. HTF Beginner's Primer and FAQ
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#79
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil Joseph
This is a very bombastic sound mix, great lfe, but the top end is a little subdued compared to newer muxes today. I can understand why this would get a 5/5 for sound but I believe there is something to my claim (regarding the top end).

I finally watched this movie and I agree with the above. I have what I believe is a reasonably high end system, and noticed what you are saying, the mix is missing what you call the top end, to me is a little muddy and muffled, even at very loud volumes. I don't think at all that this is an issue with DD+ vs TrueHD, since there are many vanilla DD DVDs that sound fantastic.
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#80
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by PerryD
I finally watched this movie and I agree with the above. I have what I believe is a reasonably high end system, and noticed what you are saying, the mix is missing what you call the top end, to me is a little muddy and muffled, even at very loud volumes. I don't think at all that this is an issue with DD+ vs TrueHD, since there are many vanilla DD DVDs that sound fantastic.

I just wanted to chime in really fast on this, I'm not sure what player you're using, but did you check and make sure Dynamic Range Compression is set to "off"? I guess the last firmware update set this back to "on". It opened up the soundtrack A LOT for me. I thought something was wrong in the opening soundwave scene when the glass broke in the tower, it was definitely muddy and muffled for me. But, after fixing the DRC setting, it sounds really good.
Youtube video of my home-theater set-up.  July 2009.  Check it out.
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#81
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by George_W_K
I just wanted to chime in really fast on this, I'm not sure what player you're using, but did you check and make sure Dynamic Range Compression is set to "off"? I guess the last firmware update set this back to "on". It opened up the soundtrack A LOT for me. I thought something was wrong in the opening soundwave scene when the glass broke in the tower, it was definitely muddy and muffled for me. But, after fixing the DRC setting, it sounds really good.

Thanks! That's exactly what the problem was. I finally got around to updating to the latest firmware (1.3) a couple weeks back and, sure enough, I just checked and the dynamic compression is set to ON.

I set it to off and watched the last 15 minutes of Transformers just now and it sounded great. Not only is the high end (glass shattering, etc) back, but there the extreme low end was there too, putting my Velodyne F1500 sub to good use.
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#82
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Excellent! I'm glad that was the problem. I don't even know the purpose of having DRC anyway.
Youtube video of my home-theater set-up.  July 2009.  Check it out.
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#83
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

If you are listening in a apartment or late at night and want to avoid volume extremes it makes the whispers louder and the explosions softer.

HTF Rules 
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#84
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Gregorich
If you are listening in a apartment or late at night and want to avoid volume extremes it makes the whispers louder and the explosions softer.

Ah, thanks for the info, makes sense.
Youtube video of my home-theater set-up.  July 2009.  Check it out.
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#85
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil Joseph
Brian L, Monteith, Bryant Trew

You all confirmed what I posted on page one. This is a very bombastic sound mix, great lfe, but the top end is a little subdued compared to newer muxes today. I can understand why this would get a 5/5 for sound but I believe there is something to my claim (regarding the top end).

Actually, I missed your post, but yup, not a bright sound track, thats for sure.

As I am sure everyone reading this knows, there is a real sh*t storm in progress on other web sites regarding what some are calling lack of LFE. I have to say, when I screened this, I did not really perceive it to be weak in the bass, but clearly, it lacked the rumble in the couch that I get from certain other titles that I consider reference for bass impact.

For example, the opening scene of SW AOTC as the transport flies over, hovers and lands on the landing platform. Another couple would be Sky Captain (during the initial robot attack), and Polar Express (when the train first arrives). Transformers does not approach any of those in raw visceral impact.

For reference my rig is NAD 762, NHT Classic 3, Classic 2, and 3C, augmented with a HSU 1225, which is solid to 25 hertz, and does produce decent output to 20.

I am going to revisit my calibrations and give it another shot in comparison to those other titles. Rumor has it that the Iron Man trailer at the conclusion of the feature has pretty solid low end...I need to give that a try too.

I initially thought that maybe the fact that I am listening to a transcoded DD+ to DTS conversion was not as transparent as it should be, but perhaps other things are at play. At the end of the day, there may not be anything wrong with the soundtrack....it may just be the way the film makers wanted it to sound.

Brian
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#86
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Watched some of the web enabled features and they really are kind of cool. I was a doubter on this web stuff until now. Pretty nifty.

Reference disc all the way around. Good job Paramount. I eagerly await Paramounts other HD DVD coming soon efforts and the gems that are planned for 2008.
Club Timobi Wan-Episode II
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#87
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian L
Actually, I missed your post, but yup, not a bright sound track, thats for sure.

As I am sure everyone reading this knows, there is a real sh*t storm in progress on other web sites regarding what some are calling lack of LFE. I have to say, when I screened this, I did not really perceive it to be weak in the bass, but clearly, it lacked the rumble in the couch that I get from certain other titles that I consider reference for bass impact.

For example, the opening scene of SW AOTC as the transport flies over, hovers and lands on the landing platform. Another couple would be Sky Captain (during the initial robot attack), and Polar Express (when the train first arrives). Transformers does not approach any of those in raw visceral impact.

For reference my rig is NAD 762, NHT Classic 3, Classic 2, and 3C, augmented with a HSU 1225, which is solid to 25 hertz, and does produce decent output to 20.

I am going to revisit my calibrations and give it another shot in comparison to those other titles. Rumor has it that the Iron Man trailer at the conclusion of the feature has pretty solid low end...I need to give that a try too.

I initially thought that maybe the fact that I am listening to a transcoded DD+ to DTS conversion was not as transparent as it should be, but perhaps other things are at play. At the end of the day, there may not be anything wrong with the soundtrack....it may just be the way the film makers wanted it to sound.

Brian


Wow I'm not having that experience at all. During the first attack I thought my neighbors were going to have a bowel movement, and I'm not in an apartment! The windows are literally rattling.

Doug
"I'm in great shape, for the shape I'm in."
Bob Hope in The Ghostbreakers
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#88
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Watched some of the web enabled features and they really are kind of cool. I was a doubter on this web stuff until now. Pretty nifty
yeah it's kind of cool but it doesn't really take advantage of the technology - those clips and features could just as easily have been put on the disc without downloading. it does show alot of potential though.


"now, if that's a fact, tell me... am i lying?"

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#89
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas Monce
Wow I'm not having that experience at all. During the first attack I thought my neighbors were going to have a bowel movement, and I'm not in an apartment! The windows are literally rattling.

Doug

It does appear that there are even numbers of users that are saying that the bass is low, and other saying its fine. Kind of weird.

I re-calibrated yesterday (everything was already spot on), and played several of my reference discs.

So far, nothing touches the opening scene SW AOTC.

I also played the Iron Man trailer, and while it does rumble pretty well (subjectively better than Transformers but not by much), it still fails to lift my couch off the floor like AOTC does;-)

I did note another post on a different forum where a user claimed to have rented the SD disc, and reported that the subjective levels of bass on the SD release where much better than the HD disc.

This is all damn peculiar. I wonder if there is a player and/or connection issue where certain players using certain connections are behaving differently than others? As previously posted, I am using an A2 with optical to my AVR. Perhaps analog or HDMI connections are not behaving the same way?

Brian
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#90
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Re: HTF HD-DVD Review: Transformers (Highly Recommended)

As a Star Wars fanatic, I actually think the opening of AOTC was too hot. ...While certainly earth rocking, not as impressively rich as the Episode 1 laserdisc nor the balanced Sith dvd. Just my 02.

Hard to compare mixes on different equipment too.
Club Timobi Wan-Episode II
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