Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

Hey guys, I am having my first HDTV delivered today (the Panasonic TH-58PZ800U) and will shortly be purchasing a Blu-ray player to go with it. I was just wondering if anyone has a suggestion or opinion as to what blu-ray title best shows off what Blu-ray can do in terms of video and audio quality. I was planning to have people over to show off the new set and wanted to get something in advance that would look impressive.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

I would suggest Sleeping Beauty. I just finished watching it and it is gorgeous and eye-popping. Wonderful. I kept thinking I'm watching a painting and sure enough, when I listened to the commentary, that's one of the things they were aiming for.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

The Dark Knight will certainly be one to show off. Less than a month to go!

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

The new "Star Wars: Clone Wars" Blu-ray looks spectacular. I second that the Sleeping Beauty disc is pretty impressive as well. I don't own many Blu-ray discs (yet), but I also thought the new "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" looked pretty good...it did an accurate job of reproducing what I saw in theaters, and I think that's really all you can ask. I have the BBC series "Planet Earth" on regular DVD and it looks gorgeous, I can only imagine how stunning that Blu-ray must be.

Beyond audio-visual quality, when it came to bonus features, the ones on Sleeping Beauty and Heroes: Season 2 were the ones I found most impressive out of my small collection.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

I think sleeping beauty looks good for the type of material it is but to use that to show off blu-ray is IMO out there especially since the sound isn't really anything big.

I do not have it yet but apparently Kung-Fu Panda is both reference in PQ & AQ.

Cars, Ratatouille, How The West Was Won looks incredible (but nothing for sound), Transformers, Cloverfield, Dr. No from the few minutes I saw looked damn good, Casino Royale, Crank, Kill Bill 1 & 2, Iron Man, The Pirates trio especially Dead Man's Chest, I Robot, Indy 4...

The list is huge so it is hard to pick just one. For me the titles that really make me say "I am so glad we have high def in our homes" would be the Godfather collection because they just define high quality cinema and while they don't look and sound the best of all the movies it is just something about it that makes me so excited to have them in HD. I can't imagine anyone viewing those on blu-ray and not be impressed.

For pure demo material though, I think I would probably go with hmm, maybe I, Robot or Transformers as those I have seen but from the sound of it, Kung Fu Panda seems like it will be the title many will use for demo purposes. Gah, I don't know. It really is tough to try and pick one.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

The Incredible Hulk has some SERIOUS surround sound! I mean...take the fine China out of the cabinets sound. Picture and detail is also demo worthy. It just looks amazing. I'm new to blu, and I had seen Iron Man, Get Smart, Indy 4...and been impressed, but when I watched The Incredible Hulk, I literally turned to my friend and said "A blu-ray player is the best home theater upgrade I've ever made!"

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

The new "The Police: Certifiable" concert BD looks and sounds pretty amazing.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

Baraka is the most amazing BD I've seen. I can't comment on the audio quality, I always listen on headphones. Sounded good to me, though.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

If you don't want to spend a lot of money, Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 are pretty good. They sell dirt cheap in Canada for such quality BDs, so presume similar in the U.S. Several hours of entertainment from both BDs for less than the price of many single BDs... If you have to pick one, perhaps Vol. 1 is the most A/V impressive, though not necessarily the better movie...but of course you need both. These may not be the absolute "best", but are still impressive, economical and worth having IMO.

Iron Man has some scenes that I found visually stunning re detail.

The Incredible Hulk has some great audio.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

Cars, Pirates of the Carribean II, Sleeping Beauty, and my new favorite for PQ: Kung Fu Panda.

-R

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

As others have said, The Incredible Hulk has some great audio to test the format with. Casino Royale is another I would definitely watch for the visuals.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

Sleeping Beauty is out as the sound has absolutely nothing on the modern REF level tracks and true demo material should have great video and audio IMO.

Transformers, The Incredible Hulk (just watched this yesterday and WOW what a soundtrack, PQ was fantastic as well), Kung Fu Panda, Cars, Rat, Dave and Tim, John Mayer Live in LA, Live Free or Die Hard, I-Robot (tunnel sequence) Matrix Reloaded (highway scene) are all ones that come to mind for BOTH great video and audio. King Kong in January will be another demo disc if it is atleast as good as the HD-DVD (which it should be). There are more, but those are the ones that come to mind right now

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

I haven't watched my KFP yet, but I am not so easily "impressed" by pure animation looking great. I expect it to, it has for numerous years on SD DVD too.

But in general yes, it's the superhero and animated BDs that are the candy.

Let's not forget Hellboy II either.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

For video i'd grab Cars and for audio I would throw in Cloverfield in a hot minute. That bad boy has a serious track that would register on the rictor scale!

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

I would actually throw The Shining in there. The colors pop, the sound makes the movie even MORE intense.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

I thought I forgot a few HB2 and Cloverfield are fantastic as well.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

Just watched Hellboy II tonight and the DTS-MA 7.1 track is definitely the best sounding Blu-Ray I've heard yet. Simply mind-blowing!!!

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

Watched Iron Man last night. Great picture and sound. Definately demo-worthy.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

Yes, Hellboy II is pretty impressive -- and Cloverfield was somewhat surprisingly so though the PQ is not the usual kind of eye candy though.

I also agree that I'm not *quite* as impressed w/ the kind of eye candy that usually comes from animation even though they are generally super clear, sharp and vibrant (in ways you just won't get from film based material). They do make good demo/reference material, but I would definitely want more than just that for demos. Afterall, I'd think most of us are not in this hobby just for the pretty animated eye candy. And because of that, I'm actually probably not as impressed w/ The Incredible Hulk's PQ as some others -- yes, it does look great for the most part, but I actually have mixed feelings about the CGI parts though.

_Man_

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

I would like to throw Speed Racer in the ring for picture quality. One of the sharpest, most colorful transfers I've ever seen.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

HOW THE WEST WAS WON is stunning on Blu-ray, especially the "SmileBox" version (as a friend of mine said, "It looks like 3-D"). When friends of yours wonder how "old movies" can possibly look good in HD, just pop this in and knock their socks off.

For a recent film, I also recommend (like several others in this thread) THE INCREDIBLE HULK for both excellent sound and image quality. It's a detailed (look at some of the facial close-ups!), film-like image with no distracting digital artifacts like edge-enhancement that I can see on my video projector.

Vincent

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

for beautiful picture the Superman vs Doomsday blu looks amzing.

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

22 posts and no mention of Blade Runner yet?

CGI animation is consistently fantastic. IMO Cars is one of the most visually spectacular films ever made, and the BD does it justice. For live-action stuff, there are plenty of scenes in Planet Earth that will absolutely blow your mind (both for A/V and simply educational reasons).

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

surfs up

Re: Best Blu-ray title to show off what Blu-ray can do?

dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 Great DEMOs!
1) I, Robot (Turn it up to -10 below REF LEVEL!!!)
2) Independence Day (that is if you like that movie, ... which I do!!! - Turn it up to -10 below REF LEVEL!!!)
3) Flyboys
4) The Day After Tomorrow
5) Flight of the Phoenix (Turn it up to -10 below REF LEVEL!!!)
6) Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Turn it up to -10 below REF LEVEL!!!)
7) Australia
8) Serenity

dts-HD Master Audio 6.1 Great DEMO!
1) Wall-E (impressive 360-degree seamless surround)

dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 Great DEMO!
1) Forbidden Kingdom (impressive 360-degree seamless surround)

Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 Great DEMOs!:
1) Ironman (Turn it up to -10 below REF LEVEL!!!)
2) Dark Knight (Turn it up to -10 below REF LEVEL!!!)
3) Transformers (Turn it up to -10 below REF LEVEL!!!)
4) Spiderman 3
5) The Fifth Element (Re-Issue)
6) Legend of Zorro
7) Hancock

PCM 5.1 Uncompressed Surround Great DEMOs!:
1) Chicago (Turn it up to -10 below REF LEVEL!!!)
2) Bridge to Terabithia


NOTE: -10 dBc below REF Level (w/approx. 105/106 dBc Fast LFE SPL Peaks --- Radio Shack Analog SPL Meter settings: Dial = 100 / Speed = FAST / Weight = C)