The Pianist - HD-DVD -First Impressions

Roger Mathus · 08-28-2006, 04:17 PM

The Pianist has been released in Japan on HD DVD. It is a Studio Canal film distributed by Toshiba.

The video is encoded with MPEG-4AVC for the feature and MPEG-2 for the supplements. Feature is 1080i according to the package. Sound is DD Plus with both English and Japanese 5.1 tracks. Like early Warner releases in USA, the sound is at least 10db lower than normal. There are optional Japanese subtitles. Run time is listed as 149 minutes for the feature with total content at 202 minutes.

Toshiba player used has latest 2.0 firmware installed from Toshiba using the LAN connection and DSL.

The picture displays very natural muted colors with the excellent detail expected from HD DVD. When projected onto 8 ft screen using Marantz VP-12S2 progector, I did note what appeared to be minor edge enhancement in many scenes. (Can someone else confirm). Shadow detail is excellent and black level is satisfactory. Interior scenes look very natural with occasional grain noted. In a scene near the end when the piano is played in a cold room one can see the breath vapor from the pianist. I do not recall this detail on the SD DVD. PQ is a big step up from the SD DVD but the apparent EE renders a digital look to distant scenes.

There is no region code marking and it is my understanding that early HD DVDs are not region coded. I also read that if and when codes are established Japan and Korea will be in same region as North America.

Packaging is in standard DVD Keepcase rather than the scaled down size used in USA.

Sam Davatchi · 08-29-2006, 03:24 AM

WOW! I didn't know that they have already used AVC. I thought that it's still in development.

Mark_Wilson · 08-29-2006, 08:11 AM

Roger, can you comment on any compression artifacts in the picture? Someone over at AVSForum has been knicking this title for having loads of artifacts.

willyTass · 08-29-2006, 09:56 AM

Here is the link to one of reviews of The Pianist (HD-DVD) Japanese version

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...83#post8295883

That line comparing it to Blu Rays terminator was a crack-up!! Laugh out loud material!

The Studio Canal European release will be VC-1 however

Mark Zimmer · 08-29-2006, 10:33 AM

U2:Rattle & Hum also uses AVC.

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Roger Mathus · 08-29-2006, 06:50 PM

After reading the thread at AVS I went back and took another look at the image. Yes, I can see the compression artifacts especially in the referenced scene but only if I go close to the screen. I do not see them from normal viewing distance unless I concentrate on looking for them. The Marantz projector is 720p so maybe they would be more easily seen on a 1080p display.

The grain is also noted as in my initial observation. From a normal viewing distance it is only visible in dark indoor scenes. A close look at the screen, however, shows grain throughout.

Althought clearly not a reference HD DVD, I still feel that it looks significantly better than the SD DVD, at least on my 8 ft Firehawk using Marantz projector. Later this year I plan to upgrade to the new Marantz 1080p projector.

On this second review I think that I may have some sound issues. The surrounds and LFE seem weaker that I remember from viewing the SD DVD.

JediFonger · 08-29-2006, 07:53 PM

so it looks like VC-1 is the winner. it's so funny, when people first heard of Microsoft's interest in propagating VC-1, everyone got leary. they proved everyone wrong with Terminator 2 EE (wmv) and now with HD-DVD's, they're continuing to win.

it's as i expected, H.264 takes 2much processing power, same with MPEG2 1080 res. VC-1 is more efficient.

JonZ · 09-20-2006, 10:11 PM

.........

JonZ · 01-11-2008, 09:25 AM

For those of you who arent gonna stop buying HDDVD discs I watched this last night and it looks fantastic in HD.

Definitely worth picking up.

HD DVD Review: The Pianist | High-Def Digest