Universal HD DVD: Declining PQ? - Page 2

Jason Roer · 06-21-2007, 06:15 PM

I've only been upset with one Universal release yet - Land of the Dead, which I didn't find to be much of an improvement over the SD-DVD and it was super grainy. Every other one has been excellent.

Can't wait for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Knocked Up! My most anticipated releases of either format.

Cheers,

Jason

Shane Martin · 06-21-2007, 06:16 PM

Quote:

I haven't seen any EE on any Universal HD DVD that I own.

I love that excuse.

ppltd · 06-21-2007, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane Martin

I love that excuse.

What excuse? What films have you seen EE on?

Jason Roer · 06-21-2007, 06:22 PM

Shane,

That's kind of a dick comment there. You're basically saying that Thomas (who happens to own both formats and is therefore neutral) is lying. He was making a simple comment that he hasn't seen EE on the Universal discs that he owns (which is nearly the entire catalogue). Thomas is one of the few rational people in these threads and deserves better treatment.

And how is that an excuse, by the way?

Cheers,

Jason

ppltd · 06-21-2007, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Roer

I've only been upset with one Universal release yet - Land of the Dead, which I didn't find to be much of an improvement over the SD-DVD and it was super grainy. Every other one has been excellent.

Can't wait for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Knocked Up! My most anticipated releases of either format.

I can't say that Land of the Dead disappointed me. The only films that Universal released that disappointed me was 'Children of Men' and that was due to problems outside of Universal's control. Now that I have a working disk, COM is superb.

I agree with you on Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, these are on the top of my got to have list.

Jason Roer · 06-21-2007, 06:30 PM

Luckily I bought Children of Men after the firmware update and it's absolutely spectacular. It was my favorite film from last year and the lighting is just beautiful. The scene with Clive and Michael in living room is just perfectly lit. And the transfer is so amazing I feel like I'm looking through a pane of glass. I showed that scene along with some from Corpse Bride for guests a few weekends ago and they were blown away.

Cheers,

Jason

Douglas Monce · 06-21-2007, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane Martin

I love that excuse.

I'm sorry Shane but it's not an excuse. I know what EE looks like. There just isn't any on the Universal titles that I own. Someone was complaining of EE on Midnight Run. Frankly I've watched the movie 3 times now. There is no EE on that film. It looks exactly the way I remember it looking in the theater. Which is the whole point of these formats. To reproduce the theatrical experience as closely as possible. I surely hope they don't start doing a "restoration" so that the film "pops" on HD.

Doug

BrettB · 06-21-2007, 07:05 PM

Bracke, Brown, whatever... Sony probably got to them as well.

Jeff Whitford · 06-21-2007, 07:07 PM

The Meaning of Life, Daylight and Sneakers have always looked abysmal on video and the HD DVD version look fanatastic compared to any version of the movie that came before

Douglas Monce · 06-21-2007, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jordan_E

All I know is that one hand doesn't know what the hell the other is doing in the studio I had dealings with, and that studio had a lot of hands!

This was surely true when I was working in the industry. I'm sure it's still true.

Shane Martin · 06-21-2007, 07:25 PM

Quote:

That's kind of a dick comment there. You're basically saying that Thomas (who happens to own both formats and is therefore neutral) is lying. He was making a simple comment that he hasn't seen EE on the Universal discs that he owns (which is nearly the entire catalogue). Thomas is one of the few rational people in these threads and deserves better treatment.

And how is that an excuse, by the way?

Because I've been at these forums for ages and have seen "EE doesn't exist on xyz title" when clearly it's a display issue(lack of size generally). When reviewers are pointing this out, it's not like they are making it up like you are implying. History at the forum is repeating itself.

Quote:

Someone was complaining of EE on Midnight Run. Frankly I've watched the movie 3 times now. There is no EE on that film. It looks exactly the way I remember it looking in the theater. Which is the whole point of these formats. To reproduce the theatrical experience as closely as possible.

What size screen are you viewing it on? The people that complain about the EE(especially at AVS) are using 100" screens where imperfections are obvious as opposed to those of us with 50" TV screens.

A movie like Pirates of the Carribean on DVD had HORRID EE yet others said "It looks great to me". Again history repeating itself.

It's an excuse because "I don't see it, it doesn't exist". This implies those that do see it are simply making it up.

A perfectly fine answer would have been "I don't see it but perhaps I don't have a big enough display to notice it". This implies the other parties aren't lying but yet you simply don't see it.

Studios are "BIG Screen" owners have been arguing this for years. Many have stated that Sony's regular dvd releases had zero EE but reviewers like Dan Ramer notice it and report it as such.