A few words about...™ The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Extended Edition -- in Blu-ray - Page 37

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtonnjd 


my only complaint is that I wish I could dial down the LFE on a few scenes, mainly whenever Frodo is succumbing to the Ring, as it gets dangerously distorted (my speakers are good, but the bass is cranked too high here IMO).

 

What subwoofer do you have and do you have any bass management system such as a Velodyne SMS-1 ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtonnjd 



I don't have any bass management other than high and low cutoff dials on the sub (an EPOS ELS - a very musical sub, but does a decent job on movies too). The reason I have no BM is that I hook up the sub with speaker wire from the power amps that are outputting the Front L/R channels which have the bass mixed in - my players settings are Sub off and L/R speakers set to large. So the sub and the mains receive exactly the same signal. This might sound a bizarre setup, but the sub sounds so much sweeter using the high level inputs compared to low level. And 99.9% of the time watching movies it works fine. The sub itself doesn't struggle, it's the two main speakers, which are trying to output the whole dynamic range. And even then, it's only the scenes of the Black Rider sniffing for the Ring and Frodo in the Prancing Pony that cause an issue. Perhaps it isn't that the bass is stronger in those scenes than the rest of the movie, but that the main spneakers are most sensitive to the dominant bass frequency of these particular sound effects?

The best solution to keep the high level inputs but gain some BM would be a 3rd power amp dedicated to the bass channel - but then the sub might lose the warmth of the tube pre-amp used for the mains.

I'm guessing your system handles the "Ring rumbling" fine?

I have a pretty good SVS sub, not one of the latest smaller designs, mine is the big box type, 2 12 inch drivers, i also use a Velodyne SMS-1 because i had room node issues, before i got the Velodyne i had a node causing issues at one frequency and boominess, now it sounds great, but having said that, the modern soundtracks can go very low and even my capable subwoofer has some issues with films like The Haunting where it does distort a little during some of the scenes particularly the opening moments, now maybe the subwoofer isn't having issues and its probably a room issue and needs some treatments rather than a subwoofer issue and maybe its the same for you.

I remember running the opening scenes from Stars Wars - Attack Of The Clones countless times and just adjusting things slightly until the flyby scene and explosion sounded great, my decibel meter said 109db for that scene, thats below reference but was loud for my room.

I can't remember how the Lord trilogy sounds, it was about three years ago i last watched on dvd ( extended edition ) i'm going to buy this boxset once the price drops a little.

I tend to run my speakers with a crossover at 90hz and they are set to small, like you i do think setting the front main speakers to large sounds a little more musical but the bass sounds much better when i set them to small, its a tradeoff i guess and i really use my system for movies only. ( well apart from a little Destinys Child or Nelly Furtado, Bootylicious has some great bass in it )

Talking about bass, i have long believed that with DVD that dts cooked things to give the illusion of better sound, pumping up the bass a little, now this shouldn't happen with lossless tracks but i would swear on my life that some film soundtracks appear to have a hot bass track by maybe upto 10db. I loved it and always liked dts because of this, strange as that may seem since we should be wanting a soundtrack that is more even, but sorry my ears liked the dts tracks and if its a modern digital mix then i love a really aggressive surround track too with the rears having lots of discrete effects rather than just being used for ambience, although if a film is old and has mono or 2.0 tracks then i prefer to listen that way and hate re-mixes which tend to sound very artificial and poor.

:EDIT:

I used to have a RELQ200E subwoofer before i bought an SVS, i think it was a good subwoofer but had major issues with very low bass at high volume levels, it was fine to about 30hz despite the technical specifications stating it could handle 20hz bass, i think maybe that is what you are experiencing, i have read the technical specifications of your subwoofer and feel this is what is happening, Many subwoofers can struggle to produce deep low bass at high volume, they can be fine at 80db but push them to 90db and higher and they fall apart into distortion, i think your subwoofer may fall into this class as did my old RELQ200E.

Quote:

Originally Posted by montrealfilmguy 

I'm probably not in the best of moods today as i just left a similar post in the Mad mad world
thread, so i'm sorry for this small rant.

And i'm not contributing to anything here,now.Or am i ?

But the comments made by the user newtonnjd are ,i think really at the heart of the problem here.

He starts his post by saying :

New member here, I've been catching up with this thread over the last few days, but was
surprised the discussion seems to have come to a halt - perhaps a good thing for everyone's sanity!

Is there another thread on HTF where there is further discussion of this set?

What ?
Come again ?

I'm totally confused by this,because right after,he spends quite a few paragraphs dissecting
minute and microscopic details of singular shots here and there.

I try to like all people,i really do.

It's my nature and i think what makes me a better being and a better screenwriter also.

But please,oh please.For the love of all that is cinematically good.

When you're at 90 %,let go of the 10 % and enjoy the now.And the rest of the film,a film that
exists,has survived AND succeeded in an era where sucky sequels,5-year reboots and remakes
galore prevail.

See,with all these comments on green tinting,grading and whatnot,do any you folks truly and
honestly believe that the filmmakers of LOTR
would have given us a screwed up transfer since i'm quite positive this is undubitedly the flagship
of Jackson's career

(O.k.some people say it's still Dead alive,or Braindead,in some cases ).

Well,if that ever comes to be the case,and they come out with a remastered version when
The hobitt come out on BD,then you can all come to Times Square and throw eggs at me
for an entire day.And Andrew Lesnie can come to shoot it widescreen and post it on Youtube 2.0

And if he decides to add a green tint to it,well that can only mean one thing.

Green eggs and ham.



End of rant.




 

I'll buy a 12 pack of eggs, i might miss you though and hit someone else and get jailed so i hope you can pop by the police station and get me out. :o)

This reminds me, didn't Last Of The Mohicans get a slightly green makeover last year, something happened, as i recall reading many disgruntled comments. ? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by montrealfilmguy 

See,with all these comments on green tinting,grading and whatnot,do any you folks truly and
honestly believe that the filmmakers of LOTR
would have given us a screwed up transfer

Not deliberately, no. However, mistakes do happen.

For example, When Terry Gilliam's Tideland was first released on DVD in the US, it was a 1.77:1 transfer instead of 2.35:1, a mixture of open-matting the top and bottom and cropping the sides. Gilliam released a statement that the US and Candian DVDs were wrong, and the the upcoming UK transfer would have a director-supervised 2.25:1 transfer, open-mated slightly at the preference of Gilliam.

However, when the UK DVD was released, it was revealed by users that this DVD [i]still[/i] was cropped on the sides. It turns out Gilliam had been given the already-cropped 1.77:1 transfer, which he had assumed was a straight-up open-matte.

More details on the fiasco here:

http://www.smart.co.uk/dreams/tidecrop.htm

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/246991/tideland-terry-gilliam-s-latest-on-dvd-2-27

So, even with a director involved, there's no guarantee that the finished product is correct, especially if the director has made assumptions about others having done their jobs correctly.

Considering that people have given varyinig accounts of how noticeable the color shift is, depending on their personal setups and vision, it's possible that [i]if[/i] the final Blu-ray discs themselves had been screened for Peter Jackson, the setup he screened it on may have kept him from noticing it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by montrealfilmguy 

I
See,with all these comments on green tinting,grading and whatnot,do any you folks truly and
honestly believe that the filmmakers of LOTR
would have given us a screwed up transfer since i'm quite positive this is undubitedly the flagship
of Jackson's career





 

Watch Heavenly Creatures, that might be considered Jackson's finest film, sure Lord Of The Rings is flashier but Heavenly Creatures is a very well told human story.

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtonnjd 



I know my sub can't compete with the big boys at high volume, but at my viewing volume it isn't what's causing the distortion. It's the main speakers sort of rattling (they are panel speakers - Magnepan MG12). I would love to hear the Ring rumbling on someone else's system.

If you can give me a timeframe i will put my dvd edition in, its not lossless but it will produce a rumble good enough to test this for you on my own system.

I have a question about the subtitles in the 1st film theatrical. Are there subtitles on all extras (reg 1 or 2) which includes "Quest Fir the Ring"

Another thread I am late to the party on and I am 

about to open old wounds.  Stay with me.

Finally picked up this extended boxed set through

Amazon's pre-Christmas sale.  In fact, as of this

post, it's probably still on sale at just under $50.

Spent the last two days watching the three films.

You know, I am just amazed by this trilogy.  It

is one of the most epic films of our time -- for

our generation.  Now 11 years since the original

film, it's startling to see how well the effects hold

up.  In fact, the battle at Helm's Deep is one of 

the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed.  

I simply love the way this movie was craftily 

edited to the point where you feel your pulse

quicken during the action sequences.

...of course, the Director's Cut is the definitive

way to watch this film despite the fact it clocks

in at what I am guessing is 4 hours per film.  Still,

I never felt the pacing was off, with the exception of

some of the scenes involving Denethor (John Noble),

which I felt went on a bit too long.   

My favorite scene which only appears in the 

extended version is that of Galadriel (Cate Blanchett)

presenting parting gifts to the fellowship.  It is a 

beautifully filmed sequence that still burns in my mind.

I did notice the green push in Fellowship of The Ring.

Perhaps I wouldn't have if the controversy regarding

the transfer never existed.  Nevertheless, there were

some shots that seemed to be pushing more green

than they should be.  Did I find it distracting?  Not really.

Did I compare these scenes to the old transfer?  No.

So, don't take my observations as problems that necessarily

exist.  

Otherwise, picture and audio are as perfect as one 

would expect them to be.  

I think history is going to be very kind to these films.

Now to find some time this week to start sifting through

all the supplemental material.

For me the scene that always sticks in my mind is the one in Fellowship where Galadriel is offered the Ring by Frodo and turns it down.  But not before voicing what could potentially happen...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein 

...of course, the Director's Cut is the definitive

way to watch this film despite the fact it clocks

in at what I am guessing is 4 hours per film...

 

Nitpick: The extended editions are not director's cuts. They're extended editions that Jackson made for the fans. He's gone on record as stating he views the theatricals as the definitive versions. To whit:

http://movies.ign.com/articles/445/445262p4.html

As for the running times of the EEs, they run between 3 1/2 hours to 4 hours long, although the full credits for ROTK EE extend it to around 4 1/3 hours.

(that's what I get for messin' with the fans)  

Thanks for the correction.

The theatrical cuts are more general audience friendly in terms of their length, but are still full of plenty of detail.  And keep in mind that the theatrical cut of Return of the King won Best Picture, although I believe it won representing the trilogy.

The extended editions are tailored for fans (like myself) who would like to see all the rest of the material, including the fate of Saruman, the footage of Boromir in The Two Towers, and things to that nature.  The Mouth of Sauron scene in the third film feels like a deleted scene either way.  For me, the extended editions are also worth the time for all the extras, which give the most thorough accounting I can imagine for these films.  And that's before you get into the multiple commentary tracks.

I have both versions of the trilogy on Blu, and am happy to do so.  I can show the theatrical versions to more casual viewers and the longer cuts to the more dedicated fans who are willing to spend over 3 1/2 hours on each film.