Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Monsters, Inc. (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Silverman]

Technically, sure, but why should we have to store them on hard drives in perpetuity just in case we ever want to use them?

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

It is probably also worth mentioning that the included DVD, which is bit-identical to the first disc of the original DVD release from 2002, includes a significant extra that is not included on the BD: A sound effects-only audio track in Dolby Digital 5.1.

It also includes the 4:3 reformatted version of the film that was rendered with unique layouts and additional image information for the alternate aspect ratio, but that is less exciting to me.

Regards,

 

[Shane D]

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman

Technically, sure, but why should we have to store them on hard drives in perpetuity just in case we ever want to use them?

along those lines, why should i take up space on my shelf storing my disks forever in case i ever want to watch them?

people with mobile devices do enjoy the digital copies.

 

[cafink]

Originally Posted by Ken_McAlinden

Was the 4:3 version really especially reformatted? I recall that there was a lot of talk about Pixar creating the 4:3 version of A Bug's Life by moving characters around within the frame and things like that, but I haven't heard of them having done that for any of their other movies. I imagine they could "open up" the frame (just as with a soft-matte live-action film) without much difficulty, but have they done anything more than that to create the 4:3 versions of any of their films other than A Bug's Life?

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane D

along those lines, why should i take up space on my shelf storing my disks forever in case i ever want to watch them?

The disks are perfectly useful now, unless one is *only* watching movies on a mobile device. And they won't expire (assuming they weren't manufactured at that plant in Mexico! ). With digital copies, if one doesn't have a mobile device but might in the future, one has to download the file from the disc (AKA "coaster") by a certain date and store it somewhere else. Why shouldn't one be able to just hang onto the disc until having a reason to use it?

This post has been brought to you by the number two.

 

[benbess]

PQ on the new blu is stunning. Watched the first few minutes and was amazed at what I could see on this that I couldn't see on the dvd--such as the small red veins in Mike's giant eye. Wow.

 

[Brian Borst]

Originally Posted by cafink




Was the 4:3 version really especially reformatted? I recall that there was a lot of talk about Pixar creating the 4:3 version of A Bug's Life by moving characters around within the frame and things like that, but I haven't heard of them having done that for any of their other movies. I imagine they could "open up" the frame (just as with a soft-matte live-action film) without much difficulty, but have they done anything more than that to create the 4:3 versions of any of their films other than A Bug's Life?

They did it as far as The Incredibles. I don't know if Cars and the others got the same treatment as well, but since 4:3 kind of went out of date after that it makes sense that they stopped doing that after The Incredibles.

 

[SilverWook]

Every time I've seen The Incredibles on cable tv, the image appears to have been squeezed a bit.

 

[Parker Clack]

Great review Matt. I couldn't agree with you more on the overall look and sound of this movie. I got it along with Up using the deal at Amazon and couldn't be happier. $16 a piece for these two master films on Blu is a steal.

In my opinion I haven't found a Pixar film that I haven't loved. For me it is definitely hard to rate one over the other so I just enjoy them all the same. The joy I get from these films while watching them with my family cannot be expressed enough.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Yes it was. Look at the very first shot after the credits of the toys on the shelf in the "boy's" room. There is a ton of extra information rendered in the top and bottom of the frame.

Originally Posted by cafink


Was the 4:3 version really especially reformatted? ...

 

[Derek Miner]

Originally Posted by Ken_McAlinden ">[/url]

It is probably also worth mentioning that the included DVD, which is bit-identical to the first disc of the original DVD release from 2002, includes a significant extra that is not included on the BD: A sound effects-only audio track in Dolby Digital 5.1.

It also includes the 4:3 reformatted version of the film that was rendered with unique layouts and additional image information for the alternate aspect ratio, but that is less exciting to me.

 

[Jeff Robertson]

While not mentioned here, Monsters, Inc. is not as perfect as other Pixar BD releases. Myself and a few other review sites have spotted some aliasing in Sulley's fur. In addition, I am also seeing some jagged edges on objects in the background in some scenes. This comes very unexpectedly given the quality of Pixar titles on Blu-Ray thus far.

I am curious how this could have happened. Is it an artifact of the down-conversion process? I assume the source material is higher than 1080p since it was released on film at one time.

I have watched A Bug's Life on BD but may have to go back and check it out to see if any of these problems at present there as well. Cars & Wall-E are devoid of these artifacts. I am concerned about how future, older Pixar titles (mainly Toy Story 1 & 2) might turn out since they pre-date Monsters.

 

[Carlo_M]

My guess (and it's only a guess) is that it is a downconversion artifact. Pixar was trumpeting the "direct digital" transfers onto DVD [going back to the original Toy Story films I believe] so I can't imagine they did it any differently for Blu. That said, I agree that the source material is likely at a higher resolution than the 1920x1080 of Blu, so some artifacts may arise from the down-rezzing.
That said, I've watched Monsters Inc. twice since buying it and did not notice anything you noted. That doesn't mean they weren't there, just that they weren't noticeable to my eye when watching the movie (ps3 -> 60" Sony 1080p/24 SXRD via HDMI).

 

[CraigF]

^ Yeah, me too. BDP-83->Pio 151. Unlike many others, MI is one of my top 3 Pixar offerings (and the only one on BD so far). I'd like to know a time-code for a problem scene "just to see"...if I already didn't notice it, then it's not like it's "ruining" my enjoyment.

At Pixar, they apparently call rendering something very difficult the "Yeti's Cave". Specifically, that scene where Sulley is lying in the snow after the sled crash (snow glistening on fur) was deemed "impossible" by the people who work on such things, using the tech they had at the time. But they pulled it off. Knowing this from the DVD, I stared at the BD version of that scene for quite a while and IMO it did look very good. I realise staring is not motion, so I may not have seen the problem referred to, but this was considered the most complicated scene in the movie and it seems to have been transferred beautifully.

One thing I really noticed from the BD compared to the DVD is how shiny so many things are, how they subtly glisten. And not just Sulley's fur. Besides the obviously increased detail, like I could easily read the Harryhausen's menu from 8-9' away.