Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: T2 Judgment Day - Skynet Edition (1 Viewer)

[Kevin EK]

Blu-ray Disc REVIEW





TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
SKYNET EDITION


Studio: Tri-Star/Orion (Home Video via Lionsgate)
Film Year: 1991
Film Length: 2 hours 17 minutes (Theatrical Edition) 2 hours 32 minutes (Special Edition)
Genre: Science Fiction/Action

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

BD Resolution: 1080p
BD Video Codec: VC-1 @ over 20 MBPS
Color/B&W: Color

Audio:

• English DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1 @ over 4 MBPS

• English Dolby Digital EX 5.1

• English Dolby Headphone Audio Track

• English TheatreVision Descriptive Narrative Audio for the Blind

• French Dolby Surround 2.0
  
  Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Commentaries
  
  Film Rating: R (Violence, Language, General Terminator Behavior)
  

 

[Dave H]

Thanks, Kevin. I'm still on the fence for this release because of the DNR issue. I may still try and find the original UK release.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Kevin: Your description of that DTS HD-MA track is creating a great anticipation in me!

Nice review! Thanks!

 

[Hank]

I found the original UK release on Ebay yesterday, I got it for $23.50 shipped. I canceled my Amazon pre-order.

 

[Brent M]

I want the DTS-MA track, but I have a 60" screen so the PQ issue really concerns me. Still not sure what to do about this release.

 

[TravisR]

Just to be safe, I'd say rent it. That way, you'll know what you're getting into.

Personally, I'm buying it because I love the movie, I want the SE, I 'only' have a 47 inch screen, I can all but guarantee that I won't notice the DNR and I figure this is another panic* being exacerbated by the people who seem to spend more time looking for DNR than watching movies.

* I'm not saying it's not there. I'm saying that some people blow things out of proportion.

 

[Brian Borst]

I'll probably get this. I don't own any of the BD versions of T2, and the Ultimate Edition dvd really doesn't hold up that well anymore. That most of the extras are intact is a really good bonus as well.

 

[Kevin EK]

If you're on the fence, then I recommend renting. Worst case scenario, it costs you five bucks or so to find out whether the quality is worth the sale price.

 

[CraigF]

Appreciate the review, thanks.

60" screen here. I think I'll wait for the edition when an HTF reviewer rates the video at least 4.5 LOL. Yeah, I'm getting even pickier which DVDs I upgrade to BD. I mean, with DVD it was "new", and there was lots to be learned, and there were often significant improvements with each release. Not so much excuse now IMO with incremental improvements with different BD releases. Especially when the baseline (the last T2 BD) was already so low. It'll be $10 soon enough anyway, if I break down in the meantime...

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I'm in for this one. I never bought the other T2 Blu-ray and I'm a fan of the longer version and the happier alternate ennding, so this one's a blessing.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

This BD sounds like another bummer. I went ahead and cancelled my Amazon preorder for now since the price isn't exactly special anyhow. Is the UK version really better? And is it region coded for UK, which wouldn't work on US players?

_Man_

 

[stephenj3]

This is very disappointing. T2 is a relatively modern movie. Why on earth can't they give us a high-quality hi-def transfer, not plagued by DNR? Ditto for Terminator.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Brian,
Any of the BD versions of T2 will be better than the "Ultimate Edition" DVD. That transfer was riddled with EE. The DVD format didn't really get a proper presentation of T2 until the "Extreme Edition" DVD was released (concurrent with the theatrical release of T3). The "Extreme Edition" DVD still looks great today when upscaled via my Tosh XD-E500 player. I kept the "Ultimate Edition", though, for all the great supplements. So I'll probably eventually be purchasing the "Skynet Edition" just to get all the versions of the film and all the supplements together in one release.

 

[Brian Borst]

And with more reviews coming in and seeing the screenshots on DVDBeaver, I think I'm better off with the earlier Blu-Ray, in terms of PQ. That is, until the 'official authorized' version.
And now I think we have had enough T2 Blu-Rays out. I want my The Abyss Blu-Ray .

 

[CraigF]

Now you're really talking!

That'll get me running to the store pretty quick.

OT, but in Canada Blockbuster gives you $10 (minimum) credit for any used BD you bring in. Since all the Schwarzenegger BDs are easily found for $10 new around here, it cost nothing to test them out. [Since Blockbuster also sold some new BDs for $10, this doesn't seem like the greatest business model LOL.]

 

[CraigF]

Agree there, the Extreme edition looked not significantly worse upscaled (to me) than the original T2 BD. But then, the Ultimate edition had better sound than the Extreme edition, plus the "other" movie version. I just want one proper BD release with good PQ and SQ. This release sounds half way there, and I'm done with half way for this title. I don't demand perfection, just "very good".

 

[Paul Arnette]

I will be going with the following:

Terminator - US MGM release
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Japanese Geneon Entertainment release
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - UK Sony release

It is a shame this series in so hit or miss on home video.

 

[Carlo_M]

Well it ain't perfect, but at $20, I think I'm going with the Skynet edition for the first T2 BD purchase for me. Wish they could have treated such a great home video title with more respect.

 

[stephenj3]

They seemingly released so many "editions" of T2 on DVD that i lost track.

 

[Geoff_D]

You're right about these flicks being so "hit and miss", as I won't go near the BD of the first movie because it doesn't have the mono audio. Actually, I tried it once and after a quarter of an hour I couldn't take any more. It went onto ebay minutes later.