DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Star Trek: First Contact - Special Collector's Edition (Recommended) (1 Viewer)

[Scott Kimball]

I don't have a 6.1 decoder, but when I hit the audio key on my remote, this is the list I get:

ENG1 DD 5.1CH
*ENG2 DTS 6 CH
ENG3 DD 2 CH
FRE1 DD 5.1CH
ENG4 DD 2CH
ENG5 DD 2CH

That's what prompted me to list the DTS as 6 channels in my review. When / if I get further confirmation it is 5.1 ch, I'll edit my review.

-Scott

 

[TonyD]

i think dts shows the lfe channel as a before the decimal channel. if that makes any sense.
i have seen that before.

 

[Ernest Rister]

The disc is not dts-es, though my amp, as it can with all dts 5.1 soundtracks, can create a phony dts surround-back channel out of the SL and SR information (dts-es matrix). Same basic thing as Dolby Digital-EX...a matrixed surround-back channel, not a discrete 6th channel (dts-es).

 

[Vader]

Ernest,

I stand corrected....

 

[Jordan_E]

My wife called and told me she picked up this DVD this morning, so I will be checking it out later tonight. This is the first Trek DVD I got since the great THE WRATH OF KHAN, although I do see myself picking up the other SEs some day.

 

[Grant H]

That last screen shot on the holodeck clearly shows more of a framing issue, than a cropping issue.

There's a waiter or somebody(not important) completely cropped out of the left side of the frame, but much more velvet rope and chair on the right side of the frame. I guess this was pointed out earlier with the meeting-room pic.

Here, I don't know that any picture was lost, but rather shifted. I'll have to look at the other screenshots to see if it's consistent.

It could just be one of the transfers was inconsistent, but no way I could tell you which one is correct.

EDIT: Upon further inspection, it appears that in the silo pic, there is actually more picture information on both the left and right sides in the 2nd pic, the Collector's Edition.

From what I've seen, the CE seems to be framed better from a technical standpoint. Less empty space, more Beverly Crusher, more picture on both sides, no half face, more velvet rope and scenery. CE all the way!

If Wal-Mart really has it for $12, I'll upgrade right away. I've been buying a lot less lately, but I have all the other CE's so far. The DTS certainly makes it worthwhile. And I must have gotten a lot more discriminating over the years, because the PQ underwhelmed me slightly last time. Looking forward to the better color saturation and less ringing.

 

[Daryl L]

TonyD, I have a 6/7.1 receiver capable of DD + DPL2x, DD-EX and DTS + Neo6 Cinema, DTS-ES 6.1 Matrix and Discrete playback. It has always auto detected DTS-ES 6.1 Matrix and DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete if it's on the disc and say in the receivers display the words Matrix or Discrete. My receiver will also turn on two back surround speaker icons if there's a Matrixed or Discrete back surround track detected. Unlike DD, DTS has always included the proper flags on DTS discs (that I'm aware of). I checked 3 times to be sure. It's definately only DTS 5.1. The "*ENG2 DTS 6 CH" in Scott Kimball's display is the same thing my DVD players menu displays. It obviously counts the LFE track as the sixth track.

 

[TonyD]

ok, i think that was what i was trying to say.

daryl, have you checked generations?
i think that one is said to have a dts rcc(rear center channel) that isnt auto detected and ythe receiver has to manually be set to dts matrix mode.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"the receiver has to manually be set to dts matrix mode."

My receiver will make a fake "dts-es matrix" track by manually selecting the option. It does the same thing for Dolby Digital EX. That's a far cry from a discrete 6th channel in the rears, i.e. "dts-es", but it does the job, and sounds great with Fantasia/2000 and The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over.

 

[Daryl L]

Unfortunately I don't have Generations to check that. Accordint to SpannerWorks Generations does not have a DTS Discrete 6.1 track but it doesn't list wether any have DTS Matrix 6.1 tracks. DigitalBits list it as having DTS 5.1 and DTS list it only as DTS 5.1 too. But, if it does have a DTS Matrix 6.1 track and I tried turning on DTS Matrix, without the flag present my receiver would probably activate DTS + Neo6 Cinema instead of DTS Matrix 6.1 (both do the sxact same thing) (DTS Matrix uses Neo6 Cinema to extract the matrixed rear center channel) and I doubt I could tell the difference between the movie if it was flagged as DTS Matrix 6.1 or as DTS 5.1 with Neo6 Cinema applied to it.

 

[TonyD]

NONE TAken, you said what i wanted to say, just you did it better.

 

[Michael Harris]

I just watched the whole movie with Okuda's text commentary and while the content was good, as always, the new "pop-up" format is horrible. I couldn't take my eyes off of the cross-hair graphic. The field that contained the text dimmed the picture behind it. The old way of using subtitles was more effective. Sometimes simple is better.

 

[Mike Graham]

This set is probably my last Trek purchase for a very very long time. Its been one hell of a ride since the 2001 release of "The Motion Picture," rediscovering the Trek films in the best possible way (widescreen, DD 5.1).

Everything in First Contact is top notch, from the effects, to the editing and visuals. Even the simple opening credits, with titles slowly coming into focus, are wonderfully done. Most importantly, Goldsmith's work stands out as the best of all Trek scores. The strongest example of this is during the deflector dish sequences - when Picard and Worf successfully detach the dish, the score swells perfectly capturing the feeling.

While the subsequent TNG follow ups were considered disappointments, First Contact can still stand among 2,4 and 6 as one of the best. A

 

[Alex-A]

I must prefer the current "popup" style text commentary againts regular subtitles. I find the subtitle ones move along at a much faster rate, sometimes disappearing before one is finished reading them. When I watched Generations I was much pleased with the new format. IMO it is a welcome addition to these releases.

 

[TonyD]

plain text works better for me.
the pop up style blocks off too much of the screen.
some of the things are pretty big.

 

[Geoff_D]

Finally, a decent DVD outing for my favourite Trek film. The original transfer was way too grainy for my liking, with thin audio to boot. But the video quality of the CE is superb, and the dts audio track is a welcome addition. The extras are good too, and I especially liked the Moore/Braga commentary. The neat styling for the pop-up facts is a nice little bonus, and more interesting to look at than bland white text. Great package all round.

 

[Pat Frank]

I liked it as well.

The Frakes commentary was kinda lame. Come on guy, do a little prep! Oh well. It made nice background filler while watching the Okuda text pop-ups.

 

[Dave Mack]

All sold out at CC last week. Grrrr,,,,

 

[Shane D]

im just amazed at all the stuff braga says, especially with whats going on with enterprise.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

I havent watched yet with the commentary. What does he say? One thing I have learned when listening to Braga (or Berman) is that they are not dealing with reality so well.
All they say is, Star Trek is great, we love what we're doing...