Yea!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Steve Tannehill]

Nothing really to say, just glad to see the forum back and running.

Serenity HD-DVD awaits at Best Buy... gotta run!

- Steve

 

[Ron-P]

Steve, got a copy (hopefully) waiting for me too. Ordered it this morning for store pick up. Just waiting for that email that says come and get it.

 

[Jerome Grate]

Please, keep us informed on the quality. I'm pretty sure 99% of us is waiting for reviews with bated breathe

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I am going to spin the DVD in an upscaling 1080i player and A/B it to the HD-DVD.

As for the HD-DVD... I am liking it so far. I need to review my review and dig into the recesses of my recollection of the the theatrical screenings to recall some specific scenes. As it stands, I do believe that Serenity absolutely captures the theatrical look.

- Steve

 

[Paul.S]

I compared the supps listings on the SD and HD DVDs--it looks like there's something on the Serenity HD that isn't on the SD . . .??

 

[Craig Sherman]

To whomever gets to be the first to review Joss Whedon's opus on this forum, please include this as a headline:



SERENITY NOW!!!!

Thank you.

BOMM,

CS

 

[Steve Tannehill]

What is it?

- Steve

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I'll comment about Serenity here, but leave the official review to Sam. It's his gig now.

I pulled out the Serenity DVD and plugged it into the Helios 2085, which upscales to 1080i. I then plugged in the Serenity HD-DVD into the Toshiba HD-A1, also at 1080i.

Both players are fed into a Score System Selector Pro 2.0 for component video switching, which is then directed to the DTV component input of my television. Synchronization is just about perfect. Switching is very fast using the SSP remote.

The Serenity DVD transfer is very good. Color rendition, contrast, and shadow detail are all top-notch. It is clearly taken from the same master as the HD-DVD.

To the qualities of the DVD, the HD-DVD adds definite enhanced detail. It can be subtle unless you are looking for it--but fabric, textures, hair, accessories and backgrounds all show it. Increased detail is not subtle on ships--edges are bright, and well-defined. Star fields are outstanding (another example of the great handling of blacks in this player).

Another scene that stood out was the security video taken in the bar where River opened a can of whoop-ass on the patrons. On the HD-DVD, you can see the line structure in the security video--it is almost not discernable on the SD version.

But more often than not, the depth of field in Serenity does not demonstrate deep focus--Phantom was clearly different (pun intended) with slow, panning camera moves and static shots that had real eye candy appeal.

Serenity, on the other hand, is not as flashy, not quite the eye candy experience, but it does bring back recollections of the theatrical quality and experience. It is also a heck of a good movie.

I did not focus as much on the sound, but it is definitely authored at a higher level than Phantom or Samurai. The key difference is that there are no sound effects when you pull up a menu while the movie is playing. Warner should stop this...

Features are identical between discs, although I can not find the Fruity Oaty Bar Easter Egg on the HD-DVD.

Meanwhile, Universal has an absolute hit here--a good movie, with a nice transfer, and good sound. This is the perfect first-day release for HD-DVD.

- Steve

 

[Tim Glover]

Good stuff Steve. I always like reading your posts. You're a movie fan but objective...just like the good ole days of DVD Resource Page. My first home theater/dvd internet site I ever hit.

Thanks for the summary. Looks like HD-DVD, even with a few bugs to work out, is a hit. Bill Hunt from the Bits has good stuff to say from his early report as well.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Thanks for the kind words. I have not been this excited about a product since, well, DVD!

- Steve

 

[Ron-P]

I could not agree more with you, this is very exciting.

Nice review too! Pretty much spot on.

 

[Jordan_E]

Since I haven't watched one episode of Firefly, I wasn't going to pick up Serenity...but the HD DVD lure is tremendous, and after watching POTO and TLS, I need more...NOW! Will be looking for this one later today.

 

[Paul.S]

Steve, the blurbs on the back of the HD I was referring to that I didn't see on the back of the SD are "Future History: The Story of Earth That Was" and "What's in a Firefly." While the Forum was down, I got word from someone else that, although not explicitly referenced on the back of the SD box, these supps are indeed on there and are not new to the HD. Can you confirm?

 

[Tino]

Thanks for the review Steve, although I disagree about the film as I thought Serenity was the worst film released last year. Glad to see that you were happy with the HD presentation, which bodes well for the future of the format.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Me, too!

 

[Sean Bryan]

"Since I haven't watched one episode of Firefly, I wasn't going to pick up Serenity..."

Don't worry, the film was made to tell a story that does not require you have to seen the show. Everything you need to know to understand it is in the film, just like any other well written film.

And it is a very good movie. Check it out. Looks great in Hi-Def too!


P.S.

Where are all the features for posting like italics, bold, quote, etc....
WHen I made this post there were no "specialized? options available to me. Not even spell checker.

 

[Jonathan_]

I just picked up Million Dollar Baby at Best Buy. They didn't have it on the floor, but the guy went to the back and brought it out to me. They also already had Apollo 13 in stock, but couldn't sell it till Tuesday.

 

[Ron-P]

Apollo 13 and Doom are on my list for Tuesday.

 

[Sam Posten]

If only that was the case. Universal is declining to send review media out. I will be doing an INFORMAL review of Serenity late this weekend (I have both a wedding today and a computer show tomorrow, and it took till Friday to get a confirmationt that they officially would not be sending out any review disks). Until then, Steve's initial impressions will have to suffice =)

So, there wont be an official thread and I will post whatever I can in THIS thread.

Sam

 

[Tino]

Sorry Sean, but I disagree with everything you said and I would definitely recommend a rental of Serenity first..lest you be disappointed completely as I was buying it blindly. Imo, it does not hold up on it's own and definitely requires seeing the show first...as many fans have told me. Doubt that would change my opinion though. Terrible film.

But...ya never know. Perhaps a Hi-Def viewing might help.