Blu-Ray 5th Element -> Possible Bad Transfer. (1 Viewer)

Folks, I don't own one yet but reports are popping up all over that the 5th Element for BR used a non-clean master. Apparently dirt, dust and scratches show up. Also, sharpness is not "all that eye popping".

I read this over at AVS and a link at http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/fifthelement3.html


"However, make no mistake, this is a good-looking picture if you're not too critical. I bet the average consumer who saw this disc up and running at their local Best Buy would probably think it was darn swell. However, I felt there were some deficiencies inherent in the source material itself that keep this one from hitting a homer, or even a solid triple. Though not as noticeable perhaps on the standard DVD releases (even the Superbit), 'The Fifth Element' looks oddly soft in HD, with a lack of detail and three-dimensionality that ranks it as not-quite-demo material in the high-def sweepstakes."

There have been nothing but bad things said about the 5th element transfer on multiple boards/review sites. Very sad indeed.

That's ridiculous.

So what's the point of spending $1,000 on a player for quality like this?

Greetings

You are going to buy it and you are going to like it.

Regards

For those looking to use TFE as a starting point to bash BD, it looks as if other titles aren't having the same problem. From a review of "50 First Dates":

Well, it looks like THE 5TH ELEMENT will no longer be the reference disc for the High Def area.

The "bash BD" aspect is irrelevant to me. What is relevant, though, is that Sony did a poor job with this title. In the hidef era, people have every right to demand higher quality than this. I have no use for "give them a break, because we have to support the format" sentiment (which I see hints of in some places).

Hmmm...methinks you doth protest too much. I have a problem with TFE looking crappy. I pointed it out in my discussion of the demo. It's as bad, if not worse than the bad deinterlacing on Warner HD DVDs.

Sounds like we don't really disagree.

Is it that it truly looks bad or that HD is able to show all the blemishes that SD couldn't? Too bad we can't compare it with an HD-DVD release :frowning:

Other BD titles are said to look better (such as Terminator). It's not just a matter of blemishes (although it's bothersome that Sony didn't use a clean print). The title just doesn't look that sharp. Hey, if it's not well done, it's not well done. The same goes for the HD titles with the interlacing problem.

Not having it in front of me, I can't say. It looks to be a little of both. The clips of TFE that I saw at the demo looked really soft, while everything else looked fantastic. The impromptu reviews on AVS mention a lot of print damage, as well as a softer picture. It's possible that they introduced the latter to hide the former.

Thanks for informing us that The Fifth Element looks crappy. My situation is that I don't know when I will buy a BD player but I promised myself I will buy a BD disc the first week they are released. I was considering getting the Fifth Element due to previous superior quality transfers on DVD but now I will not get it. I will probably get Underworld: Evolution.

One other title that I will surely get, will be Terminator 2. Actually Terminator 2 was the very first DVD I bought and it was one of the first (if not the first, don't remember) dual-layer DVD. I guess it has some kind of nostalgic value!

Anyway, I'm amazed by Terminator 2's history in relation to Home Cinema. It seems it has been the leading title that showcases new formats. They release it real fast at the beginning without waiting and wasting much time. First it was on DVD, then WMV HD and now blu-ray. I can't wait to try the next format with T2!

Follow-up - Although reports of 5th Element lookin sub-par, The Terminator apparently is just amzingly stunning. So there is hope.

Exactly, which makes what happened with 5thE that much less excusable.

Hopefully Robert Crawford can shed some light on this when he receives his new BD player.

Not only is The Fifth Element Blu-Ray probably taken off an older HD telecine from a damaged print and using MPEG-2 at lower than needed bitrates, but you must also remember that the Samsung doesn't output pure 1080p... it's reconstituted and may be giving only 540p in actuality.

The Pioneer and Sony players are supposedly based off of Sigma's new decoder that has options for 1080p native output.

Let's wait and see before making snap judgments

what I'm curious about is what looks better Fifth Element Blue-Ray or Fifth Element Superbit upconverted to 1080i

From what I've read, the Blu-Ray version is slightly sharper than the Superbit, but not WOW, THIS IS LIKE FREAKIN' NIGHT AND DAY!!! in comparison. It's just a lousy transfer and a typical Sony screw up.

The audio, OTOH is uncompressed PCM (though only at CD quality) and is considered better than the DTS and Dolby Digital lossy compressed tracks from previous SuperBit releases.

If you love the movie be assured that Sony will remaster this title to milk it down the road. They love to quad-dip on every title imaginable.

Dan

It's funny that TFE was always considered to be a reference quality disk in SD. Alot of Calibrators I know use it to this day. Then it comes to Next gen and sucks.