A Few Words About A few words about...™ Iron Man -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Although I'd seen his work in small roles previous to Richard Attenborough's Chaplin (1992), it was that film that had me thinking that he was one of this country's most talented actors.

Nothing in the interim has changed my position, and after viewing Iron Man in Blu-ray, I find my thinking confirmed.

Mr. Downey's Tony Stark is one of those performances that makes comparisons of a different actor in the role implausible. Mr. Downey simply nails it.

So too does Paramount with a letter perfect rendition of the film on Blu-ray.

Although wildly different, Iron Man is a film that at times during the finale had me thinking of two earlier films. One released some 10 months previous (Transformers) and another quite a bit older, going back some 65 years -- Frankenstein Meet the Wolfman.

A lighter film than the most recent Batman epics, Iron Man, which seems to have been designed for a bit younger audience, is terrific fun.

A fine film and a beautifully rendered Blu-ray disc that represents itself very nicely projected on a large home theater screen. Beautiful imagery. Great lossless audio and probably more extras than one has free to time enjoy.

Recommended.

well said ... re: Downey

I look forward to this BD so I can say the same about the software itself

The best comic book movie to come along in several years, this is going to be simply fantastic on Blu. I rarely go to the theater, I went twice to see this. Comic book film making at it's best.

Another for my small but quickly growing list of BDs--sadly, did not get to see this at the cinema.

Downey Jr.'s also very effective in Zodiac (one of my favourite films of the past 5 years) and is almost always among the better actors in whatever film I've seen him in.

I just read a review at IGN complaining about 'noise' in the picture, though not in the CGI sequences.

OK, can someone please slap that person? This is why grain = evil to studios, because of tards like this.

Thanks to Mr. Harris for giving us the word. I'll order this one without worry.

I am going to hold off after the 3rd report of restricted (approx 4db) dynamic range on the TrueHD soundtrack compared to the lossy DD. Could be the disc or could be some sort of other issue, but 3 reports now from reviewers. This audio review best describes the issue.......


Blu-ray review of Iron Man (Ultimate 2-Disc Edition) - DVDTOWN.com

I thought that the CGI sequences were shot with different lenses (cameras?) than during the normal sequences. That could be the answer for this problem. Still doesn't explain IGN's attitude towards grain, though.

FWIW, Peter Bracke didn't seem to find any fault with the audio in his review over at Hi-Def Digest. I generally trust his reviews, and knowing that R.A.H. also endorses this release, that's good enough for me. As always, YMMV, but after reading the DVD Town review, this is just not enough of an issue for me to sit this one out.

Iron man is a DI, photographed on two different Eastman stocks, 5217 (200T) and 5218 (500T), which may be what some are discussing.

I saw no problems whatsoever.

Just a beautiful transparent move to Blu-ray.

The fact that Peter did not find this does not surprise me for a few reasons (not the most credible reviewer IMO)....He also did not have the SD lossy DD edition on hand to do a comparison. John and Jason are more credible reviewers at Dvdtown IMHO and these guys know what they are doing. Ralph Potts at AVS also found the same issue who I consider to be a great/credible reviewer. This is enough for me to hold off until we get some sort of resolve.

Edit: Ralph on AVS has discovered that DRC was set to "AUTO" for the TrueHD track and turning this to "OFF" has solved his issue. Waiting for confirmation from the dvdtown guys as this may be the problem they are having as well. Some of the new pre/pros/receivers default to "AUTO" on the DRC mode for any TrueHD track played (which my Onkyo 885 does and has to be turned to OFF everytime you listen to a TrueHD track). This should be why some are having the issue and is a simple fix if so. Everyone should be aware of this setting either way as this affects any TrueHD track and needs to be put to off each and every time (atleast on the Onkyo 885 and probably the whole Onkyo line. Dont know about Denon, etc.....).

What is DRC and does it affect my Onkyo 805? How do I turn it off?

Paul

This is set to "AUTO" by default on your 805 for TrueHD only (check out your manual) and you need to hit the "L NIGHT" button on your Onkyo remote for it to go to "OFF". Be aware though that this setting will NOT hold once you put the Onkyo into standby mode so you need to do this simple step for EVERY TrueHD track you play. Every TrueHD track will default DRC to auto and should be turned OFF.

can't wait for this one

Really looking forward to this one and I'm glad the "words about" it are favorable. I saw it in the theater (twice), but my wife didn't so I am going to enjoy watching it with her. Hopefully, she likes it as much as I do. I'm going to have to be patient, however, as I didn't order it from my regular vendor and don't expect to arrive as promptly.

^
and?

I've got a Teac AG-10D receiver and I have noticed on the few titles that I own on Blu-Ray that where there is a choice between Dolby Digatal 5.1 and Lossless 5.1, the former does seem to have more oomph. Hence I have choosen this as a listening option.

In order for Lossless to perform at a more dramatic level, do I need a newer amp or perhaps a more expensive one? Or is it the case that all amps that can deliver 5.1 or 6.1 (as in the case of my Teac), should be able to deliver powerfull Lossless audio from Blu-Rays? Or could this DRC be causing the problem?

I have the new Region A Iron Man, so I will try it out.

Any thoughts or comments most welcome.

The lossless track probably (can vary of course) has greater overall dynamic range than the lossy one. I find this to be the case when I compare some of my SACDs with their CD counterparts. Because of this, I have to turn up the volume for my SACDs compared to the CDs for the "oomph" to be in play. I have noticed a similar phenomenon with "lossless" tracks on BD and HD DVD (though I only get the "core" of the stream, that "core", when compared to DD/DTS on SD DVD, appears to have a wider dynamic range--my impressions are anecdotal, of course, as I don't have full "lossless" capacity for HD DVD/BD but it tracks with my SACD/CD experience). The solution, for me, is quite simple. I turn up the volume. Of course, when level matched, the perceptible difference between lossy and lossless pretty much disappears (except in those cases where the differences in dynamic range are dramatically different--but even then, with a movie's visuals occupying a great deal of one's attention, noticing those exceptions requires an effort that transforms the event from something entertaining to something requiring "work").

When I listen to music (rather than watch movies), I tend to be more focused (no visuals to distract me) and I can, if I try, notice the difference in dynamic range between a CD and an SACD or DVD-A--but that difference is only valid if the mix and mastering is the same. Not all that common (and that is only applicable to 2 channel. In MCH, my preferred mode of listening, the MCH mix far outweighs whatever benefit I'm getting from "lossless".

Now, if I had an acoustic listening space that was ideal, the differences might be more dramatic--but while I've done a decent job at treating my room, practical and financial considerations prevent me from going "all out". I've already taken room treatments and eq'ing my sub and judicious speaker placement (and selection) and so on to a far greater degree than anyone I know (outside fora like this) would consider worthwile (or even sane ), so I've reached what I consider to be a diminishing margin of return. I'd rather spend my time enjoying the movie and music.

Sorry, I've veered a bit off topic.

Back to your receiver--are you using a BD player with MCH analogue outputs? If so, I would just set the levels in the player to compensate. If it is connected via coax/toslink digital, then you have the lossy core signal coming to your receiver (as I have with my setup) and turning up the volume is the easiest solution (that, or selecting the lossy track as you are currently doing).