Possession (1981) UK BD (1 Viewer)

Pre-edit:

The region-free BD player I originally used for this advisory(Not calling it a review...as I'm not one for absolute technical merit of video. Audio, yes, video...no) died. I sent the BD player back to where it came from and they are sending a replacement. There is a thread of this BD player stating such. I did manage to coax a decent picture out of it on a Panasonic 1080p plasma before it died. Once its issues started it was unusable on the Hitachi. Last straw was when I tried to watch Mud. The opening scene of Mud was a disaster. The advisory of Pillow Book is accurate cause that was during the first day or two out of the box...when the BD player worked.

Like I did for Pillow Book, letting those know if this is worth bringing over.

Good points...

Best the film has ever looked.

Bad points...

60% of the movie is worth it over the R2 DVD. 40% is absolutely atrocious. Depends if the 40%(which is what I'll describe) is enough to make you not get it.

For 60% of this movie the picture is near as flawless as you can expect this ilk of film to be. Zulawski is probably happy.

The 40% is a disaster. There is enough DNR in some scenes(beginning "board room" being one) that it appears the movie was shot across a green screen. I'm not kidding.

Anyway, it is better for the majority of the movie than the R2 DVD. Just depends if you can handle the constant highs and lows of the image.

Edit:

It has come to my attention that I need to check this film on one of my 1080P displays in my home. After researching the "known banding" that BluRay.com(link later in this thread) mentions at the very beginning of the movie, it appears that my Hitachi P50X901 exaggerates banding. This is the first movie I've ever seen this phenomena with.

So if it is a Hitachi*(not all Hitachi, the interlacing plasma models only) problem, so be it. After reading the manual again, it appears the set doesn't do 720P either...so, the Orei is getting moved tomorrow. (doesn't mean I will be getting rid of the Hitachi anytime soon, probably means a 2nd region free BD player is coming to the house for the main theater. Just certain movies, my girlfriend and I like to watch in the "cozy theater" where this Hitachi is)

*I have two of these X901. I also have 4 1080P 42"-60" LG/Panasonics as well as a JVC D-ILA. Everything is ISF calibrated.

Edit II

Apologies for having "electronics issues" and not catching them till after I start recommending a disc for first timers wanting to see what is worth it to bring over from other markets, when unavailable here.

The Orei(right when I started watching this and the R2 DVD) started having "brick upon shutdown" issues. I watched bits and pieces of this disc numerous times when leaving the house and doing other stuff. Out of the 10-ish times I turned it off, it bricked 8 times..necessitating unplugging it from the wall, which reset the Orei to Full RGB, instead of YCrBr. My complaints over the banding, which mainly was exaggerated because of the excess blue, causes ALIS(Fujitsu and Hitachi) to go bonkers.

Anyway when I set the Orei correctly for an ALIS plasma(which is 720P or 1080I...when there are banding issues) most of the issues I alluded to cleared up.

When I connected the Orei to a Panny 1080P plasma(again after setting it YCrBr etc) it shows exactly as BluRay.com shows in their screen shots.

Egg on my face for a "wonky BD player" and forgetting the challenges presented by ALIS.

Got to say you have watched a different Blu to me............no DNR as far as I can see on the copy I have?

schan1269 said:

Like I did for Pillow Talk, letting those know if this is worth bringing over.

Good points...

Best the film has ever looked.

Bad points...

60% of the movie is worth it over the R2 DVD. 40% is absolutely atrocious. Depends if the 40%(which is what I'll describe) is enough to make you not get it.

For 60% of this movie the picture is near as flawless as you can expect this ilk of film to be. Zulawski is probably happy.

The 40% is a disaster. There is enough DNR in some scenes(beginning "board room" being one) that it appears the movie was shot across a green screen. I'm not kidding.

Anyway, it is better for the majority of the movie than the R2 DVD. Just depends if you can handle the constant highs and lows of the image.

Click to expand...

Sam,

I supervised the transfer that was used for this disc and can confirm there is no DNR anywhere on the disc. The boardroom scene will naturally show less grain because of the high light. No NR was used.

What is your setup - are you sure there's no "hidden" NR going on?

Well, the video camera footage in the bonus content is NR'd. I can assure you the film is all natural. It was done on a CCD-based transfer device (Spirit 2K) so there would be absolutely no need for any video noise reduction, and I denied any requests to have it degrained.

Just had a quick skim view, I am at a loss as to where the OP thinks that DNR has been applied?

It has white flecks all through the scenes, that to me, look DNR'd.

The scenes that have the white flecks all look as if shot across a green screen. (this white fleck/green screen is what I'm referring to)

So, if it isn't DNR...what is it?

The BD player is an Orei going through a TX SR707(with nothing "on") to a Hitachi 50X901, itself with "nothing on".

So...those scenes looked cleaned up "a bit much" compared to the R2 DVD. Or is it just phenomena from the PAL/50hz to NTSC/60hz?

Keeping in mind my R2 DVD of Possession looks better than my SPHE Pillow Book. Where the BD is better from Pillow Book than Possession. I'm not complaining, just mentioning it looks DNR/Green Screen in some places. So if there is a correct term for that...

As a better example as well. The blue suits and the blue walls are bleeding into one another...which gives it an even more unsettling look of green screen.
Another scene that has "lots of white fleck" is when he is first seen on the bed sweaty and asks "How long have I been here?".

I typed a long reply here but the page refreshed and wiped it. Doh!

So, if it isn't DNR...what is it?

Click to expand...

So, if it isn't DNR...what is it?

Click to expand...

It could easily be DNR, just in your setup. It's not on the disc, I can assure you of that.

I don't have any experience with Orei BD players or Hitachi PDPs, but one of them could certainly be doing something to the image. Remember that "nothing on" in the user menu doesn't always mean an untampered image.

I'm puzzled as to the "white flecks" you talk about, which could either be dirt on the negative or just brighter points of grain. The presence of these would support a lack of any image filtering.

As for "blue suits and blue walls bleeding into one another", it's hard to diagnose image issues like this from words. Perhaps you're describing a chroma resolution limitation somewhere in the system? Have you checked out the chroma multiburst or zone plate patterns from a disc like Spears & Munsil? This is the closest thing I can come to when you talk about it looking "green screen"'d.

If I was near you I would come and take a look, but I'm on the wrong continent.

For the record there are only three UK BDs I've watched so far(the only three that have gotten here out of the 8 I've bought).

Pillow Book
Possession
Nine Songs(9 songs)

I won't count All the Boys Love Mandy Lane as it plays region A anyway(except for the bonus content).

The domestic BDs I've watched so far in this Orei to compare it to a Sony S350...
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Underworld: Awakening
Rust and Bone
Zombieland
Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut

So far the US releases I see and hear no difference compared to the Sony S350. So, I have a little bit of frame of reference. But...not completely.

The Hitachi is calibrated. Not by a disc. A computer and an "hour-ish of time". (and it wasn't Best Buy. I used to sell CE wholesale. I also design home theater. I know several ICF people)

The Orei is "fresh from the box"...But I did turn "off" everything I already know the turn off. It's manual isn't the greatest.

I might be able to get a decent pic of the white flecking. Like I said, the white flecking and "green screen effect" appear together.

Just thought of another scene. When we walks up with his suitcases, at the very beginning. The entire scene looks as if the two characters and the two bags are shot in a green room. Even the street looks green screen. Is in intolerable? No, it isn't...but it reminded me of the excessive DNR look in the original Patton(yes, that bad).

But if it is "this player" and how it does PAL/50 to NTSC/60...fine. I can live with that.

>> But if it is "this player" and how it does PAL/50 to NTSC/60...fine. I can live with that.

Again, this has nothing to do with 50/60hz. The video is in the same format as releases in the US.

Do post a picture of these "white flecks" - I'd be curious to see.

I'm going to include the BluRay.com take on the film. Seems we'll see a release over here...but when?

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=222071

Ok, they do have a take on this film. He addresses the banding...(however where he mentions banding, I'm having other issues as well...flecking/green screen)

"Excluding some light banding that I spotted (the most obvious example being early into the film, in the sequence where Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani's characters meet in front of the apartment complex) "

That I speak of. So there we have it. Banding(amongst my other screen issues)

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Possession-Blu-ray/60051/

And here we go. When I have a chance to include a screenshot, I'll use "number 9" from BR.com as my reference. (screen shot 9 is the scene I reference above as "How long have I been here")

On my display with the Orei, it is nowhere near that clear.

The other screenshots chosen are not scenes I have "white flecks/green screen".

Yes, please post an image - I don't really know what you mean by "flecking".

>> On my display with the Orei, it is nowhere near that clear.

How is your player connected? HDMI or Component?

Everything is HDMI.

I use Vanco cabling.

Not my first rodeo.

I finally watched a touch of Mud. That looks fabulous. I put in 2001 and Baraka:Remaster(The S350 is still connected) and the Orei was not different on either one.

Let's see how this goes...(the picture shows it is here when I go to "edit"...then isn't there...same for the next post)

View attachment 4192

Edit:

Now have no clue what is going on. It shows the first pic in "edit"...then shows the third pic when I cancel the edit.

Edit II

Now the pic is gone again...still there in "edit"

And here...

View attachment 4193

And finally the white flecking(originally I said I'd match the same scene with the BluRay screen capture number 9, but it was good. This, during the same scene is what I mean)

View attachment 4195

Since my file sizes are too big, we'll discuss them here. The first picture Sam and Isabelle appear to have been added over green screen. Not bad, but BluRay.com mentions the banding in this scene.

2nd picture the chair appears to be "green screen".

Third the white flecks "flow" with the screen. During this scene a constant white wobbly line(as a film processing issue) shows across him while he is on the phone.

Again, these issues, to me, are not enough to not buy the BD.

When I don't have banding like the first picture and I don't have flecking...it is a fabulous rendering of the film. Maybe(and of course I have no idea) that was how the movie looked in theatres. I've never seen the movie other than R2 DVD and this BD.