Looking for good 16x9 DVDs (1 Viewer)

[DaViD Boulet]

Guys,

as a OAR zealout who used to sell 16x9 TVs...

...cut Steve a BREAK on this "don't want to have to explain about the black bars" thing.

It *is* prudent to have that 16x9 screen filled the first time that walmart shopper sets eyes on a HDTV or projection screen. If they see black bars, it just confuses them right off the bat and turns them off to the whole idea.

It's called baby steps.

First they see Toy Story or Erin Brocovich (a great transfer, but one with a sort of "yellow" color tint) in glorious 16x9 WS and they think "WOW...I want that!".

Then, as I'm sure Steve will tell you, any good salesman will explain through the course of answering questions that just because you've got a widescreen TV doesn't automatically mean that you'll never see black bars anymore.

We used to have a 2.35 DVD that once a customer was excited with the system and comfortable with learning about OAR, we'd pull out to show them how a 2.35 movie looked. Ususally by that point, because they had been educated about OAR and it's benefits, they were comfortable with the way the transfer looked.

If you ask your average consumer to bite off more than they can chew right off the bat they won't even try. Give them a little that tastes good then tell them more once they're ready to learn. Remember...many of these people will be learning for the FIRST TIME that most movies are not the same shape as their 4x3 TV!

Here's my personal list of stellar 1.78:1 transfers for demo purposes:

Animated:

Ice Age
Toy Story 1 and 2 (near perfect...absolutely reference setting)
Monstors INC
Chicken Run
Dinosaur

Live Action:

Pleasantville
Songcatcher
Spider Man
Topsy-Turvy (GREAT demo...fabric, color, texture, and awesome 5.1 sound with musical numbers)
The Santa Claus (WS SE)

Even though it's 2.35 you *should* have 5th Element (SB) and Moulin Rouge on stand-by for that inquisitive customer.

-dave

 

[James Edward]

If I were you, I'd seriously consider some music DVD's:

The Last Waltz
Bruce Springsteen Live in NYC
Roger Waters In The Flesh
Yes: Symphonic Live
Queen- We Will Rock You
Elton John- One Night Only

Most people like music, and I'd bet that these would have greater 'spouse acceptance factor' than war movies, or even animated movies. And since animated movies are generally geared toward children, they would not be the ones to open the purse strings.
Another factor is that you could generally leave these on without worrying about excessive cursing or the occasional sex scene.
Lastly- I am a bit of a home theater zealot, and I find that using concert DVD's ALWAYS seems to convert more people than a well transferred movie. There is no plot to know, and they just seem to push more emotional buttons.
I went to dinner with a couple last evening and we came back to my home for a quick demo; they stayed for 2 hours watching various concert clips.

Good Luck...

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Good point James. I had forgotten about music concerts as most of the one's I have are 4x3. That Bruce Springsteen DVD is definitely a winner!

 

[kevin_asai]

Well, no one mentioned Green Mile . This is a fantastic 1.85:1 transfer.
Other great transfer DVD (non-violent) are:
Vanilla Sky
Majestic
Pleasantville
Jerry Maguire Special Edition
Fly Away Home
Super Speedway Special Edition (Great demo disc)

 

[Mike_S]

"Speilberg is a 1.85:1 guy"

I guess more recently, he is. Don't forget the Indiana Jones Trilogy or 1941. The guy certainly knows how to lense a movie, regardless of subject matter.

-Mike

 

[BertFalasco]

Evolution
Deuce Bigalow
Akira: SE
Rocky: SE
Resident Evil: SE
Young Frankenstein: SE
Thirteen Days: Inifilm
Band of Brothers

 

[Dave H]

Minority Report was 2:35, as well...a recent Speilberg.

I think Lucas had the final call on Raiders being 2:35, but maybe Spielberg wanted it too.

 

[SteveHarvey]

Thank you guys, I'm going to get some DVDs for us tomorrow, I just haven't been able to find many 1:85s that would be good. I do explain that there are still some DVDs that will have black bars, but having to distort and stretch a great looking movie like Goldmember, Episode 2, or LOTR is never a good thing, especially when that's the first thing they see. In our audio rooms, we have it run in S-video, from a few different DVD players run through a switchboard and then run 25 feet to the plasma. Anything we can do to make it look better is a good thing. No matter how good the processor in a television is, stretching it in any way never looks good.

Any more ideas, please keep posting . . .

 

[Patrick TX]

Aliens is 1:85. It is the only DVD in the Alien Legacy set that is, all the others are 2:35. May be a wee bit violent though. Spy Kids is an absolute BEAUTY on DVD! Amazing transfer!

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Aliens is extremely dark and has some distracting compression artifacting, along with being *extremely* grainy as this was Cameron's style. In that sense, it's not the best material for showing off PQ on a projector (though it could be used as a torture-test for black-starved digital projectors when trying to really put them through the paces).

Spy Kids is right on the money for a great "demo disc".

 

[Andy_MT]

walking with dinosaurs (bbc doc series) looks very good if you want to demonstrate something more "educational" - perhaps for families with kids.

i heard spy kids had an abundance of edge enhancement. at least that's what widescreen review says, although this from the people that gave all those old disney non 16x9 transfers 5/5.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I like the following...

- Vertical Limit superbit
- Starship Troopers (violent)
- Jurassic Park 3 (not bad)

 

[Jon Robertson]

I agree with all of the above, but here are three mesmerisingly gorgeous discs from Criterion: Juliet of the Spirits, Written on the Wind and In the Mood for Love.