NEW LINE: Best sounding DVDs (1 Viewer)

[Yumbo]

I must observe:

FOTRings
All About The Benjamins
Life As A House
I Am Sam (not as good)
Rush Hour 2

and many previous titles.

makes recent Disney, Warner, Paramount, Columbia titles sound muffled in comparison.

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

Eh... Blade II, anyone?

 

[Chris Tedesco]

Yeah, I'm all about Blade II as best sounding disk released to date. Maybe the LOTR extended with DTS will be right up there with it.

 

[JeremySt]

SE7EN Platinum Edition

 

[Neil Joseph]

Lost In Space?

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I thought the soundtrack of the LotR:FotR DVD sounded compressed, unnatural, and fatiguing. I found it to be an otherwise exemplary release and believe that it was one of the best films of last year.
Strangely, when I offer my observations on the sound, I every so often (not too much on this forum) get reactions like I just tore up a picture of the Pope on live television.
Despite my misgivings on the sound of one title, however, I agree that New Line is one of the most dependable "brand names" when it comes to good sounding DVD releases.
As for Lost in Space. It has one of the most kick-a$$ soundtracks I could ever hope to never hear again for the rest of my life. For me, it's the anti-LotR:FotR. Despite my qualms about the sound of the DVD of Peter Jackson's 1/3rd opus, I will still watch it multiple times and enjoy it. I get physically ill about the thought of seeing Lost in Space, but can't deny that it is a technically well produced DVD.
Regards,

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

New Line soundtracks are "remastered" for home use by Mi Casa. They say "remastered". I say "juiced". You say "best sounding" but I say the FOTR DVD soundtrack is a ridiculous exaggeration of what I heard in the theater. If this practice continues then the logical conclusion is that DVD soundtracks will fall victim to the same senseless procedures that ruined CDs over the past ten years.

 

[Yumbo]

I agree they sound juiced relatively speaking - nice juice.

Well, what the other studios put out also doesn't sound the same as what I hear in cinemas, and they sound like a flat tire.

Preferences.

I don't buy DVDs to strain my ears AT HOME just to hear the damned dialogue (non NEW LINE).

 

[NickFoley]

The Time Warner family (New Line & Warner Bros.) IMO offer the best sounding DVDs, and some of the best looking.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Well, sound quality on DVD has more to do with sound design.

For example, FOTR and I Am Sam probably have the same excellence of quality, but Sam doesn't have the same dynamic design that FOTR.

Also, comparing Blade II with The Mack isn't going anywhere. One movie was made with the best possible recording conditions...the other was made with a low budget and analog equipment.

Then again...you can compare many remastered tracks from 1930's films (Snow White for example) and they sound flawless, while you get lousy quality 5.1 tracks from Winstar's Cartoon Crazies DVDs.

IMO, there's no use in comparing sound tracks on DVDs except for obvious mistakes like hiss which can be cleaned up easily.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

It depends on how and where you saw FOTR. I saw it at an employee screening last November in Sherman Oaks in a brand-new theater and the sound was the best theatrical sound I've EVER heard. When I saw it again (in Toledo over Xmas and at another newer LA theatre, The Bridge), it didn't sound nearly as strong— particularly Sauron's demise at the beginning.

The DVD sounds much more like the original theatrical release I saw in Sherman Oaks— and not "juiced" at all.

 

[Jerome Grate]

I agree, especially now that both sound formats are on there.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I saw LOTR at a local AMC theater, probably in SDDS on the opening weekend. I thought the sound was wonderful. The DVD sounds like it has been "juiced" like the most recent Pink CD. If it were not for the LFE headroom, there would be no real dynamics at all. There are lots of people who are not sensitive to this, but it drives me crazy.

There have been reviews that praised the DVD for its dynamics, but all I hear is crude transitions from near silent to very loud. There is very little dynamic "life" to the track.

Regards,

 

[Rich Romero]

I think the Dolby Track on the Fellowship accurately represents the original soundmix. I saw this 3 times in a state of the art Dolby EX theater and it sounds VERY much the same.

777 posts. Cool.

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

For a low budget film from 1993, Surf Ninjas doesn't sound that bad.