Terminator 2 Extreme DVD (1 Viewer)

[Jim Mcc]

I just saw this movie last night on my X1 projector, and the picture is just fantastic. Are there any more movies out on DVD shot with the special HD cameras they used for T2 Extreme? I'm talking about for a DVD player, not computer. Thanks.

 

[Stephen Brooks]

T2 was shot on film, quite a long time ago actually, well before it was viable to shoot an entire movie digitally. It was remastered digitally for the Extreme DVD using a 1920x1080 24p high-definition transfer process (which is pretty commonplace nowadays, I'm surprised Cameron didn't just go with a full 4K restoration).

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Yes, the DVD transfer is quite good, but the WMV HD version on the second disc is even better than that, being HD of course!

 

[Harold Southard]

This dvd shows just how good an older movie that is properly restored and tranfered can look. They did a great job on it.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Are there any more movies out on DVD shot with the special HD cameras they used for T2 Extreme?

Hi, Jim:

Not exactly sure what you're asking. Are there other discs that include an HD version that requires WMP 9 to watch? Dunno. T2 is the only one out right now that I personally know of but there's probably others.

Are there movies shot with HD cameras available on DVD? You bet - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Spy Kids 3-D and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (unless I'm mistaken).

There are also movies created in the digital realm and transferred directly to DVD without the use of a film interpositive. The Pixar films and PDI films and some animated films older than 1990 (Dinosaur, Aladdin, Shrek, Atlantis the Lost Empire, Finding Nemo), as well as digital restorations of classics like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and parts of Fantasia.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

There are a number of films in WMV HD. Standing in the Shadows of Motown is the other commonly available regular movie, along with quite a few IMAX films, and numerous clips on microsoft's WMV HD showcase website.

There are also quite a few being released in Europe/Germany. There are some folks buying these through contacts in europe, I've seen a few downloaded clips and they look quite good.

 

[Jonny_L]

Samples and Lists of what WMV HD offers is available on the website.

 

[Jim Mcc]

Thanks guys, but again, I'm only talking about DVD's I can watch with a DVD player, NOT computer. Thanks.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

But jim: the point is that there is nothing special about T2, except that it is a good transfer. It was not filmed using HD video cameras. It was filmed using film. There are movies that were filmed using HD Video cameras, Collateral is the most recent (about 85% or so HD Video, the rest film I think). If you buy pretty much any DVD, it came from film, which resolves above SD resolutions, quality film prints can definitely exceed HD in ideal conditions (rare, like IMAX). If a film is transferred well, at high bitrates to DVD, it will look incredible.

But T2 wasn't filmed in HD-Video or anything, it was filmed on film just like most any other movie out there.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"Thanks guys, but again, I'm only talking about DVD's I can watch with a DVD player, NOT computer. Thanks."

Then you didn't watch T2 in HD, since it was not shot with HD cameras and a stand-alone DVD player cannot play the HD version. That requires WMP 9.

You just watched a very good production of T2 on DVD, no different than the hundereds (thousands?) of other good DVD productions out there with quality audio and video. High def had nothing to do with it.

 

[Jim Mcc]

I understand what I watched wasn't HD. I just wish all film to DVD transfers looked this good. Is the transfer method too expensive to use for most DVD's? Most of the old movies transfered to DVD look terrible, so grainy, etc. So I don't watch those on my projector.

 

[Matt Czyz]

You haven't seen what Warner Bros. has been putting out, then.

Also, grain is not always a bad thing. It's inherent in how movies are filmed. Trying to erase all signs of it only increases the odds that the picture will suffer in some way.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Jim, transfers will vary in quality for a whole number of reasons. Some is because the film source that is being telecined to video is poor, sometimes because the bitrate to encode the video to the DVD is low, somtimes it's both. But there are many high-quality DVDs out there, and I don't recall if there is a "Reference" DVD thread on HTF somewhere, I'm almost sure that there is, or at least quite a few reference/demo/showoff DVD threads that occur. I would search for those and take a look at some of the movies mentioned for high quality video.

 

[BrianShort]

I just received this DVD the other day. I don't care for the interactual player. When I start the player, it brings up a message that says "Playback failed due to a problem with the video subsystem. Lowering your screen resolution or color depth may fix the problem" How do I fix this? Gives me this message while using 32 bit color, 1280x1024, and 1280x720 on my TV, and some wierd resolution I also use on my TV to remove the overscan (11xx by 680 or something like that) - TV is a Sony 42" A10 LCD rptv. Color depth down to 16 bit didn't do anything either. I found where the actual WMV files were on the DVD and they play fine through media player 10. Sound mix seemed a bit off though compared to the regular DVD.

Windows XP Home
GeForce GTS 6600GT
DFI LanBoy UT 250 motherboard
1 gig ram
Turtle Beach Montego DDL

I have the Coral Reef Adventure DVD with the WMVHD version, and the interface is great, it looks beautiful, and sounds awesome. Wish Artisan's T2-HD interface could have been so good.

 

[Mark Lucas]

I don't think the transfer of T2 is all that good. The colors and detail are far better than the previous transfers but the bitrate is so low most of the time that the picture is really soft. The WMV HD version on disc 2 definitely blows it out of the water though, even though it's not using full horizontal HD res.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Keep in mind that having a flawless, clear, video-like image isn't really a mark of true quality.

I think the T2 Extreme Edition is one of the flawless-looking DVD's ever. However, it's a 1991 film with extensive manual removal of dirt and scratches. There's a ton of cases with a film from before the 1970's that are really reference quality...


Good examples:

1960's - Bullitt: SE (natural film grain, but nearly all dirt/scratches removed, no digital artifacts)

1950's - Rear Window: Masterpiece Set edition (natural film grain, but razor-sharp)

1940's - Casablanca: SE (flawless)

1930's - You Can't Cheat An Honest Man [in W.C. Fields Comedy Collection] (nearly spotless, razor-sharp)

1920's - Metropolis [Kino] (Full digital restoration)

Keep in mind that with a home theater system, like any other a/v system, it's meant to serve the media. After all, who cares if a Slim Whitman record comes through clear on a $10,000 audio system?

 

[Mark Lucas]

You have to be kidding about Rear Window being reference quality. The original dvd is soft and mushy throughout and from the screen captures I've seen the dvd in the Hitchcock set is not much different.

 

[Patrick McCart]

You may have to look a little closer...

Here's the original 2001 DVD:

[url=http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/6104/rw20017hs.jpg] [/url]

Here's the new Masterpiece Collection DVD:

[url=http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/9997/rw20051ts.jpg] [/url]

Rear Window has the disadvantage of being shot on a grainy stock, but the 1998 restoration (as well as the new remaster) show off how detailed the image really is. Note that in the old DVD, you cannot see the lines on the sleeve. On the new one, they're razor sharp (and visible). I think fine detail is the most important aspect of a video transfer. Pretty much any system will show Attack of the Clones in perfect quality, but I think it's more impressive to be able to show fine grain and detail like this correctly.

(Captures from Dave P's Hitchcock site)

 

[Michael Osadciw]

T2 is flawed in the audio. Listen to Ultimate or Extreme DVD 5.1 soundtracks (DD or DTS) and the audio has a noticable shift to the left channel. All phantom imaging that should be dead center between left and right channels is somewhere between center and left channel. If memory serves me correct, I think the right channel also sounded a little out of phase...

Mike

 

[Mike Wadkins]

The wmvhd site is saying that robots was released in wmvhd is this right?