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Which DVD is considered to be THE reference as far a picture quality is concerned? (1 Viewer)

LukeB

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2000
Messages
2,178
An obscure title that most people don't own, but it's video quality blew me away:

The Whole Nine Yards
 

Jason Watson

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 10, 1999
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139
Ok, this obscure in the extreme, but I saw a Sony demo disc, not available to the public(?), that was unbelievable. It was viewed on the very VPL11HT projecting onto a 104" screen, that was reviewed in Widescreen Review, and at the reviewer's house. The system was very capable.I think this DVD came closer to Hi-Def than any available. Dont think you could be transfixed by images of room settings, fruit bowls,pans accross vegetables at the market, buildings and bridges? Find this disc and be amazed. Oh, and if you do,let me know where. I could not pry Bill's copy away.;)
 

Pete B.

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jul 12, 1999
Messages
58
From the viewpoint of a front projector owner:

The Rock: Criterion

Gladiator

Final Fantasy

Spy Kids

The Perfect Storm

Pitch Black

Se7en: Platinum Series
 

Michel_Hafner

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 28, 2002
Messages
1,350
The answer is no. I have not seen any DVD that tests the

limits of the medium. I doubt that there is one.

MH
 

Dave Mack

Senior HTF Member
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Jan 28, 2002
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4,671
I agree that Moulin Rouge is Beautiful to look at but just a BIT soft. Training Day looks better to me. And even though it is NON anamorphic, "Titanic" is still the best "looking'" transfer I've ever seen. Man, if it had ONLY been anamorphic...!!!!!!
:) D
 

LuisH

Agent
Joined
Nov 15, 2001
Messages
39
I think that the transfer in "The Wedding Planner" was fantastic. I love the beautiful San Fransisco setting.
 

Travis Olson

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 7, 2001
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Real Name
Travis Olson
My favorites are:
  • The Insider: Not a hint of EE that I can notice.
  • Titanic: No EE either too bad it's not 16x9 enhanced.
  • Training Day: Stunning detail.
  • The Pledge: Same as above.
  • Apocolypse Now Redux: Looks incredible for a film as old as it is.
 

TedD

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 9, 2001
Messages
698
I don't find Moulin Rouge soft at all on my FP.

What it doesn't have is EE. What is does have is a beautiful sharp image with resolution that shows every detail, freckle and skin blemish.

Probably one of the two best looking DVD's in my extensive collection.

Ted
 

Daniel J

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 8, 2001
Messages
186
I thought AVIA was considered the reference DVD, maybe there's something put out by the DVD consortium??
:D :D
I really like the PQ in Pitch Black
 

David Lambert

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2001
Messages
11,377
I was just flipping through this thread and am curious: does noone consider the T2:JD UE disc to have a transfer worth mentioning here?
When HTF had the recent poll "Pick 3 DVD's you'd recommend as must-haves to the new owner of a player", both T2 UE and Toy Story Box got mentioned again and again.
Since TS is "out" because it's animation, I'm just frankly surprised noone is mentioning T2? :confused:
I don't have what you'd call a "Home Theater" type tv - YET (the day is young, though) - so I'm not qualified to put in my own 2¢ worth! :D
 

Dan Brecher

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Jan 8, 1999
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Daniel
I remain VERY fond of the Fight Club transfer myself. Visually it is a very demanding film, and the DVD transfer does the cinematography a lot of justice... Same can be said for A.I in my opinion.
Dan
 

John_McKittrick

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Nov 9, 1999
Messages
226
Episode 1 is by far the DVD with the best EVERYTHING!!

Pearl Harbor

The Patriot

The Mummy Returns

all deserve honorable mentions.

John
 

DaViD Boulet

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 24, 1999
Messages
8,826
I don't find Moulin Rouge soft at all on my FP.

What it doesn't have is EE. What is does have is a beautiful sharp image with resolution that shows every detail, freckle and skin blemish.

Probably one of the two best looking DVD's in my extensive collection.
Ted, what type of FP system do you have? Right after the amazing "window like" picture from several other DVDs (not suffering from EE) I was really dismayed to see how soft and lacking in Detail Moulin Rouge looked. When I saw this in the theater my viewing angle was about identical to what I was getting on my friend's screen (I was near the back of the theater so I had a nice 30 degree viewing angle). I remember that Moulin Rouge looked amazingly detailed...I could easily discern details in the fabrics and textures that made me think "Wow...this will look GREAT in HD". Then with the DVD on the projector all those details had been obscured. The scene where from a distance you're looking at the elephant before the "your song" scene was a major dissapointment...all those fine micro-details were blurred on the DVD. Sure the DVD looks good...but compared to the detail that was visible in the film print at the theater it's clearly lacking.

Before someone jumps in and says "well DUH...the DVD will I *never* have all the detail of the original film print"...the reason why it bummed me out is that so many *other* DVDs *preserve* this sense of detail to a much larger degree (sure the DVD is never going to equal the resolution of film, but it can at least not leave you feeling cheated). The disc may look good on its own terms, but when compared against the level of detail that was present in the theatrical projection, it leads me to believe that while in most every other way the transfer of M.R. is reference (no sign of EE like you mention), it looks ever-so-slightly filtered for high-frequency detail.
 

Marc Colella

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 19, 1999
Messages
2,601
My list of reference level DVDs (excluding films that are CGI or animated):

The Pledge

The Insider

Felicia's Journey

A Simple Plan

The Thin Red Line

Topsy-Turvy

Shakespeare in Love
 

Frank Doorhof

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Feb 16, 1999
Messages
54
North by Northwest Region 2.

A customer brought this in, and this is AMAZING.

It's razorscharp, very 3D like, and the colors are very good.

Other great transfers, and demo pieces:

* Shanghai noon (counting crows)

* 13 Ghosts

* Whole nine yards

Greetings from Holland,

Frank
 

William Ward

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 1, 2000
Messages
701
You know what sucks????

Anyone notice how many super Blockbusters are on these lists.....

Looks like the studios are doing the "Barry Gordy" thing by dumbing the potential best selling DVDs down to look good on J6Ps 27" TV. Anyone want to bet that when Titanic is re-released it will suffer from Cast Away/TPM/Forrest Gump-itis???
 

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