Blu-Ray Best Of The Best - for discussing releases only

[JP]

I mentioned it in the "Bluray/HD bitch-fest" thread and it's really been blown out of proportion

I tend to try and avoid those types of threads as much as I can now to be honest lol.

There IS a loading screen and it's no longer than 5 seconds before the film has loaded the menus. There's only a few BDs with loading screens and it's no longer than the loading time for POTC. All this crap about it taking minutes to load, crashing, stuttering on the menus etc was a load of rubbish. It might be true for other machines, but the PS3 plays it perfectly

Edit - I just timed it...18 seconds from the moment the PS3 fades to black, and loads the disc, to the point where the Fox logo and music begins 18 seconds is NOT the same as 'a few minutes'

That doesn't seem close to the problems other independent sources are having!

You should be careful though. From what I've read on other forums it seems the real danger is when you are sleeping! Due to the strain of playing the disc your BD player comes to life and scratches all your BDVs and then turns itself into a HD-DVD player without you realising it!!!

True story...

[Lyris]

and then turns itself into a HD-DVD player

Oh no! Not that!!!!

[aidey6]

Probably Tescos for ?35 if you're after a PAL one - only sendit have it cheaper at ?32 but they only package their items in jiffies so expect damage if you go through them.

My copy of Spider-Man trilogy arrived ok from Sendit today

I just need a surround system so I can appreciate the Dolby TrueHD now...

[JP]

Oh no! Not that!!!!

IT'S TRUE, I READ IT ONLINE LYRIS!!!

Lol, just read through it again and it really wasn't supposed to sound like they are bad or something. Well, if that happened it would be for me as I have nothing to play on them...yet.

[RLench]

Add DVDTalk to my list of "BS Review Sites Who I'll Never Trust Again"

Apparently the first Spiderman has a very poor image quality, and only scored 2/5 I'm not normally someone who gets annoyed with reviews as I know that:

a, everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if they're wrong

b, they're probably tested on uncalibrated systems or, more likely, not even tested at all

But the thing that's really pissed me off is this quote...this is a complete and utter LIE. I can't even say "Maybe he's looking for different things than I am", as in the case of HidefDigest marking down Halloween's colour timing, because this is just absolute bollocks

Spider-Man: Having not seen the first film in a few years, I was shocked to discover that it's framed at 1.85:1. I had to double check that this wasn't some kind of mistake, but no, that's how it was shot and exhibited, and that's what we get here. And the fact that it's in OAR is about the best thing I can say about it. This is the worst high-profile transfer I've seen since the early days of Blu-ray. The brightness in dark scenes have been jacked up, turning the blacks into murky blues. I often saw stray flashes of colors where they weren't supposed to be, perhaps breaking up the solid color of a wall or girder. Detail is extremely low, to the point where I felt like I was watching a DVD, and maybe not even an upconverted one. 2 Stars.

The worst high-profile transfer since Bluray began? WTF?! No...just, no.
"Felt like a DVD, and maybe not even an upconverted one" (kids, if you're confused: that's because upscaling DVDs ADD detail to the image )

Someone on AVS posted some DVD>Bluray comparisons to show this is completely wrong. I won't try and influence your opinion but see if you can notice a difference...then tell me if this looks like "one of the worst Bluray releases ever"

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=925331

...and the scary thing is, some dickheads agreed with the reviewer (I bet they haven't even seen it yet tbh)

[Lyris]

IT'S TRUE, I READ IT ONLINE LYRIS!!!

Lol, just read through it again and it really wasn't supposed to sound like they are bad or something. Well, if that happened it would be for me as I have nothing to play on them...yet.

Oh don't worry, I knew you were joking - I was laughing at the really rabid format fanboys (see some of the posters at blu-ray.com).

RLench: some reviewers come out with stuff that's so off-the-wall, it's hilarious. I criticise a lot of reviews and probably look like a total dick for it, but that's because I believe that a lot of reviewing a video transfer is talking about facts which are either right or wrong. For example: does the video transfer have detail down to a single-pixel level or thereabouts? If it does, that's a fact: the transfer is detailed. Does it have annoying edge ringing/sharpening? If so, again it's a fact. There's some lee-way for opinion but overall, I still can't believe some of the stuff that comes out of review sites.

From the screen captures on that page, I wouldn't say that the transfer is top-notch, but comparing it to the NTSC DVD is ridiculous.

[MikeRox]

There IS a loading screen and it's no longer than 5 seconds before the film has loaded the menus. There's only a few BDs with loading screens and it's no longer than the loading time for POTC. All this crap about it taking minutes to load, crashing, stuttering on the menus etc was a load of rubbish. It might be true for other machines, but the PS3 plays it perfectly

Edit - I just timed it...18 seconds from the moment the PS3 fades to black, and loads the disc, to the point where the Fox logo and music begins 18 seconds is NOT the same as 'a few minutes'

I believe the loading issues are on stand alone players, the PS3 is the finest BD player on the market and seems to suffer none of the problems that are being reported with BDs on stand alone players (there is a video on youtube of Pirates of the Caribbean taking like 10 minutes to load >_<)

Either way, Starship Troopers works great for me, thats the only BD film I've got so, so far my experience is positive with both formats and I really don't see what all the fuss is about, though I suppose us being gamers we can swallow the concept of just owning both formats a lot easier than most can.

[JP]

Got this from EzyDVD today:

Hi,

Thank you for ordering Die Hard - With A Vengeance (Blu-ray) from EzyDVD!

We would like to inform you that Fox have changed the release date for this title to Wednesday, 12 December.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Regards
----------------------------
EzyDVD - Online DVD Sales
www.ezydvd.com.au
----------------------------

It's not something I'm desperate to get as I only pre-ordered it from them due to it being the only uncut version. Still disappointing though.

Now I'm wondering why they've just delayed this one...

[mackemansj1]

Its fox on bluray is there title that hasnt.

[teddymeow]

I watched Spider-man 3 at the weekend after the missus managed to get a free copy from her place of work and, although the film wasn't much cop (I thought it was overlong with too many talky scenes and not enough action. And why did Venom sound like a "dude"...) it looked stunning. The special effects were great and the image quality had a nice, natural feel about it.

I haven't bought many Blu-ray for a while but there's plenty coming out soon to tempt me back into the fray

[JP]

Michael Bay "My Money's on Blu-ray"

He may be the man behind the best-selling HD DVD debut yet, but Michael Bay says he's still betting on Blu-ray.

As we've previously reported, the outspoken director made quite a stir back in September when he briefly posted a message to his blog saying that he was reconsidering doing a sequel to 'Transformers' after learning that Paramount would not be issuing a Blu-ray edition of his megahit film. Although he quickly recanted that blog post, it seems the director still isn't fully sold on HD DVD.

In new comments published in this morning's USA Today, Bay once again makes his own personal preference known.

"As a director, my critical eye is that Blu-ray is where my money is," explains Bay. Of the format war in general, he says "It's short-sighted and it has delayed consumers' moving to HD (home video)... Consumers are smart, and they are going to wait it out."

Bay's new comments come on the heels of yesterday's announcement that his 'Transformers' HD DVD had broken first-week sales records for any disc released on either format, selling over 190,000 units in its first seven days.

His money may well be on Blu-ray but with more comments like this it does seem that HD-DVDs money was well and truly on him when he shut up complaining about HD-DVD last time.

[JP]

Good news or bad news for Blu-ray supporters? You decide...

Sony has announced it will ring in the new year with the mutant zombies of 'Resident Evil,' when it brings the two remaining films in the trilogy to Blu-ray this January as both stand-alone releases and in a complete box set version.

Adapted from the smash video game, the original 'Resident Evil' scared up over $100 million at the worldwide box office back in 2002, spawning a franchise that included 2004's 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse,' and this year's 'Resident Evil: Extinction,' which has been billed as the last in the trilogy.

Although Sony issued the second film in the series on Blu-ray this past January, the first film had (until now) been MIA, and 'Extinction' is only now just winding down its run in theaters. That will all change on January 2nd (a rare Wednesday release, a day after the New Year's holiday), when Sony will unleash both 'Resident Evil' and 'Extinction' in stand-alone versions, as well as a complete 'Resident Evil Trilogy' box set containing all three films.

The studio hasn't provided any tech specs or supplemental details yet on either of the new 'Resident Evil' releases, but a full press release is expected in the coming days. Needless to say, we'll keep you posted.

List prices will run the gamut, from $28.98 for 'Resident Evil,' $39.98 for 'Resident Evil: Extinction,' and $59.98 for the complete 'Resident Evil Trilogy.'

[JP]

This is in the bargains thread too but Planet Earth (Blu-ray) is ?37:99 at Woollies online!

Or you can pre-order it for the same price in the shops.

It's supposed to be ?49:99, I've not seen it but I have heard it's fantastic so I'll definitely be getting this one.

[dvdmike]

Good news or bad news for Blu-ray supporters? You decide...

The first one was ok and I really dug the third one it was fun with some pretty cool action, The second I will burn and sh#t on for starters.
Puls in the 3rd on BRD her digital smoothing will stand out more lol

[JP]

It's me yet again!

Sony Blu-ray sale up to 60&#37; off! Prices start at &#163;9:89!