Question:
Here's my short review that I posted on the Home Theatre Forum:
- Picture quality is fantastic. Not perfect, but close. Excellent detail, particularly in the shadows. Colours are far more vivid than on the screener I saw, with Lorien looking slightly greener and the Shire displaying a rich, warm glow. A more satisfying visual experience than in theatres, I'd say. I didn't notice any edge enhancement, although I'm only viewing on a 28" widescreen CRT display. However, I did notice it on Star Wars, and by comparison, Fellowship blows it out of the water. Grain is consistent and fine, retaining a film-like look. NTSC pulldown artifacts bothered me slightly on occasion, due to the contrasty nature of certain scenes (Moria, with it's long tracking shots, and Hobbiton particularly). However, those with progressive scan displays have no need to worry.
- The sound was fine. Excellent attention to detail, as I had expected. Placement of dialogue and effects was excellent. I only have a 5.1 setup, so I couldn't test the rear centre channel. Howard Shore's score in particular sounded awesome (where's that expanded score?). For such a long movie, I noticed no compression of the soundtrack. This bodes extremely well for the DTS-ES track, which, spread over two discs and remixed, should be up there with the very best. One small note of worry: on several occasions, dialogue seemed out of synch. I tried stopping and starting, and switched between the stereo and 5.1 tracks, but got the same result. Noticed this particularly in Moria (when Gandalf and Frodo are talking to one another). Probably just a looping issue, confined to a small portion of the movie.
- Extras: Haven't had a chance to watch the documentaries yet (I've already seen the FOX one, which is fine if a bit lacking in detail). The 15 featurettes are the exact same ones from the official website. They look as though they were sourced from analogue rather than digital, but the content is OK. A bit redundant once you've seen the movie, to be honest. The two teaser trailers and full length trailer are present and correct, although they don't look as nice as the versions hidden on Rush Hour 2. Anamorphic and 5.1, so I can't grumble! Haven't watched the TV spots. The preview of the extended version is great! Lots more than I'd been expecting, with glimpses of the new opening, the extended prologue battle, Sam and Frodo glimpsing the Elves as they leave the Shire, the gift-giving scene, Gollum on a log, and much more that I'm sure you've all read about. The 10 minute Two Towers preview is great. It's a mixture of behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the film, all in 5.1 and set to Howard Shore's music. We get to see most of the stuff from the recent teaser trailer, plus a couple of minutes new stuff. Of most interest to me was motion capture session with Andy Serkis as Gollum, and a couple of shots of Serkis on location with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, acting through Gollum's movements. Fascinating stuff! Finally, we have a preview of EA's Two Towers game (which I've just read will be coming to GameCube, as well as PS2 and GameBoy Advance). It looks OK, but there's really no sense of what it'll be like to play.
- The packaging is sweet (although I ripped the sleeve slightly when removing the security stickers - arghhhh!). Simple, elegant design (front & back) in a deep, moss green double-amaray case. Inside, you get a lightweight fold-out insert, with chapter names and a smattering of pictures. Also, for US customers only, a coupon offering a rebate when buying the extended version.
I really cannot wait to show this baby off to my friends. My brother's girlfiend has never seen the film, nor has she read the books. I can't wait to see her reaction when we all sit down to watch it on Saturday, because I'm now getting the feeling that the best way to watch Fellowhship of the Ring is on DVD! Seriously, all the effects shots look 100% better. The ones that looked great now look seamless (background plates, scale models, Hobbit effects) and the slightly ropey ones (CG characters) now look more integrated. I'm sure it's just to do with the size of the screen, but I'm a lot more comfortable with the way the whole film looks now - it's so much easier to drink in the detail all at once, without having to scan your eyes across the image all the time.
Nice review there, although the lip-synch problems are slightly worrying! Can't wait for this, now, if only CD Wow would hurry up and despatch it :(
nice review mate, thanks
does ya R1 version have DTS?
No DTS on this version, sorry mate. Only on the November Platinum Series edition. However, do not be mislead to believe that this DD-EX track is bad - it is probably the best track I have heard, bar perhaps Saving Private Ryan (in DTS).
cheers for the reply matey ;)
Nice review mate. A question for you - have you ever fancied reviewing for a website? Send me an email ;)
watched my copy last night on my panasonic projector and i realy enjoyed it. The sound mix is demo material i tested the ddex track and it adds so much to the experience with lots of steering effects coming from the rear center and side rears.
No evidence of lipsinc problems on my canadian copy
Don't worry, it's not a lip-synch issue caused by faulty software - it's just the way the film has been dubbed in certain places. I went and checked my *ahem* screener copy, and the dialogue is ever-so-slightly out in parts of the Moria sequence - people have put this down to McKellen's pronunciation, but I have witnessed slight delays in lines from Gimli ("Mithril" and "You are full of surprises, Master Baggins"), Aragorn ("that spear would have skewered a wild boar!"), Boromir ("they have a cave troll!") and Frodo ("I wish The Ring had never come to me"). Gandalf has the most ("To the bridge of Khazad-Dum", "the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of men", "I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye", to name but a few). There are even some out-of-synch sound effects, such as the skull toppling down the well (the clang as it hits the side happens to early), and arrows hitting the door next to Boromir.
They are so few and far between that they must be mixing errors, present in the theatrical prints also. Unless you have a keen eye and a sensitive ear, and have seen the film many many times, I doubt you would pick up on it.
I was under the impression that DTS doesn't suffer from lipsync problems as DD does because DTS is time-indexed whereas DD is indexed from the start of a chapter. So as a chapter progresses then the picture and sound can become out of sync in DD, but not DTS as it's indexed every second. Or something like that :confused:
Originally posted by Jay
I was under the impression that DTS doesn't suffer from lipsync problems as DD does because DTS is time-indexed whereas DD is indexed from the start of a chapter. So as a chapter progresses then the picture and sound can become out of sync in DD, but not DTS as it's indexed every second. Or something like that :confused: That only stops the sound and audio streams losing sync with each other. It doesn't stop the other 3 sources of lip sync errors, mainly:
1) Bad authoring causing the sound and audio streams to be slightly out of sync even when by time stamps they are perfectly in sync.
2) Minor editing errors causing the audio stream to be out of sync for some scenes(this will affect the theatrical release as well)
3) ADR not matching original mouth movements closely enough(this also will have effected the theatrical release)
From Siths description it sounds like its some combination of reasons 2 & 3.
- Picture quality is fantastic. Not perfect, but close. Excellent detail, particularly in the shadows. Colours are far more vivid than on the screener I saw, with Lorien looking slightly greener and the Shire displaying a rich, warm glow. A more satisfying visual experience than in theatres, I'd say. I didn't notice any edge enhancement, although I'm only viewing on a 28" widescreen CRT display. However, I did notice it on Star Wars, and by comparison, Fellowship blows it out of the water. Grain is consistent and fine, retaining a film-like look. NTSC pulldown artifacts bothered me slightly on occasion, due to the contrasty nature of certain scenes (Moria, with it's long tracking shots, and Hobbiton particularly). However, those with progressive scan displays have no need to worry.
- The sound was fine. Excellent attention to detail, as I had expected. Placement of dialogue and effects was excellent. I only have a 5.1 setup, so I couldn't test the rear centre channel. Howard Shore's score in particular sounded awesome (where's that expanded score?). For such a long movie, I noticed no compression of the soundtrack. This bodes extremely well for the DTS-ES track, which, spread over two discs and remixed, should be up there with the very best. One small note of worry: on several occasions, dialogue seemed out of synch. I tried stopping and starting, and switched between the stereo and 5.1 tracks, but got the same result. Noticed this particularly in Moria (when Gandalf and Frodo are talking to one another). Probably just a looping issue, confined to a small portion of the movie.
- Extras: Haven't had a chance to watch the documentaries yet (I've already seen the FOX one, which is fine if a bit lacking in detail). The 15 featurettes are the exact same ones from the official website. They look as though they were sourced from analogue rather than digital, but the content is OK. A bit redundant once you've seen the movie, to be honest. The two teaser trailers and full length trailer are present and correct, although they don't look as nice as the versions hidden on Rush Hour 2. Anamorphic and 5.1, so I can't grumble! Haven't watched the TV spots. The preview of the extended version is great! Lots more than I'd been expecting, with glimpses of the new opening, the extended prologue battle, Sam and Frodo glimpsing the Elves as they leave the Shire, the gift-giving scene, Gollum on a log, and much more that I'm sure you've all read about. The 10 minute Two Towers preview is great. It's a mixture of behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the film, all in 5.1 and set to Howard Shore's music. We get to see most of the stuff from the recent teaser trailer, plus a couple of minutes new stuff. Of most interest to me was motion capture session with Andy Serkis as Gollum, and a couple of shots of Serkis on location with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, acting through Gollum's movements. Fascinating stuff! Finally, we have a preview of EA's Two Towers game (which I've just read will be coming to GameCube, as well as PS2 and GameBoy Advance). It looks OK, but there's really no sense of what it'll be like to play.
- The packaging is sweet (although I ripped the sleeve slightly when removing the security stickers - arghhhh!). Simple, elegant design (front & back) in a deep, moss green double-amaray case. Inside, you get a lightweight fold-out insert, with chapter names and a smattering of pictures. Also, for US customers only, a coupon offering a rebate when buying the extended version.
I really cannot wait to show this baby off to my friends. My brother's girlfiend has never seen the film, nor has she read the books. I can't wait to see her reaction when we all sit down to watch it on Saturday, because I'm now getting the feeling that the best way to watch Fellowhship of the Ring is on DVD! Seriously, all the effects shots look 100% better. The ones that looked great now look seamless (background plates, scale models, Hobbit effects) and the slightly ropey ones (CG characters) now look more integrated. I'm sure it's just to do with the size of the screen, but I'm a lot more comfortable with the way the whole film looks now - it's so much easier to drink in the detail all at once, without having to scan your eyes across the image all the time.
Answers:
Nice review there, although the lip-synch problems are slightly worrying! Can't wait for this, now, if only CD Wow would hurry up and despatch it :(
Answers:
nice review mate, thanks
does ya R1 version have DTS?
Answers:
No DTS on this version, sorry mate. Only on the November Platinum Series edition. However, do not be mislead to believe that this DD-EX track is bad - it is probably the best track I have heard, bar perhaps Saving Private Ryan (in DTS).
Answers:
cheers for the reply matey ;)
Answers:
Nice review mate. A question for you - have you ever fancied reviewing for a website? Send me an email ;)
Answers:
watched my copy last night on my panasonic projector and i realy enjoyed it. The sound mix is demo material i tested the ddex track and it adds so much to the experience with lots of steering effects coming from the rear center and side rears.
No evidence of lipsinc problems on my canadian copy
Answers:
Don't worry, it's not a lip-synch issue caused by faulty software - it's just the way the film has been dubbed in certain places. I went and checked my *ahem* screener copy, and the dialogue is ever-so-slightly out in parts of the Moria sequence - people have put this down to McKellen's pronunciation, but I have witnessed slight delays in lines from Gimli ("Mithril" and "You are full of surprises, Master Baggins"), Aragorn ("that spear would have skewered a wild boar!"), Boromir ("they have a cave troll!") and Frodo ("I wish The Ring had never come to me"). Gandalf has the most ("To the bridge of Khazad-Dum", "the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of men", "I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye", to name but a few). There are even some out-of-synch sound effects, such as the skull toppling down the well (the clang as it hits the side happens to early), and arrows hitting the door next to Boromir.
They are so few and far between that they must be mixing errors, present in the theatrical prints also. Unless you have a keen eye and a sensitive ear, and have seen the film many many times, I doubt you would pick up on it.
Answers:
I was under the impression that DTS doesn't suffer from lipsync problems as DD does because DTS is time-indexed whereas DD is indexed from the start of a chapter. So as a chapter progresses then the picture and sound can become out of sync in DD, but not DTS as it's indexed every second. Or something like that :confused:
Answers:
Originally posted by Jay
I was under the impression that DTS doesn't suffer from lipsync problems as DD does because DTS is time-indexed whereas DD is indexed from the start of a chapter. So as a chapter progresses then the picture and sound can become out of sync in DD, but not DTS as it's indexed every second. Or something like that :confused: That only stops the sound and audio streams losing sync with each other. It doesn't stop the other 3 sources of lip sync errors, mainly:
1) Bad authoring causing the sound and audio streams to be slightly out of sync even when by time stamps they are perfectly in sync.
2) Minor editing errors causing the audio stream to be out of sync for some scenes(this will affect the theatrical release as well)
3) ADR not matching original mouth movements closely enough(this also will have effected the theatrical release)
From Siths description it sounds like its some combination of reasons 2 & 3.
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