In-depth DVD and movie reviews - the JBL sound!

[JBL 4645]

Watching Black Rain right now while LCR/LFE.1 remain muted as I’m only interested in monitoring the surrounds.

They appear to be split-stereo surround. Nice discreteness of effects and occasionally music

There is weird sounding moment when Nick Michael Douglas hustles for some money along the river-side of New York. One of the bikers hands him the money that he just lost on bet. (The rustling of the money is heard on the surrounds equally each side centre phantom).

Chapter 2, time 00:04:54

It’s not the first time I’ve heard strange and exotic mixes that have odd sound placement. There is moment in Crimson Tide that has sound image that is heard on left surround.

The image looks okay over the murky muddy washed out milky colours of the VHS that I still have in its pan & scan form. The film was photographed in super35 not one of my favourite formats its framed in 2.35:1

While trying to enjoy my evening microwave meal! The db level on the surrounds between DolbyTure and (dtsHDMA is +1db) wow! Back to my meal!

I would prefer if dts was only used on films that was exclusively produced for dts like that of the early days of T-Rex, Jurassic Park!

The surrounds have very little directional effects in the meat factory where Nick cashes down a Japanese gangster. Lots of Han Zimmer syth percussion.

There are moments where the surrounds go mute, leaving only the LCR playing. In Dolby stereo all the channels will be constantly active with sound due to the nature of Dolby stereo matrix circuitry.

Chapter 22 Andy Garcia is trapped with gang of Japanese tugs motorbikes whirl around very, very subtlety in loudly chaos way that echoes along the hollow surroundings.

I think Black Rain is worthy of frequency waterfalls later on.

-I can take anything I want?
-Anything.
[Pulls gun from its holster with dramatic music!]

Nice punchy end credits I can see why this was nominated for best achievement in Sound 1989 Oscar®.

Re-recoding mixers
Donald O. Mitchell
Kevin O’Connell
Greg P. Russell

[hjames]

Well over here in Bournemouth that’s Dorset! We use it a lot! And a lot of it today because I’m really mad right now!! as consumer so you, might want to cover you’re eyes-up, okay!

Cursing just means you don't have enough words at your command to say it any other way ... but I digress ...

But its still no f$%^king excuse for these idiots to do a piss poor job, because it reflects badly on their company.

Sure it is - they crank the laserdiscs out, folks snap them up,
they crank out the videotapes, folks snap them up,
they upgrade to DVDs and crank them, folks snap them up,
upgrade again to Bluray and folks will snap the same movies up over and over and over again ...

Just like albums and CDs - why should they care enough to do it right
when they can promise to do it better next time and just resell it again?

We trust them ... the weasels!

[JBL 4645]

Cursing just means you don't have enough words at your command to say it any other way ... but I digress ...



Sure it is - they crank the laserdiscs out, folks snap them up,
they crank out the videotapes, folks snap them up,
they upgrade to DVDs and crank them, folks snap them up,
upgrade again to Bluray and folks will snap the same movies up over and over and over again ...

Just like albums and CDs - why should they care enough to do it right
when they can promise to do it better next time and just resell it again?

We trust them ... the weasels!

LOL I doubt you even owned a laserdisc.

Thought I’d fire up the LCD video projector for HD 1080i chapter 21 attack on Pearl Harbour. The aircraft flying in low on the sneak attack pans brilliantly along the sidewall surrounds and centre back gives a startling aerial realism with whirling planes yawing and rolling (barrel role) as they swooping in close to the water and drop a torpedo that zeros in on the U.S.S. Arizona wow the force of the impact as she twists and buckles apart. LFE.1 is used artistry when used/called for.

Okay so you want less bucket mouth then? That is a CB term/slag bucket-mouth.


Screenshot of the LCD video projector of the U.S.S. Arizona it’s a slightly disturbing moment as she tips over on her side with crew scrabbling for dear life and crew trapped in the lower parts of the ship.

Camera is very low level light shy, trust me its bright image here its just the camera is pants at low level light.


Back to the movie/bluray

[JBL 4645]

Making of Pearl Harbour has some interesting factual sailor’s stories of that fateful morning.

The two main characters in the film that get airborne are fictional. But two pilots named (Welsh and Taylor) did however manage to get airborne shooting down 6 Japanese planes. http://www.aviation-history.com/airmen/pearl.htm

The Doolittle raid to strike back at Japan was heroically daring
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolittle_Raid

USS Arizona memorial site
http://www.nps.gov/history/nR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/18arizona/18arizona.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Arizona_(BB-39)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Oklahoma_(BB-37)

Wow its breathtaking looking at this link the photos persevere the horrific morning in cloud of black smoke, hangs over Pearl Harbour.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

[hjames]

LOL I doubt you even owned a laserdisc.

Thought I’d fire up the LCD video projector for HD 1080i chapter 21 attack on Pearl Harbor. The aircraft flying in low on the sneak attack pans brilliantly along the sidewall surrounds and centre back gives a startling aerial realism with whirling planes yawing and roll

Back to the movie/bluray

Why would I buy a laserdisc? - its dead tech. I'll buy a Playstation3 or Oppo Bluray first ...

Yep . Pearl harbor, that inaccurate Michael bay film ... ... sigh

As I recall, "Tora Tora Tora" was supposed to be the accurate telling of the tale - then again, its not Blu-rey and doesn't have the brilliant LFEartistry ...

[JBL 4645]

Why would I buy a laserdisc? - its dead tech. I'll buy a Playstation3 or Oppo Bluray first ...

Yep . Pearl harbor, that inaccurate Michael bay film ... ... sigh

As I recall, "Tora Tora Tora" was supposed to be the accurate telling of the tale - then again, its not Blu-rey and doesn't have the brilliant LFEartistry ...

Now that is highly recommended seen it many times on TV some 30 plus years ago. It doesn’t drag on with the soap of Ben Affleck and our British Kate Beckinsale which prefer in tight black leather kicking werewolf butt!

Now this makes me laugh

I’m f$%^king Ben Affleck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_pFTAY7MF8

I prefer Matt Damon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLG3S5WzHig

[JBL 4645]

Sooty guards the Blu’s he’s fierce creature so don’t even try and touch the Blu’s otherwise you’ll get a nasty scratch!

He may seem like dumb cat but take it from me he’s a little biter!

This is Sooty new spot! He used to sit on the left in my spot because he knew it was my spot. Now he sits on the other side guarding the Blu’s!

[JBL 4645]

First battleship being stuck by torpedo! WHAM! BOOM!

[JBL 4645]

The bomb shell landing in the ammunition area as hitting centre back with kinder muffled sound as its mostly LCR then has it rattles against the shells in the front part of the ship with bomb shells banging left and right on the sidewall array surrounds, man on centre back all hands man your battle stations. General quarters man your battle stations!

The look on the cooks face as he peers down the hole in the ship. Son of bi... KABOOM!

[JBL 4645]

Chapter 15 to 16 the Hans Zimmer score beats down deep and low on the JBL 4645
Start time 1hour 6minutes 51seconds
End time 1hour 9minutes 59seconds

[JBL 4645]

Chapter 26
Start time 1hour 51minutes 55seconds

The start of the shoot-out with the knife stabbing into the hand! Automatic machinegun fire and explosions leading onto part of the motorbike chase.

[JBL 4645]

I thought I’d watch the colour to framing process of Seven on region 2 DVD no reason to buy this on bluray because if the DVD has been so much manipulated with colour altering then there’s no point wasting more money for a none-original none-mirrored image look.

This shot was very red to start with. So get…the blue out of the sky.
Stephen Nakamura

The telecine used for Seven was Spirit datacine 2K
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecine

This idiot has gone and turned the blue to crap greenish hue! Never in all my years have I ever seen real blue coloured sky turn like that, unless its cloudy and I see tint of greenish cloud with possible thunder storm brewing overhead.


I forget which in water colour painting that two colours can make one colour its been 30 years since I painted with water colours but its the same thing here one or the other can change the original and we all prefer original because the sky is just not that colour!

The top image is the original look
The lower image is the none-original look

Also the brightness values are lowered making the face look darker in certain areas.

It's also no wonder NTSC is Never Twice Same Colour this Muppet shows-off so much by saying we can turn his face green. No, wow, you don’t say Sherlock!

The only things I think this technology should be used for is cleaning up dirt but keep the grain structure intact as that is inherit on film. Remove wires from old films as wires does spoil the illusion of disbelief or fantasy, like The Black Hole that has so many wire hanging from actors to robots it just looks silly.

[JBL 4645]

Just received ‘2010 The Year We Make Contact’ though the post. Ordered last Friday for £7.99 free delivery from Play247.com, after getting fed up with HMV lousy bluray in-store catalogue and overpricing, I decided to buy online.

The picture is just way more better over the DVD where it doesn’t use 16.9 to enhance image. The film as soft grain look and no DNR digital noise reduction no edge enhancement that often ruins the look of the film.

Colour skin tones look natural, brightness contrast levels don’t appear over done. The openness of the clear sky and large array of discs at the opening looks even sharper both on CRT widescreen and slightly better at still 1080i on LCD video projector.

Dolby digital and DolbyTrue sound better at the 24fps lower lows are felt highs not as shrilly as with the DVD region 2. Its more or less an enhanced Dolby mix while retaining the original style.

I’m pleased with this version for the price for 26 year old film.

Extras:

A featurette 2010: The odyssey continues (that shown on BBC TV around month or so before the film opened naturally).

Theatrical trailer

2010 bluray trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gix9t3h5uKk

Waterfall shows the difference between the two optical disc formats on the music opening titles (Also sprach Zarathustra) composed by (David Shire).

The DVD region 2 displays the LFE.1 low end but not as full as the region B Bluray DolbyTrue that extends down a bit further.

[JBL 4645]

I put some extra beef into the monaural trailer diverting the lows to JBL 4645 sub bass output.

I must have played the trailer at least 10 plus times now. No make that 12 times.

[JBL 4645]

I thought my suspicious instincts where right! This is a bit of slight re-mix over the original six-track Dolby stereo mix.

Doesn’t matter which chapter I choose but I’ll take a simple one.
Star of chapter 17 DVD
Centre channel has a few neighboured mechanical car effects in the distance that sounds like (hover vacuum cleaner).

The left and right has (centre phantom dogs barking and slight atmospheric ambiance).
Surrounds remain mute until the scene cuts to inside a home of Widow, Mrs. Bowman where the sound of announcer on the centre channel is heard for a Pan Am advisement.

The sound of dogs is then heard distance on the monaural surrounds. That should be enough for those who may not even notice this.

Bluray Region B
Same as above except the centre has partly the centre (left and right phantom sound folded onto the centre mildly of the dogs barking).

The left and right still has the (centre phantom sound of the dogs barking).

Surrounds has partly the left and right same centre phantom dogs barking (thou there seems to be some sly panning to the right surround with 1/3 of the same sound heard on left though you’d have to fade off the right surround to hear this)!

This now boils down to simple fact this isn’t the original intention of the 70mm six-track Dolby stereo release and someone needs there ass kicked for there showing-off at re-mixing the Academy Award nominated best sound (1984) mix with this thing mix?

Listening to the opening chapter 2 it appears who ever the guilty mixer is? This who ever has given it in (stereo surrounds), but not true split-stereo-surrounds since the film was only released in (Dolby format 42) which has monaural surrounds only.

I said it before and I’ll keep repeating it with fierce conviction. Never sale the DVD or laserdisc title!

I wonder if strong email to Warner can get this holy mess sorted it out because this is wrong. Its not true or faithful to the original six-track Dolby stereo mix.

I doubt that 99% of the sites members would even notice this, because you, ether sold the DVD what a shame, or never owned it on DVD and only owned the VHS tape where its going to be very hard to tell with Dolby stereo matrix mix.

I also have suspicion about the look of the LFE.1 which seems to be part of the LCR maybe, folded onto the LFE.1 track and extended slightly thus cheating and disgracing the Bluray format, with nothing more than some poor person working with pro-tools in mommies basement.

I’ll be on the phone tomorrow and Warner better have good excuse for this!


Now tell me. Who’s got the golden ears on this site!

So what it comes down to now, do I play the disgraceful Bluray or the region 2 DVD which has the original mix thou its speeded up to 25pfs does sound disconcerting over the 24fps.

I partly blame (George Lucas and his silly Star Wars for re-mixes) because its like virus that effects mommies geek living in the basement with sod all with his time, and would sooner tamper and ruin original film mixes beyond disbelief. SIGH