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

[hjames]

No lawyer or agent of any kind.
I wouldn't need to ask if I am a lawyer.

If you aren't a lawyer, what's the POINT of asking?
nearly a hundred posts into this thread and NOW you ask??

How about a change - lets get back on topic ...
what kind of gear do you use to play movies at home?

Stereo, 5.1 or 7.1?
Dolby or DTS?
Got JBLs?

[richluvsound]

Guys,

why do lawyers wear suits ? ....so you can tell the difference between them
and the criminal in the dock. Anyway, do you really want to get into a debate about copyright law. Simulacra anyone ?

Yep , so where does the notion of "COPY" start and end . The virtual us !

Rich

[JBL 4645]

Not a bad reworking of The Omega Man (1971) at that originally starred the late (Charlton Heston) (1923-2008) this remake stars (Will Smith) Robert Neville as last survivor on earth who has discovered that he’s immune from a deadly virus that has wiped out all but the night crawling zombies that now roam the streets at night.

Image framed at 2.40:1 on this region 2 DVD is very delightfully textured in colour and skin tones, contrast, brightness where all eye popping on the daylight scenes as well as holding up in some of the dark shadowy sequences in underground where he chases after a mutated deer

Sound presented here Dolby stereo digital 5.1 was fantastic particularly during the silent opening of the film with birds tweeting and echoing all-around had very natural acoustical quality on the JBL control 1 that where used with centre back, provided a total wrap around feeling.

I kinder negated to take an in-room-frequency response of some of the high dynamic moments, but I’m sure it was down to 25Hz on most LFE.1 when Neville rigs the neighbourhood with enough explosives for demolition job shakes his home foundations, as too my room as well.

Fronts LCR had a little audio limiting set and while turning off the sub bass LCRS extension, they produced a nice warm tone on the main title “I Am Legend” some of the bass over the JBL control 5 also had clear loud dialogue reproduction.

LFE.1 was sparingly used in this film which is why the LCR are important in the cinema with matching large arrays that can easily reach down to 40Hz in some cinemas or even below in special cinemas such as THX. When it was called for the JBL 4645 handled the ability again without effort and with ease.

James Newton Howard also gives a nice touching score that has tense moments of drama and action as well as some nice melody and harmonistic moments.

Disc1 Original realise of film
Digital download copy with each special edition DVD
4 awesome animated comics death as a gift, isolation sacrificing the few for Mary Shelter

Disc 2 and
-Never before seen alternate ending,
-cautionary tale the science of I Am Legend exploring the history and current status of life-threatening viral infections
DVD-ROM*PC Weblink to intense bonus material databank including ‘creating I Am Legend’ mini- documentary gallery, with nearly 50 minutes of behind-the-scenes material.

[JBL 4645]

I liked “I Am Legend” (2007) where Neville takes a grenade and pulls the pin, then rashes at one of the night crawling ghouls with slam of LFE.1 that that was practically felt.

In-room-frequency response showed up on the Technics SH-8055 in first order of peaks at.

Individual monitoring levels over LCR showed on playback

Left 87dbc
Centre 82dbc
Right 82dbc

Left summed with sub bass 97dbc
Centre summed with sub bass 89dbc
Right summed with sub bass 97dbc

Surrounds 88dbc

Surrounds summed with sub bass 92dbc

LCRS summed with sub bass 103dbc

LCR LFE.1 105dbc

I like the way the stings pick up in James Newton Howard’s score, as you know he’s going to go though with it, without another moments thought.

LCRS summed with sub bass 102dbc yes I’m not blind I can see what’s happening here!

LCRS LFE.1 105dbc

LCRS summed with sub bass and LFE.1 108dbc

Monitoring the LFE.1 on its own sounded like a fast sine wave sweep just milliseconds after the first hard slam explosion. The LFE.1 mostly peaked at 40Hz very high over the other channels.

The sound of the flames washed over me uniformly with fronts LCR carrying the rest of the low end as it was only the slam on the LFE.1 just as Neville makes contact with one of the darkseekers!!

Input level on FBQ2496 was -12db with THX bass peak limiter set at 0db master fader 0db.

[hjames]

Will Smith - cgi "action film" blahhhh - go find the ORIGINAL with Vincent Price!

1964 - The Last Man on Earth: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058700/

Or see the remake with Charleton Heston -
1971 - The Omega Man: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067525/


All 3 are based on the novel "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558577/

[JBL 4645]

Will Smith - cgi "action film" blahhhh - go find the ORIGINAL with Vincent Price!

1964 - The Last Man on Earth: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058700/

Or see the remake with Charleton Heston -
1971 - The Omega Man: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067525/


All 3 are based on the novel "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558577/

Isn’t there any film you like Heather??? Hay this is open for others to talk about, so get your SPL db meter and watch a film that you, like and then do some screen captures to disserve how it performed on your, JBL set-up, I’m egger to hear about it.

Also I think there was less GCI in this given the running time and not too crazy about (GCI) but that’s the world computer programmers have made this into what is now called the norm, boy I miss the days of photochemical effects.

As for The Omega Man I’ve seen it a dozen times on TV and on VHS PAL widescreen many years ago. I’ve been told as much about The Las Man, there is a slim chance I will ever get around to seeing it.

[hjames]

Sure - I like lots of films - for all different kind of reasons ... but - we get maybe 2-3 films a week via Netflicks so we watch stuff all over the map

Isn’t there any film you like Heather??? Hey this is open for others to talk about, so get your SPL db meter and watch a film that you like, and then do some screen captures to describe how it performed on your JBL set-up. I’m eager to hear about it.

The more recent films included:

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951 - an Alec Guiness 'caper" film) - very funny

Sweeney Todd (2007 - Johnny Depp) - too gorey for a musical - not enjoyable

The Memory of a Killer (2003 - aka The Alzheimer Affair) - excellent thriller

(plus we've been working through Season 1 of "the Wire" a Baltimore based police procedural show - quite good)

other films in the last couple months included Die Hard 2 & 4, Equilibrium and American Psycho, Notes on a Scandal, Mr & Mrs Smith, Balls of Fury, Across the Universe ...

But, I am SO tired of films that exist strictly as poor redone remakes of something else - Tim Burton comes to mind (that Useless remake of Planet of the Apes), and - Will Smith movies have been a big target (I, Robot - UGH!, Wild Wild West? - burn it! ) ... but, I'll admit, I did like Men In Black ...

[JBL 4645]

Now there’s a title I also happen to have Men in Black (1997) so please I’d like to know in full how it handles on each and ever JBL in the room as that has nicely mixed soundtrack. I might buy Sweeny Todd just for its diabolically laughs seen the trailer which proceeded before I Am Legend. Seen a few youtube videos and I like when Helen says “Poor bugger” LOL

You know there is somewhere in the region of few million movies worldwide something like 5 million? If you had a load of computer hard drives where on earth are you going to stick it all! Because it would take thousands of hard drives and an impossible viewing, because you’d never be able to watch them all and keep up with the new releases at the same time not even if you lived for 4 life times.

[hjames]

whatever ...

Now I like when Helen says “Poor bugger” LOL

[JBL 4645]

whatever ...

Anyway I’m looking at another viral film from the past that sounds wicked coming soon, see if you can’t guess the name of the title?

Poor Bugger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtzzqYtxjt0

[JBL 4645]

L.A. confidential (1997) chapter 18 to 19 the shotout with Ed, chasseing down an armed gunman to an elevator only to end with thunderous shotgun blast on the LFE.1 and high peak at 40Hz that vibrated the sofa with pleasing results from the JBL 4645.

Time 59minites 40 seconds SPL db peaked at a modest 108dbc that was plentifully at 10 feet 6” away from the fronts.

You know what the visual moment looks like via the screen capture as I don’t have room on my pc for waterfall due to CPU memory.

Most of the shotguns and handguns shooting out just moments before Ed shoved the shotgun in-between the elevator door was mostly covered by the centre channel with decent low end between 20Hz and 80Hz while the thunderclap was saved for the best climatic moment.

Jerry Goldsmith’s score was heard on the LCRS.

Foley was pucker with footsteps running down the narrow hallway, while one of gunmen pushes someone down to the floor at the far end, next to elevator that was felt, classic moment.

Shotgun blast KABOOM!!!59minites 40seconds 108dbc 40Hz peak!


Then it thunders onto the centre back surrounds while fading away.

[JBL 4645]

Well I’ve had a look to see if I had enough memory on the pc to store spectrumlab and so here’s my first attempt, the graph, kinder looks a bit off slightly, that is, something must be slightly out be a few settings but it looks okay to.

At 1m:14s sonic booms of the space shuttle is heard!

The input to the pc was direct from the LFE.1 and only the LFE.1 signal no bass management was used here. The spectrum colour setting I’ve used is (too_many_colours). I’ll take a few more from "The Dream is Alive" in a jiffy.

[JBL 4645]

Here is another frequency spectrum analysis of the LFE.1 its looks like an almighty holy mess as the main-three-engines fire up followed by the thunderous roar of the twin SRB or Sub Rumbling Bass, as I like to refer it to.

[JBL 4645]

Second lift-off of the space shuttle was far greater in loudness on the LFE.1 so don’t get too carried away, exercise extreme caution and if your sub can handle the peaks for the short, but rather abrupt launch, it should reach as high over at +110db or best 120dbc.

At 24m:29s main engines starts on the space shuttle at 29m:38s SRB fires propelling the shuttle upwards with an (alight mighty) thunderously deep rumble.

[JBL 4645]

Here’s a few frequency spectrum analysis from the John Carpenter (1984) sleeper Starman it’s got touching story that will have you reaching for the tissues at the end.

The opening of the movie starts with the historical last launching of Voyager 2 that is sent out into the cosmos to explore for intelligent-life-forms. The sound of the rocket is heard while being felt on the LFE.1 with little extra boost to accompany the LCR fronts full range.

Voyager 2 is heard panning from far left front then pans over into centre then right while playing (the rolling stones) “I can’t get no satisfaction.” As fades off to far right a deep rumbling low end of the planet is felt as Voyager 2 travels deeper into the planet the rumble grows louder.

(Karen Allen) Jenny helps the Jeff Bridges starman who has cloned himself into the form of her dead husband. He has three-days to journey to Arizona to be picked up or he will die. Along on the journey Jenny revives memoirs and the starman discovers, slang words like, “up yours” and “take it easy” and most all love.

Starman crash lands on Earth after being shot down by a military aircraft.

After realising deer back into the wilderness after giving it back life, a deer hunter and few of his buddies come out of from a dinner and start beating starman up! Helps to fight-back, Jenny goes to glove-compartment and reaches for the Colt-45 and fires, several warning shots into the air!

With Jenny and Starman on the run from the cops just after Jenny was shot, starman rams the car straight though the road block into petrol tanker, where it erupts into huge fireball.

While Jenny and starman run deeper down into the crater at Arizona, after ignoring several warning shots from helicopters to stop! A large large spherical silver ball descends down over the crater. Helicopters flyby overhead on the monaural surrounds to fronts LCR while LFE.1 accompanies them with fast burst of LFE.1 channel.

Starman says goodbye to Jenny and slowly walks of while the sphere hovers overhead, as starman looks back for one final moments glance at Jenny he purses directly underneath the sphere, which then slowly departs away with deep low rumbling sound.

I’ve taken liberty to use what is called (Sw-Re-Mix) that sends the low end from LCRS crossed off at 80Hz to the sub, most of the deep lower octave bass mostly comes from the centre channel and Jack Nizsche score is wonderful closing end credit theme.