any early reviews on King Kong blu ray yet?

[Steelmaker]

Just curious if anyone has seen any reviews for this yet.

[nycomet]

Yes: a rave review for King Kong on BD with screen shots.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDRev...dvd_review.htm

[wildphantom]

Yes
Right here

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDRev...dvd_review.htm

I have the disc already and its terrific on all counts

[wildphantom]

Originally Posted by nycomet

Yes: a rave review for King Kong on BD with screen shots.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDRev...dvd_review.htm

lol. within seconds of each other

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by wildphantom

lol. within seconds of each other

Arggh!! Could someone please cut and paste the review on this thread! The internet Nazi's here at work won't let me access it!

[Marine Mike]

Wow...the PQ looks amazing!

[kpkelley]

With this Blu-ray we initially get the option for 'Theatrical' or 'Extended' versions of the film - differing by about 15 minutes in length. The package exceeds the capacity of HD-DVD - so we can assume it advances upon that edition.

The superiority of the high-definition Blu-ray release is easily discernable by the matched screen captures below. I believe I have the correct frame match on most - but may be off by a frame on a couple. Detail seems to be the most noticeable improvement, although colors and contrast move up a healthy notch as well. The extensive computer generated imagery lends itself to a certain degree of softness/haziness but the new King Kong on dual-layered Blu-ray still has some immensely impressive visuals - even outside the grandiose action. The 1080P helps lose some of the plastic feel of the DVD and everything is just tighter. Naomi Watt's baby-blues particularity seem come to to life. For some, depending on the crowd, this could certainly be considered 'demo' material.

Audio-wise we get a healthy DTS-HD Master. It's about the level of the image - strong and well -utilized by the mix. Your Surround speakers should get some exercise with gun shots and Kong's deep imposing growls/roars. This again could be used to impress the boys when they are over. It has some healthy range and depth. There are optional subtitles and a couple of foreign language DUBs.

Surprisingly, we lose all the featurettes of the SD-DVD but have a decent, if occasionally boring (it is a long film), commentary (Extended version only) from director Jackson and writer Boyens. 'Color grading' and the like can seem fairly inconsequential to the average fan - but other, more pertinent, details are welcome - both participants have an easy-to-understand accent. Some may consider this bare-bones and there was certainly room for some of the featurette supplements (perhaps not the 3-hour one though) on the disc but, for one reason or another, it is devoid of featurettes. I appreciated the lack of advertising though - good job on that front Universal!

I know I tend to say this a lot, but I liked this much better than I did initially on DVD. It is most likely the wow'ing visuals and audio depth. I think Watts helps 'make' the film worthwhile, where Jack Black one of the weaker links. The special effects do an unbelievably strong job of conveying action and 'humanizing' for the over-sized gorilla. I have some friends that would enjoy indulging in that extensive dinosaur battle next time they are over. It can be exhausting. This is quite a film experience - especially in the magic of Blu-ray.

[dvd_mazter]

Can't wait to get this movie. Sounds like a new demo title Those screenshots are stunning.

[derelicte]

Originally Posted by wildphantom

I have the disc already and its terrific on all counts

Just how does one go about becoming a lucky SOB to get stuff like this early?! Please share your kung fu magic...

In any case, this comes out on my birthday - can't wait!

[JamesKurtovich]

The HD screenshots are bigger, makes it hard to compare..

Not to mention, it looks like someone intentionally blurred the SD shots in Photoshop or something.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Arggh!! Could someone please cut and paste the review on this thread! The internet Nazi's here at work won't let me access it!

How dare they expect you to work.

[Steelmaker]

I'll be very curious to learn how the blu ray version compares to the HD-DVD version.

[Jimbo976]

Well I saw it on the shelf today at Blockbuster for $22 Cdn but I managed to refrain from getting it yet. I will pick it up sometime though.

[VHS4Ever]

Me want badly!

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

I'll be very curious to learn how the blu ray version compares to the HD-DVD version.

The feature size(32gb) on the blu-ray is larger than an hd-dvd disc(30gb), but it does include an extended edition through seamless so that could account for the difference. I would guess that much like their other releases, that it is a new transfer from the same master with a higher bit-rate encode for better motion resolution.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

The HD screenshots are bigger, makes it hard to compare..

Not to mention, it looks like someone intentionally blurred the SD shots in Photoshop or something.

...yeah.

[saprano]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

The HD screenshots are bigger, makes it hard to compare..

Not to mention, it looks like someone intentionally blurred the SD shots in Photoshop or something.

There bigger because thats how it is, blu-ray is a higher resolution than DVD.

[ClaytonMG]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

The HD screenshots are bigger, makes it hard to compare..

Not to mention, it looks like someone intentionally blurred the SD shots in Photoshop or something.

Sooo I am going to have to dissagree here. The larger pictures are clearer, which shows you just how much more detail there is on the Blu-ray. And the movie is 3 hours long crammed onto a DVD so I am guessing that no one blurred the DVD images. I am guessing the DVD image is actually just that void of detail.

[sheedoe]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

I'll be very curious to learn how the blu ray version compares to the HD-DVD version.

+1 Obviously it will look better compared to DVD, but how does it compare to HD-DVD version?!?

[Jimbo976]

Originally Posted by sheedoe

+1 Obviously it will look better compared to DVD, but how does it compare to HD-DVD version?!?

As with most releases coming out these days that used to be on HD-DVD it will likely look almost exactly the same unless you peek at pixels like those science guys over there.