Coraline is not 5 star picture - Blu-ray Forum

coolmilo · 07-25-2009, 07:24 AM

I watched Coraline tonight and I would rate the picture as 4 stars and not 5 stars as rated by many of the reviewers. OK, I could be talked into rating it as 4.5 stars if push comes to shove. The video presentation IS beautiful; it's just not reference.

Reason (my guess): The bitrate of video encode was low (high teens to mid 20’s instead of 30’s to 40) and I believe the low bitrate encode translated to less pop in the video presentation.

Perhaps if Universal held back on the gimmicky 3D until the technology is perfected and focused on a single high bitrate encode, it could have been one of the best video presentations of the year.

BTW, IMO two 5 star CGI films are Bolt and A Bugs Life. Those Blu-rays pop off the screen with an almost 3D look to them. I did not see that with Coraline.

Don’t get me wrong, Coraline is a terrific movie and a very good Blu-ray. It’s just not a reference BD.

joenostalgia23 · 07-25-2009, 09:32 AM

Coraline is not CGI, it's stopmotion. I don't think the 3D is the blame for the okay transfer. The film is just shot with intentional grain, so it doesn't look as colorful and as clean as it could. The film is also not very brightly colored, some scenes are, but colors are mainly pretty subdued on purpose. Coraline is probably as great as it can possibly look, if it doesn't look reference quality, it probably was never shot with showing off Home Theaters in mind.
I still consider Coraline a great Blu-Ray, but yes, I wouldn't show it off to friends. I think The Godfather looks fantastic, but I wouldn't show it off because it's not as flashy as a film like Speed Racer or Wall-E which are my reference quality Blu-rays.

Lepidopterous · 07-25-2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolmilo

I watched Coraline tonight and I would rate the picture as 4 stars and not 5 stars as rated by many of the reviewers. OK, I could be talked into rating it as 4.5 stars if push comes to shove. The video presentation IS beautiful; it's just not reference.

Reason (my guess): The bitrate of video encode was low (high teens to mid 20’s instead of 30’s to 40) and I believe the low bitrate encode translated to less pop in the video presentation.

Perhaps if Universal held back on the gimmicky 3D until the technology is perfected and focused on a single high bitrate encode, it could have been one of the best video presentations of the year.

BTW, IMO two 5 star CGI films are Bolt and A Bugs Life. Those Blu-rays pop off the screen with an almost 3D look to them. I did not see that with Coraline.

Don’t get me wrong, Coraline is a terrific movie and a very good Blu-ray. It’s just not a reference BD.

To each his own, but I was about to say I would give it 5 stars just for the first scene alone where she's making the dolls. It gives that same effect you mentioned, in my opinion. I was thoroughly impressed and thought the PQ was absolutely superb. Not to steal your thunder or anything

zombieking · 07-26-2009, 03:05 AM

its perfect in my book and the OP shouldn't compare Bolt and Bug's Life because they're CG films.

SonOfArathorn · 07-26-2009, 03:34 AM

I disagree OP... It's not a cgi film so it'll never have the "pop off your screen" or whatever you said of those other 2. I have to say it looks fantastic, and bytw, you say you'd give it 4.5 if push came to shove so obviously you thought it was near perfect. If you didn't know the bitrate would you even have used that as your reasoning?

Anyway, top shelf release.

KilloWertz · 07-26-2009, 03:50 AM

There really isn't a need for this thread because this is all a matter of opinion. Ken reviewed the movie and thought the PQ deserved a 5, but you didn't. To each their own, but why does it matter?

FlipperWasIrish · 07-26-2009, 04:03 AM

I agree, a waste of a thread.

joenostalgia23 · 07-26-2009, 04:14 AM

Was watching it today, I was really able to get a claymated feel to it. I could see, tiny tiny tiny mistakes made that I never noticed when I watched it in theaters(3 times), that'd last only a frame, but reassured me that I was watching a stop-motion. It has fantastic quality.

tilapiah6 · 07-26-2009, 04:18 AM

How does it compare to A Nightmare Before Christmas? I thought the video in Nightmare was flawless.

Hep · 07-26-2009, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by killowertz

There really isn't a need for this thread because this is all a matter of opinion. Ken reviewed the movie and thought the PQ deserved a 5, but you didn't. To each their own, but why does it matter?

Besides, the quibble is over a half point.

aramis109 · 07-26-2009, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolmilo

I watched Coraline tonight and I would rate the picture as 4 stars and not 5 stars as rated by many of the reviewers. OK, I could be talked into rating it as 4.5 stars if push comes to shove. The video presentation IS beautiful; it's just not reference.

Reason (my guess): The bitrate of video encode was low (high teens to mid 20’s instead of 30’s to 40) and I believe the low bitrate encode translated to less pop in the video presentation.

Perhaps if Universal held back on the gimmicky 3D until the technology is perfected and focused on a single high bitrate encode, it could have been one of the best video presentations of the year.

BTW, IMO two 5 star CGI films are Bolt and A Bugs Life. Those Blu-rays pop off the screen with an almost 3D look to them. I did not see that with Coraline.

Don’t get me wrong, Coraline is a terrific movie and a very good Blu-ray. It’s just not a reference BD.

I completely disagree. It's amazing and shows absolutely every detail and pop of the little stop-motion creations. It's an amazing picture and I can't imagine it looking any better. Stop watching the bitrate meter and start watching the movie.

Disturbed Blu 1 · 07-26-2009, 05:22 AM

I personally thought Coraline looked amazing. Sure it wasn't as good looking as Bug's Life or Bolt, but that was because they are CGI and Coraline is stop-motion. Even Nightmare Before Christmas looked good.

As for the 3-D part, it didn't look that amazing (graphically). I do know that it seemed better to have your HDTV on "Standard" mode. As for the 2-D, I watched it in "Vivid" mode. It made the picture much more bright and crisp.

jadedeath · 07-26-2009, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aramis109

I completely disagree. It's amazing and shows absolutely every detail and pop of the little stop-motion creations. It's an amazing picture and I can't imagine it looking any better. Stop watching the bitrate meter and start watching the movie.

People actually watch the bitrates instead of the movie?

I guess people have too much time to waste these days... I blame society.

Logan

jadedeath · 07-26-2009, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joenostalgia23

Was watching it today, I was really able to get a claymated feel to it. I could see, tiny tiny tiny mistakes made that I never noticed when I watched it in theaters(3 times), that'd last only a frame, but reassured me that I was watching a stop-motion. It has fantastic quality.

That confirms the 'too much time' theory... you went through the movie frame-by-frame?

Logan

scweb13 · 07-26-2009, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadedeath

People actually watch the bitrates instead of the movie?

I guess people have too much time to waste these days... I blame society.

Logan

It seems that people are more worried about how good their set up looks instead of actually enjoying the movie. What a shame.

Batman1980 · 07-26-2009, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scweb13

It seems that people are more worried about how good their set up looks instead of actually enjoying the movie. What a shame.

Technically we're all PQ snobs because we all love blu-ray. I'm not one of those who has to have RQ transfer for every single movie though.

07-25-2009, 07:24 AM	#1
coolmilo Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Silicon Valley Home Theater Gallery:16 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:2	Coraline is not 5 star picture I watched Coraline tonight and I would rate the picture as 4 stars and not 5 stars as rated by many of the reviewers. OK, I could be talked into rating it as 4.5 stars if push comes to shove. The video presentation IS beautiful; it's just not reference. Reason (my guess): The bitrate of video encode was low (high teens to mid 20’s instead of 30’s to 40) and I believe the low bitrate encode translated to less pop in the video presentation. Perhaps if Universal held back on the gimmicky 3D until the technology is perfected and focused on a single high bitrate encode, it could have been one of the best video presentations of the year. BTW, IMO two 5 star CGI films are Bolt and A Bugs Life. Those Blu-rays pop off the screen with an almost 3D look to them. I did not see that with Coraline. Don’t get me wrong, Coraline is a terrific movie and a very good Blu-ray. It’s just not a reference BD.

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07-25-2009, 09:32 AM	#2
joenostalgia23 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Mar 2009 4K collection:578 Blu-ray collection:4533 DVD collection:236 Digital collection:43 iTunes collection:61 Prime collection:1 Trading Score:4	Coraline is not CGI, it's stopmotion. I don't think the 3D is the blame for the okay transfer. The film is just shot with intentional grain, so it doesn't look as colorful and as clean as it could. The film is also not very brightly colored, some scenes are, but colors are mainly pretty subdued on purpose. Coraline is probably as great as it can possibly look, if it doesn't look reference quality, it probably was never shot with showing off Home Theaters in mind. I still consider Coraline a great Blu-Ray, but yes, I wouldn't show it off to friends. I think The Godfather looks fantastic, but I wouldn't show it off because it's not as flashy as a film like Speed Racer or Wall-E which are my reference quality Blu-rays.

07-26-2009, 03:05 AM	#4
zombieking Special Member Member since:May 2007 Location:CANADA Blu-ray collection:304 Blu-ray reviews: 18	its perfect in my book and the OP shouldn't compare Bolt and Bug's Life because they're CG films.

07-26-2009, 03:34 AM	#5
SonOfArathorn Power Member Member since:May 2009 Blu-ray collection:549 Blu-ray reviews: 9 Trading Score:1	I disagree OP... It's not a cgi film so it'll never have the "pop off your screen" or whatever you said of those other 2. I have to say it looks fantastic, and bytw, you say you'd give it 4.5 if push came to shove so obviously you thought it was near perfect. If you didn't know the bitrate would you even have used that as your reasoning? Anyway, top shelf release.

07-26-2009, 03:50 AM	#6
KilloWertz Blu-ray Archduke Top contributor Member since:Dec 2008 Location:Columbiana, OH 4K collection:61 Blu-ray collection:1042 DVD collection:65 Blu-ray reviews:3 Trading Score:82	There really isn't a need for this thread because this is all a matter of opinion. Ken reviewed the movie and thought the PQ deserved a 5, but you didn't. To each their own, but why does it matter?

07-26-2009, 04:03 AM	#7
FlipperWasIrish Senior Member Member since:Jun 2008	I agree, a waste of a thread.

07-26-2009, 04:14 AM	#8
joenostalgia23 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Mar 2009 4K collection:578 Blu-ray collection:4533 DVD collection:236 Digital collection:43 iTunes collection:61 Prime collection:1 Trading Score:4	Was watching it today, I was really able to get a claymated feel to it. I could see, tiny tiny tiny mistakes made that I never noticed when I watched it in theaters(3 times), that'd last only a frame, but reassured me that I was watching a stop-motion. It has fantastic quality.

07-26-2009, 04:18 AM	#9
tilapiah6 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2008 Location:South Carolina Home Theater Gallery:40 Blu-ray collection:284 Trading Score:36	How does it compare to A Nightmare Before Christmas? I thought the video in Nightmare was flawless.

07-26-2009, 05:22 AM	#12
Disturbed Blu 1 Senior Member Member since:Jul 2009 4K collection:24 Blu-ray collection:759 Digital collection:1 Trading Score:9	I personally thought Coraline looked amazing. Sure it wasn't as good looking as Bug's Life or Bolt, but that was because they are CGI and Coraline is stop-motion. Even Nightmare Before Christmas looked good. As for the 3-D part, it didn't look that amazing (graphically). I do know that it seemed better to have your HDTV on "Standard" mode. As for the 2-D, I watched it in "Vivid" mode. It made the picture much more bright and crisp.

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