Why do so many BD's look SO BAD???

[popoboy]

Can someone please explain to me why some BD's look so amazing and others look so bad? I have been buying movies for 5 years and am just tired of expecting them to look good and then being sadly disappointed...I know the basic answers about how much the studio is willing to spend on mastering etc...(and I mainly buy classic and retro movies) But it's SO hit and miss...I just purchased "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" I've been waiting for years for this to be released. Saw it recently on an HD station and it looked great. Then I got the BD last week and it looks AWFUL...It looks like it's been rolled in sand, grain everywhere, mosquito noise, poor coloring...I mean Disney truly screwed this one up (lets not even mention the fact that the didn't include the longer version of the film) This isn't the first time I've noticed this...A few years ago I saw a beautiful HD showing of "West Side Story" and then purchased the BD...Again...weird colors, telecine wobble, and the blu ray just looked terrible next to the HD broadcast. WHY IS THIS??? Can someone please explain? I'm about ready to give up on Blu ray...and I hate to say this but each time I buy a catalog title I'm less and less impressed. And please, for all you younger out there, please don't tell me that this is the way an older film is SUPPOSED to look because that just isn't true..Let's remember that many of us saw these films multiple times on first release and remember how they looked...and they DID NOT LOOK LIKE A GRAINY MESS. Let's not forget that a film projected on a huge screen might show some grain, but scaled down onto a 55 inch TV should not show the grain...it should be very minimal...and also I'm tired of hearing that the director intended the grain...This is ALSO not true (unless it is a film like Fight Club) These older films were simply the result of film stocks of the time...nothing more...Disenchanted with Blu ray.....

[dallywhitty]

Grain, glorious grain.

[The Great Owl]

I only need the fingers on one hand to count the number of Blu-rays in my entire collection that actually look bad.

My definition of a bad Blu-ray is one that does not improve on its DVD incarnation. Fortunately, there are not many of those out there in the world.

[popoboy]

I agree...it should improve on the DVD...in the case of "Bedknobs" it was not an improvement...I'm glad I kept the DVD...I'll be selling the BD

[Astro Zombie]

Are your Blu-rays stamped "Whole Grain"? If they're not, that might be the problem.

[HD Goofnut]

The most common answer is the studios. Often times when a catalog title is scheduled for a BD release the respective studio has a choice. They can either use the master they have, which is sometimes more than a decade old or they can strike a new master. Unfortunately, the former is often the choice because it saves them money. Furthermore, there are times when the a certain title is need of a new restoration on top of needing a new master.

[popoboy]

Originally Posted by Astro Zombie

Are your Blu-rays stamped "Whole Grain"? If they're not, that might be the problem.

Haha....That was funny! By the way...I'm not a grain hater...I realize their is a natural grain to film...I've worked with film for years...but I think many people are mistaking a bad mastering job for proper grain...

[popoboy]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

The most common answer is the studios. Often times when a catalog title is scheduled for a BD release the respective studio has a choice. They can either use the master they have, which is sometimes more than a decade old or they can strike a new master. Unfortunately, the former is often the choice because it saves them money. Furthermore, there are times when the a certain title is need of a new restoration on top of needing a new master.

I think you are probably right on this answer...I think it's the amount of time, money and whether they use a new or older transfer...and just how well it's being monitored...I swear, on several I've purchased it looks like someone just hit "START" and didn't check quality control on anything. I guess the reason this bothers me so much is that I thought Blu ray was supposed to be the ultimate in clarity and picture and I keep seeing HD broadcasts of old movies that show just as much detail and yet look so much better than the BD.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by popoboy

I think you are probably right on this answer...I think it's the amount of time, money and whether they use a new or older transfer...and just how well it's being monitored...I swear, on several I've purchased it looks like someone just hit "START" and didn't check quality control on anything. I guess the reason this bothers me so much is that I thought Blu ray was supposed to be the ultimate in clarity and picture and I keep seeing HD broadcasts of old movies that show just as much detail and yet look so much better than the BD.

if you're seeing HD broadcasts that outshine the blu-ray something's wrong with your eyes. the Bedknobs HDTV transfer that was on a year or so ago that looks scrubbed beyond belief and like CRAP....the only HDTV transfer I've EVER seen outshine the blu-ray is NOTLD 99... and that was only because of the color timing

[Scarface32]

I think B&B looks better in the BD than in the DVD.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

The most common answer is the studios. Often times when a catalog title is scheduled for a BD release the respective studio has a choice. They can either use the master they have, which is sometimes more than a decade old or they can strike a new master. Unfortunately, the former is often the choice because it saves them money. Furthermore, there are times when the a certain title is need of a new restoration on top of needing a new master.

Yep, this is it.

[popoboy]

Originally Posted by wormraper

if you're seeing HD broadcasts that outshine the blu-ray something's wrong with your eyes. the Bedknobs HDTV transfer that was on a year or so ago that looks scrubbed beyond belief and like CRAP....the only HDTV transfer I've EVER seen outshine the blu-ray is NOTLD 99... and that was only because of the color timing

Yeah...it's probably my eyes then because I found the BD of Bedknobs a real disappointment, I'll probably never watch it again...Sorry...just my opinion...

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by popoboy

Yeah...it's probably my eyes then because I found the BD of Bedknobs a real disappointment, I'll probably never watch it again...Sorry...just my opinion...

Bedknobs was a very good transfer, easy 4/5 transfer.... what were you expecting? most reviews gave it a 4-4.5/5

[Bigwayne]

Originally Posted by popoboy

Yeah...it's probably my eyes then because I found the BD of Bedknobs a real disappointment, I'll probably never watch it again...Sorry...just my opinion...

Send it to me, I'll gladly enjoy it.

[popoboy]

So...why did watching B & B on BD bother me so much...to me, the picture was so bad in certain parts that it totally took me out of the movie and pissed me off...I saw this movie 3 times in 1971 and again, twice, in 1979 during its re-release to theaters...Never once did I sit in the theater and think that the picture looked bad. So why is it in 2014 I am so sorry I purchased this? I don't get it...something isn't right... (I've also owned this movie on VHS, Beta, Laserdisc and DVD) I guess some will think it looks good...we all have different ways of looking at these things...

[popoboy]

:d

Originally Posted by bigwayne

send it to me, i'll gladly enjoy it.

I'll probably pass it off to my niece...haha

[popoboy]

Originally Posted by wormraper

Bedknobs was a very good transfer, easy 4/5 transfer.... what were you expecting? most reviews gave it a 4-4.5/5

I'm not sure...was just hoping for something better. (and hoping it would look the way I remember it looking in the theater)

[Al_The_Strange]

Eh, so many different films are shot in so many different ways in so many different conditions and stored in different conditions and then transferred in any number of different ways. Different studios treat their films in different ways; some are fully and lovingly-restored and some aren't. Different people like to apply DNR and EE to hell, while different films don't have any touch-ups done but may still have print damage or something.

Despite all the different issues that different films have, there have only been a few I've been genuinely disappointed with (namely the US release of Ong Bak, which is the worst BD quality I know of). But it's sharpness and detail that I care about the most in BDs. Even when ordained with grain, specks, compression noise, and DNR/EE, I've been happy with a lot of titles.

I think there's a lot of personal preference involved though; I just watched One Hour Photo recently, and even though it has issues, I was pretty happy with its level of detail. But other viewers have complained a lot about the compression noise and quality, so if you're a really picky viewer, you may need to comb through some video reviews before dishing out money on a Blu-Ray.

[popoboy]

Originally Posted by wormraper

Bedknobs was a very good transfer, easy 4/5 transfer.... what were you expecting? most reviews gave it a 4-4.5/5

Not sure...I'm guessing these are 20-30 year old reviewers that weren't old enough to remember how this looked in the theater

[popoboy]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Eh, so many different films are shot in so many different ways in so many different conditions and stored in different conditions and then transferred in any number of different ways. Different studios treat their films in different ways; some are fully and lovingly-restored and some aren't. Different people like to apply DNR and EE to hell, while different films don't have any touch-ups done but may still have print damage or something.

Despite all the different issues that different films have, there have only been a few I've been genuinely disappointed with (namely the US release of Ong Bak, which is the worst BD quality I know of). But it's sharpness and detail that I care about the most in BDs. Even when ordained with grain, specks, compression noise, and DNR/EE, I've been happy with a lot of titles.

I think there's a lot of personal preference involved though; I just watched One Hour Photo recently, and even though it has issues, I was pretty happy with its level of detail. But other viewers have complained a lot about the compression noise and quality, so if you're a really picky viewer, you may need to comb through some video reviews before dishing out money on a Blu-Ray.

Thanks for your insight...I appreciate the comments. You are right...I do tend to comb through multiple review sights...I love reading varying reviews of the same title...Sadly I took a chance with B & B, and pre-ordered it from Amazon thinking it's a childhood fave and it's Disney! Guess I should have waited. I'm glad you mentioned "One Hour Photo" I've been wanting that title but had read some bad reviews on it...I truly love the cinematography in that film and was worried it wouldn't look good...I may give it a shot.