Volver in Blu

[Kristin Simard]

Volver (possibility for October 16th?)

Can anyone report or steer me to a report on PQ and AQ for the Blu-ray of this one?

Thanks in advance.

[blackhawktraffic]

It is already out on BD.

[Kristin Simard]

Originally Posted by blackhawktraffic

It is already out on BD.

Yes. I am considering it for the Oct. 16 buy. I wanted to know if anyone has it and how the Picture and Sound are on it

[Deciazulado]

Optimally transmitted the video is quite remarkable

Volver review

I quite agree

[xmositox]

I can't speak to the audio because i am not an audio guru and everything sounds the same to me...... But i have a 60" Sony Wega and the video was amazing.

I loved it

[Kristin Simard]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Volver review

I quite agree

Thanks. I'll get it Oct. 16.

I want to do my bit to encourage lower budget / independent / foreign films to go to blu.

[blackhawktraffic]

Originally Posted by Kristin Simard

Yes. I am considering it for the Oct. 16 buy. I wanted to know if anyone has it and how the Picture and Sound are on it

haha my bad thought you were asking if it came out that day haha.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Kristin Simard

Thanks. I'll get it Oct. 16.

I want to do my bit to encourage lower budget / independent / foreign films to go to blu.

The picture quality is near perfect. I actually own three versions of this film now (SONY R1 SDVD, 2DVD-UK, Blu-Ray) and this disc clearly wins the competition. Colors are vivid and lush, sound is terrific with excellent density, and the subtitles are white (note that SDVD offers yellow subs). To sum it all up having Almodovar on Blu-Ray is an absolute treat.

This being said Volver was the first title I bought on Blu-Ray and in fact 90% of the reason why I decided to become a Blu-exclusive supporter (this would mean not even considering "neutrality") in addition the superior technical specs our format boasts.

I also strongly recommend that you add to your library THE LIVES OF OTHERS!

Dr.A

[Viiincent]

i should rent that movie ;O

[fronn]

I'll expand on pro-bassoonist and say Volver, The Lives of Others and Black Book are all worth seeing at very least.

[crey014]

Sigh. Region A has it all.

[bhampton]

I have this and love it,

Highly Recommended.

[edetein]

I know that no one has commented on this thread for quite some time, I just wanted to write what I wish I would have read before purchasing the Volver Blu-Ray. I was rather disappointed with the image quality of this Blu-Ray. Before embarking upon my overall film library conversion from SD to BD, one of my first thoughts were "I cannot wait to see how well Almodovar's films will translate into BD."

While the Volver BD does look better than the R1 and R2 Sony SDs, I feel that it is only marginally better. To me, the BD just looks like a very good SD transfer and does not have the rich BD definition that I was so hoping for in an Almodovar film that I have seen in BDs such as "A Serious Man" by the Coen Brothers which sets a great standard for BD picture quality. I have not seen a good bitrate comparison between the SDs and BD; I am very curious to see such data.

If you are thinking of purchasing this BD, please try to rent it first if possible and compare yourself. This was a very early BD release by Sony and it seems like not much effort was placed into this BD transfer. I hope that much care will go into future Almodovar BD transfers as this new cinema medium was almost derived to showcase his brilliant artistry.

[pro-bassoonist]

I cannot disagree anymore with the above post. I own both the SDVD and BD of Volver and the gap in quality between the two is enormous. Also, I am unsure why you would want to compare Volver to A Serious Man and then draw some definitive conclusions as to how successful Sony's treatment of Almodovar's film is. Simply put, it does not make any sense.

Pro-B

[Jarfa]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

I own both the SDVD and BD of Volver and the gap in quality between the two is enormous. ... as to how successful Sony's treatment of Almodovar's film is.
Pro-B

Just my 2 cents

Volver and Todo Sobre Mi Madre will be released in May 19 in Spain, but Sony decided that audio from Volver will be DD 5.1, and for Todo Sobre Mi Madre will be DD 2.0

I Know that Almodovar movies are strong dialogue features... but what is the policy of spanish distributor, Cameo Records to make Volver with worst audio than Us release ?

Region B locked i can try to understand but, make me wonder why castellan subs only maybe Castellan excess of civilization

Guess Sony got no policy in this matter... Almodovar has

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

I cannot disagree anymore with the above post. I own both the SDVD and BD of Volver and the gap in quality between the two is enormous. Also, I am unsure why you would want to compare Volver to A Serious Man and then draw some definitive conclusions as to how successful Sony's treatment of Almodovar's film is. Simply put, it does not make any sense.

Pro-B

Agreed. While far from a reference quality disc, Volver looks great on blu, with evident detail and a richness of color. I wasn't a big fan of the film, apart from Cruz's acting, but the PQ is very good.

[edetein]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Also, I am unsure why you would want to compare Volver to A Serious Man and then draw some definitive conclusions as to how successful Sony's treatment of Almodovar's film is. Simply put, it does not make any sense.

Pro-B

I am sorry but I think that you might be having trouble with reading comprehension.

[gettodamoofies]

Originally Posted by edetein

I am sorry but I think that you might be having trouble with reading comprehension.

How so? Your second paragraph clearly states that you feel there is only a marginal difference between the DVD and BD. Pro-B stated disagreement to your opinion and offered his own: that there is an enormous difference.

You also clearly state you wish that Volver had a transfer of similar qualities to that of "A Serious Man" and that a comparison would be something that would interest you. Pro-B has stated that a comparison of those two titles is a peculiar choice. One is a film released on BD in the infancy of Full HD titles (whether HD DVD or BD) with MPEG-2 video, the other is a 2009 title by well-respected and well backed (financially) filmmakers using MPEG4-AVC video. Both have different aspect ratios, not to mention different production design and photography. Naturally there will be differences in the picture quality for a number of reasons.

To compare the end video result is, as Pro-B stated, something which doesn't make sense. Pro-B has comprehended your statements just fine, as have I. That doesn't mean they have to be agreed with.

Why not choose to compare Volver to Broken Embraces for instance? Two films by the same director and released by the same studio. At least then you're comparing apples to apples, not apples to oranges.

[LordoftheRings]

Cool flick.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by edetein

I know that no one has commented on this thread for quite some time, I just wanted to write what I wish I would have read before purchasing the Volver Blu-Ray. I was rather disappointed with the image quality of this Blu-Ray. Before embarking upon my overall film library conversion from SD to BD, one of my first thoughts were "I cannot wait to see how well Almodovar's films will translate into BD."

While the Volver BD does look better than the R1 and R2 Sony SDs, I feel that it is only marginally better. To me, the BD just looks like a very good SD transfer and does not have the rich BD definition that I was so hoping for in an Almodovar film that I have seen in BDs such as "A Serious Man" by the Coen Brothers which sets a great standard for BD picture quality. I have not seen a good bitrate comparison between the SDs and BD; I am very curious to see such data.

If you are thinking of purchasing this BD, please try to rent it first if possible and compare yourself. This was a very early BD release by Sony and it seems like not much effort was placed into this BD transfer. I hope that much care will go into future Almodovar BD transfers as this new cinema medium was almost derived to showcase his brilliant artistry.

I thought the Volver Blu ray was eons ahead of the DVD, details were much defined and the contrast especially was a major improvement over the DVD version. The only thing that bothered me is that Sony's standard subtitle placement policy put the subtitles cut in the black bar, leaving users with cinemascope screens (like me) in the cold and to be forced to watch it in windowbox (Let's say post it note for us CIHers), but that was a problem with the rest of Aldomovar's films and films released in North America by Sony, and my budget hasn't been so kind to me to get the new oppo players.