Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Theatrical Versions) - April 6, 2010

[billzfan]

I ordered from Best Buy for $59.99 with free shipping. I can live with that.

[jonmoz]

Jwoodwar, buy them.

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by petmic10

Okay guys, here is my take/opinion on FOTR in two words:

"Very Inconsistent"

First of all, it is definately much better than dvd version,
it's soft at times and DNR is definately present in various
scenes throughout the movie. One particular scene when
Frodo and Sam are on the outskirts of the Shire, and are
about to leave, looked as if I was watching an upscaled dvd.
Bilbo's birthday party and subsequent scenes in his home
were soft and facial close ups lacked detail which was obviously
due to the use of DNR. It could and should have been
much better.

All is not lost, to me the PQ in some scenes were quite good
especially in the Mines of Moria, were blacks were inky and
detail was abundant(do I see film grain). Honestly the overall
PQ was better than I expected(I expected the worst). Don't get
me wrong, there are problems with this movie but it's not as bad
as some of the pics I've seen indicated. To me Gladiator was
much worse.

For those that care(I do) the audio is were this movie really
shines. In the scene after Gollum was tortured and the Nazgul
ride out on horseback towards the Shire, the sound of horses
galloping felt so strong and powerful it was as if they were
running wildly through my room. Bass is prevelant throughout
and packs quite a punch. Those who appreciate a good audio
track will be more than pleased.

I see DNR on my 60" screen from my seating distance
and I expect those with larger displays will see it also and
likely be disappointed. Viewing on a smaller screen tends to
hide the flaws in a transfer, so those with smaller screens
may enjoy the PQ.

Video: 3 out of 5
Audio: 4.5 out of 5

Screen size: Pioneer PRO151 60" Elite(calibrated with my I1pro meter)
Seating distance: 8 to 9 feet

Thanks for the review. 3 out of 5 on a 60"? Maybe some can understand how much this can bother some of us on 90, 100, 110, 120 inch screens from less than 2.0 screen widths away if a 60" from OVER 2 screen widths away view distance is getting a 3/5 rating

[jonmoz]

Mredman, as i say i have watched "Fellowship" all the way through,but i have looked at the other two movies when i was comparing them to the Dvd's,and the movies get better in terms of picture quality with each film.

A bit like most boxsets to be fair,as the first movie in a series will not have the buget of the others,as film studios are always taking a gamble to a movies popularity.

[jonmoz]

Good point Todd,the screen size will be a factor,i remember watching "The ninth gate" Blu-ray on my 108 inch screen,and not being that impressed although it was still a lot better than my Dvd version.

I then had a look at the same movie on my 32 inch Sony lcd in my living room,and it looked a lot better.I also find that i am a lot happier with Dvd's on this size pf t.v,as in my cinema room i tend to only watch Blu-rays.

Another point can be how close people sit to there screen,as with the advent of flatter screens people can fit a lot bigger tv's in their rooms,but a lot of the time people forget that if you are to close to the screen that you will not getting the best from your display,you are much better to choose your size of t.v based on the distance you sit from it,rather than the biggest size that will fit.

There are guidelines for this ie what distance from a screen you should be to percieve certain resolutions,and of course improve viewing comfort etc.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by billzfan

Who has Lord of the Rings the cheapest right now?

Probably Peter Jackson, I am sure he did not pay for his copy

[Damage Inc.]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Probably Peter Jackson, I am sure he did not pay for his copy

And if he did, he might have gone like: "I paid for THIS MESS?!" *goes to the store and complains*

[Ernest Rister]

Okay, you guys straighten me out here... Wasn't the 50GB storage space a key reason for Blu-Ray defeating HD-DVD? If I remember correctly, the third release of the LOTR films featured both Extended and Theatrical cuts, and received glowing reviews. I'm not trying to make an inappropriate comparison, but it seems to me if a DVD can handle seamless branching, how in the world can advanced technology like Blu-Ray be so challenged by it, to the point that it cannot do what was done (apparently with success) on DVD? Fellowship of the Ring sports around 30 minutes of new material, The Two Towers adds 43 minutes, and Return of the King adds 50 or so. That's not an inconsiderable amount of material, which explains why the films were broken into two platters on DVD. But I thought that's what Blu-Ray was all about, that Blu-Ray with its 50GB capacity would be able to handle and outperform tasks DVD struggled with.

I never purchased the third release of LOTR on DVD, because I already owned the TE and EE, so didn't see the point in going for round three with the seamless branching of both cuts - but unless I've gone senile, I distinctly remember the video quality receiving very high marks (for DVD) which surprised me. I'm sure we all remember the Frankenstein Monster that was the Platinum Edition of Beauty and the Beast, where Disney jammed three versions of the film plus bonus features plus commentary all on one DVD. I was therefore surprised the Round Three release of LOTR on DVD apparently didn't suffer from the same issues (unless critics were so enthusiastic about the film, they excused things they'd normally pounce on).

So get my mind right...is it or is it not possible to have a HD seamless branching version of the theatrical and extended cuts of Fellowship of the Ring on a 50GB Blu-Ray disc without a loss in quality? How about Two Towers and Return of the King?

[Ernest Rister]

By the way - you know what would be a marvelous bonus feature for the eventual 5th home video release? All of the Quenya, Dwarvish, and Black Tongue dialog translated to English via subtitles. I was looking at the bonus features on the EE of ROTK, and they show clips of Aragorn's song at the end of the film with English subtitles ("Out of the Great Sea I come").

I'd love to see all of the particular languages translated via subtitle for the next release - Gimli's dwarvish insult in Lothlorien (prompting Aragorn's quiet "That was not helpful!") for instance, Aragorn's songs in FOTR and ROTK...and I'd also like to see translated lyrics for the powerful choral underscore by Howard Shore (just what are those people chanting?) -- not in real time, mind you - that's asking too much. But I'd love to know what the chorus is chanting and singing, track to track.

[jonmoz]

The key reason Blu-ray beat Hd-dvd was studio support,Sony paid Warner a huge ammount of money so they would not make Hd-dvd's anymore.

To be fair though the format war needed a winner for any of them to progress.

[petmic10]

Originally Posted by Todd Smith

Thanks for the review. 3 out of 5 on a 60"? Maybe some can understand how much this can bother some of us on 90, 100, 110, 120 inch screens from less than 2.0 screen widths away if a 60" from OVER 2 screen widths away view distance is getting a 3/5 rating

Todd,

Unfortunately, I can spot DNR rather quickly and it is definately
in FOTR. Some people won't be bothered especially those with
smaller screens. The screen caps make it seem much worse
than it actually is, it made me expect the worst but this is far
from Gladiator bad. It could/should have been better.

On a good note, The Mines of Moria scenes were filled with
plenty of detail, film grain appeared to be intact and there
were no signs of DNR that my eyes could see.

The audio portion was outstanding, no one will be disappointed
with this DTS HD MA track.

Mike

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by jonmoz

Good point Todd,the screen size will bae a factor,i remember watching "The ninth gate" Blu-ray on my 108 inch screen,and not being that impressed although it was still a lot better than my Dvd version.

I then had a look at the same movie on my 32 inch Sony lcd in my living room,and it looked a lot better.I also find that i am a lot happier with Dvd's on this size pf t.v,as in my cinema room i tend to only watch Blu-rays.

Another point can be how close people sit to there screen,as with the advent of flatter screens people can fit a lot bigger tv's in their rooms,but a lot of the time people forget that if you are to close to the screen that you will not getting the best from your display,you are much better to choose your size of t.v based on the distance you sit from it,rather than the biggest size that will fit.

There are guidelines for this ie what distance from a screen you should be to percieve certain resolutions,and of course improve viewing comfort etc.

Exactly and agreed. The difference between watching films on my tiny 46" plasma (in a non light controlled room) upstairs from ~2.5-3 screen widths view distance to my 94" projection screen from a 1.8 view distance is night and day (in a light treated room). The difference between upconverted dvd and blu ray on the 46" at 2.5-3 screen widths is minor at best for most material while on the projector it is drastic........hell the only upconverted dvds I can stand even watching on the projector anymore are the concerts that I cannot get on blu ray. This is how noticable the difference is on the projector..........the 46" from my longer view distance, upconverted dvd and blu ray both look atleast good (blu ray is better of course, but the difference is minor at best from my seat).

The other thing is IF you are not sitting within a optimal distance to your 1080p display, you will not see all the detail that 1080p has to offer, but on the other hand, you probably wont see a lot of the issues either, so it is a mixed bag. For 1080p, the optimal view distance to see all the detail is 1.5-1.0 screen widths view distance from my reading of various studies/articles............most people on here are MUCH further than that and when you combine that with a small screen in the ~50 inch range or lower it is no wonder many people find these problematic transfers to look good, great etc and also think some of us with bigger screens, closer view distances and higher sensitivity to these issues are loco!

Ignorance is bliss with A/V and I suspect that is also part of the case with many or at least some who find FOTR to be a "great" looking title. It might be wise to not educate yourself on issues like those present in FOTR so you can keep enjoying these problematic titles. For many of us who have educated ourselves, it can be somewhat of a curse since once you learn it, you cant unlearn it and turn it off

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by petmic10

Todd,

Unfortunately, I can spot DNR rather quickly and it is definately
in FOTR. Some people won't be bothered especially those with
smaller screens. The screen caps make it seem much worse
than it actually is, it made me expect the worst but this is far
from Gladiator bad. It could/should have been better.

On a good note, The Mines of Moria scenes were filled with
plenty of detail, film grain appeared to be intact and there
were no signs of DNR that my eyes could see.

The audio portion was outstanding, no one will be disappointed
with this DTS HD MA track.

Mike

Thanks Mike. I am sure there are still good portions to be seen, but there should have been more

Glad to hear the audio is outstanding These tracks on dvd were always 3 of my favorite and I know it will be the same for blu ray. I am more of an audio guy (believe it or not) than video and I am still very excited to give these a rent for the audio alone So many amazing audio moments........man I cant wait to hear these again! It has been years!

[jonmoz]

The last thing i am trying to do is give "The fellowship of the ring" an easy ride in terms of any faults with it's transfer,and as people and reviews have said it's not perfect.But after watching it all the way through i am not as unhappy with it as i thought i would be.

Also the sound which is just as important to me,is awsome,and a very good upgrade over the Dvd,which was no slouch in the audio department.

Todd i can't agree more with your comment on dvd's on a large screen,as i nearly find them unwachable after blu-ray

[mredman]

Originally Posted by Todd Smith

Thanks for the review. 3 out of 5 on a 60"? Maybe some can understand how much this can bother some of us on 90, 100, 110, 120 inch screens from less than 2.0 screen widths away if a 60" from OVER 2 screen widths away view distance is getting a 3/5 rating

Yeah but jonmoz has seen it on a 108 screen. and says it looks good and definitely not as bad as some say and it is way better then the upscaled DVD

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by jonmoz

Todd i can't agree more with your comment on dvd's on a large screen,as i nearly find them unwachable after blu-ray

I hear you. Blu ray and HD-DVD have both spoiled me and DVD is painful to watch on the big screen at this point.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by jonmoz

The key reason Blu-ray beat Hd-dvd was studio support,Sony paid Warner a huge ammount of money so they would not make Hd-dvd's anymore.

To be fair though the format war needed a winner for any of them to progress.

Yes, but I'd like to think the posibilites of Blu-Ray (50GB storage, etc.) was part of the reason for the studio support.

[RiseDarthVader]

Why have the screenshots been taken down? Request from Warner Bros?

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by mredman

Yeah but jonmoz has seen it on a 108 screen. and says it looks good and definitely not as bad as some say and it is way better then the upscaled DVD

Exactly which just illustrates how subjective these issues are as far as how much or little they will bother you. Me and jonmoz could be sitting together watching this film at 108 inches and he could be saying, "you know, its not as bad as some have said!", while I am saying "man, these look just as bad as Dave, Xylon, Ken, etc.........have made them out to be, and maybe even as bad as the youtube user described"..........its all subjective and there are so many factors that will bring EACH individual to whatever opinion they come to as far as a given transfer.

If you can, find a reviewer who best mimics your viewing tolerance as far as these issues and if possible on a similar size screen. Xylon and Dave are 2 guys for me that I have come to know and trust from what my eyes commonly see compared to what they are showing/describing. Xylon in particular is hitting 100% in my book so far.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by RiseDarthVader

Why have the screenshots been taken down? Request from Warner Bros?

Yup!

I saw some Fellowship last night on TBS HD...of course they cropped it though...