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

[space-monkey]

Originally Posted by sharkcohen

Blu-ray (23Mbps VC1) | HDTV (17Mbps MPEG-2) | Theatrical DVD

Can I be honest? I've read about this stuff all over the internet for the last week, and in comparisons like these, it seems to me that only actual digital noise has been removed, not film grain. The grain in the FOTR shots is still visible on the BD shots, and what I see on the HDTV shots seems more like tiny macoblocking rather than grain.

That's just me. The colors are unquestionably better on the BD, and in many instances, if you look closely, the actual detail is better as well, along with more "pop."

Some shots, yes, some detail has been removed, but for the most part, it looks like a cleaner version of an already DNR-ed (post-production) image to me.

[Andes]

Originally Posted by sharkcohen

Blu-ray (23Mbps VC1) | HDTV (17Mbps MPEG-2) | Theatrical DVD

Thanks for the screenshot comparison. I've decided to hold off buying the EE dvd set which I'll check out at my public library. I hope the EE lives up to the hype. So based on the pics and other reviews I will buy the blu-ray set at Target Tuesday morning.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Andes

Thanks for the screenshot comparison. I've decided to hold off buying the EE dvd set which I'll check out at my public library. I hope the EE lives up to the hype. So based on the pics and other reviews I will buy the blu-ray set at Target Tuesday morning.

I just watched the EEs for the first time the last couple of days.

The first two are indeed better than the theatricals (Fellowship by a little, Two Towers by more) but I thought RotK was not better than the theatrical.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

Prior to the release I sold my TE dvd set for $25 and I got the Blu-ray set for $50 from WHV. So $25 out of pocket for the upgrade...not too shabby.

That's the best deal I've heard of yet.

[billzfan]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I just watched the EEs for the first time the last couple of days.

The first two are indeed better than the theatricals (Fellowship by a little, Two Towers by more) but I thought RotK was not better than the theatrical.

I honestly don't think any of the extended are better. The scenes added, including Sauroman death, are either poorly staged or add little to nothing. It's just my opinion. I actually owned both on DVD and only watched the extended once or twice. i found myself always going back to the original cuts because they just flow so much better.

[gregmasciola]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I just watched the EEs for the first time the last couple of days.

The first two are indeed better than the theatricals (Fellowship by a little, Two Towers by more) but I thought RotK was not better than the theatrical.

I can't watch ROTK without the death of Saurumon.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by billzfan

I honestly don't think any of the extended are better. The scenes added, including Sauroman death, are either poorly staged or add little to nothing. It's just my opinion. I actually owned both on DVD and only watched the extended once or twice. i found myself always going back to the original cuts because they just flow so much better.

I don't see myself watching the EEs that often in the future, simply because of the 3.5 hour length of the first two and the 4 hour length of RotK

I will probably watch the theatricals a little more often. Something like 2 times a year to 1 time.

Originally Posted by gregmasciola

I can't watch ROTK without the death of Saurumon.

I actually didn't care for that scene that much. Parts of it I did, parts I didn't.

I prefer the theatrical where Gandalf says something to the effect of "just leave him in there"

[RyRyMcNizzy13]

i've secene the EE's and thats why i would rather stick with the TE's. you see them once and thats that/ i would much rather go back to the TE's over EE's anyday

[bhampton]

I pretty much prefer the TE's too.

I particularly hate the singing at the funeral added to one of the EEs.

I agree that many of the added scenes seem to be sub-par.

I know a lot more attention and work went into what was prepared for Theatrical releases.

(Still... I'm not planning to buy the current set coming out on Tuesday since I think there is a chance the EEs will have better PQ.)

-Brian

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I particularly hate the singing at the funeral added to one of the EEs.

I totally forgot about that!

Terrible addition.

[gregmasciola]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I prefer the theatrical where Gandalf says something to the effect of "just leave him in there"

I think all that happens in the theatrical version is Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli ride up to find Merry & Pippen. Tree-Beard says something like "The filth of Saurumon is washing away", Pippen finds the palantir in the water, and that's it. We're just left to assume that Saurumon is dead. It just kind of feels like a crappy ending to his story to me. Honestly, I've always felt that that scene was cut short just to get people to buy the extended version.

[TrenchRun]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

You're not seeing "film grain" in a still screencap from HDTV. Sorry. Film grain really needs to be in motion or heavily magnified to be clearly identified, especially when dealing with a digital source, where "speckling" could be introduced to the picture from a number of reasons other than native grain. (And anyway, the speckling effect in the HDTV shot looks very "white". Film grain doesn't appear as white speckling, it appears as a pattern of diffusion and diffraction of the base color, which is virtually invisible in a still shot. What you're seeing there is probably digital noise; but again, it's very hard to tell with a still shot). What you can identify from a screenshot is a loss of detail...

... another thing you can identify from a screenshot is OBVIOUSLY DIFFERENT DISPLAY SETTINGS, which is exactly why I say that screencap comparisons are complete Voodoo. There is absolutely no level of scientific rigor or integrity to a screencap comparison unless ALL of the controlling and varying factors are documented and verified, and/or kept uniform, which in this case, they visibly are not.

If you take screencap comparisons at face value, then I've got some pictures of Bigfoot and UFO's that I'd like to sell you.

"You're not seeing "film grain" in a still screencap from HDTV. Sorry. "

that statement is 100% wrong...I worked at technicolor for 10 years, (including doing digital film restoration) I can tell you that you absolutely CAN see film grain on single frames....just like you can on a still photograph. Also there's no such thing as a "speckling effect".

[gregmasciola]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I totally forgot about that!

Terrible addition.

Now that's one of the parts I could do without.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by gregmasciola

I think all that happens in the theatrical version is Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli ride up to find Merry & Pippen. Tree-Beard says something like "The filth of Saurumon is washing away", Pippen finds the palantir in the water, and that's it. We're just left to assume that Saurumon is dead. It just kind of feels like a crappy ending to his story to me. Honestly, I've always felt that that scene was cut short just to get people to buy the extended version.

Treebeard says he's locked in the tower and Gandalf says "and that is where he shall stay, he has no more power anymore" (again, something like that). Then Pippin finds it in the water.

[Blu-Benny]

i prefer the TE's to the EE's movie wise.

the EE's don't anything that i can't live without.

i actually only ever bought the EE's for the extra's witch i enjoy watching as much as the movies themselves.

[neo78956]

I like both versions. The Thearical Editions are what I use to introduce friends of mine who have been living under a rock their whole lives and never saw the films before, or if there's a movie night. The Extended Editions are best suited for the uber-fans such as myself who want as much footage as possible.

Anyone seen this on shelves early in Texas?

[radagast]

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.

That's an oversimplfication. Toshiba and Microsoft were throwing money around, also. That's why Paramount, who originally was doing both formats dropped Blu-ray until the war was over.

The reason Warner decided to pull the plug was because of future considerations with bandwidth and storage capacity. 3D hd-dvds? Don't make me laugh. It couldn't happen.

[radagast]

I'm holding the BRs in my hands as I type. While at Wal-mart, I decided to get a set out of the back and see if it would ring up. Usually, on items like that, the register will say, "This item not available for sale" until the date it is supposed to be available. A friend rung it up at $69.99, did a price match to Fry's 59.77 price and here it is at home with me.

[gregmasciola]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Treebeard says he's locked in the tower and Gandalf says "and that is where he shall stay, he has no more power anymore" (again, something like that). Then Pippin finds it in the water.

I only saw the theatrical version once when it first came out, so you've probably seen it more than me.

[jonmoz]

Don't forget that Sony's Blu-ray format had "Fox" on it's side,and their ace up their sleeve "Sony pictures" and "Mgm",so it was only a matter of time until Blu-ray won,Warners decision just speeded things up.When Warner announced they were jumping ship it was announced just before the C.e.s,at this show Toshiba tried to assure people everything was o.k,but then very soon after declared Hd-dvd dead.Warners decision was after talks with Sony,where Sony said that the format war was in a deadlock and this was not good for either format.

It was not the best news for me as i had a player,and quite a few movies !!!