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

[ricwhite]

Originally Posted by Stinky-Dinkins

I don't think it's the firmware, the disc, or the player.

I think I remember that after I asked someone about the problem I was having with A Bug's Life they said it has something to do with BD Live functionality on certain units playing certain titles (not that the units are defective or are going bad, it's just it sometimes gets hitchy with certain hardware configurations,) or that some router's get *****y with BDLive. They said to try either A: Diasble BD Live by disabling online connection -or- B: Let the screen just hang for a long time and see if it loads eventually.

I tried the latter (and it worked,) but he could try the first suggestion first.

Since the "hang-ups" don't happen with other players, there must be some firmware update they could make to prevent this from happening. How come other BD players with BD live functionality don't exhibit these problems? It certainly casts a negative opinion of the PS3 as a BD player unless they get it worked out.

[davcole]

Got the package today and watched FOTR.

While it's not a bad transfer by any means, it's certainly not what i'd rate as a top tiered transfer. Even on my 46" set, I saw some pixel color shifting on brief moments and yes, the picture wasn't what i'd call detailed. Then again, it doesn't really seem like a "scrub job" but something more inherent with the source. I felt the colors were strong for the most part, you do just wonder how much more detailed it could be.

As for the audio, it was very good. The score representation was all I could ask for. Howard Shore's score came through magnificently. Sound effects were very active and mostly detailed. The one audio caveat I have is that at times the sound effects seemed to drown out the dialogue.

I'm a fan of the Extended Editions, but got this version as who knows when we'll get the extendeds and I didn't want to wait around for the unknown. I guess i'm so used to the EE, that I forgot just how many changes were made from the theatrical. I have to admit, it was a bit jarring at times.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by ricwhite

Since the "hang-ups" don't happen with other players, there must be some firmware update they could make to prevent this from happening. How come other BD players with BD live functionality don't exhibit these problems? It certainly casts a negative opinion of the PS3 as a BD player unless they get it worked out.

I've never had a problem playing any Blu-Ray discs on my PS3.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

My wife is going with her sister to a baby shower. All alone at home and I can crank the volume as loud as I want.

Hope you have a sturdy foundation. When that cave troll starts hammering, it could bring down the house!

[roughneck0101]

Funny thing is, The two towers dn Return of the King work just fine.

The fellowship of the ring is the First blu ray I have ever had that had a problem not playing, so the question is..is it a WB problem or a Sony problem? Like I stated above, I called sony and they said call WB about it.

Typical hand off really...but again what are the Odds that after returning the set, that two discs are bad? Frustrating for sure. 69.99 + tax frustrating.

[Lt. Aldo Raine]

Originally Posted by roughneck0101

Funny thing is, The two towers dn Return of the King work just fine.

The fellowship of the ring is the First blu ray I have ever had that had a problem not playing, so the question is..is it a WB problem or a Sony problem? Like I stated above, I called sony and they said call WB about it.

Typical hand off really...but again what are the Odds that after returning the set, that two discs are bad? Frustrating for sure. 69.99 + tax frustrating.

like said before, the odds are slim that u get a bad disc again after exchanging it, but it could be possible that a whole bad batch was delivered to where ever u bought it, return it and go get another set from a different location.. it dosent hurt to try again, but i kno its annoying

[Vash]

Watched FOTR and TTT. FOTR was a big disappointment in the PQ department but was not bad by anymeans, still looks leagues above the DVD version. Now TTT looked fantastic, some of scenes were beyond breathtaking in detail. Audio is top notch on both, the ring wraith's screams were actually ear piercing.

[livewyre]

Originally Posted by iceman_mw21

like said before, the odds are slim that u get a bad disc again after exchanging it, but it could be possible that a whole bad batch was delivered to where ever u bought it, return it and go get another set from a different location.. it dosent hurt to try again, but i kno its annoying

I had this happen to me with UP. The bd would hang after the trailers where there's a screen with doug. I had amazon switch the disc and had the same problem. I just wound up watching the dvd . I have a 40 gig ps3 and was updated to the latest firmware at the time.

I was planning on waiting till this weekend to watch the lotr but now i think I'm going to check it out to see if the problem is present here too.

[danman227460]

Did you unplug the ethernet? Some discs don't play well with PS3. I know my Terminator Skynet disc had that issue. It wouldn't load no matter what but once I unplugged the ethernet, it worked fine.

Originally Posted by roughneck0101

Funny thing is, The two towers dn Return of the King work just fine.

The fellowship of the ring is the First blu ray I have ever had that had a problem not playing, so the question is..is it a WB problem or a Sony problem? Like I stated above, I called sony and they said call WB about it.

Typical hand off really...but again what are the Odds that after returning the set, that two discs are bad? Frustrating for sure. 69.99 + tax frustrating.

[raygendreau]

Just finished watching FOTR. I agree with the reviewer on PQ. A step up from the PS3 upscaled DVD but thats about it. I would rate it somwhere between 2 and 3. AQ was better with the DTS-MA HD 6.1 soundtrack using my PS3 with a 7.1 Sony STR-DG720 A/V Rcvr. I rate the AQ between 4 and 5.

The finger chop at the beginning of the movie rattled my bones.

Next up is TT.

[Offender_Mullet]

Originally Posted by roughneck0101

I seem to be the only guy with this problem..I bought LOTR blu, got home and inserted The fellowship of the ring in to my PS3, I got on BD live, played the trailers and then went to play the movie.....All I got was a black screen..nothing else, I tried to go back to the chapters selection and hit play, same thing, I took it back and exchanged it for another...same thing. Sony says Its the disc. contact WB about it. anyone else having this problem? any solutions?

Nothing is wrong. No need for any adjustments. They used so much dnr for Fellowship Of The Ring, that all is left is a black screen.

[AlaskaDon]

Originally Posted by roughneck0101

I seem to be the only guy with this problem..I bought LOTR blu, got home and inserted The fellowship of the ring in to my PS3, I got on BD live, played the trailers and then went to play the movie.....All I got was a black screen..nothing else, I tried to go back to the chapters selection and hit play, same thing, I took it back and exchanged it for another...same thing. Sony says Its the disc. contact WB about it. anyone else having this problem? any solutions?

PS
I do have the latest Firmware update and its a PS3 phat 60 gig model.

No problems here and I also have a launch 60 GB model. I never had the problem that was mentioned with A Bugs Life either. If you're not trying to use any of the BD Live functionality, try turning your network connection off in the settings menu to see if the problem is there. I suspect that it is. Mine works fine with the network connection up, but I have not tried going straight from BD Live to watching the movie though.

[neo78956]

As someone who has never seen the HD TV broadcasts, the only frame of reference I had for the blu-ray editions of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy were the DVDs. That in mind, I thought these discs all looked fantastic, especially when taken into account the post-production of each film.

The Fellowship of the Ring would rank as a 4/5 in terms of PQ for me. There were segments that looked good, and others that looked fantastic. I was never unhappy with the PQ, but I wasn't always blown away. That being said, this is the best this film has ever looked to my eyes. It tended to look a little soft at times, but the scenes that looked soft in the blu-ray never looked good on the dvd either, so I imagine it has more to do with original negative and age of the film rather than the BD transfer itself. The colors all looked amazing. Overall, not a reference quality disc (except for a few select scenes) but a huge upgrade from the DVDs and a great transfer.

The Two Towers was another huge improvement over the DVDs, ranking a 4.5/5 PQ for me. Inching closer and closer towards reference quality, there are still a few soft scenes but nothing detrimental to the overall quality of the release. Again, the colors and depth looked amazing.

The Return of the King is where it's really at. This disc ranks a strong 5/5 PQ. It is spotless, and none of the few nagging things that affected the first two films affect this one. This is reference quality PQ, from start to finish. It looks incredible.

The AQ on all three discs ranks a very strong 5/5. For audiophiles, these discs are going to be reference discs for your sound setup. In fact, the sound was so fantastic that I thought my walls were going to crack.

The special features are the same as the theatrical editions, on SD DVDs. While all engaging and informative, there are nowhere near as extensive as the features on the 4 disc Extended Editions. If you want special features, this set won't be your bag. But If you're like a lot of us and already own the extensive Extended Editions, you'll want to keep those and buy this set. There is a digital copy of each film in the box.

Overall, I'd say this is a must-own set, even if The Fellowship of the Ring isn't perfect in terms of PQ. The overall PQ of the set was fantastic and the good far outweighs any potential bad. As I said earlier, most softness can be traced back to the film itself, not the BD disc. I full believe that Warner has doen a great job in restoring these films and giving them a whole new life on Blu-ray. The AQ is reference quality, and The Two Towers and The Return of the King are nearly spotless, especially ROTK. This is the must-own Blu-ray of 2010

[BluElite]

I dont know about you guys, but I am FLOORED at how horrible the video transfer is for The Lord Of The Rings. I just watched 'The Fellowship' last night; its horrible! I thought I was watching the DVD not the blu-ray! As much money as that movie made, Jackson owes it to everyone to ensure a flawless transfer in ALL categories. This is unacceptable; truly. Peter Jackson should give Spielberg a call PRONTO and learn a lesson or two on how to execute and oversee a reference transfer.

[Lord_Stewie]

Originally Posted by BluElite

I dont know about you guys, but I am FLOORED at how horrible the video transfer is for The Lord Of The Rings. I just watched 'The Fellowship' last night; its horrible! I thought I was watching the DVD not the blu-ray! As much money as that movie made, Jackson owes it to everyone to ensure a flawless transfer in ALL categories. This is unacceptable; truly. Peter Jackson should give Spielberg a call PRONTO and learn a lesson or two on how to execute and oversee a reference transfer.

And what's your problem with the transfer exactly?

When you make such a statement, at least be specific with what you have a problem with.

[Diesel]

Jackson doesn't owe us anything.

[Batman1980]

I would say he does but without him putting in so much hard work for about 15 years we wouldn't even have these movies. I'm watching TTT now and honestly, I don't get why there's so many PQ complaints. Maybe I need something better than a 52" Bravia to watch it on?

[sharkcohen]

52" 1080p LCD, pro calibrated, 6 foot viewing distance, very happy with how FOTR looks.

[Diesel]

His movies, we payed to see them and that is it. He can do/not do whatever he feels like.

[mjbethancourt]

Originally Posted by BluElite

I dont know about you guys, but I am FLOORED at how horrible the video transfer is for The Lord Of The Rings. I just watched 'The Fellowship' last night; its horrible! I thought I was watching the DVD not the blu-ray! As much money as that movie made, Jackson owes it to everyone to ensure a flawless transfer in ALL categories. This is unacceptable; truly. Peter Jackson should give Spielberg a call PRONTO and learn a lesson or two on how to execute and oversee a reference transfer.

Peter Jackson had nothing to do with the production of the blu-ray.