I consider myself something of an "archivist" when it comes to my compulsive collector habits, be it music, comic books or movies, meaning that, no matter if there's a new, improved version (let's say, a better printed, hardcover collection of some old monthly comic books), I always like to have the originals, I always strive to be able to enjoy them the way they were released, warts and all, because I value that historical factor.
What I am trying to explain is that, while I love the extended edition of the LOTR Trilogy, and I bask in their trove of additional features, for me, skipping the original theatrical cut was never an option. I want BOTH, the theatrical and the extended, for different reasons.
My point here is that I was not one of those on the fence about this release, wondering whether to get this to satisfy my LOTR immediate cravings, or to avoid it and wait for the foreseeable boxset, the one that Michael Pellerin and even Peter Jackson have mentioned some times.
So I was more than willing to buy this set now, and then, whatever pumped-up mega boxset they throw us later in the future.
But then, I started reading about the PQ issues... And while I am as demanding as the next guy, I am also quite aware that there's always a lot of noise in the Net, and a lot of people who just want to show you that they are more discerning than the rest of us. So I tried to be sensible about it, and just wait and see, and try to form my own judgement.
And then, the first screen captures started to show up, and… well, it was certainly discouraging, but I told myself to remember that still images NEVER tell the whole story about quality transfer, at least, not the way that the image in motion do. Many apparent artifacts will be not so apparent when you actually get to watch the movie on your display of choice. And, of course, there's also the matter of how those still images were captured and compressed, and how much that can be a factor in their quality, too.
So, I tried to remain positive.
And then… Then I happened upon these:
http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/43821
http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/43820
http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/43823
http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/43824
Well, if any of you can not clearly see the difference there, if you can not appreciate the healthy, detailed grain of the HD broadcasting, versus the blurry, waxed look that is typical of poorly aplied, unprofessional noise reduction…
Just let's say that, sorry, but your eyes are clearly not trained enough.
The image quality of LOTR: THE FELLOWSHIP… is simply UNACCEPTABLE for blu-ray release, at least, if we want to strive for the high standard we all know the blu-ray format can offer us, instead of letting it slide backwards to the washed out compression that the studios are trying to force on us.
I am not saying I preffer the HD broadcast over the blu-ray, for it shows its share of issues too (mostly, compression artifacts), but, by comparison, it serves to prove that the blu-ray is HIGHLY DNRed and waxed-up, and that it could be much improved.
The image quality of LOTR: THE FELLOWSHIP… is simply UNACCEPTABLE for blu-ray release, at least, if we want to strive for the high standard we all know the blu-ray format can offer us, instead of letting it slide backwards to the washed out compression that the studios are trying to force on us.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
their stance on the shortcomings of FOTR, since no one is complaining about the quality of TTT or ROTK at all.
French Steelbook Region free?
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