'Tears of the Sun' homework...if you're interested of course.

[Grisle]

I recently watched my copy of 'Tears of the Sun' and noticed a lot of white specks throughout the whole film. I thought it was my disc so I rented one from Blockbuster online and it had the same specks. So is this just a huge coincidence or is it the transfer? So here comes the homework...I just skimmed through a few minutes and came out with a lot of specks. This film has a lot of things in it the reflect...like water on the faces and light coming through foliage, but these are specks that I think are from the disc. Here goes:

0:36 - Under the N
8:46 - Left shoulder
9:05 - Streak on the bandage
9:15 - Above left shoulder
9:40 - Above left shoulder
9:52 - Twice within the second
10:01 - Right side above middle
15:35 - Willis' nose - left side
18:12 - The grass flickers through the scene
18:14 - Above the mountain
18:42 - 1 foot from Willis' face
21:00 - In the trees
21:02 - Bottom in the plants
21:05 - Right side of chest
30:15 - 2 above the big shack

I only spent about 8 minutes going through so these are by no means all of them...I noticed a whole lot more when I watched the film in it's entirety.

Now I don't see how there would be anyway that all these would be missed by everyone including the reviewers so I figure it's either the 2 discs that I've seen (which seems unlikely) are bad or I'm interpreting these specks and artifacts incorrectly. If someone could check their copy out for me and let me know if they see any of these...I don't expect anyone to go through them all, but I wanted to give a lot of examples just in case.

[ClaytonMG]

They're not there on mine. I even got close to the screen to make sure I didn't miss them.

[Grisle]

Thanks for checking Clayton. My initial reaction like I said was the disc...then I thought it was my setup, but when I took it to my brothers house it was all the same. It's crazy to me but I must have 2 discs from the same bad batch...if that's what it is. The specks are really distracting to me, but I don't know what to do...I'd feel bad trying to sell it on Ebay and I don't want to just buy another one and have two. I do happen to love this movie though so if I have to I guess I'd just buy it again. Do you think I could call Sony and setup some sort of exchange...I'd be willing to pay for that.

[lgans316]

What a coincidence. I just reported about the white specks in AVS. It's visible on my copy. Quite irritating. Reminds me of Casino HD DVD.

[DavePS3]

I've never seen this on any discs but admittedly, I'm running 1080i on a HD CRT. I will say that they should have put the director's cut on BD.

[owa]

Originally Posted by ClaytonMG

They're not there on mine. I even got close to the screen to make sure I didn't miss them.

Yeah, I've watched it 3 or 4 times and never noticed any white specks. Just spot checking now I didn't find any scenes with it either but of course, didn't go all the way through it again.

[owa]

Actually, going back through it again, I have found a few although at least one of them was not at the same timecode. For example, I found one at 9:09 (bottom-right corner -- pants leg area).

Hmm, maybe I am seeing the same ones though and you just missed one (9:09). I didn't think I saw one at 9:52 but trying it again (since I found one other one that matched yours), I think I just missed it earlier. I saw the double-one this time. At 9:52, one on the left, at 9:53, one on the right.

Can't believe I missed those when watching the movie a while back since it's usually easier to pick up stuff like that on repeat viewings. For a while, I thought it was one of the better looking titles I had and the white specks usually really bother me.

[Scripture]

Originally Posted by Grisle

I recently watched my copy of 'Tears of the Sun' and noticed a lot of white specks throughout the whole film. I thought it was my disc so I rented one from Blockbuster online and it had the same specks. So is this just a huge coincidence or is it the transfer? So here comes the homework...I just skimmed through a few minutes and came out with a lot of specks. This film has a lot of things in it the reflect...like water on the faces and light coming through foliage, but these are specks that I think are from the disc. Here goes:

0:36 - Under the N
8:46 - Left shoulder
9:05 - Streak on the bandage
9:15 - Above left shoulder
9:40 - Above left shoulder
9:52 - Twice within the second
10:01 - Right side above middle
15:35 - Willis' nose - left side
18:12 - The grass flickers through the scene
18:14 - Above the mountain
18:42 - 1 foot from Willis' face
21:00 - In the trees
21:02 - Bottom in the plants
21:05 - Right side of chest
30:15 - 2 above the big shack

I only spent about 8 minutes going through so these are by no means all of them...I noticed a whole lot more when I watched the film in it's entirety.

Now I don't see how there would be anyway that all these would be missed by everyone including the reviewers so I figure it's either the 2 discs that I've seen (which seems unlikely) are bad or I'm interpreting these specks and artifacts incorrectly. If someone could check their copy out for me and let me know if they see any of these...I don't expect anyone to go through them all, but I wanted to give a lot of examples just in case.

No, you're not alone. I noticed this a while ago, but just simply didn't care. I noticed it at three of the points that you mentioned: 9:05 - Streak on the bandage, 18:12 - The grass flickers through the scene, 21:00 - In the trees. I'll have to go back and re-watch this again to look for the others.

[david2189]

as the threads been created? is this film actually any good?

[Grisle]

I really like this film. It's got great action, drama, story and I think the soundtrack is cool. It's definitely worth owning, but I guess there are some discs out there like mine that aren't too good. You should check it out if you can...cool avatar btw.

[jw]

Originally Posted by david2189

as the threads been created? is this film actually any good?

really good movie. I enjoyed it when it came out on DVD, havent watched the blu-ray

[PS3_Kiwi]

Originally Posted by david2189

as the threads been created? is this film actually any good?

I really like this movie. my copy has an excellent video transfer and great audio.

I think that the content put a lot of people off it. One of the most under rated BD releases.

[Grisle]

Originally Posted by PS3_Kiwi

I really like this movie. my copy has an excellent video transfer and great audio.

I think that the content put a lot of people off it. One of the most under rated BD releases.

Rub it in why don't you! Just kidding...so you don't noticed anything either? Man I'm so jealous. Do you think Sony would do a disc exchange or am I just out of luck? I should just email them...it can't hurt...unless my fingertips are sore and then I would think it could.

[cajmoyper]

Originally Posted by david2189

as the threads been created? is this film actually any good?

Oh yeah. It's not like SEALs in The Rock where they're just chumps. This is definitely a better representation of what a SEAL team could and would do. I loved it. I'd rather the girl had been someone other than Monica Bellucci though.

[Scripture]

Originally Posted by cajmoyper

Oh yeah. It's not like SEALs in The Rock where they're just chumps. This is definitely a better representation of what a SEAL team could and would do. I loved it.I'd rather the girl had been someone other than Monica Bellucci though.

That.....that....that's blasphemy! Just kidding, but I really do find her to be extremely attractive and easy on the eyes.

[ClaytonMG]

That is really weird. I'll admit I only check the first like 3 time stamps and didn't notice anything. Are you watching it at 1080/24p? I am and I went frame by frame and didn't notice anything. I really looked for the streak on the bandage but there was nothing there. Is it possible it's just dust on the film? Or does it actually stay there for a second?

[Grisle]

Originally Posted by Scripture

No, you're not alone. I noticed this a while ago, but just simply didn't care. I noticed it at three of the points that you mentioned: 9:05 - Streak on the bandage, 18:12 - The grass flickers through the scene, 21:00 - In the trees. I'll have to go back and re-watch this again to look for the others.

Did you not care because you don't care for the film or just because they didn't bother you? I was distracted and I wasn't even looking for things...they're just real apparent. The movie looks really great otherwise.

[Scripture]

Originally Posted by Grisle

Did you not care because you don't care for the film or just because they didn't bother you? I was distracted and I wasn't even looking for things...they're just real apparent. The movie looks really great otherwise.

No, I liked the film. I didn't care, because this is the best version of the film that's available to us. Yes, if you concentrate on it, then it can sometimes be distracting. I tried not to concentrate on it, and just enjoyed the film.

If it really bothered me badly enough, I would have traded or sold the disc.

[jw]

Originally Posted by Scripture

No, I liked the film. I didn't care, because this is the best version of the film that's available to us. Yes, if you concentrate on it, then it can sometimes be distracting. I tried not to concentrate on it, and just enjoyed the film.

hard to concentrate when stuff like that is obvious, just pisses me off

[Scripture]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

hard to concentrate when stuff like that is obvious, just pisses me off

Depends on the discerning eye, while it might be obvious to some, it's not so obvious to others. While I admit that I can see some of the aberrations, it's ultimately not a deal breaker to me personally.