Omega Man Disappointment

[JasonR]

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture

'The Omega Man' first received the remaster treatment back in 2003, when Warner issued the film on standard DVD. Since the studio is only releasing the flick on high-def as a quick cash-in with the upcoming Will Smith update, it's no surprise that this HD DVD's 1080p/VC-1 encode (identical to the Blu-ray) is minted from the same master used for that previous DVD. But in this case that's actually a positive, as the 2003 remaster was a real surprise, with 'The Omega Man' looking way better than any 1971 film has a right to. I would even go so far as to say this is one of the better catalog remasters I've seen from Warner in recent months.

Warner has really spiffed up the print, with very few signs of the kind of wear and tear that you'd normally associate with such a dated sci-fi flick. Sure, there's grain throughout and some dirt specks and such, but it is consistently minimal, to the point where you forget about it within minutes. Colors are nicely reproduced as well, with reds and blues especially vibrant and clean. I can't say that the level of detail rivals that of a new release, but considering the age of the film and the archaic effects techniques of the time, the illusion of depth is considerable, and shadow delineation is well above average for a catalog title. The studio has done a fine job with the encoding, too, as there are no major compression artifacts to speak of, nor is edge enhancement an issue. An impressive transfer, all around.

This is the HDDVD review, it is the same as the Blu-Ray though.

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/1064/omegaman.html

How high is your sharpness turned up? I haven't seen this version, but if it looks that bad I would say it is a calibration problem.