Worst sounding blu-rays

[Richard--W]

The audio issues were documented by Darren Gross, an MGM archivist and Dark Shadows
insider, in one of the forums when the blu-ray came out. It was either the Dark Shadows
Forum or Home Theater or both. The overlapping audio from cut scenes was dimmed later
but never completely removed.

[Shemp]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Weirdly, it's review here doesn't even mention that issue.

I suspect a lot of reviewers don't watch discs they review all the way through. It's always folks like us who buy the things who spot the faults, a lot of them very obvious. When was the last time you read a review on this site when a reviewer pointed out a fault before we did?

[L.J.]

First blu release of Hannie Caulder is horrible. Have to turn the volume all the way up just to hear the dialogue then you go deaf when action or music starts.

[GeoffOliver]

Also, the Japanese audio on any Dragon Ball Z release is barely listenable. Since Toei junked the audio master tapes, what they have left sounds extremely muffled. The fans had to take it upon themselves to find better audio (courtesy of recordings of the original Japanese broadcasts).

[Arawn]

The dialogue volume is also way too low on this release.

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

There's also the terrible Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Blu-rays (released by Anchor Bay when they were on their deathbed), which sometimes cuts back and forth between the English and Japanese tracks. The glitch was similarly never corrected, as far as I know.

So there was a bright side to the fortune I spent on the DVDs?

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by Shemp

I suspect a lot of reviewers don't watch discs they review all the way through. It's always folks like us who buy the things who spot the faults, a lot of them very obvious. When was the last time you read a review on this site when a reviewer pointed out a fault before we did?

Everyone here groused about the TERRIBLE audio on the Jeff Bridges interview on the recent SF release of Starman, not one mention of that in the review here. It's a TWENTY-MINUTE interview, you couldn't have watched it?!

[Shemp]

It's always hugely disappointing when you buy a disc after reading a review and finding glaring faults that the reviewer does not mention. These days I wait until I've read comments here first before purchasing most discs.

[Markgway]

Any Blu-ray in which the original mono or stereo audio is dropped in favour of a multi-channel remix.

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by Markgway

Any Blu-ray in which the original mono or stereo audio is dropped in favour of a multi-channel remix.

Ditto and double for mono or stereo tracks that are downmixed from multi-channel remixes.

[NDcowboy]

The Italian release of Dreamer (Kurt Russell) is by fay the worse sounding BR I've ever heard. The DTS-HD english track somehow was processed making everything much lower in pitch. Voices are baritone. No, this isn't a PAL>NTSC issue. Much worse.

[eddyw78]

The Kino BD of The Emerald Forest was very disappointing in that it was mono instead of stereo!! My old DVD was stereo as was the VHS I owned in the 90’s.

[yellowcakeuf6]

Originally Posted by eddyw78

The Kino BD of The Emerald Forest was very disappointing in that it was mono instead of stereo!! My old DVD was stereo as was the VHS I owned in the 90’s.

Kino also did that with Compulsion; the Fox DVD had the discrete 4-track stereo. I hope they stop that.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Also, the Japanese audio on any Dragon Ball Z release is barely listenable. Since Toei junked the audio master tapes, what they have left sounds extremely muffled. The fans had to take it upon themselves to find better audio (courtesy of recordings of the original Japanese broadcasts).

Does this include the US Dragon Boxes? If the masters are so bad that over-the-air 480i broadcast audio sounds better, that’s seriously messed up.

Originally Posted by Markgway

Any Blu-ray in which the original mono or stereo audio is dropped in favour of a multi-channel remix.

This is what I wanted to say.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Does this include the US Dragon Boxes? If the masters are so bad that over-the-air 480i broadcast audio sounds better, that’s seriously messed up.

Yes, that includes the Dragon Boxes.

[KINGDANGER]

Rumble in the Bronx has very low dialogue and bombastic sound effects. Also, some very odd panning choices with dialogue.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by agenda

BLADE RUNNER 2049 (Sony Pictures) LFE channel over boosting. One of the WORST ever!!!
CUT AND RUN (Code Red Releasing)
DELIVERANCE (Warner Bros.) Turn your master volume UP if you like to here anything.
EMERALD FOREST (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)
FIRST BLOOD (Optimum Releasing)
THE GOONIES (Warner Bros.) LFE channel over boosting here and there!
NEVERENDING STORY (Warner Bros.) LFE channel over boostin all over!
PET SEMATARY ('84 Entertainment) Dialogue is way too quiet, and there's hardly any LFE channel use.
ROGUE ONE: A Star Wars Story (Walt Disney Pictures) LFE channel over boosting!
STAR WARS: The Force Awakens (Walt Disney Pictures) LFE channel over boosting, really BAD!
WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005) (Paramount Pictures) LFE channel over boosting!

War of the Worlds is not over-boosted. It was the same theatrically.

[agenda]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

War of the Worlds is not over-boosted. It was the same theatrically.

I still stand behind what I said. It's a painful experience for both audience and subwoofer at home.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by agenda

I still stand behind what I said. It's a painful experience for both audience and subwoofer at home.

If it's what Spielberg intended, which it is, then what you're saying is completely pointless.

[agenda]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

If it's what Spielberg intended, which it is, then what you're saying is completely pointless.

(sigh) You can argue with a wise man but you cannot reason with a fool. Either way, the Blu-ray release from Paramount does nothing but damage for the LFE channel. Couple of my friends has sold their copies for that reason, and I'm about to do the same thing.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by drush9999

The DD 5.1 track on Out for Justice sounded awful and lacked oomph when guns were fired or when Seagal was bone breaking

Definitely. That movie is in dire need of a remaster anyway (something which will probably never happen unfortunately).

Of the Blu-rays I own, other than Out For Justice, Speed Racer and Mortal Kombat come to mind for not having the greatest audio.