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

[Grand Bob]

I make no effort to hide the fact that I am a huge fan of the books and the movies. After rereading the last several pages of this thread, I have resigned myself to accept that the TE's will not be all that they should. However, when they arrive at my house, I still plan on thoroughly enjoying them. After all, it is Lord of the Rings, and after almost 10 years, they are finally on Blu-ray.

[Russell_L]

DVD File review is up:

http://www.dvdfile.com/reviews/blura...logy-bd-review

Quote: "Video nerds are gonna be PISSED. Hampered by rampant, odious DNR (did Sauron have a hand in this?), and a lack of detail definition that makes some sequences look standard-def at best, these 1080p transfers are a nightmare for those who have been salivating for LOTR on high-def. The films' video presence improve with each film - it's without reservation that I say Return of the King looks a trillion times better than Fellowship - but even there, for a flagship title like this one that should be knocking all other BDs out of commission, these presentations are exhausting, tragic disappointments. Color accuracy isn't air-tight - flesh tones are hazy and even some of the films' more saturated hues are guilty of unfortunate bleed - and detail as a whole is smeary at best: I was literally appalled at the lack of punch in some of Fellowship's early town sequences. Edge enhancement is rampant, to boot, and the handling of grain on this set is wildly inconsistent. Do the films look better here than they did on DVD? By a hair. But those expecting a nearly nine-hour reference-quality video presence will be devastated almost immediately."

[waaimasjien.]

Hmm yeah, the 'Restoration Process' part of the official Lord of the Rings site is still set to 'Coming Soon.' Maybe they haven't done it yet

But hey, I'm a poor student so I'm saving my money for the EEs, hopefully with better quality. And seamless branching would be nice .
I'm planning to see these editions at least once though, just to see if I can still quote all the dialogue from memory.

[JamesKurtovich]

I've supported the buying of the theatrical editions since day 1, but upon reading the reviews of PQ, eh. I'll wait for the releases that have these problems fixed that we know are coming. I still cherish my EE boxset on DVD.

Just can't believe they'd botch this kind of release.

[QuasidodoJr]

Originally Posted by Maggot

Studios have been putting out bad transfers since I don't know when. The vitriol as you put it is well deserved at this point. Considering the long history of this bad transfer/double dip practice, they simply don't deserve equal praise. Doing a great job on a transfer should be be the norm, period....not the exception and certainly not some feat requiring adulation. Again, this issue stems back from a long time ago and here we see it again. Respect and trust is earned and quite frankly, they've got a long way to go, a long way to make up and their practices don't seem to have changed all that much.

Then maybe you should stop buying blu-rays altogether. Because not every single disc is going to contain perfect picture quality. If you choose not to buy something, that's your call.

Myself, I pick and choose which movies I enjoy. I realize that not every movie I like is going to receive a 4K restoration. In the end, I'd rather have a copy of a movie I like to watch in its best available iteration, than not have it at all.

[gaeljet]

Quote:Originally Posted by The Duke
I'll be really interested in your impressions, if I go ahead and buy this release I plan to purchase the French Steelbook release as I think they're the best looking of all. There's been some discussion as to if Metropolitan is using the Warner discs, or made their own transfer. Most seem to think Metropolitan is simply distributing the Warner release in France with their own packaging, but the back covers indicate that it is Region B coded, and if the discs are indeed Region B coded, then they can't be the Warner discs.



region coded

otherwise i checked some scenes of the three films..
the first one clearly is not sharp enough, otherwise it is okay at least, and the other ones look pretty good(not exceptional) i d score them this way
first one: btw 6and7(/10)
second one : btw 7and8
third one: 8 or a little more


(please note that i only have a 81cm lcd tv please as my signature proves it)
her is a link to some photos of the box etc
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3860609...7623712579594/

[robertc88]

I don't really understand why so much of a continued discussion going on, the cat is out of the bag with many reviews and opinions about the PQ. Make a discussion and then proceed from there.

There is plenty I'm looking forward to and this is water under the bridge now. Sherlock Holmes, Tombstone, SPR, etc. etc. will be here shortly, the latter two very high focus catalog releases. The quality? Time will tell.

[SleeperAgent]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

I've supported the buying of the theatrical editions since day 1, but upon reading the reviews of PQ, eh. I'll wait for the releases that have these problems fixed that we know are coming. I still cherish my EE boxset on DVD.

Just can't believe they'd botch this kind of release.

+1 to everything.

[halimali]

I'm ok with theartical version of the movies but now I'm not sure as the website here mentions the BDs are dissapointing in terms of PQ. Any comments?

[The Duke]

Originally Posted by gaeljet

region coded

otherwise i checked some scenes of the three films..
the first one clearly is not sharp enough, otherwise it is okay at least, and the other ones look pretty good(not exceptional) i d score them this way
first one: btw 6and7(/10)
second one : btw 7and8
third one: 8 or a little more


(please note that i only have a 81cm lcd tv please as my signature proves it)
her is a link to some photos of the box etc
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3860609...7623712579594/

Thanks for coming back and posting your impressions. Sounds like they are the Warner transfers, even if Metropolitan authored the discs to add region coding and French DTS Master Audio. I'm going to go ahead and buy the Metropolitan Limited Edition - the Steelbooks / Boitiers Metals are very nice, at least the Two Towers and Return of the King are pretty decent and those are my favorites, and the DTS Master Audio is highly rated on all 3. And yes, I have a multi-region player.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by frogmort

I have a 7.1 amp with truehd,dtsma & lpcm.When I put in EE DVD's it shows "DTS-ES 6.1 Discrt" so:EE DVD has 6.1 actual discrete channels, & TE BD has 5.1 actual discrete channels & can matrix an extra channel

So - I was right all along? Damn I'm confused.

[Darkhawk9587]

Nice review. Glad I held off. Hopefully the EEs will feature both better transfers in terms of PQ as well as a lot more bonus features (even if they are in SD).

[magnum4ce]

actually 48.60 in USD. Does anyone know if the Canada release is identical to the US release. if so, that's a nice little price drop and the free shipping/tax applies.

[Dotpattern]

Originally Posted by halimali

I'm ok with theartical version of the movies but now I'm not sure as the website here mentions the BDs are dissapointing in terms of PQ. Any comments?

LOL Read the last 50 pages!

[radagast]

Originally Posted by Stinky-Dinkins

Take a screen grab and I'll look at it until I see it Alf.

The fact is, Stinko, you are one of the people that caused that comment to be made, about people going off the deep end. It's obvious from your comments that you want to avoid it. I guess I can't blame you. If I had been ranting and foaming at the mouth like you have on this thread, I would be embarrassed to be called out on it, by someone with real cred. So please continue and avoid dealing with it by your cheap and meaningless comments.

[radagast]

Originally Posted by Diesel

My mistake on the TNT/TBS thing guys

I guess I'm so used to it being on TNT I misread it.

Since they're both owned by the same company, it shouldn't be surprising if they trade off on it. Now that we all know it's the superior version, I'm sure many people will record it. Does it have all the other issues mentioned with the BR, like edge enhancement?

[mredman]

Will warner re-release these with a better transfer with all these bad reviews they sort of have to. Don't they?

[radagast]

Originally Posted by mredman

Will warner re-release these with a better transfer with all these bad reviews they sort of have to. Don't they?

Probably with the 5-disc Hobbit and LOTR boxset.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

So...this whole farce is still going on, huh?

Yes, WB is still releasing subpar titles.

[SleeperAgent]

Originally Posted by radagast

Probably with the 5-disc Hobbit and LOTR boxset.

I'd really like a top notch LOTR blu set before 2014.....