Conan the Barbarian (1982) / Conan the Destroyer (1984)

[kalston]

Hey everyone.

So I was happy to read that the French steelbook was the one and only flawless release available and promptly ordered it. Yay!

BUT, now I'm surprised to notice that the sound quality is dramatically lower than the UK release I had before (on the 5.1 tracks). The sound clips a lot (overall volume is also much lower) and I have tried the different soundtracks on the disc (French, English etc) and they are all the same, quieter than on the UK release and with pretty severe clipping especially when there's music. The various audio glitches that we had to deal before are fixed though.

Luckily for me the mono track is flawless (and that is after all the true "original track" for this film) with no clipping and no issue whatsoever, so I don't think I'm going to return it (haven't even checked out Destroyer yet but I'm not too worried about it and I never liked it as much as the Barbarian). I can just enjoy the film with mono audio, still a bit sad since surround can be really lovely.

But the 5.1 track is simply painful to listen to for me, I have really good audio gear (and my young ears are probably pretty healthy too) but I'm sure anyone could notice the difference easily - it's nothing subtle trust me. Clearly a different audio master compared to before, but fixing a glitch here and there at the cost of overall quality? Urgh no thanks...

So, word of warning for future buyers. Btw it can't be a damaged disc otherwise the French soundtrack wouldn't have exactly the same issues as the English one. Picture is also flawless.

edit : actually I can probably make recordings and upload them for you guys when I got time. Send me a pm or something if I forget to check back here

[The Fallen Deity]

Originally Posted by kalston

Hey everyone.

So I was happy to read that the French steelbook was the one and only flawless release available and promptly ordered it. Yay!

BUT, now I'm surprised to notice that the sound quality is dramatically lower than the UK release I had before (on the 5.1 tracks). The sound clips a lot (overall volume is also much lower) and I have tried the different soundtracks on the disc (French, English etc) and they are all the same, quieter than on the UK release and with pretty severe clipping especially when there's music. The various audio glitches that we had to deal before are fixed though.

Luckily for me the mono track is flawless (and that is after all the true "original track" for this film) with no clipping and no issue whatsoever, so I don't think I'm going to return it (haven't even checked out Destroyer yet but I'm not too worried about it and I never liked it as much as the Barbarian). I can just enjoy the film with mono audio, still a bit sad since surround can be really lovely.

But the 5.1 track is simply painful to listen to for me, I have really good audio gear (and my young ears are probably pretty healthy too) but I'm sure anyone could notice the difference easily - it's nothing subtle trust me. Clearly a different audio master compared to before, but fixing a glitch here and there at the cost of overall quality? Urgh no thanks...

So, word of warning for future buyers. Btw it can't be a damaged disc otherwise the French soundtrack wouldn't have exactly the same issues as the English one. Picture is also flawless.

edit : actually I can probably make recordings and upload them for you guys when I got time. Send me a pm or something if I forget to check back here

I think it may be the same as the fixed 5.1 track on the U.K. disc.

All the missing stuff was restored but it's hollow & lifeless with next to no bass.

The mono track sounds a million times better despite be lossy.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by The Fallen Deity

All the missing stuff was restored but it's hollow & lifeless with next to no bass.

oh, i didn't know this!
Maybe they forgot to add the bass this time?

I remember the main titles sounded spectacular with a lot of bass, in the errored Bluray..

[The Fallen Deity]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

oh, i didn't know this!
Maybe they forgot to add the bass this time?

I remember the main titles sounded spectacular with a lot of bass, in the errored Bluray..

Yeah they probably did lol.

the faulty sound mix is much better EQ'ed than the fixed sound mix.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by The Fallen Deity

Yeah they probably did lol.

the faulty sound mix is much better EQ'ed than the fixed sound mix.

Maybe it helps if someone raises his bass volume?
I have both the volume on the subwoofer and the bass volume from inside my audio card, at 80%.

[The Fallen Deity]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

Maybe it helps if someone raises his bass volume?
I have both the volume on the subwoofer and the bass volume from inside my audio card, at 80%.

It's worth a try I guess.

[kalston]

Well Destroyer doesn't sound good either although I frankly don't know how it should sound lol... think I'm returning this steelbook. I will upload the files so you guys can compare but it'll take some time with my very weak upload speed. Most likely I'll do it while I'm sleeping and you can check it out tomorrow or so.

I understand it's an old film but the surround on the old UK release pressing I have (with director's cut) sounds good overall apart from the glitches that some people noticed. I will upload it too for comparison.

Blu-ray releases are such a mess sometimes, I really wonder who the hell are the clowns behind this kind of butchery...

Edit : the files are ready to be uploaded later on, but man this is ridiculous. The old UK release surround mix sounds absolutely fantastic, while all the new mixes are abysmal. Lower volume is one thing, but lower volume with clipping, what? How did they even manage that? It also makes me wonder if the mono mix couldn't sound better coming from another release...

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by The Fallen Deity

I think it may be the same as the fixed 5.1 track on the U.K. disc.

All the missing stuff was restored but it's hollow & lifeless with next to no bass.

The mono track sounds a million times better despite be lossy.

For all of its faults, I'll stick with the original fubar 5.1 mix. I've got the theatrical cut on DVD with the original audio, that'll do for when I want a proper old-school Conan experience.

[kalston]

Hey,

There it is : https://www.dropbox.com/s/tjuw55hp4j...comparison.rar

Big file because I did not compress anything (well I did convert the dts-hd tracks to FLAC for easier playback on PC but that's it) and it's a 6m40s extract (picture removed though) from the film (it's actually the very beginning, pay close attention to the music at the end in particular). Even played back on a stereo setup with downmixing the quality issue is still very noticeable and shocking to me so you can just listen to those with foobar2000/vlc/mpc-hc or whatever free software you fancy and a pair of headphones or decent speakers.

This archive contains :
-the original 5.1 mix from the old UK blu-ray (lossless)
-the 5.1 lossless English track from the new French blu-ray
-the lossy French DTS track from the new French blu-ray
-the lossy English AC3 mono track from the new French blu-ray

I won't say happy listening, because it's actually really bad I'm not sure how to go about this but I want to try and contact them about it.

BTW Destroyer doesn't sound very good either, suffers from clipping too, are the other releases free from this? A sample of music from the credits would be enough to check that.

[EddieLarkin]

Thanks for doing that. It's too bad about the 5.1 but I wasn't going to be using it anyway. The mono track here is excellent compared to the mono I ripped from the old DVD! The corrected day for night shot was nice too.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by kalston

Hey,

There it is : https://www.dropbox.com/s/tjuw55hp4j...comparison.rar

Big file because I did not compress anything (well I did convert the dts-hd tracks to FLAC for easier playback on PC but that's it) and it's a 6m40s extract (picture removed though) from the film (it's actually the very beginning, pay close attention to the music at the end in particular). Even played back on a stereo setup with downmixing the quality issue is still very noticeable and shocking to me so you can just listen to those with foobar2000/vlc/mpc-hc or whatever free software you fancy and a pair of headphones or decent speakers.

This archive contains :
-the original 5.1 mix from the old UK blu-ray (lossless)
-the 5.1 lossless English track from the new French blu-ray
-the lossy French DTS track from the new French blu-ray
-the lossy English AC3 mono track from the new French blu-ray

I won't say happy listening, because it's actually really bad I'm not sure how to go about this but I want to try and contact them about it.

BTW Destroyer doesn't sound very good either, suffers from clipping too, are the other releases free from this? A sample of music from the credits would be enough to check that.

OMG, i couldn't believe it but you're right!! (thank you for the samples)
The new 5.1 mix is SOOOO BAD!
It seems it's more front heavy (if you turn off the front speakers and compare the rear ones in both 5.1 audio tracks, you'll see the difference clearly. eg. at. 1.30'' and on)
Also the horse galloping is almost not heard in the new 5.1 mix while in the old one is thunderous.

It seems they did this:
The older BLuray 5.1 mix was done by compiling different elements (that's why they forgot to put back a few - the choir, percussion etc.).
To correct this, they didn't compile the elements again but it seems they maybe used the mono track or a stereo track and expanded it to 5.1? or used an old 5.1? something like that!
That's why the sounds are not clear!
And maybe the clipping was caused by this "expansion".

Oh, and I was so happy about this release.. How didn't anyone else pointed this out sooner?



It seems Conan the barbarian is doomed not to sound good (or right) in Bluray ever!!

[welcometothepartypal]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

OMG, i couldn't believe it but you're right!! (thank you for the samples)
The new 5.1 mix is SOOOO BAD!
It seems it's more front heavy (if you turn off the front speakers and compare the rear ones in both 5.1 audio tracks, you'll see the difference clearly. eg. at. 1.30'' and on)
Also the horse galloping is almost not heard in the new 5.1 mix while in the old one is thunderous.

It seems they did this:
The older BLuray 5.1 mix was done by compiling different elements (that's why they forgot to put back a few - the choir, percussion etc.).
To correct this, they didn't compile the elements again but it seems they maybe used the mono track or a stereo track and expanded it to 5.1? or used an old 5.1? something like that!
That's why the sounds are not clear!
And maybe the clipping was caused by this "expansion".

Oh, and I was so happy about this release.. How didn't anyone else pointed this out sooner?



It seems Conan the barbarian is doomed not to sound good (or right) in Bluray ever!!

So, just to be clear for me. You guys are talking about the new French Steelbook CONAN THE BARBARIAN, right? The one that's supposed to be the best version so far.

[#Darren]

Thank God all I care about is the mono.

[anephric]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

Oh, and I was so happy about this release.. How didn't anyone else pointed this out sooner?

They have done: from the day the "fixed" version was released people complained the mix was tinny. I don't mind it myself, but then I've got other alternatives to fall back on, happily.

[kalston]

Originally Posted by welcometothepartypal

So, just to be clear for me. You guys are talking about the new French Steelbook CONAN THE BARBARIAN, right? The one that's supposed to be the best version so far.

Unfortunately, yes. You still get the proper video and a decent mono track but you can forget about the surround tracks.

[EddieLarkin]

If you don't care about the surround sound options, then definitely this one:

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B00DRFJNOE/

[EddieLarkin]

No I believe it is only available in the two pack.

The US disc has no original mono track. It has a great sounding 5.1 track that is sadly missing some musical elements and adds/changes the foley. These issues were corrected on the French 5.1 but comparatively it is much less robust. Thankfully, the mono track is included as well.

Also, there is a day for night shot left uncorrected on the US Blu-ray that is now correct on the French Blu-ray.

If you're in the UK, remember to switch your player language settings to French to access the uncut version. If you're in the US then you won't need to bother.

[iank]

Originally Posted by #Darren

Thank God all I care about is the mono.

That's what she said.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Farid

One more question (I almost want to read this entire thread):

Is it correct that the choral section of Riders of Doom is MISSING throughout the US disc?

It's not missing, but the volume is greatly diminished. This is the same for every BD release in the world with the exception of the recent FR release. Once the price drops I am definitely picking up the FR steelbook.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Farid

Aso.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of steelbooks and I really only want the first film.

According to DVD Compare, the new UK Limited Edition steelbook has the correct audio, but the film is cut

Gawd, the cheap US disc is the most convenient to get :/

From my Superior International BDs thread. I have the H.K. disc with the extended international cut and I am happy with it until the FR price drops.

Conan the Barbarian (1982)
US - AVC 2.39:1 31971 kbpos, DTS-HD MA 5.1 3832 kbps 24-bit, 129 min International Cut, missing a 14 minute featurette (Region free)
DE - AVC 2.39:1 15990 kbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 2066 kbps 16-bit, 129 min International Cut, missing a 14 minute featurette (Region free)
UK/HK/FR - AVC 2.39:1 25201 kbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 3755 kbps 24-bit, 131 min Extended International Cut, all extras (Region free)
FR (Steelbook Re-release with Conan the Destroyer) - AVC 2.39:1, DTS-HD MA 5.1, 131 min Extended International cut, correct audio and color timing extras (Region free) Best PQ/AQ