The Avatar Blu-ray Release Thread

[sujay]

Originally Posted by dvdvision

100% agree. The Region A bonus DVD is great because it includes Dolby surround mixes. i'm curious to hear those.

I'm curious as to what you mean by this.

[joenostalgia23]

I'm sure the MAIN reason for this bare bones release in FOX's eyes is to convert more people to Blu-ray.

[Chaos013]

Avatar Blu Ray/DVD combo will be $19.99 at Target.

[World_War_BLU]

Originally Posted by Chaos013

Avatar Blu Ray/DVD combo will be $19.99 at Target.

This has already been established, and has its own thread.

[mishal]

I say everyone take their seats and do their homework at home

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by World_War_BLU

This has already been established, and has its own thread.

It was his very first post, he probably didn't know that.

[Stu123]

Any of you guys got your copy yet then? thought some might of got it early

[MattW]

I'v haven't been this excited about getting a Blu ray since I bought my first one. Casino Royale.

[Grubert]

I have this disc and here are my two cents. I couldn't help writing a little about the movie itself, but I put it at the bottom so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

For reference, my system consists of a Sony VW50 projector, an 80-inch-diagonal screen, a Yamaha RXV-1800 receiver, Focal loudspeakers and a PS3.


Video
James Cameron has a reputation for pushing the envelope in each of his projects, and that’s exactly what he’s done with this Avatar release. The motivations behind this early and barebones edition may be less than altruistic, but the end result is that, as far as the technical quality of the main feature is concerned, this is a no-compromise product. This is the new reference for picture quality, period.

I saw Avatar at the theater in 3D so it’s difficult to compare this BD to that. Obviously, the picture now is flat, but it has a lot of depth, thanks to the imaging and especially the use of atmospherics. The picture is very immersive, because of the great texturing everywhere. In fact, I’d say that the picture on this Blu-ray is more detailed than what I saw at the theater. Just look at the tree bark, the scaly skin of the Banshees or the jagged rocks on the side of a cliff.

All of that comes through without the slightest compression artifact. The video bitrate is very high (most frequently over 30mbps) and there is no video noise, blocking or banding (just a teeny little bit on the fade into the opening shot, but it’s so slight and fast that it’s nothing).

Watching Avatar on this Blu-ray is quite an experience, really.

Audio
It is flawless as well. The sound design, especially in the scenes in the jungle of Pandora and the battle sequences, makes frequent use of the surround channels. The music also has very nice spatialisation.

Movie
I'm pretty eclectic, though I am usually more drawn to less mainstream stuff. And even with action and scifi, I value story and characters more than SFX. Like a friend used to say, "you're the kind of guy who likes the first Terminator better than T2" (he was right, BTW).

However, I've got to respect what Cameron has done here. He's done a Hollywood blockbuster, but he's put such effort into it that it really deserves the success it got. And I think it's because more than mere 3D and CGI.

In my opinion, its big asset is that it created a whole new, enticing and threatening, alien world which the viewer couldn't help immersing himself in. It's a bit like Star Wars in 1977 - the moment you saw the two suns setting in the Tatooine horizon behind Luke Skywalker, that was no longer space opera - you were transported.

Well, the same thing happens here - and I'm not even talking about the Na'vi. Just look at the first shot inside Pandora proper. It's a "helicopter shot", following the aircraft that is carrying Jake Sully to his first patrol. The "camera" follows the aircraft, hunting for a proper framing and doing a swift zoom-in (a nice organic touch). Then we cut to a flock of flamingo-like birds flying by. We close in on one of them and it squawks - and we see then that it has a menacingly unbirdlike head. We are in Pandora. There are multiple touches everywhere where even the slightest detail has been worked on to make this environment work.

Like Star Wars, a movie bringing in such sums of cash can't help but affect the industry. After Star Wars, the studios ditched the New Hollywood auteurs of the 1970s and embraced "high-concept" movies, relying on big budgets, huge advertising campaigns and wide openings. After Avatar, the studios are all going 3D for their tentpole titles, at least for the moment. And later? We'll see in a couple years.

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by Grubert

I have this disc and here are my two cents. I couldn't help writing a little about the movie itself, but I put it at the bottom so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

For reference, my system consists of a Sony VW50 projector, an 80-inch-diagonal screen, a Yamaha RXV-1800 receiver, Focal loudspeakers and a PS3.


Video
James Cameron has a reputation for pushing the envelope in each of his projects, and that’s exactly what he’s done with this Avatar release. The motivations behind this early and barebones edition may be less than altruistic, but the end rusult is that, as far as the technical quality of the main feature is concerned, this is a no-compromise product. This is the new reference for picture quality, period.

I saw Avatar at the theater in 3D so it’s difficult to compare this BD to that. Obviously, the picture now is flat, but it has a lot of depth, thanks to the imaging and especially the use of atmospherics. The picture is very immersive, because of the great texturing everywhere. In fact, I’d say that the picture on this Blu-ray is more detailed than what I saw at the theater. Just look at the tree bark, the scaly skin of the Banshees or the jagged rocks on the side of a cliff.

All of that comes through without the slightest compression artifact. The video bitrate is very high (most frequently over 30mbps) and there is no video noise, blocking or banding (just a teeny little bit on the fade into the opening shot, but it’s so slight and fast that it’s nothing).

Watching Avatar on this Blu-ray is quite an experience, really.

Audio
It is flawless as well. The sound design, especially in the scenes in the jungle of Pandora and the battle sequences, makes frequent use of the surround channels. The music also has very nice spatialisation.

Movie
I'm pretty eclectic, though I am usually more drawn to less mainstream stuff. And even with action and scifi, I value story and characters more than SFX. Like a friend used to say, "you're the kind of guy who likes the first Terminator better than T2" (he was right, BTW).

However, I've got to respect what Cameron has done here. He's done a Hollywood blockbuster, but he's put such effort into it that it really deserves the success it got. And I think it's because more than mere 3D and CGI.

In my opinion, its big asset is that it created a whole new, enticing and threatening, alien world which the viewer couldn't help immersing himself in. It's a bit like Star Wars in 1977 - the moment you saw the two suns setting in the Tatooine horizon behind Luke Skywalker, that was no longer space opera - you were transported.

Well, the same thing happens here - and I'm not even talking about the Na'vi. Just look at the first shot inside Pandora proper. It's a "helicopter shot", following the aircraft that is carrying Jake Sully to his first patrol. The "camera" follows the aircraft, hunting for a proper framing and doing a swift zoom-in (a nice organic touch). Then we cut to a flock of flamingo-like birds flying by. We close in on one of them and it squawks - and we see then that it has a menacingly unbirdlike head. We are in Pandora. There are multiple touches everywhere where even the slightest detail has been worked on to make this environment work.

Like Star Wars, a movie bringing in such sums of cash can't help but affect the industry. After Star Wars, the studios ditched the New Hollywood auteurs of the 1970s and embraced "high-concept" movies, relying on big budgets, huge advertising campaigns and wide openings. After Avatar, the studios are all going 3D for their tentpole titles, at least for the moment. And later? We'll see in a couple years.

Thanks for the review Grubert!

Just one question, I know they say no trailers, etc, but since this release is THX-certified, is there a THX trailer before the movie begins?

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by aiman04

Thanks for the review Grubert!

Just one question, I know they say no trailers, etc, but since this release is THX-certified, is there a THX trailer before the movie begins?

Good question!

No, there is no trailer before the movie begins, but there is one after the movie ends. Seems that being one of those nerds who stay until the whole credits roll paid off.

It's this trailer.

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by Grubert

Good question!

No, there is no trailer before the movie begins, but there is one after the movie ends. Seems that being one of those nerds who stay until the whole credits roll paid off.

It's this trailer.

Thanks again Grubert! It's the same trailer we see on the Indy 4 BD, but that was Dolby Digital 640kbps. If this Avatar one is DTS-HD Master Audio, it should shake my house!

So, there is a trailer after all.

[DRS]

Originally Posted by Grubert

I have this disc and here are my two cents. I couldn't help writing a little about the movie itself, but I put it at the bottom so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

For reference, my system consists of a Sony VW50 projector, an 80-inch-diagonal screen, a Yamaha RXV-1800 receiver, Focal loudspeakers and a PS3.


Video
James Cameron has a reputation for pushing the envelope in each of his projects, and that’s exactly what he’s done with this Avatar release. The motivations behind this early and barebones edition may be less than altruistic, but the end rusult is that, as far as the technical quality of the main feature is concerned, this is a no-compromise product. This is the new reference for picture quality, period.

I saw Avatar at the theater in 3D so it’s difficult to compare this BD to that. Obviously, the picture now is flat, but it has a lot of depth, thanks to the imaging and especially the use of atmospherics. The picture is very immersive, because of the great texturing everywhere. In fact, I’d say that the picture on this Blu-ray is more detailed than what I saw at the theater. Just look at the tree bark, the scaly skin of the Banshees or the jagged rocks on the side of a cliff.

All of that comes through without the slightest compression artifact. The video bitrate is very high (most frequently over 30mbps) and there is no video noise, blocking or banding (just a teeny little bit on the fade into the opening shot, but it’s so slight and fast that it’s nothing).

Watching Avatar on this Blu-ray is quite an experience, really.

Audio
It is flawless as well. The sound design, especially in the scenes in the jungle of Pandora and the battle sequences, makes frequent use of the surround channels. The music also has very nice spatialisation.

Movie
I'm pretty eclectic, though I am usually more drawn to less mainstream stuff. And even with action and scifi, I value story and characters more than SFX. Like a friend used to say, "you're the kind of guy who likes the first Terminator better than T2" (he was right, BTW).

However, I've got to respect what Cameron has done here. He's done a Hollywood blockbuster, but he's put such effort into it that it really deserves the success it got. And I think it's because more than mere 3D and CGI.

In my opinion, its big asset is that it created a whole new, enticing and threatening, alien world which the viewer couldn't help immersing himself in. It's a bit like Star Wars in 1977 - the moment you saw the two suns setting in the Tatooine horizon behind Luke Skywalker, that was no longer space opera - you were transported.

Well, the same thing happens here - and I'm not even talking about the Na'vi. Just look at the first shot inside Pandora proper. It's a "helicopter shot", following the aircraft that is carrying Jake Sully to his first patrol. The "camera" follows the aircraft, hunting for a proper framing and doing a swift zoom-in (a nice organic touch). Then we cut to a flock of flamingo-like birds flying by. We close in on one of them and it squawks - and we see then that it has a menacingly unbirdlike head. We are in Pandora. There are multiple touches everywhere where even the slightest detail has been worked on to make this environment work.

Like Star Wars, a movie bringing in such sums of cash can't help but affect the industry. After Star Wars, the studios ditched the New Hollywood auteurs of the 1970s and embraced "high-concept" movies, relying on big budgets, huge advertising campaigns and wide openings. After Avatar, the studios are all going 3D for their tentpole titles, at least for the moment. And later? We'll see in a couple years.

Thanks for the review. Your comments about the video quality are really enticing Your thought on the movie are pretty similar to mine as well!

[rubystone356]

thanks for the review. I look forward to getting the disc at midnight.

Jacob

[aiman04]

I'm surprised that we don't have any native 1080p screenshots yet. Considering many already got it early.

[42041]

Originally Posted by aiman04

I'm surprised that we don't have any native 1080p screenshots yet. Considering many already got it early.

The disc has a new copy protection method. Taking accurate screenshots with a computer requires the disc to be decrypted, so until the software that does that is updated, the standard screenshot method doesn't work.

[Blu Titan]

[Show spoiler]

Originally Posted by Grubert

I have this disc and here are my two cents. I couldn't help writing a little about the movie itself, but I put it at the bottom so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

For reference, my system consists of a Sony VW50 projector, an 80-inch-diagonal screen, a Yamaha RXV-1800 receiver, Focal loudspeakers and a PS3.


Video
James Cameron has a reputation for pushing the envelope in each of his projects, and that’s exactly what he’s done with this Avatar release. The motivations behind this early and barebones edition may be less than altruistic, but the end rusult is that, as far as the technical quality of the main feature is concerned, this is a no-compromise product. This is the new reference for picture quality, period.

I saw Avatar at the theater in 3D so it’s difficult to compare this BD to that. Obviously, the picture now is flat, but it has a lot of depth, thanks to the imaging and especially the use of atmospherics. The picture is very immersive, because of the great texturing everywhere. In fact, I’d say that the picture on this Blu-ray is more detailed than what I saw at the theater. Just look at the tree bark, the scaly skin of the Banshees or the jagged rocks on the side of a cliff.

All of that comes through without the slightest compression artifact. The video bitrate is very high (most frequently over 30mbps) and there is no video noise, blocking or banding (just a teeny little bit on the fade into the opening shot, but it’s so slight and fast that it’s nothing).

Watching Avatar on this Blu-ray is quite an experience, really.

Audio
It is flawless as well. The sound design, especially in the scenes in the jungle of Pandora and the battle sequences, makes frequent use of the surround channels. The music also has very nice spatialisation.

Movie
I'm pretty eclectic, though I am usually more drawn to less mainstream stuff. And even with action and scifi, I value story and characters more than SFX. Like a friend used to say, "you're the kind of guy who likes the first Terminator better than T2" (he was right, BTW).

However, I've got to respect what Cameron has done here. He's done a Hollywood blockbuster, but he's put such effort into it that it really deserves the success it got. And I think it's because more than mere 3D and CGI.

In my opinion, its big asset is that it created a whole new, enticing and threatening, alien world which the viewer couldn't help immersing himself in. It's a bit like Star Wars in 1977 - the moment you saw the two suns setting in the Tatooine horizon behind Luke Skywalker, that was no longer space opera - you were transported.

Well, the same thing happens here - and I'm not even talking about the Na'vi. Just look at the first shot inside Pandora proper. It's a "helicopter shot", following the aircraft that is carrying Jake Sully to his first patrol. The "camera" follows the aircraft, hunting for a proper framing and doing a swift zoom-in (a nice organic touch). Then we cut to a flock of flamingo-like birds flying by. We close in on one of them and it squawks - and we see then that it has a menacingly unbirdlike head. We are in Pandora. There are multiple touches everywhere where even the slightest detail has been worked on to make this environment work.

Like Star Wars, a movie bringing in such sums of cash can't help but affect the industry. After Star Wars, the studios ditched the New Hollywood auteurs of the 1970s and embraced "high-concept" movies, relying on big budgets, huge advertising campaigns and wide openings. After Avatar, the studios are all going 3D for their tentpole titles, at least for the moment. And later? We'll see in a couple years.

Great review Grubert. Can't wait to watch this again.

[Moefiz]

Can't wait fort his on Thursday....

[MarekM]

Originally Posted by aiman04

Thanks again Grubert! It's the same trailer we see on the Indy 4 BD, but that was Dolby Digital 640kbps. If this Avatar one is DTS-HD Master Audio, it should shake my house!

So, there is a trailer after all.

it's DTS HD MASTER 6.1, 24bit and yes, there were some shakes after I played this little one

Marek

[MarekM]

Originally Posted by Grubert

I have this disc and here are my two cents. I couldn't help writing a little about the movie itself, but I put it at the bottom so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

For reference, my system consists of a Sony VW50 projector, an 80-inch-diagonal screen, a Yamaha RXV-1800 receiver, Focal loudspeakers and a PS3.


Video
James Cameron has a reputation for pushing the envelope in each of his projects, and that’s exactly what he’s done with this Avatar release. The motivations behind this early and barebones edition may be less than altruistic, but the end rusult is that, as far as the technical quality of the main feature is concerned, this is a no-compromise product. This is the new reference for picture quality, period.

I saw Avatar at the theater in 3D so it’s difficult to compare this BD to that. Obviously, the picture now is flat, but it has a lot of depth, thanks to the imaging and especially the use of atmospherics. The picture is very immersive, because of the great texturing everywhere. In fact, I’d say that the picture on this Blu-ray is more detailed than what I saw at the theater. Just look at the tree bark, the scaly skin of the Banshees or the jagged rocks on the side of a cliff.

All of that comes through without the slightest compression artifact. The video bitrate is very high (most frequently over 30mbps) and there is no video noise, blocking or banding (just a teeny little bit on the fade into the opening shot, but it’s so slight and fast that it’s nothing).

Watching Avatar on this Blu-ray is quite an experience, really.

Audio
It is flawless as well. The sound design, especially in the scenes in the jungle of Pandora and the battle sequences, makes frequent use of the surround channels. The music also has very nice spatialisation.

Movie
I'm pretty eclectic, though I am usually more drawn to less mainstream stuff. And even with action and scifi, I value story and characters more than SFX. Like a friend used to say, "you're the kind of guy who likes the first Terminator better than T2" (he was right, BTW).

However, I've got to respect what Cameron has done here. He's done a Hollywood blockbuster, but he's put such effort into it that it really deserves the success it got. And I think it's because more than mere 3D and CGI.

In my opinion, its big asset is that it created a whole new, enticing and threatening, alien world which the viewer couldn't help immersing himself in. It's a bit like Star Wars in 1977 - the moment you saw the two suns setting in the Tatooine horizon behind Luke Skywalker, that was no longer space opera - you were transported.

Well, the same thing happens here - and I'm not even talking about the Na'vi. Just look at the first shot inside Pandora proper. It's a "helicopter shot", following the aircraft that is carrying Jake Sully to his first patrol. The "camera" follows the aircraft, hunting for a proper framing and doing a swift zoom-in (a nice organic touch). Then we cut to a flock of flamingo-like birds flying by. We close in on one of them and it squawks - and we see then that it has a menacingly unbirdlike head. We are in Pandora. There are multiple touches everywhere where even the slightest detail has been worked on to make this environment work.

Like Star Wars, a movie bringing in such sums of cash can't help but affect the industry. After Star Wars, the studios ditched the New Hollywood auteurs of the 1970s and embraced "high-concept" movies, relying on big budgets, huge advertising campaigns and wide openings. After Avatar, the studios are all going 3D for their tentpole titles, at least for the moment. And later? We'll see in a couple years.

I AGREE ON ALL POINTS Gruber you put it together very nicely !!

Marek