Transformers reviews from hddvd.org... funny!

[iamxu]

Here is the reviews for transformers on hddvd.org, the first part seems right, the second part ( audio part ) is so funny, his QUESTIONING !!!

Video:
The film showed up pretty well in a theater, and in HD DVD Paramount reproduce it much as I remember it from my local movie house. Using an MGEG-4AVC codec, the video engineers maintain the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio (showing up at about 2.24:1 across my screen, given my set's small amount of overscan). What we see is a clean screen, free of grain and transfer noise, even in darker outdoor shots. Colors are bright, rich, and deep, perhaps a tad too bright, rich, and deep for real life, and a touch glassy, too, but perfect for a cartoonish movie like "Transformers." Definition is, as we might expect, near flawless, the crispness of the delineation serving to point up every detail in the mechanical creatures. I did, however, observe a small degree of shimmer in some motion effects, particularly noticeable in some horizontal and diagonal lines. It is of little concern.

Audio:
The big controversy in the audio department swirls around Paramount's decision not to include a Dolby TrueHD track on what is possibly their highest-profile HD DVD release of the year. Most viewers probably won't even notice the missing lossless track, but its omission will surely annoy audiophiles and videophiles. I have no idea what was behind Paramount's decision. Perhaps they didn't have room on the disc for the track; perhaps they figured there wasn't a big enough audience for it; perhaps they think there is no discernable difference in sound quality between TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus; or perhaps they just made a mistake and forgot it. I don't know. I do know that in every past instance where I've had a chance instantly to compare the two audio formats, I have always found differences in the sound quality; not always big differences, but always differences. And I have always favored the slightly smoother, less bright, and less forward sound of TrueHD over DD+. But I may be among the few who hear such differences or care about them. In any case, it seems to me to have been an unwise decision for Paramount to leave off a TrueHD track if for no other reason than public relations. It's good PR to have the track and bad PR to omit it, particularly on a blockbuster where many people perceive the sound as critical to the overall movie experience.

Be that as it may, what we do have, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, is plenty good enough, and since there is nothing with which to compare it, we will never know if TrueHD could have sounded any better. The DD+ produces room-rumbling bass, with a strong, well-focused impact; midrange of remarkable clarity; and treble that glistens. The front-channel stereo spread is wide, and the filmmakers take all the advantage they can of the surrounds. Rousing, pinpoint directional sounds from all five main speakers do a lot a to sell the show. I can't imagine anyone complaining about the audio on this one.


This is the full reviews :
http://www.dvdtown.com/reviews/transformers/5245/2

Also, even if its called hddvd.org, i think they are pretty neutral on their critics most of the time.

[CptGreedle]

Hmm.. he says he can't imagine anyone complaining about the sound, yet he just complained about it the paragraph before. Hypocrite.
We all know why there is no lossless audio, I just wish Paramount would wake up and smell the coffee!

[Go Blu]

It's the look and sound of perfect.
and by perfect they mean, just Good enough to fit on our disc.

As for HDD giving it 5 stars audio...
How can you do that with nothing to compare it to?
Especially since he gave movies with HD and MA lesser scores.
There is no bias there.

[bluflu]

Paramount finally delivers a title with 5 star sound, but its not lossless. Wow, what perfect timing. How do they do it? Yeah right!

[SKRUhddvd]

boy o boy, a year or 2 into a new format and they are already exceeding its limits. as to the review, i think it is as well balanced as you will find for a hddvd biased site. he did his best not to bash the audio while intimating that they blew it by giving their "premier" release an obsolete soundtrack.

[Razzy]

4.5 for PQ
5 for AQ

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/1110/transformers.html

[bluflu]

Paramount finally delivers a title with 5 star sound, but its not lossless. Wow, what perfect timing. Yeah right!

[Copywriter]

You know, if I were listening to movies through my 1980s boom-box, I would think the audio is 5 stars too.

Some people are happy with whatever slop is fed to them. Others expect gourmet food and accept nothing less.

Unless the movie is 6 minutes long, you can't have perfect video and perfect audio on HDDVD--unless you multi-disc it perhaps. Oh boy, it's laserdisc revisited. Weeee.

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by SKRUhddvd

boy o boy, a year or 2 into a new format and they are already exceeding its limits. as to the review, i think it is as well balanced as you will find for a hddvd biased site. he did his best not to bash the audio while intimating that they blew it by giving their "premier" release an obsolete soundtrack.

Dead on. I can picture him grinding his teeth as he types away. lol

[SKRUhddvd]

you cant give the audio quality a 5. im sorry but last i checked it was not 1999. obsolete soundtracks cannot justify a perfect score, i dont care how good it sounds. end of story!!!!!

[sj001]

How do you give audio a perfect 5, and then complain that it should have had a High Definition soundtrack... and admitting finally that HD-DVD doesn't have the space. Makes no sense...

[Razzy]

"Without a TrueHD or PCM mix to compare this one to, there's no way of telling how much better such a track might have been, but based on the upgrade I've seen with other titles, I'm guessing a high-res mix could well have trounced this one."

".....but i'll give it a 5 anyways."

Wait....I thought the name of the site was "Hi-Def" Digest.

[Mericalis]

Yeah, just noticed it a little while ago. Funny, except for hi-def extras, Bracke gave Transformers the same points as Spider-man 3...sad that hi-def extras gives you an extra half star for overall.

[Mericalis]

Originally Posted by Razzy

"Without a TrueHD or PCM mix to compare this one to, there's no way of telling how much better such a track might have been, but based on the upgrade I've seen with other titles, I'm guessing a high-res mix could well have trounced this one."

".....but i'll give it a 5 anyways."

And yet again, we see concrete evidence why the site isn't neutral. He couldn't stand to give Spidey 3 a perfect 5 without some hope for the DUDs.

[Branden]

funny how it also got 5/5 stars for PQ even though it uses the same AVC codec HD-DVD fanboys love claim is inferior to VC-1.

[Mericalis]

Originally Posted by Branden

funny how it also got 5/5 stars for PQ even though it uses the same AVC codec HD-DVD fanboys love claim is inferior to VC-1.

4.5/5 PQ

[E-Dogg]

It's amazing how biased they are to HD-DVD yet claim they favor no side. No true HD yet it gets a perfect audio rating? Pure bull as far as I am concerned. I can't wait til tomorrow when the Blu Buy-A-Thon starts.

[Razzy]

Originally Posted by Mericalis

And yet again, we see concrete evidence why the site isn't neutral. He couldn't stand to give Spidey 3 a perfect 5 without some hope for the DUDs.

They need to just get it over with and change their name to "HD DVD Digest" and drop Blu all together. Getting a little tired of the bias over there and those forums......omg the forums.

[Shin-Ra]

HD-DVD - THE LOOK AND SOUND OF GOOD ENOUGH.

[Mericalis]

Originally Posted by E-Dogg

It's amazing how biased they are to HD-DVD yet claim they favor no side. No true HD yet it gets a perfect audio rating? Pure bull as far as I am concerned. I can't wait til tomorrow when the Blu Buy-A-Thon starts.

Tomorrow? I thought it started today with so many going out and buying the BOGO offers.