DVDBeaver Comparisons

[Gary Tooze]

New...

20th Century Fox (Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC "Batman: the Movie" vs. 20th Century Fox Blu-ray Region A

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Cheers,

[Gary Tooze]

New...

MGM - Region 1 - NTSC "Hoosiers" vs. MGM (2-disc SE) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region A Blu-ray

Elleu (RKO Collection) - Region 2 - PAL "Desperate" vs. Manga Films - Region 2 - PAL


http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Cheers,

[Person]

OMG, the Blu Ray of Hoosiers looks like SHIT. No extra detail over the SD-DVD and its contrast is excessively boosted - blown out, even. Awful. MGM's track record with Blu Ray has been terrible, frankly. I dread their future Blu Ray releases. They seem to have some weird policies in place.

[Antares]

OMG, the Blu Ray of Hoosiers looks like SHIT. No extra detail over the SD-DVD and its contrast is excessively boosted - blown out, even. Awful. MGM's track record with Blu Ray has been terrible, frankly. I dread their future Blu Ray releases. They seem to have some weird policies in place.

Agreed, it looks awful.

[Gary Tooze]

New...

Tartan (50th Anniversary Blu-ray) - Region FREE "The Seventh Seal" vs. Tartan - Region 0 - PAL vs. SF Film - Region 2 - PAL vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion (Janus Collection and 'Four Masterworks' boxset) - Region 1 - NTSC

I stayed up last night and did some 1920X1080 resolution captures for both this comparison and our existing review HERE. You may click on them (in review and comparison) to see full size.

Criterion


Tartan Blu-ray


http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Cheers,

[johnsusq]

Thanks Gary, very dramatic improvement! I might have to wait and see what Criterion can do with it on Blu-ray. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long.

[ellipsis7]

Grab that Tartan BluRay - its going OOP!...

BTW, just to clarify, SDDVD played on BluRay players or indeed on SDDVD players with HDMI output, are upscaled - so what you actually get picturewise is not the same as a standard player (as is reflected in Gary's grabs), but is in fact much more detailed... I know - one further complication and confounder, but there you go!...

[Gary Tooze]

Just to reiterate our position. We can't concern ourselves with how much one type of Blu-ray player or SD player will filter, or line double, or upscale or how it looks through RCA jacks, co-ax or HDMI or anything else. Our captures are directly what is on the DVD PRE filters or any other player adjustments - as pure as we can. This is the only way we can do our comparisons. Different systems will produce different results.
Regards,
Gary

[Gigi M.]

Grab that Tartan BluRay - its going OOP!...

BTW, just to clarify, SDDVD played on BluRay players or indeed on SDDVD players with HDMI output, are upscaled - so what you actually get picturewise is not the same as a standard player (as is reflected in Gary's grabs), but is in fact much more detailed... I know - one further complication and confounder, but there you go!...

If you own a small TV set, let's say smaller than 42", any Blu Ray disc, at least to my eyes, won’t show the "wow" factor that you'd see on a larger screen. I own a 42" lcd set and recently upgraded my screen from 84" to 92", and the difference and detail between the two is amazing. And there’s so many Blu Ray I can name you, like Die Hard for example, that don’t look any better than a regular upscaled DVD.

Also, I've never been able to see any mayor difference between 720p and 1080p on any disc. So there's no fear to get a cheaper 720p native tv/projector.

[Gary Tooze]

Getting caught up....

Warner (Europe) - Region 0 - PAL "2001: A Space Odyssey" vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner (Remastered Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Warner REGION FREE Blu-ray

Our Blu-ray captures are ripped directly from the disc:



http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Cheers,

[johnsusq]

Grab that Tartan BluRay - its going OOP!...

Panic attack! Bought it (used Beaver link), don't want to be stuck waiting for Criterion. Besides, it's good to give Tartan some positive reinforcement for being one of the first to release a classic B&W film in hi-def.

If you own a small TV set, let's say smaller than 42", any Blu Ray disc, at least to my eyes, won’t show the "wow" factor that you'd see on a larger screen. I own a 42" lcd set and recently upgraded my screen from 84" to 92", and the difference and detail between the two is amazing. And there’s so many Blu Ray I can name you, like Die Hard for example, that don’t look any better than a regular upscaled DVD.

Also, I've never been able to see any mayor difference between 720p and 1080p on any disc. So there's no fear to get a cheaper 720p native tv/projector.

I can say that 42 inches of Samsung 720P plasma is definitely enough to appreciate hi-def. Blade Runner, The Searchers, and No Country for Old Men far surpassed my expectations for the format. WOW! I never really appreciated The Searchers before. Audio is superb too. Lows are low, highs are high, all clear as a bell with great separation. The audio made Anton's (No Country) weapons truly terrifying.

[StevenJ0001]

Grab that Tartan BluRay - its going OOP!...

BTW, just to clarify, SDDVD played on BluRay players or indeed on SDDVD players with HDMI output, are upscaled - so what you actually get picturewise is not the same as a standard player (as is reflected in Gary's grabs), but is in fact much more detailed... I know - one further complication and confounder, but there you go!...

With all due respect, images on DVDs do not gain extra detail by being upscaled to an HD resolution. If you have a fixed pixel HDTV (i.e. a plasma, LCD, etc.), everything you watch on that set is upscaled to the set's native resolution--even if the source is VHS! Some DVD players have scalers that may be better than the one in your TV, but even the best scaler can't add detail to the image. For an HD image, you need an HD source, such as Blu-Ray. DVD resolution is standard def, and the hype about upscaling DVD players producing "near HD" images is nonsense, I'm afraid.

[Gary Tooze]

True enough - you cannot add detail that is not inherently there. DVD is made up of multiple images and you cannot improve upon their appearance by the processing of said images. You can definitely make them worse (downscaling), but if you enlarge them they will, most assuredly, become less sharp. One reason why we never increase image size from native resolution - it would detract from the quality. This is common knowledge.

Player processing and filtering can, at times, give the impression of sharpness but it is simply a trick/gimmick. You can't add detail by increasing the image size. Boosting an SD DVD from 720 or 480 to be displayed on an HD system may look better to you - but it's not the detail that is improving - it cannot. The system may enhance the black levels as well as the brightness - but that is just a processing trick to fool you. All HD television set must upscale SD resolution in order to display it full-screen.

This is the reason that, with the same source, 1080 must be an improvement in that area. What I am finding is that many SD transfers have, even minor, boosting to achieve this perception. The more we compare the more this may be true. If you are interested in improved image (and audio) quality, I suggest getting a Blu-ray player and watching Blu-ray DVDs through an HDMI connection. I have many of the same films in both SD and HD and on a 43" display the differences are easily apparent. As my system improves to projection (DVDs have a longer shelf-life than systems) this gap will become even more noticeable.
Cheers,

[StevenJ0001]

Well said, Gary.

I also don't understand the comments from people who say HD images aren't noticeably better than SD on smaller displays.

The first time I remember seeing an HD image was in a color-correction suite, on a CRT set that couldn't have been larger than around 26". I was also sitting quite a distance from the screen. I saw SD images on the monitor first, then some HD material, and I was stunned at the latter. On a good smaller screen I actually find HD to be even more impressive becuse the sharpness and clarity are so striking.

[Darth Lavender]

Read a posting from Robert Harris on, I think, the AV forum, talking about how disappointing the blu-rays of Patton and The Longest Day are, and especially Gangs of New York, then read DVDBeaver's somewhat positive reviews, and I'm wondering where the discrepancy is exactly?
Every other review of "Gangs of New York," especially, criticises its excess of edge-enhancement and DNR, but DVDBeaver takes a relatively positive view. Then there's Longest Day & Patton, were Beaver and Harris are at polar opposites in their appraisals.
Just wondering what it is that Harris is seeing and Beaver isn't? (Or, in fairness, what it could be that Beaver is seeing and Harris isn't?)

On the subject of DNR, I noticed Beaver gave a glowing review to the (mostly) nice Blu-Ray/HDDVD of 'Face/Off' a movie with DNR so bad that, on a 720p screen, without even having heard of DNR, I could tell there was something 'weird' about the image.
Now, different reviewers have different criteria (I can't count the number of times I've read a scathing review (from other sites) only to buy a HDDVD and discover the movie filled with gorgeous natural grain. So I'm wondering what it could be that's causing Beaver's opinions to be (for better or worse) the 'odd one out' on so many recent releases.

Regardless, the site does offer an excellent and unique service (off the top of my head, I can't think of any other websites that compare the image quality of different DVDs) and it's especially neat having those direct blu-ray captures now.

It's not purely a High Definition issue, I think. I recall "The Earings of Madame de...." and MoC's abysmal "Faust" got glowing reviews, with no mention of their strikingly obvious flaws.

[Gary Tooze]

I'm not going to defend all our decisions. I miss things, so do other reviewers. The Blu-ray of The Longest Day may have flaws but I think we've showed it's vastly ahead of its SD counterparts. I don't own Gangs yet - and have disagreed with Bob Harris on the phone many times regarding certain items. And I disagree with plenty of other DVD reviewers too - finding they miss plenty (simple things such as interlacing).

Our goal with the screen caps is to take away the subjectivity and have the images speak for themselves. It would be great if you could look at what we post and make your decisions accordingly.

Anyway.

***

NEW Comparison:

Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC "Black Narcissus" vs. Warner Home Vidéo (2-disc) - Region 2 - PAL vs. ITV DVD REGION FREE Blu-ray vs. Network - Region 2 - PAL


Criterion




ITV REGION FREE Blu-ray



NOTE All our Blu-ray caps are ripped directly from the disc and are linked to full resolution caps.


http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Cheers,

[Rowan]

The booklet that comes with the French disc shows gorgeous stills from the film that exactly match the criterion’s colour timing. I’ve never seen an IB print of the film but the richer, glowing, more expressive palette of the criterion gives me a lot more pleasure than the new restoration (- what this does convey beautifully though is the limpidity and spaciousness, the Vermeerish lighting). The transition to spring, accompanied by an ecstatic fortissimo outburst from the orchestra, doesn’t knock me out of my chair anymore in the restored versions. Looking at the beaver caps of the ITV blu, I really wouldn’t want to go paler still. I just wish the criterion didn’t become interlaced halfway through (like L’Avventura and the entirety of Notorious), as until this point, in motion, it holds up pretty well.

It has to be said also that the Network disc is a mess – muddy and artefact-ridden.

When criterion take this to blu let’s hope they do right!

[Gary Tooze]

God knows I put up with the HD Searchers for a a year but I have now sold it. I simply can't bear to watch this with the colors the way they are.

David on our ListServ YOU were the one who encouraged me to get The Searchers (HD at the time).

Just as an aside, I am still doing testing with obtaining Blu-ray caps. I'm still investigating but have been told our caps are at PC levels (0-255) not video levels (16-235) and we may have to do a slight correction by specifying the input levels to 16-235. Bear with us BUT the appearance of this image will most probably look different on an HD system (which can tend to filter and 'color correct' - boosting both black levels and contrast). I just did some toggle switching between this Blu-ray and the French Warner (The Network always looked a shade boosted to me) and it was readily apparent that the ITV was the vastly superior image (as one might expect) - on my system. I don't find the black levels washed out at all - I find, the subtleness of the contrast tends to bring up even more detail.

As long as ITV didn't mess with the colors, use a weak source, or make some grand faux-pas somewhere - this 1080P Blu-ray really has no option but to be better... or perhaps more 'true' (disounting personal taste and system).

Boys From Brazil next and Great Expectations later in the week (hasn't arrived yet)!

[peerpee]

FWIW, I think all Gary's actual Blu-ray caps look amazing, and it's really adding a fantastic new feature to his site, but they do all seem to be a little on the light side -- sounds like he's onto this though. It's really great that the Beaver crew have worked out proper Blu-ray grabs, and hopefully can now banish the silly photographs of the screen!

[What A Disgrace]

Gary, will you be reviewing Artificial Eye's recently released (according to the release date) Satyajit Ray Collection? I ask not only out of concern for the transfers and print quality, but because the sets do not appear to be available in any online stores, and I am wondering if they are even finished with the final product.

[Gary Tooze]

AE have been sending us discs of late so I'll assume I'll get my hands on the Ray boxes - but I understand they have been delayed somewhat anyway. Stay Tuned.
***
A guilty pleasure of mine....

Artisan - Region 0 - NTSC "The Boys From Brazil" vs. Carlton - *2 Disc - Region 0 - PAL vs. ITV DVD - REGION FREE Blu-ray

Non-anamorphic Artisan




ITV Blu-ray



http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Cheers,

[cdnchris]

That's absolutely insane how much better the Blu-Ray looks. Glad I always passed on the DVD. I don't care what anyone says but I love that movie.

[Darth Lavender]

The Blu-ray does look darn good (kind of expected that; always held off on the SD-DVDs, despite having a special fondness for James Mason's performance as an ultra-civilized Nazi, trying to reign in Gregory Peck's scenery-chewing psychopath)

[Gary Tooze]

I, too, show a great fondness for The Boys From Brazil. It was probably because of my age when I first watched it and I could easily dismiss some of the inconsistencies and over-the-top performances. Plus I LOVE stories about post-war Nazi's on the loose (like Welles 'The Stranger' or 'Marathon Man' (Olivier too!) - to think of two) Levin's story was perfect for the screen and broached the whole cloning thing 15 years before Jurassic Park. I think though there is no middle ground - either you buy into it - or you don't.
Cheers,