Site Info

I have changed the front page to display information rather than a post as this typically cuts over 300kb off the page load time.

When you first visit this site the page may load slower for you but on subsequent visits the page should load much faster since the site will be in your browser cache.

Blu Ray Reviews

For each review i take into account many factors. 

I tend to take the view that small bits of edge enhancement which are isolated incidents are not bad enough to keep a film from being on my reference list but if the edge enhancement is consistent and keeps appearing throughout the movie then i consider that at least a minor issue although the strength of the sharpening must also be taken into consideration and usually if it's there for an entire movie it becomes a major issue. The same is true of other problems such as DNR which removes detail or compression issues.

The sound quality of movies is very subjective. 

I actually gave Star Trek a lower score than some people might give it due to the fact i personally felt the deep bass didn't really make the air move the way a movie like Hellboy II or The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor or even Valkyrie did. When it comes to audio and the term reference mix i expect a modern day movie to have crystal clear speech, great split surround use and very deep bass. Many movies have very good sound quality but don't use their surround channels enough or go deep enough that you feel the bass in the air.

Obviously great sound or image quality cannot rescue a movie if the script is poor or does not engage the viewer but at the very least i expect a great sound mix on all new movies.

Now i have read many online views that Star Trek has plenty of deep low end bass and is reference quality for audio.  I disagree and think those people are playing their subwoofers at hot levels and probably at least 10db higher than the other speakers. 

I can raise my subwoofer to 10db hot and Star Trek will sound much more thunderous in the low end department but it is just so wrong to raise your levels that much higher.  I should not have to do so to get that sort of response from the Trek soundtrack or the Wolverine soundtrack.  If you raise your subwoofer too high it will then dominate the soundstage.

If Hellboy II or Outlander or the other movies i mention above can have very deep low bass that shakes a room or moves the air then i know my subwoofer is capable and i know my system is playing just fine and calibrated correctly.

It's possible the mix for some releases has the subwoofer 0.1 channel lower for the home than it should be.  I simply playback at the same volume for each release and if the bass isn't as good on some releases i say so.

I may start posting some waterfall charts so the bass frequencies can be shown in more detail.

Sometimes a movie will be downconverted from either 8k or 4k to a lower resolution such as 2k and this can introduce ringing to some parts of the image. 

Ringing is very similar to edge enhancement in appearance. 

My reviews might get it wrong from time to time and what i perceive as edge enhancement might just be ringing caused by downconversion. 

The issue is still there though so whether it's ringing or edge enhancement it is still something i will mention in my reviews and it's possible what i perceive an issue others may not or other people may consider it negligible. 

Remember these are my own personal opinions and should be read with that in mind.  

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Reference List Info

As a former member of AVS forums i have ported over a thread i started there called Film Grain Allowed/Film Reference and Analysis.  I simply call it The Reference List and have included a minor/medium/major issues list.  I will be updating that frequently each week and hope to add some extra image information and some picture links to every title on the lists.

The structure for these lists is evolving and a scoring system will be added in time and i may add an audio rating next to each film.

Blu Ray Screencaps

I have recently added a screencaps section to the site.

I will add my thoughts on each film before the screencaps and give a mini review of each movie.

Hardware

This section will list home cinema hardware or gadgets which are interesting.