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dholmes · December 2003

Did anyone else think that the pq was bad, lots of ee. The sq was great!

Ron-P · December 2003

Some EE, but not too bad. Only in some bright scenes is it noticeable.

But, this is one where the DD track blows DTS out of the water. The DTS track is flat with limited highs and muddy lows.

Peace Out~:D

Strong Bad · December 2003

I have a feeling this one will be re-done into a super-mega-ultra special edition.

They'll clean up the video and remaster the audio. From what I'm reading, seems like they rushed this one out. I don't recall ever hearing where the DD soundtrack beat out the DTS.

I think I'll wait for this purchase, although I loved the movie!

John

kberg · December 2003

Originally posted by Ron-P

But, this is one where the DD track blows DTS out of the water. The DTS track is flat with limited highs and muddy lows.

Interesting. I've watched about the first half in DTS so far but will test out the DD version as well.

Dr. Spec · December 2003

Originally posted by Ron-P
But, this is one where the DD track blows DTS out of the water. The DTS track is flat with limited highs and muddy lows.

Thanks for the tip, Ron. I always select DTS over DD when it's available.

It is indeed rare when DD beats DTS.......maybe Die Another Day? What did you guys think of that one?

Dr. Spec · December 2003

PQ was fair at best. Colors were oversaturated in many scenes and EE was evident, but not horrible. A few scenes looked nice, mostly the outdoor each ones.

Audio was fine. It flagged DD-EX, despite not being advertised as such. Vocals and surrounds use was good, and bass was ery strong. When they first showed the medallion, I thought a tsunami passed throught the house - holy moses.

Ron-P · December 2003

Doc, have you done a comparison between dts and dd?

Peace Out~:D

Dr. Spec · December 2003

Originally posted by Ron-P
Doc, have you done a comparison between dts and dd?

No, I took your word and just selected the DD-EX version.

If you'd like my opinion on the two, I'll fire it up tonight and give the DTS a listen. I'd be interested to see if it flags DTS-ES anyway......

dlew308 · December 2003

Yes please test both

dholmes · December 2003

My pre-pro flagged both dts es, dd ex. Also dd ex was better than dts es!!

Dr. Spec · December 2003

3803 flagged DTS-ES matrix.

Overall, I found both to be very comparable. No clear winner on my system.

DTS had slightly more involving surround use on several back to back action sequences.

DD had slightly heavier body to the vocals on the center channel.

Bass was comparable in strength and defintion in either format.

On second viewing, PQ is at best fair. EE is obvious, green is pushed badly in several dark scenes, and the picture has a gritty look with poor detail. Grain is largely absent, though. Won't win any awards in the PQ department, that's for sure.

Strong Bad · December 2003

Again, it's obvious they rushed this thing out in time for the holiday shoppers.

You know right well there will be a newer remaster version to come out probably in the spring / summer. I'll wait for that one when it happens.

John

kberg · December 2003

Originally posted by john d. strong
Again, it's obvious they rushed this thing out in time for the holiday shoppers.

This doesn't make any sense (not you John). What I mean here is that studios typically crank out a movie on DVD (like this one) within about 6 months after its release at the theater, so why couldn't the DVD for this flick be a LOT better than it is, especially by today's standards and what we should expect from Disney? Studios, including Disney, have released some excellent DVD's in the 6-month time frame, so why not this one?

Ron-P · December 2003

I am surprised at your findings Doc. More and more posts I read on the film are coming back with findings like mine.

Peace Out~:D

Dr. Spec · December 2003

Originally posted by Ron-P
I am surprised at your findings Doc. More and more posts I read on the film are coming back with findings like mine.

Peace Out~:D

Well, just being honest I guess. A bunch of back to back scenes sounded very similar to me.

I can definitely call DTS the winner by a country mile on LOTR-TT EE, so go figure. :rolleyes:

Dr. Spec · December 2003

Impressions from the HTF Reviewer:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=171312

The DD mix is bold and dynamic. I don't think anyone (myself included) would find fault listening to this soundtrack on its own. It's only when comparing against the DTS that any possible weaknesses are revealed. The DTS soundtrack has a noticeably smoother midrange, and the soundstage is more 3-dimensional with a greater sense of front/back separation. Details are rendered more finely and in general it sounds less fatiguing than the slightly flatter, slightly brighter DD soundtrack.

The DTS also has that slightly more resolved sense of "space" and acoustic/ambient decay. Also consistent with most of my other DD/DTS DVDs, the surround channels sound more "coherent" on the DTS track...they seem to blend more seamlessly with the front channels and create a more realistic sense of a unified 360 degree soundfield.

For me the most significant or meaningful improvement that DTS brought was the "rounder" more natural sounding dialogue. On both my friend's (Leicon whoop-ti-doo system) and my own (B&K nice but ho-hum) system these same differences were audible.

Curiously, the DTS recording level seems lower than the DD (curious because usually it's the other way round) so you'll need to up the level a few notches switching over to the DTS if you want to do an A/B comparison.

Bass is solid and bold on both tracks and I didn't notice dramatic differences between them bass wise, though I'd give the edge to the DTS having a slightly tighter more controlled bass presentation.

avelanchefan · December 2003

Well I watched it tonight finally.

I found it to be lacking in any type of LFE. It was not bad, but nothing spectacular either.

Ron-P · December 2003

There's no lack of LFE in this movie, that's for sure. But, I'm going to have to give the dts track another go. I'll up the volume knob a bit this time around.

Peace Out~:D

Dr. Spec · December 2003

Of course, Ron - the above was from a reviewer who gave the PQ a 4.5/5, so what the hell does he know. :rolleyes:

We all know the PQ on pirates pretty much sucks ****.......

In the end trust your own ears.......if DD-EX sounds best to you - go for it.

scottvamp · December 2003

Sorry but I found the LFE to be really lacking in the DTS mode at least - DD may be stronger......
Early reviews I have read do concur that the soundtrack could have been better.
A 3 out of 5 at best IMO

Gringo · December 2003

Lil help hear with forum lingo. Either im a complete idiot or just really tired after working all day, but what does "EE" mean when you guys are discussing picture quality.

Thanks

PS. Please no thoughts on whether im a complete idiot or not.

scottvamp · December 2003

It depends:

I can definitely call DTS the winner by a country mile on LOTR-TT EE, so go figure.

This means the "Extended Edition" DVD.
In video discussion it stands for edge effert. Fluttering of the top and bottom edges of a wide screen movie.

avelanchefan · December 2003

I am going to have to disagree Ron. I when I watched this movie I expected big booms and barely got whispers. There were scenes when the Black Pearl was firing on the island....things where falling left and right, yet basically no sound from the bass or surrounds as you would expect from the basic standards of todays DVD's. I was very dissapointed. (of course you could hear the cannons fine, but the details were lacking severily)

The final sequence/battle/30 minutes of movie was improved over the first half, but I felt it was very quiet for action movie standards. Nothing like T3.

Now this was watched in dts, will give DD a spin and see/listen for the difference. Maybe the sq will improve as others have posted.

Gringo · December 2003

Thanks scott,
I was referring to edge effert, i knew that the EE meant extended
edition just wasnt sure about the other ee. thanks again.

scottvamp · December 2003

Once again - as i also noticed i will agree with avelanchefan on this. The sound and bass was not thier.

Dr. Spec · December 2003

EE = extended edition or edge enhancement, depending on the context.

Edge enhancement looks like a halo or blooming around the object. Pirates has obvious EE on several scenes - distracting.

The bass was definitely there in Pirates. It didn't rip the house down (except for the aforementioned medallion scene) but it certainly wasn't weak either. Cannon shots and explosions shook the room pretty well.

Ron-P · December 2003

The bass was definitely there in Pirates. It didn't rip the house down (except for the aforementioned medallion scene) but it certainly wasn't weak either. Cannon shots and explosions shook the room pretty well.

Exactly. I'm surprised some are not getting hit. It's not over-powering or over-blown like in the Matrix movies. But, it's there and complements the movie perfectly. Also, when the mast fell during the ship-to-ship battle, that had some solid bass.

Scott, give the dd track a spin. I found it stronger and tighter then the dts track.

Peace Out~:D

scottvamp · December 2003

Originally posted by Ron-P
Scott, give the dd track a spin. I found it stronger and tighter then the dts track.
Peace Out~:D

Will do Ron, Thanks!!!!!!!

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