-
HDD Spotlight Bargain: 'The Godfather,' 'The Godfather II,' & 'Forrest Gump' Blu-rays $11.99 at Amazon[teaser]Three of Paramount's Sapphire Series Blu-rays are now 60 percent off at Amazon![/teaser] The online retailer is selling 'Forrest Gump,' 'The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration - Sapphire Series,' and 'The Godfather: Part II: The Coppola Restoration - Sapphire Series' for just $11.99 each (60% off suggested list price). Click here to order Robert Zemeckis's Oscar-winner, or here for Francis Ford Coppola's masterpieces.Posted Tue Jun 15, 2010 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
'Stargate Universe - SGU: Season 1.5' Blu-ray Delayed[teaser]The second half of the first season originally scheduled for Blu-ray in June isn't coming through the gate until July.[/teaser] As previously reported, 20th Century Fox had announced 'Stargate Universe - SGU: Season 1.5' starring Robert Carlyle for Blu-ray on June 13, but that date has now been pushed to July 27. Specs have yet to be revealed for the three disc set, but supplements will include multiple interviews, featurettes, commentaries, video diaries, and an exclusive survival instinct game. The packaging will also include a special sleeve for those who want to keep both halves of the season together in one place. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $39.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Stargate Universe - SGU: Season 1.5' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's now indexed under July 27.Posted Tue Jun 15, 2010 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
'Cemetery Junction' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]The independent comedy co-directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant is headed for Blu-ray this August. [/teaser] Sony Pictures has announced the British coming-of-age film 'Cemetery Junction' starring Christian Cooke, Tom Hughes, Jack Doolan, Ralph Fiennes, and Felicity Jones for Blu-ray on August 17. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements will include: Commentary with Writers/Directors Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant; Meet The Boys; The Directors On Set; Cast Commmentary with Christian Cooke, Tom Hughes, and Jack Doolan; Deleted Scenes; The Directors: A Conversation with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant; The Lads Look Back: The Stars Discuss Cemetery Junction; Seventies Style: Production and Costume Design; Snow Dude; The Start of Filming; Week 1; and MovieIQ + sync. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $30.95. You can find the latest specs for 'Cemetery Junction' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 17.Posted Mon Jun 14, 2010 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
'9th Company: Collector's Edition' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]The Best Picture winner from the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts is slated for an August Blu-ray release. [/teaser] Well Go USA has announced they are preparing the war film '9th Company: Collector's Edition' for Blu-ray on August 31. Reminiscent of 'Apocalypse Now,' 'Full Metal Jacket' and 'The Big Red One,' '9th Company' is credited as being the first real post-Soviet era war film. The highest grossing film in Russia in 2005 at $27 million, '9th Company' also won a NIKA Award for Best Film and marks the feature directorial debut of Fyodor Bondarchuk, son of renowned director Sergei Bondarchuk ('War and Peace,' 1968. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and over an hour's worth of supplements including: Deleted scenes, Director and crew interviews, Historical interviews accounting the Soviet-Afghanistan conflict, and a Theatrical trailer. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $32.98. You can find the latest specs for '9th Company: Collector's Edition' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 31.Posted Mon Jun 14, 2010 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
'Skellig: The Owl Man' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]Hoot! There he is! Hoot! There he is! The family drama is headed for Blu-ray this August. [/teaser] Image Entertainment is bringing 'Skellig: The Owl Man' starring Tim Roth and Bill Millner to Blu-ray on August 17. 'Skellig' is based from David Almond’s popular children’s novel, the recipient of the Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year Award and the Carnegie Medal – also named one of the ten most important children’s novels of the past 70 years by the Carnegie judges. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and no supplements have been revealed so far. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $29.98. You can find the latest specs for 'Skellig: The Owl Man' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 17.Posted Mon Jun 14, 2010 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
'Pulse' and 'Feast' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]Digital ghosts and ravenous, bloodthirsty monsters will haunt high-definition this September. [/teaser] Vivendi is bringing the horror film 'Pulse' starring Kristen Bell to Blu-ray on September 7. Project Greenlight winner 'Feast' will hit Blu-ray a week later on September 14. Specs and supplements have yet to be revealed, but suggested list price for each Blu-ray is $19.97. You can find the latest specs for 'Pulse' and 'Feast' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under September 7 and 14 respectively.Posted Mon Jun 14, 2010 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
'The Man Who Fell to Earth' Blu-ray Discontinued[teaser]Another Criterion Blu-ray is going out of print at the end of the month. [/teaser] The Criterion Collection has just announced that Nicolas Roeg's 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' starring David Bowie will be discontinued on June 30. The studio also lost the rights to two other films on Blu-ray previously: The Third Man' and 'Pierrot le fou.' So if you enjoy the film, be sure to pick one up before they're all gone.Posted Mon Jun 14, 2010 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
Where Were You in '62, HD Advisor?Editor's Note: Each Friday, High-Def Digest's own HD Advisor will answer a new round of questions from our readers. If you have home theater questions you need answered, send an email to [email protected]. If you've already sent a question and don't see it answered yet, please be patient as we work our way through them. To browse through previously answered questions, visit the main HD Advisor page. Answers by Joshua Zyber Receiver vs. Separates Q: Recently, I learned about the possibility of using a separate audio processor in a home theater system, rather than an audio/video receiver. I've even heard that this is much better. For people who are just movie watchers, not necessarily audiophiles, is it worth using a processor instead of a receiver? What consequences will this have, in terms of other equipment and cabling? Are the claims about the superiority of processors exaggerated? A: Those readers who've followed this column for any length of time will probably recognize that I've never claimed to be an audiophile. In fact, I often approach many audiophile beliefs and practices with skepticism. I try to take a practical view of home theater matters. If the alleged superiority of one method of doing things can't be explained rationally or measured scientifically, I don't put much stock in it. The audio data on a DVD or Blu-ray disc must go through three steps before you hear the movie's soundtrack through your speakers. First, the Dolby or DTS codec must be decoded to PCM format. Then that PCM must be converted to analog. Finally, the analog signal must be amplified out to the speakers. (Obviously, if a disc is authored with a PCM soundtrack, you will skip the first step.) An A/V receiver combines all three of these steps into one piece of equipment. Many audiophile listeners prefer to separate these functions into dedicated processor and amplifier components. The processor will do the decoding and Digital-to-Analog conversion. The amplifier's name explains itself. The reasoning here is that dedicated, high-end components are more likely to do each individual job better than a combination unit. There's actually merit in this line of thought. I won't argue against it. Any sort of all-in-one device will by nature introduce compromises somewhere along the way. However, I think that most home theater users, even most fussy listeners, will be perfectly well served by an A/V receiver. Separates are mainly for the die-hard audiophile crowd. I certainly won't begrudge anyone who goes this route, but I personally find that a receiver suits my needs just fine. If you were to use separates, you'd of course need to connect the processor to the amplifier. Because the processor converts the audio signal to multi-channel analog format, you will have to connect the two devices by 5.1 (or 7.1) analog cabling. That means between 6 to 8 additional cables that you would otherwise avoid by using a combined A/V receiver. Should that in itself be a deal-breaker for an interested viewer? No, but it's something to take into consideration for those on the fence. Dolby Digital on HD Broadcast Q: I have always wondered how the quality of the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio on HDTV is when compared with the Dolby track on DVDs? Is the TV sound more or less compressed? Is there any hope we could have Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio on broadcast TV? A: Most HD broadcast networks use Dolby Digital 5.1 audio at a bit rate of 384 kb/s. A few may go up to 448 kb/s, comparable to the version of Dolby Digital most studios use on DVD, but that's rare for television. The sound quality of broadcast programs may vary by network and show. (I think 'Glee' sounds pretty great on Fox, but was never much impressed with the audio for '24' on the same network.) Some cable and satellite providers have discussed upgrading to the Dolby Digital Plus format, which still isn't lossless quality but does offer more transparency than standard Dolby Digital. However, there hasn't been much movement toward actually implementing that, at least not here in the United States. In France, the TNT HD platform broadcasts a few channels in Dolby Digital Plus. Positive vs. Negative Volume Numbers Q: I'd think this would be a no-brainer for the column. Who hasn't wondered why the number displayed on the receiver goes down when the volume goes up? A: Actually, different receiver brands handle this differently. Some brands (such as Onkyo, I believe) consider "0" to be the very bottom of the volume range. In other words, muted. When you turn the volume up, the numbers go up. Although that would seem to make the most logical sense, this is a minority approach. Most receivers consider 0 to be "reference level" volume. While this isn't necessarily the highest volume the receiver can achieve, it's most likely the loudest that you'd ever want to listen to anything. In fact, you probably rarely want to crank the volume that high in a home environment. Depending on the size of the listening space, typically somewhere between 10 to 20 dB below reference (numbers in the negative range) will be very audibly loud. This is assuming that you've calibrated your speaker levels at the receiver against reference level, of course. (Which is what any calibration disc will instruct you to do.) Homework Assignment: You Be the Advisor The HD Advisor knows many things, but he doesn't know everything. Some questions are best answered with a consensus of opinions from our readers. If you can help to answer the following question, please post your response in our forum thread linked at the end of this article. Your advice and opinions matter too! Entry-Level HD Audio Receivers Q: I am looking for an entry-level HD Audio solution. My current receiver handles Dolby Digital and DTS via TosLink, but I'm possibly looking to upgrade. I'm hoping to keep the price tag under $500 (under $300 would be awesome). Basically, I am looking for something that will process HD audio from my PS3 and my HD DVD player. And I really want at least 800 watts. My current 800 watt system is comfortable with my volume near the max of the system. I am thinking that I might be able to go receiver only, and reuse my speakers from my Sony HTiB until I can get decent replacements. Also, one of the things I loved about my Sony was the mic, which would allow me to hold it at my listening position and it would set my speaker levels for me. Are these options even possible in my price range? Can I use my Sony speakers with another system? They are just regular speakers, right? Check back soon for another round of answers. Keep those questions coming. Joshua Zyber's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of this site, its owners or employees.Posted Fri Jun 11, 2010 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Blu-ray Keeps Up With 'The Joneses'[teaser]The critically-acclaimed satire will find a home on high-definition this August. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, 20th Century Fox is readying the comedy 'The Joneses' starring David Duchovny and Demi Moore for a Blu-ray release on August 10. “Sharp, timely and very funny” (Karen Durbin, ELLE), 'The Joneses' has been hailed as “a Zeitgeist film” (Time) that is “fresh, scintillating and downright terrific” (New York Observer). The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and the only supplements will be a pair of deleted scenes. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $24.99. You can find the latest specs for 'The Joneses' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 10.Posted Fri Jun 11, 2010 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
HDD Spotlight Bargain: '2012' Blu-ray $12 at Amazon[teaser]Amazon has a great deal on Roland Emmerich's reigning king of all disaster flicks! [/teaser] The mega retailer has just reduced the price for the single disc edition of ’2012’ starring John Cusack to just $12 on Blu-ray (69% off suggested list price). It's the end of the world as we know it, and it can be yours for a low, low price!Posted Fri Jun 11, 2010 at 08:01 AM PDT by:
