I've Gone Blu

I tried to stay away from the format wars when the next generation high definition DVDs first came out. Whichever format I would have chosen would have been the loser. And even when Bluray won I was hesitant to switch, mostly due to cost, but also I didn't feel the technology was really ready.

About a year ago I got my first HDTV. Playing DVDs through a standard player with no HD hook up was pretty hard to deal with. The picture was bad and not fully taking advantage of the power of the television. I put off watching many of the DVDs I had bought because I simply wanted to wait until I could see them in better quality.

A few months back when Sony decided to drop the price for the PS3 I decided it was time to upgrade. I knew if I ever switched to bluray that I would go with a PS3. For the price you get a top notch player with Internet capabilities, which is important, as well as a great gaming system. It seemed like the perfect player.

I mention the importance of the Internet hook up because of the updates that are necessary for the bluray players, something that most retailers don't tell you when selling you the stand alone players. Because the technology is still new, there are constantly firmware updates that are necessary to keep the players up to date and able to play the latest discs. Without the updates you could see up to ten minutes of delay waiting for a disc to load, if it would even load at all. We had lots of customers bringing us discs back because they wouldn't play, and they had no idea about the updates. Most often, once the updates were done then problem solved. Having the built in wireless Internet makes the updates simple and fast. A lot of the older and cheaper players don't have Internet and it will require a download and burn to a disc to upload the updates each time, which to me is a major turn off. So if you are looking to convert I highly recommend getting a player with Internet capabilities.

I've had the player for about 3 months now and all I've really used it for is to play DVDs. There is a definite upgrade to the picture compared to the standard DVD players hooked up to an HDTV. What I did notice is flaws in the pictures, mainly in the dark parts of the picture. The blacks were extremely black hiding away a lot of detail in the picture, but I was also getting ghosting or burn in when an image would would move across the blacks. This is where I learned about calibrating the TV. What happened to the days when you would buy a television and take it out of the box and it was ready to go? I bought a calibration disc and I've spent hours trying to get the picture right and I'm still not pleased. I've gotten the dark's a bit under control but I still get the ghosting effect. I'm not sure if this is because of the refresh rate on my TV or the calibration, but it can be a bit annoying at times. I've tried to research it some, and fiddle around with the settings, but I still can't get it to the perfect image that I want.

After all of this time spent messing with the picture and testing the player with DVDs I figured it was time I try watching an actual bluray. I bought my first bluray disc a year ago in anticipation of someday getting a player. I've hung on to this disc all this time and figured it would be the first movie I watch. So for my first bluray experience I watched The Dark Knight.


I hadn't seen the movie in a while so I had forgotten how good it really is. The first thing that stood out to me in regards to the bluray experience are the Imax scenes. The film is shot in a 2:33 to 1 ratio, so you still get small black bars on the screen even on a wide screen TV. For the scenes shot in Imax the image expands to fill up the entire screen, just as it did on the Imax screens, and this was a really cool effect. The amount of detail in the image is definitely noticeable compared to the DVD. The blacks looked much better for the blurays compared to the DVDs, and the overall image is much more crisp and vibrant.


What really stood out though was the sound. When I bought my player, I also bought a new surround sound receiver to go with it. The surround mix was really well done, with an enhancement on the score and definite more pop in the explosions and sound effects.

While watching The Dark Knight again I had forgotten how well made a film it is. Some people call it the best superhero movie ever made, and some don't really see it as a superhero film. I think the reason the film was so successful financially and critically was because of the approach of the film. I don't really see it as a superhero film. There are bits of several genres that can be seen and pulled from the film that appeals to fans of different types of films that are able to relate to the story and acting. For me, I see it more as a Film Noir type story. There are a lot of the elements of the genre present, from characters to aesthetics that are typical of Film Noir movies. This type of dissection is probably best left for another article however. Or perhaps I can create my own commentary for the film and post it online for others to choose and watch and listen to while watching their Dark Knight bluray. Creating your own commentary is another cool feature that is available only on Blurays with Bluray Live.

There is a definitely a noticeable difference between the DVDs and blurays. The problem now lies in whether to buy blurays exclusively or to continue to purchase DVDs. The problem with blurays is I can only play them on that one player, so I can't watch on my laptop or take to some one's house to view them. I like the idea of some of the blurays coming out in combo packs. I wish more would do that because I would definitely purchase those versions. I bought Star Trek on bluray and my wife brought it to my parents house on Thanksgiving, only to realize we couldn't watch it because they don't have a bluray player. We also brought Up, which is in a combo pack so were able to play it, even though we never did and I still haven't seen it, but with the combo pack we have options.

Whether the studios adapt to the combo packs, or they do what Universal just announced which is a "flipper disc" which has the bluray on one side and DVD on the other, there will still be a format war going on. These flipper discs are not a good idea and will lead to nothing but problems. Whatever the solution, I think both formats are still going to be with us for quite some time. It was smart of them to allow for the DVDs to be able to play on the bluray players, so there is no need for me to replace my thousand movies with the latest format. I will continue to purchase DVDs unless it's a film that would look amazing in the high definition format in which case I will purchase it on bluray, or if it is available in a combo pack I will purchase those.

If you are on the fence on this format I think this next year is the year to convert. The players and discs are starting to come down in price and there are a lot more catalog titles being released, as well as new releases and television shows. In order to truly take advantage of the quality you will need the TV, surround receiver, hdmi cables, which means a lot of money, and a lot of patience to get it set up right. Once you do, you won't be disappointed. Now if I can only get my calibration perfected I will truly be happy. Even despite that, I am satisfied from what I've seen so far. For those who have converted, I'm curious to hear your stories and suggestions.

2012

I remember in the summer of 1996 seeing the movie Independence Day for the first time. The special effects for that time were pretty original with a realistic blend of CGI and model effects. The iconic shot of the White House being blown apart was something that I hadn't seen before. It was a fun summer film that I went back to see at least four times in theaters.

I saw it again recently playing on cable and I marveled at how bad it is now. The effects still hold up, but the story, dialogue and acting are just pretty bad and forgettable. The movie certainly does not hold up for me all these years later. Whether it's my tastes have changed drastically, which they most definitely have, or just the quality of the film that I didn't see at the time, I'm not sure why but it's just a forgettable film.

That is the best way I can think of to describe Roland Emmerich's latest film 2012.

The plot is pretty thin and simple. The film takes advantage of the world's fear and obsession with the upcoming end of the world in 2012 as predicted by the Mayans. Whether it's from a solar flare or another cosmic event, global warming, or just the year where we all finally nuke each other and bring an end to mankind, 2012 is believed to be the year of armageddon. In the movie the environments quickly change and the core of the earth begins to melt causing the earths crust to move and shift, eventually bringing on lots of destruction. The world's governments have built a number of arcs to float in the rising waters when the end comes and to save and protect those wealthy enough to buy a seat on the ship so that they can save mankind.

Thus begins the journey of John Cusack and his family as they travel across the world and sneak on to the ship to be saved. That one sentence is the extent of the entire plot of the film. The rest is just filler material until the next action sequence where something else will blow up. Some of the dialogue and acting is pretty laughable, but the action scenes are well done. There is a nice blend of model and CGI work, just as in Independence Day. Using actual models helps create a sense of realism rather than the falseness that can be created in an all digital world and makes the action and effects more thrilling.

As thrilling as those effect are, they are truly unbelievable. I don't mind suspending disbelief for a film like this, but how many various natural disasters can one person avoid before finally being knocked off? Rising grounds, falling buildings, flaming boulders, ash storms, floods, you name it, they escape and survive it. As exciting as it is, it just became a bit too much after a while.

Despite it's many flaws, I must admit that I was actually entertained during the film. For what it is 2012 is a fun summer popcorn flick, just premiering in the wrong season. It's all fluff and no substance, but still fun for what it is. That fun won't lead to repeat viewings however, for like Independence Day this movie is quickly forgettable. If you are looking to check your mind at the door and just be entertained for a couple hours and not think at all, then this is the movie for you. Just remember to reattach your brain on the way out of the theater. Heaven forbid you would have to return for a repeat viewing.