Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (HD DVD)

[Pirate]

Street Date: 11/27/07

Distributor: DreamWorks

Specifications:
•1080p Widescreen (Unrated Version)
• DTS-HD
• Dolby Digital Plus
More specs TBA

Features:
TBA

[Derb]

Thought this was a Universal release.

I'm boycotting Paramount at the moment.

[Pirate]

You're also repeating yourself.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

You're also repeating yourself.

Well these 2 titles are bigger than Indy & Star Wars Combined imo. Hence my flame remark.

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by Derb

Well these 2 titles are bigger than Indy & Star Wars Combined imo. Hence my flame remark.

Really? They are funny, but nowhere near as epic. I might consider owning Ron Burgundy, but not Old School. I do like the lossless trend that is continuing, but this was all done when bd was still in the mix. With them being hd-dvd exclusive, I'm sure they can go back to DD+, since hd-dvd fans are satisfied without lossless.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Derb

Well these 2 titles are bigger than Indy & Star Wars Combined imo. Hence my flame remark.

Did you actually just type that or did I drink some LSD-laced green tea?

[sub780lime]

Originally Posted by Derb

Well these 2 titles are bigger than Indy & Star Wars Combined imo. Hence my flame remark.

And you will be struck down by lightning where you stand!.....Did it happen?


Edit: oh yeah, I am getting this!

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by Derb

Well these 2 titles are bigger than Indy & Star Wars Combined imo. Hence my flame remark.

[venetian blinds]

"With them being hd-dvd exclusive, I'm sure they can go back to DD+, since hd-dvd fans are satisfied without lossless."

I am inferring from that that HD-DVD fans are not as discriminating as blu-ray fans when it comes to audio. Which to me does not make sense. You need a bunch of expensive kit besides the blu-ray player itself to enjoy that audio , which in the end may not sound better to you. On top of that , how many people who have purchased HD players do you believe understand what lossless means, or the fact that if you have the right kit blu-ray audio may sound better to your ears?

Its little comments like that that make me laugh, in that they are unnecessary other than to make one side appear "better" than the other.

[Pirate]

Ganthc is just being his normal hilarious self.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by ganthc

Really? They are funny, but nowhere near as epic. I might consider owning Ron Burgundy, but not Old School. I do like the lossless trend that is continuing, but this was all done when bd was still in the mix. With them being hd-dvd exclusive, I'm sure they can go back to DD+, since hd-dvd fans are satisfied without lossless.

Right, HD DVD fans are not blinded by marketing... Informed individuals like myself can make technical decisions based on information available instead of just assuming something is better based on "bigger is better" mentality. Bigger is not necessarily better - bigger may sound exactly the same. Listening tests have proven that high bitrate lossy is indistinguishable from lossless AEB hydrogenaudio double blind A/B tests on high bitrate lossy LAME MP3/WMA/AAC vs. PCM CD-Audio. Movie audio is no different - if anything it is less demanding than CD audio because the individual also has to process the visuals at the same time as the audio - not to mention the bit pool becomes bigger due to the increased number of channels. My bet is that in a blind test 1.5mbps 5.1 lossy audio sounds no different than lossless.

But then again... LOSSLESS GOES TO 11!

[Pirate]

TrueHD does sound better than DD+, at least to me. But, as we’ve discussed many times before, the differences are subtle. Universal and Paramount seem to be adding lossless to their HD discs, so I’m not even sure why this is an issue anymore.

HD DVD owners care just as much about the pure experience as BD owners do. To say otherwise is foolish.

[Shawn Watson]

I'll get this one! And I hope the lost Ron Burgandy movie is included in the extras.

Shawn

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

TrueHD does sound better than DD+, at least to me.

What disc are you using to compare TrueHD to 1.5mbps DD+ with?

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Ruined

What disc are you using to compare TrueHD to 1.5mbps DD+ with?

I've compared a few, but the best comparison was for Batman Begins. There were two scenes that stood out for me.

The Tumbler Scene:
The sound of the Tumbler taking corners and the tiny bits of road and debris were better defined on the THD track.


The Train Scene:
The THD sounded more dynamic when compared to the DD+. The imaging seemed better and when the train separated it just felt bigger.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

I've compared a few, but the best comparison was for Batman Begins. There were two scenes that stood out for me.

Batman Begins is 640kbps DD+. Big difference between that and 1.5mbps DD+, and I would not consider 640kbps DD+ equal to TrueHD.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Batman Begins is 640kbps DD+. Big difference between that and 1.5mbps DD+, and I would not consider 640kbps DD+ equal to TrueHD.

I also noticed these subtle differences in V for Vendetta and The Matrix sequels. Were those 640 as well?

Just to be clear, I think DD+ sounds wonderful. I don't freak out when a THD is not included because of how good DD+ sounds. Just look at Hot Fuzz: it was ear-piercing in the cinema and it was just as painful on the home stage.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

I also noticed these subtle differences in V for Vendetta and The Matrix sequels. Were those 640 as well?

Yes. Warner only uses 640kbps DD+ for some reason. Universal and Paramount use 1.5mbps DD+.

1.5mbps DD+ is (obviously) double the bitrate which removes the need for partial channel combination in the audible frequency range as is used with 640kbps DD+.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Yes. Warner only uses 640kbps DD+ for some reason. Universal and Paramount use 1.5mbps DD+.

1.5mbps DD+ is (obviously) double the bitrate which removes the need for partial channel combination in the audible frequency range as is used with 640kbps DD+.

Fair enough. I guess we’ll have to wait for a Paramount or Universal THD track to do a comparison.

If the DD+ can recreate the sound using less space (therefore giving more room to the video), I’m happy if the lossy vs. lossless becomes just a technicality.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

Fair enough. I guess we’ll have to wait for a Paramount or Universal THD track to do a comparison.

If the DD+ can recreate the sound using less space (therefore giving more room to the video), I’m happy if the lossy vs. lossless becomes just a technicality.

Well, the rub is this - 1.5mbps DD+ is 24bit/48khz and it is 1.5mbps CBR. That means you lose 1.5mbps off peak bitrate and average space taken is 1.5mbps. On the other hand, in the same amount of space you can fit 16bit/48khz TrueHD, which is lossless but a lower bit resolution and the peak bitrate can be as high as 3.8mbps. So although TrueHD's average bitrate is the same as DD+'s, the peak bitrate can be over twice as high.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

Fair enough. I guess we’ll have to wait for a Paramount or Universal THD track to do a comparison.

If the DD+ can recreate the sound using less space (therefore giving more room to the video), I’m happy if the lossy vs. lossless becomes just a technicality.

Or just listen to End of Days if you can't distinguish 1.5 to Lossless VBR... up to you.

Sinse Ruined has heard much less lossless tracks & more Lossy due to his "No Blu" stance, ya may want opinions from people who are dual supporters.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Derb

Or just listen to End of Days if you can't distinguish 1.5 to Lossless VBR... up to you.

I just don't think I could sit through End of Days again.

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by venetian blinds

"With them being hd-dvd exclusive, I'm sure they can go back to DD+, since hd-dvd fans are satisfied without lossless."

I am inferring from that that HD-DVD fans are not as discriminating as blu-ray fans when it comes to audio. Which to me does not make sense. You need a bunch of expensive kit besides the blu-ray player itself to enjoy that audio , which in the end may not sound better to you. On top of that , how many people who have purchased HD players do you believe understand what lossless means, or the fact that if you have the right kit blu-ray audio may sound better to your ears?

Its little comments like that that make me laugh, in that they are unnecessary other than to make one side appear "better" than the other.

Nope, it simply implies what Ruined stated. If movies show up on the bd format without lossless, bd fans complain. They're used to having lossless PCM audio. Hd-dvd fans have almost every title with 1.5 mbps dd+ tracks, when it doesn't have THD, and so it's not as necessary for them to have lossless, nor are there any complaints really. That's all.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Derb

Or just listen to End of Days if you can't distinguish 1.5 to Lossless VBR... up to you.

Sinse Ruined has heard much less lossless tracks & more Lossy due to his "No Blu" stance, ya may want opinions from people who are dual supporters.

You can listen to unlimited "lossless vs. lossy tracks" right now and guarantee the same master, too. Open Windows Media Player, go to Options/Rip Music, set the codec to Windows Media 9 VBR and set the bitrate to maximum. Then rip your CD and compare the original CD to the ripped file.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by Ruined

You can listen to unlimited "lossless vs. lossy tracks" right now and guarantee the same master, too. Open Windows Media Player, go to Options/Rip Music, set the codec to Windows Media 9 VBR and set the bitrate to maximum. Then rip your CD and compare the original CD to the ripped file.

A higher bitrate doesn't necessarily mean better sound. I pointed out on a few BDs where the 640 sounds better than 1.5 (Devi's Rejects) & even a 640 sounded better than a 13.8 (John Legend). Compaing ambient effects from a 2CH source is much different than a 6CH or 8CH

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by Derb

Comparing ambient effects from a 2CH source is much different than a 6CH or 8CH

Bingo!

Plus, you can hear differences. It's like listening to an orchestra. Some people wouldn't be able to hear the oboe being out of tune, while those with more critical ears can notice such errors.