How I Love These Two Round, Well-Formed, Tightly Filled Thingies... - DVDfile.com forum for DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD

Dominik Pfleghaar · 03-22-2000, 10:56 AM

...that are the The Abyss SE DVD's (now what did you think?)

I must confess that I fell in love with the alpha keepcase, and even more so with the alpha double keepcase. It just looks so... great on the DVD shelve.

Anyway, about The Abyss... (did I mention that this thing just looks great on the shelve?) Unfortunately I didn't have the time yet to watch anything of this wonderful (and great looking!) SE. And even unfortunatelier (is that a word or what) I probably won't have time to watch it for another couple of days, if not even weeks.
But until I finally come around to watch it, I can wallow in pleasure of this wonderful looking disc set.

BTW, it just looks great on the shelve, right next to the Halloween SE.

------------------
Unca Dom, DDS-088
dvdfile.com administrator
dominikpfleghaar@netscape.net

03-22-2000, 04:44 PM

Dom,
Really, make the time to watch it. I watched the movie(DC) last night and was blown away by gow good it looked. I have been told over and over again that non anamorphic discs look like crap, but this one, well, I can't find words to discribe...

This is simply the best looking DVD I have seen. I have a hard time going anywhere(especially to work

) and leaving this on the shelf unexplored. By the way, did you know that this looks almost as good on the shelf as it does on the screen?

WOW

j

------------------
Fast MOPARS, faster computers,
And high performance home theater!
"Thank you for your cooperation."

[This message has been edited by j70chlngr (edited 03-22-2000).]

Taxi · 03-22-2000, 05:07 PM

j70chlngr, do you have a widescreen TV? The lack of anamorphic transfer won't really be noticeable unless you have a pretty good sized 16:9 television.

On my 25" 4:3 set, I can't tell anamorphic from quadraphonic.

------------------
Taxi
DVDFile.Com Moderator

03-22-2000, 05:31 PM

Taxi,
Unfortunately, not yet. I am hoping to have enough money saved up by the end of this year to get one of the 40" Toshiba's tho

. I currently have a 50" 4X3 toshiba RPTV and can definately tell the difference using The Fifth Element and Airforce One vs Titanic, Enamy of the State, or Con Air. Titanic for example doesn't look any better than the laser disc I have. But that is just my own observations. Maybe it's just using the component cable vs the s-video cable? But that doesn't explain the Titanic thing.

I don't really knowfor sure. I just know what I see on my setup. The Abyss really does look great.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

j

------------------
Fast MOPARS, faster computers,
And high performance home theater!
"Thank you for your cooperation."

03-22-2000, 05:38 PM

Hi J70

This is great! This confirms our findings in that it is the data rate of the transfer that causes fluctuations in picture quality and not whether a DVD is anamorphic or not. The Abyss does indeed look fabulous and is proof positive that anamorphic is not the be all and end all of DVD production. I am not saying that there is no differences - just that sometimes they are very, very, very, very small!

clortho · 03-23-2000, 07:27 PM

Justin-

On some titles its hard to tell whether its anamorphic or not (Criterion's Armageddon comes to mind), while on others, its quite obvious. I've seen a few non-anamorphic transfers where the area around the 1:85 line is marred by compression artifacts between it and the "black bars." Bad, bad, bad compression job. That being said, I prefer to have all my disks anamorphic, because I wont have a 4:3 tv forever and I generally see better quality in the titles that are anamorphic.

Clortho

------------------
I am the Keymaster
clortho@hotmail.com

[This message has been edited by clortho (edited 03-23-2000).]

Sid · 03-23-2000, 09:13 PM

I must agree this disc is pretty cool. I just picked it up about 2 hours ago. This has been a favorite movie of mine for a few years since I saw the SE(I had seen the theatrical cut for years, but the SE is significantly better). The Abyss SE was the first widescreen VHS I bought ( I was only 13, and I could not afford laserdiscs) after that I was a widescreen junkie. Its a shame its not anamorphic, but I only have a 19 inch toshiba I use (but I use a cool as all hell 100 watt DD reciever, Pioneer)

Cant wait for T2 and Terminator SE's

[This message has been edited by Sid (edited 03-23-2000).]

brian · 03-24-2000, 04:02 AM

I can usually tell a big difference in picture quality in anamorphic titles vs non-anamorphic, but the video here is pretty good. It movies like titanic, the picture looks awful. I have a 36 inch toshiba tv, and my dvd has a 3x zoom, which usually reveals an anamorphic vs non-anamorphic title(actually, it allways does) but the video on abyss looks pretty good even on 3x zoom, even though it would look even better if it was anamorphic.

I really can live without this one being anamorphic though, because i did get my money's worth. What makes me mad is when the copy is bare-bones and not anamorphic. I payed $24 for Roger Rabbit and it literally had no special features(not even a trailer) and wasnt anamorphic, while i payed $19 total for the abyss, and had loads of special features. I would have payed $19 for just the first disk alone, and probably would have been happy, but the second disk makes it even better

[This message has been edited by brian (edited 03-24-2000).]

03-22-2000, 10:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
Dominik Pfleghaar Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Elm Street 123	How I Love These Two Round, Well-Formed, Tightly Filled Thingies... ...that are the The Abyss SE DVD's (now what did you think?) I must confess that I fell in love with the alpha keepcase, and even more so with the alpha double keepcase. It just looks so... great on the DVD shelve. Anyway, about The Abyss... (did I mention that this thing just looks great on the shelve?) Unfortunately I didn't have the time yet to watch anything of this wonderful (and great looking!) SE. And even unfortunatelier (is that a word or what) I probably won't have time to watch it for another couple of days, if not even weeks. But until I finally come around to watch it, I can wallow in pleasure of this wonderful looking disc set. BTW, it just looks great on the shelve, right next to the Halloween SE. ------------------ Unca Dom, DDS-088 dvdfile.com administrator dominikpfleghaar@netscape.net

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03-22-2000, 04:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
j70chlngr	Dom, Really, make the time to watch it. I watched the movie(DC) last night and was blown away by gow good it looked. I have been told over and over again that non anamorphic discs look like crap, but this one, well, I can't find words to discribe... This is simply the best looking DVD I have seen. I have a hard time going anywhere(especially to work ) and leaving this on the shelf unexplored. By the way, did you know that this looks almost as good on the shelf as it does on the screen? WOW j ------------------ Fast MOPARS, faster computers, And high performance home theater! "Thank you for your cooperation." [This message has been edited by j70chlngr (edited 03-22-2000).]

03-22-2000, 05:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
Taxi Admin Emeritus Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Orygun	j70chlngr, do you have a widescreen TV? The lack of anamorphic transfer won't really be noticeable unless you have a pretty good sized 16:9 television. On my 25" 4:3 set, I can't tell anamorphic from quadraphonic. ------------------ Taxi DVDFile.Com Moderator

03-22-2000, 05:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
j70chlngr	Taxi, Unfortunately, not yet. I am hoping to have enough money saved up by the end of this year to get one of the 40" Toshiba's tho . I currently have a 50" 4X3 toshiba RPTV and can definately tell the difference using The Fifth Element and Airforce One vs Titanic, Enamy of the State, or Con Air. Titanic for example doesn't look any better than the laser disc I have. But that is just my own observations. Maybe it's just using the component cable vs the s-video cable? But that doesn't explain the Titanic thing. I don't really knowfor sure. I just know what I see on my setup. The Abyss really does look great. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! j ------------------ Fast MOPARS, faster computers, And high performance home theater! "Thank you for your cooperation."

03-22-2000, 05:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
Justin Pledger	Hi J70 This is great! This confirms our findings in that it is the data rate of the transfer that causes fluctuations in picture quality and not whether a DVD is anamorphic or not. The Abyss does indeed look fabulous and is proof positive that anamorphic is not the be all and end all of DVD production. I am not saying that there is no differences - just that sometimes they are very, very, very, very small!

03-23-2000, 07:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
clortho Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Hemet, Ca	Justin- On some titles its hard to tell whether its anamorphic or not (Criterion's Armageddon comes to mind), while on others, its quite obvious. I've seen a few non-anamorphic transfers where the area around the 1:85 line is marred by compression artifacts between it and the "black bars." Bad, bad, bad compression job. That being said, I prefer to have all my disks anamorphic, because I wont have a 4:3 tv forever and I generally see better quality in the titles that are anamorphic. Clortho ------------------ I am the Keymaster clortho@hotmail.com [This message has been edited by clortho (edited 03-23-2000).]

03-23-2000, 09:13 PM	#7 (permalink)
Sid Actor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Antioch, California, U.S.A.	I must agree this disc is pretty cool. I just picked it up about 2 hours ago. This has been a favorite movie of mine for a few years since I saw the SE(I had seen the theatrical cut for years, but the SE is significantly better). The Abyss SE was the first widescreen VHS I bought ( I was only 13, and I could not afford laserdiscs) after that I was a widescreen junkie. Its a shame its not anamorphic, but I only have a 19 inch toshiba I use (but I use a cool as all hell 100 watt DD reciever, Pioneer) Cant wait for T2 and Terminator SE's [This message has been edited by Sid (edited 03-23-2000).]

03-24-2000, 04:02 AM	#8 (permalink)
brian Digital Jesűs Emeritus Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Wisconsin	I can usually tell a big difference in picture quality in anamorphic titles vs non-anamorphic, but the video here is pretty good. It movies like titanic, the picture looks awful. I have a 36 inch toshiba tv, and my dvd has a 3x zoom, which usually reveals an anamorphic vs non-anamorphic title(actually, it allways does) but the video on abyss looks pretty good even on 3x zoom, even though it would look even better if it was anamorphic. I really can live without this one being anamorphic though, because i did get my money's worth. What makes me mad is when the copy is bare-bones and not anamorphic. I payed $24 for Roger Rabbit and it literally had no special features(not even a trailer) and wasnt anamorphic, while i payed $19 total for the abyss, and had loads of special features. I would have payed $19 for just the first disk alone, and probably would have been happy, but the second disk makes it even better [This message has been edited by brian (edited 03-24-2000).]