Author Archives: Stephen Dawson

Hidden trailers

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Today I gathered some information from the Blu-ray of Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which I’ll be reviewing in the next few days. I use BDInfo to drill down into the tech details, and go through every menu link on … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details | 2 Comments

Avatar gives 3D backwards recognition

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

CinemaSquid has posted the technical specifications of the Blu-ray for Avatar on the AV Science Forum here. Looks like it will be pretty good. One point that caught my eye was the disc title: ‘RED_BIRD_2D_WW’. Presumably ‘Red Bird’ was some … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Admin, Blu-ray, Region Coding | 3 Comments

Lip Sync

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

About eighteen months ago I did a substantial piece on lip sync which was published in Sound and Image. I’ve just uploaded it, and here it is. It deals with what lip sync problems are, the processing in our brains … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, How Things Work, Imperfect perception | Leave a comment

3D content

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Now that 3D TV is about to hit the home, there will be a shortage of 3D content. Samsung is attempting to address this by having a processor generate a 3D look for 2D material. I doubt that this will … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Blu-ray, Cinema | Leave a comment

This can’t be the end of Bond

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Even if MGM Studios goes down, some other studio must surely pick up the franchise. It’s worth too much. Note, 3D is implicitly receiving part of the blame.

Posted in 3D, Cinema | Leave a comment

How Does 3D look?

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

In a comment to the previous post Nick asks ‘how did the 3d actually look?’ Tricky to describe, in large part because I haven’t yet seen a 3D flick at the cinema in 3D, so I can’t compare it to … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Video | Leave a comment

Three dimensional Panasonic

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

I went to Melbourne today courtesy of Panasonic to see its dancing girls and enjoy a lunch. Oh, and to see some products. Like 17 new plasma TVs, ranging from the $999 107cm 1,024 x 768 pixel Viera TH-P4220A, to … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Blu-ray, Equipment | 2 Comments

Blu-ray vs DVD comparison: Nowhere Boy

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Nowhere Boy is a pleasant little biopic, made last year, covering a few years in the life of the young John Lennon. I really quite enjoyed it, and you will too if you like laid back British drama. Here is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, DVD | 3 Comments

Blu-ray vs DVD: Logan’s Run

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

… or, Homer’s revenge. Here’s a sample from the comparison: Now doesn’t the DVD rendition of Jenny Agutter remind you of this scene from the classic episode of The Simpsons, ‘The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace‘? Here’s Marge after Homer’s ministrations:

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Blu-ray vs DVD comparison: Monsters, Inc.

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

I love doing Pixar (and similar) computer animations for these Blu-ray vs DVD comparisons. Previously I’ve done Cars and WALL-E. The reason they are so good is because in both formats, the picture quality is optimal. That’s because there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, DVD | Leave a comment