Category Archives: Blu-ray

Alien and more released, without region codes

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Over at the AVS Forum the specifications for the Blu-ray release of the Alien/Aliens etc boxed set have been posted. Looks like they’ve got a healthy ~26Mbps MPEG4 AVC transfer. Two points of interest: although a Fox title, they are … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details | 3 Comments

Blu-ray frame rates

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Last night I received a question by email, and I thought I might as well deal with it here. David writes: I’m a big fan of blu ray’s 24p mode, because it eliminates two bug-bears of DVD transfers from film; … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Video | 4 Comments

Speaking of 2.0

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

As Anthony points out in comments, Two Hands only scores 2.0 audio. Which is probably due to the movie producers keeping the budget down. The title presumably wasn’t big enough for Icon to spend a lot of money redoing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Blu-ray, Codecs | 2 Comments

One hundred Blu-ray vs DVD comparisons

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

In the last couple of days I’ve put up Blu-ray vs DVD comparisons for Donnie Darko and Two Hands. Both are fine movies. The results for Donnie Darko (go here for the comparison) are somewhat disappointing, primarily due to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, DVD | 5 Comments

Blu-ray vs DVD comparison: Beauty and the Beast

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

On Blu-ray, Disney’s classic — and I reckon the best of all its animated musicals — Beauty and the Beast is available now. I see that as I write, EzyDVD seems to have sold out. I can see why: the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, DVD | 1 Comment

Edith Piaf lives!

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Well, kinda. When I went to see Inception at the cinema a month or two ago, I recall thinking at one point: is that Edith Piaf singing? I was ambivalent, because while it sounded like her, it also sounded too … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Blu-ray, Cinema, Giveaway | 3 Comments

Will home movies divide into two?

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Via Geoff Forgie, it turns out that Blockbuster, the video rental chain in the United States, has gone into Chapter 11 bankruptcy (this apparently lets them off their debts, but continue trading) owing tens of millions to movie studios. Which … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Business, DVD | 4 Comments

Toy Story Blu-ray comparison & review

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

In celebration of the forthcoming release of Toy Story 3 on 17 November, I’ve put up my recent review of Toy Story 1 (& 2), along with a Blu-ray vs DVD comparison. Of course the Blu-ray is markedly better than … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details | 2 Comments

Playstation 3 now does Blu-ray 3D

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Firmware 3.5 adds this. I’ve tried it out on my original model PS3 (40GB — now upgraded to 320GB — 2 USB ports). Monster House 3D works. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3D works. A shop demo with several … Continue reading →

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

2012

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Characters punched from the same dress-up-doll book that was used for a thousand other movies, and coincidences that make the plot-line of Starship Troopers seem like a model of non-contrivance. You just know that as the world is falling apart, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Giveaway | 4 Comments