Category Archives: DVD

Gone With the Wind: Blu-ray vs DVD

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

I think this is the oldest live-action movie I’ve done yet. Half a dozen comparison shots here, and here’s a sample (DVD to left, Blu-ray to right):

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DVD on Demand

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

I just received an advertisement from Amazon.com for the DVD of The Strange Love Of Molly Louvain. Pretty expensive at $US26.99. But it turns out this isn’t an off-the-shelf product. It is supplied on DVD-R. If you purchase it, they … Continue reading →

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Dog Day Afternoon: Blu-ray vs DVD

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Another top notch movie from the 70s, the Blu-ray is a little grainy, but kills the DVD for what’s happening on the screen. Go here for the comparison, and here’s a sample (DVD to left, Blu-ray to right):

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Anamorphic revisited

Posted on March 7, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

I have a little bit of sympathy for DVD distributors who used pan and scan for some of their titles, at least in the early days. Back then the vast majority of TVs were still 4:3, and that was what … Continue reading →

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Pan and Scan again

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

About nine years ago I published an article in which I suggested that so-called ‘Pan and Scan’ isn’t always as bad as feared. Pan and Scan is a technique by which a widescreen movie is reformatted to full frame display … Continue reading →

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Blu-ray vs DVD comparison — The Deer Hunter

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

It has been a while since I’ve done one of these, but go here for the comparison for this fine movie. I’ll be reviewing the Blu-ray for the next issue of Smart Home Ideas, so I watched it again last … Continue reading →

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An American Werewolf on Blu-ray

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

Here’s another Blu-ray vs DVD comparison: An American Werewolf in London. Oddly, reviews seem to overlook the marked graininess of the Blu-ray, but it is nonetheless a huge improvement over the DVD. Here’s a sample:

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Blu-ray reviews and DVD comparisons!

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

In the last day or so I’ve uploaded two new Blu-ray vs DVD comparisons — Black Hawk Down and A History of Violence — along with my Sound and Image reviews of Sin City (which already had a comparison up), … Continue reading →

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Deinterlacing and Upscaling difficulty

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

I have just been looking at the second disc of the brilliant ‘Ultimate Collector’s Edition’ Blu-ray version of Woodstock: 3 days of peace and music. One of the extras on this disc is a five minute featurette called ‘The Museum … Continue reading →

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‘NDAs are evil’

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

I just wrote a 650 word email to Twentienth Century Fox Home Entertainment. My editor, Jez Ford, used just three words to basically say the same thing in response: ‘NDAs are evil’. Trying to keep in contact with the various … Continue reading →

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