Well, dear readers, these here notes will be in high definition. You will see them more clearly and they will be filled with brilliant colors such as white. You will, in fact, have never seen such notes as these here notes – in full 1080p with a capital “P” and that rhymes with “Z” and that stands for Zowie. Compared to these high definition notes the old notes will look drab and dreary and soft. The new notes will have undreamed of clarity. Yes, you’ve probably gotten the idea, dear readers, the idea being that I, BK, have entered the world of high definition. Not low definition, mind you, no I have entered the world of high definition. And it’s quite a world. Not quite a perfect world yet, but today I’ll be checking on the one issue that’s bugging me and if it turns out it’s something that’s not supposed to be happening, then I shall return the new TV and get one that does do what it’s supposed to do. Or, if it’s the Blu-Ray player, then I can replace that. But overall, I’d say this new world is rather spectacularly spectacular and it will take some getting used to. I will say, that doing some spot checking on various and sundried Blu-Ray discs, the images are so sharp, vibrant, colorful, and amazing, that it actually hurts your eyes sometimes. There really is no comparison to standard DVD, although standard DVD, to my mind, is a little more film-like. These Blu-Ray discs, even of older films, if the transfers are top-notch, look like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They look like they were shot with hi-def cameras yesterday, rather than forty or fifty years ago. It’s almost like you’re there, that’s how three-dimensional the image is. For newer films, like Enchantment, the image is virtually perfect. For older films, well, a lot of the time the image is also virtually perfect. Occasionally, with studios such as Warner Bros. you get mis-colored films such as The Searchers, with its disgusting yellow bias. It’s so sharp and beautiful that it’s almost criminal that they screwed up the color so badly – because remove the yellow and add a little blue and you’d have one of the most stunning discs of all time, rather than one that makes all the actors look like they have jaundice.
The worst-looking of the Blu-Rays that I checked was Becket, and it wasn’t too bad. The two most astonishing discs I saw were the import of Black Narcissus, which was revelatory in a way I never could have imagined, and Zulu, which my eyes were not prepared for. Narcissus is sixty years old and looks like it was filmed yesterday. I have every DVD of this film and the French DVD from two years ago was the best I’d ever seen the film look. Well, this one put my heart in my mouth. The color is TECHNICOLOR – real TECHNICOLOR and the dopes at Warners should have this film shoved down their mouths so that they might learn what real TECHNICOLOR is supposed to look like. The image is so sharp and clear and the colors pop out of the screen in such a breathtaking way, that it’s like watching a film you’ve never seen before. I saw details I never knew were there. An absolutely brilliant disc. And Zulu was just as good – with rich, blue skies and crystal-clear breathtaking images. Both it and Narcissus are from the UK but play on all machines. Other thoughts: The Shining looks amazing. The Professionals looks beyond amazing. But it was with that disc that I first noticed the little problem that I began noticing on every disc – a blurring motion on some faster action shots where people are moving quickly in the frame – it’s not bad but it’s there – a kind of weird digital motion artifact thing – it also happens when tilting up or down at the top and bottom of the frame, but only very sporadically. I did not notice that when viewing the TV in the store and it seems weird to me. I have no complaints about anything else but would like to know if this is a “deal” with hi-def. This TV is 120hz for smoother motion, so I was surprised to see this. I need to find out if it’s a TV problem, a player problem, or something that needs to be adjusted in the settings, although I did do some tests with the settings and nothing really changed the issue. I thought it might be the less-expensive HDMI cable, but in reading up on the cables that doesn’t seem likely. I can say that one thing that’s different between the tests I did in the store and at home is that when you are loading in a disc you get some screen info that basically tells you that BD-wise is working at 60hz (that was what I saw on every disc at the store) – here at home I get the same screen but it says 24hz, and maybe that’s the problem – so I’ll call Samsung and query them about that. There are four HDMI outputs on the back of the TV – one of them also says DVI, but the set-up guys plugged me into HDMI 2, which is one of the three inputs that doesn’t say DVI – have no idea if that’s the problem. We’ll figure it out, I’m sure. But overall, I’m impressed, amazed, and further amazed. I’m sure it will be even better when everything is properly calibrated by my video guy come Tuesday and when the sound is issuing forth from my speaker system.
I’m quite sure I’ll keep up the reports as I check out more discs. Well, why don’t we all click on the high definition Unseemly Button below because I can’t wait to see the next section in high definition.
While it was mostly a high definition day yesterday, I did have time to work, write, do errands and whatnot, and eat. Some of the other discs I checked out were Enchanted (looking incredible), Goldfinger (hated the drab color on the standard DVD – here, it’s unbelievably better and more accurate, same with From Russia, With Love), Body Heat (just fine), The Wild Bunch (better than the DVD, but still too brown), An American In Paris (awful color, but obviously deliriously sharp) – I’ll be checking out a few more this day.
This day, I shall be doing the long jog, I shall be doing one early errand, I’ll be writing some liner notes, I shall be addressing packages and affixing postage on them (I think we’re getting the Tom Jones CDs in on Monday), and calling Samsung to try to work out the little problem we’re having with the slight but annoying motion blurring (didn’t see it in the store so am quite certain it’s fixable).
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, do an early errand, write, address, and explore more of the wonderful world of high definition. I’ll have much more to say about that and Blu-Ray in general over the coming days. Today’s topic of discussion: What is your absolute favorite era for clothing – one where you loved the styles, the look, and that you can see today and still think it looks faboo (you don’t have to have actually worn the clothing of a favorite era). Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I go and watch more of the wonderful world of high definition.