From Notes (re Dark Night);
I liked this one a bit better, but I just grow weary of the pounding drums and droning chords of the music, of the mumbling actors, of the angst. ...
The DVD transfer, at least on the screener I received, is really atrocious, and I’ve been of the opinion that studios are doing this on purpose to try to get people to go Blu-Ray. If that is true (and it has to be because there is no excuse for a transfer of a current motion picture to look anything other than stellar), I hope they all go out of business very soon, because it’s like spitting in the face of loyal consumers who made DVD the hit it is.
I watched DarkNight on our Blue-Ray set - up (which is a 26" LCD HDTV (720) using just the TV set sound.
The sound was crisp and clear - and audible under the title sequences.
The dialog was also clear and understandable - no mumbling at all.
The transfer was spectacular - the IMAX scenes were come-touch me perfection!
Now, DR MattH has suggested that the BD was a decided improvement over the SD version.
It would then seem that one needs to either see the movies in theatre or, if at home, in BD, in order to make a value judgment.
Bk's concerns about studios deliberately dumbing down SD to promote BD. it would seem that the studios would insist on BD screeners if they want to encourage votes.
As a signs that BD is "taking over":
Wal-Mart is now packaging BD 2-fers (I got Cloverfield and Sleepy Hollow for under $30). Wal-Mart is also putting budget BDs in their end-cap displays. I saw T-II, Stargate, and Total Recall each for only $10.
der Brucer
