Apollo 13 - worst HD disc?

LeeJS

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My 360 drive arrived a few days ago so I rushed out and bought the first HD disc I could find that I might actually want - Apollo 13. Would have chosen Serenity but the HMV I went to didn't have it.

Anyway, got home, connected it up to my 46" 1080p Sony X series LCD, set everything up and what do I see? Absolutely appalling video noise, mpeg compression, fuzziness and just a generally dreadful picture quality. The video running in the background of the menus is terrible, not much better than VHS. I couldn't believe it was so bad. I ran a DVD website for 5 odd years, so I like to think I know a good video transfer when I see one.

For reference I took the box arounfd to a friend's house and tried it on his 720p set. It was better but still fuzzy and still embarassing as an HD demo.

Has anyone else bought this disc and can you honestly say this is a vast improvement over the SD-DVD? I would try mine in comparison but it's so old it no longer works. Which also p***ed me off when I found out!

I'm off to HMV today to take it back. Hopefully I'll find something a little more impressive but right now I'm beginning to think I've wasted my money :(

Lee.
 
I fell asleep in the cinema watching Apollo 13 :rotfl: It had been a long long night the night before, but it's still the only time I can rememmber actually falling asleep!! :eek: :rotfl:

Don't think I'll be rushing out to buy it in HD... :D

You say there are Mpeg artifacts? is it not a VC-1 encode?
 
I have the US release of this.

It was the first HD-DVD I watched on my HD-A1 and HS-60.

I thought it was awesome. Far better than any SD disc I've ever seen. Definately not fuzzy. Was blown away with the PQ and AQ.

I'd say it's either an issue with the UK release or your Xbox.

Rob.
 
I've got this on HD-DVD and there's definitely no MPEG noise - only film grain - when I play it on my 360 drive. However, visually it's certainly the least impressive HD-DVD I have seen and isn't stand-out demo material. It's still streets ahead of a typical SD-DVD though.
 
I have the US version and it is way better than the SD DVD copy I had. Whilst not the best HD DVD out there it is a vast improvement for me.
I think there is something wrong with the UK version of certain titles. My copy of Mission Impossible 2 is awful whilst others have said the R1 version is stunning. Is there a pattern developing here?
 
However, visually it's certainly the least impressive HD-DVD I have seen and isn't stand-out demo material.

I take it you haven't seen Superman Returns on HD-DVD then :rolleyes:
 
I have the US version and thought it was stunning quality.
 
It might not be a stand out title but it is well done, no MPEG artifacts etc. It is well done with no significant worries and is much better than the DVDs available. It is a sound tier 2 title.

Re appalling video noise, mpeg compression, fuzziness and just a generally dreadful picture quality I would look to the set up on your Sony first ;)
 
Are you sure you have setup your Xbox correctly? On your set you should select 1080i (component).
Do you see the same problem with King Kong?
 
Poor PQ on both HD and SD in my opinion, especially for a new film. Very soft and dull picture.

Save your ££

Seems odd given the source material and the fact it's a new film.

Happened to watch The Terminal SD for the first time the other day and have to say it's one of the softest prints I've ever seen. Can't believe it's just Spielberg's cinematography at fault. Something else must be going on.
 
Do you see the same problem with King Kong?

Slight OT I know and as we all know some of the CGI in KK is very poor, but as far as the quality of the transfer and encoding goes I personally think that KK SD has to be one of then (if not the) best PQ SD DVD's I've seen.

However the HD version takes this to a new level with even greater detail in the background etc etc. It really is awesome. Shame the film isn't so great (too long in the middle).

Question for the OP - have you tried any other HD-DVD's and if so what's your opinion of these?

Rob.
 
To answer a few questions:

The xbox is set to output 1080i over component; the TV is calibrated with DVD essentials; the PQ is fine on the BBC HD channel and any number of 1080i downloads played through a Snazio via component and via DVI from a PC.

In answer to another post, no I've not yet tried any other discs. As I said in my OP, I actually wanted to get Serenity but Apollo 13 was the only one I could find (in Bristol, can you believe there are only a handful of HDDs in one of the countries largest cities?) I havea few more on order and will report back when they arrive.

Believe me, I want my faith in HD restored!

Lee.
 
So far I have watched ..Apollo 13 UK HD-DVD, Batman Begins US HD-DVD, Mission Impossible 1 US HD-DVD, Miami Vice US HD-DVD and V for Vendetta Uk HD-DVD.

The new titles all looked supurb and the older tiltles Apollo13 and MI 1 while not perfect way exceeded any SD DVD and the colours are outstanding ..especially In Apollo 13
 
Hi,

This does seem strange.... UK vs USA releases....

I ordered the The Thing (Classic) and MI III and have King Kong (UK), I think the Thing and MI III look great, as well as the King Kong UK disc, it does worry me thou, that the UK discs seem to somehow be inferior to the USA releases.

As I've ordered all my stuff from DVD World USA and they come quicky and end up being cheeper than HMV, I think I will continue and experience the better picture quality!

Cheers

Darren J
 
Have tried K.Kong, Caddy Shack & Searchers on the XBox via VGA @ 720p and they all look v.good, but have yet to try via componant.
Can the componant be set to 720p or does it just do 1080i
Is the componant any better than vga ?
Your opinions please......... thanks
RLT
 
Check out the daylight scenes in The Unforgiven , the picture is utterly breathtaking !
 
Check out the daylight scenes in The Unforgiven , the picture is utterly breathtaking !


:cool: Just ordered this the other day. :smashin:
 
Just seen this thread and as Apollo 13 is one of my all time fav films, I'll be looking very very closley at the quality! I am hoping Santa is bringing this one and I am really looking forward to it so if it's awful I'll cry.

Also saw Jim Lovell at Kennedy Space Center last month which renewed my enthusiasm even more for getting the HD version of the movie :cool:
 
I just got Apollo 13 UK release and although it doesnt look as good as some other stuff its still excellent, it does has a little grain in places but thats about it, my setup on the 360 is 1080i over component to my Panny 42PV500.

I'd suggest the OP looks at his setup.

I also have MI3(US), KK(UK), Constantine(US) and just got Superman Returns(UK). Yet to watch SR but the rest are excellent, i'd say Constantine was the worst PQ out of the lot.
 
Yet to watch my copy of Apollo 13 , but from the sounds of it , it is similar to Goodfellas , and that is all down to the original movie material.
Goodfellas has scenes where the grain is almost 3D in HD.

When an old movie is released in HD , the resolution will highlight the impurities as well as the movie itself.

That said the movie will still be ideal over SD.
 
Not got a HD player yet but couple of points after reading this thread.

Given that there's not NTSC/PAL thing, will the transfers of a UK/US release be sourced from the same master, and therefore be identical or could the transfers come from differnt origins and have differences?

Also, perhaps one of the online DVD review sites (hell maybe AVPLAY!) will start comparing UK/US releases.....
 
My least favourite disc is An American Werewolf in London. Its quite a strange one as there are a couple of scenes that definitely carry the HD seal of quality and stand out. Unfortunately the rest is extremely grainy. I actually ejected it after a couple of minutes to make sure I had put it right side in (its a combo). Obviously it is an old film and the original master isn't the best but it makes you wonder what criteria the studios use when deciding what should get the Hi Def treatment. It was certainly a waste of time and effort in this case, in my own opinion of course:)
 

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