Godzilla KOTM... from the Criterion Collection!?!?!

[RyanClark]

[kiryugoji04]

[edgodzi]

[Goji 84]

[Shokara]

[John Schuermann]

[Goji 84]

[Dr Kain]

[canofhumdingers]

[John Schuermann]

[John Schuermann]

[canofhumdingers]

Like I said, I'm not against digital (I LOVE my bluray player for home use) but I do prefer a nice film print over even the best digital projection. But as you mentioned, that really comes down to personal taste.

However, I have to disagree with you about dvd's having enough resolution to not show jaggies. I regularly see them even on high quality dvd releases watching them on my 720p 42 inch tv upscaled by my PS3 (not "professional" quality, but it's not a cheap low end setup either). They're not everywhere jumping out at you, but they'll show up in things like striped clothing, car grills, or any other tightly spaced parallel lines in particular. But that's not the only place they'll show up. Another place they're easy to spot is any straight line that runs almost perfectly horizontal or vertical. Now, granted, these are very slight and most people (such as my wife, who i've asked) would never notice them, they ARE there & for some reason once I learned what they were & started noticing them, I now can't not see them. & if I see them on a 42" screen, then you can bet I see them on movie theater screens as clear as day. And honestly, there's no way they're not there, given the nature of how tv resolution works. You try to draw a perfectly straight line at a slight angle & it's techinically NOT possible. It's roughly like trying to draw that on an etch-a-sketch.

I'll try to see if I can find that article about film projection resolving power. I know it was on originaltrilogy.com where it was mentioned so I'll see if I can dig it up.

EDIT:
I think the article I'm referring to was actually referencing the test you posted. I think I was just confusing the findinga a bit. The gwere that release prints avg a resolving about 1000 lines, but that's the print, not the projection (which was slightly lower at about 700 to 850 lines).

[John Schuermann]

[canofhumdingers]

My PS3 is set to output 720p. But I stand by my statement as it's not just my tv I see them on. & like I said, most people would never notice them. But tend to notice anomalies like that quickly for some reason. For example, I spotted the glitch in the following picture the first time I watched it (at normal speed) even though it only appears for one frame & had gone unnoticed by apparently everyone else, as it's in ever official STAR WARS release from 2004 onward & was only corrected on the blurays AFTER it was made widely known (early preview screenings still had it).



And then we haven't even touched on another thing that shows up regularly, even on well made dvds: compression artifacting. That also looks like crap when blown up to movie screen size.

Sorry, but based on my own viewing experiences you'll never convince me that DVD's are high enough resolution, bitrate, what-have-you to look good projected in a movie theater (not that you were really trying to). They're just not made for that & doing so reveals DVD's shortcomings quite clearly.

[Pkmatrix]

[John Schuermann]

[canofhumdingers]

Ok, I'm sure someone's getting annoyed with us derailing the thread so much, so I'll try to make this may last post about it (even though I'm really enjoying our conversation & learning some new things from John as I'm admittedly totally amatuer, but just passionate about film).

@ Pkmatrix: totally agree with you on BD not showing jaggies. I still say DVD's have them though. (& I'll reiterate, they are usually VERY minor, but I still see them on most discs. And again, not just on my tv but on pretty much any display or projector I've watched).

@John: I'm very aware of how much a properly calibrated display can make or break a viewing experience. While I've never had my tv professionally calibrated (doesn't seem worth the money for a 42" plasma...), I have done my best to calibrate it myself using a setup disc & all the knowledge I've gained from people who know far more about this than I ever will (like some of the folks at originaltrilogy).

That HQV benchmark disc sounds interesting. The setup I've used is the (admittedly amatuerish) THX setup included with many Lucasfilm products, but it gets ok results (certainly better than just "eyeballing" it). Though I've often considered buying one of those Digital Video Essentials discs.

Totally agree with you on viewing distance. Personally, I like to sit close & have the screen almost (but not quite) fill my peripheral vision. Basically: have the screen fill as much of my field of view as possible without having to turn my head back & forth to see everything. I like movies to be immersive. But of course, that means I'm that much more likely to see the shortcomings of the format I'm watching so I want the highest quality too...

OK, in an effort to make this post at least somewhat on topic, those screengrabs from G:KOTM look freaking unbelievably fantastically amazing! I cannot WAIT to own this!

[John Schuermann]

[John Schuermann]

[Barnzilla]

[John Schuermann]

[John Schuermann]

[RapZiLLa54]

John I'd just like to thank you for those last 2 posts. I have these fights with my friends all the time especially with the rumors of plasma "dying" in the industry.

I'd also like to point out that the Panasonic you brought up is a tv to die for! Saw it at Best Buy displaying Avatar in 3-D and while I'm not into 3-D at all man was it a thing of beauty. Currently saving up for it to upgrade the theater room!

[John Schuermann]

[canofhumdingers]

I knew I wouldn't be able to walk away...

There are actually people out there who think LCD is better than Plasma? Wow...

I bought my tv about 4 years ago. I did all the research I possibly could & then went out & got the biggest Panasonic plasma I could afford and have never looked back (I was ok with either Panasonic or Samsung but the Panasonic was slightly cheaper & I liked the picture controls just a touch more). I'm not in the market for a new tv yet, but I do occasionally look when I'm in an electronics store just to see what's available. I give the LCD's (including LED LCD's) a cursory glance &, unimpressed, move on to the plasmas every time. I was actually really tempted by that $600 50" you mentioned, John, when I was out X-mas shopping, but I just couldn't spend the money.

I do hope to buy a new set in the next few years so I can finally set up a home theater, but that's going to either require finishing our basement or moving to a house that has a spare room large enough for it. Either way, My goal is to set up a nice projector system. Barring that, I'll settle for the absolute biggest high-end plasma I can find (65" or better, I hope).

Oh, & what John said about why plasmas are cheaper now (they weren't when I bought mine!!). It's b/c LCD's have continued to have to modify & change & add this gimmick or that gadget in an effort to try to look as good as a decent plasma (& they still don't, but they've gotten closer). All the while Plasma technology has matured & stayed relatively the same in that time & therefore they've been able to use that time to make manufacturing cheaper instead of still trying to make the technology perform up to par.