Band Of Brothers - Picture Quality??

[Dr. Spec]

Up front, this is not a movie review. For anyone who hasn't seen it - buy it. If you can't afford it, eat frozen peas until you can.

It is a monumental and epic achievement and totally deserving tribute to the heroes of the WWII campaign in Europe. IMHO, this movie/series has no peer except for Saving Private Ryan.

With that said, I have been dismayed at the inconsistent picture quality. I was expecting great things from this new anamorphic release. Instead, the picture quality is generally only good, occasionally it is very good, and sometimes it is downright disappointing and distracting.

There are a few scenes that are so grainy you'd swear someone totally missed cleaning them up. To add insult to injury, the worst looking scene was sandwiched in-between two really great looking scenes so it was even more noticeable.

Has anyone else noticed this? Was this the fault of HBO?

Sound quality in DTS is very good, and the use of surrounds is effective during battle sequences.

The LFE track certainly contains all the right stuff, frequency-wise, but was mastered a little on the conservative side for an such intense war movie. Clicking up the sub two notches at the receiver worked fine to add the needed room shaking impact during scenes like the L-88 shelling at Bastogne.

[HBombToo]

Originally posted by Dr. Spec


Has anyone else noticed this? Was this the fault of HBO?

As of late I have tried to be more critical of my picture quality. I have been very dissapointed while watching Direct TV and assumed it was a Broadcast or decoder problem.

Your concerns now point me to the individual channels providers. I'm glad you posted this because I have been considering the purchase of a new D TV decoder box thinking my RCA does not decode MPEG2's very well. The problem is now, I have had difficulty finding specs for comparison purposes between decoders.

Perhaps I'll just sit tight!

Thanks Doc.

HBomb

[STUFFMD]

Dr. Spec,
I have been through the entire series and I have not noticed any breakup problems what so ever...actually I was amazed at how well it transfered. I have always had a uneducated theory that all units(DVD) players do not play the same.....and I have sometimes found occasion that the record quality of one batch of DVD's is not always as good as another of the same movie.
Recent case for me was Reign of Fire..I had such bad breakup on one scene the DVD player shut the movie off. I ended up renting the DVD to see if it was the DVD or the recording....Lo and behold the rental played fine.......
Honestly I would take your set back and get another one...I believe it will could take care of your problem.
Good Luck, Peace StuffMD

[Dr. Spec]

Stuff:

The picture never broke up at all, per se. It was just the lack of grain in some scenes, and the obvious grain in other scenes that is so bothersome.

Maybe I'm just being picky, but I've seen much better and more consistent transfers from a grainy standpoint.

I'll try to find some exact scenes/times and post them here later for you guys to try and report back. Then I'll know if it's just my DVD set.

[STUFFMD]

Hey Doc,
All the filming has a grainy and blueish or greyish tint to them..That's somthing I noticed right away.I'm pretty sure I know what you mean..but I noticed that on the TV series as well....As far as I can tell I always thought it was part of the film technique (sp) , or type or types of film that were used.
Peace StuffMD

[cletusmcgee]

I want to say that they put the grain in there intentionally, so as to mimic old WWII combat footage. SPR had some strange visual "nasties" as well, such as when Capt. Miller is talking into his radio after they get to the top of the bluff on D-day. ther's a wierd haze around the camera, vaseline perhaps?

[Dr. Spec]

At least Minority Report was consistently mildly grainy with the blue/white color wash-out.

The grain content in BOB is all over the board, even in consecutive scenes.

I saw your admonition over at HTF, Ron. Thanks for the kick in the ass. I'm not defecting or anything. I've seen you over there on more than one occasion. I'll return the favor....one day. Revenge is a dish best served cold. :-)

[PETERNG]

great DVD collection to own, no question about that, DTS sound is great....

[DAlba]

The grain is usually found in the dark or night scenes. I watched the series on HD HBO when it was running and it had the same grainy scenes as dvd. I don't think it was part of the movie. Mabye just the cameras and/or film was not good for dark scenes.

[Dr. Spec]

On the last disc. Look at the scene where Winters and Nixon are on the dock by the water. Perfect - no grain.

Now look at the house scene where the guys are beating the **** out of the drunk replacement who shot another soldier in the head with his .45 auto. MAJOR grain.

Why so inconsistent?

[Ron-P]

Well, I just finished up Ep. IV last night (Replacements). I must say, this IS the best mini-series I've ever seen. Lonesome Dove is up next. I've yet to see this as well, but hear it's excellent.

I received this as a Xmas gift and have not put a priority on watching it. Now that I have, I'm hooked...can't stop.

I do agree with the good Doc. Picture quality is good to poor, depending. Most so far has been good, but I find it all is a little on the soft side.

I agree with the sound track as well. I usually listen at -10, this I must crank up to a -2 or so. Plus, bump the sub up a couple of notches.

No DVD collection is complete without this gem.


Peace Out~:D

[danger boy]

i agree. it's an amazing series.. worth watching a second or third time for sure.

[dorokusai]

I will have to force myself to watch it again....NOT.....it is a fantastic series. I agree with Ron, definetly the two best series for me to date are BoB and Lonesome Dove.

I watched it and did not notice any issues, perhaps I was too wrapped up in the storyline. I actually am not going to look for those things, as it would probably make me crazy at that point.

Sorry to hear that is is so obvious for you Dr Spec, it may be that you have a very nice source. The DVD I use is all decrepit and just displays a picture that works for my eyes. :D

[Dr. Spec]

I edited my previous posts to reflect that the BOB series has no "digital artifacts", just inconsistent grain levels.

I know exactly what a digital artifact looks like now, and grain ain't it. :o

Doc

[Ron-P]

I have not noticed any DA's, but grain is very noticable in certain scenes. Some night scenes are pretty bad where others are not.


Peace Out~:D

[ninerbj]

I could be going out on a limb here...but weren't most of the grainy shots "daydreams...recolections" the guys were having of a certain battle scene?
Over all, Band Of Brothers was one of the last movies (series) made that totally captured me.
Oh, and I agree...the DTS in this series if one huge thumbs up!

[Tour2ma]

Agree... I also received this set for Christmas and it is exactly as I remember the original HBO broadcasts... that is the grain is for effect.

[avelanchefan]

Ron glad to see that you are enjoying the series. Replacements was one of my favorites. Especially the quote from the real soldier at the beginning where he said he hated to even talk to them because they did not want to get close to them because they hated seeing them die. That small interview really affected me.

[polkatese]

My annual re-run of BoB is officially begin for 2007...

Btw, Oppo 970 delivers! I've been watching the series annually since 2003, and this year Oppo is clearly outshine the previous 3 years of Denon.

BoB is coming on HD-DVD in July, A Must Have!!

[Deadof_knight]

It is to me that the grainy parts are part of the movie I mean it wasnt sublte I love that series ......

[AdamRagland]

agreed..you notice where the grain is heavier than other time. someone mentioned above there is no grain on the last part where winters and is standing on a dock. i see it as the war was basically over and here they were enjoying this beautiful scene..whereas you watch in bastogne or on the 2nd to last disc where they have to go across the river at night there is grain there. i think its added to emphasize the dirtiness or combat and make the scene feel more gritty. ALSO i have noticed the grain is much more exaggerated when your watching on an LCD. i watch it on my tube tv and its more subtle.

[polkatese]

Anyone got their copy of the Blu-Ray release yet?

If so, worthy to own in addition to the SD version? I really like this series, and have been rewatching it a lot in the past 5 years. However, I am on the fence of getting the Blu-Ray version, well, unless the difference in quality justify the purchase.

Anyone?

[lanion]

I just got the Blu-Ray collection for $55. DTS-MA audio, 1080p picture...

for $55 I am very happy. (amazon.com).

Its my first time to the series and I'm running on a 720p LCD right now. That being said, it looks well above DVD quality but not as good as the best Blu-Ray releases. Some of the shots have grain / over saturated colors. It looks much better than the DVD, and has HD audio, so its defiantly worth it.

The shots with lots of airplanes can be a bit grainy, while the dramatic scenes with only character interaction look fantastic. So, looks good, but its clear that this was not originally shot in HD (at least I assume it was not).

[Sherardp]

Imported the HD DVDs from Japanese side and the PQ is very good. Well worth the purchase, Im not so sure about the Blu transfer though.

[billbillw]

I also have one on the way in BluRay. I hope it doesn't disappoint. About 9 months ago, I thought about spending mucho $ for the imported HD-DVD, but good sense got the best of me and I decided to wait for the Blu version.

FYI: This is available on BluRay for only $41 from DeepDiscountDVD if you use one of the 25% off coupons that are floating around

http://www.deepdiscount.com/Band-of-...VVviewprod.htm

Try the coupon code 'SUPERSALE' for 25% off until 11-23.

[polkatese]

That's what I am thinking of (to get it from DDD - I got their promo email), but they don't have in stock. My past experience with them hasn't been too positive, as far as getting it reasonably within 3-4 weeks (and that was when the title was in-stock). Granted, the price is right, and I can wait. Did you order it when it was still in-stock, Bill?

[Sherardp]

Imported the HD DVDs from Japanese side and the PQ is very good. Well worth the purchase, Im not so sure about the Blu transfer though.

Edit: Survey says, the HD DVD have more detail than the BD version. Some really angry folks over at AVS regarding this matter. Glad I kept my imports, even though the format is no longer with us.

[AsSiMiLaTeD]

Unfortunately the imports are outrageously expensive and hard to find, there's a set on eBay at the moment for $250...

Maybe the HD DVD set is better than the BR version, but no way I'm paying an extra two hundred bucks for an arguably marginally better picture - and this coming from a long time HD DVD supporter...

[Sami]

FYI: This is available on BluRay for only $41 from DeepDiscountDVD if you use one of the 25% off coupons that are floating around

Good deal, was about to order but it's out of stock from that website. I very rarely buy any movies but this is one of those worth watching again. Been recording it from satellite in HD but still worth the purchase.

It's IMO the second best war movie/series after Das Boot. Anyone know where I could get that mini series (not the movie which is a cut version of the series) in BluRay?

[polkatese]

Comparing the pics from avsforum on the difference of HD-DVD and BD, yes, I can see the not-so-subtle softer transfer of the BD. I supposed it is a $200 improvement...