Post Your HighDef Screenshots

Munskie

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Post Your HighDef Screenshots

« on: Nov 18, 2007 at 08:39 PM »

Spiderman 2.1 (Blu-ray)

Monitor: Panny AE900 (native 720p, 96inch screen size)
Source: Playstation 3 (pumping out a 1080p/24 signal, capable pala iaccept nung panny ae900!! Grin

)

Kiss me!!! Grin

Highdefdigest Review on PQ: LINK

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture

Though Sam Raimi chose to work with a couple of different directors of photography on the trilogy (Bill Pope on episodes one and three, and Don Burgess on two), like the films themselves, the great thing about the visual look of the 'Spider-Man' films is its consistency. Raimi has fine-tuned a very graphical, bold style that serves as one of the connective tissues of the franchise, an observation that's only heightened watching all three of the films back-to-back on Blu-ray. Throw any of these discs in at random, and you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

Sony has mastered all three films in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video, with each getting their own BD-50 dual-layer disc (note that 'Spider-Man 3' does have some extras, though they are largely audio material and thus don't eat up too much space). 'Spider-Man' is of course the oldest of the three, and at times shows it. In particular, I didn't find colors to be quite as bold in the first film as they are in the later installments, and saturation can be quite intense, to the point where colors occasionally smear ever-so-slightly. The second and third flicks are much more solid, although as I wrote in my full-length review of the stand-alone 'Spider-Man 3' release (note that the disc contents are identical to the box set, including the transfer), all three films have a "hot" look, with whites blowing out, which dulls colors somewhat. This is most evident again on the first film, which looks a bit blander than the other two.

In general, all three transfers deliver a level of depth and detail that is usually stellar. There are definitely sequences throughout the trilogy that can easily serve as demo material. Given my personal distaste for high-contrast transfers, I was most impressed by darker scenes in each film, which tend to feature more pleasing colors for a smoother, natural image. Shadow delineation is also excellent across all three films, with an impressive level of detail visible in even the dimmest interiors. Perhaps the most interesting visual distinction between the films is the gradual improvement in CGI effects. By far, the most distracting element of the first 'Spider-Man' for me is its over-reliance on "motion blur," which sometimes gives character movements (particularly in the action scenes) a very soft, unfocused quality.

Having said all that, I don't want to give the impression that the first film (or the second) are necessarily bad presentations. Quite the contrary. The differences in color, contrast and sharpness are fairly subtle, and taken as a whole, this is an excellent set of transfers. I definitely feel that Raimi and company perfected the already impressive visual palette they introduced in the first film by the time they finished off the trilogy, so most of my nitpicks come down to the original source for each film. All in all, I think fans will be more than pleased with this set.

(Note that 'Spider-Man 2' is presented in two versions -- the original theatrical cut, and an extended edition dubbed 'Spider-Man 2.1.' The option to select your preferred version appears on the disc's start-up menu, and the quality of each is absolutely consistent. I also noticed no lag in access times with the branching footage in the '2.1' version, so the end result is seamless.)


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