Optical can pass HD audio. Just not 7.1, Optical cable maxes out at 5.1. HDMI is the only way to transfer 7.1 HD audio. But if you only have a 5.1 setup, an Optical cable will be able to carry all audio signals you equipment is capable of handling. Now obviously, HDMI is the best for both audio and video, but Optical will be fine for your acceptable sound blast.

Planet Earth Blu-Ray $24.99

Discovery Store has Planet Earth Complete Collection Blu-ray (US) for $49.99 plus an additional 50% off with promotional code PE7843 = $24.99 (+ Shipping)

This post has been edited by sKyWiR3pT3lTd: Apr 25 2010, 07:05 PM

Blu-ray from @USD 9.99 . USD 5 off for any Universal titles from Bestbuy.com

Special Offer @ Bestbuy.com

Haven't you got yourself one? I'm sure you know where to get them.

This post has been edited by sKyWiR3pT3lTd: Apr 26 2010, 02:30 AM

Right decision waiting for the finalized version.

Bollywood Blu-ray Update

Don, Love Aaj Kal , Pazhasi Raja Blu-ray arrives Monday/ Tuesday.

Don't forget to post review on Avatar here.

As you know my comments sucks, and "people" giving chance seems, and some wants to report.
You all nice people dont report on people. Cause misleading info doesn't fall under reporting category.

Some people knocking his forehead for the comments given cause some of them are genius and knows thing more than anyone else.
I dont know how to read, i dont know how to write, i was a school drop out, and im not educated at all.

Aiman04, your explanation & diagrams were really helpful. Fantastic job done.
You give solution rather than talking yak yak yak yak yak ..bout insufficient / incorrect comments given by myself.

I think you have the attitude here , also htkaki [thanks for the rite lead]

I didnt mean to be sarcastic , but i think we are all humans and i never thought i live in the world people hate people for unnecessary issue.
I will not post / share idea's cause my idea sucks, misleading, incorrect, anything here anymore.

I admit my mistakes, but having a go at me is not a mannerism at all. That's why i responded that i will stop saying anything here. If you look at aiman04, he just responses with a proper response and not just having a go at myself.

Given that any forum in the world is open for anyone to have their say, whether its wrong / misleading / incorrect, one should guide rather than pointing fingers and bashing as though they own the thread.

Thanks boon. If you were to punish me, i would accept the punishment happily. Please advise..

Avatar Already Top-selling Blu-ray Ever

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced that the Blu-ray edition of James Cameron's Avatar had sold 2.7 million units by Sunday afternoon, thus surpassing in four days the lifetime sales of the previous top-selling Blu-ray, The Dark Knight, which took over a year to sell 2.5 million units.

Overall, Avatar has sold 6.7 million copies on packaged media.The title has similarly smashed sales records in France, Germany and Japan, where around 60% of sales were for the Blu-ray.

Keith Feldman, general manager and exec VP of international for Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, said: "The overwhelming day one sales in key international markets — such as France and Germany — confirm the strength and vibrancy of the market, as well as the overseas appetite for high-definition product in the home."

According to the studio, Avatar has sold more copies in a single day in grocery and drug stores than The Dark Knight did in those outlets over its entire lifetime. The title is driving the sale of Blu-ray players at Best Buy.

News Source : Avatar Already Top-Selling Blu-ray Ever

Avatar UK Blu-ray Launched at London’s HMV

Avatar has been released in the UK today, after enjoying an official launch event at HMV Oxford St yesterday, where Stephen Lang (Colonel Miles Quaritch) signed copies of the film and was on hand for a Q&A. HMV's flagship store at 150 Oxford Street, London, was transformed into Pandora to host the official UK launch of the biggest film of all time- Avatar on DVD and Blu-ray.

Customers received exclusive Avatar goodies, had their picture taken in the world of Pandora (using green screen technology), saw Stephen Lang interviewed live on stage, plus had the very first copies of the Blu-ray and DVD signed.



News Source: Avatar UK Blu-ray Launched at London's HMV

This post has been edited by sKyWiR3pT3lTd: Apr 26 2010, 07:43 PM

Avatar Blu Ray, Indian Release

By, Excel Home Videos

Excel BD specifications:
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (Originally shot in 16:9 and also the preferred aspect ratio of 'James Cameron)
Video codec: AVC
Audio Codec:
English - DTS-HD MA 5.1
Hindi - DD 5.1
Tamil - DD 5.1
Telugu - DD 5.1
There are other language audio tracks too, but I have only mentioned the one's relevant to the Indian market.
Region coding: A/C

Both audio and video on this 'Excel' BD is absolutely top notch and I don't think there could be much difference between this and the US 'Region A' BD from Fox. In all likelihood the Excel BD uses the same master as the one used by Fox for the US release. There is one slight confusion though, the running time mentioned for the 'Region A' BD here on this site, is 166 minutes, while the running time of the Excel BD is 161 minutes.

Don't know if the Excel release is shorter by 5 minutes or the running time listed here is incorrect.

News source: Avatar Blu-ray , Indian Release

I've dealt some blu-ray with hye. Very nice chap. No wonder you received via DHL

Dont forget to review k..


This post has been edited by sKyWiR3pT3lTd: Apr 27 2010, 05:48 AM

Peraanmai Blu-ray Review

PRODUCTION
THEATRICAL: AYNGARAN INTERNATIONAL FILMS PVT LTD.
VIDEO: AYNGARAN INTERNATIONAL (UK) LTD

DISC:
Region: Free
Run Time: Approx. 155 minutes
Video Bit Rate: Approx. 28 Mbps
Case: Standard Blu-Ray Case

VIDEO:
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080p/23.976fps
Video Codec: AVC-4

AUDIO:
Track1: Tamil 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio/48Khz
Track2: Tamil 5.1 LPCM Uncompressed - Studio Master/48kHz/16 bit

SUBTITLES:
English

DESCRIPTION:
The film revolves around is a tribal forest guard who works for the welfare of his tribe and spreading education among them. Whilst, on a team bonding mission with five college girls, whom initially mistreat him due to his caste, they stumble on a group of foreign mercenaries who are planning to stop India’s scientific progress by destroying a rocket launch by using missiles. How the team bonds together and defeat the potential threat forms the crux of the story.

VIDEO:
Yet another outstanding release from the Ayngaran stable. The blu-ray transfer is near-perfect with plenty of depth and detail. There is no evidence of DNR or edge enhancement. The black levels are pretty impressive. This is indeed quite a flawless release. Kudos to Ayngaran and Sunny.

AUDIO:
This disc boasts both the LPCM 5.1 uncompressed audio and DTS HD Master Audio. This disc features belly churning bass, makes very good use of the rear speakers and the HFs are not overly done. The dialogues are very crisp and clear.

BOTTOM LINE
This disc is not for everyone, decent flick, A+ disc. However, Jeyam Ravi fans will not be disappointed. This disc comes RECOMMENDED

Movie: 3/5
Video: 3/5
Audio: 4/5

Wow, what a wonderful conversation goes on today !

Well, for your kind information, Indian titles are just about begining to circulate the Blu-ray market worldwide.

Yes, you're right, the informations are relevant and useful for some forumers, but i believe this one off reviews or informations. Not always you get one , like English titles, hundreds of reviews and info's per day. [maybe not hunderds but some how , number of reviews per day posted elsewhere in the web].

By suggesting a separate thread , its unlikely to be approved prior to my suggestion Mod's before. They rather , have the info & reviews posted here then , on a separate thread for other languages including Chinese , Korean, Japanese , Telugu, Malayalam, French, Spanish , Deutsch etc.

I believe moderator / admin agree with my opinion?

You think so? Honestly , i dont like think Mod's like the suggestion ..to have a separate thread.. I'm a Malaysian citizen and im not a foreigner or something bro. After all, its just a piece of information sharing for Bollywood movie fans.

Yo mate, u can always catch up with the reviews and information over here in v6 and it will continue on v7 as well.
No worries.

See, what happens now ? With that one suggestion of having separate language Blu-ray thread, all of you started suggesting to have 1 thread for each language. I rather suggest , its unnecessary to open another.

I never thought you'd keep suggesting for a separate thread. I believe in you real life you hate other religions as well? Or if you prefer not to have my review post & information post , just tell me straight to the face..This is discrimination!

I hope others dont take this as an example. No horray, this is not right at all, please stop suggesting unnecessarily.

Bro, if you have any reviews / informations on Malay BD movies, you're welcomed to post , after all 1Malaysia bro. Happy to know at least Filem Tanah Air is coming on BD.

I have the rights to report on you for suggesting forumers to ignore me?

Even if they have problems with my post , FACE IT LIKE A MAN bro!


@horray,

So, it ok to have Chinese , English or Japanese language posted here and You Call That "The Official English Blu-ray Thread v7 eh"?.

I dont have words to describe how discriminative some of you people are by just escaping with the word "suggesting".

I'm sorry to say , i feel i wasted my time being part of this thread and all i wanted to do is to Contribute [although some would rather say i spam with Hindi & Tamil review , irrelevant informations, misleading info etc] , and i never checked on anyone of your profiles.

@low98944 , bro im not picking on your post.

He's just suggesting , its alright man..

This post has been edited by sKyWiR3pT3lTd: Apr 28 2010, 12:28 AM

Did i felt discriminated?
Bro, looking at your suggestion i did felt i would be isolated for good here.

Im just a normal human being , like the rest of us. This is just a small matter bro.

Its just about Blu-ray , an universal thing that each of us in this world watch & enjoy and share experience.So dont apologize , think first before you suggest something. I hope i can stay here and not being isolate after all?

Btw, Saving Private Ryan @USD 22.99 is not a bad price but expecting to match Avatar price when it dropped to USD19.99.

So be it, one perfect function it is for me to use too, but never Mod's / Admin suggest or point fingers at any user to ignore them neither did the rest of the fellow forumers.

You did it , so i have the rights to report on you.. say it !?

You can happily ignore me , but dont pull the rest in.

Did the Admin / Mods suggested here to ignore me or to the rest of forumers?.



I'm in the office and i have job to do.

Checking on rare English BD titles I tried finding Mean Machine on Blu-ray , but it seems not available. Even in any UK site.

This post has been edited by sKyWiR3pT3lTd: Apr 28 2010, 12:53 AM

So be it..

-Moved image & review to a newly submitted post-

Aiyah..ok bro..i was bit tensed up with something oni..im not that cruel to report on anyone [was just pulling your leg]

This post has been edited by sKyWiR3pT3lTd: May 1 2010, 03:17 AM

Black Sabbath’s Paranoid (Classic Albums) on Blu-ray

Honoring the 40th anniversary of the Black Sabbath album Black Sabbath: Paranoid, Eagle Rock Entertainment has announced it as part of its Classic Albums collection, and for the first time also on Blu-ray, with a street date of June 29. For this documentary, original members Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drummer), along with their original engineer, deliver the story behind Paranoid.

The Blu-ray chronicles the creation of the locomotive force and unrelenting energy behind these tracks, which ignited an electrified and unforeseen brand of blues-rock. The comprehensive collection of interviews, demonstrations, archive videos, and feature cuts from timeless epics such as "War Pigs," "Iron Man," and the title track, is complemented with 40 minutes of bonus features.

P/S: Oh Love it ! When classic rock bands album gettin' released on Blu-ray. Anticipating for this release. Iron Man !! [not to mention the movie, the track eventually].


Please Show Your Support For A Sub Tag Under Games For Blu-ray Movies

This post has been edited by sKyWiR3pT3lTd: Apr 28 2010, 06:00 AM

Thanks D, btw...your Bolly BD on a 1st Class Shipment flying from US . Will give you a shout once it arrives..

Bro D, did JA had the slip cover on it? I didnt notice it..

Love Aaj Kal BD Review

I watched the LAK BD yesterday and here is my review of the disc. A nice movie and a long awaited one on BD. I saw it yesterday to see if Eros has delivered a quality BD after listening to members here.

My Review: I will keep it short and to the point.

+ Points
1. No objectionable EE or DNR – picture is quite smooth. I felt some more grain should have been retained.
2. Good amount of detail (although with raised black level it doesn’t show unless you tweak it properly)
3. Good Sharpness - Although appears less sharp due to raised black level and low dynamic range
4. Great sound – I don’t have very good audio equipment but even with my setup it was fantastic. I assume it will sound excellent with a good kit

I have mentioned (2) and (3) as + points since I was able to see what it can deliver using my preset (see below).

- Points
1. Biggest issue – Raised black level , image appears washed out in calibrated mode. Not as bad as BB or Silsila or VZ but it still manages to ruin the image to a good extent. People who watch movies on calibrated displays bigger than 60 inches will notice it straightaway.
2. Low dynamic range of image due to elevated black floor and inferior contrast (white level)
3. Colors look dull in most scenes (1 and 2 above affects the colour as the primaries and secondaries are not able to render properly with raised white and black level)
4. Skin tone is off in many scenes (I am not talking about the Veer and Harleen scenes. They look great)

My EROS/YRF Problem BD Preset
After watching a few EROS (Partner, Bhool Bhulaiya) and YRF (Silsila, Veer Zaara) BDs having the raised black level issue, I saved a new preset for BDs like this instead of changing my calibrated settings for most other BDs. With my customised settings, the image looked great. Blacks, color and sharpness looked excellent. Skin tone issue was still there with some scenes but overall a nice picture.

The image quality I saw with my special preset should have been the default quality of this BD. BD is a very well defined format with a clearly documented specification and everyone should enjoy a BD by just popping it in their player and enjoy pristine quality (must calibrate the display first). I think if every authoring house follows the standard and manage good quality control, it would be really hard to make it go wrong.

Conclusion
After lot of feedback collection by EROS and seeing Lord’s participation in the forum, I was very hopeful about this BD. However, I am bit disappointed with the outcome. Eros did a good job in keeping the integrity of the picture but I think the raised black floor is a big mistake for this BD. It killed the dynamic range of the image. Once you see it tweaked, you will realise that it could have been one of the few good looking BD. I am in a way satisfied since I can use my preset but I hate to do that for movies in this format.

Is it worth buying? of course if you love the movie, but I hope someday Eros will bring out a remastered version (Although I am sure this is never going to happen with Indian companies; MoserBaer being one of the exception)

Suggestion to Eros
I have one suggestion to Eros / Lords – Please do not interpret this as any kind of teaching. I am sure you guys know a lot more than me about authoring and producing BDs. All I am saying is a simple principle and if followed you can deliver first class BDs everytime. Here is my suggestion.

When reviewing your source files for BD, I am sure you guys use calibrated reference quality display to test. To eliminate any raised black level issue, please review against another display – same spec running one of the following reference quality BDs. (There are many more)

1. International
2. Casino Royale
3. Star Trek 10
4. Spiderman 3
5. Baraka
6. Saawariya
7. Ghajini

I know every movie is different and have different look and feel but every good BD must have a balanced black and white level. If you see these movies side by side the BDs you are authoring, you will immediately notice the problem with the BDs like LAK, Bhool Bhulaiya, Veer Zaara, Silsila etc.
When I pooped in my Casion Royale BD with my calibrated settings, it was like a fantastic HD image, but on switching to LAK, the image turned dull and smoky...On applying the preset I use, the LAK looked excellent with good dynamic range.

This approach doesn’t add to any additional cost in the production chain but could be really useful.

My Score
Video (Default with Calibrated Display) : 3.25
Video (Customised Preset for EROS/YRF BDs ) : 4.25
Audio: 4.5
Overall Quality Score: 3.75

Review done with
Display : Infocus IN82 Full HD DC3 DLP
Screen: 90”
BD Player: Sony S350

Review Credit & Source :Love Aaj Kal BD Review

This post has been edited by sKyWiR3pT3lTd: Apr 29 2010, 04:50 AM

Next up, Don BD Review.

Iron Man 2 Blu-ray News

Thanks to a small island nation exploding in the north Atlantic, last week Paramount was forced to cancel the 'Iron Man 2' London premier and press junket. On the upside of billions lost by the airline industry and millions stranded on distant shores, Paramount invited High-Def Digest to the Los Angeles press screening and junket. We can't review the film yet, but we did catch a few details about the impending Blu-ray, which, if it's anything like 'Iron Man', should hopefully be released in the early fall.


Read More : Iron Man 2 Blu-ray to Include...