Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Movies for Showcasing

Perhaps that was it. I just saw the title and Blu-Ray in brackets and did not read further. So it is not available? Good, I thought I missed it. Freaking Spielburg and Lucas, they wait a good 15 years before they put their films on modern content.

Except for their masterpiece, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!

Speaking of Lucas, the THX sequence on the SW Clone Wars Blu-Ray with the mushrooms is a crazy demonstration for LFE.

Oh, I'll have to watch that sequence again after I have my two EP800s working.

It's pretty devastating on the EP600. Almost impossible not to grin as it sounds like it's breaking your walls.

Stuntgibbon and CV, you are absolutely correct. The THX intro for the new Indiana Jones Crystal Skull movie is unbelievable, and maybe the best single demo piece of all time.

Master and Commander Blu-ray is kind of a mixed bag for me. If you are to only demo one scene for someone from one film then Chapter for of Master and Commander is the best choice for audio. But as far as video goes, the Blu-ray is quite grainy and soft in appearance and not that much of a step up from the DVD (maybe the differences would be less subtle on a 100" screen). I realize from several reviews of the Blu-ray that it was intended to look this way as shot, so I'm happy that the Blu-ray is faithful to that. I wouldn't want it any differently. But, if you are trying to show someone how great Blu-ray is then this isn't the best title since they may wonder why spend the extra money for Blu-ray when the image isn't that great.

Now, if you have the time to show them two scenes then Master and Commander Chapter 4 would be the first. The second scene would be just any random scene from Pirates of the Caribbean to show them just how good Blu-ray can look.

One thing that I just found out recently is that you may want to have a few titles geared towards parents and parents-in-law. Previously, people have been over and asked to see a couple of scenes to check out my system, and I would get out the Matrix or Lord of the Rings or one of the Bourne films with big explosions and car crashes and crank it up to around 90dB's. Many times it wouldn't go so well for older folks like my parents and such. But, a couple months ago when my in-laws were over my wife just randomly popped in her Elton John 60th Birthday Concert of Blu-ray and they ended up watching about half of it (it is about 3 hours long) rather than just a couple of songs she wanted to show them. They also mentioned bringing over one of their concert DVD's to watch on our system, so I think that they were impressed.

- Nick

We watch BR now for the most part. DVD just can’t compete. The transfers are also getting better. Some BR movies I considered top notch a year ago are already bested by some of the newer BR disks that have come out. Some are great for showing off different aspects of the system and one of these days, I’d like to burn a BR with scenes from several on it.

All that aside, here are a few that feel are the best of the best for Sound, Video, or combination of both. Story line or entertainment value not taken into consideration…..

In order of best to not quite as good, but still excellent.

Babylon AD – Sound and Video are both reference level. I can not find fault in either.
Dr Seuss’ Horton Hears a Seuss – Fantastic colors, sharpness and overall amazing sound.
Narnia, Prince Caspian – Stunning clarity and constant use of surround effects. Reference level video.
Wall-E – high contrast scenes are hard to beat. Sound is also great.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – This movie has incredibly dynamic visuals with a capable display that will show high contrast. It has many very dark scenes with amazing colors that I’ve not found in any other movie. Sound is also very good.
Dark Knight – The Imax scenes are truly wonderful eye candy. Sound is also very good.
The Fifth Element (re-mastered version) – Colors and high contrast scenes are terrific.
Band of Brothers – Great “film” type demo. Sound is excellent. Many high contrast “show off” scenes with a capable display.
Master and Commander – Ultimate surround effects and dynamic range is downright scary at times.
King Kong - Another eye candy movie with terific colors and top notch clarity. Sound is overall, very impressive.

Don't forget to add "flight of the phoenix" for incredible LFE. Ironman aint' too shabby either. The Jericho scene is pretty awesome. Kung Fu Panda's skidoosh scene has incredible LFE as well. Short lived, but incredible.

I enjoyed all those, and agree, but don't think they are on par with the others I listed.

If you're just looking for a good LFE scene, try DeJavu on BR. The's a scene close to the beginning that has an LFE tremor that goes on, and on... Very low and rumbling. If I think about it, I'll get a time stamp for that one. It's a wall shaker.

One movie I forgot to mention as a favorite for both great video and audio is Hot Fuzz. It's hard to nit-pick that one. Its sibling, Sean of the Dead is also very good.