Technology

Cease your meddling!

Above: the original 1999 version; below: the re-graded 2004 version

George Lucas isn't the only filmmaker to indulge in revisionism. That's right, the Wachowski brothers are at is as well. No, the alterations that have been made to The Matrix aren't quite on the same level as the "Greedo shoots first" debacle - no footage has actually been reshot, and the special effects are unchanged - but they're significant nonetheless. When the film was re-released on DVD in 2004, the entire film was digitally graded to bring its look into line with the two rubbish sequels, and, now that I have the ability to take screen captures of HD DVDs, I can show you just how extreme the difference is.

Above: the original 1999 version; below: the re-graded 2004 version

I'm curious as to how people feel about this. On the one hand, I do think that the re-graded version is aesthetically preferable. Creating a digital intermediate allows filmmakers much more control over the final look of their movie than traditional lab work, and we can therefore presumably assume that the look of the new version of The Matrix is closer to representing what the Wachowskis originally intended than what was initially released. On the other hand, it's hard not to see this as being a "because we can" situation. The central concept - that the Matrix had a green tint, whereas the "real world" had a blue tint - was conveyed subtly in the original version, but, in the re-graded version, has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The shadow detail is also seriously hampered by the manner in which the contrast has been pumped up.

Above: the original 1999 version; below: the re-graded 2004 version

Oh, and the HD DVD of The Matrix is indeed edge enhanced. It's not as bad as on some titles - it's no Crank or An American Werewolf in London, for example - but it's there all right. I noticed it within less than a minute of the film starting, and yet many people continue to tell me that I'm imagining things, or that there is a problem with my equipment, or whatever other outlandish excuse they can come up with. That's the great thing about being able to do screen captures: I can now provided visual evidence! Now who's crazy, guys?

Blurry Blu-ray

My copy of the French Blu-ray release of Paprika arrived today from FNAC. Time didn't permit me to actually sit down and watch the whole thing, but I have a few preliminary observations to make.

First of all, this disc features no less than nine audio tracks (Japanese PCM, and Japanese, French, English, German, Czech, Italian, Spanish and Polish Dolby Digital) and 24 subtitle tracks. This, combined with the fact that the disc is multi-region and displays an FBI logo if your player's default language is set to English, strongly suggests that Sony is planning to release the same disc throughout much of the world.

Second, for the first full-length 2D animated HD title I've picked up, the transfer is decidedly underwhelming. It's an MPEG2 encode, and, while compression problems don't appear to be too apparent based on my viewing of the opening 15 minutes, the image looks rather soft and filtered, lacking the crispness that I would have hoped for from an animated film produced entirely in the digital domain. Like many of the Studio Ghibli releases, it's also windowboxed, needlessly throwing away several lines of resolution. I'm not sure why this practice seems to be so widespread with anime films, but it's a very annoying one and I wish the companies wouldn't do it.

As for the film - let's just say it hasn't grabbed me yet. I'm going to sit down with it at some point this weekend and give it my full concentration, but my initial impressions suggest that my various esteemed commenters were right.

Oh yeah, and Sony has announced a few new Blu-ray titles for release in the US on September 25th, including Black Book and the extended cut of Underworld. I've already got the German HD DVD release of Underworld, due out on September 3rd, pre-ordered, and that will remain the case, since the early bird catches the worm, but I'm all over Black Book, which, in addition to being an extremely engaging film, looked a little underwhelming in its UK DVD release from Tartan.

DVD debacle

Arrivederci Amore, Ciao and my review copy of The Secret of NIMH both arrived this morning. A few quick words on Arrivederci Amore, Ciao before we proceed: I only got the chance to glance at it briefly, but it doesn't look to be a very good transfer at all. It's fuzzy, washed out and video-like, and it's also not progressively flagged. It'll do until a better English-friendly presentation comes along, but that's about the kindest thing I can say about it. I highly doubt that the English-unfriendly French release looks this weak.

Anyway, The Secret of NIMH fares somewhat better. Despite the patent lack of serious bonus features in what was supposed to be the 25th anniversary release of this film (after a decent audio commentary and a cursory 15-minute featurette, the only other extras contained in the 2-disc set are crummy kiddie games. Even the accompanying booklet looks more like the sort of menus many restaurants do for pre-schoolers, with a crossword, mazes and join the dots puzzle. Still, the film is ultimately what counts, and I'm happy to say that the transfer improves quite noticeably on the old non-anamorphic UK release. It doesn't look dazzling, but MGM's rather conservative restoration (if indeed one was done at all) is still preferable to the overly processed look of Disney titles like Bambi and Peter Pan. Gary Goldman, one of the film's producers and directing animators, supervised the colour timing for this release, and it shows, because it avoids the garish "pumping" that goes on so often with animated DVD releases these days. The colours look smooth and natural, and will apparently be the first time American viewers will get to experience the film on a home video format in anything approaching its intended timings - previous releases were apparently mangled by incompetent technicians who used Mrs. Brisby's fur colour as a basis to regrade each scene, without realising that her fur intentionally changed colour depending on the lighting conditions!

But could someone in the know please fill me in on the film's intended aspect ratio? The DVD includes both 1.33:1 fullscreen and 1.85:1 widescreen versions, and I can't help thinking that the fullscreen version looks more "right":

Below, you can see that a lot of the artwork created for the backgrounds shown during the closing credits is being lost, and the composition to me strongly suggests an intended ratio of 1.33:1:

As you can see, the widescreen edition is a fairly straightforward case of cropping the top and bottom of the frame, with a small amount of picture being gained at either side. Now, obviously, as a film released in 1982, it would have to have been projected theatrically in a widescreen ratio - more than likely 1.85:1 for American cinemas, although, as with many Disney titles from the same period, the Internet Movie Database lists an intended ratio of 1.66:1. On their commentary, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman make no mention of which is their preferred presentation, although it may be that they have expressed their opinions in this matter elsewhere. Does anyone know?

In any event, you can expect a full review at DVD Times in the not too distant future, although I would like to reread the novel on which the film was based, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, before I get started.

The return of Captain Whiggles

I'm back, and I'm a whole day older. I have now walked this blighted earth for 24 wholes years and a day (give or take a couple of hours), although, believe it or not, I don't feel a whole lot different. Actually, since I turned 18 and could legally do pretty much anything I might want to do, my actual age has ceased to be much of a concern for me, to the extent that, when people ask me how old I am, I often actually have to stop and think about it.

Anyway, I had a pretty good day, albeit with a couple of minor monkey-wrenches thrown in. I had a bunch of parcels waiting for me when I got up yesterday morning:

The big box at the back is, as you can probably gather, the Lego Café Corner set I ordered a couple of weeks back. I finally finished putting it together this morning, and, while I can't exactly claim it to have been a challenge, it took me a decent enough amount of time, and the level of detail present in the finished building is commendably higher than what you get in most of the sets aimed at a younger audience. Now, if only Lego would do something featuring a similar level of detail for a castle or a pirate ship...

In front of the Lego box, from left to right, we have: The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season and The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season on DVD, Black Snake Moan on HD DVD, and Crank on Blu-ray. And yes, that hideous Homer head for The Simpsons' sixth season really is as bad as everyone says. The plastic outer "cover" was dented out of shape when it arrived (unavoidable, given its flimsy construction, and I don't hold DVD Pacific, the US Postal Service, Royal Mail or anyone else responsible for this - the blame lies solely with 20th Century Fox), and the tray housing the four discs that resides inside the cover is a pain, filled with bits of paper (advertisements, episode booklet) that fall out as soon as you open it. It's very frustrating that the standard cardboard box was never released to buy in the US, as it was elsewhere, because ordering the replacement is, for someone without a North American postal address, a bit of a challenge. By the way, I've taken a look at some of the episodes from both Seasons 6 and 7, and, while there are still some visible DVNR artefacts, they are nothing like as bad as the ones affecting the PAL version.

Me and Lyris also watched Crank last night. First, the bad news: the film looks like ass. It was shot in 1080p, so ideally this should have been a pixel-to-pixel reproduction of the source materials (barring compression, of course). Unfortunately, someone took it upon themselves to add a tonne of edge enhancement, making the picture look harsh and ugly. Strangely enough, the edge enhancement is is inconsistent, with some scenes (basically those in which the protagonist doesn't appear) being less affected, and the two of us both came to the conclusion that the filmmakers intentionally decide to over-sharpen the image as a stylistic choice, presumably to make it appear "harsh" and "raw". Whoever is to blame, though, they should be severely chastised for their decision.

Luckily, it's an enjoyable film. I hesitate to call it "good", because, to be honest, it was pretty much a complete load of garbage, but it continually kept us entertained, and was, on several occasions, laugh out loud hilarious. Jason Statham's hard man shtick gets a little old after a while (I'm still not sure why they got a Brit to play this part), but the characters surrounding him help keep him in check, and Amy Smart plays the greatest blonde ditz I've seen in a film since Anna Faris in Lost in Translation: "Don't talk to him like that! My boyfriend kills people!" Oddly enough, the most similar film I can think of to this is not Speed, as most people seem to suggest, but Run Lola Run. Obviously, it's less high-brow, but it has the same sort of energy and the same basic plot - if "person runs around the city for 90 minutes" counts as a plot.

Oh, and Black Snake Moan has a really impressive transfer, at least judging by the brief glance I had at the first couple of scenes. Paramount has really come a long way in the last few months.

Anyway, I also went to Braehead Shopping Centre for lunch and shopping. Luckily, I didn't see any shifty types looking to ram burning vehicles into buildings (Braehead is just down the road from Glasgow Airport), so I was able to make my purchases in peace. I actually ended up buying a hell of a lot more than I intended, not least an Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on. You may remember that I bought one earlier this year and ended up selling it on to a friend, because it didn't meet my needs. Luckily, the situation has now changed. For one thing, Lyris now has an Xbox 360, so we both decided that this would be the perfect moment to dispose of our large, clunky Toshiba HD-A1 player and replace it was something faster and less space-hungry. In addition, HD decryption software has progressed considerably in the last six months, which makes it much easier now to rip discs to my hard drive and take screen captures for review purposes (the add-on connects to either the Xbox 360 or a PC via USB, so it only takes a couple of seconds to plug it into the required device).

I also picked up two HD DVDs and one Blu-ray disc, all of them blind buys: La Haine, Syriana and Layer Cake. I know next to nothing about any of them, but it's nice to be pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, the goons at HMV not only forgot to take the security tabs out of La Haine and Layer Cake, meaning I couldn't actually open them to get the discs out (most store-bought UK DVD and high definition cases feature a plastic tab which seals it shut and can only be removed using a special machine in the store), the case for La Haine was also quite badly smashed (okay, so it's partially my fault for not noticing until I got home). Luckily, my dad was able to run me back in to get the tabs removed and the case for La Haine replaced.

I'm not done yet, though! I also bought the soundtracks to Serenity and Cars, and picked up the games Empire Earth II and Quake 4 in a "2 for £15" deal at GAME.

So yeah, all in all a good day was had, although my wallet is no longer speaking to me.

The double-dipping element

The upcoming Blu-ray re-release of Luc Besson's The Fifth Element, due out on July 17th, will, it would seem, be struck from a completely new master. According to a post by Sony Pictures insider "Paidgeek", we can expect to see "a marked improvement over any previous release" - good news for sure, given that I was slightly suspicious that we would simply get a new encode sourced from the same master, with added DVNR, edge enhancement or filtering.

I can't say that this is my favourite Luc Besson film - I consider Léon to be his masterpiece - but I do find it quite enjoyable if I switch my brain into second gear and plug my ears whenever Chris Tucker appears on screen, and I've been looking for an opportunity to replace my standard definition Superbit copy. I held off on last year's lacklustre Blu-ray release because I knew that an improved edition was on the way, so I've now ordered myself a copy from DVD Pacific. For those who got burned on the earlier release, Sony have set up a replacement programme, although presumably it will only be open to North American customers. The new disc, by the way, is very much intended as a replacement in the most literal sense of the world, featuring the same cover art and with the original version already having been discontinued. Sony, it would seem, would prefer to sneak this improved version out under the radar rather than making a bit song and dance about how they have, fittingly, become the first high definition studio to play the double-dipping game.

Spooks and spectres in high definition

Source: AV Science Forum

The cover art for the upcoming German HD DVD releases of Silent Hill, Underworld: Extended Cut, 12 Monkeys and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider has been unveiled... and I don't know about you, but personally I think that this Silent Hill artwork is streets ahead of what was used for the American Blu-ray and DVD releases. Of course, better cover art is not, for me, an adequate reason for double-dipping, but I've pre-ordered a copy of it (and Underworld) all the same, given that I'm hoping for a superior encode to the Blu-ray release, which crammed an MPEG2 copy of the film on to a single-layer 25 GB disc. The new release date, by the way, is September 3rd, a few days later than the originally announced August 31st.

Update, July 1st, 2007 04:23 PM: As Jayson pointed out in the comments selection, this release of Underworld is to be the extended cut.

High definition geology

The French Blu-ray release of The Rock (or Rock, as it is simply titled in France) reached me today. As previously reported, it is indeed encoded for all regions (A, B, C), so I had no trouble playing it in my Japanese Playstation 3. It also includes all of the extras from the Criterion Collection release, barring the audio commentary - a shame, because it was a good one. I suspect that the commentary may be presented when this film eventually surfaces on Blu-ray in the US, given that the two Pirates of the Caribbean titles also had their commentaries dropped for their European releases, but were present on the American editions.

Anyway, you probably want to know about what really counts: the image quality. Well, the good news is that it's a pretty nice-looking disc. I nearly had a heart attack when the opening Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Productions logo appeared, as it was so ill-defined that it looked like standard definition, but things picked up immediately after that. I suspect that the master used here is the same one from which Criterion sourced their standard definition transfer, which is a good thing in my book, because it is pleasingly unmangled, with only some light temporal noise reduction artefacts visible on occasions... and edge enhancement. Yes, the halos around high contrast edges are quite noticeable at times (look at the soldiers' hats in the opening credits sequence, or the massive glow around Nicolas Cage as he stands against the sunset after Sean Connery leaves at the end), and, as with the Criterion, the footage during the opening and closing credits, plus any shot with location type, appears to have been taken from a softer source than the rest of the film.

Basically, this is a low- to mid-range 8/10 transfer in my book. Whereas the Criterion is in the upper echelon of standard definition DVDs, the master doesn't quite cut the mustard as a contender against the best that the HD arena has to offer.

High definition is rockin'!

I was really looking forward to the release of The Rock on Blu-ray - not because it's one of my favourite films (I certainly like it, don't get me wrong, but it's no classic), but because Criterion's standard definition DVD was one of the best ever released, so I was eager to see how it would stack up in high definition. Unfortunately, Disney's US wing recently indefinitely postponed both it and Pixar's Cars, which were, let's face it, two of my main reasons for ending my HD DVD exclusivity. Luckily, France has come to the rescue once again: both The Rock and Crimson Tide, another Jerry Bruckheimer explosionfest culled by Disney in the US, are currently available in the land of baguettes and fine wine, and I've ordered my copy of the former from Fnac. It's also coming out in the UK on July 2nd, but, as you probably know by now, I'm not the sort of person who likes to wait. In any event, I want to be sure it arrives before my birthday (July 4th).

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the French release has been confirmed as region-free and with removable subtitles. Apparently it's also "a little grainy", which, in conjunction with a BD50 and an AVC encode, would seem to bode well as far as image quality is concerned. It also seems to have all of the extras from the European special edition, which, by my reckoning, means everything that was included on the Criterion - unless the poster is referring to a different continental special edition that I'm not aware of.

Oh yeah, and I've also pre-ordered the French HD DVD release of Hannibal, due out from Universal on August 1st, from Amazon.

Germany to the rescue

Source: Area-HD

This time last year, I was planning on being Blu-ray exclusive. Less than a month later, I was HD DVD exclusive. As someone who is now format neutral, I don't have to worry about whether a title is released on HD DVD, Blu-ray or both, because, unless a Blu-ray title comes out with region coding in a non-Region A territory only, I'm guaranteed to be able to play it. If you're currently HD DVD only, though, you'll be pleased to know that some films that are Blu-ray exclusives in the US - Underworld (extended cut), Silent Hill, Fantastic Four, Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse - are coming to HD DVD in Germany courtesy of Concorde.

The Blu-ray release of Resident Evil: Apocalypse is basically good enough for it not to be worth double-dipping, but the Blu-ray Silent Hill could use some improvement in the compression department (it's a stellar disc in every other respect, though), and Fantastic Four on Blu-ray is not only a weak film but one saddled with an equally weak transfer. This is good news from a diversity standpoint if nothing else, and I will more than likely be picking up Underworld (due out on August 31st) and Resident Evil (which currently has no release date) when they become available. Lyris is making rumblings about double-dipping on Silent Hill, although we're both suspicious that we may end up trading compression artefacts for filtering and/or noise reduction. Watch this space.

A day in at the movies

The Problem Child 3-pack and Black Book both arrived today from Play. After checking the first two films and verifying that they were indeed in widescreen and that Problem Child 2 was uncut (they are, and it is - 1.85:1 nunchuk action ahoy!), me and Lyris steeled ourselves and popped in Problem Child 3, as prepared as was humanly possible for the horrors that this made for TV sequel, with the key roles recast, could inflict on us. And it was... surprisingly bearable. Don't get me wrong, it's a load of crap (not that the first two Problem Child films were ever going to win anything, of course - not even a Razzie), but it made us laugh, and the shift in tone wasn't as dramatic as in, say, a Disney cheapquel. It's a hell of a lot more surreal, even going so far as to include a couple of physical gags that wouldn't seem out of place in a Tex Avery cartoon, and the guy playing Ben Healy (William Katt - who was in Carrie, by some coincidence) is about as poor a match for John Ritter as you could ever hope to find, but the scenes with the three returning cast members - Jack Warden, Gilbert Gottfried and Eric Edwards - provide much merriment. There is also some rather sly humour, some of it surprisingly twisted by network TV standards. Am I suggesting that everybody rushes out to see it? No - like I said, the film (if you can even call it that) is garbage by anyone's standards, but it was a painless enough way to kill an hour and a half.

I also finally sat down and watched Pan's Labyrinth, and I'm exceedingly glad I did, as it's probably the best new horror movie I've seen since The Descent... although perhaps "horror" isn't the best way to describe it as, contrary to what the marketing campaign would have you believe, only small portions of it take place in the world of make-believe. The rest of it is all unsettlingly real, taking place in Spain in 1944, with the country under the grip of General Franco's fascists, and the military stopping at nothing to root out and destroy the resistance forces. The film is absolutely beautiful to behold, and the designs and effects work on the various creatures that the protagonist meets are astounding. In some ways, it reminded me of a twisted live action Spirited Away: a dark fairytale for adults.

Now I'm seriously considering picking up the French HD DVD, due for release on July 4th (my birthday!), even though it doesn't have any English subtitles (I suspect the film can be enjoyed without the intrusion of translation anyway). Annoyingly, though, it will only be available in a 5-disc box set, packaged with the standard definition release and the score, rather than as a stand-alone HD DVD. It will also be the first HD DVD title to be THX-certified, which means... bugger all, of course.

PS. Black Book is my 600th DVD.

Can a remake actually be a good thing?

Those of you who have read this site for a while probably know how I feel about remakes of films. Generally speaking, I view them with great suspicion, if not outright contempt. I'm generally of the opinion that, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and am growing more than a little tired of the constant tidal wave of remakes of superior films that Hollywood keeps spewing out. Remakes in the games industry are a considerably less common phenomenon (generally it's tired sequels and rip-offs you have to watch out for rather than out-and-out remakes), but they do exist. Tonight, I played one such game - the upcoming Tomb Raider: Anniversary - and found myself very impressed by what I saw.

As I mentioned in my review of last year's Tomb Raider: Legend, I'm generally not a fan of the Lara Croft franchise. I tend to find the games bland, annoying to control, and, barring the first couple of entries, poorly designed. Legend, the first game in the series created since the franchise was handed over from creators Core Design to Crystal Dynamics, was also the first Tomb Raider that I really enjoyed, and I was understandably intrigued to learn that Crystal Dynamics were working on a 2007 update for the first game in the series (considered by many to be the best). The full version is released on June 1st, but the demo became available on May 25th, and I downloaded it tonight. It's really good, and I'm definitely considering buying the retail version when it comes out. The graphics are much improved, of course, thanks to the use of the Legend engine, but what really makes the game much better is the control system. As with Legend, you use the keyboard and mouse, and it's amazing how much smoother and more intuitive it makes things.

In short, it's well worth checking out, and I highly recommend downloading the short but fun demo, if you've got a powerful enough PC to run it, here.

Get it right first time in future, Sony

Source: DVD Times

The Fifth Element, Blu-ray's poster child disgrace, is to get a re-release this July, with the current substandard release going out of print come June 13th. Little information has been provided for the new edition, but the online buzz suggests that we'll get an AVC encode on a dual-layer BD50 disc, as well as both PCM and Dolby TrueHD audio (either 20-bit or 24-bit). If Sony had any decency, they'd offer a free replacement to anyone who bought the initial pressing, but hey, since when did the words "Sony" and "decency" go together?

I may end up picking up this new release to replace my standard definition Superbit DVD, although part of me wants to hold out for the HD DVD release that Pathé seemingly intends to release in Europe at some point in the near future.

Hell, it's about time

Starcraft II has been officially announced... and I, at least, am letting out an immense sigh of relief. In the run-up to the new title's announcement at the World Wide Invitational gaming event, there was much speculation surrounding exactly what it would be, with the worst case scenario, in my mind, being a Starcraft MMORPG. Thankfully, Blizzard would appear to have decided to stick to the series' roots, delivering a sequel that maintains the same essential gameplay mechanics, albeit updated for the new millennium.

Glancing at the screenshots on Blizzard's official web site for the game, the overwhelming impression I'm getting is that, arguably more so than any previous Blizzard sequel, this genuinely does look like an update of the original game rather than a radical new departure. Obviously, the graphics engine is all-new, and there is a host of new units and abilities, but a lot of the old favourites appear to be in place in much the same form as before, including the familiar space platform and scorched earth tilesets, and a variety of units and buildings, including the SCVs, Marines, Command Centres, Barracks, Seige Tanks and so on. For my money, this is a Very Good Thing. Starcraft's gameplay was arguably as perfect as a real-time strategy game could get, and to mess with the formula too much would be to incur the wrath of tens of millions of fans around the globe. The emphasis, as per Blizzard's own marketing speak, seems to be to gear the game as much as possible towards their core audience of dedicated Starcraft fans, delivering "the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game" for multiplayer gamers, while still (thankfully) offering an offline single player experience.

There's no release date yet, as per usual with Blizzard games, but the word of the day, according to Rob Pardo, Blizzard's vice president of game design, at the press conference, is that the development is already well under way, with all three races, Terran, Protoss and Zerg (the fact that the same three factions that were in the original are back, with no additions, strikes me as being further proof that Blizzard don't want to reinvent the wheel with this title), already fully playable in multiplayer. Hopefully, therefore, it'll at least be out in time for Starcraft's 10th anniversary in 2008. Needless to say, it's immediately shot to the top of my "most wanted" list, eclipsing Empire Earth III, Guild Wars 2 and even Hellgate: London.

Some fun links:

• Official web site
• Announcement (IGN)
• Announcement report (Gamespot)
• Press conference report (Gamespot)
• Poor quality camcorded gameplay video (YouTube)

Thanks to Graham for the heads-up.

As synthetic as the Matrix itself

I got home from work today to find The Ultimate Matrix Collection on HD DVD waiting for me, direct from the good people at Movietyme. Given that I found The Matrix Reloaded so laughably bad that I didn't even bother with The Matrix Revolutions (I've got that delight waiting for me one of those nights), you might wonder why I picked up the set at all. The answer is that I wanted the original The Matrix, and it's not available separately (not yet, at any rate). I don't think it's the masterpiece some people claim it to be, but it's enjoyable enough, and it holds some sentimental value for me, as it was the first standard definition DVD I ever owned.

First of all, I must point out that I really like what Warner has done with the packaging. A laminated cardboard slip case houses four individual standard HD DVD cases: one for each film and one for a double-sided standard definition DVD housing various extras, entitled The Matrix Experience. Each film disc is also double-sided, with the reverse side, a DVD-9, featuring bonus content specific to the film in question.

Now, on to the contents. I've only had a cursory glance at each disc, but I'm sorry to report that there are major problems with all three films. The original Matrix comes off looking the strongest, which is probably a good thing, as it's the only one of the three films I genuinely wanted (although, once again, I must stress that I haven't seen Revolutions yet, so that opinion may change). It shows noticeable edge enhancement, and has clearly been filtered, but it basically looks pleasant for the most part, and I'd put it on par with other Warner releases like Constantine and Million Dollar Baby. Unfortunately, the disc does, however, get a major black mark against it by virtue of the fact that the audio, on all the available tracks, is noticeably desynchronised from the video. Just watch the moment in the first sequence when the truck mashes the phone box Trinity was inside: the sound of the collision lags noticeably behind the visuals, and, whenever someone speaks quickly, you can see them mouthing words before you can actually hear them. Others have reported this fault, and some have suggested that it is unique to the Xbox 360 add-on, but this HD-A1 user can confirm that it is a problem on that particular stand-alone player as well.

The other two films look somewhat more underwhelming than the first one, losing some (although not all) of the edge enhancement but appearing noticeably softer and more noise reduced; no audio problems that I could discern from my brief inspection, though. Ultimately, I must say that I'm a little disappointed with this whole affair. Given that this was pretty much supposed to be the flagship title for Warner, and indeed the HD DVD format as a whole, I think it could have done with a little more quality control. Then again, maybe that's just the problem: I can just imagine the technicians sitting around a workstation, rubbing their hands with glee as they cranked the edge enhancement dial up. "Guys, we need to make this title as detailed as possible!" Cripes!

By the way, I'm not making any promises, but you might be seeing a new audio commentary from me soon, albeit somewhat different to the ones I did for Suspiria and Profondo Rosso. This evening, on a whim, I decided to switch on my microphone and hit record while myself and Lyris were giving The Matrix the once-over. The result is half an hour of sarcasm, lewd jokes and immature jibes (we stopped at the 30-minute mark, because it's hard to stay on a roll for any longer, but we'll probably continue the exercise tomorrow evening). As such, it probably won't appeal to those who consider The Matrix sacred, or indeed those who like their humour a little more high-brow, but we enjoyed recording our little commentating duet, and are of the opinion that this is a film that desperately needs the wind taken out of its sails a little. Stay tuned for further information.

A fountain of garbage

Isn't it funny when you have something or order but completely forget about it, only to come home to find it waiting for you? That's how it was for me today when I got back from work to find the HD DVD/DVD combo release of The Fountain, which I requested for review from DVD Times last month, on my desk. I haven't seen Darren Aronofsky's first film, Pi, but I did see Requiem for a Dream twice and was rather impressed by it. This, in conjunction with the rather nice publicity artwork I saw for it, convinced me that it would be worth giving a go. I now sorely regret this. The Fountain, to quote Philip French in his review, "puts the 'awe' into awful".

You know, I'm actually dreading the actual review-writing process, because right now I'm struggling to put into words exactly why I found it so poor. I suspect it has something to do with the sheer pretentiousness of it, the feeling that nothing is coming together and that the director is simply being oblique for the sake of it, believing that he can sucker the audience into confusing his nonsensical ramblings with profundity. Apparently, at the Cannes Film Festival, it was booed mercilessly and the audience threw things at the screen, and frankly I'm not surprised. The film has its fans, as I'm well aware, and I can only surmise that they're seeing something I'm not. I just found the whole thing self-indulgent, tedious and, by the end, utterly ridiculous (seriously, you haven't lived until you've seen flowers sprouting out of Hugh Jackman' mouth).

A very disappointing transfer, too, with rampant DVNR that ruins the definition, freezes the grain and causes all sorts of ugly smearing. I sincerely hope that Warner's flagship HD release, The Ultimate Matrix Collection (on its way to me right now from Movietyme), is not similarly affected, because I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that the people encoding these discs haven't got a clue what they're doing.

I've also been sent two HDScape HD DVD titles for review: Visions of the Sea and Antarctica Dreaming. I've taken a brief look at both and, judging by the rampant edge enhancement and poor encoding on display, they are next to useless in their intended function of providing eye candy and persuading potential customers to make the leap to HD.

From one kind of arrest to another

As I've mentioned a few times on this site, I am, for better or for worse, an avid viewer of the medical drama Casualty and its spin-off, Holby City. As far as I'm concerned, both shows are well past their prime (barring the odd unexpected surprise, such as the two-parter Barbara Machin wrote for Casualty last Christmas, which showed that it was still capable of holding its own with the best of UK television, as well as the assisted suicide storyline that concluded the previous series of Holby City), but I soldier on doggedly, and, given that I watch very little live television, I'd estimate that they make up at least 50% of my weekly viewing schedule. Given that, as year-round "continuing dramas", the two shows are pretty much being stretched to breaking point, I was understandably sceptical about the news that a third series was to be added to the franchise... and a police show at that, entitled Holby Blue. "Great," I thought. "Just what the world needs - another The Bill." Still, obsessive that I am, I tuned in on Tuesday night, expecting the worst.

Casualty in high definition - who'd have thunk it?

I was pleasantly surprised. The use of the "Holby" name, and the setting of the show in the same fictional world as its medical counterparts, turned out to be little more than a marketing gimmick designed to pull in viewers of the two other series. It's essentially just a brand name, and, barring a brief visit to Casualty and an even briefer appearance by Charlie Fairhead during the pre-credits teaser, I suspect that the spin-off and its parent shows (which have, despite being filmed in completely different locations, managed to retain something of a tenuous link while just about managing to convey the fact that they are supposed to be set in the same hospital) will go their separate ways, never to interact again. Holby Blue, as it happens, is not produced by BBC, but rather by Kudos, the same company responsible for Spooks and Life on Mars. Tonally, it has far more in common with those two shows than Casualty, using music (which almost never features in Casualty), and operating at a somewhat faster pace. It's also shot in non-interlaced high definition, with a film grain effect and digital colour grading applied to it, which automatically makes it infinitely more credible than its DigiBeta predecessors. (Seriously, I hope these stylistic choices are adopted by the other two shows, especially Casualty, which these days is so amateurish-looking that it resembles a home video.)

Looking beyond the aesthetics (which many will no doubt consider to be superficial, but I personally believe to be of the utmost importance), though, how successful is the show? Well, pilot episodes are always difficult to gauge, but personally I was very impressed by what I saw. At first glance, the show seems to suffer from the same bloated cast of characters as Casualty and Holby City, which I would imagine is going to cause some problems given that the first series is only eight episodes long. Indeed, as early as the first episode, four or five of the regulars all but disappear into the background. Many of them also come across as broad stereotypes rather than actual people (a problem also affecting its parent shows in recent years), although this could easily be put down to the fact that 15 or so of them had to be introduced to us in the space of just under an hour. The cast is also comprised of the usual mix of seasoned veterans (Tim Pigott-Smith arguably being the biggest name of the bunch) and former soap opera stars whose acting ability is, er, limited to say the least (unlike Holby City, which has a couple of soap actors whose acting has turned out to be quite impressive). The fellow who looks set to emerge as the main protagonist, however, seems to be an interesting chap. The structure, a sort of variant on the "guess the accident" routine established by Casualty, also seems fairly effective, cross-cutting between the cops and the criminals and/or victims to be in the run-up to all hell breaking loose.

HD + grain filter + patented BBC encoding techniques = MPEG soup.

Of course, whether or not this can all be maintained over a more extended period is anyone's guess. As I mentioned earlier, the first series will only run for eight episodes, but, if it proves to be successful, I can easily imagine them stretching out to a year-long affair, and in doing so flushing any semblance of quality down the pan, à la Casualty and Holby City. For the time being, though, I'm certainly more than happy to watch another seven episodes in this mould. Ironically enough, I can see the use of the Holby brand name - the very element that the powers that be are hoping will be the biggest draw - ultimately losing viewers rather than gaining them, as people tune in expecting apples and getting oranges instead.

Job's done!

My new keyboard, a Dell black USB keyboard, which I bought on eBay, arrived today, meaning that my new rig is now 100% complete. Unfortunately, in my haste to order it, I stupidly didn't bother reading the item description fully before clicking the "Buy It Now" button. Result: it's actually an Italian keyboard, with some rather unexpected differences in terms of button layout. Luckily, I know keyboards like the back of my hand, so I'm not reliant on the actual descriptions on the buttons to know which keys I'm pressing (also, I've been using a US layout configuration on UK keyboards for years now, so it's not as if I mind having a few mislabelled buttons).

All things considered, this computer upgrade has been filled with mistakes - first the case/motherboard/PSU combo, then the external sound card, then a P/S2 to USB splitter that still hasn't arrived but is going to be useless anyway, given that my mouse and keyboard are now both USB. Thankfully, I'm now at a stage where I'm as close to completely happy as I can be with my system. This extremely nice keyboard, which is, as it happens, the same model that I use at work, seals the deal (seriously, a lot of people underestimate how important it is to have a keyboard that, for want of a better phrase, feels right).

Now to finally start putting my new system to use. A round of Guild Wars first, I reckon, followed by pining for Hellgate: London and Empire Earth III, both due out later this year.

It's good to be back, part 2

Surround sound and tone control, how I have missed you!

Hear that? It's the sweet sound of properly-adjusted treble and bass being pumped through my 5.1 speakers. That's right, my SD32G2 case/motherboard/power supply combo arrived today while I was at work, and, when I got home myself and Lyris (mainly Lyris, who, after all, has already built one of these things and knows it like the back of his hand) transported the contents of my SD37P2 into it, plus my beloved Creative Audigy Player (released as the Audigy Gamer in the US). All told, the whole process took a little under 45 minutes, including the time required to install new network drivers, as well as mouse and video card drivers, which for some reason refused to work after the relevant hardware had been moved from one motherboard to another. Seriously, though, I was surprised by how painless it all was. I'd been expecting that I'd have to completely reinstall Windows, as I did when I moved from an Intel to an AMD-based setup back in 2001, and again when I returned to the comforting bosom of Intel in 2002.

Anyway, I was a little concerned that the 250 watt power supply wouldn't be enough to power a reasonably powerful video card like the Radeon X1950 Pro (especially as the packaging recommends a minimum of 400 watts), particularly for visually intensive gaming, but I ran 3DMark 2006 a couple of times with all the details maxed and didn't encounter any hiccups. I'm really not sure how this actually works in reality, but apparently Shuttle's power supplies are considerably more efficient than the big, bulky ones you normally find on the high street. It also helps, I guess, that the motherboard is incredibly stripped down, with only the bare essentials (which, in this particular case, are perfectly suited to my needs).

Let's just chalk this rather expensive blunder of mine up as experience. If you think you can do without a PCI slot, trust me, you probably can't.

On a further computer-related note, the aged mid-90s Pentium II with 128 megs of RAM and a 60 Hz CRT monitor that I've been using at work was recently replaced with an extremely swish Core 2 Duo machine with 2 GB of RAM and a 17" TFT. It amazes me how much difference this has made both to my productivity and to my morale. Using my previous monitor (which, in all probability, contravened Health and Safety regulations), I got splitting headaches, and often found myself wanting to smash the old relic with a mallet every time when, attempting to enter Microsoft Excel or even switch the damn thing off, it would grind and grind like a rusty old washing machine. In all probability, the new system is ridiculously overpowered for the functions that it's required to perform (basically Word, Excel and Access), but I'm certainly not complaining, as I now have the most impressive computer in the office! Proof, if you like, that the old adage that the early bird catches the worm is a load of old hogswoggle.

More money down the drain

An approximation of how I'm feeling right now.

It has become blatantly obvious to me that my sound problems are not going to be solved without taking drastic steps. The more I think about it, the less convinced I am that the 8-pin DIN to 3 mini-jack solution I suggested yesterday is going to do the blindest bit of good (how would the decoder know which of the three analogue streams should be sent to which speaker, assuming they are even passed through the cable properly?). Fixing cuts with sticking plaster is all very well for minor problems, but there's a time and a place for that sort of medical attention - sometimes a complete transfusion is required. Therefore, I've decided to take drastic action and replace my case/power supply/motherboard combo with one that actually has a free PCI slot.

Yes, that's another £200 of my pay gone (although I hope to recoup some of it by selling my current unit). I've bought the bare-bones SD32G2, the same unit my brother has, from Komplett. Rather than a dual PCI Express solution, it has a single PCI Express slot and a single PCI slot, and, last night, I discovered that my video card, plus a sound card, could be fitted into his case without any problems. It also features P/S2 inputs for a keyboard and mouse, which I must confess to finding preferable to using USB ports - since, due to the nature of the way USB works, slowdown on the system also causes slowdown to the mouse pointer, which results in it becoming next to impossible to effectively issue commands in a game when things become graphically intensive and the whole thing slows down, as opposed to the visuals simply becoming choppy and the mouse continuing to work at full speed, as happens when you are using a P/S2 connection. Funny how these technological advancements often seem more like backwards steps, doesn't it? Exactly the same principle is behind my sound woes.

The thing should arrive in the next couple of days, and I look forward to getting my precious Creative Audigy connected back up to my decoder through good old Digital DIN once more. My only fear is that the 250 watt power supply which comes with the SD32G2 might be a little underpowered for my video card when it comes to more graphically intensive applications. Still, my brother gave the card a quick run through Unreal Tournament 2004 with all settings maxed and as many bots as possible in one of the most complicated maps while it was in his system last night, and no Blue Screens of Death were witnessed. I'm crossing my fingers for this being a hassle-free solution, while flagellating myself for being so rash with my money and thinking I could get away with an external audio solution. Clearly, if I ever intend to buy a new sound card, I'll have to pick up a new decoder and speakers along with it. Isn't technology wonderful?

Sound cards: a conundrum

It's time for yet another computer-related post. Much to my annoyance, I have yet to solve my audio dilemma, although, after spending most of the day trawling the web and reading up on the matter, I now have a better understanding of the situation.

Basically, it is fundamentally impossible for a sound card to send non-encoded 5.1 audio to a receiver via a digital connection. At first, I found this claim to be absurd, because I was sure that this was exactly what I had been doing for several years, ever since I got my Audigy sound card and Inspire 5.1 Digital 5700 speakers/receiver system. However, I then stumbled across a page at Creative's knowledge base which explained the situation to me. Essentially, what I had been using for years was what is known as a Digital DIN, a proprietary connector from Creative which now seems to be defunct. Essentially, using an 8-pin DIN connection, they were able to combine an analogue 5.1 signal into a single cable, which could also transfer encoded S/PDIF audio digitally. Therefore, what I have been using for so long under the belief that it was digital was in fact technically a converted analogue signal (not helped by the definitions used by Creative's software - in order to enable audio output over DIN, you have to select "Digital Output Only" in the Mixer).

Essentially, my speakers and my previous sound card date back to a different era, and are essentially not completely compatible with newer sound cards. With the Digital DIN system seemingly abandoned, I am going to have to look to alternatives. The best solution I can see, judging by another article in Creative's Knowledge Base, is to use an 8-pin DIN to 3 mini-jack lead - much like this one on eBay, which I have in fact just bought. This should, touch wood, solve my 5.1 problem, by allowing me to combine the three analogue outputs on my sound card into a single digital connection which can plug into my receiver. Of course, this still doesn't fix the lack of tone control on my sound card, but that's a separate issue and one that can only really be fixed by picking up another sound card.

Ah well, at least I now know that the lack of 5.1 audio over digital was down to my own misconceptions rather than an oversight on Creative's part. I really wish they hadn't abandoned the Digital DIN solution - as much of a pain in the arse as proprietary systems can be, this one genuinely seemed to be a brilliant idea - but it looks like there is finally light at the end of the tunnel as far as my audio woes are concerned...

Unless, of course, it turns out I'm barking up the wrong tree and this doesn't work after all.