Incredible Hulk DVD review
04-20-01, 01:21 AM
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I remembered seeing a thread where someone mentioned wanting a review of the recently released Incredible Hulk DVD. I just got mine, so here goes...
It's Region 2+4 in PAL format, so you may have trouble viewing this in the US. I watch mine on a Sampo 620 and it plays fine on my NTSC TV. I'm no expert at reviews, so I'll just tell you straight out what I liked and what I didn't...
What I liked-
Although a better picture could've been used for the front cover, the artwork is nice. Has a card inside with pictures (same as ones on cover) and descriptions
of each episode.
I thought the video quality was great. Far better than the noisy, washed out Columbia House videos. If viewing on a NTSC TV, this will of course depend
on your PAL>NTSC conversion. My player does a good job at it, but I've heard some players don't (do a good job) and most don't do it at all. I tried using
my worldwide VCR to perform the conversion and it was no where near the quality of the DVD player's.
A cool little intro before the menu comes up. The menu is just a still, but the ending theme (which I love) plays while you wait.
Includes the original preview of each episode, which is cool. There are chapter stops each time it fades away to where the commercials would be.
What I didn't like-
The selection for the 3 episodes is strange. They are 3 consecutive eps from the middle of the 2nd season. None of which are ones I would have picked, but
I enjoyed them all ("Haunted" is a good twist). Also, I think more episodes could have been included. Three 45 min eps isn't too shabby when you consider
what most US releases of TV shows have, but more would have certainly fit on this dual-layer disc. I would gladly pay more for more.
The audio's pitch is too high. I don't know a lot about this, but I think I heard it's from the film to PAL transfer in the disc's mastering (or maybe the NTSC
to PAL transfer?). Anyway, I've heard it's a common problem, but I know it could easily have been corrected so it's a shame. It's not a big distraction,
though. I didn't even notice at first, but when I was comparing the picture to that of the Columbia House videos, I immediately could tell the difference in the
audio pitch. My player doesn't have a key control (an Apex I had a while ago did), but that may solve it. Anyone know if one step down on this control
would correct it or is that too low? I just play through a TV, so I can't comment on how the audio quality is on a nice system. I think it's 2 channel mono.
No extras. But did I really expect any? No.
The layer change happens as David Banner is crossing the street in the 2nd episode. Doesn't hurt anything, but why not do it during one of the chapter stop
fades?
Some other notes-
I think each episode (with preview, beg & end credits) clock in at 45 mins each. This seems a little short for an hour long 70s TV show, since that means
there would have been 15 mins of commercials. I read that the Columbia House videos have edits and they clock at 45 mins each, too. Can anyone confirm
whether the DVD is uncut or not? Is it possible the running time is less a few minutes since it's PAL and the frame rate is less? If these are edited, that's
really lame.
The http://www.universal-playback.com website lists the DVD as Volume 1. The DVD itself mentions nothing of being a volume 1, but I hope more are to follow
soon. I paid $17 USD and all-in-all I'm quite happy with it. The pros are far stronger than the cons (which are mostly common ones that we just have to
learn to live with, I guess).
Hope this review was in some way helpful to someone. Please add anything.
It's Region 2+4 in PAL format, so you may have trouble viewing this in the US. I watch mine on a Sampo 620 and it plays fine on my NTSC TV. I'm no expert at reviews, so I'll just tell you straight out what I liked and what I didn't...
What I liked-
Although a better picture could've been used for the front cover, the artwork is nice. Has a card inside with pictures (same as ones on cover) and descriptions
of each episode.
I thought the video quality was great. Far better than the noisy, washed out Columbia House videos. If viewing on a NTSC TV, this will of course depend
on your PAL>NTSC conversion. My player does a good job at it, but I've heard some players don't (do a good job) and most don't do it at all. I tried using
my worldwide VCR to perform the conversion and it was no where near the quality of the DVD player's.
A cool little intro before the menu comes up. The menu is just a still, but the ending theme (which I love) plays while you wait.
Includes the original preview of each episode, which is cool. There are chapter stops each time it fades away to where the commercials would be.
What I didn't like-
The selection for the 3 episodes is strange. They are 3 consecutive eps from the middle of the 2nd season. None of which are ones I would have picked, but
I enjoyed them all ("Haunted" is a good twist). Also, I think more episodes could have been included. Three 45 min eps isn't too shabby when you consider
what most US releases of TV shows have, but more would have certainly fit on this dual-layer disc. I would gladly pay more for more.
The audio's pitch is too high. I don't know a lot about this, but I think I heard it's from the film to PAL transfer in the disc's mastering (or maybe the NTSC
to PAL transfer?). Anyway, I've heard it's a common problem, but I know it could easily have been corrected so it's a shame. It's not a big distraction,
though. I didn't even notice at first, but when I was comparing the picture to that of the Columbia House videos, I immediately could tell the difference in the
audio pitch. My player doesn't have a key control (an Apex I had a while ago did), but that may solve it. Anyone know if one step down on this control
would correct it or is that too low? I just play through a TV, so I can't comment on how the audio quality is on a nice system. I think it's 2 channel mono.
No extras. But did I really expect any? No.
The layer change happens as David Banner is crossing the street in the 2nd episode. Doesn't hurt anything, but why not do it during one of the chapter stop
fades?
Some other notes-
I think each episode (with preview, beg & end credits) clock in at 45 mins each. This seems a little short for an hour long 70s TV show, since that means
there would have been 15 mins of commercials. I read that the Columbia House videos have edits and they clock at 45 mins each, too. Can anyone confirm
whether the DVD is uncut or not? Is it possible the running time is less a few minutes since it's PAL and the frame rate is less? If these are edited, that's
really lame.
The http://www.universal-playback.com website lists the DVD as Volume 1. The DVD itself mentions nothing of being a volume 1, but I hope more are to follow
soon. I paid $17 USD and all-in-all I'm quite happy with it. The pros are far stronger than the cons (which are mostly common ones that we just have to
learn to live with, I guess).
Hope this review was in some way helpful to someone. Please add anything.
04-20-01, 01:56 AM
#2
DVD Talk Legend
I'm curious about your Sampo DVD player... does it convert PAL to NTSC? I live in the US and I want a cheapie VD player that will do all the DVDs, MP3s, CD's, VCDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and also convert PAL to NTSC so I can see it on my TV. Thanks.
04-20-01, 05:18 AM
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Originally posted by vulew1
I think each episode (with preview, beg & end credits) clock in at 45 mins each. This seems a little short for an hour long 70s TV show, since that means
there would have been 15 mins of commercials. I read that the Columbia House videos have edits and they clock at 45 mins each, too. Can anyone confirm
whether the DVD is uncut or not? Is it possible the running time is less a few minutes since it's PAL and the frame rate is less? If these are edited, that's
really lame.
I think each episode (with preview, beg & end credits) clock in at 45 mins each. This seems a little short for an hour long 70s TV show, since that means
there would have been 15 mins of commercials. I read that the Columbia House videos have edits and they clock at 45 mins each, too. Can anyone confirm
whether the DVD is uncut or not? Is it possible the running time is less a few minutes since it's PAL and the frame rate is less? If these are edited, that's
really lame.
Many Movie producers get ticked because their 1 1/2 hour movies turn into full 2 hour movies with commercials on TV. Heck, you can rarely see a full 2 hour movie on TV that doesn't take 2 1/2 or 3 hours to show.
Don't worry, if each episode is 45 minutes then you got the full thing (not edited).
04-20-01, 04:02 PM
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Trigger: Yeah, the Sampo 620 does PAL->NTSC. I don't remember if it's a menu option or not.
