And the other 30% of the thread is people complaining about BB employees.

Business as usual.

Got it from Walmart, think it was $16.90 something, I had to get other stuff, so I didn't care much about the price. And yes, got the right one.

Will be watching the movie tonight. There's a very nice picture of Monica Bellucci on Disc 2 thru the 3-D concept section. AV are good from a quick check.

You're using S-Video on your Flatscreen? Doesn't it have Component Video hook-ups?

As for the movie itself, I'm looking at it as just Part IIb, with Reloaded being Part IIa.

Reloaded and Revolutions were obviously intended to be one film, just as much as Kill Bill vol. 1 & 2 were. So if you view Reloaded & Revolutions as one movie, much as you would, say a 4-hour LOTR movie, then the whole experience may be better althogether.

To be fair, you have to have a good eye, and know what to look for, to tell the difference between S-video and component on 32" tv's. So to many, it's not worth the money to get the more expensive (if you're comparing quality products) componet cables. And some cheaper flatscreens, as well as DVD players don't even have the capability.

100% agree!

Probably cuz there's less of it to go over... widescreen chopping it off and all.

BTW, my post wasn't exactly sarcasm. The Matrix sequels are shot Super-35, so you do actually see a bit more of their heads while losing stuff on the sides. That's kinda besides the point though, I guess.

K

Personally, i don't see how relabeling the movies in your head really changes anything as far as enjoying either movie more

Wouldn't the shortest possible version of a LOTR movie be roughly 9 and 1/2 hours? Rounding down, are we?

K

Well, what I'm saying is...well let's face it, Revolutions picks up right where Reloaded left off, so if the Warkowski Brothers would have released it as one big movie, the audience would have come away with the feeling that "The Matrix II" was the greatest sequal ever. Meaning that because the two films (parts) were broken up, the sense of flow between the two was interupted, leaving people with a bit of disconnect when viewing Reloaded in May, and then going back in November to see Revolutions.

In essence it was like waiting between seasons of a TV show to see the conclusion of a cliff-hanger, only except this time, it was two 2-hour + movies here.

What I'm saying is that had both parts been played together as one, the Matrix "sequal" would have come across much better, to both fans and critics.

Know what I mean, Vern?

I found it a great dvd, although I didn't find there where as many extras as with Reloaded

IMO, the fact that "one movie" was split into two parts had little, if anything, to do with what went wrong with the "sequels". And I highly doubt critics would be any kinder to a 5-hour sequel. Hell, part of the whole appeal, as far as I was concerned, was the cliffhanger aspect of it. It just didn't work the way I expected it to. It had lots to admire and impress, but ultimately, it failed to live up to a lot of people's expectations (including mine) and was not a satisfying conclusion (or continuation, for that matter). Although I like Reloaded and Revolutions (the latter more), The Matrix stands on its own and at this point, after having descended through the depths of Rave-O-Zion and CGI Neo and "Dear God, why won't she die already?!" Trinity, I can't help but wonder... why, oh why didn't I take the blue pill?

K

you can get the matrix screensaver at thematrix.com. I dont know if it "top notch" though.

http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/

it is a little hard to find, it is in the "mainframe" section under screensavers.

the site also has a bunch of desktops in 5 sizes including 800x600

"Screensaver could not be installed. Please ensure that there is enough space on the disk and try again."

Any ideas? I can't get it to work.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/04...s_6093107.html

I can't wait to see this on Ebay: "Matrix Revolutions DVD w/Ubisoft reference!" ;-/

i'm sorry, but i just watched the battle for zion scene, and imo, there is no dynamic range at all. in other words, a gun shot is about as loud as somebody talking. the only reason why it sounds good is because there are alot of guns during that scene, and the bass is extremely loud, and strong. reloaded had the same problem, but the original sounded excellent, the dialogue wasn't recorded so low, and the sound effects had some range to them. maybe a dts track will help solve this problem.

This dvd was poorly made. Yes the sound sucks this is the worst 5.1 dolby sound I have heard on a new release. I have to crank the volume twice as loud as a normal dvd. And even then it doesnt sound right. The audio in a way sounds kinda distorted and high pitched. And at the same time it sounds really flat. Also picture is not as good as you people are saying. I would say its average. I watch all my movies in progressive scan on a projector and I could see quite a bit of compression artifacts on the solid green colors. I would rate it a 7 out of 10. I'm not sure why it looks so bad considering it has a nice bit rate. I have a presumption they half assed this release for the SE's that will follow.

You are so cool.


D

Yeah, I agree. The sound on both Reloaded and Revolutions was NOT all that great. However on the original, the sound was excellent. Shame the video transfer was shit. But hopefully that will change with the box set release.

I too thought the sound in the sequals was a bit flat. The martial arts fight scenes seemed a bit too *bleh*. Not enough bass in the "punches".

And yes, volume level is a problem with both sequals. My 5.1 system has a volume range of 0-30. Usual volume level for most DVDs is around 22-24. Really active and loud soundtracks, I'll set at 19-21, such as the LOTR sets and Underworld. With the Matrix sequals I set at like 23. And still the sound, namely the dialogue wasn't that vibrant.

As far as the picture quality goes, I found it fairly good on my 32" Sony Flatscreen in 16x9 enhanced mode. Colors vibrant and accurate, didn't see much compression artifacts or grain. I did notice the bitrate averaged at 6.5 or so. Not bad, but not great. A good 8.0 bitrate is excellent for a non-Superbit disc.

I too thought the sound in the sequals was a bit flat. The martial arts fight scenes seemed a bit too *bleh*. Not enough bass in the "punches".

I'd def agree on that. but of course, when the bullet time slow motion hits in, the sub goes crazy.

From how much Best Buy's employees suck to a DVD audio/video quality backlash in less than a page. Man, you guys are getting good at being concise!

Yeah, I've tried that screensaver before, but it seems poorly made. It doesn't look anywhere near what you see in the movies. As far as the desktops, I downloaded all the 1024x768 to my hd because I'm such a nerd, even though the only ones I've used are the Reloaded characters desktops on white background.

Thanks anyways.

The video/transfer quality is INCREDIBLE but yeah, I had to crank the sound way up just to hear the dialogue. This is the quietest DVD I've ever seen.

And it's not that Best Buy's bonus CD-ROM only comes with the Full Screen version - just that by the end of the day Tuesday the only bonus versions they have left are Full Screen because people have already bought up all of the widescreen ones.

That's a very common problem on DVD unfortunately. I've been hoping HD-DVD/Blu-ray or whatever brings with it a new sound format that's capable of serious dynamic range. Guns should be so loud in comparison to voices that they should scare the shit out of you when you're not expecting it. You'd have to have a hell of a sound system but, I'm up for spending more cash on gear if it means I could finally get that type of experience.

There are some DVD's out there that make a good effort. Road to Perdition when Tom Hanks busts out with the Tommy Gun is the best example I can think of off the top of my head (any other suggestions?). The vast majority of the DVD's I have do a very poor job at this though.

DTS and DD in it's current form is capable of better when the sound engineers make an effort. Revolutions is on the bad side in this regard though, yeah. The bass is still pretty crazy in a few spots, however. My house makes some structural sounds in those spots that I hadn't heard before.

I thought the DVD looked great. I agree with the low dialog... not a big deal for me though, i felt the rest sounded just fine.

i bought the region 3 edition last saturday only due to the fact that it is bundled with a 3d card (includes a leather card case). can anybody tell me if the R1 edition has the same bundle as well?! i got mine for about $32 canadian. just a dollar more than the regular 2 disc set edition of the Region 3 Hong Kong edition.

the disc and contents is exactly the same with the exception of the absence of the french audio track and the inclusion of a Thai dub.