I'll skip the ones already mentioned a dozen times.

With a good sub, some of my favorite short scenes....

Monsters Inc. when the giant chicken walks. Feels like your house is being crushed. I always get nervous in a 9/11 kind of way. Also in this movie: sock explosion will crush your chest at reference level, esp if your sub can hit subsonic.

POTC when the coin hits the bottom of the harbor. Great wave effect. Properly setup, the single sub melts with the other 5-7 speakers and makes your TV the epicenter of the wave. Great for surround and bass demos.

THX trailer with the globe that explodes and melts into "THX", I forget the name. Found on Avia S&V setup disc and SW Ep 2. (and other places) Terrified my kids when I played this at reference level, and they're used to loud bass.

BMG: "Audio" on DVD-Audio disc....track 4 has the Big Drum booming constantly. Plus lots of different types of bass, different sounds, levels, frequencies. Not for a cheap, boomy sub.

Shaolin Soccer DTS. Kicking practise on a wall.

What is your favorite scene to demo your surround sound?

I really like the scene in "The Patriot" when Mel Gibson, and his to sons go to rescue Heath Ledger. The aim small miss small scene. I think it has alot of differerent detail, and it's a nice scene to demo.

Any of the tornado scenes in Twister. The first one is good, but the second one (under the bridge) and the drive in are slightly better (drive in being best).

The bank robbery scene that opens up Strange Days. It is one of the most effective uses of multi-channel surround sound that I can think of.

The destruction of the bridge in True Lies, when the missle split across from each other in the rear channels is also a great example of split surround sound.

Unfortunately, many of today's mutli-channel mixes are overly agressive. Many subtle nuances that surround sound can (should?) take advantage of are blown away with blarring soundtracks and massive explosions.

fitprod

For the DTS track I use the first fight scene in the Colessum from Gladiator.

For DD I use several tracks from LOTR

I always seem to go back to the arena battle from Star Wars Episode II. Works great.

Unfortunately, many of today's mutli-channel mixes are overly agressive. Many subtle nuances that surround sound can (should?) take advantage of are blown away with blarring soundtracks and massive explosions.

fitprod [/B][/QUOTE]

I totally agree with that. It's to much overkill.

I normally use the Quidditch match from Harry Potter 2, or the parking garage chase from Tomorrow Never Dies.

The F-15/MiG-29 dogfight around Air Force One in Air Force One is a pretty good scene for demo purposes.

I like the opening of both Blade films as well as the entirety of Air Force One. Jurassic Park Chapter 11 DD or DTS will also do the trick.

Either the final battle in "last of the mohicans" or when everything starts getting blown up in "independence day"

The opening battle in Gladiator or the D-Day landing sequence in Saving Private Ryan.

The videos for Bohemian Rhapsody and Bicycle Race on Queen Video Hits Volume 1 (DTS sound, anamorphic picture).

The initial battle scene of the LOTR:FOTR EE in DTS.

The Japanese attack scene in Pearl Harbor. Terrible movie overall, but this scene in DTS rocks. It's the only reason I still have the DVD in my collection.

The opening battle scene in Master and Commander, not only does it have aggressive sound coming from the cannonballs flying across, but it also provides some nice subtle surround action with the creaks of wood and the sound of footsteps above deck.

gunfight in Open Range

my THX WOW! LD has some dope scenes in it.

Yes, that's the one. Then the Gladiator opening battle, then Normandy on Saving Private Ryan. For Subwoofer, The Haunting. All DTS of course.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by NaturalMystic79
gunfight in Open Range


I forgot about that one. I love it.

I use several of the above, plus the DTS audio o Seven Bridges Road from the Hell Freezes Over dvd.

I have the new DD 5.1EX DVD of this. Although most of the material is 10 to 20 years old, it remains to be one of the best home theater demos ever created.

- Jonathan Harker's dialogue with Dracula at the dinner table in Bram Stoker's Dracula - great subtle eerie sound effects that emit from mutliple sound sources in the surround channels. Not aggressive, but very very effective.

Star Wars Episode 2 when Obi Wan is following Jango Fett and Jango release the bombs. I just love the sound it makes. Never heard that kind of noise before. It's great.

Saxon

While the whole movie itself sounds great, the crash scene in Cast Away is absolutely incredible in DTS. I listen to that one frequently, as it definitely shows what a good sound system should be.