Are people complaining about the first movie? I'm certainly not. All my gripes were with the 2nd.

The transfers may be good, but none of the 3 come close to what I consider to be reference, except for the AQ of Returns... that's all. If I want to impress someone with HD-DVD, I will not be showing any of these titles.
JMO .

ETA: I did think the main title sequence of Returns was awesome.
Maybe I'd demo just that part & then put King Kong in.

Not every HD DVD is going to be a reference disc. I always go back to the example of Sleepy Hollow. It's got stunning picture, but it's not a movie you would demo.

I think the picture quality of Returns is great. No problems at all IMO. Flawless, very detailed and accurately displays the director's intentions for the color.

I still think King Kong is my reference disc for picture, but I wouldnt hesitate to show Superman Returns either. Its right up there with Batman Begins.

I hear ya... but I prefer Hollow to Returns, looks a whole lot more like film to me... maybe it's that it was shot on HD equipment. Opinions seem to be mixed around the various boards. Some love it, some hate it. I'm still happy to have a copy though, great flick, and maybe the best TrueHD yet!

Trust me once you see Ant Bully you will put it right at the top for not only releases this week but at the top of top transfers available period. Everything about this transfer is amazing. The picture quality is just simply stunning. I watched part of it again this morning just to give the picture a second look and it really is one of the best releases yet in terms of PQ, at least IMO.

PS..

I actually would demo Sleepy Hollow especialy if you were showing people what HD can do for films with a more stylistic approach. When you look at the SD and HD versions side by side the difference between the two is extremly noticable. After watching the HD version the SD version just looks extremly muddy to me now. The HD version really makes this film even more beautiful than it already was and this was always one of my favorite transfers even in SD.

I am a big fan of cross processing and the movies that use it like Traffic, Sleepy Hollow and Pitch Black. They have always been at the top for my favorite transfers even in SD. HD just takes Cross Processing to a whole new level as the contrast is so much more impressive compared to SD. The one scene that still sticks in my head as one of the most impressive I have ever seen in HD is the one from Pitch Black when they do a close up of Radha Mitchell when the blue sun rises. Its absolutly stunning as you can see every single pore & every little bead of sweat of her face. It was my very first wow moment in HD and it still remains as powerful now as it was then. There are 2 movies that are cross processed that I am waiting for that I expect to look just as impressive and those are Man On Fire and Domino. Both should look awsome in HD.

PS..

I watched The Ant Bully last week and the disc does indeed have terrific PQ. An entertaining movie as well.

I don't see what there is to debate--that's how Bryan Singer shot it, period. It looks exactly like it should. What are people expecting?

Wait, wait, maybe it's people who saw the IMAX 3-D version and are now complaining that this one is plain ol' 2-D.

Obviously there's two ways of looking at things: one is does it match the director's intent... the other is how does it look compared to other HD-DVDs. Two different approaches, possibly two different results... both worthy of discussion IMO, at least at this stage of the game. I agree nailing the transfer is most important.

Cool..I'm passing by Walmart in a bit, may have to see if they have it.

I agree, that scene in Pitch Black with the blue sun is a jaw-dropper! Simply spectacular!

Yes, and I understand the mentality of all HD DVDs should look amazing, but Superman Returns doesn't have a bad transfer. It may have a transfer that is less stunning than Batman Begins or King Kong, but by no stretch of the imagination is it bad.

Agreed... it's still fun to compare though. I don't agree with all the rankings, but I enjoy reading this thread over at AVS. Looking at the large number of replies & views, it sure seems like a lot of other people enjoy reading it as well.... pretty useful for those just starting to get into HD-DVD.

That thread is a joke. The guy who started it thinks the grain on Sleepy Hollow is all artifacts.

It's definitely not perfect. Superman Returns is ranked above Sleepy Hollow.

Speaking of Superman Returns, I just read Adam's review, and I have to say it's a shame he felt so unenthusiastic about it. Personally, I loved it.

Anybody get A Christmas Story yet? I'm very anxious to hear about the quality of this disc.

Yeah I recieved this a couple days early from Amazon. I havent watched the whole thing yet but I did pop it in a check a few scenes out and I was very impressed with what I saw. Its a very clean picture that had zero flaws from what I saw. Its definitly a massive improvment over the SD DVD and this just adds another notch into the older films catagory that look stunning. I am really happy this one turned out so well as it is one of my all time favorite holiday movies as I am sure it is with alot of other people as well. They just dont make movies like this anymore! This is actually one of the few films I would update again and again and again and never complain. Its just a must have for any collection.

PS..

HD DVD review:
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/christmasstory.html

Blu-ray review:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/christmasstory.html

I like how he says he giggled when he saw the DD+ mono soundtrack and wondered if such a thing really exists. Yeah Peter, you heard it on The Searchers and Casablanca, remember?

Those reviews claim the aspect ratio is 2.20:1. That can't be right. This was a 1.85:1 movie theatrically and on the last DVD. Frankly, it looks overly tight even at that ratio.

Obviously a typo, I watched it yesterday, it's 16x9. Not a showcase HD-DVD (wouldn't expect it to be either), but I enjoyed it.

I also saw Christmas Vacation and I thought the PQ was pretty comparable.. both are a little on the soft side, but definitely better than the SD, and much better than the HD Digest Review indicated. If anything, I give the nod to Christmas Vacation, color presentation particularly on the outdoor night scenes looked really nice. Saw no problems with either, and I'd recommend both.

Those are absolutely garbage reviews period. Yet another reviewer shows they have absolutely zero knowledge of movie transfers and what to expect from a HD transfer. While I will admit I haven't watched the whole movie yet so there could be some dirt and such as he stated however the fact that his review takes on a negative tone because it was shot with a soft focus filter is ridiculous. THAT IS THE WAY IT WAS SHOT AND THE WAY THE DIRECTOR WANTED IT LOOK THUS THAT IS THE WAY A PROPER TRANSFER OF THIS MOVIE SHOULD LOOK REGARDLESS OF THE FORMAT ITS BEING PRESENTED ON.

I am sorry but I am so sick of reviewers bashing a transfer because its an artistically stylized film. Reviewers of all people should know this stuff. its not rocket science for christ sake. If that is the way the director shot the film then that is the way it should look regardless of the format its being watched on. Blah, cant even read any more reviews from people like this, he just gets added to list of reviewers I avoid like the plague. It still surprises me how many reviewers there are out there that just dont get it. This is a pretty substantial improvement over the SD version and it isn't supposed to look razor sharp and super 3D as this reviewer was obviously hoping it would.

Again I have not watched the whole film so there may in fact be some of the dirt and scratches he referred to but this film should without a doubt have a soft look to it as that is the way it was intended to be viewed. Do not listen to this guy and judge the transfer for yourself. I am happy with what I have seen so far (Watched like 30 minutes).

I have a question tho, why are the BD and HD-DVD reviews word for word identical? Did this guy even watch both discs or did he just watch one and then just use that review for both releases? That is really really lame IMO, even if it is basically the same transfer just on a different format. These titles should get different reviews period. I just think it is really super lame that he took the identical review and used it for both releases. I am so done with that guy as a reviewer.

He even forgot to switch the Blu-Ray for HD-DVD in the HD-DVD review for this passage.

"All of those extras have been ported over to this Blu-ray release."

Honestly any site that would basically use the same identical review on multiple releases should be banned from reviewing titles especially cause we have a format war going on and everyone is very interested in seeing what, if any, the differences in the transfer are. Even if there are none and its an identical transfer you can at least say that instead of recycling reviews for multiple releases. Super lame IMO

You lost me at "garbadge..."