From http://www.homemediamagazine.com/ind...2&newsid=11663

The winner for Best Audio Quality should surprise some people around these parts (you know who you are).



High-Def Award Winners:

High Def Title of the Year: 300 (Blu-ray), Warner Home Video

Best Live-Action Blu-ray: Casino Royale, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Live-Action HD DVD: Hot Fuzz, Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Best Animated: Ratatouille (Blu-ray), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Best Picture Quality: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Blu-ray), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Best Audio Quality: Transformers (HD DVD), Paramount Home Entertainment

Best Bonus Feature: 300 (HD DVD), Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture, Warner Home Video

Most Innovative Use of New Technology: HD DVD U-Shop feature (Internet purchase ability), Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Best Long-Form Music Video: Dave Mathews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Music Hall (Blu-ray), Sony BMG

Best Catalog: Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s Cut, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Best Collection/Multidisc Set: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

How did 300 get title of the year? It's a grain fest and looks like crap in Hi Def.

Probably because it sold a crapload of copies.

What I wanna know is why they gave "Title of the Year" to the Blu-ray version. The HD-DVD has the PiP feature(which they themselves deemed the year's "Best Bonus Feature"), so shouldn't it get the edge?

Isn't 300 on BD the highest seller of any title regardless of format?

What they left off:

Best Overall Supplemental/bonus material (exclusive to HiDef edition): Ratatouille

Best documentary: Planet Earth

Best studio: Warner Bros. (they should just give out an award like this, just to embarrass Fox)

No mention of 2001? Is Kingdom of Heaven that much better in the catalog category?

Seems a little skewed towards blu. 300 has more features on HD-DVD so I think that's a little messed up.

Isn't Bonus Features the same thing as Supplemental material?

I don't think you can give Title of the Year to any combo, considering the reported problems.

The Bonus Feature award is for the one specific feature, bluescreen picture in picture, that was deemed the best. Ratatouille won for the best overall supplemental material.

Is Transformers the best audio title available? It definitely seemed flat to me.

Transformers getting best audio is a joke. I can think of many other discs with much better sound.

Best Audio Quality: Transformers (HD DVD), Paramount Home Entertainment

What? Its only got DD+ ! Thats not True HD sound! Not like PCM or TrueHD

There are plenty of other movies that had better sound...why pick Transformers? Did the public vote or just a few random guys?

Just a note, DVD Talk voted in these awards, and I don't have a problem with too many of them, except for U-Shop getting Most Innovative Special Feature. I also don't see why the BD version of 300 won over the HD DVD, as sales weren't a factor. For what it's worth, I voted for Hot Fuzz as Best Live Action, Pirates as best picture, and Transformers as best sound.

Great. Now tell us WHY you voted Transformers as best sound.

Yeah, I don't get that. I'm guess 300 Blu-Ray won disc or the year simply by leading in sales? Because they freely admit the HD DVD PIP commentary as the best feature of the year. And the 300 HD-DVD has all the stuff the Blu-Ray version has, PLUS the best feature of the year. How is that not the disc of the year?

So according to the article, the awards are not so much for this year, but the period dating all the way back to April '06 for HD-DVD and June '06 for Blu-ray?

I wish they'd waited a few more weeks to give out the awards. Something tells me Blade Runner would've won for both Best Catalog and Multidisc Set.

I felt Transformers was my favorite audio experience in theatres and it is my favorite audio experience on home video (somewhat low gunfire notwithstanding) so it's nice to see it get its due.

I don't see how they can give KOH the award for best catalog when it contains no extras - that's not what we want to be encouraging.

I wouldn't have voted Casino Royale for best live-action BD. The picture quality is fine but not the greatest, and the features aren't anything to write home about. I would have voted for Hairspray - great picture and sound, 2 commentary tracks including some PiP material, and a second disc with HD extras. Or was it ineligible because they have a separate award for multidisc sets?

They have a long way to go with new features if the most "innovative" thing they can come up with is something for shopping.

Because it's got 5-star sound without a lossless track?

That's not possible. Only completely uncompressed sound can be any good. Silly people. Only PCM blows you away. Lossless compression is only good if you're teh half deaf and DD+ is even worse than that. For shame! Nominating a movie like transformers. Everyone that voted for must be half deaf clueless fools who can't appreciate good sound *sarcasm*

BTW: 300 looked fantastic. It's grainy because the grain is digital. The 300 disc did a fantastic job of recreating the source material.

I stopped reading after Hi Def Title of the Year.

Terrible film, the Blu-ray version is inferior in every way to the HD.

Title of the year should be Ratatouille.

I'm pretty sure Transformers will win an Oscar for the sound so it's not totally unrealistic that it wins this award even though the sound format isn't the best it could be.

Well having watched Transformers last night, I certainly would not disagree with the choice of best audio quality. Of the hi-def titles I have so far watched it really impressed me the most, particularly the detail. Yes, a lossless soundtrack would probably have been even better but what we got was very impressive.

Bits and compression aside, the audio of Transformers is incredibly detailed and the DD+ track does a wonderful job of reproducing it. Just listen to the scene when Col. Sharp is in the antenna farm requesting an ident from Blackout. The sounds of each computer, keyboard, and shuffling back and forth of the personnel are clearly audible and not drowned out by the dialogue or music. Also, listen to the intricate sound detail during the whole sequence when Sam and his dad are buying Bumblebee. The radio, the wind, even the clown and Manny arguing in the background... I'm not referring to the louder moments in those scenes (which also sound great) but the "quiet" moments. The sound design is amazing.