Showing posts with label 1080p. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1080p. Show all posts

2/13/2012

Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas - A New Day (2008) Review

Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas - A New Day  (2008)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
That Celine Dion is one of the most generous and sincere artists in music today is pretty well-known. While she has taken a beating from the media and from detractors for being over-the-top in some of her vocals, a bit too dorky in her performances and in interviews, she has remained (sans the chest-beating) true to herself and to the music and fans that made her famous.
This DVD set is not only for those who saw the show and want a copy of it to remember, or for those who didn't get to see it and wanted to, but it really feels first and foremost like a gift to her die-hard fans. Most others wouldn't care for the extended amount of footage (over 3 hours worth) dedicated to the trivia about the show, its creation, execution and evolution over the past four years.
I did see the show twice in 2003, and feel that the DVD does a wonderful job of recreating the experience, but if you didn't get to Vegas and sit in the theater that was specifically built for this show, it's not the same.
A couple of other differences for those who saw the show: Nature Boy was omitted as the opening and swapped out for the more appropriate "A New Day Has Come" .. I always thought it was odd that the title song from the show was not sung back in 2003. Also removed is the tacky and ill-fitting cover of "Fever", but added in are "Love Can Move Mountains" (one of my favorites of hers of all time) and "River Deep, Mountain High" in full Tina Turner Tribute mode.
I do regret the omission of two of my personal favorite songs from the shows I saw in 2003 - Je'taime Encore (I Love You Still), one of her most haunting French-language songs she's ever recorded, and the show-ending "What a Wonderful World" that, as she sang it, had black and white photos of people from the audience on the giant LCD screen behind her. It was a touching and intimate way to end a very theatrical production. You CAN, however, get both of the audio recordings of these two songs on the live CD of the show that was released a few years back.
The fan tribute on here, while often cheesy, is also an endearing look at some of her biggest fans. That Celine was gracious and kind as she met personally with them all, moved to tears by some of their personal 'thank you's to her, underscores the grace and humility that accompanies the great gift of song she received.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas - A New Day (2008)

An unprecedented 5 year run! More than 700 sold out shows! 3 million spectators! Everything about the record -breaking show that changed the history of entertainment scene in Las Vegas! This 2 setBlu-ray Disc includes Celine Dion's show in the colosseum at Caesars Palace and three exclusive documentaries: Travel to Las Vegas with the fans- join Celine at home, in her car, in her dressing room and even backstage - find out all the secrets of "A New Day" More Than 5 hours of Never Before Seen Footage Blu-ray Disc Trackslisting: 1.A New Day Has Come 2.The Power Of Love 3.It's All Coming Back To Me Now 4.Because You Loved Me 5.To Love You More 6.I'm Alive 7.I Drove All Night 8.Seduces Me 9.If I Could 10.Pour Que Tu M'aimes Encore 11.I Surrender 12.Ammore Annascunnuto 13.All The Way 14.I've Got The World On A String 15.I Wish 16.Love Can Move Mountains 17.River Deep, Mountain High 18.My Heart Will Go On Disc 1 The Concert (93 minutes)Because You Loved Me - A Tribute to The Fans (41 minutes) Disc 2 A New Day: All Access (120 minutes) A New Day: The Secrets (53 minutes) Video/Audio:Mastered in High Definition PCM (uncompressed) Stereo (48kHz/24bit) Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound (96 kHz/24bit) Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (448kbps)

Buy NowGet 21% OFF

Click here for more information about Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas - A New Day (2008)

Read More...

12/18/2011

Digital Video Essentials High Definition (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) (2005) Review

Digital Video Essentials High Definition (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) (2005)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
This ran fine on my Toshiba XA2.. both the HD and the standard DVD sides. I am somewhat familiar with the configuration and setup of HD sets.. I tinker with mine a lot. The DVD side... good instructions on how to do anything you need to do, and will get fairly in depth. The HD side is a rip... they just give you the test patterns and configuration screens.. no how to's, no instructions. I guess they just wanted to sell the DVD version all over again, with the addition of the HD material. Since I already had the DVD version... I feel like I wasted my money. I can download most of the HD stuff on the dvd from the web.
IF you dont have a disc like this already.. this would be a good disk for you.
If you already have a something (Non HD).. then dont bother.. just use what you have. Hopefully someone will bring out a decent disc with ALL HD content including the instructional videos and info, so we can have the HD config screens with the instructions... for those of us who dont do it for a living.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Digital Video Essentials High Definition (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) (2005)



Buy NowGet 17% OFF

Click here for more information about Digital Video Essentials High Definition (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) (2005)

Read More...

11/09/2011

Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics (2008) Review

Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics  (2008)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I've been using the Digital Video Essentials DVD to calibrate my TVs for quite a few years and I've always loved the results, so when I heard that a Blu-Ray edition was coming, I was ecstatic.
Well, now that I've got it, it still does an excellent job, but for owners of the DVD edition, you're really not getting anything new. Almost everything on here is directly from the original DVD, only remastered in 1080p. There are a few things that have been added that pertain to LCD technology and explanation of the HD color standards, but the vast majority of content is exactly the same as the DVD.
The one thing that is a definite improvement over the DVD edition is the menu system. Instead of being forced to fast-forward through explanations to get to the test patterns, now you can bring up the pop-up menu and select a test pattern directly. So, once you've learned how to use the test patterns, you don't have to watch the explanations again in order to get to them.
So, if your Blu-Ray budget is a little short and you already own the DVD edition, then I'd say just stick with what you've got. After calibrating my TV again with the new Blu-Ray edition, I ended up with the exact same settings that I achieved with the DVD, so in that respect, you're not going to get a more enhanced calibration with the Blu-Ray edition. Apart from that, I'd say its worth it just for the improved menu system, if you don't mind re-purchasing basically the same thing over again.
If you don't own the DVD, I'd say buy this immediately, but don't let the "HD Basics" tagline fool you. This can be pretty technical if you've never used a disc like this before. Just take your time, watch all the intro videos (and there's a lot to the intros), and you should be fine.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics (2008)



Buy NowGet 37% OFF

Click here for more information about Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics (2008)

Read More...

7/26/2011

Avia II (2008) Review

Avia II (2008)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
My sharp aquos looked good as soon as i got it out of the box. About a month later, i decided to take the plunge and purchase this calibration dvd. After viewing the test patterns and using the color filters, i noticed a significant difference in how much better the color is. i didn't notice so much of a difference in the other settings as far as sharpness and contrast go. Even after setting the brightness with the dvd, i ended up bumping it up just a bit for daytime viewing.
I didn't get much out of the audio adjustments on my surround sound system. i got more out of the adjustments from simply using my receiver manual and remote.
In the end, after seeing other folks LCD tvs, i can tell mine has been adjusted properly with the test patterns. This was something i didn't notice until i saw someone elses tv and it was obvious the saturation needed to be adjusted.
All in all, it was a good investment. Not quite sure it was worth the $35 or so i paid for it, but my tv looks even that much better now that i have used it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Avia II (2008)

From the makers of Avia and Avia Pro comes the definitive and easy-to-use tutorial for optimizing your home theater. This all-inclusive guide to home theater calibration for NTSC, HD-DVD, Blu-ray or PAL formats comes with more than 200 test patterns to achieve superior video quality and nearly 100 audio tones for 5.1 and 6.1 channels, plus Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus. Basic and advanced signals allow you to select the test pattern or sound tone needed for a specific calibration, and tutorials cover various home theater components, speaker types and placement, making connection and wiring, and using a sound meter and home theater environments.

Buy NowGet 20% OFF

Click here for more information about Avia II (2008)

Read More...

7/01/2011

Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc Edition Review

Spears and Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc Edition
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I suppose I really should have chosen a different title for my review as I have not tried the Digital Video Essentials one; however, I have tried Avia, one from Monster, and of course the THX and Disney optimizers that come on various dvds, and this one makes those look like a joke. It's easy to navigate through the various test patterns, and within each pattern is readily available help information with correct and incorrect examples to give you an idea of what you should be looking for. I found the majority of them easy to use and helpful, though I must confess that with a couple of them (I think one was the chroma one) I couldn't tell any difference, either with the examples or with the actual test pattern. Additionally, some of them (e.g., the cadence ones) seemed to me essentially pointless in that they tested performance aspects not readily correctable; however, I suppose they would be useful for deciding whether or not to keep or return a product. With this disc, I was able to dial in a noticeably improved picture. I personally don't care about the lack of audio test tones as I leave audio calibration up to Audyssey and my receiver, but the DTS Master Audio and to a lesser extent the Dolby TruHD clips are fun. Oh, yeah, and they include the blue filter glasses too, which is great. Not having the glasses included in any of the calibration discs I have bought previously, until now I had always just skipped over those patterns. I highly recommend this calibration disc. It has given me confidence that I am getting the best performance possible from my setup.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc Edition



Buy Now

Click here for more information about Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc Edition

Read More...