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The Low Frequency Content Thread (films, games, music, etc)


maxmercy

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Wreck-it Ralph and End of Watch sounded like 30Hz with gentle roll offs to me, so no graphs unless requested.

 

Will post the others up tonite.

 

JSS

Yup, that matches my impression of WIR.

 

Rise Of The Guardians actually had more ULF. Anytime there was a magical 'poof'/Nightcrawler style 'bamf', there was a decent low end kick to it. Don't think it went really low, but there was certainly more LFE than WIR.

 

Oh, and the 3D was really well done.

 

 

Max

 

 

Max

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Running Scared:

 

Level - 1 Star (old way) 3 Stars (new way) 108.3dB

Extension - 5 Stars (5Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (29.5dB)

Execution - 4 Stars by Poll

 

Overall - 4.25 Stars

 

Recommendation - RENT by Poll

 

 

MaxRMS 113.4dB
LeqZ 89.2dB
MaxPeak 122.3dB
Dynamics 33.1dB
 
 
 
Just as the Level category will undergo changes, so will the Dynamics Category, using the Z-weighted SPLs.  I have yet to formulate a good ranking system.
 
 
JSS
 

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Taken 2:

 

Level - 2 Stars (new way) 1 Star (old way) 106.8dB

Extension - 4 Stars (10Hz)

Dynamics - 3 Stars (24.7dB)

Execution - 4 Stars - Good, much like Sin City.  It's as if they mixed w/ very little of the LFE channel.

 

Overall - 3.25 Stars 

 

Recommendation - Rent.  Not as good as the first, and very little re-watchability IMO.  I just cannot take Boris the Blade (and his part in Euro Trip - 'do you have miami wice?') seriously as a bad guy.  I laugh too much.

 

 

JSS

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An old film that I still enjoy this weekend:  Predator.

 

Over at AVS, apparently The Hobbit was a huge disappointment.  Too bad.  Those mountain giant things looked like they would have turned a well-equipped HT into a pile of drywall dust....

 

I have been gathering SPL data lately, here are the frontrunners so far (attached): 

 

All 5-Star films in Level so far:

 

 

JSS

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yeah the Hobbit was terrible for LFE in the imax i went to also.  I actually thought they had the subs turned off.  Sucks but I guess thats the way it was recorded.  at least they didnt neuter the Bluray ala Master and Commander or Avengers

Is The Hobbit BluRay OK then? I thought ppl were commenting that it was high passed....

 

JSS

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Very little LFE in The Hobbit in general (I watched the 3D BD version). As far as ULF goes, I don't think there was any, or if there was, it was so low as to be inconsequential. Overall, the soundtrack was not a particularly loud one either. When I listen to some soundtracks at Reference, I usually get a pleasant surprise from the dynamics. Didn't really get that with this movie.

 

Whoever mixed it dropped the ball big time (maybe they mixed it at home while grandma was sleeping in the room upstairs?). The scene with the mountain giants could have been incredible if the proper audio had backed up the visuals, instead the scene was downgraded to merely so-so because of the disappointing audio.

 

 

Max

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In terms of disappointment, Hobbit easily trumps 2012, Battleship, and certainly Avengers. I actually texted my brother twice during the movie to say "this has NO bass!" The scenes where Bilbo wears the ring....nothing, In the LOTR movies, you knew whenever Frodo put on the ring there'd be a treat. Other than the visuals, which are stunning, IMO, the Hobbit was an all around flop.

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Oh......well.  How disappointing.  Studio again lays a huge rotten egg.

 

It would be nice if BluRay specs are updated to include the 48fps it was shot in, and we could get the actual studio master if/when that happens.

 

That sucks.  What sucks more is if the dynamics were taken out.  Sounds like a 'nearfield' mix was done with less than capable equipment 'for the home'.

 

If they have kept the dynamics, the LFE can be salvaged if a shelf filter was used in post-production, like in Avengers and Battleship.

 

Well, looks like it'll get a view when the disc is available from Netflix, but maybe that's it.  

 

I am measuring lots of old favorites for SPL this weekend while getting other things done.  Nothing new until next week.

 

 

JSS

 

 

Older article, but I know some films have gotten this treatment:

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/4320807

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Oh......well.  How disappointing.  Studio again lays a huge rotten egg.

 

It would be nice if BluRay specs are updated to include the 48fps it was shot in, and we could get the actual studio master if/when that happens.

 

That sucks.  What sucks more is if the dynamics were taken out.  Sounds like a 'nearfield' mix was done with less than capable equipment 'for the home'.

 

If they have kept the dynamics, the LFE can be salvaged if a shelf filter was used in post-production, like in Avengers and Battleship.

 

Well, looks like it'll get a view when the disc is available from Netflix, but maybe that's it.  

 

I am measuring lots of old favorites for SPL this weekend while getting other things done.  Nothing new until next week.

 

 

JSS

 

 

Older article, but I know some films have gotten this treatment:

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/4320807

Yup. And I rented the 3D version. Decided after being caught double and triple dipping on some titles by the money-grubbing movie studios, that I'm not purchasing this till it's available in the native 48fps 3D. Personally, I found it a MUCH better experience watching it in 48fps 3D than the standard 24fps. In fact, I watched the 3D version in 3D at 24fps, then switched off the 3D which enabled the frame interpolation and I definitely prefer the smoother motion with frame interpolation (need to get a newer display that can do creative frame interpolation on 3D). Unfortunately, it doesn't sharpen moving images the way native 48fps does.

 

 

Max

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Wow, what's up with you guys? The Hobbit wasn't a shit movie just because it didn't have ULF. (At least, that's why you are making it out to be) The story and overall development were great, as was the soundtrack and visuals. It's a definite buy for me and it's going to be an enjoyable re-watch. I only had a few minor quabbles with some of the characters, such as Radagast being introduced and then never been heard/seen again after his debut. Kind of a short lived addon. And the fact that Azog, the big white orc, wasn't actually in the Hobbit book but they decided to make him the driving force against the company was kind of a strange move, but I suppose it could be understood since they might have thought the movie may have been to boring without a character like that constantly putting pressure on the company.

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Who said The Hobbit was a shit movie? The title of this thread is, 'The Low Frequency Content Thread', and if you reread the posts properly, ALL the comments thus far have been specifically about the LFE in the movie, and there's no question that the LFE was a disappointment.

 

You might be confusing this thread with the AVS thread where folks were talking about being bored during the movie.

 

As far as the movie itself goes, The Hobbit was a fairly short book (not even close to LOTR). I wondered how they were going to stratch it out into another series of movies, and they did it by adding things that were never in the book (not to mention introducing characters that never appeared in the books till later in the LOTR trilogy).

 

 

Max

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I enjoyed the movie, but I really wish I could have seen it in 48fps. I saw it in 24fps at a true IMAX, and you can tell they took full advantage of the faster frame rate with very fast panning.

 

Just like Avengers, there were parts where I thought to myself 'wow, this will be great at home'. That's where the disappointment lies. I now EXPECT films to be better at home, since theaters are tremendously bass limited. Most of the time it plays out, but there are films that are filtered, and the sound is closer to what I experienced in the theater.

 

I will still rent it and watch it, and see if there is a chance to reclaim some of the bass, if it was taken away by a shelf filter or shallow high pass.

 

Measured the SPL for 9 last night, and it is quite powerful.

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Zero Dark Thirty:

 

Level - 3 Stars (108.4dB)

Extension - 2 Stars (20Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (30.5dB)

Execution - 4 Stars - Great sound mix, just missing strong ULF.

 

Overall - 3.5 Stars

 

Recommendation - RENT.  This is mainly a thriller, but once seen, may not have a lot of re-watchablity.  I would love to know how far away from what actually happened this film is.  Maybe in 30 years time on the History Channel....

 

MaxRMS 114.2 dB

LeqZ 90.2 dB
MaxPeak 120.7 dB
Dynamics 30.5 dB
Overall Level 108.4 dB
 
JSS
 

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Well, there are now three films that have clipped the soundcard:

 

1. Immortals - Releasing the Titans

2. Skyfall - Subway crash

3. Star Trek - Romulan Ship Warps after Spock

 

TDKR was 0.5dB short.

 

My soundcard clips at a level consistent with 127.6dB with bass management.

 

Flight of the Phoenix impressively does not, but it is only 1dB away from doing so.  It asks for a long burst of 120dB LF during the crash scene.

 

 

JSS

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