Jump to content

maxmercy

Moderators
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,092

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    150

 Content Type 

Everything posted by maxmercy

  1. maxmercy
    Star Wars:A New Hope Blu Ray Level - 4 Stars (110.45dB composite) Extension - 3 Stars (16Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (29.63dB) Execution - 5 Stars - This is the film that STARTED all of LFE in films. Without it, THX would not have even materialized, and we would be stuck with a 40Hz lower limit. I still find the Millenium Falcon's engines impressive after all of these years, especially after getting a little more LF added to them for the BluRay. I cannot abide some of the changes Lucas has made, but I can appreciate each 'version' for what it is.... Overall - 4.25 Stars Recommendation - Buy. This film is a classic. I can still remember seeing it in a smoky (people used to smoke in theaters) theater with Spanish subtitles in 1977... and re-enacting as much as I could remember on the car-ride home. JSS That's it for tonight, folks....
  2. maxmercy
    It is the trailer that started my whole quest for clean LFE. It would ALWAYS distort my store-bought sub....used to listen at -20 to -25dBRef because of that distortion.... JSS
  3. maxmercy
    Star Wars:Revenge of the Sith Level - 2 Stars (106.31dB composite) Extension - 4 Stars (14Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (27.59dB) Execution - 3 Stars - A total mail-in in level and overall sound. The lightsabers in Episode II really have heft. In this film, not so much. Oh, and any film can have incredible 'dynamics' if it is nearly 3 hours long with long stretches of terrible dialogue. Overall - 3.5 Stars Recommendation - Rent. JSS
  4. maxmercy
    Star Wars: Attack of the Clones Level - 3 Stars (108.84dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz) Dynamics - 4 Stars (26.81dB) Execution - 4 Stars - Same SW rolloff, but very good use of LF, a heavy hitter in its time. Overall - 4 Stars Recommendation - Rent. this film is not a very good SW film, but makes up for it with good use of LF. JSS
  5. maxmercy
    Star Wars:The Phantom Menace: Level - 4 Stars (110.79dB composite) Extension - 3 Stars (16Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (29.31dB) Execution - 4 Stars - This film has the typical SW shallow rolloff below 30Hz. Overall - 4 Stars Recommendation - Rent for LF purposes, Buy if you are a George Lucas Fanboy. JSS
  6. maxmercy
    Bosso, If you were using AotC DVD caps, accounting for dialnorm may make them closer to DKR, or maybe not. I find it VERY interesting that the under 30Hz stuff is ONLY in the IMAX prologue, which may have been finished prior to the rest of the film..... In other news.... I do have a sleeper, that I actually downplayed a while back, prior to having ULF correction in my graphs: Underworld:Awakening: Level - 5 Stars (113.57dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz) Dynamics - 3 Stars (23.13dB) Execution - 5 Stars - This film is very much like Tron:Legacy without the clipping. Overall - 4.5 Stars Recommendation: Buy. It is an 88 minute good ride. Dynamics suffer only because most of the film is action. JSS
  7. maxmercy
    Bosso, You got any Underworld:Awakening charts? This one is a breath of fresh air for 2012... JSS
  8. maxmercy
    Scott, You just described PERFECTLY what I heard at IMAX digital when I saw TDKR. I just thought it was bad calibration on the theater's part..... JSS
  9. maxmercy
    Is it like the ship in the beginning of AotC, Episode II? That had tremendous 43Hz content when it flies by. On DVD, when dialnorm is compensated for, it reads at around 116dB.....will be interesting to see this one graphed. JSS
  10. maxmercy
    I sincerely hope that will not be the case. I should have the SW BDs done by the weekend. I am happy to report that the BDs are mixed nearly the same (within a dB) level-wise as he DVDs, if you watched the DVDs with the 4dB Dialnorm attenuation. I do have to say, though, those 4dB make a palpable difference..... Also I have Underworld:Awakening, Flight of the Phoenix, Superman Returns and Assassin's Bullet on the way from the 'Flix. When caught up, we should have 60+ titles in the data-bass.... JSS PS - I am still working on the tutorial....
  11. maxmercy
    Just for kicks, I put together dating for the above 4-star films: Even though we have about 30 more films left to graph, some of which are heavy hitters, we did have Battle:LA and X-Men:1st Class last year, HTTYD the year before, and Star Trek and 9 in 2009. It looks like we can expect a true 4.5+ star film once a year, with some 4+ star films interspersed in between..... 2012 looks like is a suck year for ULF. When we got it in WotT, it was probably a home mix with limited dynamics. Amazing Spider Man has some ULF, but just lacks level as well, even though the dynamics are there. It just really sucks that there is a disconnect in the sound continuity in the case of TDKR, just as there was in Avengers. EDIT - list removed to preserve U/L space for charts. JSS
  12. maxmercy
    I heard audible distortion in DKR with the firing up of the 'Bat' in IMAX digital. That made me think it would have lots of subsonics since they use ported subs that I thought were flailing trying to reproduce below tuning. Apparently it may have just been heavy hands at the mixing console like in Immortals, with limiters doing some of the soft clipping. You say that it sounds "exactly like in the cinema". There are some folks in the movie-making business who want EXACTLY this, the same presentation for both venues, home and cinema, and high-passing is a way of guaranteeing it to a certain extent. I really hope that is not so. As far as mic'ing and the overall distorted sound of DKR, I have yet to see it on BD. I have read that IMAX cameras are so noisy that audio must be nearly completely re-constructed in post production, but with the same sound team as Dark Knight, I cannot see them dropping the ball like this. Maybe a near-field mix is to blame? Who knows. I probably will not buy it. The story alone is not enough to watch it again, I thought the sound would make up for it, esp with the poor, distorted presentation that IMAX digital gave me with shrill vocals and 'punches' which actually were near the limit of ear pain. I'll wait for it on Rental, be it Redbox or Netflix. I hope that because Lionsgate is just involved and not running the whole show, that we may actually get HD audio on the rental discs.... Here's something we may not have thought of: If we have brought enough attention to the ULF content in films through AVS and this site, that enough film-folks have taken notice, and also note that it cannot be monitored on mixing stages or sound editing rooms, we may have doomed ourselves out of more ULF. I sincerely hope not, I wish some of the film professionals could experience the great ULF mixes on a flat-to-10Hz-or-under system. But economics may be at work here as well. Mixes 'for the home' probably assume TV speakers in general, with a smaller percentage having 5.1 HTIB, 7.1 HTIB, and actually capable systems in that diminishing order. The true reference-capable to 25Hz with low disortion home setups are probably few. The true reference to single digits with low distortion are probably fewer. I have visited websites for a few post facilities that have done near-field mixes for films, and the speakers in those rooms are not what I would consider capable of reference playback at low distortion. I do not think there is a standard for nearfield mixing. And let's not forget: all of the sound professionals that create and mix these sounds have bosses. Some may be simply following orders, even though they would like to have as realistic a presentation as possible were they to have artistic license... I just wonder who we can appeal to that FOH hinted at. Who is the person that decides to filter these tracks for BD release? JSS PS - StarWars BluRays PvAs coming. A few surprises in those.
  13. maxmercy
    Damn. Looks like I'll be waiting for it on the 'Flix... FilmMixer, is there any way we can find out where near field mixes (if any) were done for a soundtrack? JSS
  14. maxmercy
    Is this DVD or Blu? Damn, I was expecting a lot down to 20Hz or thereabouts from this one after seeing it in IMAX digital...... JSS
  15. maxmercy
    Mojave, would you be interested in providing Peak and Average dBFS output for a bass-managed, SW out for specific films as a comparison to what I am currently doing? If the SpecLab connection with JRMC can be made, that would be great. JSS
  16. maxmercy
    All 1st post links updated. I will keep using the 1Hz/1sec FFT. If someone thinks that some films are getting shortchanged, let me know and I will run at 2Hz/0.5sec FFT. JSS
  17. maxmercy
    Alien vs Predator: Beginning of film: http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/tehbigshow/AVPdcintro.gif Ship Fires on Earth: http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/tehbigshow/AVPshipflythrough.gif DVD Menu http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/tehbigshow/AVPmenu.gif Level - 4 Stars (110.5dB composite) Extension - 2 Stars (23Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (30.02dB) Execution - 4 Stars. Overall - 3.75 Stars Recommendation - Rent. Everything below 30Hz is in the first 3 minutes of the film, one scene in particular, about 1 second's worth. JSS
  18. maxmercy
    I am still working on the tutorial, and I will update the first post index as I get time..... JSS
  19. maxmercy
    And finally one worth posting about. How to Train Your Dragon: Level - 4 Stars (112.3dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (2Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (31.35dB) Execution - 5 Stars - What FOH and Bosso said. Overall - 4.75 Stars - Add some effects above 60Hz with some weight and you rival WotW. Recommendation - Buy, just like the above folks said. Terrific soundtrack, great film. Yes, that graph is correct. The signal asks your speakers to play back a 2Hz tone at 117.8dB at one point. JSS
  20. maxmercy
    Now onto some better stuff. Prometheus: Level - 3 Stars (108.67dB) Extension - 3 Stars (17Hz) Dynamics - 3 Stars (24.87dB) Execution - 4 Stars - Could have used some more level, but decent overall. Reminded me of the Iron Man films. Overall - 3.25 Stars. Nice, but not enough to deal with the big boys. Recommendation - Rent. This is a good film, but has big holes in it. For the best and funniest critique, please read this: http://www.toplessro...metheus_faq.php JSS
  21. maxmercy
    OK guys, sorry to hold out so long, very busy at work, as it is our recruiting season. But, I have FOUR for you today. Let's start with the also-rans: SuckerPunch: Level - 1 Star (102.77dB composite). Extension - 1 Star (30Hz) Dynamics - 3 Stars (24.44dB) Execution - 2 Stars - Wow, what a let down. With the visuals in this film, this could have been a monster mix. Instead, in with the also-rans..... Overall - 1.75 Stars. Another 'could have been'...... Recommendation - Rent only for the visuals, maybe it could be played on mute as a party is going on... Speed Racer: Level - 2 Stars (106.32dB composite). Extension - 4 Stars (13Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.32) Execution - 3 Stars - Decent mix, just not very loud, and filtered. The dynamic range is there, the effects are great, but it just has to be turned up a few dB! Overall - 3.5 Stars. Not bad. Great visuals, and campy, just like the old TV show. Damn I love the Mach 5. Not fond of the Mach 6. Recommendation - Rent. JSS Suckerpunch: Speed Racer:
  22. maxmercy
    HTTYD is a ULF monster. It is the second time I have ever recorded above 115dB (WotW is the first). It is at 2-3Hz. Graphs tomorrow. Overall 4.5, if more >50Hz effects would have been used, easy 5 overall. I can see why you like this one, bosso.... JSS
  23. maxmercy
    Have some woodworking to do, tutorial and updating to do, and then if I have time will graph HTTYD today. This warm weather is allowing me to finish projects I didn't think I would get to until Spring. As far as the FFT, I will still graph the 1Hz one, and as I get time, or others contribute, we will fill in the 2Hz resolution PHvA graphs.only if some significant differences are noted will the ranking scheme change. As far as JRMC, if SpecLab will be able to be 'plugged in' to a bass-managed output, I will definitely consider using it, as long as JRMC is not super $$. Not having to correct roll off would be great. JSS
  24. maxmercy
    Yes. But, how does JRMC get the data in the first place? I do not have a BD drive on my POS laptop that runs XP. It would be great if SpecLab could get as direct a feed as possible. But an A/D conversion has to happen due to the possibility of 0dBFS+ with bass management, one that has analog headroom to account for 0dBFS + 10dB (theoretical max). What I am trying to say is: do you rip the discs then run them in JRMC? Bosso, I will update the index as I get time. Will do that and work on tutorials this weekend. Got HTTYD today from the 'Flix. Will check it out. Ricci, once solid FFT bin widths are determined, any chance we would be able to integrate this data permanently into data-bass.com like the driver ratings, with quick comparos a click away? Thanks for the enthusiasm to contribute to this thread. We just have to all be able to generate the same graphs so all will be apples-apples. I'm glad we only got less than 30 films in before we decided to question the bin width...... Tonight I'll actually be watching films, so no new data, although I have Speed Racer and SuckerPunch graphed. Both are very low in level with the 1Hz bin width. Not sure if this is due to 'home mixes' or not, but they are both very tame. JSS
  25. maxmercy
    Guys, I have a little one sick at home tonight, so I will try to get some stuff done this weekend. I think doing PvA at 2Hz and 1/2sec FFT is the best compromise between giving the transients their just due and keeping the strength of the long effects. Any objections? I'll run through the first few movies I did (the ones that set up the scoring system) to see how the scoring goes. Also will work on a tutorial that includes how to compensate for roll off for scene caps. For those interested, you will need soho54's audio test DVD available on AVS, as well as SpecLab and Room EQ Wizard from HTShack. After that tutorial is done, and we settle on FFT settings, a tutorial on how to do PvA graphs will be done. I got Prometheus today from the 'Flix....... JSS
×
×
  • Create New...