Age Group | A lady never reveals her age. Let's just say I am old enough to remember (and own) vinyl records, and have seen Star Wars (before it was renamed A New Hope) in its original theatrical run. |
Video Likes | A sharp and detailed transfer with correct colour saturation, enhanced for 16x9 displays. |
Video Dislikes | R4 DVDs that don't contain as many features as their R1 and R2 counterparts, annoying film or MPEG artefacts |
Audio Likes | A crisp and dynamic soundtrack that uses the surround channels effectively. I should be able to not only feel explosions, but hear subtle noises like leaves rustling, birds chirping and other ambient sounds. I prefer higher encoding bitrates and DTS wherever possible |
Audio Dislikes | Any distortion, music DVDs with artificial surround enhancement, R4 DVDs where the DTS track has been removed. |
Favourite DVDs | Contact, Fly Away Home, L.A. Confidential, The Matrix, Pink Floyd The Wall, This is Spinal Tap, You've Got Mail, Dark City, GalaxyQuest DTS, T2 Ultimate Edition, Twister DTS — I would also like to include Sound of Music except it has a mediocre audio and video transfer |
Least Favourite DVDs | Dune, any DVD that omits major extras contained in R1/R2 equivalent (too numerous to mention) |
Most Eagerly Awaited DVDs | Chariots of Fire, Koyaanisqatsi, Lord of the Rings, BladeRunner special edition, the complete episodes of Brideshead Revisited, Twin Peaks ... I think I better stop here! |
Titanic | Vastly over-hyped — I thought the special effects and cinematography were good, but the plot and acting were so-so. I have never seen the DVD nor wish to. |
The Matrix | Exhilarating and the plot is surprisingly deep for an action sci-fi movie. I can watch this over and over again. The DVD is one of my favourites - the extras are really nice, and the sound is fantastic (I duck whenever bullets are being fired) |
Terminator 2 | Refused to see it in the cinema when it first came out, but have grown to like it over the years. The R1 Ultimate Edition is a superb DVD. |
Star Wars | Which one do you mean? My personal favourite has always been The Empire Strikes Back, although the Ewoks in The Return of the Jedi are cute. I would strongly consider owning the DVDs if and when they come out. |
Godzilla | I only saw this once on Showtime (Foxtel). I think if you read my comments on Film Dislikes you will be able to easily guess my position on this film. |
Independence Day | Bordering on silly but okay. I have not seen it on DVD, but would consider purchasing it if the transfer and extras are as good as people say. |
DVD Player | Custom HTPC (Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005) , using RGB output |
Display | Sony VPL-VW11HT LCD Projector, ScreenTechnics 16x9 matte white screen (254cm) . Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver . Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (NTSC). |
Amplification | Denon AVC-A1SE (upgraded) |
Speakers | Front and surrounds: B&W CDM7NT, front centre: B&W CDMCNT, surround backs: B&W DM601S2, subwoofer: B&W ASW2500 |
1. Gladiator: Deluxe Collector's Edition (2000) | 2. A Bug's Life (1998) | 3. Thirteen Days (2000) | 4. The Matrix (1999) | 5. Star Wars-Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) |
6. The English Patient (1996) | 7. Rocky Horror Picture Show, The: 25th Anniversary (1975) | 8. Pleasantville (1998) | 9. Looking for Alibrandi (1999) | 10. Fly Away Home (1996) |