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The Dark Knight Blu-ray disc leaking out, complaints already rolling in

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by Richard Lawler, posted Nov 24th 2008 at 3:46PM

Don't let that December 9 street date fool you, it seems like many are taking our advice and getting their hands on The Dark Knight Blu-ray disc as soon as possible. Reports have popped up on more than one forum over the last weekend of people ordering -- and receiving -- copies from retailers with 7-11-style views of release date tyranny, or for the less scrupulous, downloading ripped copies. Even worse the biggest Blu-ray debut to date is being met with criticism before it even (officially) goes on the shelf, with complaints about edge enhancement, compression and director Chris Nolan's aspect ratio choices in relation to IMAX / non-IMAX footage. Need to check it out for yourself? A bit of poking around should earn a copy sooner rather than later, no mail-ins necessary.

Read - AVSForum
Read - Blu-ray.com

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/11/24...s-already-rol/

Where can you get it BEFORE the 12/9/08 date? Anyone know? I don't want to read 30 pages to find out. :lol:

First reputable review is in from DVDBeaver:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRe...ht_blu-ray.htm

They rate the PQ a 9/10 they have the audio 10/8, but I assume they mean 8/10 :)

Hopefully some more pro reviews will be out soon.

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Originally Posted by PFC5 (Post 749408)

Where can you get it BEFORE the 12/9/08 date? Anyone know? I don't want to read 30 pages to find out. :lol:

There are some stores that put movies out early, though they are not supposed to. They are usually smaller boutique stores in places like NYC. There are some Internet store shipping it early.

Movietyme.com (US Based) are shipping them this week inc to the UK with Same day delivery (to arrive the next day)

Yeah, the screenshot scientists are going nuts over this. too funny... :lol:

A few b&m dealers in NYC have broken the street date and a few of the usual online dealers are shipping early as well.

Dark Knight Review

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Spread across a dual-layered BD-50 Blu-ray Disc, the VC-1 encoded transfer looks pretty damn good. There are one or two nighttime scenes that appear to suffer from a bit of black crush, and a few scenes have also had a slight application of edge enhancement applied to them as well. Overall though, I was very pleased by what Warner is offering. The picture has solid colors, razor-sharp picture detail, a decent layer of grain and rock-solid black and contrast levels.

As it did on the IMAX release prints, the aspect ratio for The Dark Knight does change at several points in the film. While a majority of the film maintains the 2.4:1 ratio of the non-IMAX parts, the scenes shot in the big-screen format have been reformatted for Blu-ray to the 1.78:1 ratio, resulting in slight cropping on the top and bottom of the image. Unless you know the image inside and out, you shouldn't be bothered by this modification. The image on the IMAX sections is absolutely beautiful, and the shifting aspect ratios never prove to be a distraction. If anything, it drew me further into the onscreen action, which if I'm not mistaken, was Nolan's intention in the first place.

A word of warning in regards to the audio: it defaults to 5.1 Dolby Digital. You have to go in and manually select the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track. This one backward step aside, The Dark Knight's audio is incredible. Immersive and clear as a bell in all channels, with fully-utilized surrounds and an LFE channel powerful enough to shake your house's foundation, the TrueHD track on The Dark Knight makes the one on Batman Begins Blu-ray feel like one-channel mono.

For a film that the biggest opening weekend ever, raked in nearly one billion dollars and currently sits at the number two spot for all-time domestic box office grossing films, you would have figured Warner Brothers would bet all their chips in regards to creating a truly special edition of The Dark Knight for Blu-ray. They didn't. It may look like there is a generous amount of material to be had, but after viewing the bonus bits, one can't help but quote the Joker when summing up their feelings:

"Ha... ha... ha... ho... hee... ha... and I thought my jokes were bad."

On the plus side, the slim supplements are presented in 1080i high definition and, in the case of the two specials on disc two, are in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround.

Complete Article: http://www.thehdroom.com/news/The_Da...ay_Review/3864

HDD review gives the PQ a 4.5 and the AQ a 5.0 :)

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Don't worry -- 'The Dark Knight' does not disappoint. Easily Warner's flagship title for the year -- if not the most highly-anticipated Blu-ray of all-time -- this is a superlative 1080p/VC-1 encode that is guaranteed to be the new demo disc of choice in home theaters around the world. Aside from one caveat, I found nothing to complain about here.

Presented theatrically in both standard 35mm and IMAX formats, 'The Dark Knight' is framed here in alternating aspect ratios. The majority of the film is 2.40:1, while the IMAX-filmed segments open up to 1.78:1. Personally, I found the flip-flopping at times slightly distracting. While the jump between compositions isn't that jarring when it comes after long scenes (such as the opening, which is 1.78:1), there are times when a single shot will be presented in its own aspect ratio (such as the beginning of the "love boat" sequence), and that can irritate. The upside is that the IMAX material does display a noticeable uptick in clarity and resolution. The 35mm-based footage is certainly no slouch, but there is an added sharpness and depth to the IMAX-originated footage that raises the bar for what Blu-ray is capable of.

That said, the whole of the transfer is excellent. The source is absolutely spotless, with no defects and a smooth, clean veneer. Blacks are quite simply the richest I think I've seen on a Blu-ray, and contrast is never too hot or too flat. The image pops with wonderful depth -- it is never less than three-dimensional -- yet remains natural and appealing. Color saturation is likewise rich, with splashes of deep primaries and not a hint of chroma noise, bleeding or smearing. Fleshtones are also accurate, except in situations of intentional stylization. Shadow delineation is also exemplary, with even the darkest areas brimming with fine textures and detail.

Unfortunately, my caveat is that there is edge enhancement that results in visible edge halos. While the encode is otherwise rock solid -- I found no artifacts, such as aliasing or pixelization -- the edge enhancement, if slight, is clearly visible in longer shots (such as the parade sequence). It is the only element of this presentation that deserves any knocks, though hardly a fatal flaw. In all other respects, 'The Dark Knight' is a stunner.

Screen caps make me believe it will look like The Matrix and Batman Begins. Can be fatiguing and the color is a little blown.

Worst part= True HD, 16 Bit, 1.55mbps:crying:

Maybe it is coming to HD DVD:what: ;)

BD.com
PQ 5/5
AQ 4.5/5
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies...43&show=review

They mention the "ringing", decided not to "deduct points" though as it would be "silly". ;)

Oh yes, flaws with the image shouldn't come in the way of a 5 star rating on key titles :p

I watched The Matrix tonight for the first time in 1080p/24 (if you can call it that on an A-20), and let me just say that I hope it doesn't look anything like this.

The wide shots are crap, and the color timing is atrocious. Some of the screen caps for TDK remind me of this atrociousness.

You guys are falling for the AVS screenshot scientology terror.... :lol:

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Originally Posted by Nikopol (Post 749818)

You guys are falling for the AVS screenshot scientology terror.... :lol:

I know. It's sad.

I want the blue pill back.

Just wait till you get a proper viewing on a proper 1080p/24 machine.

It will make your old display instantly useless for HDM. The slight judder in 3:2 pulldown becomes massive and instantly distracting.:( I thought it was hype before. Never noticed any judder. Now it's in my face. Can't even watch a Blu on the LG anymore. (The Memorex did show up, and well, all I can say is it 'works'(?))

Ignorance is affordable bliss.....:helpme

Now, don't let my skepticism lead anyone to believe I haven't actually put vacation days in for Dec 9th and 10th.;)

*Holy Bat Marathon at Kamspy's House*