| Age Group | Recently hit the big 3-0. |
| Video Likes | Black blacks, without sacrificing shadow detail. Original theatrical aspect ratio with 16x9 enhancement (where applicable) is a must. A clean, sharp transfer shouldn't be too much to ask for. |
| Video Dislikes | Poor source material in cases where they could do better, poor restoration efforts and poor MPEG compression. NTSC -> PAL conversions should be outlawed. Lack of 16x9 enhancement can be annoying. |
| Audio Likes | I tend to prefer an agressive surround mix, although i do appreciate subtle, immersive atmospheres too. Stereo Music should be presented in PCM. |
| Audio Dislikes | Totally frontal sountracks masquerading as 5.1 channels. Bad sync is just plain irritating, particularly in music titles. Foreign language films should include their original language! |
| Favourite DVDs | (Non-Region 4 titles) Sword of Doom (Criterion), The Gathering- A Sound Relief, Opeth- Lamentations, 800 Balas, Spiritual Beggars- Live Fire, Dream Theater- Dark Side of the Moon, Leon (The Professional) (R1), Amelie (R2), Delicatessen (R2), La Communidad, LOTR Two Towers (R1), Sin City Extended (R1). My favourite R4's are below (in no particular order). |
| Least Favourite DVDs | Beatles- Magical Mystery Tour (Avenue one) was a huge disappointment, and the first (censored) R4 release of Predator infuriated me. See also my review of Raise The Red Lantern. A travesty! |
| Most Eagerly Awaited DVDs | I'm excited about the future of Eastern Eye, as long as they avoid NTSC-PAL conversions. Killer Tongue, Beatles- Help! SE (treated like Hard Days Night), Paul McCartney & Wings: Rock Show, Mr Bungle 'California' DVD-Audio (that album deserves a 6 channel mix), Accion Mutante, Day of the Beast, Perdita Durango and the proper, complete Kill Bill. Will we ever get Blade Runner? A remastered SE of The Ipcress File would be nice. Iron Chef deserves a DVD release too!! |
| Titanic | Saw it towards the end of it's theatrical run (under duress). Not riveting enough for repeat viewings. Never bothered with the DVD, and I doubt I ever will. |
| The Matrix | One of my favourite sci-fi movies. Saw it a squillion times and it still manages to entertain. A great demo disc to boot. |
| Terminator 2 | Not my favourite Arnie film, but still a corker. I love the R4 UE. |
| Star Wars | I'm not going to dis Episode 1, as is the norm. The Ep4 DVD was worth the wait, and the Ep2 digital transfer is brilliant. |
| Godzilla | I've only ever seen bits of it on TV. Intollerably bland. |
| Independence Day | Yankee flag-waving crap. I just can't relax in this movie... sorry. |
| DVD Player | Denon DVD-3910 , using HDMI output |
| Display | Sanyo PLV-Z2 WXGA projector, Screen Technics Cinemasnap 96" (16x9) . Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to DVD player . Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Denon AVR-3806 (7.1 Channels) |
| Speakers | Orpheus Aurora III floor-standing Mains and Surrounds. Orpheus Centaurus .5 Front Center. Mirage 10 inch powered sub. |
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