mhafner wrote:
theon wrote:
Awaaz wrote:
got my copy now (6 days delivery time in the UK)
BUT when listening to the Hindi sound track,
YOU CAN NOT TURN OFF THE FRENCH SUBTITLES!!!!!!!!
french track on and you can turn off the subtitles
oooh, with the amount of money you spent, and the perfection that was promised, i feel your pain man.
You can turn them off with a hacked
player. A hacked player is a must for a videophile.
I compared about 30 minutes of the
two editions. I can not switch instantly due to my HW set up and one version is correctly squeezed
and the other not (which I can decide) so the comparison is not so easy. Also, my PAL is not well calibrated since I watch it almost never. Nonetheless it's obvious that the French PAL version is superior:
- not progressive but 50 fields per second and no field averaging or extra fields
- colors are better
- less noisy/grainy
- better compressed
- maybe sharper too
We are talking decent DEI quality
without DNR. The sharpness of top
DEI or Hollywood is not there, though.
Both DVDs can't hold a candle to
the 35mm print I have seen. Only
the best HD I have looks this good.
Devdas is waiting for a top 1080p
transfer. Then we'll see wicked
things on the home screen.
Well, I got my copy Yesterday. It took over 3 weeks, since order, and a $1,50 GST and $ 5 service charge to asses $ 1.50 GST.
Agree with most that's mentioned above. A few extra comments/ observations:
1) Whether it is recorded as 50 fields per sec or 25 Progressive frames, I think, makes no difference whatsoever to weave the original 25 frames back. Perfectly weaved frames using Force Weave in Power DVD.
BTW, I counted 25 steps per sec using Power DVD, same as Metrodome ASOKA. Looks like mhafner's DVD player has a capability to advance field by field, which I don't have or don't know how to.
2) An Eye Candy PQ. People who think, EROS Devdas is pretty good, compare it with this DVD, side by side.
3) DVD quality does full justice to Rs 50 crore spent on making this film. Actually, I find this PQ more clear than theatrical screenings that I saw. For theatrical screenings I complained and wondered why spend crores of rupees on sets and cinematography when you can't see them on the screen. Faces were black circles in dimly lighted scenes, that are plenty. But in Diaphana DVD, it's crystal clear. Full justice done to Cinematographer's intentions.
Run Time Comparison between Diaphana and EROS editions:
1) Woh Chaand Jaisee Ladki song is in Diaphana edition. It's only one verse though. Don't know, how long was it in CD or if it was in it's music CD at all. The song is part of background music in the scene where SRK puts his hand on the candle flame and under Aish's hand to protect her hand from burns. Total scene is about two and a half minute of which 'Woh Chand Jaisee Ladki' lyrics are for about 30 sec.
Strangely enough the same scene is in EROS version as well and runs for about same time length, but no lyrics.
2) EROS version includes SRK's father's death bed scene where as it's not in Diaphana edition. About 2 min.
3) EROS version is 185 min. Diaphana edition with normal 4% speed up for PAL is 173 min equivalent to 180 min of film. So the descripency is just 5 min of which 2 min I just mentioned above.
4) Extras disc in Diaphana edition is mainly doccumentaries about Bollywood and is in French. It also has Endings of this Devdas version as well as of Dilip Kumar?? (Barua) version, for comparison and comments.
EROS has it's own extras that I did not check yet. (Of course, don't expect Video shoots, in extras disc, to give combing free Force Weave)
BTW, both (Diaphana and EROS) editions have DD audio at 384 kbps and not 448 kbps.
FRENCH AUDIO:
Extremely well done. For whatever I saw while struggling with audio options, found French dialogs very well matched with lip synch as well as with character's moods and tones. Did not appear if audio was dubbed for a 2nd language. I admit, I don't understand french, but have seen enough french films on TV, to be able to make this remark.
Rana
In short, $ 50 well spent. Worth every penny. Does Full Justice to the Cover 'PRESTIGE EDITION'. It's PRESTIGE to have it in your COLLECTION