highdefdigest.com review of Saawariya
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1317/saawariya.htmlQuote:
The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
'Saawariya' is a visually sumptuous film, with production design and photography not only on par with the most beautiful of recent American movies, but boasting images that are as fantastic as any I've seen in any motion picture. This 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 Blu-ray encode easily does the film justice -- which is saying a great deal -- as this is a truly sensational, demo-worthy transfer.
Bursting with color, the palette is extraordinary. Hues leap off the screen with tremendous vibrancy, but are absolutely rock solid. The rich blacks and pitch-perfect contrast simple dazzle, resulting in a wonderful sense of depth and dimensionality. Sharpness is also spot-on, without intrusive edge enhancement or motion artifacts. Detail is reference-quality, with a some of the best high-def images I've yet seen on Blu-ray (or HD DVD, for that matter). The encode is also clean, with no apparent artifacts or noise. 'Saawariya' may not strike some as the type of film to set a new reference-quality standard, but this Blu-ray is truly one of the best I've ever seen.
The Audio: Rating the Sound
Audio flavors include the original Hindi Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/16-bit), plus an alternate English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround option. I always prefer the original language track, and this one is quite strong. 'Saawariya' is not a truly bombastic film, but this mix certainly makes the most of its best qualities.
Though I was disappointed there weren't more musical numbers in 'Saawariya,' the ones it does feature are the highlights of the TrueHD track. The 360-degree soundfield is quite alive with nuance, with excellent dispersion of the score and discrete effects to the rears. The rest of the film's runtime is more ambient in nature, with surrounds possessing an active and sustained, if certainly more subtle, presence. Dialogue is well-recorded (though since I don't speak Hindi, I can't say whether volume levels hamper intelligibility). Dynamics are also lush and full, with nice, deep bass and clean, warm highs. If not absolutely demo-worthy like the video, I was certainly more than pleased with the audio on the Blu-ray.
Ali