The movie itself:
I am not going to waste anybody's time here talking about the movie itself - the assumption is, if you are here and reading this you probably have already seen the movie and you just want to know if the blu-ray is worth your hard-earned money. To summarize, this is a well done, well picturized, bittersweet love story and that's all you need to know..
Video:
Seyons presents Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa as their debut release, on blu. A lot of chatter (some positive, some negative) has been heard already on various forums, without the benefit of an actual review. To cut to the chase, this is a quality effort from Seyons HD & TSK Entertainment. The PQ depicts a solid transfer, which shouldn't garner complaints from too many people. Most scenes have exceptional clarity, though there were a few soft scenes interspersed in between (I can't say if that is reflective of the source). Colors are natural with a warm temperature. They really stand out, especially in songs like "Hosanna". No contrast boosting is seen. Blooming never makes an appearance. I did see some motion judder rarely, but it was barely noticeable, if at all. I was very impressed with the black levels in particular - they REALLY stand out. For example, at around the 55 minute mark, Trisha's black hair is so well-delineated against a black background, without any crush. Some scenes sported questionable Edge Enhancement, but even if that were the case, it was certainly not obtrusive. The song sequences in particular consistently had a high bitrate of > 35 Mbps and it is reflected in the picture. Macroblocking or other compression artifacts never rear their ugly heads. No aliasing or Moiré patterns seen (best exemplified by Trisha's veil in the church scene, just before the interval mark).
Now, coming to the vexing issue of watermarks which have irked most of us on this forum - the bad news is, Yes, there are watermarks. The good news is, No, they are never intrusive and in fact I didn't even notice them initially until I really looked for them particularly. In the few instances when they do make an appearance, it is brief (about 10 seconds) and truly doesn't detract from the flow of the presentation. Having said that, hopefully we won't see even these small transparent text logos on future releases from Seyons. English subtitles are standard, but I was pleasantly surprised by the additional French subtitles. Sidebar - the picture looked best on my 65" Panasonic Plamsa while the colors popped out on my 46" Sony LCD.
Audio:
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa waltzes into our home theatres with an effective DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The OST is booming and does justice to this movie's tag as a romantic musical. Surrounds are pretty active, well-delineated and directed, thus rendering a three dimensionality to the listener. Dialogues are unnaturally clear and crisp. The included Tamil Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, is damn capable too, especially for a lossy encode. There is another "Director's commentary" Dolby Digital 5.1 lossy soundtrack, throughout the length of the movie, by Gautham Menon. There is a separate "Songs" menu, with a "Play all songs" option also - (Ayngaran: Please note..this is how it should be done)
Extras:
Gautham Menon's "Director's commentary" through the length of the movie is amazing and enriches the viewer's experience considerably. I can't tell you how happy I was to be able to use this feature - true value addition . I wish more Tamil directors would take a leaf out of his book and take ownership of their films, in a similar fashion.
Overall:
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa may be a less-than-ideal effort considering some of the above-mentioned issues described with the PQ, including the watermark issue, but just by a notch and an acceptable notch at that. Overall, this is a splendid start from Seyons Entertainment, and as long as you are not expecting to see a reference-grade "Sivaji", you'll be very satisfied. I think the best testimony I can give for this blu-ray release is my answer to the most important question - "If I had to do it all over again, would I still buy this blu-ray?". I am happy to say that the answer is a resounding "
Yes" and that ultimately is my benchmark.