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PostPosted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 7:01 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:14 pm
Posts: 2256
Location: National Capital Region (India)
Title: Rock On!!
Year: 2008
BD Release: 2009
IMDB Rating: 7.9
Category: Drama | Musical
Distributor: BIG Home Video
Authoring House: API
Region Coding: A/B/C
MRP: ?
Media: Main Feature - 50GB BD
Running Time: 00:00:00 hrs
Chapters: ?
Video:
2.35:1, HD 1080p 16:9, AVC 23.976Hz
Peak bitrate 36Mbps | Average bitrate 30Mbps
Audio: (All incorrectly labelled as English tracks)
1/3 Hindi - LPCM 5.1 (48khz) <-- Default Track
2/3 Hindi - DTS-HD MA 5.1 (48khz)
3/3 Hindi - Dolby Digital 5.1 (48khz 640kbps)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, Portugese, Malay.
Special Features:
Making of 'Rock On'.
Video: 4:3, SD PAL 480
Audio: LPCM Stereo, DTS-HD MA Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 (sounds like 1.0 Mono)

Music Video 'Pichle Saat Dino Mein'.
Video: 4:3, SD PAL 480
Audio: LPCM Stereo, DTS-HD MA Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 (sounds like 1.0 Mono)

Special Mention:
Song Menu with option to 'Play All'. <-- All Bollywood Video companies, please take note.
No Watermark Logo, during songs or otherwise. <-- 'Yash Raj' please note.
No scrolling advertisements during songs. <-- All Bollywood Video companies, please take note.
No advertisements before or during the movie. <-- All Bollywood Video companies, please take note.

Review:
There is something seriously wrong with the framing of the picture. Starting from the Censor Board certificate and upto the point that the various company logos play, the picture fills the 16:9 screen from left to right. But as soon as the actual film starts, the picture shrinks and leaves a small empty band on both sides of the picture. This picture frame keeps changing during the film, sometimes filling up the screen on the left, with a band on the right side, while sometimes the frame fills the screen completely from left to right and then sometimes it is back to the bands on both sides. In any case it is irritating like hell. If the picture constantly had a band on both sides, one could zoom the projector and just fill up the screen, but due to the changing picture frame, even that is not possible.

The picture quality too is suprisingly not very good. The transfer is just too dark at most times with blown out contrast, due to which details are hidden and the picture does not seem as vibrant as I remember it from the theater. Increasing the brightness level also does not help at all. The colours too don't seem to be quite right and there seems to be an over abundance of red in the picture. On the positive side, not much DNR, if at all, seems to have been used and the picture is quite sharp, with the film grain visible at most times. All in all, the picture quality is acceptable at best, but definately not exceptional or even very good.

The audio quality is slightly dissapointing, considering that the DVD also had pretty good audio. Although 'Big Home Video' must be commended for trying to please everyone by including two lossless tracks in addition to a Dolby Digital track, the fact remains, that the Dolby Digital track is totally unnecesary and so is the LPCM track to some extent. A comparison of the three tracks quite predictably highlights how inappropriate lossy Dolby Digital is for BD. The difference between the Dolby Digital track, at 640kbps no less, and the lossless tracks is "night & day". In fact even the lossy DTS 1.5 mbps core, extracted from the 'DTS-HD MA' track via the optical out, is far superior to the dedicated Dolby Digital 640kbps track. Which further emphasizes how pointless it is to include such a track. Between the two lossless LPCM & 'DTS-HD MA' tracks, I personally found the 'DTS-HD MA' track to be more satisfying. All in all, the audio is pretty decent but not exceptional.

If this is a transfer/BD that has been approved by Farhan Akhtar, although I seriously doubt it has been, then all I can say is, he has no idea of what good audio or video is.

My ratings:
Video: 3.0 out of 5.0
Audio: 3.75 out of 5.0
Extras: 2.5 out of 5.0
Overall: 3.0 out of 5.0

Equipment used for testing:
Projector: Panasonic PT-AE2000U
Screen: Da-Lite 4:3 120" 'Model B' - White Matte
Viewing Distance: 11' 6"
A/V Receiver: Denon AVR5800
Speakers: 5.1
Front/Main: Paradigm Reference 100 v2
Center: Paradigm Reference Studio CC v2
Rear: Paradigm Reference 100 v2
Subwoofer: Paradigm Reference Servo 15
BD Player:
Oppo BDP-83 (Hardware modified for Region Free with latest firmware)
PS3 (Region A with latest firmware)

PS: My views are based on a quick run through of the movie and are only what one might call, 'first impressions'.

Screenshots courtesy 'T|M' (lossy, compressed)
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Last edited by Sanjay on Wed Jun 09, 2010 1:45 am, edited 3 times in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 7:36 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:14 pm
Posts: 2256
Location: National Capital Region (India)
Stephen wrote:
Aside from good detail, those shots look appauling. Surely the film isn't meant to be that dark with blown out contrast. And that framing is utterly amateurish.

You are quite right, as borne out in my review.


Last edited by Sanjay on Wed Jun 09, 2010 1:45 am, edited 19 times in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:36 pm 
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Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:29 pm
Posts: 6
After seeing too much red in screenshots I dropped the idea of buying this BD. Ay idea why it is too red?


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:03 am 
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Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 4:39 pm
Posts: 97
@Sanjay

AFAIK, the output is true to its source and as intended by the director. From what I saw in the theater and on the BD, I feel its justified. Other than the uneven borders on the side (IMO kept as such to represent the full frame of the uneven source and to maintain the AR, DVD had the same problem), if the TV is calibrated properly, the picture looks good with good amount of detail in a dark room (home theater) setup. I would say the audio is definitely good and not just decent. I noticed that there is a difference between the LPCM and the DTS-HD (MA) audio tracks when theoretically both must have been the same. It's the director's vision and how he wants us to view the movie. Just because we don't like it, doesn't mean that his vision is faulty. Take the case of Kaminey DVD, many including myself felt its dark, but once I calibrated the TV properly, the movie looks much better. At the end of the day for the money I spent, I am a satisfied customer. What still pains me is the money I spent on the 4 crappy EROS's BDs compared to what I paid for JA and Rock On.


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:15 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2001 8:14 pm
Posts: 1086
Can't say I like the stills much. They look noise filtered, borderline waxy and overprocessed. Not pretty at all. The color grading is rather extreme. No idea if this is correct or not. Have not seen a 35mm print.
DCH will NOT have this look. Much more film like.


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 5:47 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:14 pm
Posts: 2256
Location: National Capital Region (India)
@ T|M

My viewing is always done in a completely light controlled, i.e. pitch dark room and I have my projector calibrated using the 'Digital Video Essentials - HD Basics' Blu-ray disc. Having clarified that, personally I do not find the picture quality of this Big BD to be very good. As for it being faithful to the original source, I am not too sure of that either. I don't remember the film being anywhere as dark or the colors being so redish, when I saw the film theatrically. By the way, I had seen the film in one of the best theaters in and around Delhi. Also, are you sure that this BD reflects the Director's vision. Do you have any links to, where it states that the director 'Abhishek Kapoor' supervised and or approved this BD. If I am not mistaken, what has been reported on the net is that Farhan Akhtar, who is not the director of the film, approved the transfer. As for my comments regarding the audio, I think my views may be a little prejudiced due to my expectations, which had been quite high due to what I remember of the audio from when I viewed it theatrically. Back then I had stated here on this forum, that
Quote:
"The sound, specially the sound mix is excellent and for once in an Indian movie, the surround channels are not only active almost throughout the movie, but the surrounds are also used very appropriately in creating atmosphere and lcoalization of sounds. The rock performances are exceptionally well presented with the crowd cheers and chorus sounding very very real"


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 8:15 pm 
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Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:29 pm
Posts: 6
@ Sanjay

whats the difference in watching movie on projector/LED and LCD screen.
How to capture screen shots?
Thanks


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 12:09 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:14 pm
Posts: 2256
Location: National Capital Region (India)
safdar wrote:
@ Sanjay

whats the difference in watching movie on projector/LED and LCD screen.
How to capture screen shots?
Thanks

I am not sure what exactly you are asking. I assume you are asking the difference between a projector and a LCD flat screen TV. The primary difference is the size of the picture other than the individual technologies involved. In fact a projector can be LCD based too. As far as LEDs are concerned, they are not the technology for displaying a picture but rather just the light source needed for displaying a picture. The new high end LCD TVs have started using LED as a light source instead of CFLs. Recently some DLP projectors have started using LED as a light source instead of the standard lamp. The advantages of LED over previous light sources are many. Most importantly being longer life, lower power consumption and less heat generation. In the case of LEDs being used in LCD TVs, they allow for a much higher contrast ratio and production of deeper 'true' black pictures, which are nto possible with the traditional CFL light source in LCD TVs.

Regarding 'how to capture screen shots', I am sorry I have no experience doing so and cannot be of much help. Although, I am sure it would be possible only on a computer with a BD-Rom drive.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:12 pm 
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Joined: Mon May 20, 2002 6:55 pm
Posts: 1508
Sanjay,

What size is your screen? and what is the viewing distance from the screen?


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:15 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:14 pm
Posts: 2256
Location: National Capital Region (India)
Yuvan wrote:
Sanjay,

What size is your screen? and what is the viewing distance from the screen?

Equipment used for testing:
Projector: Panasonic PT-AE2000U
Screen: Da-Lite 4:3 120" 'Model B' - White Matte
Viewing Distance: 11' 6"
A/V Receiver: Denon AVR5800
Speakers: 5.1
Front/Main: Paradigm Reference 100 v2
Center: Paradigm Reference Studio CC v2
Rear: Paradigm Reference 100 v2
Subwoofer: Paradigm Reference Servo 15
BD Player:
Oppo BDP-83 (Hardware modified for Region Free with latest firmware)
PS3 (Region A with latest firmware)


Last edited by Sanjay on Wed Jun 09, 2010 1:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:51 am 
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Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 4:39 pm
Posts: 97
^ Nice setup! My apologies, I don't have any info regarding Abhishek Kapoor's involvement in the BD project but nevertheless we all know who made this movie. So, based on his involvement and his experience, my impression is that Big Home Video has delivered a good job. I am satisfied with the quality I saw on my HT setup. I didn't watch it in a digital theater as you did but from the regular cinema where I saw it, I feel the result is good. Your expectations are really high mostly due to watching lots of Hollywood BDs where they take utmost care to save the source. Most of the Indian production houses don't even care about the movie after they release them. We know whatever goes in, same quality comes out. With the cinematographer using different cameras for different scenes of this movie and the source being HDCAM SR, I am happy with the end product and more so with the money I spent on the BD. I am currently traveling, so I will try to post more screens from other parts of the movie when I get a chance.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:35 am 
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That's a hell lot of contrast!! Reminds me of DEi-Eros's Sholay


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