Here's my review of Ayngaran's DVD of the Tamil film "12B"
(movie review will be in another post)
Video
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The video is 16:9 enhanced, though I don't know the exact aspect ratio since I do not have a DVD-ROM drive. I presume it is about 2.25:1 because of slight cropping evident in one shot. Ayngaran has been good enough to put a disclaimer at the beginning of the disc that the DVD is 16:9 enhanced.
Colors are very vibrant, with no faded or washed out colors evident. Edge enhancement is minimal, though no EE at all would have been preferable. Overall sharpness is good, though ti suffers with smaller details, such as flowers, grass, etc. There is some moire artifacting on things like car grills and stripes. Detail in darker, shadow areas is lacking, however, but this is a minor problem as most of the film takes place in the daytime. I noticed no DVNR artifacts, though I'm sure there was some. A very impressive transfer that the likes of Eros should strive to meet or exceed.
Audio
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Dolby Digital 5.1 encoded at 448kbps. I do not have a 5.1 system, but the sound was very clear through my stereo speakers. No distortion, dialogue was clean, music sounded excellent. Sound effects, such as traffic were well rendered. All the dialogue is dubbed, even in indoor scenes, and this gives the soundtrack a degree of artificiality, but that's not a fault of the DVD.
Extras
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Promos for "Aalavandhan" (Abhay) and "Chocklet." Both are non-anamorphic letterbox at about 2.25:1 and 448kbps 3.1 sound. "Aalavandhan" looks either like a really interesting film or a film that I will regret seeing. "Chocklet" just looks like crap
Overall
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A very interesting story, combined with good DVD quality. Recommended.