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Film and TV chat in general

windhoek

The Phoolosopher
Apart from having just bought an OLED TV the other thing that's making me want to watch a lot of film and TV content of late is sound, because, without wanting to sound like a crazy man who's hearing things - no pun intended - my 4.0 system does realism and gives you the sense of being right there like no system I've ever heard before, including cinema sound systems; I've been to the cinema twice this year and my sound system beats the cinema sound system hands down for realism and the sense of being practically right there with the action, almost as if what you hear is exactly what and how the POV camera operator would have heard (plus more once you factor in the extra sound effects the POV camera operator wouldn't have heard), and it's not even close! All of which is to say I'm now noticing and taking an interest in film and TV content due to sound design.

For example, I watched Avatar about a month ago and, due to the sound design and my sound system's ability to pull you right into it, I literally felt as though it was the best film I've ever seen, and this considering I've seen quite a few times already and knew for a fact it wasn't the best film I'd ever seen. I mean, I laughed and cried and felt fear and impending doom aplenty from start to finish along with all the other emotions that the story and sound design conveyed. Simply incredible! I just Googled sound design winners at the Academy Awards (link) and although Avatar didn't win in 2009 (losing out to The Hurt Locker), it turns out it was a nominee.

I've got 15 films on DVD or blu ray from the main list of winners/nominees and 11 on the list of shortlisted finalists. I reckon I'll make an effort to watch more from these two lists, although I'll probably focus on the more recent ones, the ones from the high definition era, so that I can enjoy content with great visuals as well as great sound design. I doubt I'll end up buying many though as I prefer to curate a collection of high quality media (subjective high quality) as opposed to expanding my collection with subjective weak-ass content just for the sake of it. So if there are films on that list I know I don't like or it did very little for me at the time, I'll probably just give those films a miss. That said, one film that stands out is Heat. I've seen it a couple of times already and so I know that the action scenes have terrific sound design so I reckon I'll be buying Heat for sure.

What have you just watched and enjoyed/disliked etc?
 
I watched Batman Begins on blu ray last night and I have to say, it was much better than I previously thought it was. To state the obvious, it had a very cinematic scale and feel to it, both in terms of sound and visuals (I reckon my sound system and new OLED TV played a part in increasing my estimation of it). I've seen Batman Vs Superman and I reckon Christian Bale was a better Batman than Ben Affleck; probably the best of the lot, although in saying that it's been a long time since I've watched any of the Batman films between Adam West's tenure as Batman and the reboot starring Christain Bale.

I'll be watching The Dark Knight tonight and fingers crossed, this one delivers better than I remember as well... a quick look at the Academy Award Winner/Nominee list for Best Sound Editing (2009) shows it was the winner so it should be a cracker!
 
I forgot to say, the reason why my 4.0 setup has suddenly transformed into something that beats the cinema sound system for realism and that sense of being practically right there is because I puy my Tannoys on Mana. The difference was like going from black and white to full-on Technicolour! Before that, my Tannoys were just really good. But on Mana? The Tannoys deliver sound in a way that's just so much better... I'm struggling to think of any other way to put it than they convey realism and the sense of being practically right there than anything I've ever heard before. And it's not even close!
 
I think if you want to get the best sound then you need a centre channel. I would take centre channel over rears any day.

I honestly don't think I could improve things by adding a centre speaker for the reason I just outlined above i.e. putting Mana under my Tannoys. If I had a large room whereby I could have three Tannoys Eaton Legacy speakers on Mana that might be worth trying, but as it is the phantom centre the Tannoys produce is far better at conveying realism and the sense of being practically right there than anything I've ever heard before, and it's not even close! Having rear speakers (a pair of Kralk Audio BC-30s) does augment things somewhat, but the cinematic magic I've ended up with is entirely down to putting my Tannoys on Mana.
 
Nope sorry, all the mana in the world is not going to replace a physical speaker. Sounds like you need a decent one.

presumably you are going through a cinema receiver and would need to specify you have no centre channel. Sub adds a nice touch as well but not nearly as important as a centre.

for speech a centre is just a drastic improvement over left and right, I don’t feel it’s like a debate thing.
 
Nope sorry, all the mana in the world is not going to replace a physical speaker. Sounds like you need a decent one.

presumably you are going through a cinema receiver and would need to specify you have no centre channel. Sub adds a nice touch as well but nearly as important as a centre.

for speech a centre is just a drastic improvement over left and right, I don’t feel it’s like a debate thing.

I agree, if anyone thinks a 4.0 system will be capable of replacing the centre speaker is deluded or needs their hearing tested.

Sigh, surely this should be audio/hifi thread

to get anywhere near decent cinema OP will need 10.2 system at minimum, and a much bigger screen
 
Nope sorry, all the mana in the world is not going to replace a physical speaker. Sounds like you need a decent one.

presumably you are going through a cinema receiver and would need to specify you have no centre channel. Sub adds a nice touch as well but not nearly as important as a centre.

for speech a centre is just a drastic improvement over left and right, I don’t feel it’s like a debate thing.

Fair dos :)
 
Yeah, this thread meant to be is about film and TV talk in general more so than home cinema audio tech talk. It's just that adding Mana to my setup has encouraged me to start watching more film and TV content. I'm gonna pop into charity shops a bit more often and see if I can buy some cheap blu ray films. They're nowhere near as expensive as 4K releases, but new, some blu rays are still a bit pricey all things considered. I reckon I'll buy some animation as well. Apparently, Wall-e won an Academy Award for sound editing so it should look and sound excellent, plus it's a fairly enjoyable story iirc.
 
Obvs depends on taste, a few 4K disks with ace sound

Bladerunner 2049
1917
Dunkirk
Many Marvel and DC movies - Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy in particular plus Logan
LOTR new boxset
Batman new boxset
Shape of Water
Greatest Showman - thought I’d hate this cos I can’t stand Moulin Rouge and a few others but it is absolutely brilliant
Matrix boxset

You can often get movies cheap off forum classifieds and second hand tech/game shops online

About a Centre Speaker - 70% of a movie mix goes through this channel, having 3 identical fronts LCR is well worth it, try sticking a speaker into the Centre as a test. Next if you are really getting into AV a Sub adds a lot to the experience.
 
Yeah, this thread meant to be is about film and TV talk in general more so than home cinema audio tech talk. It's just that adding Mana to my setup has encouraged me to start watching more film and TV content. I'm gonna pop into charity shops a bit more often and see if I can buy some cheap blu ray films. They're nowhere near as expensive as 4K releases, but new, some blu rays are still a bit pricey all things considered. I reckon I'll buy some animation as well. Apparently, Wall-e won an Academy Award for sound editing so it should look and sound excellent, plus it's a fairly enjoyable story iirc.
Toy Story and Monsters Inc are fab on Blu Ray disk, pretty much anything made by Pixar.

The sound off Blu Ray and 4K disks is usually better than Netflix Prime Disney and occasionally massively so, I don’t buy disks in the quantity I used to when it was the old Laserdisc and DVD import days, we just get the cream of the 4K releases nowadays, have a good few lined up for the Xmas holidays - have same TV as you but 77” and a new Yamaha A8A amp all setup ready to go.
 
Anyone see "The Maltese Falcon"? I saw it when I was about 20 and could not make head or tail of the plot. But I always assumed I was under the influence of something at the time. Then I saw it again two nights ago, and still did not understand the plot. Assumed it might be senility. So I went on Wikipedia and read the plot. Still did not make any sense. Then found innumerable websites, blogs, in which people complain that they cannot understand the plot. And yet it is considered one of the great masterpieces of cinema history. Anyone here understand the plot?
 
unless you have a super duper dedicated cinema room i think the home stuff is a poor comparison to actually visiting the cinema. the actual act of going out makes it more of an experience, bit like live concerts on dvd, far different from being there. imo
 
Not wanting to talk too much about gear but more about films, I'll add that my front speakers are powered by my Teddy Pardo i80a whereas any centre channel would be powered by my Marantz AVR, as my AVR has front pre-outs. A less than ideal arrangement were I to add a centre channel when it comes to maintaining audio quality across the front channels. But it's moot anyway as the phantom centre is awesome as it is :)
 
Hey if you are happy fill your boots, it’s not my hifi.
I have all Naim speakers, NBLs on the fronts, axcent on centre, nsats on rear and Naim sub it’s mostly powered by a pioneer receiver of which I cannot remember the name but was mid top of the range years ago. I do fancy some of the atmos stuff though.
 
I'm just back from my local charity shop where I bought 10 blu ray films for a tenner and the thing is, they're all in mint condition! Their blu rays are priced at £2 each but I decided to chance my arm and ask if they do a multiple purchase offer just like they do with CDs and DVDs and the guy said if you buy 10 you can have them for a tenner. Jackpot! Here's what I bought:

Drive
Gladiator
Hancock
Kung Fu Panda
Pulp Fiction
Star Trek (2009)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (brand new and sealed!)
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Hurt Locker
Wall-E

What's more, six of them are Academy Award Best Sound Editing nominees/shortlisted for nomination with The Hurt Locker being an award winner, so my ears should be in for a real treat! The shop had quite a lot of blu ray films and I could easily have bought another 10, but I decided not to buy 20 or even 30 just for the sake of it. I'm happy with my haul as it is :)
 
Drive is one of my fave movies and soundtracks, very rarely buy soundtrack LPs - just this one, GotG, NBK and Bladerunner. Looks like you're in for an Xmas movie fest like us :)
 
Drive is one of my fave movies and soundtracks, very rarely buy soundtrack LPs - just this one, GotG, NBK and Bladerunner. Looks like you're in for an Xmas movie fest like us :)

Did you know Johnny Jewel had been asked to do the soundtrack for Drive but in the end, the producers went with the soundtrack option that appeared on the film? Either way, you might be intrigued to know that he put together an album called Music To Drive that celebrates the anniversary of the film. The music on his album definitely has that Drive vibe and a couple of the tracks that feature on his album did actually make the final cut and appeared in the film. You can check out the album here and buy the entire album as a 24-bit WAV download if you like for a dollar. In the meantime, here's a track from the album:

 


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