Transformers Coming to Blu-ray September 2nd

[D_Litch]

After all the drama with Michael Bay threatening to drop out of Transformers 2 because Transformers wasn't released on Blu-ray, we thought you guys would like to know the movie is finally coming out on Blu-ray September 2nd. The date was announced a while back, but now we have the box-art and details concerning the release. The box-art looks more or less like the DVD/HD-DVD releases, but Blu-ray will have an additional feature of Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio that was missing from the HD-DVD release. Other features include audio commentary with Michael Bay, two four-part documentaries, a featurette, still gallery and trailers. It will also be BD-Live-enabled with details to be announced later.

Woo! While Transformers had some of the most cringe-worthy dialog of any movie in the past few years, you can't argue it's CGI badassitude. And Megan Fox...*Mmm*

*cough* Hmm! So yes, I'll be picking this up...

[Jon Liu]

And......yes, they decided to add Dolby TrueHD for this release. So much for their argument that Dolby Digital Plus being all that...

[D_Litch]

Are...are you making fun of my ellipses?.. I...I don't know what to say...

[BMC]

It's about time they release this movie! In all seriousness, I've been looking forward to this movie since I got rid of my HD-DVD player.

[KEEZY]

This movie looked and sounded unbelievable on HD-DVD. I will not be mad to double dip on this.

[BiffCo]

Great news! I knew about this for a little while but forgot to post about it. I wonder how different the audio will sound, as I recall audio engineers saying that the Dolby Digital Plus track was transparent to the master. It'll be interesting to see if the frequency sweep gets added back to the first shockwave during the initial attack on the base.

It was absent on the HD-DVD and DVD, but I strongly remember it being there when I saw it in the theater, and others have attested to its ommition on disc.

On a more opinionated note, I really don't see what people have against this film, but I'm not a Transformers fan in the slightest (hated the toys when I was a kid). Yes, it's Bay, but you should know what to expect going in. His films appeal to a certain audience.

-Brad

[D_Litch]

Yeah, Michael Bay = Shit blowing up and being awesome while blowing up

In my eyes at least. If it weren't for the god-awful script, the movie would have been a lot better. Shia Le Douche did a good job acting, and Megan Fox is...well, Megan Fox. That's a win in my book. Also, the CGI is incredibly realistic. If Starscream would have killed my mother, I wouldn't know whether to be sad, or be in awe at how awesome he looks.

[Jon Liu]

Originally Posted by Big Brad

It'll be interesting to see if the frequency sweep gets added back to the first shockwave during the initial attack on the base.

It was absent on the HD-DVD and DVD, but I strongly remember it being there when I saw it in the theater, and others have attested to its ommition on disc.

That fact alone has me interested as well. If it is reportedly different and the bass is infact more pronounced, especially in that scene, I will double dip.

The bass is pretty intense in the film, but I do agree, I felt it more when I saw it in theaters.

[BiffCo]

I'll be buying it as I sold my HD copy a while ago. Plus, it'll be nice to watch the movie without having to wonder if my HD-A1 is going to freeze up on me.

-Brad

[MadBryan]

Not double dipping on this one. They really should include something more to try to get more people to buy. (whats with these bluray prices, they should be coming down not up)

[BiffCo]

Well, for what it's worth, I hear that they are doing a new encode to take advantage of Blu's higher bitrates for video. Hopefully they don't DNR it and the grain and detail are still intact.

-Brad

[alter_ego_trip]

Originally Posted by Jon Liu

That fact alone has me interested as well. If it is reportedly different and the bass is infact more pronounced, especially in that scene, I will double dip.

The bass is pretty intense in the film, but I do agree, I felt it more when I saw it in theaters.

It was brought up a while back, that a number of early discs produced, had a problem with the LFE encoding. I can attest to this. My friend brought over his disc to my house when the movie was first released. I was very disappointed in the LFE. I bought the disc a couple months later and the frequency sweep was nuts. Going back and forth between mine and Taz's, I could definitely tell a difference.

That being said, I would love to see this movie encoded with a DTS master audio track, when released on BR.

[Jon Liu]

That's interesting to hear, Alter!

Yeah, a DTS-HD MA track would be stellar, but at least we are getting some sort of lossless version of it with the TrueHD track! That should be amazing enough as it is.

[GoatMother]

Well the reviews have been hitting and have been a positive improvement on the blu-ray version.

Blu-Ray Review- Transformers- The Debate over the advanced audio codecs decided once and for all

Guess what folks, I was WRONG. The lossless Dolby True HD track here smashes the Dolby Digital Plus track in every way imaginable. If the HD-DVD track rates a 5, the Dolby True HD track rates a 7. To start off, lets look at the bass response. The bass here is much richer and fuller than that on the HD DVD release. The Blu-Ray release rocks the house. I also found the dynamics on the BD release to best the HD DVD release by a wide margin as well. This is a reference audio mix if I ever heard one. I also found the imaging and channel separation to be better giving the audio a much deeper image, allowing you to hear into the sound field much further than the HD DVD release which sounds a tad flatter in comparison. FInally, the audio on the BD disc is much smoother and open without even the trace of hardness, even much more so than the HD DVD. You can really crank this baby up without any issue of listener fatigue. Hearing loss? Well, that is another story.

IN CONCLUSION

This disc is a fun ride and one the entire family can enjoy. It a reference disc for audio and video and will really show off your system. If you have this release on HD DVD, I can assure you that a double dip here is warranted as the audio is that much better on Blu-Ray. Crank it up and enjoy.

Interestingly originally over at HDD Peter Bracke gave it 5 stars for the HD DVD originally, but have downgraded it to 4 while introducing his blu-ray review with 5 stars. (I don't agree with doing that unless he adjusts all the movies he has reviewed for HD DVD and Blu-Ray. I get the point of doing that but logically doesn't work unless everything is revised).


I look forward to comparing them when it arrives at Block Buster.

[alter_ego_trip]

I agree, it will be interesting to compare. The new track should be an improvement, but whether anyone can really discern the difference or not will be interesting to see. I'm very impressed with the HDDVD copy I have, and will have to see a very noticable improvement to warrant purchasing the BR version.

[Jon Liu]

I think the HD-DVD version was very spacious sounding and very open, so I am interested in seeing what the differences are for the Blu-ray version.

We'll find out in a couple weeks!

[BiffCo]

After looking at still captures (direct from the source) over at AVS, I don't think we'll see any improvement with the video in motion. Luckily, it doesn't appear that the film has any DNR applied to it, which is what I was deathly afraid of.

I'm anxious to check it out just for the audio. The HD-DVD that I had suffered from the LFE problem, which resulted in very inconsistent levels on that track. The Bluray has apparently fixed that. I hope I don't crack any drywall in my house!

Unfortunately, the better audio will allow us to hear some of the corniest dialogue since the original Star Wars movie in even more detail!

"She's a criminal. Criminals are hot!"

What happened to you, John Turturro?

-Brad