AVATAR BR SteelBook Edition - My Exclusive Review

[sam9s]

Finally got my AVATAR Steel Book edition BlueRay from Amazon UK for 1700 Bucks..............Within 10 days itself, this time as well. Following is my small exclusive review......

The package includes.


1. Steel Book Cover for the discs
2. Online access to exclusive AVATAR program which includes
a. Interviews
b. Unseen footage
c. Special features
3. Four 3D Hologram AVATAR postcards
4. AVATAR DVD
5. A survival guide to Pandora

The steel Book cover and the packaging is top class. Seriously adds class to your collection.......... Rest of the goodies are a decent welcome.
Poped up the BR and the first thing you notice is ..NO EXTRAS nothing, not even the trailer. No introduction, no interviews nothing.I was like WT??? Anyway Googled and I came through some exciting facts........

It is said that James Cameron himself came forward and explained that he had a deal with Fox guaranteeing no extras or previews on the disc. When the film grosses more than a billion dollars, he wanted the disc to have all the space available for maximum video quality.
So is the video quality maxed out.You bet it is..even a 47 LCD looks like too small to absorb the spectacular visual extravaganza the disc offers. Immaculate vibrant colors and super fine details, night shots are out of the world. The Pandoras Blue world literally pops out of the screen. Shadow details are impeccable. Its a visual splender......No wonder, the technicalities says an average of 29 megabits per second used for the AVC encode which is pretty heavy for the movie of this length. Truly a master piece of a BlueRay, Undoubtedly the best I have come across.
Audio is also not left far behind with 5.1 DTS HD MA you can expect nothing short of spectacular. However I seriously expected 7.1 audio for a movie of this magnitude. Anyway even with 5.1 the audio is crystal clear and sharp and there is no dearth of ultra low LFE where ever needed. Another thing to note was the center channel, which is best in all the BRs I have seen, even during the heavy battle scene the dialogues were crystal clear and you at no point feel the center is lacking power. (even on my HTiB)

EXTRAS :: As I mentioned the give you the best A/V quality JC decided to omit the extras and use the disc space for the same. Personally I am OK with it given the awesome A/V quality we get from a Movie that it deserves.

Some screen shots for you all to ponder.(online uploades)

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Regards
-Sammy

 

[svenkateshsmart]

Hi,

Prima facie, I thought you went to the top of your building in excitement to take the shot of the discs, then guessed it could be a window!

From what I read, I thought there would be extra "scenes" in the blu-ray, anyway no issues as everything is so bluey in this movie!hyeah:hyeah:

I am just searching for my credit card!:sos:

Cheers!

 

[sam9s]

Hi,

Prima facie, I thought you went to the top of your building in excitement to take the shot of the discs, then guessed it could be a window!

From what I read, I thought there would be extra "scenes" in the blu-ray, anyway no issues as everything is so bluey in this movie!hyeah:hyeah:

I am just searching for my credit card!:sos:

Cheers!

lol yea thats my balconey, I took the shot through my Mobile Camera so had to go out side for proper light....

and yes even I thought to see some extra scenes, but its not on the disc, though, you can access them online through an exclusive registration code given with the disk.

 

[KonfuSed]

Now you guys are tempting me to buy this Blu-ray. It's like I just want to see what the fuss all about and why the quality is THE reference as of now. But I'm holding off my temptation.

 

[thekinge]

sam9s,

What's the region coding on the Avatar Blu Ray that you ordered from Amazon UK? Is it all region or only B & C? Avatar Blu Ray here in Dubai is region coded only to B & C and my PS3 is region A

thanks,
thekinge

 

[sam9s]

Now you guys are tempting me to buy this Blu-ray. It's like I just want to see what the fuss all about and why the quality is THE reference as of now. But I'm holding off my temptation.

I googled more on AVATAR BR and yes its true that AVATAR BR is getting considered to be THE reference for all BR releases. It has set a standard in itself, and I can seriously vouch for that. Today I watched the movie once again with my friends and let me tell you, visual clearity in this movie is STUNNING.....no match, and Audio is no more less. The scene where the marines blow off the tree, the LFE shook my whole bed (and kept on with the effect in the entire battle sequence), it was thunderous. When jake takes that first flight on his choosen bird (or whatever) A/V extravaganza is on it bliss. The wings flapping is put on LFE and that gives a whole new experience to the scene.........the zapping of arrows and bullets are right on the spot, explosions are all earth shaking center channel never leaving its power......

Will put the over all experience as mind blowing.

konfused why are you holding your temptation, havent you already placed the order from Amazon UK for the same. I though you did.

PS :: Credit also goes to my Onkyo 6200, the woowfer is top class and I must say could be very much in the lines of those "high end" woofers. Prodeces shattering LFE effects. The fronts of this set is in no match for the woofer, its kind of an overkill. The overall experience is worth the money spent......

 

[sam9s]

sam9s,

What's the region coding on the Avatar Blu Ray that you ordered from Amazon UK? Is it all region or only B & C? Avatar Blu Ray here in Dubai is region coded only to B & C and my PS3 is region A

thanks,
thekinge

Its region A and B. I dont care much about the region coding now after I modded my player though. You can safely place an order over Amazon UK

 

[svenkateshsmart]

Hi,

That little review is all the more temptating! Slightly off topic, the price of pana bd-60 has gone up to the point of $199, I think we are the lucky lot.

Cheers!

 

[thekinge]

Its region A and B. I dont care much about the region coding now after I modded my player though. You can safely place an order over Amazon UK

Thanks a lot sam9s, placed the order and hopefully it should be with me in 2 weeks!

 

[KonfuSed]

konfused why are you holding your temptation, havent you already placed the order from Amazon UK for the same. I though you did.

Nope man, I've not yet. I somehow didn't like the movie much when I watched it first time(on 3D). But now after seeing so much of rave I'm gonna order this for sure along with Saving Private Ryan :clapping: (and if I still don't like then I can put that up for sale anyway). Actually today I went to Landmark but they didn't have stock now.
BTW, I guess the normal edition is same as the Steelbook in terms of PQ and SQ?

 

[sam9s]

Nope man, I've not yet. I somehow didn't like the movie much when I watched it first time(on 3D). But now after seeing so much of rave I'm gonna order this for sure along with Saving Private Ryan :clapping: (and if I still don't like then I can put that up for sale anyway). Actually today I went to Landmark but they didn't have stock now.
BTW, I guess the normal edition is same as the Steelbook in terms of PQ and SQ?

Same here man, even I did not like the movie much when I watched it in 3D, that is because the projectors used for 3D here in India are crap, you need digital projectors, with specific technique to produce the visual clarity on 3D, which was not there at all in Indian Cinemas. But BR is a whole new experience, specially the audio, it was far better than what I experienced in the hall.
and yes steelBook edition is same as normal in A/V quality, it just some goodies and the DVD that is there in this edition. Go ahead order this one, I agree the movie is not some landmark and definately not my best ( I still rate District 9 better in terms of over all experience) but still the visuals and PQ is CLASS APART, you just enjoy the sharpness and ofcoure the thunderous battle sequences.........Trust me AVATAR BR is worth the collection.

 

[santhosh]

Sam, nice review buddy. I liked the movie and the effort that has gone into it, but I got a headache watching the movie with 3D glasses on, this could be because of poor projection techniques used in the Cinema Halls here. I never wanted to buy the BD your review has made me want to buy it. Thanks will pick it up this week.

Just curious, will there be a 3D BD release as well?

 

[sam9s]

Sam, nice review buddy. I liked the movie and the effort that has gone into it, but I got a headache watching the movie with 3D glasses on, this could be because of poor projection techniques used in the Cinema Halls here. I never wanted to buy the BD your review has made me want to buy it. Thanks will pick it up this week.

Just curious, will there be a 3D BD release as well?

Thanks Santhol ........ I guess my experience with 3D matches you all, even I was not happy with the quality of 3D and eventually game me heavyness........but BR was an all together difference experience (with 47" LCD and Onkyo 6200), and I would recomend this BR to everyone who has a decent HT.

And yes a 3D BR is in production and would consist a 2nd BR as well for those extras and the interviews that were missing in the normal BR......

 

[santhosh]

And yes a 3D BR is in production and would consist a 2nd BR as well for those extras and the interviews that were missing in the normal BR......

I watched Caroline BD in 3D briefly in my Home Theater and was was really impressed with the 3D effects even though the glasses provided were the regular cardboard ones. So, my next question is whether I will require anything special to play the Avatar 3D BD or will I be able to watch it at home like I watched Caroline. I can't afford a new 3D projector, special 3D glasses etc yet. This will help me decide if I am to buy now or wait for the 3D release. I can wait if it is just one or two months away. Is there a timeframe mentioned for the 3D release?

 

[idlebrain]

I watched Caroline BD in 3D briefly in my Home Theater and was was really impressed with the 3D effects even though the glasses provided were the regular cardboard ones. So, my next question is whether I will require anything special to play the Avatar 3D BD or will I be able to watch it at home like I watched Caroline. I can't afford a new 3D projector, special 3D glasses etc yet. This will help me decide if I am to buy now or wait for the 3D release. I can wait if it is just one or two months away. Is there a timeframe mentioned for the 3D release?

Next release with special features of 4 Disc set is planned for this Christmas.But for 3D there isn't any time frame yet.It could take more than an year or so.

 

[santhosh]

Next release with special features of 4 Disc set is planned for this Christmas.But for 3D there isn't any time frame yet.It could take more than an year or so.

Thanks idlebrain. No way I am going to wait till then especially considering the PQ and SQ is so good. Will buy the Avatar BD asap.

 

[sam9s]

Though to add two more points....

Much to the A/V quality this disc has, its kept in 16:9 ratio, for what ever reason, almost all BRs there days have 2.40:1 aspect ratio......so people with anamorphic lenses will not get anything extra out of this. Also the movie has 5.1 DTA MA, which I had expected to be native 7.1 given the potential this BR has shown. Anyway not deal breaking shortcomings, but just though to chip in this information....

 

[iaudio]

Guys, Hows the Indian version of Avatar Blu ray?

 

[danccc]

Guys, Hows the Indian version of Avatar Blu ray?

Is the Blu Ray version available in India?

I have seen the VCD and the DVD which has a loud sticker proclaiming the DVD quality to be better than the VCD! (A sad reflection of the perception these guys have about the knowledge of the Indian consumer)

 

[iaudio]

Saw it listed on ebay.in for 1299rs, i assumed it's indian.

Is the Blu Ray version available in India?

I have seen the VCD and the DVD which has a loud sticker proclaiming the DVD quality to be better than the VCD! (A sad reflection of the perception these guys have about the knowledge of the Indian consumer)