'Underworld (Dutch Import)' - High-Def Digest Review

[Attebery]

Kenneth's review of 'Underworld (Dutch Import)' has been posted. He says this Dutch Import offers tons of extras, but drops the director's cut featured on the German HD DVD. This HD DVD has an excellent video transfer, a reference quality audio track, and a nice package of bonus content. Worth adding to your collection, unless you want the director's cut.

Full review here:
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/1430/underworld_nl.html

[Rhodanos]

According Dutch reviewsites video resolution/codec is in fact Widescreen 2.40:1 1080i60 MPEG-2 High-Definition. Can it be that you have a new Dutch release? Can you give the EAN-code.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by Rhodanos

According Dutch reviewsites video resolution/codec is in fact Widescreen 2.40:1 1080i60 MPEG-2 High-Definition. Can it be that you have a new Dutch release? Can you give the EAN-code.

Unfortunately, I already returned the disc and don't have the EAN-code. However, I'm quite sure the film was presented in 2.35:1 and 1080p. As far as the codec, I've mixed up VC-1 and AVC before, but I imagine I wouldn't have misread MPEG-2. I'll do some checking and try to get a hold of the disc again to be sure.

Thanks for posting! I'll let you know if I find any errors in my review.

[Rhodanos]

Some extra info, the runtime of the Dutch hd-dvd is 116,05minutes, and not 121 minutes.

[Josh Z]

Originally Posted by Rhodanos

Some extra info, the runtime of the Dutch hd-dvd is 116,05minutes, and not 121 minutes.

Did you actually play the disc and come up with this time, or are you just going by the case? Many HD cases erroneously reprint the PAL DVD running times. 121 minutes - 4% speedup would be 116. However, HD discs have no speedup and would run at the proper theatrical run times.

The theatrical cut of Underworld is 121 minutes. There is no shorter cut, to my knowledge.

[ES0090]

Originally Posted by Rhodanos

According Dutch reviewsites video resolution/codec is in fact Widescreen 2.40:1 1080i60 MPEG-2 High-Definition. Can it be that you have a new Dutch release? Can you give the EAN-code.

I've had the Dutch release I bought from xploited a month or so back. I am totally impressed, especially with the sound. The makers did a great job with immersing you in sound. Everything the reviewer says about the sound it right on.

Here's what the back of my case says:
Video / 22:9 Anamorphic Widescreen [1.78:1]/ 480p 720p en 1080p

[Jawsfan]

LOVE the Cover art for this release. Wish the region 1 blu had the same cover art.

[krylonman]

I'm surprised at this--from what I heard, the Dutch release was of lousy quality. There was a European website that reviewed the initial batch of releases from this company, and the best anyone could figure out without speaking the language was that the video quality was pretty poor. Good to know that's not the case!

[Rhodanos]

Originally Posted by Josh Z

Did you actually play the disc and come up with this time, or are you just going by the case? Many HD cases erroneously reprint the PAL DVD running times. 121 minutes - 4% speedup would be 116. However, HD discs have no speedup and would run at the proper theatrical run times.

The theatrical cut of Underworld is 121 minutes. There is no shorter cut, to my knowledge.

There are two Dutch reviews, and according to those there is an 4% speed up of sound. One indicates that de 4% speed up is a result of a 50i transfer. They both state run time of 116 minutes, also a result from the 50i transfer.

[krylonman]

Originally Posted by Rhodanos

There are two Dutch reviews, and according to those there is an 4% speed up of sound. One indicates that de 4% speed up is a result of a 50i transfer. They both state run time of 116 minutes, also a result from the 50i transfer.

THAT was the issue; now I remember. I don't know; could this really have a genuine PAL speedup without the reviewer noticing? Especially when he saw it practically back-to-back with the German version?

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by krylonman

THAT was the issue; now I remember. I don't know; could this really have a genuine PAL speedup without the reviewer noticing? Especially when he saw it practically back-to-back with the German version?

I didn't notice the issue, although it certainly could have occured since I didn't sit and watch the entire movie twice for these two import reviews. Still, I think in the event of a speedup issue, the film should still be reported with the intended runtime of its feature (if for no other reason than to make it easier to determine exactly how much extra footage is included with the extended cut).

Hope that helps clarify! Thanks as always for posting and researching these issues.

[Josh Z]

Originally Posted by Rhodanos

There are two Dutch reviews, and according to those there is an 4% speed up of sound. One indicates that de 4% speed up is a result of a 50i transfer. They both state run time of 116 minutes, also a result from the 50i transfer.

I seriously doubt that's the case. Even with the Studio Canal titles that have a high pitch issue, the discs are still encoded in 1080p24 format and run at the proper speed. I think it's more likely that either the person who wrote that review doesn't understand what he's writing about, or the review has been mis-translated.

The couple discs I have from Dutch Filmworks (1408 and Reservoir Dogs) have no speedup or pitch issues.

[chowdachad]

I never noticed any speedup with this version. It seemed perfectly fine to me and i 100% agree with the review on the disc.

[Rhodanos]

Originally Posted by Josh Z

I seriously doubt that's the case. Even with the Studio Canal titles that have a high pitch issue, the discs are still encoded in 1080p24 format and run at the proper speed. I think it's more likely that either the person who wrote that review doesn't understand what he's writing about, or the review has been mis-translated.

The couple discs I have from Dutch Filmworks (1408 and Reservoir Dogs) have no speedup or pitch issues.

1408 and Reservoir Dogs are good releases. DFW, who releases the disc Underworld as one of their first releases, has confirmed the issue to the Dutch review sites. They than stated that with the next batch their hd-discs would be proper 1080p24. The explanation is that DFW used a hd-master meant for European hd-tv (cheaper!).

Dutch info:
dvd.nl/nieuws.php?id=2858

[CanadaPhil]

I am a little confused by these posts.

On the one hand, I have read reviews of stellar quality and on the other I have seen reports of iffy quality and a PITCH ISSUE.

I was contemplating getting this title.

Are there 2 different batches of it ??

If there is in fact a pitch issue, I would probably want to stick with the North American BD release.

Can someone REALLY CONFIRM??