Cars on Blu-ray

[Dave999]

Cars on blu-ray is a spectacular transfer of an animated feature. The picture is pretty much perfect. The detail is incredible, with many objects so clear and detailed that they look real. Color is also excellent and the picture is almost three dimensional. The sound quality is also exceptional with certain scenes producing sound all around the listening room. This is definately worth getting as a demonstration of what the high def formats can do.

[Chris D]

Sweet... mine's in the mail.

[avrtRick]

I love watching animation,

That said,I have been watching Toy story 2,Shrek 2 and Ice age and while viewing these, did notice that something wrong, so I turned up the brightness and then did realise that detail was lost in the darkness.

I was amazed tol how much I was missing out on.
And even though I dont own a hi-def player yet(I do own a dvdo vp50) I know what you mean when you say that things look "real"

In the movies I have stated I was WOWED by how many things that look real.
I know my sister-in-law has "CARS"(sd version) so Im going to give this my time and I will let you know my findings,but I will have to get a hi-def player soon to do a good A/B on the same movies

[Chris D]

Rick, it sounds like you need to properly calibrate your TV. When you do that, you can precisely see all details, with proper white levels and black levels. I recommend using a calibration disc like Avia or Video Essentials.

[Race Car Driver]

I just finished it tonight on BR, and what a great movie!

My buddy and I laughed out loud so many times!! Good humor, and the picture was nothing short of spectacular! The sound was amazing also.

[btf1980]

The sound was amazing also.

Yes, the sound is superb. The LFE rivals many of the top action blockbusters.

[Chris D]

(arrrrgh... just posted a huge reply, and my computer dropped it, so I'm retyping the whole thing)

I think it's good we're revisiting this thread. While Ratatouille is the #1 movie out there for picture quality and sound quality on any format available for the home today, it doesn't have the intense, dramatic action that Cars does, which is a close second. I've come to use Cars as the centerpoint for demo'ing my home theater to guests and those that I want to teach about home theater capabilities. (which is what I personally focus on in the industry) It's a perfect way to start off a demo and show the breadth of capabilities for home theater technology. I'll post a separate thread later on my repartouire for a demo session. Here's how I use a good Cars demo:

Sit your guest down in your theater, turn off ALL the lights, and, of course, crank the volume "up to 11". If you're on the ball, you'll already have the movie cued up, past the credits, previews, and menu, and start at the very beginning of the actual movie. The movie starts in silence and pitch black darkness, putting your guests in a great home theater dramatic entertainment mood. It all starts with a breath, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) inhaling, then saying to himself, "Speed... I... am... speed." Then both the sound and screen EXPLODE into a loud, immersive, bright, flashy shot of a NASCAR race screaming by for about 1.5 seconds. Your guests jaws hit the floor, in... well, "shock and awe."

Then it drops right back to black silence, again showing quiet, controlled fidelity. Then another NASCAR flash, then back to black silence. Lightning's back car trailer door starts to open, and the lights start to come up on the screen. The rock music kicks in, and Lightning starts to emerge, down the ramp. "Cameras" are flashing, and for the first time, you can see the beautiful picture, with razor sharp 1080p resolution and vivid colors from the CGI animation. McQueen revs his engine, and you hear the rumble of bass from your subwoofer(s).

... and in the span of about 10-15 seconds, you have taken your theater from limit to limit, exploring its capabilities from dark, quiet fidelity, to bright scenes with rich, deep color, coupled with loud, immersive surround sound. If you stop/pause the movie right here, everyone in your theater, both men and women, will turn to you and say, "I want that!" If you have a 1080p video display and the capability of playing audio of Dolby TrueHD or uncompressed LPCM, you'll also be showing virtually the ultimate of what home theater technology currently offers.

(side note, but for me, that's what it's all about, educating people on what a true, rich home theater EXPERIENCE can offer. It's not about the money, or showing off, although some will assume that. It's about taking people who don't know any better, putting a smile on their faces, having fun, and teaching them what's possible!)

I really like media clips like that, that in a short little span of time capture the limits of everything that a home theater really can do. Other clips like that, that I use are the launch scene in "Apollo 13" and the intro to "Money for Nothing" on Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms 20th Anniversary Edition, DVD-A. You can stop the movie "Cars" at that point if you're doing a quick demo and move on, or to keep your audience immersed, keep the movie playing and watch the scenes. There's great picture quality, rich colors, great sound, and fun humor. If you keep it playing, a couple minutes into the movie is the first big crash scene, which is just awesome for picture and sound. The cars seem to be literally flying around the room as they crash around you.