Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2451
Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park
Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 3:05 am
I was watching the Karas DVD on my current set up and have come to the conclusion that it is the best DVD mastering that I've seen for an anime title.
Whenever I go to animeondvd.com and see there titles that get an A I'm a bit skeptic. Titles like Last Exile (which is a good video transfer) still have some strange refresh smudginess on my setup. GITS SAC has a very fine ghosting when it comes to the high contrast Tachikoma days. Titles that actually get a B like Silent Mobius and Eden's Bowy look really suffer from poor contrast and color. Southern Cross, the DVD that I consider the worst looking in my collection still got a B.
I really detected no digital transfering problems on the Karas video transfer. It was even better than the very clear Disney/Miyazaki releases. The 6.1 DD audio mix (there are so few of these in the market) is fantastic. It utilizes the surround rear creating a very surround sound environment. The Subwoofer channel is always active and I'm almost willing to say it is overused, but the final effect is spectacular. The audio qulity is so good that I had to double check to make sure it was not DTS. The colors are amazing, especially the reds. The blacks are really black and the whites are blindingly white.
I will without reserve say that Karas DVD 1 is the best mastered anime DVD out there at the moment followed by Howl's Moving Castle. These titles rival the Se7en SE and Superbit Fifth Element in Audio and Video quality. Are there any other DVDs out there that will challenge my home theater until HD-DVD and Blu-Ray anime titles arrive? I'm talking about the A+ out there, not just the plain As.
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