It's official: Transformers HD DVD rocks

My camera shots don't accurately reflect just how good the HD video quality is but this disc lives up to the hype and the extremely high expectations. As with any Michael Bay film the action moves FAST and if you pause the movie at any given point chances are you're gonna see a blur. So is Transformers my new reference disc? Yes - mostly. King Kong is still what I would consider to be the cream of the crop in terms of video quality but Transformers comes pretty close. With Transformers there is a touch of softness while King Kong is razor sharp. I'm really nitpicking here as the HD DVD has plenty of detail, nice saturated colors (but in the third picture above, my camera has a weird orange push on Shia's face but in reality you don't see it on the screen. Also the 4th picture above is too blue), and a nice, well contrasted image. The characteristics above could also be attributed to my S400 camera settings (ISO100 + AWB), my projector not being fully calibrated and/or the stylized intent of Michael Bay (ie the HD DVD is simply showing the movie and it's picture characteristics as the director intended). Again, I am being a real nit pick here. Even if Transformers does not dethrone King Kong for reference picture quality, it definitely takes the throne for being my favorite demo disc.

Despite the rants from a lot of people about the soundtrack "only being Dolby Digital Plus" (vs lossless Dolby True HD) I have to say that even on my modest Sony ES Dolby Digital decoder, the soundtrack is fantastic. The dialogue comes out clean and clear from the center channel and film score is enveloping. Surround channels are generously utilized during the action sequences greatly enhancing the level of immersion. The ultimate use of LFE for was the Iron Hide "rocket jump" scene. WOW, talk about DEEP BASS extension. My Def Tech subs really came to life. I was just blown away. In fact, I've bookmarked this scene since it is so freaking AWESOME.

The special features on disc 2 are actually insightful (not just EPK fluff) and in HD. And similar to "300," disc 1 has a cool "HUD" PiP video commentary.

If you are curious to know the differences between the HD DVD release and upconversion of the SD DVD release, check out this article. It wouldn't surprise me if Toshiba sells a lot more HD DVD players this holiday. If you've been looking for a good excuse to get into HD DVD, Transformers is probably a good one. Ok ...I know by now, I sound like a total marketing/sales weasel but seriously, this disc really does showcase the next gen format. The experience is even better in the comfort of home. I have not smiled this much while watching a movie at home for as long as I can remember.