Test DVDs for home cinema

[father ted]

What DVDs do you throw in your machine when you are trying to impress someone with your home cinema surround system?

my faves
1) Star Wars episode 2 - Attack of the clones (i like the first spaceship scene.....really gets the sub exercised)

2) Fight Club - when the aircraft hits

3) Blackhawk Down - the whole gunfight bit in the streets & the helicopter scene with the miniguns

4) Apocalypse Now - the gunship attack

5) 2001 - A Space Oddesey - the whole soundtrack really

6) Close Encounters - lots of scenes but mainly when the mothership appears/lands


am looking forward to getting 'War of the Worlds' soon as i reckon this is gonna sound epic

what about you?

[trevorh]

Recently watched 'Hellboy' with the full 5.1. Quite impressive, especially with the ambient sounds during the dialogue.

[KJR]

Check out the following thread on the AVforum:

here

[Einion Yrth]

Battle scenes in 'Return of the King'; sub nearly takes the windows out every time a mûmak puts a foot down.

[davidy]

The beans and drum scene from House of Flying Daggers, a real dynamic scene going from delicate 'fingers in beans' to full on surround drums.

davidy

[count duckula]

I go for
opening scene on Star War ep4
opening battle scene in gladiator
ED209 scene in RoboCop.
Pod racing in Star War ep1


Malc

[Bomber Denton]

The first heist in 'Heat' where all the windows are blowing out on the cars.

The heist in 'Ronin' where they are chasing through the narrow streets in Paris.

Both sections send shivers down your spine with the right kit!

[zetec]

The scene in Independance day when Will Smith tries to shoot the can off the alien spacecraft. You can hear the bullet ricochet round the whole room

[shadytree]

Without a doubt, no if's or buts, the BEST test (imo) for Surround sound is The Depth Charge Scene in the Submarine film U571.
It will shake your windows, rumble your walls and give you goose bumps.
The explosions through a sub woofer sound fantastic, the water splashes and burst pipes sound like you're in the Sub.



Also the street gunfight scene out of HEAT is excellent for surround sound.

For image quality, Finding Nemo or Shrek. It really shows off the colours.

[peterpeter]

The Shootout-heist scene in HEAT...

the gunfire from within the car sounds amazing.

[mr_yogi]

I was very impressed with the night out bit of Lost in Translation on my setup in DTS.

Kill Bill Vol.1 in DTS is also excellent

[tollytuff]

i'd go for 'return of the king' too, when the 'eye' blows up.. my house shakes! brilliant!!!

[dinger]

Has to be the beach landing scene in " saving Private Ryan"....sounded good on my Marantz set up.......give it a shot

[T5-R]

Top Gun!

I know it's a cheesy 80's Tom Snooze movie, but it sends a chill through your spine hearing those fighter planes coming from "behind" you.

[alexkp]

The opening twenty minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" is perhaps some of the most complex and sophisticated sound ever commited to film.

I agree with the poster above who said "Attack of the Clones", any of the Starwars films does well as they are all remastered THX.

[cotty]

T5-R said:

Top Gun! I know it's a cheesy 80's Tom Snooze movie, but it sends a chill through your spine hearing those fighter planes coming from "behind" you.

Top suggestion, would have been my first thought.

I wonder if Days of Thunder would be similar but with cars

[allnighter]

I have 1000's of DVDs , top Denon amp top denon DVD player and without a doubt the best demo dvd would be the DTS version of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN , especially the 1st 20 minutes of the film.The detail is just amazing as bullets and explosions whizz from one speaker to another.
If you want to test your Subwoofer to its limit try MASTER & COMMANDER when the two ship are side by side , the canon explosions will hit you in the chest!

[pmanson]

Quite like the first couple of scenes from Exit Wounds for testing systems out. (Firefight on a bridge with a helicopter circling over head). Great Fun!

[Cyberhuss]

As above the 'Heat' gun fight is superb!

As for impressing people with my setup i have the THX Surround Demonstration DVD from Lucasfilm which basically causes your neighbors to go insane with the sub on full blast, it has all the THX trailers you see in the cinema, you know the jungle one etc and also alot of other stuff from the star wars race to a long trailer with the best 5.1 from other films all in one.

Some of you may not like the film 'Batman Begins' but the bit when he gets in the batmobile with Rachel and rams over the car ' the whole chase scene in 5.1 is truly amazing i love watching that part and on 5.1 with a big ass sub, oh my god!!!!

[Plotloss]

Three Kings

Not a particularly good film but they went to town on the DTS effects.