[Help] Armageddon 1998 Laserdisc audio?

[deleted user]

Thanks Jetrell, much appreciated!

Sadly, it's not much better. It seems to have ever so slightly juicier lows on occasion, but not enough to justify ditching the lossless. In general the curve looks pretty similar, in parts I would even argue the Criterion one is more compressed.

I guess the Japan DVD is my last hope then. Anybody feel like sharing?

[deleted user]

After further reading on the internet, I've "concluded" that the DTS soundtrack on the Laserdisc seems to be really good. Unfortunately, there seems to have been only one of them and not from Japan, and even back when it was new, it was pretty expensive (59 bucks or so). Now I saw somebody selling it for $1000.

If anyone stumbles over this track, that'd be great.

[Bigrob]

Thanks Jetrell, much appreciated!

Sadly, it's not much better. It seems to have ever so slightly juicier lows on occasion, but not enough to justify ditching the lossless. In general the curve looks pretty similar, in parts I would even argue the Criterion one is more compressed.

I guess the Japan DVD is my last hope then. Anybody feel like sharing?

I have it but need to fish out of the archive over the weekend

[deleted user]

I have it but need to fish out of the archive over the weekend

Cool stuff! Looking forward.

[Jetrell Fo]

After further reading on the internet, I've "concluded" that the DTS soundtrack on the Laserdisc seems to be really good. Unfortunately, there seems to have been only one of them and not from Japan, and even back when it was new, it was pretty expensive (59 bucks or so). Now I saw somebody selling it for $1000.

If anyone stumbles over this track, that'd be great.

You aren't using headphones to judge these different ones, are you?

[deleted user]

After further reading on the internet, I've "concluded" that the DTS soundtrack on the Laserdisc seems to be really good. Unfortunately, there seems to have been only one of them and not from Japan, and even back when it was new, it was pretty expensive (59 bucks or so). Now I saw somebody selling it for $1000.

If anyone stumbles over this track, that'd be great.

You wouldn't be using headphones to judge these different ones, are you?

I am. Though I mostly do so with the Dolby Headphone plugin which simulates a room and usually does a good job. I also do a quick check without it. And, if I might add, I have pretty good headphones and a very good interface (Fireface 800 and AKG K701).

Sadly it's the best I can do, lacking a real surround system. My neighbors also don't share my love for dynamics. I also look at the audio waveform though, which usually gives you a fair idea about the dynamics. Both the Blu Ray and the Criterion DVD have a very consistently loud center channel (from what I remember, almost always around or over -6dB). That means there is very little room for making very loud scenes even louder. 

Though I'll admit that when listening to it with a deactivated center channel, the dynamics are better.

Btw, I've been meaning to ask you, Jetrell. You made this thread on original trilogy around 2013, at least I think it was you. About DTS track preservations, specifically from Laserdiscs. In that thread, you listed Armageddon as (found), which according to the legend means you have access to it. Is that by any chance still the case / am I interpreting that correctly?

[dvdmike]

I removed the pcm in prologic when it came out, and my god it was the best I had heard at the time

[zoidberg]

Im thinking a preservation of the Directors Cut and the Original Theatrical cut.
From what I understand the BD has some changes in the form of Alternative Shots used in a few sequences.

I must say I have a soft spot for this film.

http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=685637

According to this website a shot of the radio telescopes before the New York meteor shower was replaced, possibly because the shot is repeated later in the film (with a different colour timing). So a theatrical fix may not be so difficult. Also there was a HDTV broadcast on SKY/BBC way before the blu, which presumably came from the old master (that was destroyed).

I still have the DTS DVD so if Bigrob cannot locate his I'll rip the DTS from mine. I've also ordered a cheap copy of the AC3 laserdisc from lddb. Unfortunately the DTS laserdisc is a bit rarified these days.

I rewatched the DTS DVD after reading this thread. It's still an absolute beast of a track after all these years but it will be interesting to see how the LD compares. Weren't the first DTS DVDs mastered in house by DTS before they licensed out the encoder? I can't remember. 

Of course it's still total cheese, it seems this cheese improves with age.

[zoidberg]

I've ripped the DTS track but my upload speed is feeble tonight so I will try again tomorrow. Here's a quick and dirty comparison of the waveforms of the Criterion AC3 DVD vs the Pioneer DTS.

Thanks to Jetrell Fo for uploading the Criterion track.

I was surprised to discover that the Criterion laserdisc only had the PCM track, opting for 2 commentary tracks. So the DVDs (NTSC/PAL) are the only sources for the multichannel mix of the Director's Cut.

[deleted user]

Thanks zoidberg! I assume the right one in the picture is the DTS? Looks a bit similar to the Blu Ray at first glance, but I'd love to give it a listen too.

As for the Laserdisc, I only know about the DTS one really, and that seems to have surround, and is typically praised: http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/08536/16066-AS/Armageddon

But, as already noted, pretty hard/expensive to come by. Kind of a unicorn I guess.

Are the commentary (I assume Laserdisc too? Or are you speaking of Criterion?)/PCM tracks anything to speak of? Might be interesting to have too, if you're feeling generous with your internet, heheh. Especially seeing that the Blu Ray apparently lacks commentary, so those might be a nice addition for my little project. I wonder what kind of stereo mix they might have done for this movie, me being such a headphone nut.