Terminator on DVD & Bluray, anyone own both for an audio comparison ?

[Noahtuck]

Quite some years ago I had the original terminator on dvd with the mono sound.

Then i bought the MGM Special Edition on DVD which had the original mono soundtrack along with what was supposed to be a

NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART 5.1 Stereo Remix

To say the least, it sounds like crap, and did the first time i listened to it all those years ago....

It is like they tried to mix in some stereo sound effects with the original MONO audio and you can hear rich audio parts with mixed in flat mono audio.

It's hard to explain if you have not heard it.

Anyway's, I was thinking about buying the Terminator Quadrilogy Bluray set and i wanted to know if anyone has it or the original Terminator on DVD & Bluray and if they actually did a NEW good 5.1 audio mix.
That actually sounds good on a decent audio system.

Those who watch it through their TV speakers or a $200.00 bookshelf system need not apply

[edDV]

If all they saved was a mono mix, then that is what they had.

You can search user reviews or rent the Blu-Ray. Mine is the off TV version for T1 (saw it in a theater first). I have the Laserdisc for T2 but need to fire all that up to determine audio mix. Faster to find out online.

[edDV]

You have peaked my interest. A Google search for "Terminator Quadrilogy Bluray" returns pages of user reports. Tell us what you find.
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=ww#hl=en&cp=28&gs_id=4&xhr=t&q=terminator+quadri...iw=931&bih=883

[edDV]

The second on the search claims

The Terminator - PCM 5.1
Terminator 2: Judgement Day - DTS-HD MA
Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines - Dolby TrueHD
Terminator Salvation - DTS-HD MA

PCM 5.1 can mean many things. From synthesized from stereo to real 5 channel source.

[wulf109]

I have Terminator on BR and BDinfo reports it as 5.1 stereo.

[lordsmurf]

Noah wants doesn't want the specs.
He's after the actual sound quality being good vs being crap.

I don't blame him.

I've had several "remastered" DVD sets that screwed up the audio.
The Rhino Transformers box sets for S1-S2, and the original Robotech DVD releases.
Some people consider "remaster" to be "add new sounds effects".

[edDV]

Noah wants doesn't want the specs.
He's after the actual sound quality being good vs being crap.

I don't blame him.

I've had several "remastered" DVD sets that screwed up the audio.
The Rhino Transformers box sets for S1-S2, and the original Robotech DVD releases.
Some people consider "remaster" to be "add new sounds effects".

It all comes down to what was saved from the original production. If only a stereo mix, they must either fake 5.1 or create fresh tracks following the master. Voices usually go to center.

[jagabo]

The movie's soundtrack is encoded in uncompressed PCM 5.1 format or in standard Dolby Digital 5.1. Unlike the DVD, MGM/Sony have not bothered to include the original mono soundtrack. All we get is the obnoxious 5.1 remix prepared in 2001.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/22644/terminator-the/

[Noahtuck]

The movie's soundtrack is encoded in uncompressed PCM 5.1 format or in standard Dolby Digital 5.1. Unlike the DVD, MGM/Sony have not bothered to include the original mono soundtrack. All we get is the obnoxious 5.1 remix prepared in 2001.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/22644/terminator-the/

Yeah, imagine that.....
They made how many millions if not billions on that movie.....
Now why would they want to spend a meager $50,000.00 to redo a high quality audio track up to today's standards in true 5.1 or better audio

You would think they would still have the master audio recordings better than "mono" as during that time they had way better than mono audio.
They still had/have the better film footage to do a higher res bluray.

But that is an article from 2006 so it is pretty old and i saw a version of T1 that supposedly has

48 kHz/16-bit, DTS-HD MA 5.1, ~2243.00 kbps

And i was going to rent it from netflix to check it out but they list the audio as

English: Dolby Digital 5.1

&

English: PCM Surround

And the local rental stores only carry bluray's of new releases from the last 2 years or so, nothing classic or old....

So i may have to just take a chance and see what i get.

[jagabo]

i saw a version of T1 that supposedly has

48 kHz/16-bit, DTS-HD MA 5.1, ~2243.00 kbps

Could be the same crappy soundtrack, just with more bits. To make it "sound good" -- on the packaging! LOL

[Noahtuck]

i saw a version of T1 that supposedly has

48 kHz/16-bit, DTS-HD MA 5.1, ~2243.00 kbps

Could be the same crappy soundtrack, just with more bits. To make it "sound good" -- on the packaging! LOL

Yep, i considered that also, that's why i started this thread to see if anyone owned both dvd and a newer bluray version that could comment on the comparison.

I seriously prefer the original mono audio track over the

NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART 5.1 Stereo Remix

on the dvd version as it sounds so fake and hearing the difference i mentioned in my OP.

The bluray's i have seen are from Europe/England as they have the red circle with the 18 in the middle.

But from past experience i also know how re-releases are done over there, espc. by "Anchor Bay"

I remember when Phantasm was re-released with 16:9 versions of 2 & 3 in the chrome "ball"....
I compared them to the original fullscreen versions and they just cropped off the top and bottom

[jman98]

Blame idiot consumers. For years John Q. Public has been convinced that DTS is as good as it gets, that 5.1 is preferable to the original mix (whatever it is) and so on. Now we're seeing that EVERYTHING has to be faked into 16:9. A few weeks ago Turner Classic Movies ran some old Abbott and Costello movies from the 40s that were 4:3 but they cropped the top and bottom to make them look "normal" as 16:9. I have no idea if this is just going to be how TCM does everything now but I do know that in December they ran an old silent Lon Chaney film and it was shown as 4:3. It makes me wonder if the next time they run it if it will be cropped and stretched.

[jagabo]

Turner channels pretty much butcher everything.

[Noahtuck]

Yep, i have the original Three Stooges box set with every Three Stooges episode ever made....

Near the end of the set (with shemp) they have some hacked 3D versions & some episodes cropped in 16:9

Turner....

Can we say "Colorize" (butcher) every classic B&W film ever made !!!!!!!

LOL!!!

I alway's liked DTS over anything else, but i also listened to the clarity, channel separation, quality of sound, etc. when it came to dvd's.
But i also know DTS can be made from crappy sources with little to no channel separation.....

Too bad hollywood does not worry as much about quality as they do about the imaginary monetary losses they think they are incurring......

[Noahtuck]

Another thing that popped into my mind last night...

There are movies that are older than Terminator that have killer sound, surround sound, 5.1, etc.

Such as Star Wars.....

Were the producers, editors, director, the people in charge just asleep on this one ??

[El Heggunte]

Another thing that popped into my mind last night...

There are movies that are older than Terminator that have killer sound, surround sound, 5.1, etc.

Such as Star Wars.....

Were the producers, editors, director, the people in charge just asleep on this one ??

The original audio track of the movie was destroyed by Sarah Connor, in order to stop the inevitable.

But, as we all know very well, the inevitable cannot be stopped.

[Noahtuck]

DOHH!!!!

Damn that Sarah Conner!!!!!!

Always gotta be messing with the timeline!!!!!!!!!!

[crissrudd4554]

I don't own a BluRay player so I obviously have not seen the BluRay for Terminator but I know for a fact that every release of The Terminator do not have the mono which is a shame. Me personally I have not been a fan of any remixed 5.1 tracks done for DVD/BluRay releases of films originally done in mono. It just doesn't fly for me. I do own the 1997 Image Entertainment DVD of Terminator as well as the 2001 Special Edition DVD. The latter features both the remix and original mono but in my opinion the mono sounds way better on he '97 DVD. I recently downloaded a BluRay version of Terminator online which someone synced to the mono version from the Laserdisc and the results were very good! I also hated the 5.1 mix done for Jaws and was thrilled when the mono was included on the 2005 DVD as it was missing from the first DVD release. I only regret is that the mono for Terminator is not on any of the current releases. For those who like the 5.1 mixes, fine, but purists like myself like to have the mono included.

[bendixG15]

I don't own a BluRay player so I obviously have not seen the BluRay for Terminator but I know for a fact that every release of The Terminator do not have the mono which is a shame. Me personally I have not been a fan of any remixed 5.1 tracks done for DVD/BluRay releases of films originally done in mono. It just doesn't fly for me. I do own the 1997 Image Entertainment DVD of Terminator as well as the 2001 Special Edition DVD. The latter features both the remix and original mono but in my opinion the mono sounds way better on he '97 DVD. I recently downloaded a BluRay version of Terminator online which someone synced to the mono version from the Laserdisc and the results were very good! I also hated the 5.1 mix done for Jaws and was thrilled when the mono was included on the 2005 DVD as it was missing from the first DVD release. I only regret is that the mono for Terminator is not on any of the current releases. For those who like the 5.1 mixes, fine, but purists like myself like to have the mono included.

Why did you make me wait three years for your post ??

[crissrudd4554]

Because I only sporadically come on this site and just found this thread last night. Also I dont think I was on this site three years ago