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WELCOME (BACK)! GLAD YOU FOUND US! Our Mission Technical Considerations Our goal is to bring you accurate, timely and consistent ratings of the technical qualities of the films we view, rent and purchase for large screen viewing. You'll find our 5-globe rating system easy to follow and I hope you find the information contained herein helpful when making your DVD purchase decisions. Remember, our ratings of image and sound quality are independent from the subjective reviews of extras, artistic merit or content of the storyline. For in-depth artistic reviews, please click the review link on the title. The overall impression of a movie and all those cool extras can sometimes overcome even a less than stellar transfer. Ultimately, you will decide what to purchase, but at least you'll know going in what you can expect in terms of picture quality and sound. That's our promise to you. If a DVD gets a high rating on our charts, it will look great on any sized monitor or television of reasonable quality. Guaranteed. Secondary Focus Enhanced Resources & Features for Serious Enthusiasts This week's exclusive Front Row Insider Report newsletter includes the scoop on the following titles...
Originally known as TheBIGPictureDVD.com from 1998-2009, we lost our domain name when we were not notified of the site renewal by the domain registrar after our site had been hacked. Someone in Canada swooped in and took our .com domain and used our hacked database of reviews, trying to pass them off as their own. It was an attempt to "legally hijack" this web site. Reporting copyright violations to their ISP resulted in their removal of our content, but after putting years of passion and love for movies into TheBIGPictureDVD.com, we weren't about to roll over and disappear, even though the site had been dormant for some time. So... welcome BACK to TheBIGPictureDVD.net, which will now serve as a repsitory for all of our great reviews and information. We hope you will enjoy reading our reviews here at ORIGINAL BIG Picture DVD web site and replace your outdated bookmarks from the old site with TheBIGPictureDVD.net.
To provide all owners of DVD players - including those with large projection systems - with reliable information you can trust when seeking high resolution DVD recommendations. While most DVD's look great on typically-sized monitors and TV's, the real litmus test in terms of DVD video quality is revealed on much larger displays.
A well-mastered DVD has the amazing ability to transcend the screen size and doesn't seem to lose anything in the way of resolution or detail. Conversely, even poorly mastered DVD's may sometimes appear acceptable on smaller displays in terms of overall clarity, but look terribly out of focus on large screens. This could be an important consideration when building your DVD library. Coventional wisdom indicates that 16:9 enhanced (anamorphic) DVD's render the best image quality, however some non-enhanced discs have fared surprisingly well. We sort out the good, the bad and the ugly so your next DVD purchase or rental won't be a surprise anymore.
It is our hope that by differentiating the quality difference between DVDs in a fair, consistent and impartial way, we might somehow make a small contribution toward the continuing evolution and growth of the format, encouraging studios and other content providers to strive for the highest quality that current technology allows when authoring discs, rather than pandering to the lowest common denominator for the sake of expediency and short term profits.
Expanding our online offerings even further, beginning in December, 2001 we now offer special website access and bonuses to members only. Front Row members of thebigpicturedvd.net receive valuable, exclusive content both on this website and via exclusive weekly e-mail not available to the general public. Front Row members enjoy a growing list of member benefits, including The BIG Picture's VIP Insider Report delivered weekly via e-mail, containing mini-reviews of all the latest DVD's we've seen in the preceding week (but haven't yet formally reviewed). See below for a partial listing of this week's titles. Our VIP DVD Reports are complete with image and sound quality ratings, instant, online DVD purchase discounts, and the ability to personally request reviews of specific titles from our vast (and continually expanding) DVD review library. Become a valued Front Row Member of The BIG Picture and get the inside scoop, plus unlimited access to our DVD ratings database, review, forum and news archives, discounts on software and hardware purchases, special prize drawings and a lot more.
...plus an additional 300+ DVD reviews that will appear ONLY via our Front Row Insider Report, delivered via e-mail each week for the next year! Become a member today and discover what you've been missing!
Our Review Equipment:
West Coast Facility:
Studio Experience Cinema 13-HD 16:9 LCD video projector, Quadscan Elite HD video scaler
Sony DVP-S7000 DVD interlaced and Toshiba 6200 progressive DVD players using component connections via MIT V-linq cables.
Stewart Filmscreen GrayHawk (optimized for LCD, DLP and D-ILA projectors) 16:9 aspect, 119" diagonal tab-tensioned ElectriMask ElectriScreen.
Yamaha RX-V992 Dolby 5.1 digital receiver.
Celestion Ditton 110's in the fronts and center
Polk AB Series architectural in-wall speakers for rear split surrounds.
SVS 20-39PCi 320 watt powered subwoofer.
East Coast Facility
Sanyo PLV-60, 16:9 LCD projector
Sony DVP-S9000ES DVD player
Screen: Stewart Grayhawk, 16:9 aspect, 100" diagonal
Surround: Lexicon MC-1 Digital Controller
Amplification: 3 Parasound HCA-1200II Amps, 2 channels each, 205Watts/channel
Speaker System: 4 Mirage OM-10s (one in each corner), Mirage OM-C2 center channel speaker, and Mirage Substrata, 1500 Watt Subwoofer (at .1 LFE Channel)
Cables/Connectors: Monster MSeries M950I audio interconnects (processor to amps), Monster XPNWMS Speaker Cable, Monster MSeries Silver Digital M1000D audio (DVD player to processor), Monster MSeries M35I SWHT Subwoofer cable, Tributaries V2 Video Cables (component connections)
AC Power Conditioner: 2 Power Wedge 122s
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NEW! Buy or sell DVDs, Home Theater gear, movie memorabilia and more!
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Participate in our DVD OPINION POLL and vote on several issues
Win a FREE DVD in our BIG Caption or Mystery Screenshot contests
| Today's Featured DVD Review: | Flashback DVD Review: |
SNAKE EYES |
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We are extremely pleased to originate and host the unique and comprehensive DVD reviews of Bob Banka and Jeff McNeal. In-depth reviews appear on all highlighted titles. Just click the text link on the movie title to access the review. You may also request a review.
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It's important to note that the in-depth reviews go well beyond the technical-only aspects of the image and sound quality as seen in our ratings guide. This is an important consideration when contemplating a DVD purchase. New DVD film reviews appear regularly. Check back often.
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