Dear Readers,
I did manage to catch a HFR 3D screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and this time I was in seat from the beginning to the very end. In case you are wondering; no, there aren't any special scenes after the movie credits.
In any case, the difference between the IMAX 3D presentation and the HFR 3D presentation was immediately apparent. I was amazed at the stark difference and once again, my jaw dropped in wonder at how one movie could have such different presentations in circulation. In the IMAX 3D version, the scenes were actually blurry. The details in the visuals not as sharp. I was quite surprised at the quality of the IMAX version actually. Could it have been a poorly done IMAX version? I do not have the facts on this. The HFR 3D version, on the other hand, had sharp visuals all the way, which is what I expected from an IMAX 3D version in the first place!
As someone who first sat through the "less than ideal" version, I can fully appreciate the detail in the HFR version. If you watched the HFR version straight away, I would like to think that you would still be able to compare the visuals of previous movies that you have watched, with The Hobbit in HFR. Yes, I state HFR without the 3D because I am confident that the detail is apparent even in the 2D version. Though, I am not sure if there is a HFR 2D version available here in Malaysia. An analogy of my experience that I wish to convey to you, is similar to watching the standard presentation of a movie; that is, in its analog form without any 2D or 3D or anything added to it. Yes, I mean that grainy film quality. Keep that visual in mind and remember how you felt and what you saw when you stepped into a digital 2D presentation with all its quality and detail. That is the difference that you can expect when you go for a HFR presentation. It is another step forward but I also saw the visuals that probably made some reviewers or critics state: "looks like a video game" and "feels like watching it in the studio", "it looked fake" You would have to first experience HFR by yourself and see whether you like it or not.
To me, the HFR presentation is definitely the way to go when watching The Hobbit. I highly recommend it, borne out of my personal opinion and taste of course. The visuals were sharp and the motion blur was indeed reduced. You could really start to comprehend all the action scenes and further appreciate the movements of the characters, from both the virtual and real actors.
Here's looking forward to the next movie in HFR..any idea what movie that might be?
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in IMAX 3D
Hi Readers,
I am glad to report that I just came back (relatively) from a screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in IMAX 3D at Sunway Pyramid. I can say I had my mouth open in amazement for a good duration of the movie, right up till the end. I did not have the best start to watching this much anticipated movie; I walked in a few minutes late, I have no idea how late. Suffice to say it was still during the 'prologue' sequence, so I hope not too much was missed, but I am the sort to watch a movie from the very start to the very end, so I am actually planning on watching The Hobbit again!
It wouldn't be smart to watch at the same place, now would it? So that set me off on a journey. The journey to find the best Hobbit experience. But what triggered me to actually yearn for a better experience? It would surely be because I found something lacking in the screening that I just sat through. After all, if one were fully satisfied, and the 'thirst' is quenched, why would one still ask for more?
What I found lacking was the much talked about 48fps that The Hobbit was shot in. You will find more explanation on this here. Feel free to use Google to find out more, if you so desire. I accept the fact that perhaps I was a little too confident that the IMAX 3D experience would have been the best experience with regards to 'new technology' pioneered by Peter Jackson, The Hobbit's director. I should have done more research. Also I assumed that all versions of The Hobbit would feature the 48fps, or to use the official term, High Frame Rate (HFR).
It turns out I was wrong. The IMAX 3D version that I watched lacked the clarity that I was promised by the hype surrounding the HFR version of The Hobbit. I knew straight away as I sat in my seat that I wasn't going to get the much talked about HFR in this sitting of The Hobbit. I was disappointed but thankfully the movie was good enough to whisk me away on its adventure. That said, I would be reminded from time to time that I wasn't watching the much touted HFR version by the many action scenes presented throughout the movie. Yes, the motion blur was there (supposedly reduced or eliminated by HFR) and very noticeable in the action scenes.
Anyway, it just gives more to aspire to in the 2nd screening. And that leads to the question, "Do Malaysian cinemas even offer HFR?" I immediately sought out the answer to this question. On the way to finding out the answer, I 'dropped by' IMAX's website to find out whether what I just watched was actually in HFR. I had to verify, because one can never be too sure of oneself. I could be wrong. Perhaps the HFR didn't offer much improvement over the standard feature presentation? But I was proven right. Apparently, there is IMAX, IMAX 3D and now, even IMAX HFR 3D. Click here to read more on this. That article on IMAX's website lists down the IMAX theatres around the world that are screening the HFR 3D version of the film. And sad to say, Malaysia was not on the list, folks.
With no IMAX HFR 3D option here, unless we travel down to Singapore for a screening (Congrats Singaporeans!), we would have to take IMAX out of the IMAX HFR 3D equation, which just leaves us with HFR 3D. Again, we have to ask ourselves, is such an experience available to us Malaysians?
Once again, I journeyed to find out. It wasn't a long journey. Google now lists down the movie screening times for you as you type out the name of the movie that you would like to catch, and after I typed out "The Hobbit" (it works even without the quotes, try it), the following options appeared underneath:
See showtimes for (3D), (2D), (HFR 3D), and (IMAX 3D)
So Google tells us that there is in fact a HFR 3D version of the movie being screened in Malaysia. And where would we be so lucky to be able to catch it, you ask? Well here you go, but do feel free to look it up yourself. Clicking on the HFR 3D link yields the following result:
Golden Screen Cinemas - Signature Gardens
Golden Screen Cinemas - Pavilion KL
I tried many times to see if there were more than the 2 given options, but I was unsuccessful. Please do update me if you, dear reader, have found anywhere else that screens the movie in HFR.
So the standard procedure now applies. Select a suitable cinema, with a suitable time and purchase the ticket (probably the most painful part nowadays as ticket prices seem to be on the up, why is that? Anyone know?) and once again, look forward to a new experience. Hopefully.
It appears that while TGV has gotten its hands on exclusive rights to IMAX in Malaysia, GSC is the first to pioneer HFR. Competition is a wonderful thing, and it is the customer that benefits in the end. Till after I catch the HFR 3D experience...
I am glad to report that I just came back (relatively) from a screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in IMAX 3D at Sunway Pyramid. I can say I had my mouth open in amazement for a good duration of the movie, right up till the end. I did not have the best start to watching this much anticipated movie; I walked in a few minutes late, I have no idea how late. Suffice to say it was still during the 'prologue' sequence, so I hope not too much was missed, but I am the sort to watch a movie from the very start to the very end, so I am actually planning on watching The Hobbit again!
It wouldn't be smart to watch at the same place, now would it? So that set me off on a journey. The journey to find the best Hobbit experience. But what triggered me to actually yearn for a better experience? It would surely be because I found something lacking in the screening that I just sat through. After all, if one were fully satisfied, and the 'thirst' is quenched, why would one still ask for more?
What I found lacking was the much talked about 48fps that The Hobbit was shot in. You will find more explanation on this here. Feel free to use Google to find out more, if you so desire. I accept the fact that perhaps I was a little too confident that the IMAX 3D experience would have been the best experience with regards to 'new technology' pioneered by Peter Jackson, The Hobbit's director. I should have done more research. Also I assumed that all versions of The Hobbit would feature the 48fps, or to use the official term, High Frame Rate (HFR).
It turns out I was wrong. The IMAX 3D version that I watched lacked the clarity that I was promised by the hype surrounding the HFR version of The Hobbit. I knew straight away as I sat in my seat that I wasn't going to get the much talked about HFR in this sitting of The Hobbit. I was disappointed but thankfully the movie was good enough to whisk me away on its adventure. That said, I would be reminded from time to time that I wasn't watching the much touted HFR version by the many action scenes presented throughout the movie. Yes, the motion blur was there (supposedly reduced or eliminated by HFR) and very noticeable in the action scenes.
Anyway, it just gives more to aspire to in the 2nd screening. And that leads to the question, "Do Malaysian cinemas even offer HFR?" I immediately sought out the answer to this question. On the way to finding out the answer, I 'dropped by' IMAX's website to find out whether what I just watched was actually in HFR. I had to verify, because one can never be too sure of oneself. I could be wrong. Perhaps the HFR didn't offer much improvement over the standard feature presentation? But I was proven right. Apparently, there is IMAX, IMAX 3D and now, even IMAX HFR 3D. Click here to read more on this. That article on IMAX's website lists down the IMAX theatres around the world that are screening the HFR 3D version of the film. And sad to say, Malaysia was not on the list, folks.
With no IMAX HFR 3D option here, unless we travel down to Singapore for a screening (Congrats Singaporeans!), we would have to take IMAX out of the IMAX HFR 3D equation, which just leaves us with HFR 3D. Again, we have to ask ourselves, is such an experience available to us Malaysians?
Once again, I journeyed to find out. It wasn't a long journey. Google now lists down the movie screening times for you as you type out the name of the movie that you would like to catch, and after I typed out "The Hobbit" (it works even without the quotes, try it), the following options appeared underneath:
See showtimes for (3D), (2D), (HFR 3D), and (IMAX 3D)
So Google tells us that there is in fact a HFR 3D version of the movie being screened in Malaysia. And where would we be so lucky to be able to catch it, you ask? Well here you go, but do feel free to look it up yourself. Clicking on the HFR 3D link yields the following result:
Golden Screen Cinemas - Signature Gardens
Golden Screen Cinemas - Pavilion KL
I tried many times to see if there were more than the 2 given options, but I was unsuccessful. Please do update me if you, dear reader, have found anywhere else that screens the movie in HFR.
So the standard procedure now applies. Select a suitable cinema, with a suitable time and purchase the ticket (probably the most painful part nowadays as ticket prices seem to be on the up, why is that? Anyone know?) and once again, look forward to a new experience. Hopefully.
It appears that while TGV has gotten its hands on exclusive rights to IMAX in Malaysia, GSC is the first to pioneer HFR. Competition is a wonderful thing, and it is the customer that benefits in the end. Till after I catch the HFR 3D experience...
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
My Unifi installation experience
Finally, after Unifi promised me that my area would be covered by Unifi by the end of 2010, they came to install the service. Yes folks, it was a long wait. But let's see, sometimes things are worth waiting for, no?
Below was my chronicle of the installation 'milestones' on Evernote. Do check out Evernote for your note-keeping, checklist making, idea-jotting purposes. Since I don't really have that much time; as you can see, the last time I posted on this blog was in Dec 2010, I am just basically copy pasting from my Evernote, starting below:
The Unifi guys arrived around 1008hrs but it was raining. They discussed how they would proceed with the installation but due to the rain, they said they are unable to proceed as yet. So they opted to wait out the rain in their van. I offered that they could wait it out in the house but they declined. They are both Muslims so I am unable to offer them any food/drink either way.
1022hrs : still waiting but don't hear the rain so much from within the house so maybe they can proceed soon :P
1032hrs: Wow, they started to take down their ladder from the van, looks like they will proceed. Nice~ :D
1042hrs: began routing the black cable (that will go from the point outside the house to along the exterior of the house)
1210hrs: Everything is installed with minimum fuss. But just getting it to work now. They said something about there might be a "mismatch", so waiting to see how they deal with it. :P
1230hrs: The problem was solved by 'cleaning' the fibre optic cable that connects to the modem. They told me to test the internet and it resulted in a very respectable 5.02Mb/s download and 4.89Mb/s upload speed! w00t! Great news indeed. Then I had to test the IPTV and the video did seem to be a bit jerky, though, predictably, he said it would clear up. I've got all the channels on HyppTv on offer for free for 1 month. Will see what I do with this particular service later on.
The phone worked well enough too.
They left shortly after. So all in all, it only took 2 hours' work! Fantastic :D
Proof of the bandwidth obtained, as reported by speedtest:
One of my good friends suggested I do some real world tests like multiplayer gaming and torrenting to justify switching to Unifi. Certainly exciting and useful if we have such data to refer to. Will keep you all posted, thank you for reading!
Proof of the bandwidth obtained, as reported by speedtest:
One of my good friends suggested I do some real world tests like multiplayer gaming and torrenting to justify switching to Unifi. Certainly exciting and useful if we have such data to refer to. Will keep you all posted, thank you for reading!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
IMAX in Malaysia is dead, Long live GSC MAXX
Dear readers,
I guess it would be right to comment on my recent re-visit of the 'IMAX' theatre at Level 10, Berjaya Shopping Centre. Wow, so I haven't revisited it since my experience with Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen!
To be frank, my friend had already visited the newly refurbished "GSC MAXX" earlier, and he was pleasantly surprised, so I took the opportunity to give it a whirl too.
Yes the signage pointing you in the direction of GSC MAXX are now in trademark yellow GSC colours (sorry no photos). The counter and concession stand remain largely unchanged though. The staff was quite pleasant when I asked whether the movie I was going to catch was any good or not.
Amazingly, I chose the latest Narnia movie to 'test-out' GSC MAXX. Perhaps not the best movie in the world to choose, right? But it was supposedly in 3D, so there you go. The ticket price is RM20. There is only 1 hall, containing the BIG-used-to-be-IMAX screen. The 3D specs look something like this (kudos to another friend on Facebook who detected the similarity) which to me, looked pretty good!
The seats were pretty decent too. When I booked the movie, there weren't many seats taken but as I walked in to the theatre, there were quite a few people (children in tow no doubt) already. The leg room is pretty spacious, I would say. That's because when I had to walk in front of some seated people, they didn't have to curl up like a ball to allow me to pass! So that's a plus point right there.
So, let's get down to the movie.
Worse, the 3D was not well done. Take note (and if you don't believe me, try it out yourself) that certain portions of movie was not done in 3D. I don't know about other 3D movies out there (as studios just slap 3D on their originally very 2D movies), but if you just remove your 3D specs at some parts of the movie, thereby ruining your virtual reality experience (right..), specifically during the less action oriented scenes, you might find that the double-vision like characteristic of 3D images is not there! Maybe my eyes deceived me, so that is why I encourage you all to try it out yourselves.
Simply said, I didn't feel "wow-ed" at all. There are much better 3D movies out there. I surmised that perhaps the 3D was tacked on at the last minute. Or am I already a jaded 3D movie-goer? You decide. Basically, don't take a friend/family to this movie if you want them to experience 3D movies for the first time. Please.
Overall, GSC have done a great job in sprucing up the ol' IMAX. The movie certainly looked and sounded good as well as the overall ambience and experience of being there (right down to the Oakley-like 3D glasses) and I am thankful for that!
I look forward to watching TRON later this month and hopefully that title will be more deserving of 3D than Dawn Treader was.
Bottom line; YAY for GSC MAXX, nay.. for Dawn Treader.
Thanks for reading!
I guess it would be right to comment on my recent re-visit of the 'IMAX' theatre at Level 10, Berjaya Shopping Centre. Wow, so I haven't revisited it since my experience with Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen!
To be frank, my friend had already visited the newly refurbished "GSC MAXX" earlier, and he was pleasantly surprised, so I took the opportunity to give it a whirl too.
Yes the signage pointing you in the direction of GSC MAXX are now in trademark yellow GSC colours (sorry no photos). The counter and concession stand remain largely unchanged though. The staff was quite pleasant when I asked whether the movie I was going to catch was any good or not.
Amazingly, I chose the latest Narnia movie to 'test-out' GSC MAXX. Perhaps not the best movie in the world to choose, right? But it was supposedly in 3D, so there you go. The ticket price is RM20. There is only 1 hall, containing the BIG-used-to-be-IMAX screen. The 3D specs look something like this (kudos to another friend on Facebook who detected the similarity) which to me, looked pretty good!
The seats were pretty decent too. When I booked the movie, there weren't many seats taken but as I walked in to the theatre, there were quite a few people (children in tow no doubt) already. The leg room is pretty spacious, I would say. That's because when I had to walk in front of some seated people, they didn't have to curl up like a ball to allow me to pass! So that's a plus point right there.
So, let's get down to the movie.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
First off, let me just say that this is not the most objective review. Secondly, I liked the book (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and when I watched the first movie in this Narnia series, I didn't have any expectations. Really. I just walked into the cinema and let the movie wash over me. Except it didn't feel like I had a great 'wash' at all. There's something missing about that movie, and skipping over Prince Caspian, I unfortunately found Dawn Treader much the same. It is strange and I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was just something that should have been in the movie, but it just wasn't there. I suppose you could say, it is missing 'the spark'.Worse, the 3D was not well done. Take note (and if you don't believe me, try it out yourself) that certain portions of movie was not done in 3D. I don't know about other 3D movies out there (as studios just slap 3D on their originally very 2D movies), but if you just remove your 3D specs at some parts of the movie, thereby ruining your virtual reality experience (right..), specifically during the less action oriented scenes, you might find that the double-vision like characteristic of 3D images is not there! Maybe my eyes deceived me, so that is why I encourage you all to try it out yourselves.
Simply said, I didn't feel "wow-ed" at all. There are much better 3D movies out there. I surmised that perhaps the 3D was tacked on at the last minute. Or am I already a jaded 3D movie-goer? You decide. Basically, don't take a friend/family to this movie if you want them to experience 3D movies for the first time. Please.
Overall, GSC have done a great job in sprucing up the ol' IMAX. The movie certainly looked and sounded good as well as the overall ambience and experience of being there (right down to the Oakley-like 3D glasses) and I am thankful for that!
I look forward to watching TRON later this month and hopefully that title will be more deserving of 3D than Dawn Treader was.
Bottom line; YAY for GSC MAXX, nay.. for Dawn Treader.
Thanks for reading!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Poem for the 3rd day of December, year 2010
as the dream ended,
i woke up in a daze,
as if rear-ended,
in the midst of craze.
as i dozed unawares,
it comes over me,
the stories it shares,
an end i don't see.
bewildered, confused, amused,
i go thru the day,
eyes and mind far removed,
a price dreamers pay
i woke up in a daze,
as if rear-ended,
in the midst of craze.
as i dozed unawares,
it comes over me,
the stories it shares,
an end i don't see.
bewildered, confused, amused,
i go thru the day,
eyes and mind far removed,
a price dreamers pay
Monday, December 7, 2009
Re: Firefound
Dear Readers,
I told you all that I was exploring the use of Firefound , especially for Malaysian users. Well I have used it at 2 different locations to help track my laptop's whereabouts and so far, from the 2 locations it was relatively close in 1 location while in another, it was quite far off.
The 1st location was in an office, so could that have an effect on tracking the laptop? Overall, the location given in the website was 15km off the actual location of the laptop being tested.
The 2nd location was in a residential area, and also used a wireless connection, and firefound was able to name the strongest WiFi signal in proximity to the laptop! This time, the location could be said to be quite accurate, in fact, the street shown in the website was the street that the laptop was actually on at the time.
Please try to understand, I can only give the above example as I do not wish to divulge my locations (for safety and privacy reasons) but hopefully, all of you are able to understand the points that I am trying to make. :)
Of course, I am only 1 person, so if others in Malaysia wish to give this a try, please do so, and you may leave your feedback regarding this service in my comments section.
Thank you very much for reading!
I told you all that I was exploring the use of Firefound , especially for Malaysian users. Well I have used it at 2 different locations to help track my laptop's whereabouts and so far, from the 2 locations it was relatively close in 1 location while in another, it was quite far off.
The 1st location was in an office, so could that have an effect on tracking the laptop? Overall, the location given in the website was 15km off the actual location of the laptop being tested.
The 2nd location was in a residential area, and also used a wireless connection, and firefound was able to name the strongest WiFi signal in proximity to the laptop! This time, the location could be said to be quite accurate, in fact, the street shown in the website was the street that the laptop was actually on at the time.
Please try to understand, I can only give the above example as I do not wish to divulge my locations (for safety and privacy reasons) but hopefully, all of you are able to understand the points that I am trying to make. :)
Of course, I am only 1 person, so if others in Malaysia wish to give this a try, please do so, and you may leave your feedback regarding this service in my comments section.
Thank you very much for reading!
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