Page 1 of How bad is the sound on FOTR 4 discs R2?

Basically I wanna get it. Region 2 is my preference but obviously if the DD 5.1 sound is horrendous them I have no choice. Is the region 2 worth getting? Has the problem been corrected?

OK, here goes...

The R2 version is affected by a speed-up correction problem, which results in the odd `glitch` in the audio. However, only a very limited amount of people will notice this as only a few people have perfectly tuned ears, and will be able to notice the difference.

I own the R2 and after listening to both DD and DTS tracks I can confirm they are reference quality, and I found no problems whatsoever. In ways - and some will agree with me here - the DD is better, although the DTS has a bit more oomph in places, as per usual with DTS.

Nothing has been `corrected` as such by EiV, but then again they are possibly the worst distributor in the UK so nothing surprising there. I assume TTT and ROTK will also suffer from the speed-up, but like I say I didn`t even notice it.

Go for it!

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The DD 5.1 sound is great apart from a few pops and clicks.

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only a very limited amount of people will notice this as only a few people have perfectly tuned ears

Not true. It`s not the higher pitch or speed-up that is the problem so you don`t need finely tuned ears to hear it. The correction to correct the pitch just resulted in annoying pops and clicks in the soundtrack, only noticable when the music is playing. I`ve noticed 4 or 5 of these clicks in a film that is well over 3 hours long, so if you do the math it`s not that bad a problem considering these pops only last a fraction of a second.

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after listening to both DD and DTS tracks I can confirm they are reference quality

Well, I wouldn`t call them reference quality because they are slightly flawed. And the DTS track is awful, just a complete mess. It lacks the "oomph" when it needs it, and adds it when it doesn`t. The Moria scenes are also lacking direction and clarity in DTS. But the DD 5.1 soundtrack is, minus the clicks, one of the best soundtracks ever. Simply stunning. Although the Dolby 5.1 on The Two Towers R2 is even better, and I heard no flaws on the theatrical edition, so it looks good for TTT: EE R2.

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Nothing has been `corrected` as such by EiV

EiV were responsible for over-seeing the master of the UK R2. I think it was another company that did the pitch correction (and f*cked it up). The Australian PAL R4 was mastered by a different company and it also has pops and clicks according to MichaelDVD.

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I assume TTT and ROTK will also suffer from the speed-up

Of course they will, every film on UK R2 DVD is PAL, so it runs 4% faster. It`s the pitch correction that is at fault here, but I think it has been fixed for TTT at least :)

If you have a sharp ear and don`t mind NTSC you might want to get the R1 release. The R1 DVD is supposed to have a better DTS soundtrack and some of the extra features are uncut. But if you can get the R2 DVD and don`t mind some very minor sound flaws then I would go for it :)

OK, so Chewie has picked flaws in my post to make me sound like a twat (;-)), but I will defend myself briefly...

When I said `speed-up` on TTT and ROTK, I meant for the pitch correction problem, as I had assumed they will follow FOTK`s suit.

I also want to add that I do think the soundtrack is reference quality, and the DTS is not a mess - but yes, the DD may be slightly more defined in places, but the DTS still has its usual oomph.

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YOU PEOPLE ARE FAR TO FU####G PICKY JUST WATCH THE GODAM MOVIE...

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YOU PEOPLE ARE FAR TO FU####G PICKY JUST WATCH THE GODAM MOVIE

Ah, what a helpful post ;)

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I also want to add that I do think the soundtrack is reference quality, and the DTS is not a mess

Have we been here before? (Pulp Fiction ;) ).
I have seen the Extended Edition of FOTR many times, on both DTS and DD 5.1 and on 3 separate systems. The first major fault in the DTS mix is the complete lack of bass when Sauron is destroyed in the prologue. In the DD track, we get a nice "room shake" effect, although it isn`t over done and works perfectly. With the DTS track we get a whimper instead of a bang. I wouldn`t have minded that if it were the only problem, but the DTS track just lacks any kind of accuracy and is a mess. While watching it the first time (after having heard the DD 5.1 twice) I thought my equipment was faulty, so I slipped in a few DTS tracks which I think are great examples (T2, Gladiator, etc) and they were fine. So basically the DTS track on the R2 is a f*ck up. I would go and listen to it again and I`m sure you`ll agree. I have heard bits of the R1 DTS, and it is much, much better, but I haven`t seen the film all the way through on the R1 with DTS.

I`m happy with my R2 though, as the DD 5.1 is a great soundtrack (apart from those crackles :/ ). I never knew about the faults when I bought it on the day of release, but I don`t consider the faults to be big enough to spend £15 on the R1 LOTR EE.

I think I`m going to stick with R2 for TTT: EE as well as I think it will be free of pops and clicks... EiV learned their lesson me thinks ;)

Cheers for these very helpful posts. Certainly cleared it up for me. I will get it from CD-wow using todays 1.50 off link and the 1.50 trustcard voucher to bring it down to only 15 quid.

"The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves."

With my ears, I probably can`t hear a lot of the differences, but the DTS track on the FotR EV is a disappointment.

Meantime, I`ll be handing over my money for the DVDs, and I expect the job to be done right. A lot of people put a lot of work into making a movie -- any movie -- and they deserve a DVD which shows what they did, without added errors.