Beast Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Okay so I've recently bought a Playstation 3 mainly because of the blu-ray player and to game at the same time. The only problem I have with blu-ray is the grain on the action scenes. I thought it was my TV at first but then I put a different movie in and it isn't as grainy. My friend told me it was to do with how the movie was shot and how it was put onto disc and stuff but is there a way to make it less grainy? It's weird because it looks crystal clear but there's grain in the background and stuff. I don't know whether it's my eyes or something but yeah, it's standing out a little bit. I also thought that it might be something to do with the age of the movie itself. Like The Matrix was made in 1999 and when Trinity meets Neo in the club at the start of the film, the grain is very visible but when it's daytime, it's crystal clear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lens of Truth Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 There should be grain if it was shot on film. The amount represented by the blu is dependent how much digital noise reduction they apply at the transfer stage (which can often lead to a loss of detail and waxy smears, so unless handled judiciously isn't always a good thing). Night scenes usually appear grainier because of the low exposure, so again this could be the 'natural' appearance of the film. If it occurs mainly in fast movement/action though it could be digital compression/artifacting - in other words a poorly authored disc. Another thought is that it might be your TV settings. A lot of the added sharpening, noise reduction and motion smoothing options can create more problems rather than lessening them. You might want to have a fiddle with those (if in doubt "Off" is the best option!). By the way, which are the offending movies? Bourne films or their ilk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I'm guessing The Matrix. Or Sucker Punch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 The Matrix is more of a problem than Sucker Punch is. In Sucker Punch, Babydoll's first fight is pretty grainy when the samurai is shooting at her and she's dodging it but the fights onwards are okay. The parts where it isn't all action look great though. In The Matrix, usually it's when it's night or dark that look quite grainy. I've fiddled with the settings on the TV and on the PS3 and it looks less grainy and a bit better but it's still there. I haven't seen Reloaded or Revolutions yet but I'll let you all know what they look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lens of Truth Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 One example of grain being perfectly represented in a not-so-old film on blu-ray is the original TRON. They didn't erased any of the texture that makes the film and its combo of CG, matte and optical effects so unique. It looks gorgeous: Haven't seen Sucker Punch, but I'm pretty sure the Matrix films should have a healthy layer of fine grain. In the cinema you see even more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Yeah, I'm starting to see why they leave it in. It just looks gorgeous. The Matrix looks amazing though, in fairness. I recently bought Scarface which has quite a bit of grain in but the colours and the small details really do stand out more, which makes it look amazing to watch. I also bought Scott Pilgrim which, at the moment, is probably the best looking blu-ray I own. I now have The Matrix Trilogy, Scott Pilgrim, Sucker Punch and Scarface. I have a feeling that most of the movies I'll own will have grain considering the ones I want are mostly older movies (from the 70s and 80s) but I will say that Scarface is amazing to watch. I recently saw it on TV in HD and it looked disgusting and that's no exaggeration. My DVD version looked miles better. But watching it on blu-ray was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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