Displaying items by tag: The Screening Room AV

We’ve got several new disc reviews for you to enjoy here at The Bits today, including...

My thoughts on Anthony Harvey’s The Lion in Winter (1968) in 4K Ultra HD from StudioCanal, as well as Wes Ball’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Studios.

Stuart’s look at Mitchell Leisen’s The Lady Is Willing (1942) on Region B Blu-ray from Powerhouse Films’ Indicator label.

And Stephen’s take on David Twohy’s Below (2002) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

More reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.

In announcement news today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has officially set John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy (1979) for 4K Ultra HD release on 5/20. As expected, the company has also revealed that Ken Finkleman’s Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) is coming soon to 4K UHD.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set Starman (1984) for 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release on 5/27. Previously the disc has only been available on the format in the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 4 box set, released in early 2024. You can read our review of that disc here at The Bits now. [Read on here...]

Hey guys, this is Bill. I’ll be back with our usual news post shortly—including my non-spoiler thoughts on Dune: Part Two—but first I wanted to pop in here with this message…

My friend John Schuermann is the owner of one of the best home theater dealers around, The Screening Room A/V in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and he’s also the person who helped me select my new JVC projector for The Digital Bits’ HQ theatre.

You might recall that John and I also did this video podcast together back in November, along with Kris Deering of Deep Dive AV and Steve Crabb from TSRAV: Is Physical Media Dead?

He’s got some great deals on B-stock JVC projectors that might interest some of you. Here’s John to explain (comments below the break)... [Read on here...]

Boy, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover here at The Bits over the next few days! It’s been very busy here around the office these past several days. For one thing, my wife and I have had family staying with us for the weekend. I’ve also finally replaced my defunct Epson 5040UB home theater projector here at The Bits with a brand new JVC DLA-RS1100/NP5, and have spent time installing and calibrating it. (I’ll definitely have more to say about that later this week, though I’ll just note for now that I’m very pleased with the choice.)

But I would like to take this opportunity to thank my good friends John Schuermann (of The Screening Room AV, the fantastic home theater design and equipment retailer well known for their annual Projector Shootouts) and Kris Deering (the outstanding ISF calibrator, formerly of Sound and Vision magazine as well as his own Deep Dive AV) for their help and advice in selecting the RS1100 and getting it up and running. (Your counsel is very much appreciated, my friends!) If you’re ever in the market for home theater hardware or calibration, there’s no better place to start.

Needless to say, while I’ve been occupied with all that, our dedicated team here at The Bits has posted a number of great new disc reviews. So let’s quickly run them all down...

First of all, Stuart has offered his thoughts on Anthony Mann’s A Dandy in Sapic (1968) and Abraham Polonsky’s Force of Evil (1948) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Suzanna Raes’ documentary Close to Vermeer (2023) on DVD from Kino Lorber.

Dennis has shared his thoughts on Peter Hall’s Three Into Two Won’t Go (1969) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Luis Valdez’s La Bamba (1987) on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

Stephen has delivered his reviews of Jean Renoir’s legendary classic The Rules of the Game (1939) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion, along with Jiří Barta’s The Pied Piper (1986) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile (via Vinegar Syndrome), and Ulli Lommel’s The Boogey Man (1980) in 4K UHD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And finally, our hard-working reviews editor Tim Salmons has posted his own take on David Lynch’s Lost Highway (1997) in 4K Ultra HD, also from Criterion.

As always, more new disc reviews are forthcoming all week, so be sure to check back for them.

All right… now let’s move on to the latest release news. And there’s quite a lot of it today. In fact, it’s fair to say that it’s going to be a very expensive Q4 for fans of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD! [Read on here...]

We start today with another Blu-ray review from Tim. This time he’s taken a look at Mei-Chun Chang’s Dynasty (1977 – aka Qian dao wan li zhu), new on Blu-ray 3D from Kino Lorber Studio Classics with an assist by our friends at the 3-D Film Archive. It’s fun little 3D martial arts actioner and well worth checking out if you’re a fan of the Blu-ray 3D format in particular. Don’t miss it.

Now then, Lionsgate has set Minari for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/18. Extras will include deleted scenes, a making of featurette, and audio commentary with director Lee Isaac Chung and star Yuh-jung Youn.

The company has also set Endangered Species for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/1, with the Digital release expected on 5/28.

And Lionsgate will release Doug Liman’s Chaos Walking on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 5/25. The film stars Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, Mads Mikkelsen, and David Oyelowo. We don’t have A/V specs or extras details yet, but it was shot in 6.5K using the Arri Alexa 65, was finished as a native 4K digital intermediate, and it has an Atmos sound mix, so one assumes Lionsgate will go all out on the UHD release. The title is already available for pre-order on Amazon (click here for the link) you can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some more regular Blu-ray news, and then I’m working on a review of Sony’s Black Hawk Down in 4K Ultra HD for posting in the next couple of days. Let me tell you, it’s terrific. It’s a major upgrade of the Blu-ray, both in picture and sound.

Also, our friend John Schuermann of The Screening Room AV in Colorado Springs has just issued the final results of their recent 4K UHD Projector Shootout and – if you’re a front projector fan like I am – they’re pretty fascinating. Do check them out here. Sounds like the JVCs did pretty well against more expensive Sony projectors.

Meanwhile, Epson just announced a new 4K PRO-UHD projector too... the Pro Cinema 6050UB (MSRP $3,999), with features geared toward home theater cinephiles. You can check out all the details here. [Read on here...]