Hi-Def Preview

Pirates Of The Caribbean – At World’s End

Walt Disney Home Entertainment

Released: 12/04/07

Review By: Joshua Noyes

Picture Quality - 5/5

Audio Quality - 5/5

Special Features – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

Comments: Much to my surprise I found the newest Pirates film waiting on my doorstep when I arrived home from work today!

After watching Pirates of the Caribbean – At World’s End it is clear that once again Disney has hit another one out of the park! Disney is on a serious role the past 30 days with the quality of their releases. Disney used an AVC encode on to a BD50 disc and the results for PQ are STUNNING! There were no hints of noise, macroblocking or any defect for that matter. The element, which struck me most, were the colors. The colors were incredibly vibrant and uniform and really enhanced the viewing experience. I too was impressed in the dark scenes of this film, which there are many. These scenes did not suffer from noise or softness, which is common in many HDM releases. The detail in the film is amazing as well. I would say this release has the most 3-D effect I have ever seen in HDM to this point.

In-terms of AQ, this too was a very impressive showing by Disney. I listened using the PCM 5.1 6.9 Mbps option and it was AMAZING! This is one of the best I have heard thus far on HDM. The Center Channel presented the dialog perfectly. It was as though the characters were sitting on your couch with you. The Surrounds too were used to perfection and used frequently. At times I found myself almost jumping from what appeared to be sounds headed in my direction. Finally the LFE was used to perfection too. The LFE commanded many scenes added a “fullness” which clearly enhanced the overall viewing experience.

The Special Features on this disc follow both the PQ and AQ in that they raise the bar for future HDM. All Special Features are in 1080i and included on the main disc and the supplement disc. Here is a list of what is included for Special Features:

Enter The Maelstrom – Take an immersive, eye-popping tour in a new interactive way like never before.

Bloopers of the Caribbean

Keith & The Captain: On set with Johnny Depp and The Rock Legend

Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom

The Tale of Many Jacks

Hoist The Colours

Masters of Design

Inside the Brethren Court

The World of Chow Yun-Fat

The Pirates Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer

Deleted Scenes

In conclusion, the purchase of this disc simply put, is a no-brainer. It is reference material for both PQ and AQ, the story is fun, the Special Features are great and interactive and the entire family will enjoy this experience!