# Total Recall - Blu-ray Review



## Peter Rygiel

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=10294[/img]*Title: Total Recall
Starring: Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Bokeem Woodbine, Bill Nighy, John Cho
Directed by: Len Wiseman
Written by: Kurt Wimmer, Mark Bomback
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 AVC
Main Audio: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
Studio: Total Recall, Original Film
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 130 min
Blu-ray Release Date: December 18 2012*
*
Movie :3.5stars:
Video :5stars:
Audio :5stars:
Extras :4stars:
HTS Overall Score: *92

*Movie:*

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=10298[/img]After a frustrating day at work assembling synthetic police officers Douglas Quaid (Farrell) takes the recommendation of a co-worker and visits Rekall, a high-tech lounge specializing in escapism in the form of implanting memories that the customer can later recount. The only stipulation is the requested memories of the fake life can’t already have happened; which would lead to complications and confusion within the brain. Quaid picks the tantalizing memory of being a former secret agent and sits down in the apparatus to go forth with the procedure. As he’s being hooked up, including intravenously McLane (Cho), the operator starts to run a scan for any possible memory overlaps and although Quaid swore he’s never been a secret agent, a conflict pops up and McLane quickly orders the procedure to stop; why the scan wasn’t finished before the intravenous commenced didn’t make any sense. In any case there’s a bit of chaos before a squad of armed men forcefully enter the room and kill everyone but Quaid, who using tactics apparently learned prior swiftly dispenses of them. Leaving behind a mess and scattered dead police officers Quaid rushes home and tells his wife Lori (Beckinsale) of what just transpired. [img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=10297[/img]She accepts the story as nonsense, but then as the two are embracing she starts to choke Quaid who fights back in a confused and bewildered state. He escapes from his apartment and becomes a hunted man as the media get a hold of his picture and the police blame him as the sole killer at the Rekall lounge. Is Quaid a traitor, a simple factory worker remembering Rekall memories, an actual highly trained intelligence agent, or a little from column A and a little from column B?


[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=10301[/img]As the nearly nonstop action continues Quaid starts to unravel the confusing situation he’s in using a few different methods, all which result in the fact that the secret he holds is very consequential to life on planet Earth, but the secret ingrained in his brain is just boring and far from cool and epic in scope, unlike the secret Arnold Schwarzenegger had in the 1990 original. After that disappointment the movie didn’t mean all that much to me and although I wasn’t actually bored I sort of fell into an autopilot zone until the very end. 


[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=10299[/img]As for the action, it’s pretty routine yet entertaining. There’s a lot of Farrell running and jumping to ledges, falling through awnings and roofs of different sorts, and constantly dodging and evading gunshots and waves of bullets fired by his enemies who, unsurprisingly are perpetually missing. There’s a good variety of camera angles that let you experience Quaid’s numerous falls from different perspectives. Quaid should have been a cyborg considering the amount of physical pain he takes and amount of seemingly endless energy he exerts fighting off whoever intends to do him harm. Despite the wild and crazy chase scenes and ridiculous escapes by Quaid, which there are plenty of, everything is orchestrated in a pretty slick manner, especially since the environments and CGI look amazing. 

The performances from the actors aren’t going to garner any Academy Award nominations, but everyone involved does the best they can with the script and dialogue. Farrell does a great job as the lead and really commits to the role. The dialogue isn’t intense or corny, but plausible and well written. Beckinsale transfers her -kicking skills from the Underworld series and I liked bits of the physical performance, but for the most part I found it rather unconvincing. Add to that she never looked frazzled. There’s a moment where she gives a determined stare into the camera following an intense physical confrontation and her hair and makeup look as if she came off a runway shoot. Bryan Cranston is just good as Chancellor Cohaagen, Jessica Biel as Melina, a girl Quaid initially sees in a dream is completely forgettable, and Woodbine playing Harry Quaid’s friend is amiable, but also replaceable. 

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=10300[/img]The storyline starts off confusing and doesn’t throttle back too much. I think this was predetermined, as a strategy to keep the audience guessing and more importantly interested. The haziness concerning what reality Quaid is living in leaves its mark, but appreciably not in a real ambiguous way. Toward the middle and especially at the end I felt indifferent toward the entire effect of Rekall. This could be problematic for some viewers because if you don’t care in what reality Quaid is in, in turn you might not care about the actual movie. 

*Rated: *

PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, some sexual content, brief nudity, and language.

*Audio: :5stars:*

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=10296[/img]From the opening credits the sub-woofer comes to life and starts to rumble shaking the entire room. It never lets up and leaves a very impactful and lasting impression. The action is quick to start with rapid gunfire giving off a pronounced heavy sound. Rain, moving vehicles and people walking through the streets are nicely dispersed throughout all the speakers. Beeps, buzzes and other future computer familiar sounds are nicely integrated. Dialogue is prioritized to sound crisp despite the sometimes chaotic setting. Directional effects are used constantly and heavy, which is a good thing because it really immerses you in the fictional world. Punches, elbows to the face and other physical acts have that distinct over the top Hollywood flavour. The last act in _Total Recall_ is a sonic delight. Explosions and huge things crashing against each other sound magnificent. The speakers and sub-woofer go into overtime emitting louds of lows. The score gets your adrenaline pumping as it swells to match the increasing level of action. I was blown away by the sonic atmosphere created on this Blu-ray. There is never a dull sounding moment. 

*Video: :5stars:*

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=10295[/img]There was no expense spared when creating the futuristic world in _Total Recall_. Not only are the actual physical sets complex and expansive the CGI looks beautiful, especially the aerial shots of the city in the sky. There is a level of refinement in the towering buildings and other structures that you rarely see in movie heavily laden with computer generated cityscapes. The dwellings gleam and shine and have a polished look to them with texturing plainly visible. Interior portions of the city are dazzling with lights strewn through the pathways. Detail in clothing is very high and facial features like wrinkles and five o’clock shadows look great. Indoor scenes despite lacking a lot of light look fantastic. _Total Recall_ has a distinct color palette using a variety of grays and greens. The dystopian world is bleak and rainy with black levels and contrasts representing that. The many explosions resulting in bright billowing fireballs and other minor booms also look fantastic and real. Every time something explodes it is a visual treat. The hallmark of _Total Recall_ are the uncompromised visuals that blend perfectly with real physical sets. If the actual movie didn’t meet your standards or you though it wasn’t really a remake per se, you’ll have to agree that this 1080p is something to marvel at. Rent the movie for the looks if nothing else.
*
Extras: :4stars:*

Disc One:
-Audio Commentary with director Len Wiseman
-_Total Recall_: Insight Mode
-Previews: _Seven Psychopaths_, _Resident Evil: Retribution_, _Men in Black 3_, _Premium Rush_

Disc Two:
-Gag Reel
-Science Fiction vs. Science Fact
-Designing the Fall
-Total Action
-Stepping into Recall: Pre-Visualization Sequences
-Video Game Demo: _God of War: Ascension_ for the Playstation 3


*Overall:*

_Total Recall_ on a large scope is a nearly two hour long (theatrical version), two hour plus (extended version) chase scene with Farrell narrowly escaping death a handful of times. It definitely falls under the category of a fun summer popcorn film. The immense detailed world created for this movie is truly topnotch, a real pleasure to look at and that’s the movie’s hallmark. The acting and dialogue are enjoyable. My only real lasting gripe is the unimaginative (for me that is) secret Quaid has. It’s linked to another rather vanilla aspect within the entire storyline and something previously seen (Will Smith – 2004) in a science-fiction action movie. 

_Total Recall_ pays homage by re-enacting scenes from its predecessor a few times (sort of), but overall I’d say it is a standalone movie very much worth renting and watching on a large screen with the volume turned up.



*Buy Total Recall on Blu-ray at Amazon*


*Recommendation: Buy It!*
*Watch the Official Trailer*


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## JBrax

Thanks for the review Peter. I agree that both audio and video were outstanding. The first half of the movie was quite enjoyable though I felt the last half and ending was lacking. I loved the twist with the old lady passing through the checkpoint by the way. Definitely worthy of at least a rental and for some maybe a buy.


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## ALMFamily

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Thanks for the review Peter! :T

I saw this one at the theater and felt the same way - while the Arnold version was a bit cornier, I thought it had a better overall storyline. However, it is a visual and audio treat. I am looking forward to watching it in the HT just to hear how the end sounds!


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## Todd Anderson

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Hmmm.

I know I'm going to end up seeing this just because it looks like great HT material, but I wish I were as sure that I will enjoy it.

I guess we'll see...

Thanks for the review!


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## cavchameleon

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Thanks for the review. I was on the fence on whether to purchase this, but think I'm convinced.


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## Savjac

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

The movie arrived the other day and I put it in the player and hit play..after that I was not sure if I was watching Blade Runner or Total Recall. This movie is non stop action, motion, sound, visuals and everything else but an involving story. I could of course be mistaken and may have been in a poor mood, but this was really a hard movie to hang with, maybe because so much was happening. The image and sound were very good with the soundtrack following the motion in the movie very well, so from that point of view, someone really took the time to fill in the aural action. 

I agree this is definitely a rent first and if you like it buy it, but it will test your senses either way.

I do have an issue with the soundtrack in that it had a good number of drop outs throughout the entire movie. It had to be a disc issue as my player is good and I even cleaned the disc ahead of time. Not sure what was going on here


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## Dwight Angus

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Enjoyed the movie but several audio dropouts. Contacted Oppo who said they were aware of the issue and will issue a firmware upgrade or Sony will reissue the disc. They suggested a temporary fix is to change audio from bitstream to LPCM.


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## musikpirate

I enjoyed the movie for what I could hear. There were so many audio drop outs it almost became unwatchable. I switched blu-ray players but still happened. I will probably need to exchange it?


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## Mike Edwards

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



musikpirate said:


> I enjoyed the movie for what I could hear. There were so many audio drop outs it almost became unwatchable. I switched blu-ray players but still happened. I will probably need to exchange it?


it's not your discs fault (well it is kinda, but it's not an issue that can be fixed by exchanging). what is happening is your player is having a problem with the new updated copy protection scheme that Sony implemented in this disc (it happened with Disney and Brave and a few other titles over the last year or so). What's gonna need to happen is the players that are affected by this issue will have to wait for a firmware update to fix this issue. however switch your player from Bitsreaming DTS-HD MA to LPCM output and you should be good to go until the firmware updates come out.


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## musikpirate

Thank you for the explanation Mike. I did notice this with brave but it only happened about twice on it. Happened about every ten minutes with Total Recall. My Sony sits downstairs and is not connected to the internet. When I hooked it up upstairs there was an update that I installed but didn't help. I will keep checking for newer updates.


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## titanius719

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

That was a great trailer and an even better review! Since there are only a handful of movies to pick from when I go to the Redbox, I started using Blockbuster at Home from DISH. And with over 100,000 different selections, I needed a way to narrow down all the amazing choices, so thanks for the great starting point. I have already seen the original, so the whole “which reality is real” thing is a little wasted on me. But like the action junkie I am, I have to see what they have done with CGI. The guys in my office at DISH said the chase scenes are epic. And from what I have read, so does everyone else.


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## spartanstew

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Watched this last night and while I really enjoyed it, there was one aspect that was very annoying- and not sure if I can explain it.

Every few minutes, they had a "light beam" appear on the screen - usually traveling down the screen. If you've seen the movie you'll know what I mean, but I thought it was distracting.

I did like some of the homages they paid to the original - the three breasted lady, the fat red head going through security, etc.


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## JBrax

It's called lens flare and it annoys the you know what out of me.


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## jevans64

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



JBrax said:


> It's called lens flare and it annoys the you know what out of me.


Yes. Seems like Len Wiseman ( the " Director " ) graduated from the SAME School of Superfluous Lens Flares as J.J. Abrams graduated from. Only non-talented bozos would think that shining a zenon light into a camera lens at acute angles would be creative.

While they made at least some sense in Star Trek, they make NO sense in Total Recall. They can be seen in completely dark rooms and hallways with no apparent light source off-camera.


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## JBrax

Not sure I would call JJ Abrams non talented but I don't understand the artistic characteristics they perceive using lens flare. Even Steven Spielberg employs it in his movies.


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## olddrum1

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

This will not make sense but I found the background to be dark and busy, somewhat distracting. I did enjoy the film though.


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## 3dbinCanada

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

I enjoyed the BluRay as well excpet for those annoying audoo drop outs. My BluRay actually froze up many times dueing the play and only a fast forward would cause it to move forward. I've replaced the BluRay but haven't had teh chance to watch it again to see I will experience the same kind of issues. I've never had issues with BluRays before and even the firmware upgrade that I applied to it never solved the problem.


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## fkjr2

Why does this happen to total recall?

I've played many of the newer Blu rays and none have this issue.


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## 3dbinCanada

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

I don't think its a new security feature as was mentioned by a previous poster in this thread. My reason for thinking this is I've exchanged the Blu Ray three times and everyone freezes at the exact same place, the beginning of chapter 9.

I believe the rendering of this disc is at fault and someone screwed up royally!! My questions are these, how do I get a good working copy of this Blu Ray? Who do I contact? Where do I go?


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## Mike Edwards

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



3dbinCanada said:


> I don't think its a new security feature as was mentioned by a previous poster in this thread. My reason for thinking this is I've exchanged the Blu Ray three times and everyone freezes at the exact same place, the beginning of chapter 9.
> 
> I believe the rendering of this disc is at fault and someone screwed up royally!! My questions are these, how do I get a good working copy of this Blu Ray? Who do I contact? Where do I go?


hmmm, it might be that your player is having issues with the way it was authored. have you updated your firmware?


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## fkjr2

I'm dying to buy this movie but I'm scared its flawed. 

I own a Panny BDT220 player. Is that good to try it on? I have updated the firmware right along however not in the last 6 months though.


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## cavediver

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



fkjr2 said:


> I'm dying to buy this movie but I'm scared its flawed.
> 
> I own a Panny BDT220 player. Is that good to try it on? I have updated the firmware right along however not in the last 6 months though.


It is flawed. Just rent it and convert to PCM for playback.


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## gorb

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Thanks for the review. Sounds like the movie is one big visual and audio showcase, with the story and dialogue not being much of a priority. That's fine with me. I love big dumb action movies  I'll pick it up when it's around $10 or so


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## 3dbinCanada

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



Mike Edwards said:


> hmmm, it might be that your player is having issues with the way it was authored. have you updated your firmware?


After exchanging the disk for the 2nd time, I checked for a firmware upgrade and I'm up to date. Its funny how this player gets stuck on the starting of chapter 9 on every exchange that I brought home so far.


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## Mike Edwards

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



3dbinCanada said:


> After exchanging the disk for the 2nd time, I checked for a firmware upgrade and I'm up to date. Its funny how this player gets stuck on the starting of chapter 9 on every exchange that I brought home so far.


well, according to blu-ray.com there IS an exchange program for those of you with affected players.....

just email [email protected] requesting a pre-paid mailer to send back your affected copy


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## skyronne

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Is anyone having hardware compatibility issues with this movie?


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## Mike Edwards

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



skyronne said:


> Is anyone having hardware compatibility issues with this movie?


what issue are you having with the disc?


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## skyronne

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

I haven't...yet...
Lately, I've come across more and more firmware updates that are not yet available for my blu-ray player so I've had to wait on the manufacturer to provide compatibility for a movie I've purchased.


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## 3dbinCanada

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



Mike Edwards said:


> well, according to blu-ray.com there IS an exchange program for those of you with affected players.....
> 
> just email [email protected] requesting a pre-paid mailer to send back your affected copy


Thank you for that tidbit of information. I've contacted Sony via email regarding the player itself asking them if they encountered other complaints with this bluray and player. I've just sent an email out to the address you suggested telling them of by experience. Hopefully, they'll ship me a working copy of this flick. 

I had purchased the combo pack as I still have two DVD players. The DVD plays fine, just not the BluRay.


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## Todd Anderson

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



JBrax said:


> Not sure I would call JJ Abrams non talented but I don't understand the artistic characteristics they perceive using lens flare. Even Steven Spielberg employs it in his movies.


I love the lens flare effect --- one of my favorite hallmarks of Die Hard.

Each to his own, I guess.:R


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## Todd Anderson

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

This movie, IMO, is probably the best looking HD movie I've ever watched on my projector. It was crystal clear from start to finish and was a total visual delight. The amount of detail was jaw dropping.

The audio was like a hammer. Tons of LFE. Really a thing of beauty... with the exception of about 30 audio drop-outs. That's the flip-side of the coin. Several times I watched a scene a second time (to see if the audio drops occurred again, and they didn't). Makes zero sense but was highly annoying!


The story was decent. Just about what I'd expect from an action film.

I'd add this to my collection in a heart beat, but the audio issue is a bit of a turn-off.:rolleyesno:


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## Todd Anderson

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



Mike Edwards said:


> well, according to blu-ray.com there IS an exchange program for those of you with affected players.....
> 
> just email [email protected] requesting a pre-paid mailer to send back your affected copy


I wonder how I could go about buying an unaffected copy? (I rented the one I watched from RedBox).

I contacted oppo and this is what they said:

_This is a problem with the mastering of this Blu-ray. Sony is beginning to replace these discs with versions which do not contain these audio errors, so you may want to pursue receiving a replacement disc from them. We are also looking into possible software solutions to our players, but we do not know if we can compensate for these authoring errors._


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## Blaser

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Nice review! Looks like a must have.


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## Todd Anderson

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Well... I sent my copy to Sony for their new "re-authored" disc. Just got it yesterday...

Still have audio issues. :doh:

That stinks


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## 3dbinCanada

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



27dnast said:


> Well... I sent my copy to Sony for their new "re-authored" disc. Just got it yesterday...
> 
> Still have audio issues. :doh:
> 
> That stinks


I got off the phone with Sony on Friday evening and was told that reissues were also having the identical problem. They told me that Samsung has released a firmware upgrade for their players to handle this disc. I'm contacting Sony tomorrow to find out when I can expect a firmware upgrade from them. I think they told me Oppo did a firmware upgrade as well but I'm not 100% certain on that one.


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## Todd Anderson

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

I contacted Oppo a few weeks ago and they told me it was a Sony issue...

DISLIKE


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## Todd Anderson

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Yup... so I contacted Sony, also, to let them no that the re-issue disc they sent me is laced with audio errors (just like my original disc). They basically said, Sorry, you're on your own. They told me that the only solution is for my BD player manufacturer to release a firmware update.

Where is the "Boooo" button. Thanks for releasing an inferior product, Sony.


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## peter5992

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

I saw the movie in the theater and I agree with the OP - very enjoyable (and I am big fan of the '90s movie by Paul Verhoeven). Colin Farrel really takes it to the next level. The visuals are pretty stunning.


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## cavchameleon

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*



27dnast said:


> I wonder how I could go about buying an unaffected copy? (I rented the one I watched from RedBox).
> 
> I contacted oppo and this is what they said:
> 
> _This is a problem with the mastering of this Blu-ray. Sony is beginning to replace these discs with versions which do not contain these audio errors, so you may want to pursue receiving a replacement disc from them. We are also looking into possible software solutions to our players, but we do not know if we can compensate for these authoring errors._


I believe them as you can find a lot of info on this online. When I first saw it in my Oppo, I though it was the player, so tried it in our other, non-Oppo players. Same issues with audio dropouts. I did send in a request to Sony, but have not heard yet. I'm not encouraged though from the responses others have received.


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## 3dbinCanada

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

Since I Live in Canada, I thought i would update my experience with this BluRay. Sony Canada send me a Purolator tag via email and I mailed my copy of this BluRay to Sony. They said they tested it on several of their models anmd said it tested out fine. Color me skeptical. They are shipping it back to me and I will bring it to a friends hosue to see if it skips with his Samsung BluRay players and is PS3. I will keep you all posted.


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## 3dbinCanada

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

I got my copy back yesterday from Purolator and went to Futurshop and had them load it into a new BluRay Sony player. The chapter 9 issue I was having never appeared. The player didn't skip, jam, or have sound drop outs. I was also very much surprised with the loading speed....It loaded alomost as quickly as my old player on a standard DVD.


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## 3dbinCanada

*Re: Total Recall - Blu-ray review*

I did some more research as I was board yesterday evening. I still maintain thsi to be an authoring problem based on this thread;
http://www.amazon.com/forum/blu-ray?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx2R11KXGJPWBTU&cdThread=Tx5YJSC90T4UMT

Here is a list of some of the afflicted players and workaround. basically the workaround down converts the audio stream..

PS3 Slim - From PS3 crossbar, go to:

1.Settings
2.Video Settings
3.BD/DVD Audio Output Format (HDMI)
4.Change to Linear PCM

Sony BDP-S360 / Sony BDP-S460 / Sony BDP-S560 - From player crossbar, go to:

1.Setup
2.Audio Settings
3.BD Audio Setting
4.Change to Mix

Sony 790 - From player crossbar, go to:

1.Setup
2.Audio Setting
3.BD Audio Mix Setting
4.Change to On

Oppo BDP-83 / Oppo BDP-93

1.Goto Setup
2.Audio Format Setup
3.HDMI Audio
4.Select LPCM

LG 370
1.Goto Setup
2.Audio
3.HDMI
4.Select PCM Multi-Ch

Panasonic BD-35 / Panasonic BD-55
1.Goto Setup
2.Audio
3.Digital Audio Ouput
4.Dolby Digital / Dolby Digital + / Dolby TrueHD
5.Select PCM

Panasonic BD-110
1.Goto Setup
2.Player Settings
3.Audio
4.Digital Audio Ouput
5.Dolby Digital / Dolby Digital + / Dolby TrueHD
6.Select PCM


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## cavchameleon

^^^ Thanks for the info. I was still getting audio drop-outs on my OPPO BDP-83 and all my other BD Players (all Panasonic) except for one which is a fairly new 3D version, so probably more updated FW. I did check for FW updated on the other players, but with no avail.


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## vann_d

Lame. I haven't gotten this disk but I'm getting the same audio drops with a brand new monsters Inc BD disk. This technology is disappointing at times.


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## bkeeler10

Finally got around to watching this on Saturday. On an old Samsung BDP-1500 with latest firmware, outputting PCM, I did not get any dropouts. I thought the movie was quite interesting and enjoyable. Took me a while to figure out which story was reality.


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## ALMFamily

I watched it last night, and I was getting the dropouts as well until I switched to LPCM. Great movie!


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## tonyvdb

ALMFamily said:


> I watched it last night, and I was getting the dropouts as well until I switched to LPCM. Great movie!


Odd, I never noticed that on my BluRay


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## ALMFamily

I know - but, even my friend who was over and watching a movie at my place for the first time noticed it.


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