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GameMaster · 04-11-2002, 03:45 AM

Movie/Music Playback

This review gave us the first chance to really put our new demo room through its paces. We've been using the room non-stop since Dolby left the building on that sweet day, but for the Q review we got to run everything back to back. In order to evaluate the DVD playback, we watched the same scenes of Terminator 2 on the Q, PS2, Xbox, and then the house DVD player. And the results weren't all that surprising.

While none of the consoles exhibited DVD playback on par with a high-end dedicated player, none of them really tanked either. The Q performed similarly to the Xbox, and both aced the PS2. However, we don't want to turn this into a rant against PS2 DVD playback -- and don't get me wrong, we think it's a hell of a console -- so let's stick with the positive aspects of the Q.

If you don't already have a DVD player, then the Q would make a nice home unit. It performed about as well as our Sony -- not that the Sony is anything out of this world -- and could keep pace with most players in the $250.00 range. And before you say that you can find a progressive scan player for that much, keep in mind that budget progressive players are more budget than they are progressive. "Progressive scan" has become a very useful marketing/sales tool. Several cheap, crappy chips can technically achieve this performance, but the drawn picture still doesn't look very good. Nothing's free, people.

DVD playback on the Q looked somewhat darker than the others in the room. It was immediately noticeable, but not necessarily a bad thing. Through out the darkest areas, detail and clarity were still high. There a section of T2 where the future Connor is walking among his rebel forces. The chiaroscuro of the scene makes for a good test of blacks and dark detail in general. The Q brought out the small shadowy area very nicely.

Like many average-level DVD players, the Q had some difficulty in extremely dynamic scenes. Bright, explosive scenes got a bit blurry and loose. However, when you consider that this is a GameCube as much as it is a DVD player, relatively small visual hiccups don't seem so problematic.

One of the niceties of the Q is the universal playback. Part of the modding process involves the removal of region lockout. The ability to watch DVDs from anywhere in the world will no-doubt be a big draw for you anime fans, and foreign film lovers in general.

The playback enhancements that Fran mentioned earlier in the review are actually more important to movie playback than gameplay. You might not use them very often, and some of them are downright silly, but they are appreciated nonetheless.

No piece of consumer electronics would be complete without some crazy bass boost system. The Q has Panasonic's Bass Plus, which seems to emphasize the mid and low notes in order to create the illusion of overall increased bass response. Unless you have a first-rate thumper you will find most of the accent unbearable. And no matter what you do, turn your sub way down before you engage this mode, as it could hardly be described as subtle. Oddly, Panasonic equipped the Q with an additional output specifically for this feature. If you are simply running the audio via the RCA analog outs, then it won't make a bit of difference in the sound. You must have a sub connected through the sub out to take advantage of this extra. And no, it doesn't work with movies if you're running out through the digital optical output. (You can adjust that with your receiver.)

More useful is the Dialogue Enhancer. This DSP pulls up the midrange frequencies, which is where voices usually are. The affected band of frequencies is actually quite narrow, so much so that Qui-Jon Jin's voice was hardly changed at all while Anakin's was pushed to the front of the soundstage. This mode is only available while you're using the RCA outs. We found the Dialogue Enhancer useful, if only because it wasn't too distracting. (Often these effects are way too dramatic, to the point of displeasure.)

While we generally shy away from ersatz surround processing, the Q's Surround modes worked pretty swell - again, largely because they were subtle. Surround I simply spaces the stereo signals farther apart, but not by much. If you were going to use one of these at all, we would suggest using Surround II. This mode further separates the stereo signals and lends a bit of phase and/or reverb to the highs. While you'll never think you suddenly have a 5.1 system, the sound is greatly widened and is pretty engaging. This would be perfect for someone with a good TV but no surround system. We ran it through our WEGA, which has some damn nice built-ins, and were very impressed.

Lastly we have the sole video effect: Cinema. We still can't quite figure out what this does to the picture, and it's annoying the hell out of us. Weirdly, it seems to make dark scenes brighter and bright scenes darker, thereby creating a somewhat less dramatic, but more even-tempered image. The effect is very subtle, but it is nice enough.

04-11-2002, 03:45 AM	#2
GameMaster ★★★ GameMaster is offline Now Playing: Posts: 14,194	Movie/Music Playback This review gave us the first chance to really put our new demo room through its paces. We've been using the room non-stop since Dolby left the building on that sweet day, but for the Q review we got to run everything back to back. In order to evaluate the DVD playback, we watched the same scenes of Terminator 2 on the Q, PS2, Xbox, and then the house DVD player. And the results weren't all that surprising. While none of the consoles exhibited DVD playback on par with a high-end dedicated player, none of them really tanked either. The Q performed similarly to the Xbox, and both aced the PS2. However, we don't want to turn this into a rant against PS2 DVD playback -- and don't get me wrong, we think it's a hell of a console -- so let's stick with the positive aspects of the Q. If you don't already have a DVD player, then the Q would make a nice home unit. It performed about as well as our Sony -- not that the Sony is anything out of this world -- and could keep pace with most players in the $250.00 range. And before you say that you can find a progressive scan player for that much, keep in mind that budget progressive players are more budget than they are progressive. "Progressive scan" has become a very useful marketing/sales tool. Several cheap, crappy chips can technically achieve this performance, but the drawn picture still doesn't look very good. Nothing's free, people. DVD playback on the Q looked somewhat darker than the others in the room. It was immediately noticeable, but not necessarily a bad thing. Through out the darkest areas, detail and clarity were still high. There a section of T2 where the future Connor is walking among his rebel forces. The chiaroscuro of the scene makes for a good test of blacks and dark detail in general. The Q brought out the small shadowy area very nicely. Like many average-level DVD players, the Q had some difficulty in extremely dynamic scenes. Bright, explosive scenes got a bit blurry and loose. However, when you consider that this is a GameCube as much as it is a DVD player, relatively small visual hiccups don't seem so problematic. One of the niceties of the Q is the universal playback. Part of the modding process involves the removal of region lockout. The ability to watch DVDs from anywhere in the world will no-doubt be a big draw for you anime fans, and foreign film lovers in general. The playback enhancements that Fran mentioned earlier in the review are actually more important to movie playback than gameplay. You might not use them very often, and some of them are downright silly, but they are appreciated nonetheless. No piece of consumer electronics would be complete without some crazy bass boost system. The Q has Panasonic's Bass Plus, which seems to emphasize the mid and low notes in order to create the illusion of overall increased bass response. Unless you have a first-rate thumper you will find most of the accent unbearable. And no matter what you do, turn your sub way down before you engage this mode, as it could hardly be described as subtle. Oddly, Panasonic equipped the Q with an additional output specifically for this feature. If you are simply running the audio via the RCA analog outs, then it won't make a bit of difference in the sound. You must have a sub connected through the sub out to take advantage of this extra. And no, it doesn't work with movies if you're running out through the digital optical output. (You can adjust that with your receiver.) More useful is the Dialogue Enhancer. This DSP pulls up the midrange frequencies, which is where voices usually are. The affected band of frequencies is actually quite narrow, so much so that Qui-Jon Jin's voice was hardly changed at all while Anakin's was pushed to the front of the soundstage. This mode is only available while you're using the RCA outs. We found the Dialogue Enhancer useful, if only because it wasn't too distracting. (Often these effects are way too dramatic, to the point of displeasure.) While we generally shy away from ersatz surround processing, the Q's Surround modes worked pretty swell - again, largely because they were subtle. Surround I simply spaces the stereo signals farther apart, but not by much. If you were going to use one of these at all, we would suggest using Surround II. This mode further separates the stereo signals and lends a bit of phase and/or reverb to the highs. While you'll never think you suddenly have a 5.1 system, the sound is greatly widened and is pretty engaging. This would be perfect for someone with a good TV but no surround system. We ran it through our WEGA, which has some damn nice built-ins, and were very impressed. Lastly we have the sole video effect: Cinema. We still can't quite figure out what this does to the picture, and it's annoying the hell out of us. Weirdly, it seems to make dark scenes brighter and bright scenes darker, thereby creating a somewhat less dramatic, but more even-tempered image. The effect is very subtle, but it is nice enough.