Three video transfers are involved in this comparison: the transfer for the T2 Ultimate DVD edition, the non-high-def video transfer of the new T2 Extreme DVD edition, and the high-def video transfer of the T2 Extreme DVD edition.

The high-def (HD) transfer on T2 Extreme is viewable only on a Windows PC, as the video is stored in WMV files, not VOB files. These WMV files have a video resolution of 1440x816 (as reported by Windows Media Player 9). All my screenshots were captured at a monitor resolution of 1600x1200. In order to provide proper comparisons, the screenshots of T2 Ultimate and T2 Extreme non-HD transfers were also captured at 1600x1200. No re-scaling of the images was done after capture. To help Gary conserve webspace, I chose not to show the full-size images, but only a smaller area within each image. The dotted rectangle on the first image of each comparison shows the area that is being compared.

A note about system performance while playing the HD version. My PC (Windows Me, Intel P4 2.4GHz, 256MB DDR RAM, 128MB GeForce4 AGP card) is significantly below the recommended spec, and yet, I got smooth playback at 1600x1200 and 32-bit color depth. The CPU utilization was near 100%, however. Only when I time-searched or skipped chapters did I notice momentary choppiness. If I copied the WMV files to the hard disk and played them there directly, it would not be as choppy.

In order to capture the screenshots for the HD version, I had to lower the video acceleration setting in Windows Media Player 9, thereby disabling video overlay, in order to use the Print Screen button to capture screen images, since the Windows 9x/Me version of WMP9 has no DVD capture ability (the XP version does, however). Screenshots for T2 Ultimate and T2 Extreme's non-HD version were captured using PowerDVD 4.0.

The screenshots below clearly show that both T2 Extreme transfers are a vast improvement over that of T2 Ultimate. The HD version clearly looks the best. But one should keep in mind that the primary reason for the HD version's much-improved quality is due to the fact that it was made from a restored high-def video master, the same master that was used to make T2 Extreme's non-HD transfer. Over at the Home Theater Forum (which received a thank-you from Van Ling in the Extreme DVD's credits), someone posted screenshot comparisons between T2 Ultimate and T2 Extreme's HD version. But such comparisons do not answer two questions. How much of the improvement is due to the re-mastered video source? And how much of it is due to the HD presentation? To answer the first, we should really compare T2 Ultimate with T2 Extreme's non-HD version, since they have same resolution of 720x480. To answer the second question, we should compare T2 Extreme's non-HD version with the HD version, since they came from the same video master. After looking at dozens of screenshots (only a few are shown here for web space consideration), I observed that the difference between T2 Ultimate and T2 Extreme non-HD is much more dramatic than that between T2 Extreme non-HD and T2 Extreme HD. Therefore, to me, the re-mastered source material is the primary reason for the improvement that we see.

The first set of captures below are typical of most deep-focus shots in the film. The HD image shows the greatest clarity in the distant objects (cars, sprinklers, child, etc.). On the non-HD image, they are less sharp, but still recognizable. On the Ultimate image, the child and the sprinkler are hardly recognizable.

The second set of captures show the minute details that are often only visible on the HD transfer. On the HD image, the individual pixels on the monitor are clearly recognizable, whereas on the other captures, the pixels are not as well defined.

In the third set of captures, the expression of the girl (a young Nikki Cox) and the word "Subway" on the soft drink cup are much clearer on the HD image, slightly less clear on the non-HD image, and downright blurry on the Ultimate image.

On the fourth set of captures, the banisters on the far left background, the broken glass fragments, etc. are much more detailed on HD version. In the Ultimate image, the banisters on the background are barely recognizable.

 - Kevin Yip