Here is the basic idea of how I determine the letter grades I give in each category.
Video:
So much goes into making a good image, it deserves to be recognized. Excellent cinematography along with an excellent technical transfer requires the work of a lot of people and deserves to be recognized.
A: To receive an A not only does the image need to be technically transferred well, but the original movie needs to be photographed well. A movie can be transferred well, but still be average in it’s cinematography, that won’t give it an A in this area. This grade is reserved for the reference discs, those discs that show off what Blu-Ray and an excellent HDTV can really do.
B: To receive a B the film needs to be transferred well. Over processing of an image to remove original film grain will land a film here, Patton is a good example. Films with this grade are attractive, competently shot, and transferred well.
C: These are films that have too much noise, either from the original film or in the transfer process.
D: If a film receives this grade, something went wrong in the transfer process. The film is matted wrong, such as Back to the Future Part II and III was in the original DVD release.
Audio:
A: To receive an A the film must be encoded in DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD, or Uncompressed PCM. If the film is older, the option to hear the film in the original mono or stereo must be available. The dialogue will be clear at during a quiet section and clear during a loud scene. A lot of this depends on how well the original mix was done for the film. Again, a soundtrack with this grade will be the kind where you show off your home theater and what it can do with Blu-Ray.
B: A competent transfer, uncompressed formats are available, but maybe the soundtrack is muddled an low volumes or distorts at high volumes.
C: No uncompressed formats are offered, but compressed Dolby Digital or DTS is.
D: No 5.1 mixes available. Only mono or stereo.
Extras:
The extras on a Blu-Ray are also an add bonus of the format. I am interested in really well done documentaries and extras that add to your knowledge of how the movie was made. I am not interested in just an unorganized pile of extras.
A: To receive this the extras are well organized and well produced. They are not a collection of haphazard behind the scenes snippets. They will also include BD-Live, which is a great way to add new content.
B: This disc will have a lot of extras, they may not be well organized, but they are there. Discs that have too much stuff to wade through may fall into this grade.
C: A disc that only has a few behind the scenes featurettes, and is quite clearly begging to be double dipped soon.
D: A disc with only trailers.
F: A disc with no extras.
