Why is the sound so bad on some HK-made DVDs?
Until a few years ago, it was not common for Hong Kong movies (aside from the occasional high-profile film from someone like Jackie Chan) to be recorded in stereo becuase it simply cost too much (Dolby remixes can easily run into the tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars). So when older movies are put onto DVD and given “new” Dolby 5.1 soundtracks, what most companies do is just “push” the mono sound into the various channels (instead of re-recording or re-mastering them), which usually results in a “mushy” sound mix with a lot of hiss and where things like gunshots and explosions sound muffled. Back to top 8.
