Do you believe? Blu-ray (Pure Flix Entertainment)

[HDTV1080P]

Do You Believe? (brief user review)

Do You Believe, is a low budget fictional Christian movie from Pure Flix Entertainment. Box Office sells were almost $13 million dollars. So far for the year 2015 this is the only Pure Flix Entertainment movie that has been released on the Blu-ray format. Pure Flix Entertainment movies like God’s Not Dead is much more popular when compared to Do You Believe. However Do You Believe was an enjoyable movie with a very strong Gospel message about Jesus Christ. This movie is rated PG-13. This movie is about 12 different people from different walks of life. These 12 souls are a mixture of saved people and unsaved people. The movie contains storylines where some of the people repent of their sinful lifestyles and become changed people as they experience the forgiveness and the power of Jesus Christ. Other storylines in the movie contain a Pastor and Christians in general who become closer in their walk with Jesus Christ. This movie is about the trials and struggles that both non-Christians and Christians face during their life in this fallen world. The movie also contains one scene of a supernatural miracle occurring. I originally watched this movie in a commercial movie theater, however after seeing it a second time on Blu-ray I have more respect for the movie and its interesting storylines.

Blu-ray and DVD optical disc comments

Do You Believe is Pure Flix Entertainments second Blu-ray/DVD combo pack (Personally I do not like combo packs since I am not interested in watching the lower quality 480i DVD version, however combo packs is the new norm for all future Pure Flix Entertainment Blu-ray releases unless an internal policy change occurs). The purpose of a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack is that it allows families to play the lower quality 480i DVD version of the movie in every room, since some families have not upgraded all their DVD players to Blu-ray players yet. For those families that have 100% Blu-ray players there is no reason to even use the 480i DVD disc, since the exact same movie with all the bonus features also exists on the 1080P Blu-ray disc. This Do You Believe movie uses a total of 6.85GB out of 8.5GB on the dual layer 480i DVD disc. The Do You Believe 1080P Blu-ray disc uses 22.2GB out of 25GB on the single layer Blu-ray disc.

One disappointment about this combo pack is the default disc when opening the Blu-ray case is the DVD disc. The Blu-ray disc is located behind the Pure Flix Entertainment movie catalog insert. Therefore the average consumer is going to grab the lower quality 480i DVD version of the movie since the Blu-ray version is hidden behind the Pure Flix Entertainment catalog. Another issue is that prior Pure Flix Entertainment catalogs always listed existing and coming soon Pure Flix Entertainment Blu-ray titles. However this new Pure Flix Entertainment catalog only lists DVD discs and coming soon movies to the commercial movie theaters. Between November 1st 2011 to August 4th 2015 there has been a total of 22 Pure Flix Entertainment Blu-ray disc titles released. Pure Flix Entertainment is decreasing their Blu-ray disc releases. In fact this movie might be the only Pure Flix Entertainment movie released on the Blu-ray format for the year 2015. Pure Flix Entertainment is still making Christian movies in High Definition using high quality RED ONE cameras, however to watch Pure Flix Entertainment movies in HD quality one needs to get a Netflix streaming account or sign up for Pure Flix Entertainment streaming service. Netflix offers secular movies in 4K Ultra HD and Christian movies in 1080P with 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus. Pure Flix Entertainment streaming service offers both a large selection of Christian movies and family friendly secular movies with its streaming service. Some of the movies on the Pure Flix Entertainment streaming service are 1080P and 720P HD quality, however one negative is that Pure Flix Entertainment streaming service currently only offers 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo. No surround sound.

Video quality

The 22.2GB single layer 1080P Blu-ray image of Do You Believe uses the MPEG-4/AVC codec at around 17Mbps for some scenes (some scenes dip below 17Mbps while other scenes peek into the 22+Mbps range). All menus and bonus features are 1080P quality using the MPEG-4/AVC codec. This movie contains some very nice resolution detail with some excellent color accuracy. Overall I liked the image quality of this movie, however at times I wish the bit rate was a little higher for some scenes. If a 50GB dual layer disc would have been used instead of a 25GB single layer disc then there would have been plenty of disc space to increase the overall video bit rate. Many secular movies have reference VC-1 or MPEG-4/AVC bit rates around 35Mbps. Overall the video quality of this movie is very good.

Audio quality

For years I have been complaining that Pure Flix Entertainment has never offered a studio master lossless audio soundtrack on any Blu-ray disc release. Do You Believe is the very first Pure Flix Entertainment Blu-ray disc with a 2.0 stereo LPCM soundtrack that is bit for bit exactly the same as the stereo studio master (many of the bonus features are even encoded with 2.0 LPCM). However what is disappointing is that both the English and Spanish 5.1 surround track uses a lossy Dolby Digital encode at 448kbps. This is the exact same lossy English and Spanish soundtrack that was ported over from the DVD version of the movie. Therefore if one owns a 2.0 stereo system or is using speakers built into their flat panel screen, then the studio master 2.0 stereo LPCM soundtrack at 1536kbps will give one the best sound quality when compared to the lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital surround track at 448kbps. Those with surround sound systems are recommended to listen to the lossy English or Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack. The 5.1 surround sound quality mix for this release sounded good with nice clear voices coming out of the center channel and nice low surround sound effects during parts of the movie. This movie has a nice musical score that I enjoyed listening too (there is no dedicated musical score bonus track on the disc, I am just commenting on the regular movie soundtrack score while watching the movie). There is no dedicated audio setup menu for this Blu-ray disc, instead the audio setup has been placed in the same menu as the Special Features part of this Blu-ray disc. Pure Flix Entertainment has taken a step in the right direction by porting over the 2.0 stereo studio master soundtrack to this Blu-ray disc. What is disappointing is that Pure Flix Entertainment did not port over the 5.1 LPCM studio master onto the Blu-ray disc. I am hoping that if Pure Flix Entertainment decides to release future Blu-ray titles, that perhaps one day consumers might see a 5.1 LPCM, 5.1 Dolby True HD, or a 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio soundtrack (better yet 7.1 would be ideal if the budget allows it).

Bonus Features

I enjoyed the Bonus Features on this Do You Believe Blu-ray disc (Labeled as Special Features in the Blu-ray disc menu). All the bonus features use the MPEG-4/AVC codec with a resolution of 1080P. What is disappointing is that there was no audio commentary track. Pure Flix Entertainment in the old days had interesting audio commentary tracks for their Blu-ray disc releases. The last three Blu-ray titles from Pure Flix Entertainment have had no audio commentary tracks. The Special Features on this Blu-ray disc include trailers for the following Pure Flix Entertainment movies: “Do You Believe?”, ”Woodlawn”, “Old Fashioned”, and “Pirate’s Code”. The Pirate’s Code trailer is in 2.0 stereo LPCM at 1536kbps while all the other trailers use lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital surround at 448kbps. Other Special Features on this Blu-ray disc include 7 interviews from the actors. These interviews were very interesting to watch. All the interviews are in 1080P using the MPEG-4/AVC codec. All the interviews use studio master 2.0 LPCM at 1536kbps.

Conclusion

Do You Believe was an interesting fictional Christian movie. Some of the storylines in the movie are similar to real life problems that people experience during their life. This Christian movie has a very strong Gospel message. The picture quality was very good for this Blu-ray release. Also it is nice to see Pure Flix Entertainment offer a 2.0 stereo LPCM studio master soundtrack for the movie and most the extra features. However I was disappointed that the exact same lossy English and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtracks were ported over to the Blu-ray. It’s the year 2015 and Pure Flix Entertainment should be releasing movies on Blu-ray with 5.1 lossless surround sound.

[Clark Kent]

This Blu-ray received fairly mainstream retail distribution, possibly even more than God's Not Dead.

The lossy audio is somewhat disappointing but many niche distributors aren't that familiar with the demands of the Blu-ray market.

[morningtoke]

We sell this at work. Both the DVD and Blu Ray formats. It came in a nice, glossy slipcover.

[Clark Kent]

I believe it comes with a digital copy at some retailers.

[kidglov3s]

My first memory of this is how they make a point to the evil atheist man NO WOMAN FOR YOU, just like God's Not Dead (He's surely alive).

[Packerfan75]

I just noticed this on shelves. I hadn't heard of it up till this point. I'm not big on blind buys but I'd like to check it out as a rental. Thanks for the info.

[Clark Kent]

A HDX digital copy on VUDU is included at Walmart.

[HDTV1080P]

For the year 2015, Do You Believe was the only Pure Flix Entertainment movie that was released on the Blu-ray format. In 2016 there is a possibility that there could be a few new titles released on Blu-ray from Pure Flix Entertainment. The worst case scenario is that there might not be any new releases for 2016+ on the Blu-ray format from the Pure Flix Entertainment studio. 2015 saw one Blu-ray release and 2016 might see no new Blu-ray releases from Pure Flix Entertainment.

I just recently watched Faith of Our Fathers with some family members that wanted to see it on VUDU(Faith Of Our Fathers was shot on a RED ONE camera). It cost $4.99 for a 1080P VUDU rental with lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. I have so far never used the VUDU buy to own feature. VUDU wanted $12.99 for Faith of Our Fathers, that is around the same price as single disc Blu-ray titles use to sell for from Pure Flix Entertainment. It is disappointing that consumers now have to use VUDU, Netflx, and Pure Flix Entertainments streaming service in order to watch the majority of new Pure Flix Entertainment movies in HD quality.VUDU gets the new HD releases first and then later on the older Pure Flix Entertainment titles are released on Netflix and Pure Flix Entertainments streaming service.

None of the Pure Flix Entertainment movies offered studio master 5.1 lossless sound when they were released on the Blu-ray format. VUDU’s lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus surround sound has a better sound quality when compared to lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital.

As the years go on more Christian studios and secular studios might stop releasing Blu-ray discs. The Internet has replaced many retail stores and one day the Internet might replace optical discs with download and streaming options. For major audio CD’s and major secular movie releases optical discs will most likely be released for another 10+ years. Some Internet companies are already offering bit for bit exact Blu-ray image downloads to a hard drive for those consumers that want the best quality like lossless audio.

[Moviefan2k4]

I saw this for the first time last night, and was very surprised by how enjoyable and compelling it was. Most of the story and characters were 100% believable, unlike some of the less-so elements from the first God's Not Dead. I really enjoyed the film's core message, that truth affects people regardless of belief; we need more movies like this which aren't just "preaching to the choir".

[WhySoBlu?]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

I saw this for the first time last night, and was very surprised by how enjoyable and compelling it was. Most of the story and characters were 100% believable, unlike some of the less-so elements from the first God's Not Dead. I really enjoyed the film's core message, that truth affects people regardless of belief; we need more movies like this which aren't just "preaching to the choir".

Do you understand what "preaching to the choir" means? Because every single release from this company is the very definition of "preaching to the choir."

These films are made by - and for - a particular portion of the Christian religion, specifically the evangelical/born again crowd. The only people who buy these movies are the people who already believe in the messages contained in the movies. These films will never appeal to people outside of the core audience any more than another religion's propaganda films would appeal to you.

As for why a lot of this company's releases are going digital-only, the obvious answer would be that there simply isn't enough demand. BD buyers are already a niche crowd, BD buyers who are interested in these movies are a niche-within-a-niche-within-a-niche-within-a-niche group. It is what it is.