Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by captveg

Starz - Still silent after getting burned with 2007 releases.

This is wrong. Starz continues to release catalog titles... releasing 8 just this month... one of which I just received the other day.

Originally Posted by captveg

Summit - No catalog titles in library.

They're not A-List titles, but they have catalog titles.

"P2", "Penelope", "Trailer Park Of Terror" (), "Fly Me To The Moon", "Next Day Air".

Though the lack of a Blu-ray release is somewhat understandable, "Bandslam" will be released to DVD-only next month, so that will eventually be a catalog title.

~Alan

[captveg]

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

This is wrong. Starz continues to release catalog titles... releasing 8 just this month... one of which I just received the other day.

Thanks. They were off my radar.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by captveg

Thanks. They were off my radar.

I also think Paramount's doing pretty poorly. With the exception of the Sapphire Series, catalog output has been pretty poor since last November. 1 or 2 titles every few months isn't going to cut it, and that's what 2010 has been for them.

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

No, because Batman and the Looney Tunes family stuff are drastically different audiences

The most common thing I hear is "They should release XXXXXXX I know it'll sell huge, all my friends will buy it!!" There was a TV on DVD release by a major studio that was the result of someone's daughter making a similar statement. Well, it turns out that she had about 5000 friends and that's it

That's what fathers have to do when their daughters want something.

By the way, when does H. R. Pufnstuf come out on BD? I know I will buy a copy, and at least 3-4 other people.

[Jeff Kleist]

HR Pufinstuf was shot on video, so probably never (Hah, betcha thought I didn't know )

Actually , the show had a very few, very noisy fans

I really want Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, which WAS done on film. I think it might actually do better now than back then, simplybecause of how many big names were involved in it (J Michael Stracynzki, Marv Wolfman, Graham Green, Cigarette Smoking Man, etc)

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

HR Pufinstuf was shot on video, so probably never (Hah, betcha thought I didn't know )

Actually , the show had a very few, very noisy fans

I really want Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, which WAS done on film. I think it might actually do better now than back then, simplybecause of how many big names were involved in it (J Michael Stracynzki, Marv Wolfman, Graham Green, Cigarette Smoking Man, etc)

IMDB says it was filmed: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063907/trivia
Of course, IMDB provides no specifics so I have no reason to doubt you.

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

I also think Paramount's doing pretty poorly. With the exception of the Sapphire Series, catalog output has been pretty poor since last November. 1 or 2 titles every few months isn't going to cut it, and that's what 2010 has been for them.

Paramount has had severe cost cutting in the past 8 months, which is why its releases have slowed down. There will be some new titles starting in March.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

1 or 2 titles every few months isn't going to cut it, and that's what 2010 has been for them.

How can 2010 have been only 1 or 2 titles every few months, when we're only halfway through February?

[Jeff Kleist]

Everyone forgets every year that the first 3 months are a barren wasteland

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Everyone forgets every year that the first 3 months are a barren wasteland

Jeff, some people find this a nice time of year to relax (If you get my drift!).

[Jeff Kleist]

Well, I'm not saying they don't. I'm just saying that every year it's "oh my god nothing is coming out", and no one remembers it's the same every year

And if I don't get a break no one does

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

How can 2010 have been only 1 or 2 titles every few months, when we're only halfway through February?

Other than the Spielberg titles dropping there hasn't been really any other catalog announced by them, so we're looking at not only Feb, but Mar, Apr, etc.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Well, I'm not saying they don't. I'm just saying that every year it's "oh my god nothing is coming out", and no one remembers it's the same every year

And if I don't get a break no one does

Personally I have a much bigger problem with pricing than with the selection of movies coming out.

[al cos.]

Are Where Eagles Dare and Kelly's Heroes going to be be one of those double feature discs, like Dirty Harry and Magnum Force? (I can't remember if that was just idle speculating or an actual possibility)

[Disciple of Vedder]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I really want Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, which WAS done on film. I think it might actually do better now than back then, simplybecause of how many big names were involved in it (J Michael Stracynzki, Marv Wolfman, Graham Green, Cigarette Smoking Man, etc)

YES! I love "Captain Power!" I still haven't recovered from its cancellation. But once every couple of years, I watch the whole series, and every time I'm amazed at how great it was. Have you bought the fan-made DVD release on the CP website? I was wondering how good the quality was. My VHS to DVD transfers are okay, but I might be willing to shell out $30 for something better.

[AnimeOnBlu]

Jeff,
Universal-Geneon finally announced Kill Bill 1 & 2 in Japan. Only problem, it appears they are using the US theatrical cuts as oppose to the Japanese cuts.

Why would U-G use the US theatrical version and not the unedited Japanese cut?

Doesn't make sense.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Wolverine1980

Personally I have a much bigger problem with pricing than with the selection of movies coming out.

Want to trade problems? I'm happy with the pricing; I just want more catalog.

[DaViD Boulet]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Want to trade problems? I'm happy with the pricing; I just want more catalog.

Agreed (and if something's too expensive, I just wait and get it used on Amazon).

While pricing does impact Blu-ray's adoption as a "mass market" media, it's not a problem for me personally if studios want to earn a comfortable profit as long as they give me top-drawer film-to-digital transfers with film-like 1080p images and lossless audio culled from masters that haven't been screwed up for "home theater optimization" as WB and Disney have sometimes done in the past on DVD.

Being able to buy a 5" disc that holds a virtual copy of a movie that I can project on my 100" screen with quality on-par with a pristine 35mm film print in an art-house-quality movie theater is a PRIVILEGE that I don't take for granted. Every time I watch a (properly mastered) movie on blu-ray... especially catalog titles that I never had the chance to see projected theatrically, I know how incredibly lucky I am as a film collector to be enjoying this passion and this hobby at this very special time in history: the first time that consumers have even had the opportunity to purchase media for their home-viewing pleasure that in any way approached the integrity of the original projected work as intended by the director.

Just a few short years ago folks with our passion, who had the means, were spending $20,000 on a Faroudja processor that was nothing but a deinterlacer with 3-2 pulldown reversal, paired with a CRT projector that cost over $10K (more like $30K-50K if you wanted a good 9" set up), all trying to render the 4x3 NTSC signal from a $40 laserdisc in some sort of cinematic way we could try to *pretend* looked anything at all like the original film. Folks like me were waiting for the day when native 1080p video and lossless multi-channel sound in the home would be reality... all for a fraction of the cost of laserdisc media and on digital displays that provided real 1080p resolution at a fraction of the cost of 9" CRT.

It's happened. And even $30 for a Blu-ray of a film I want to own forever in my collection isn't too much to ask.

[Doctorossi]

I have BDs I've purchased for $6 that absolutely blow away 35mm prints I would've had to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to not-necessarily-legally acquire, 5 years ago.

It truly is an amazing time.

[DaViD Boulet]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

I have BDs I've purchased for $6 that absolutely blow away 35mm prints I would've had to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to not-necessarily-legally acquire, 5 years ago.

It truly is an amazing time.

Yes! my musing essay didn't even cover the more costly esoteric option of collecting actual 35mm prints... and the equipment to project them... which was the ONLY way to genuinely replicate cinema-quality images prior to HD media!