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

[NoQuestion]

Bill, Wicky, or any other insider,

there was some talk on this site awhile back about a statement that Fox made stating that they were planning to release up to 100 titles this year(i believe). Also Sony stated that they were going to release at least 100 titles this year.

My question is, do you think that both these studios will be able to hit these high goals?
I have a feeling that Sony will hit that but I dont think FOX/MGM will even get close.

[MerrickG]

Hey Bill,

Do you think that we wont be seeing many more bluray announcements until Comic-Con?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Yep... I'm going to start on this next week. Quietly and behind-the-scenes at first, because I know they really are struggling with it. But if the trend continues, it may become something we take up as a cause on The Bits, a la anamoprhic enhancement of DVD back in the day.....

Bill,
Be wary of this excuse which may be used…………….
“Because the grain in certain scenes or even certain entire movies interacts badly with all video compressors despite the brand or manufacturer.”

This holds water for some things, for example, films/scenes shot on push-processed 500 ASA stock invariably wreck havoc with the video compressors and some degree of DNR is needed so that the final product looks more compatible to the theatrical presentation on home enthusiasts' LCD displays.

However, it’s not a valid excuse for all titles. It may be best to bring with you examples of different encodes from Europe and the U.S. of the same title to prove your point. Maxpower may be of assistance here.

[WickyWoo]

Do you think that we wont be seeing many more bluray announcements until Comic-Con?

MAJOR announcements no. It's a little more than 2 months away, at the cusp of the gearup for Christmas

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by Samuray

Lest I forget: Please let me add the brilliant

- Pushing Daisies

to my question. Amazing show.

As mentioned in post #1984, I am sure Bill will be more than happy to pass along news and rumors about upcoming releases in the Rumor Mill section of The Digital Bits site, but we're not supposed to ask unsolicited questions about unannounced titles anywhere in the Insider threads.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by hollywoodguy

One of the ones that he actually got the Award for, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, will be out on BD May 13. A true timeless classic. Are you familiar with the cinematography of that one, Penton? Wanna bet people will complain about "soft PQ"...

Edit: If you're in the area, on May 21, Butch Cassidy plays in the Arclight in Hollywood as part of the AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies series. Should be a lot of fun.

Yes,
And I wouldn’t be surprised if people begin complaining for all the wrong reasons.
If there are any local reviewers reading this thread, I suggest it may be an excellent idea to attend the May 21 theatrical showing in your edit to give the Blu-ray video “quality” the fairest assessment.

This really is almost like a Connie Hall fest what with Cool Hand Luke also debuting on Blu-ray in the next several months.

[Penton-Man]

B.T.W., it’s good to see Francis Ford Coppola back in the saddle with his newest film debuting on Blu-ray also on May 13. Youth Without Youth really isn’t my cup of tea but, FFC always pushes the artistic envelope…… which is a good thing.
I hope to see further thought provoking stuff from him in the future now that he’s back.

[Mr. Cinema]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Unfortunately putting them on cards makes them extremely easy to remove. Checkpoint is supposedly developing a more forgiving glue that makes removal easier. They're a must because it makes it very difficult to take the complete product out of the store

While we're discussing glue, I would love if LionsGate would use a similar type. The glue they use on security stickers is extremely sticky. If one of their security stickers is stuck to the cover, it will peel off. The latest incident happened to me when removing the bottom sticker from First Blood.

[DaViD Boulet]

B.T.W., it’s good to see Francis Ford Coppola back in the saddle with his newest film debuting on Blu-ray also on May 13. Youth Without Youth really isn’t my cup of tea but, FFC always pushes the artistic envelope…… which is a good thing.

Ken gives Youth without Youth a good review at dvdfile:

http://dvdfile.com/index.php?option=...=6694&Itemid=3

he gives it thumbs up for reference image quality, though I can't comment on his video system.

[DaViD Boulet]

Bill,
Be wary of this excuse which may be used…………….
“Because the grain in certain scenes or even certain entire movies interacts badly with all video compressors despite the brand or manufacturer.”

I'm especially keen to hear the "excuse" behind what happened to the US release of New Line's Pan's Labyrinth. Since the Euro HD DVD has much more detail (and grain), it's hard to swallow the "dumbed down for HD DVD encode" on the U.S. BD.

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

I'm especially keen to hear the "excuse" behind what happened to the US release of New Line's Pan's Labyrinth. Since the Euro HD DVD has much more detail (and grain), it's hard to swallow the "dumbed down for HD DVD encode" on the U.S. BD.

I agree in full with your sentiments about the lack of detail and grain. But it's a deeper problem than "dumbed down for HD DVD" (whatever that means, considering HD DVD had plenty of gorgeous releases when the proper effort was put in). Most of New Line's releases (all except Shoot 'Em Up, to the best of my knowledge) suffer from this problem, and you can hardly blame HD DVD for that.

[Snikt]

Bill hasn't been here for awhile. Busy busy busy man. Hope next time he shows up, he's got a lot of good info for us.

[patrick99]

Bill, I am really happy that you have declared open war on DNR. I am in complete agreement with your position on this issue.

However, I am sure you know that in your presentation of the issue in your column, you have oversimplified a bit. I understand that this makes sense in light of the audience you are addressing. But it is not just grain that is eliminated by DNR. DNR also eliminates, or rather prevents, compression noise, which of course is not something that is present in the source. My own personal preference is to see honest compression noise rather than dishonest DNR. But obviously introducing the subject of compression noise makes the issue just a bit less clean. I had hoped that when Warner finally starts releasing genuine BDs, that their DNR impulse might take care of itself with the higher BD bitrates, but of course that remains to be seen.

In any event, despite this small point, as I said, I am in complete agreement with your war on DNR.

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Don't ask how I know, but the New Line version is pretty much transparent to the master tape provided to the post-house.

There was nothing wrong with the encoding side.

The Entertainment in Video version I own uses the same video master source, but they have been provided with a different tape which has not undergone any DNR. Hence better PQ.

Unfortunately when Ben and Amir were telling people that WB encodes were transparent to the master tapes they (or GDMX in the case for WB) were provided they weren't lying.

So DNR was applied to the master before encoding; that still doesn't excuse New Line, since they're the only ones who could have applied the DNR in the first place. It just takes the blame away from the encoding post house.

It's disappointing that no one questioned it before it went to pressing; surely someone at the post house must have noticed how much the source has been tampered with. The comparisons between the UK and US versions are night and day.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Does anyone know about Steelbook Blu-rays being released in the U.S.?

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by gamma626

Does anyone know about Steelbook Blu-rays being released in the U.S.?

Please no... We have enough of those annoying WB "coffee table" cases already, we don't need the Steelbook packaging.

fitprod

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by fitprod

Please no... We have enough of those annoying WB "coffee table" cases already, we don't need the Steelbook packaging.

fitprod

The steelbook cases are at least sturdy and will stand the test of time.

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

The steelbook cases are at least sturdy and will stand the test of time.

Until:

1. The case is dented.
2. The case is scratched.
3. The joints holding the package together wear out.

fitrpod

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by fitprod

Until:

1. The case is dented.
2. The case is scratched.
3. The joints holding the package together wear out.

fitrpod

Many people like the steelbook packaging - they're highly coveted in the DVD world. And whenever they have been released, they have been retailer-exclusives, with other retailers getting the normal style release.

There is a vocal minority that resists any packaging changes, and it's becoming an extremely annoying complaint. People need to accept that not every release will be in a thin blue case.

[jkwest]

Hey Bill....

So, Speed Racer tanked.....does that bode ill for Warner Bros.? How will this effect the hidef world? Or, will it? Warner knows we are awaiting the other Wachowski films...will they postpone anything because of this tankage?