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

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

You've never seen Jaws, Lawrence of Arabia, Sunset Boulevard, Wizard of Oz, The Godfather, etc.?

The Godfather was another exception. In addition to the Exorcist.

I was never a fan of Jaws or Lawrence. Both films bored me to death. I didnt mind the Wizard of Oz when I was forced to watch it in grade school, but I wont ever buy it.

I am not saying that I wont watch films before 1977, its just that Im just not gung-ho about them. For me, the late 70s (Alien is one of my alltime favorite films) is when films started to catch my style. Im not saying any of those films are bad. Not by a long shot. Im just saying they are not for me.

If my opinion means Im not a true movie fan, THEN SO BE IT.

I have my tastes and you have yours.

EDIT:
Before people freak out. I am not in anway bashing LoA, Im just saying the film isnt for me. THATS ALL. I tried watching it once and I was bored out of my mind. Do I recognize and respect its place in film history? Absolutely.

[captveg]

Originally Posted by Vincent Pereira

Criterion does lossless mono and stereo.

Vincent

Warner also put a 2.0 Mono TrueHD track on Being There.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Wolverine1980

I don't want to sound like an @$$ but if you refuse to watch movies that were made before 1977 you're not a true film fan and you're missing out on thousands of great movies.

What an @$$. Kidding. And you are right.

[jpaul1972]

Bill / Jeff, any possibility of additional Fincher films to be released on blu this year. I know there was alot of talk earlier in the thread about Alien 3, but I'm looking for info on Fight Club, The Game, and Se7en.

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

It's the best Star Trek has ever looked, period, and I've seen a 35mm print that was in good shape. ....

Huh? 35mm? I thought TOS, like most TV series, was shot in 16mm. Even the "Movie of the Week" was usually shot in 16mm. It wasn't until HD that there was a compelling reason to go with 35mm.

Or am I completely misinformed? Which were filmed in what? (What was the deciding factor?)

Cheers!
-Jim

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

By the way, just a heads-up... CBS's Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 on Blu-ray is AWESOME. Worth the wait, worth every penny if you're a fan (though we'd still recommend Amazon's $73 versus the full $130 retail SRP).

My full review is here, and Jeff can confirm my two cents I'm sure...

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/review...ews041709.html

Yep, the price (in this case) sold me. Your review confirmed the rightness of my purchase.

Thanks!

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

Huh? 35mm? I thought TOS, like most TV series, was shot in 16mm. Even the "Movie of the Week" was usually shot in 16mm. It wasn't until HD that there was a compelling reason to go with 35mm.

Or am I completely misinformed? Which were filmed in what? (What was the deciding factor?)

Cheers!
-Jim

Most series in the 60's were filmed in 35mm (image size about 15mm x 21mm). Maybe you're thinking about prints sent to TV stations that could be 16mm reductions.

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

100% fully aware of that. More people are going to be looking for a certain title on release day. Why not give them the best price? I think they could make more sales by following the same successful method of DVD.

I suspect the studios have changed their whole marketing strategy for ALL movie discs. Even lowly DVD's are no longer released at $14.95 at Wal-Mart for big releases the way they were 4-5 years ago. The studios seemed to have priced the profits out of DVD and do not seem eager to do the same for Blu-rays. BD's will cost $5-10 dollars more than DVD (many big titles have been closer to $5 difference), but the days of cheap new releases on DVD are long gone. On the other hand, DVD prices drop rapidly and significantly after release while BD prices do not show the same major drops (not as fast and not as far .)

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Most series in the 60's were filmed in 35mm (image size about 15mm x 21mm). Maybe you're thinking about prints sent to TV stations that could be 16mm reductions.

Mostly I'm thinking of an interview with a network exec. He was quoted as saying a meeting over HD was what pushed them to go to 35mm for the Movie of the Week.

Secondarily, I swear I saw 16mm cameras in some still shots. Perhaps Rod Serling for The Twilight Zone?

[PeterTHX]

ALL Trek shows, with the sole exception of Enterprise's 4th season, were shot on 35MM film. TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT seasons 1-3 used Panavision (flat) cameras.

For Enterprise, in an effort to cut costs (and for UPN to keep them) switched to HD video for its final season.

[Objectivity]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

100% fully aware of that. More people are going to be looking for a certain title on release day. Why not give them the best price? I think they could make more sales by following the same successful method of DVD.

I think you answered your own question.

People who are going to buy a movie week one are going to buy a movie week one, as long as it's in the typical price window. (ie not $50+ like Casablanca). Dropping the price week two gets those who were on the fence and then see a sale. It probably boosts the bottom line.

For example, I'll buy Benjamin Button the week it comes out, as long as it's under $30. If it's dropped to $24 in week two, I'm not going to get mad.

However, there are plenty of movies out there that I won't buy until they drop over $20. That's why I always walk through the Blu aisle at Best Buy. Those special sales can push me over the edge.

[Jeff Kleist]

Huh? 35mm? I thought TOS, like most TV series, was shot in 16mm. Even the "Movie of the Week" was usually shot in 16mm. It wasn't until HD that there was a compelling reason to go with 35mm.

Or am I completely misinformed? Which were filmed in what? (What was the deciding factor?)

16mm prints were sent to Canada, but source film was all 35mm. Syndicated shows were often shot 16mm, especially during the 80s/90s golden era

Inside Star Trek discusses the post process extensively. You can get it off amazon marketplace for peanuts and I can't recommend it more.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

ALL Trek shows, with the sole exception of Enterprise's 4th season, were shot on 35MM film. TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT seasons 1-3 used Panavision (flat) cameras.

For Enterprise, in an effort to cut costs (and for UPN to keep them) switched to HD video for its final season.

Yeah, and unfortunately, all the post production was done on 4x3 analog 480i video for all of those shows but Enterprise, which was deliberately finalized in 16x9 1080p for HDTV broadcast. That means the next series likely to be released on Blu-ray format after TOS Remastered is Enterprise.

[Jeff Kleist]

Yeah, and unfortunately, all the post production was done on 4x3 analog 480i video for all of those shows but Enterprise, which was deliberately finalized in 16x9 1080p for HDTV broadcast. That means the next series likely to be released on Blu-ray format after TOS Remastered is Enterprise.

Just to clarify:

TOS followed standard procedure of the time, which lasted up until the early-mid 80s, which was cutting the negative together and running prints just like a movie. That's why you're seeing a lot of 80s action shows on Universal HD. They had the prints and it was simply a matter of running them to make the shows HD

[AnimeOnBlu]

Jeff,

Is EFNY and The Fog really coming out on 5/12? I haven't seen any announcements.

[jd213]

Hey Jeff,

Any comments on the ultimate irony of Valkyria Chronicles, an anime based on a PS3 exclusive game, not getting a BD release in Japan? I had thought Aniplex had changed their tune by announcing the new Fullmetal Alchemist series for Blu-ray, but I guess not.

I suppose the likely reason is that they're trying to sell HD rental downloads on the PSN for 400 yen per episode, but I can't imagine them making much profit there... I hadn't really heard much about the success of Xam'd (another HD anime on the PSN) so I didn't think it sold that well.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Q!

Hi Jeff or Bill
You guys have any idea if the PQ would be worh the double-dip for BSG?
thanks

It sure will in my book! It's going to have grain, because it's supposed to. But anyone who has ever seen BSG on SciFi HD, or even on HD-DVD, knows that high-def is THE way the show as meant to be seen. I've seen the HD image projected in a large theatre setting, and let me tell you... it's awesome.

[NoQuestion]

Originally Posted by AnimeOnBlu

Jeff,

Is EFNY and The Fog really coming out on 5/12? I haven't seen any announcements.

With May 12th less than a month away, I think that it is a mistaken post on bestbuy's part.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Yeah, and unfortunately, all the post production was done on 4x3 analog 480i video for all of those shows but Enterprise, which was deliberately finalized in 16x9 1080p for HDTV broadcast. That means the next series likely to be released on Blu-ray format after TOS Remastered is Enterprise.

Actually, while it was SD video the compositing and editing were done digitally.

TNG's first 3 seasons were on D1 digital tape, which was very primitive and limited in both resolution and color compared to D2. They converted to D2 for the latter half of the 3rd season. You can see it on shots where the characters are in front of the window or the viewscreen: they are much clearer and lose that washed out appearance.

[Jeff Kleist]

Any comments on the ultimate irony of Valkyria Chronicles, an anime based on a PS3 exclusive game, not getting a BD release in Japan? I had thought Aniplex had changed their tune by announcing the new Fullmetal Alchemist series for Blu-ray, but I guess not.

I suppose the likely reason is that they're trying to sell HD rental downloads on the PSN for 400 yen per episode, but I can't imagine them making much profit there... I hadn't really heard much about the success of Xam'd (another HD anime on the PSN) so I didn't think it sold that well.

I'd say that that's definately where their attention lies. Japan is absolutely a rental video economy. It doesn't mean that they won't put out Blu collections later however. 400yen minus fees is probably still more than they see from the video store

Before anyone brings up the fact that FF7:Advent Children Complete sold 100,000 copies on Blu last week in Japan, tripling last year's top seller, please note that 85%+ of those people were buying game demos with a movie attached, and if one goes to Akihabara even now, the shelves are probably loaded with used ones (jd? What are you seeing?). It's an anomoly.