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

[jd213]

Originally Posted by Azyiu

Don't worry, I likely won't be bothering you on touristic-related stuff, rather I just want to know if you know any local used books / cds / dvds stores? I am more interested in finding older J-pop artists / bands (Alfee, Anzen Chitai, Moritaka Chisato etc) concert dvds. Or any other special interest dvds / BDs etc.

There's a lot of used shops in Akihabara that can be fun to browse, but I'm not sure how good a selection they have nowadays since I just look online for used stuff. Much cheaper and a better selection that way, although I guess you don't have that option most of the time. But if you can find what you need from an Amazon.co.jp marketplace seller, you can order with a credit card and have it sent to your hotel or directly to a post office. Plus there's http://www.tenso.com/en/ for when you're not in Japan.

[Jeff Kleist]

I'm just glad I have people I can order the used stuff to now

I just got this, which I've been looking for for years (it's vinyl)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shizuka...i_no_Kaidan_Wo

Only place to get the karaoke tracks, and it looks great on a wall

[Pyoko]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Good news for Ghibli fans, I have confirmed that the new Nausicaa disc is a fully restored DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese track.

You may now exhale, and buy with confidence

Those who are happy, if you want to post something here I'll make sure it's passed on.

That is wonderful news. I had it on pre-order regardless, but now I will be more than happy to pay the $25 price. I'm assuming they'll be re-using the video encode of the JP disc.

I don't suppose there's any chance of them re-issuing Ponyo with lossless? After all they did re-do Pinocchio to fix the missing lines in the audio (though they never told anyone, nor are they offering any replacements.)

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Pyoko

After all they did re-do Pinocchio to fix the missing lines in the audio (though they never told anyone, nor are they offering any replacements.)

They did?! Do you know if there's any way to identify a corrected disc by the packaging?

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

They did?! Do you know if there's any way to identify a corrected disc by the packaging?

Ordering Pinocchio from Amazon is almost sure to get you a corrected version.

No, there is no identifying marks that are obvious on the outside of the package. On the disc itself, the print side of the disc - the old disc has © Disney 8001761 and the corrected disc has © Disney 8000756.


Also, don't know if it is significant, but my Blu-ray disc with the missing audio lines has the engraved code on the shiny silver underside close to the rim: A10 and A06. My corrected Blu-ray disc has engraved A04 and A02.

Paul

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by Pyoko

After all they did re-do Pinocchio to fix the missing lines in the audio (though they never told anyone, nor are they offering any replacements.)

If true, that's pretty shady. Disney ought to fix customers like myself who buy their material day one on a regular basis.

[Doctorossi]

Thanks, Paul H!

Originally Posted by SpaceDog

If true, that's pretty shady. Disney ought to fix customers like myself who buy their material day one on a regular basis.

Yeah, it's pretty lame, but I'd given up on them even producing a corrected disc.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Good news for Ghibli fans, I have confirmed that the new Nausicaa disc is a fully restored DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese track.

You may now exhale, and buy with confidence

Those who are happy, if you want to post something here I'll make sure it's passed on.

I am very, very happy. I'd like to tell Disney thank you for listening to those of us who were unhappy with the Ponyo audio options. Despite what they may think, the majority of people who will buy this BD will view it in its original Japanese, and having a lossless Japanese audio option doesn't harm those who want the dub. Disney has committed to having lossless or uncompressed audio options for all of their BDs since day one, so why abandon this philosophy when it comes to foreign releases?

Also, I just hope that the US release uses the Japanese video transfer and not the color boosted, DNR-ridden UK transfer. I understand and can appreciate Disney's concept of using DNR on their classic animated movies to give the appearance of viewing the animation cells instead of the finalized film, but I hope they can appreciate Hayao Miyazaki's approach that keeps the film looking like film, with historical preservation in mind. I personally prefer to retain the film grain in animated films as it adds a bit of texture and depth to the image and reminds me that I'm watching a movie, and not video. If people want their movies to look 'crystal-clear' there are always TV and BD-player based DNR options that they can use.

If the audio and video is a straight port of the Japanese disc, I will be very happy indeed and will gladly wait to buy the rest of his films via the US release. If Disney engages in overzealous use of digital tools to 'clean up' the image, I'll be forced to import the Japanese or Hong Kong releases. Considering that the Ponyo BD had the same transfer as the Japanese one as far as I could see (although I bought the HK one for the better audio), I think I will be very happy with the US release.

[Jeff Kleist]

I am very, very happy. I'd like to tell Disney thank you for listening to those of us who were unhappy with the Ponyo audio options. Despite what they may think, the majority of people who will buy this BD will view it in its original Japanese, and having a lossless Japanese audio option doesn't harm those who want the dub. Disney has committed to having lossless or uncompressed audio options for all of their BDs since day one, so why abandon this philosophy when it comes to foreign releases?

Disney has a standard template. English lossless, dubs lossy where space is an issue. No one thought to tell the authoring house on Ponyo or the HK films they did. Sadly, the majority of people will watch the dub, but as I pointed out: The majority of people who care about the quality of the audio presentation will NOT.

I was asked by one of the people who worked on the Ponyo Japanese Blu-ray to purchase it and compare the two. There is actually a difference between the two discs, a "house style" is the best way to put it, that only by comparing a large number of their titles to the US versions did I start to notice. It's extraordinarily subtle

This disc should be sourced from the same masters as Japan, The audio issue was an honest mistake. I'm sure that people will be very happy with the US disc. I'm hoping I can get a look at it soon.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by singhcr

Considering that the Ponyo BD had the same transfer as the Japanese one as far as I could see (although I bought the HK one for the better audio), I think I will be very happy with the US release.

How's the video on that HK disc? This site lists it as 1080i.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I'm hoping I can get a look at it soon.

I would have to imagine advance discs will be hitting in a week or so.

[JediFonger]

Thanks Jeff!!!!

Can you also ask if they're going to include Theatrical Subtitles too? All too often, the subtitle translations on Studio Ghiblis are based on the ENG-script (which can seem childish at times). This is the reason I continue to import Ponyo, Nausicaa, Laputa, Yamada, etc. and will continue. Disney doesn't care about offering the different translations. They still treat this as a kids movie, which it is and isn't.

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Disney has a standard template. English lossless, dubs lossy where space is an issue. No one thought to tell the authoring house on Ponyo or the HK films they did. Sadly, the majority of people will watch the dub, but as I pointed out: The majority of people who care about the quality of the audio presentation will NOT.

I was asked by one of the people who worked on the Ponyo Japanese Blu-ray to purchase it and compare the two. There is actually a difference between the two discs, a "house style" is the best way to put it, that only by comparing a large number of their titles to the US versions did I start to notice. It's extraordinarily subtle

This disc should be sourced from the same masters as Japan, The audio issue was an honest mistake. I'm sure that people will be very happy with the US disc. I'm hoping I can get a look at it soon.

[Jeff Kleist]

Can you also ask if they're going to include Theatrical Subtitles too? All too often, the subtitle translations on Studio Ghiblis are based on the ENG-script (which can seem childish at times). This is the reason I continue to import Ponyo, Nausicaa, Laputa, Yamada, etc. and will continue. Disney doesn't care about offering the different translations. They still treat this as a kids movie, which it is and isn't.

Other way round. The Ghibli DVDs and Blu-rays use the official Studio Ghibli subtitle scripts that are translated by them, in-house, often by a guy named Steve Alpert, who's the VP of Ghibli international. Steve was instrumental for example, in getting Miramax to include a proper subtitled version on Mononoke Hime back in the day. If the words seem childish, it's because they're intended to be. As Miyazaki-san says, his movies are for those who are, will be, or once were 8 years old

A lot of people who watch fansubs are not used to how a "real" translation is actually structured. A lot of people rewrite dialog to what they think are a "mature" translation, giving characters different voices than they actually have, inserting swear words etc

A great example is Ponyo, the semaphore scene.

The japanese uses "baka", which translates to "fool, silly(in the foolish sense), "moron"(lighthearted sense) etc. In the english dub it's changed to "Jerk", which carries a totally different word flavor. Jerk carries a more negative connotation, it's a much more attacking word than "baka" is. However, ideally the viewer is going to hear the dialog in their head as they read it, and "jerk" is close enough, and helps carry the same cadance (jerkjerkjerkjerkjerkjerkjerk, bakabakabakabakabaka), so by finding something close, that fits in the space, you're making the end experience tighter for the end user experience.

I rewrite a lot of song lyrics from Japanese, so I have a lot of experience in the art of this kind of compromise translating imagery and metaphor


http://vodpod.com/watch/1838576-koji...-studio-ghibli

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Disney has a standard template. English lossless, dubs lossy where space is an issue. No one thought to tell the authoring house on Ponyo or the HK films they did. Sadly, the majority of people will watch the dub, but as I pointed out: The majority of people who care about the quality of the audio presentation will NOT.

I was asked by one of the people who worked on the Ponyo Japanese Blu-ray to purchase it and compare the two. There is actually a difference between the two discs, a "house style" is the best way to put it, that only by comparing a large number of their titles to the US versions did I start to notice. It's extraordinarily subtle

This disc should be sourced from the same masters as Japan, The audio issue was an honest mistake. I'm sure that people will be very happy with the US disc. I'm hoping I can get a look at it soon.

Thanks for the response. I am confused, though. If you have a 50GB disc and roughly 25-30GB for the feature, why on earth would you use lossy audio when a 5.1 DTS-HD MA track only takes up a few GB? I don't think the disc was crammed with special features, either. I hope Disney changes their template for foreign releases, because they needlessly did the same thing with Drunken Master and some of the other foreign movies released under the Miramax division.

Frankly, when HK releases can have 3 lossless options including PCM for a 2.5 hour movie like Red Cliff with great PQ on a BD50, or have 7.1 DTS-MA and TrueHD options on a BD25 with stellar picture quality, I can't see how having lossless original audio and lossless dubbed audio along with 1080p video and some bonus features would be a space concern. Sometimes I think it is done to purposely weaken the original audio so people would be more likely to watch the dub, but maybe I am going into conspiracy mode here.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Other way round. The Ghibli DVDs and Blu-rays use the official Studio Ghibli subtitle scripts that are translated by them, in-house, often by a guy named Steve Alpert, who's the VP of Ghibli international. Steve was instrumental for example, in getting Miramax to include a proper subtitled version on Mononoke Hime back in the day. If the words seem childish, it's because they're intended to be. As Miyazaki-san says, his movies are for those who are, will be, or once were 8 years old


http://vodpod.com/watch/1838576-koji...-studio-ghibli

Does Jeff like Ponyo? I find myself preferring Disney's A Little Mermaid.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

How's the video on that HK disc? This site lists it as 1080i.

It is 1080i. I have a 1080i CRT HDTV so while it was annoying, the video still looked great and I would rather have 1080i + lossless audio as opposed to 1080p + lossy audio.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by singhcr

I would rather have 1080i + lossless audio as opposed to 1080p + lossy audio.

Thanks for the confirmation. It's too bad that the pricey Japanese release is the only Region A option with both.

[Jeff Kleist]

Frankly, when HK releases can have 3 lossless options including PCM for a 2.5 hour movie like Red Cliff with great PQ on a BD50, or have 7.1 DTS-MA and TrueHD options on a BD25 with stellar picture quality, I can't see how having lossless original audio and lossless dubbed audio along with 1080p video and some bonus features would be a space concern. Sometimes I think it is done to purposely weaken the original audio so people would be more likely to watch the dub, but maybe I am going into conspiracy mode here.

Disney usees seamless branching (see aforementioned "baka" scene to change the onscreen text, and they also pop up completely different starting screens, trailers etc depending on thezone and/or title.

Frankly, when HK releases can have 3 lossless options including PCM for a 2.5 hour movie like Red Cliff with great PQ on a BD50, or have 7.1 DTS-MA and TrueHD options on a BD25 with stellar picture quality, I can't see how having lossless original audio and lossless dubbed audio along with 1080p video and some bonus features would be a space concern. Sometimes I think it is done to purposely weaken the original audio so people would be more likely to watch the dub, but maybe I am going into conspiracy mode here.

You're reading into it too much. They don't care what you watch as long as you pay them money

I will tell you that the quality difference between 48/24 lossless ponyo and the DD 5.1 is startling from the first frame of the film. The entire soundfield is so much more open, it's like a bedroom to a basketball court.

[Jeff Kleist]

Does Jeff like Ponyo? I find myself preferring Disney's A Little Mermaid.

Unlike the Disney Fish Lady movie, Miyazaki, like Akira Kurosawa before him did not call his film The Little Mermaid did he?

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I rewrite a lot of song lyrics from Japanese, so I have a lot of experience in the art of this kind of compromise translating imagery and metaphor

Yes, a lot of folks don't very well understand the difference between translation (or adaptation) and transliteration. The most literal translation is not always the best, by any stretch.