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

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I need a vacation now from my "vacation"

They say there’s great sunbathing on the beach right next to this plant during earthquake weather in SoCal…

http://sanclemente.patch.com/article...#photo-5299084

[Musashi]

"He's OK!" Good to hear it too.

So Jeff, is this going to affect the concert lineup in the summer?

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

greetings everyone

I'm sorry for my long absence, but I had no time for forums or anything else that becomes a continual distraction Suffice to say I spent 2 fun filled days in Haneda airport, followed by long waits for trains, before finally arriving in Maebashi prefecture at my friend's house over 3 days after leaving home, and without even taking of my shoes.

Following this was a complete rejiggering of my entire meeting schedule, and tracking down my friends (one of whom had a baby amidst the chaos, congrats again, you know who you are). By the time I actually arrived back in Tokyo, I was already running on half a tank at best, and I still had 2 weeks of meetings to go. Between panicked emails from my mother as the US news media blew the latest events into godzilla size proportions (my chief translator was working at the plant at the time of the quake, yes he's OK, but we look forward to seeing whether his ukelele will mutate into a guitar by the time he an collect it again)

Aside from some rolling blackouts, and shortages of drinks and general stock in convienince stores ( the stock was being shipped north), life pretty quickly returned to normal.

I had almost 25 meetings with major studios, animation houses, manga publishers, music labels, CEs etc and I saw a lot of cool stuff, including the Toshiba glasses free Tv (It works, as long as you don't move more than a few inches, and don't mind about a 27" screen). I saw some demos that might remain Japan only due to licensing restrictions, but IMO they should have them on every TV worldwide. I've seen the Ghost in the Shell 3D (a few scenes in a screening room), basically they just took the CG elements and did the other eye render, the rest is pretty flat.

I appreciate those like Penton who tried to call, but CDMA (Verizon, Sprint) doesn't really work in Japan, and the rates are ludicrous so I had a rental phone I think my computer at home might have been checking in when it popped on to DVR something, dunno

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the concern, sorry it just kinda slipped my mind to hit here with everything else going on. Apologies for the concerns and lack of contact, I need a vacation now from my "vacation"

Glad to have you back. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on The Arrival!

[Azyiu]

It is good to know you are still alive and kicking, Jeff!

By the way, I will keep my trip to Japan in mid-April, only this time we've changed the destination from Tokyo to the Kansai area. In a way it is a good move, since now that we will be visiting Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Hiroshima over this one trip!!

[Anthony P]

welcome back, as for the rest, no need to apologise, we knew you had a busy schedule.

[DenonCI]

Welcome back Jeff...glad to see you made it home and were safe.

[DarkDune]

Welcome back Jeff!

Have a Bier-o Ku Dah Sai! <-- Phonetic Japanese

While you were away, I posted something here about my interest in the Marvell Qdeo Technology in Oppo Blu-ray players, and Pioneer ELITE receivers. We have one of the Pioneer's, and Qdeo is amazing!

Do you guys employ equipment with Qdeo technology to do your Blu reviews?

I think it would be very interesting to see you produce an article researching it, and how it might impact the home entertainment industry.

Here is the Qdeo site:
http://www.marvell.com/technologies/qdeo.html

Edit:

Here is the Oppo-BDP93 description of what Qdeo is doing:
"Qdeo by Marvell - The BDP-93 incorporates Marvell's Kyoto-G2 video processor with the second generation Qdeo™ technology. Qdeo video processing delivers a truly immersive viewing experience by rendering quiet natural video free of noise and artifacts for all types of content. For high-quality Blu-ray content, the BDP-93 faithfully reproduces the program just as the director intended; for DVD, the up-converted picture quality bridges the visual gap from your current DVD library to Blu-ray discs; for network streaming and user-encoded content at a variety of formats and quality, the BDP-93 offers enhancement options including video noise reduction, compression artifact reduction, intelligent color, contrast, detail and edge enhancements."

[Jeff Kleist]

It's beeru BTW preferably namabiru

Bill's running Oppo (forget which one), I'm on Panasonic, I forget which receiver he's running, but it's not doing video processing anyway

Here's a pic from my last day in Tokyo, lunch with my buddies from HOME MADE KAZOKU, who will have the new ending theme to NARUTO starting next week. I heard it and it's a pretty rocking piece

http://twitpic.com/4ehyjd

I saw the Yamato movie on the plane subtitled. My basic review is this: It's like getting falacio from someone who can't remember to keep their lips over their teeth. When it's good it's weepingly, orgasmically good. The shots and events are right out of the source material, done exactly the way they should be. The score is tremendous, Naoki Sato knew that replacing the iconic cues would be an egregious error, and instead produced new sweeping arrangements that punched new life into them. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Some of the small changes like making Analyzer (IQ-9) into more of an R2D2 worked, while others were side effects of casting a 40 year old boybander into a role meant from a 17 year old

The Yamato herself is relegated as almost an afterthought, which shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the original property. The Yamato is the symbol of the heart and soul of Japan, both in WW2 and post-reconstruction. It perseveres and survives precisely because it is the embodiment of the collective will and hopes of humanity, but in this case it's like "Is this..?" "Yes, the Yamato" and that's all that's said. The friendship between the now-ballless Dr. Sado and Okita is never really explored aside from a few bedside visits, I'm shocked they found time for the cat and the trademark drinking.

The movie versions of the first series and Gundam worked, somewhat because there was so much padding to begin with that reducing them to their core elements eliminated a lot of redundancy. Here they assume you've watched the original, and then change the Gamilas into a hive mind bug people. No Queen Starsha, Iscandar is relegated to a ball pit in the Gamilas party cave as a rebel faction inside the hive mind, and unnecessarily badass Yuki is made into a walking Cosmo DNA

For a movie made for $25 million, it's an amazing accomplishment technologically, but given the time constraints and the silly changes that were made, coupled with a lot of very amateur acting by people chosen more for their name draw than their talent in the field makes what could have been a glorious revival of a franchise fall short. I really wonder what a 4-6 hour version of the film would have been like, if there is a much better movie sitting on the cutting room floor somewhere. It's a film that could be saved with the casting and shooting of real people in the role of the Gamilas, playing proper Deslar and having a real Starsha. Later Yamato installments depended very specifically on Deslar being able to see the error of his ways, and finding his redemption, and the massmind is simply too cold and one-dimensional to ever accomplish that. I did think their budgetary solution to the problem of doing the epic "through the planet" attack on Gamilas was a good one, but I hope it's something that won't be a problem in the Hollywood version. Of course also lacking in the aftermath is any regret or observation on the value of all life that was present in the original, instead it's the usual action adventure finish with no regrets.

There is so much to like in this film it makes me really sad it's failed to live up to its potential, and felt like they needed to make silly changes to match Ron Moore's space show ( Okita plotting an elaborate ruse about the anti-radiation device he doesn't know exists is straight out of it for example). It's just unfortunate that such an epic tale ends up feeling so small (much of it due to budgetary necessity mind you)

I was told by an authority that Leiji Matsumoto wholeheartedly disapproves BTW, though he has no legal control of this area of the franchise. Hopefully the Galaxy Express 999 movie fares better.

[DarkDune]

Here is a pdf presentation about Qdeo I found too!

http://www.sidchapters.org/ba/Archiv...ID%20Mar09.pdf

Originally Posted by DarkDune

Welcome back Jeff!

Have a Bier-o Ku Dah Sai! <-- Phonetic Japanese

While you were away, I posted something here about my interest in the Marvell Qdeo Technology in Oppo Blu-ray players, and Pioneer ELITE receivers.

[Show spoiler]We have one of the Pioneer's, and Qdeo is amazing!

Do you guys employ equipment with Qdeo technology to do your Blu reviews?

I think it would be very interesting to see you produce an article researching it, and how it might impact the home entertainment industry.

Here is the Qdeo site:
http://www.marvell.com/technologies/qdeo.html

Edit:

Here is the Oppo-BDP93 description of what Qdeo is doing:
"Qdeo by Marvell - The BDP-93 incorporates Marvell's Kyoto-G2 video processor with the second generation Qdeo™ technology. Qdeo video processing delivers a truly immersive viewing experience by rendering quiet natural video free of noise and artifacts for all types of content. For high-quality Blu-ray content, the BDP-93 faithfully reproduces the program just as the director intended; for DVD, the up-converted picture quality bridges the visual gap from your current DVD library to Blu-ray discs; for network streaming and user-encoded content at a variety of formats and quality, the BDP-93 offers enhancement options including video noise reduction, compression artifact reduction, intelligent color, contrast, detail and edge enhancements."

[DarkDune]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Yamato -- My basic review is this: It's like getting falacio from someone who can't remember to keep their lips over their teeth.

Yeesh!!! Bad memories...please don't remind me again!

LOL

BTW: I am married now...never had THAT issue with the wife

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

It's beeru BTW preferably namabiru

Sumi masen! Santori marutsu o nippon, onegaishimasu!

Welcome back, Jeff.

[Doctorossi]

Ponderable of the day:

If Barry Lyndon is an Amazon exclusive, how is their price for it "25% off"?

[Jeff Kleist]

Cause it still has an SRP

[DarkDune]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

It's beeru BTW preferably namabiru

Bill's running Oppo (forget which one), I'm on Panasonic, I forget which receiver he's running, but it's not doing video processing anyway

Cool.

Can you ask Bill if he's ever used the Qdeo tech on the Oppo? I think you will both be impressed with what it does to up the image quality on Blu and DVD, and even things like Netflix. You may need a 10-bit display with 10-bit processing to see it -- at least that is what we have, and I really see a difference.

It has been "out there" since 2007, and improved in 2009, but I honestly have not seem a lot of press on it and how it is impacting the industry. Oppo saw it as important enough to put it in their players, and we all know how good the Oppo image is!

Certainly for me, it makes "banding" -- even on Blu -- acceptable, and barely noticeable. For me that is HUGE! I can actually sit back and enjoy Blus -- even the "bad" quality ones.

[NL197]

Jeff returns...to an ANALOG world!

[beatnikslacker]

This Retro Analog Bits page is brilliant! easily one of the better net april fools Ive seen.

but that pioneer receiver ad is the killer "18 pounds of SHEER F***ING AWESOME"

[Beast]

Originally Posted by NL197

Jeff returns...to an ANALOG world!

Biggs Lives!

Love the retro Analog Bits webpage. Ahh the memories of Laserdisc.

[MerrickG]

I have to say that I am pleased with what I've read on the Superman Anthology.

I fully expected Warner to use existing transfers, but the fact they prepared new HD Masters is just plain awesome.

The only downside is that I am forced to pay for Superman IV.

The sad thing about Superman IV is that it could have been a MUCH better film with a proper budget and better special effects. Not saying it would have been great (or even good), but I do feel it could have been a lot better.

Instead of F- it might have gotten a grade of C. lol

So Jeff, can you pass the message to Warner that their efforts in this new Superman boxset is appreciated and will not go unrewarded. Day One buy for me!

[Jeff Kleist]

The set really excites me too, Superman 1 in lossless yum

Just don't be too disappointed when you finally see the Krypton opening to Returns. While I love the film, it really felt stylistically out of place for me, despite there being some killer elements. Essentially it felt like Bryan Singer stepped out and the ghost of Kubrick snuck in

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by merrick97

I have to say that I am pleased with what I've read on the Superman Anthology.

I fully expected Warner to use existing transfers, but the fact they prepared new HD Masters is just plain awesome.

The only downside is that I am forced to pay for Superman IV.

The sad thing about Superman IV is that it could have been a MUCH better film with a proper budget and better special effects. Not saying it would have been great (or even good), but I do feel it could have been a lot better.

Instead of F- it might have gotten a grade of C. lol

So Jeff, can you pass the message to Warner that their efforts in this new Superman boxset is appreciated and will not go unrewarded. Day One buy for me!

All that and not a single disc was re-used from the DVD set.