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

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Moonraker

Bill,

Do you think Universal is shooting itself in the foot by releasing The Mummy and The Mummy Returns as Deluxe Edition DVDs on July 8th, two weeks before the Blu-Ray launch?

No. We have no idea what bonus content is going to be included on the Blu-ray editions. It could very well be that much of the Deluxe material will be included on Blu-ray. Let's wait and see.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Caligula

Where is Mr. Hunt?

Mr. Hunt doesn't live at Blu-ray.com, he lives at The Digital Bits.com, which keeps him VERY busy. Plus, there's a Mrs. Hunt, his phone rings all day long and he has a life outside of the Internet. However, he's happy to come here and post when he has a few spare minutes, as often as he can.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

Bill,

Is it reasonable to think the first X-Files movie will be released on Blu with the new movie?

Let's put it this way... it's certainly not unreasonable.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Caligula

sorry ,.. just in case mr hunt overlooked this one! I TRULY WANT IT ON BLU!!!!!!

RE: Caligula, I'll try to find out.

[RUR]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Mr. Hunt doesn't live at Blu-ray.com, he lives at The Digital Bits.com, which keeps him VERY busy. Plus, there's a Mrs. Hunt, his phone rings all day long and he has a life outside of the Internet. However, he's happy to come here and post when he has a few spare minutes, as often as he can.

and we are grateful for those posts, honest!

[NoQuestion]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Definitely, Maybe could still get a Blu-ray release, but you have to remember, that it isn't exactly the kind of title that will be at the top of the list for release on a new format. I don't know what the sales figures for romantic comedies are on BD, but I'm guessing they're not high.

Thanks Bill! I will sit back on my couch and watch my many blus and patiently wait for a possible release date.

Thanks Again!!

[Caligula]

LOL!!! LOL!!! Fair enough!! MRS HUNT IS VERY IMPORTANT!! SO IS MY MRS.

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

RE: Caligula, I'll try to find out.

OK THANK YOU SIR!! I look forward to your news! Make sure ask your source if it will have subtitles (SDH PREFERABLY) as i know all blus does.. just making sure!! THANK You again!

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Caligula

LOL!!! LOL!!! Fair enough!! MRS HUNT IS VERY IMPORTANT!! SO IS MY MRS.

Oooookkkkay... I'll take your word for it. Not sure how else to respond to that.

MEANWHILE... speaking of sitting back and waiting on the Blus... Warner is working on a Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition Blu-ray release for the holidays. VERY tentative street date of 11/4. Just posted it on The Bits a few minutes ago.

[Quinthoopachiefy]

Hey Bill I just wanted to tell you Thank You for all the years of Hard work and Info you provide. I have been going almost daily to the Bits since I got my first Dvd Player at the end of 98. Thanks for all you do, it is greatly appreciated.

[blu-suedeshoes]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Mr. Hunt doesn't live at Blu-ray.com, he lives at The Digital Bits.com, which keeps him VERY busy. Plus, there's a Mrs. Hunt, his phone rings all day long and he has a life outside of the Internet. However, he's happy to come here and post when he has a few spare minutes, as often as he can.

Thank you for the time you are able to make for this site. I think people lose site that you and the other insiders do this on your spare time as a favor for your fellow movie lovers. I'm new to posting, but not new to reading this site, or the digitalbits. As soon as I get on this site I look directly for you, and Penton's thread and hope that there are posts from you guys and not some rambling morons arguing over dumb stuff, or asking the same questions that's been asked a hundred times, or ranting about what's "owed" to them from Paramount and Universal. I'm just glad they're coming out with blu this year. I've waited this long and didn't give into the RED to get the titles I wish came out on blu-ray, so I can wait a couple more months. I'll be honest, it's hard waiting for the announcement from Paramount, but there are more important things in life. They're coming soon is all I need to know. You, and the other insiders' work is appreciated, even if it's not shown all the time. Your advise helped me decide to go blu over a year ago. Thank you for good advise on the right investment in the right format. I'm a family man, so spending cash on blu-ray wasn't easy. Whenever my 8 year old son and I see trailers for new movies he looks at me and says, "Dad, that's going to be sweet on blu-ray". I'm a lucky man to have such a cool son that understands good quality.
(Not trying to kiss up, just wanted to show some respect to you and the other insiders and mods)

Again, thanks for all your hard work.

[Moonraker]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

No. We have no idea what bonus content is going to be included on the Blu-ray editions. It could very well be that much of the Deluxe material will be included on Blu-ray. Let's wait and see.

Oh, I wasn't commenting on supplements, but rather people will buy the DVD not knowing that a Blu-Ray is right around the corner? Do you think it will hurt sales to have the DVDs come out 2 weeks earlier.

[GreenScar]

Bill you posted over on the Bits that Paramount was planning on releasing American Gangster this year. Do you have any inside info to whether the extended edition will be included (IMO it would be a travesty if it weren't)?

PS - Thanks for your time here and of course for the excellent reporting at the Bits.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by jasonbird

Bill you posted over on the Bits that Paramount was planning on releasing American Gangster this year. Do you have any inside info to whether the extended edition will be included (IMO it would be a travesty if it weren't)?

PS - Thanks for your time here and of course for the excellent reporting at the Bits.

It's Universal. I actually know some stuff, but I can't really say. The hope is they're going to correct the screw-up they made on the HD-DVD version. Fingers crossed.

[Bill Hunt]

Originally Posted by Moonraker

Oh, I wasn't commenting on supplements, but rather people will buy the DVD not knowing that a Blu-Ray is right around the corner? Do you think it will hurt sales to have the DVDs come out 2 weeks earlier.

I don't think so. A lot of people already have these films on DVD, so anyone who doesn't yet will either buy the Blu-ray or they're very unlikely to buy the Blu-ray. That would be my guess.

[Marcusarilius]

Hi Bill. When is Star Wars coming out on BD?

Just thought I'd bring a smile your way!

[Mr. Cinema]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

MEANWHILE... speaking of sitting back and waiting on the Blus... Warner is working on a Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition Blu-ray release for the holidays. VERY tentative street date of 11/4. Just posted it on The Bits a few minutes ago.

That's definitely going to be a welcomed addition to BD. There are many, myself included, who have been patiently waiting for Shawshank. I do hope that Warner releases The Green Mile on the same day. That's a perfect opportunity.

[Razzy]

Originally Posted by Caligula

FINALLY! Back to the future trilogy!! The studio will have my money for that trilogy!! FINALLY!! GREAT SCOTT!!

I know...this is heavy.

Thanks for the info Bill. Great news for us BTTF freaks.

[Nick Graham]

Originally Posted by Bill Hunt

Let's put it this way... it's certainly not unreasonable.

Bill, the release of the new movie has got me thinking of a possible Blu release of the series, but my question is this - with the low budget nature of the show's early years, how much can Fox really do on the technical side to make it better in terms of PQ than the standard def release? I suppose the same question would apply for shows like Buffy as well. Later seasons that were shot for HD would obviously benefit greatly, but what approach are the studios going to take to lower budget 4:3 TV material?

[mark antony]

Originally Posted by Nick Graham

Bill, the release of the new movie has got me thinking of a possible Blu release of the series, but my question is this - with the low budget nature of the show's early years, how much can Fox really do on the technical side to make it better in terms of PQ than the standard def release? I suppose the same question would apply for shows like Buffy as well. Later seasons that were shot for HD would obviously benefit greatly, but what approach are the studios going to take to lower budget 4:3 TV material?

Most TV shows pre hi-def, with few exceptions, are shot on 35mm film. This is why titles such as mission impossible and the original star trek look so good in remastered dvd form. 35mm has the capability to have far better image quality than hi-def when transferred from original materials. Whether shot 4:3 or widescreen, the picture quality can still be immaculate.

The only fly in the ointment is due to post-production. Several shows were shot on film but edited on standard definition betatape or alternatives, meaning the edited masters for the show are all in standard def on a 10-20 year old tape.

The only way to get round this is if all the original elements survive and then they can re-create a new 35mm or hi-def master by transferring the original elements and editing them.

An additional problem is that some shows such as star trek TNG had some of their effects created on video, not film, so they would literally need to be recreated from scratch - hence why arguably the more-popular TNG wasn't released on HD-DVD.

Other bizarre twists include Babylon 5 where the effects were created in standard definition, with the intention of re-rendering them from the original computer files at a later date for hi-def and widescreen; but someone lost/destroyed the majority of the files...hence why the sfx look poor in comparison to other shows of their time.

M

[FourToedStatue]

Originally Posted by Razzy

I know...this is heavy.

Thanks for the info Bill. Great news for us BTTF freaks.

Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?

I can't wait!