List of International BDs with Better PQ, AQ, and/or More Extras

[casspir]

It is indicated in the list that the German release of Black Hawk Down (Theatrical Cut) is out of print. This is not true, it is available for purchase on the German Amazon site:
https://www.amazon.de/Black-Hawk-Dow...A3JWKAKR8XB7XF

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by casspir

It is indicated in the list that the German release of Black Hawk Down (Theatrical Cut) is out of print. This is not true, it is available for purchase on the German Amazon site:
https://www.amazon.de/Black-Hawk-Dow...A3JWKAKR8XB7XF

It's definitely worth grabbing.

[casspir]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

It's definitely worth grabbing.

I already have it in my collection, I purchased it 8 years ago.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by casspir

I already have it in my collection, I purchased it 8 years ago.

Me too. The compression is so much better than the US BD.

[Hedrox]

So... I noticed the Polish disc for Curse of the Black Pearl has the aspect ratio listed as 2.35, whereas the US one is 2.40, so I got curios and sure enough it is a different encode and a different framing(slightly).

I can't really tell if one is better than the other, for detail they seem more or less the same, but the US one has a bit of a yellow tint(which may be intentional) while the PL one doesn't; you also get slightly more image on the PL one while the US is zoomed in.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
US - AVC 2.40:1 20055 kbps, LPCM 5.1 6912 kbps, 24-bit, English SDH subs (Region free) Best AQ
CZ/GR/HU/PL/TR - VC-1 2.35:1 21282 kbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 4067 kbps 24-bit, English regular & SDH subs (Region free)

The 2.35 disc is also Disney BTW, just that it was pressed in 2009, while the US one in 2007.

1. (US on the left)

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[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

So... I noticed the Polish disc for Curse of the Black Pearl has the aspect ratio listed as 2.35, whereas the US one is 2.40, so I got curios and sure enough it is a different encode and a different framing(slightly).

I can't really tell if one is better than the other, for detail they seem more or less the same, but the US one has a bit of a yellow tint(which may be intentional) while the PL one doesn't; you also get slightly more image on the PL one while the US is zoomed in.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
US - AVC 2.40:1 20055 kbps, LPCM 5.1 6912 kbps, 24-bit, English SDH subs (Region free) Best AQ
CZ/GR/HU/PL/TR - VC-1 2.35:1 21282 kbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 4067 kbps 24-bit, English regular & SDH subs (Region free)

The 2.35 disc is also Disney BTW, just that it was pressed in 2009, while the US one in 2007.

[Show spoiler]1. (US on the left)

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There about the same in terms of compression. The PL disc seems to have lean toward the red side when I examined the flesh tones.

[HD Goofnut]

Updated Bagdad Cafe.

[HD Goofnut]

Added Wedlock.

[HD Goofnut]

Updated The Gift (2000).

[NLScavenger]

TMNT
DE- AVC 20987 kbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 2335 kbps 16-bit, English subs, extras, German location text in one scene (Region B) Best PQ
NO/SE/FI/DK - AVC 31951 kbps, DD 5.1 640 kbps, no extras (Region free)
US - VC-1 13877 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 1880 kbps 16-bit, English subs, extras (Region free)

Comparison: https://slow.pics/c/k8fuBcvc

Suspiria (2018)
US - AVC 22035 kbps, Dolby Atmos TrueHD 7.1 3110 kbps 16-bit, English subs, burned-in subs for foreign dialogue (Region A locked)
DE - AVC 24964 kbps, Dolby Atmos TrueHD 7.1 4148 kbps 24-bit, English subs (Region B locked) Best PQ/AQ
AU - AVC 31989 kbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 4049 kbps 24-bit, English subs, burned-in subs for foreign dialogue (Region B locked)

Comparison: https://slow.pics/c/NlWXVdPQ

AU BD has slightly worse PQ than DE BD overall, but DE BD like the US BD suffers from low pass filtering in the climax scene (see #8).

[Jompa]

US - AVC 22035 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 3110 kbps 16-bit, English subs, burned-in subs for foreign dialogue (Region A locked)
DE - AVC 24964 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 4148 kbps 24-bit, English subs (Region B locked) Best PQ/AQ

These are not correct. It has Dolby Atmos sound.

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by Jompa

US - AVC 22035 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 3110 kbps 16-bit, English subs, burned-in subs for foreign dialogue (Region A locked)
DE - AVC 24964 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 4148 kbps 24-bit, English subs (Region B locked) Best PQ/AQ

These are not correct. It has Dolby Atmos sound.

You're right. I copied the specs from the main post.

[karsten]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

So... I noticed the Polish disc for Curse of the Black Pearl has the aspect ratio listed as 2.35, whereas the US one is 2.40, so I got curios and sure enough it is a different encode and a different framing(slightly).

I can't really tell if one is better than the other, for detail they seem more or less the same, but the US one has a bit of a yellow tint(which may be intentional) while the PL one doesn't; you also get slightly more image on the PL one while the US is zoomed in.

The Polish disc looks decidedly better for framing and for colour. No question.

Thank you very much for posting this comparison. I know which one I'll buy, when I want this title.

[HD Goofnut]

Added The Sun Shines Bright.

[Mikezilla3k]

Does anyone know whether this Italian release of Evil Under The Sun is better than the US (2K remaster) and UK (better compression) releases?

[HD Goofnut]

Added Operation Petticoat.

[HD Goofnut]

Added U Turn.

Updated The Pianist.

[Jason One]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Fountain, The
US - VC-1 1.78:1 open matte 18570 kbps, DD 5.1 640 kbps, extras, English subs (Region free)
DE - AVC 1.85:1 23998 kbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 2048 kbps 16-bit, no English subs (Region B) Best PQ
UK - MPEG-2 1.85:1 33310 kbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 4036 kbps 24-bit, more extras, English subs (Region B locked)

I was taking a closer look at the caps for this the other day, and I think a case can be made that the UK release has the best PQ. Check out the hard-encoded subtitles: there is obvious mosquito noise around the text in the DE version, while it looks much cleaner in the UK:

caps-a-holic: DE vs UK


The US release is not as bad as the DE, but again the UK fares better:

caps-a-holic: US vs UK


Admittedly it is a very soft transfer underlying all three releases, and the differences are not as apparent in other shots, but I think what detail there is survives slightly better overall in the UK's encode than the others.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by Jason One

I was taking a closer look at the caps for this the other day, and I think a case can be made that the UK release has the best PQ.

I'm not exactly the most tech savvy guy, but isn't AVC inherently better than MPEG-2 for blurays?

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

I'm not exactly the most tech savvy guy, but isn't AVC inherently better than MPEG-2 for blurays?

MPEG-2, VC-1, and AVC from worst to best.