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

[Sky_Captain]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Yep, the U.S. disc is a higher bitrate with AVC while the FR disc is a lower bitrate with VC-1.

Actually, it's the reverse. Good lord man, it's right here in your own thread.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

Actually, it's the reverse. Good lord man, it's right here in your own thread.

I guess you're right. I am dyslexic sometimes.

[McCrutchy]

Godzilla (2014) (2D)
US - AVC 2.40:1 23693 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 5272 kbps 24-bit, English subs, extras (Region free)
JP - AVC 2.40:1 34968 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 2280 kbps 16-bit, no English subs, trailers, US extras on second BD (Region free)

Godzilla (2014) (3D)
US - MVC 2.40:1 35263 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 5272 kbps 24-bit, English subs,(Region free)
JP - MVC 2.40:1 40852 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 2280 kbps 16-bit, no English subs (Region free)
JP (Box set) - Contains all 2D/3D discs, plus exclusive bonus BD with 4.5 hours of Japanese extras and 3D short film (Region free)

More info starting here.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Godzilla (2014) (2D)
US - AVC 2.40:1 23693 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 5272 kbps 24-bit, English subs, extras (Region free)
JP - AVC 2.40:1 34968 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 2280 kbps 16-bit, no English subs, trailers, US extras on second BD (Region free)

Godzilla (2014) (3D)
US - MVC 2.40:1 35263 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 5272 kbps 24-bit, English subs,(Region free)
JP - MVC 2.40:1 40852 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 2280 kbps 16-bit, no English subs (Region free)
JP (Box set) - Contains all 2D/3D discs, plus exclusive bonus BD with 4.5 hours of Japanese extras and 3D short film (Region free)

More info starting here.

Done.

[wesslan]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Godzilla (2014) (2D)
US - AVC 2.40:1 23693 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 5272 kbps 24-bit, English subs, extras (Region free)
JP - AVC 2.40:1 34968 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 2280 kbps 16-bit, no English subs, trailers, US extras on second BD (Region free)

Godzilla (2014) (3D)
US - MVC 2.40:1 35263 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 5272 kbps 24-bit, English subs,(Region free)
JP - MVC 2.40:1 40852 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 2280 kbps 16-bit, no English subs (Region free)
JP (Box set) - Contains all 2D/3D discs, plus exclusive bonus BD with 4.5 hours of Japanese extras and 3D short film (Region free)

More info starting here.

Wow very surprised they manage to have such low bitrate on audio with 7.1 although 16-bit. Seems a shame on such a movie with all those effects.

Wonder how that higher video bitrate will look, comparison coming?

[PuppetMasterBlu]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Godzilla (2014) (2D)
US - AVC 2.40:1 23693 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 5272 kbps 24-bit, English subs, extras (Region free)
JP - AVC 2.40:1 34968 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 2280 kbps 16-bit, no English subs, trailers, US extras on second BD (Region free)

Godzilla (2014) (3D)
US - MVC 2.40:1 35263 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 5272 kbps 24-bit, English subs,(Region free)
JP - MVC 2.40:1 40852 kbps, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 2280 kbps 16-bit, no English subs (Region free)
JP (Box set) - Contains all 2D/3D discs, plus exclusive bonus BD with 4.5 hours of Japanese extras and 3D short film (Region free)

More info starting here.

I don't supposed the JP version of Godzilla is brighter?

[inderweltsein]

It is a long time since I wanted to post this, even months before truecineaste's posts (below) in November:

Originally Posted by truecineaste

To the Wonder
US - AVC 18.00 Mbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 1934 kbps 16-bit, most extras, English subs (Region A locked)
UK - AVC 21999 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 4089 kbps 24-bit, fewer extras, English subs (Region B locked) Best PQ
AU - AVC, DTS-HD MA 5.1, fewest extras, English subs (Region B locked)
DE - AVC, DTS-HD MA 5.1, extras, no English subs (Region B locked)

As opposed to the BD-25 disc employed by Magnolia, Studio Canal chose BD-50 for the UK release. This results in better compression. The US shows occasional signs of banding and blocking. The S.C. doesn't reveal any digital compression artifacts and banding and aliasing are absent.

Originally Posted by Bad Sandwich

Isn't it pretty misleading to cite "twice the total bitrate" since it mostly stems from the UK's 3 lossless audio tracks and there's only 4mb difference in the video encode?

Originally Posted by Tech-UK

Yep.

Total bitrate is the sum of the video, all audio tracks and all subs.

Originally Posted by truecineaste

You're both correct. I've revised my comments but the banding and blocking aren't visible on the S.C.

To the Wonder
US - AVC 18.00 Mbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 1934 kbps 16-bit, extras, burned-in English subs (Region A locked)
UK - AVC 21999 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 4089 kbps 24-bit, fewer extras than US but a UK/DE exclusive interview, burned-in English subs (Region B locked) 2nd Best PQ
AU - AVC, DTS-HD MA 5.1, fewest extras, English subs (Region B locked)
DE - AVC, DTS-HD MA 7.1, fewer extras than UK but the same exclusive interview than UK+a DE exclusive interview, no English subs (Region B locked)
FR - AVC 26854 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 2060 kbps 16-bit (slightly weaker volume), the most extras: all US extras+a FR exclusive interview, optional French subs (Region B locked) Best PQ

- The Metropolitan French release is even stronger in PQ than the StudioCanal UK release. The few and very small weaknesses of the strong StudioCanal release are invisible on the Metropolitan one.
- The small weakness of the Metropolitan release is the weakness of the sound volume* in comparison to other releases that forces to put the volume up to obtain a similar experience. Also it is 16 bit sampled (for nitpickers that think they are able to hear it )...
- The main difference in audio size between the two releases comes from this 16/24 bit difference, but also because the DTS Core component of the UK DTS Master HD is only at 768 kbps (whereas the French DTS Core component is at 1509 kbps), so it is further from the master, so there is more bitrate needed to correct it with the lossless component. So in this case bitrate don't matter and without the little volume problem, French audio would be very similar to the UK one.
- No English subtitles, but for Lubezki cinematography lovers, this is one of the few great PQ releases that does not have burned-in subtitles...
( By the way, the German release has probably a very similar profile than the UK one, despite a different video encoding because of the absence of burned-in subtitles , as Arthaus is a StudioCanal label and the two releases are very similar. I will try to check it with a German friend.
I also put for other releases some precisions on extras, probably too detailed )



*: it was the case also on the French DCPs, where most French theaters sometimes had a weak sound or more often chose to boost the volume, so it may be inherited – I can't remember if it was weak at the Venice Film Festival to see if it is inherited from the master or not (in this case, other distributors would have boosted their DCP/video releases)

[inderweltsein]

DISC INFO:

Disc Title:     A_LA_MERVEILLE
Disc Size:      36,660,360,326 bytes
Protection:     AACS
BD-Java:        No
BDInfo:         0.5.8

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   00001.MPLS
Length:                 1:52:42.547 (h:m:s.ms)
Size:                   25,788,844,032 bytes
Total Bitrate:          30.51 Mbps

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description     
-----                   -------             -----------     
MPEG-4 AVC Video        26854 kbps          1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
DTS-HD Master Audio             Multiple languages2060 kbps       7.1 / 48 kHz / 2060 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)

SUBTITLES:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
Presentation Graphics           French          8.347 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           French          14.263 kbps                     

FILES:

Name            Time In         Length          Size            Total Bitrate   
----            -------         ------          ----            -------------   
00002.M2TS      0:00:00.000     1:52:42.547     25,788,844,032  30,508          

CHAPTERS:

Number          Time In         Length          Avg Video Rate  Max 1-Sec Rate  Max 1-Sec Time  Max 5-Sec Rate  Max 5-Sec Time  Max 10Sec Rate  Max 10Sec Time  Avg Frame Size  Max Frame Size  Max Frame Time  
------          -------         ------          --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  
1               0:00:00.000     0:04:01.366     23,774 kbps     37,853 kbps     00:02:53.464    32,431 kbps     00:01:05.607    31,971 kbps     00:01:04.856    123,926 bytes   684,193 bytes   00:02:53.506    
2               0:04:01.366     0:06:21.047     27,918 kbps     36,258 kbps     00:08:50.696    31,075 kbps     00:08:50.696    30,070 kbps     00:08:47.068    145,551 bytes   640,061 bytes   00:06:24.425    
3               0:10:22.413     0:08:37.433     28,211 kbps     36,963 kbps     00:18:26.105    33,823 kbps     00:18:22.100    32,786 kbps     00:18:17.137    147,081 bytes   606,430 bytes   00:17:57.951    
4               0:18:59.847     0:09:08.256     27,863 kbps     38,913 kbps     00:20:00.657    32,997 kbps     00:25:44.584    31,940 kbps     00:25:47.045    145,267 bytes   613,162 bytes   00:22:48.408    
5               0:28:08.103     0:09:12.718     27,386 kbps     38,161 kbps     00:29:14.210    30,212 kbps     00:28:19.781    29,850 kbps     00:28:14.109    142,776 bytes   556,218 bytes   00:34:02.582    
6               0:37:20.821     0:04:21.844     26,919 kbps     39,417 kbps     00:39:16.479    31,822 kbps     00:39:14.143    30,005 kbps     00:39:12.850    140,344 bytes   675,935 bytes   00:39:05.843    
7               0:41:42.666     0:08:18.247     27,846 kbps     38,816 kbps     00:49:05.984    32,160 kbps     00:48:51.887    31,756 kbps     00:48:52.095    145,174 bytes   663,355 bytes   00:48:32.159    
8               0:50:00.914     0:07:41.669     27,354 kbps     39,558 kbps     00:57:30.280    31,941 kbps     00:52:10.669    30,976 kbps     00:52:11.837    142,614 bytes   622,974 bytes   00:57:30.488    
9               0:57:42.584     0:06:28.137     27,246 kbps     39,285 kbps     00:59:52.213    31,636 kbps     01:00:20.450    30,320 kbps     01:00:16.321    142,046 bytes   747,137 bytes   00:59:37.490    
10              1:04:10.721     0:09:13.719     27,391 kbps     39,474 kbps     01:10:44.198    32,344 kbps     01:09:12.731    30,481 kbps     01:10:40.694    142,806 bytes   620,531 bytes   01:12:02.609    
11              1:13:24.441     0:08:14.243     27,232 kbps     41,066 kbps     01:21:13.952    31,284 kbps     01:21:13.618    29,058 kbps     01:21:13.869    141,976 bytes   605,545 bytes   01:19:54.664    
12              1:21:38.685     0:06:14.540     27,885 kbps     39,527 kbps     01:24:48.291    31,176 kbps     01:22:53.843    30,563 kbps     01:22:53.843    145,378 bytes   563,212 bytes   01:21:47.444    
13              1:27:53.226     0:07:11.055     27,322 kbps     37,401 kbps     01:32:05.228    29,651 kbps     01:28:42.525    28,865 kbps     01:31:25.730    142,442 bytes   548,465 bytes   01:34:56.607    
14              1:35:04.281     0:09:35.741     27,178 kbps     45,694 kbps     01:40:59.803    32,069 kbps     01:39:31.131    30,036 kbps     01:39:30.839    141,692 bytes   780,290 bytes   01:40:25.519    
15              1:44:40.023     0:04:04.661     26,161 kbps     36,866 kbps     01:47:21.560    29,987 kbps     01:46:45.941    29,295 kbps     01:47:13.218    136,392 bytes   659,393 bytes   01:46:45.315    
16              1:48:44.684     0:03:57.862     13,414 kbps     33,497 kbps     01:51:45.156    31,226 kbps     01:51:42.779    30,406 kbps     01:51:40.276    69,958 bytes    515,956 bytes   01:51:46.950    

STREAM DIAGNOSTICS:

File            PID             Type            Codec           Language                Seconds                 Bitrate                 Bytes           Packets         
----            ---             ----            -----           --------                --------------          --------------          -------------   -----           
00002.M2TS      4113 (0x1011)   0x1B            AVC                                     6762.464                26,854                  22,699,893,454  123,463,893     
00002.M2TS      4352 (0x1100)   0x86            DTS-HD MA       mul (Multiple languages)6762.464                2,060                   1,741,086,300   10,514,268      
00002.M2TS      4608 (0x1200)   0x90            PGS             fra (French)            6762.464                8                       7,055,688       40,867          
00002.M2TS      4609 (0x1201)   0x90            PGS             fra (French)            6762.464                14                      12,056,887      71,278

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by inderweltsein

It is a long time since I wanted to post this, even months before truecineaste's posts (below) in November:












To the Wonder
US - AVC 18.00 Mbps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 1934 kbps 16-bit, extras, burned-in English subs (Region A locked)
UK - AVC 21999 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 4089 kbps 24-bit, fewer extras than US but a UK/DE exclusive interview, burned-in English subs (Region B locked) 2nd Best PQ
AU - AVC, DTS-HD MA 5.1, fewest extras, English subs (Region B locked)
DE - AVC, DTS-HD MA 7.1, fewer extras than UK but the same exclusive interview than UK+a DE exclusive interview, no English subs (Region B locked)
FR - AVC 26854 kbps, DTS-HD MA 7.1 2060 kbps 16-bit (slightly weaker volume), the most extras: all US extras+a FR exclusive interview, optional French subs (Region B locked) Best PQ

- The Metropolitan French release is even stronger in PQ than the StudioCanal UK release. The few and very small weaknesses of the strong StudioCanal release are invisible on the Metropolitan one.
- The small weakness of the Metropolitan release is the weakness of the sound volume* in comparison to other releases that forces to put the volume up to obtain a similar experience. Also it is 16 bit sampled (for nitpickers that think they are able to hear it )...
- The main difference in audio size between the two releases comes from this 16/24 bit difference, but also because the DTS Core component of the UK DTS Master HD is only at 768 kbps (whereas the French DTS Core component is at 1509 kbps), so it is further from the master, so there is more bitrate needed to correct it with the lossless component. So in this case bitrate don't matter and without the little volume problem, French audio would be very similar to the UK one.
- No English subtitles, but for Lubezki cinematography lovers, this is one of the few great PQ releases that does not have burned-in subtitles...
( By the way, the German release has probably a very similar profile than the UK one, despite a different video encoding because of the absence of burned-in subtitles , as Arthaus is a StudioCanal label and the two releases are very similar. I will try to check it with a German friend.
I also put for other releases some precisions on extras, probably too detailed )



*: it was the case also on the French DCPs, where most French theaters sometimes had a weak sound or more often chose to boost the volume, so it may be inherited – I can't remember if it was weak at the Venice Film Festival to see if it is inherited from the master or not (in this case, other distributors would have boosted their DCP/video releases)

Done.

[dvdmike]

So John Wick in the non English regions is missing the burnt in subs?

[Kosire]

Heroes
Season 1
US/CA - VC-1, 5 disc set
UK - VC-1, 5 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 5 disc set

Season 2
US/CA - VC-1, 4 disc set
UK - VC-1, 4 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 3 disc set

Season 3
US/CA - AVC, 5 disc set
UK - AVC, 5 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 5 disc set

Season 4
US/CA - AVC, 4 disc set
UK - AVC, 4 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 4 disc set

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Kosire

Heroes
Season 1
US/CA - VC-1, 5 disc set
UK - VC-1, 5 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 5 disc set

Season 2
US/CA - VC-1, 4 disc set
UK - VC-1, 4 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 3 disc set

Season 3
US/CA - AVC, 5 disc set
UK - AVC, 5 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 5 disc set

Season 4
US/CA - AVC, 4 disc set
UK - AVC, 4 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 4 disc set

Done.

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by Kosire

Heroes
Season 1
US/CA - VC-1, 5 disc set
UK - VC-1, 5 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 5 disc set

Season 2
US/CA - VC-1, 4 disc set
UK - VC-1, 4 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 3 disc set

Season 3
US/CA - AVC, 5 disc set
UK - AVC, 5 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 5 disc set

Season 4
US/CA - AVC, 4 disc set
UK - AVC, 4 disc set
DK/FI/NO/SE - AVC, 4 disc set

I bet those AVC versions look far better than Universal's VC-1 encodes. Heroes was a dark, noisy series at times.

[BluBonnet]

I can't seem to find a listing for The Young and Prodigious T. S. Spivet, the French-canadian film starring Helena BonhamCarter and Judi Davis...

It has been released in a few European countries. But it hasn't yet shown up in American theaters... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981107/

[Early Memphis]

You don't have Wasabi listed, a great film - and perhaps I now know why. I just opened my import, with great anticipation of an enjoyable time, only to discover that the audio tracks were limited to French and German - which the site page, if I'd only read it closer, stated clearly.

I guess I just got used to there being English tracks on everything. How ethnocentric of me. Hell, I can't even sell this thing on eBay.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

You don't have Wasabi listed, a great film - and perhaps I now know why. I just opened my import, with great anticipation of an enjoyable time, only to discover that the audio tracks were limited to French and German - which the site page, if I'd only read it closer, stated clearly.

I guess I just got used to there being English tracks on everything. How ethnocentric of me. Hell, I can't even sell this thing on eBay.

It stinks that happened. There's two things I have learned over the years to check before importing: 1) Language tracks/subtitles 2) Region coding.

[Early Memphis]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

It stinks that happened. There's two things I have learned over the years to check before importing: 1) Language tracks/subtitles 2) Region coding.

Yeah, I had the region coding check down pat; now, for only $11.84 (?), I’ve learned the soundcheck thing the only way I learn - the hard way. Actually, it was the region coding which did me in : why would a disc meant for Germany & France (region B) be region-free? I know French is an international language, but so is English, and ...

Anyway it was a great BD evening. I put on my new Battle of the Bulge BD which arrived damaged with little-bity scratches on the disc. All was fine, then it started skipping & I started frantically wiping - finally, at about the 1:20 mark, it refused to move another second no matter what I did. So I thought : Wasabi!

Anyway, somewhere around midnight I pulled my poorly-dubbed Wasabi DVD from the sale pile and enjoyed it. Who the hell needs BDs anyway?

EDIT : Oh, joy! I found what appears to be a Japanese version on ebay (not in the database) But it apparently only has French & Italian audio.

[Torrente]

I wanted to buy it and always postponed the order.
We could trade if you like?
My sale's thread is NOT updated... I have hundreds on sale right now, so maybe you would be interested in one of them. I live in France 'though, so I hope it wouldn't be a problem.

(very fun movie indeed but with a disastrous reputation here in France... I can't even say I enjoy it on french forums or I could be executed ahah)

[knifethrower]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

EDIT : Oh, joy! I found what appears to be a Japanese version on ebay (not in the database) But it apparently only has French & Italian audio.

Italian actually

[Early Memphis]

Originally Posted by Torrente

I wanted to buy it and always postponed the order.
We could trade if you like?
My sale's thread is NOT updated... I have hundreds on sale right now, so maybe you would be interested in one of them. I live in France 'though, so I hope it wouldn't be a problem.

(very fun movie indeed but with a disastrous reputation here in France... I can't even say I enjoy it on french forums or I could be executed ahah)

Why would it be so unpopular in France? The principals are French, no? Is it offensive for a Frenchman to be that aggressive? I mean, they have crooks and crime syndicates, why ... well, before I offend someone, what am I missing?
As to the other, I'd love to, my friend, thank you, but I'm affraid that US postage would be prohibitive ($60-or-so insured ). BTW, you really ought to update that sale/trade list - two pages of bumps and, what, a half dozen BDs?

Originally Posted by knifethrower

Italian actually

I really did assume that, with the Italian text, but I couldn't understand why it had all that Japanese script running down the right side of the cover.