Ghost in the Shell 2 Innocence (US release from Bandai) is a BD-25 with Dolby Digital

[aygie]

Afrobean all i'm hearing from you you is that studios can release sub-standard BDs. Complete BS.

Your in the wrong place if you think you can justify Dolby Digital on BDs.

If your a studio releasing BDs you can afford to add lossless audio otherwise you shouldn't be in the Blu-ray game.

and why are you trying to make out that Bandai are a small company?!! They can afford to release quality discs they just choose not to to maximize profit not because "they would be in some sort of financial trouble".

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by Aygie

and why are you trying to make out that Bandai are a small company?!! They can afford to release quality discs they just choose not to to maximize profit not because "they would be in some sort of financial trouble".

They are not Disney. They are not going to invest the same level of work, time, or money that Disney is. Wanting perfection or NOTHING out of EVERY company is unreasonable. I'm honestly impressed that they're willing to even take a chance putting this stuff on BD when the market penetration is so relatively small and their target audience isn't going to overlap with the BD crowd very much.

Originally Posted by GGX

DVD's were the best available at the time. Why should I settle for that now that Blu-ray is here?

I'm not suggesting you should go back to DVD, I'm just saying that just because something isn't THE BEST EVER quality, doesn't mean that it should be avoided like the plague.

Again, I'm sure you don't like it, but not all BDs are going to have perfect picture and sound. Some of them are going to have moderate to bad picture transfers and some of them are going to have lower quality audio. This level of audio quality may have been present in the days of DVD, but it is still present to this day on BD. This is not the same as a BD using a lower resolution picture; those resolutions are not used in main features on BD. Conversely, this sort of audio isn't uncommon in main features on BDs, particularly from companies who are not the "big boys".

But you're neglecting to acknowledge that by refusing to buy on these grounds, Bandai is just going to see it as a lack of demand for Ghost in the Shell on Blu-ray. They're not going to think "oh man sales are bad because we tried to save money and minimize risk, but sales would be THROUGH THE ROOF if we did a perfect transfer!"

Because it wouldn't make that drastic of a difference in income for them. But it would drastically increase production costs and increase the risk on an already risky endeavor.

I still don't see how it not being released at all is a better alternative than an average release rather than a perfect release. Is it better for us to stick to a DVD copy to watch this film, or is it better to have a less-than-ideal 1080p version?

[GGX]

Originally Posted by Afrobean

I still don't see how it not being released at all is a better alternative than an average release rather than a perfect release. Is it better for us to stick to a DVD copy to watch this film, or is it better to have a less-than-ideal 1080p version?

I'm the consumer. I don't care what it costs the studio. If they can't put the effort into releasing a quality product then I'm not going to put the effort into buying it.

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by GGX

I'm the consumer. I don't care what it costs the studio. If they can't put the effort into releasing a quality product then I'm not going to put the effort into buying it.

I'm glad there are more people like me then, because if there weren't people like me willing to buy this niche stuff despite less than ideal quality, niche stuff wouldn't hardly get released at all.

[GGX]

Originally Posted by Afrobean

I'm glad there are more people like me then, because if there weren't people like me willing to buy this niche stuff despite less than ideal quality, niche stuff wouldn't hardly get released at all.

This isn't a matter of me not liking niche releases. The problem is Bandai (a major studio) taking short cuts. As evident by the Japanese release of Innocence.

[BScratcha]

No lossless = rental.

Never would I throw away money on a disc at this point without lossless audio.

[MarekM]

Originally Posted by GGX

This isn't a matter of me not liking niche releases. The problem is Bandai (a major studio) taking short cuts. As evident by the Japanese release of Innocence.

+1

Marek

[Mobe1969]

Oh jeez, the PAL region dub is slowed down as it was originally recorded for 25fps! What a classic!

I really wish the Japanese version was region free.

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by GGX

This isn't a matter of me not liking niche releases. The problem is Bandai (a major studio) taking short cuts. As evident by the Japanese release of Innocence.

Bandai's not a "major studio". Major studio would be Disney, Paramount, Fox, etc.

They might be big in Japan where anime has a major market, but in America, I'd guess that they're more known as a toy company that has some anime distribution-- some people familiar with the brand might not even be aware they have anime at all. In the US, the "biggest" anime company is Funimation, and even they're not a "major studio".

And again, the reason they can have a release with additional work in Japan (that was quoted as having been done by Disney anyway) is because they can have confidence that it will sell well over there. The US is a whole different story for anime consumption. America is not worth risking a large investment in anime on a new format. I think it's hilarious that you'd rather limit availability of this title to DVD only than live with a less-than-perfect BD release.

[AnimeOnBlu]

Glad I have both Japanese releases. This is just pathetic. Funimation can do lossless audio for OL/Dub but Bandai Entertainment can't do one? This doesn't bode well for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Sword of the Stranger. If those don't have lossless, I won't waste my money.

[GGX]

Originally Posted by Afrobean

I think it's hilarious that you'd rather limit availability of this title to DVD only than live with a less-than-perfect BD release.

And I think its quite sad that you find sub-par releases acceptable. What a joke.