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

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

And it’s just not with anime. For instance, if you examine the first sequence of the feature film, Shawshank Redemption with Tim Robbins in the car, an astute viewer will notice that Tim Robbins appears slightly blurry.

Well, that aint noise reduction, that’s known as not being in perfect focus during the principal photography but, I’m sure if a *screenshot scientist* posted a screenshot of that particular image, it would get bandied about *science* forums as being *dnr-ed*.

If one looks hard enough, and doesn’t concentrate on the storytelling itself, you can find defects in just about all motion pictures. Honestly, the mindset of some of these people (who purport to be enthusiasts ) reminds me of some real world individuals who marry ‘trophy wives’.

Of course you are correct. I believe in enjoying movies, and that is why I spend a lot of money buying them. Why would I waste my time looking at a film just to try and find defects? Where is the fun in that?

[phansson]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

reminds me of some real world individuals who marry ‘trophy wives’.

Whats wrong with a trophy wife?

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, that aint noise reduction, that’s known as not being in perfect focus during the principal photography but, I’m sure if a *screenshot scientist* posted a screenshot of that particular image, it would get bandied about *science* forums as being *dnr-ed*.

I just watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona and the focus puller must have been overindulging in some fine Rioja from the craft services. For example, the shot when Scarlett enters Javier Bardem's bedroom in Oviedo drifts in and out of focus all the time (and no, I don't buy that it was intentional).

If one looks hard enough, and doesn’t concentrate on the storytelling itself, you can find defects in just about all motion pictures. Honestly, the mindset of some of these people (who purport to be enthusiasts ) reminds me of some real world individuals who marry ‘trophy wives’.

Yep. However, there are many more people who are able to concentrate on the storytelling even if they're watching a movie filmed off a theater screen with a camcorder, complete with ambient sound, and compressed to 650MB.




But their wives are probably ugly.

[GabrielB]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Restoration work was done only to "what you can see at DVD resolution" for the Indy DVDs. There was additional work done by another house afterwards, but the results weren't good enough in Spielberg's book.

Interesting... I wonder who's doing the restoration now if it's not Lowry...

This is essentially correct. There were many jobs done, like by WB Classics that were done and done right the first time with HD specifically in mind. I don't expect many of those will need much work at all. It's the ones that were only restored to DVD levels that really get it.

Anything you can share with us about catalog titles that didn't do that well at the box office or dvd sales but will need a good restoration before they can be released on Blu-Ray. Will the studios wait for more format penetration to try and break even or they also consider these restorations as investments of their assets?

Another way to phrase my question would be: Any titles that the studios are not planning to release on BD because of the cost involved in doing so and the slim or absent ROI or it's more than making money here? (protecting their property)

[Jeff Kleist]

Anything you can share with us about catalog titles that didn't do that well at the box office or dvd sales but will need a good restoration before they can be released on Blu-Ray. Will the studios wait for more format penetration to try and break even or they also consider these restorations as investments of their assets?

None that I know of specifically. DVD release patterns would be a good indicator on those more niche titles. I think you're assigning more thought to this than actually goes into it There's the "evergreen" catalog titles that sell well and predictably all the time, there's your slow and steadies, and there's the slow. The evergreens flow, the steadies trickle and the slows drip. They look at what titles haven't been released yet, look for ties, take other factors into account and make the appropriate investments and scheduling. All of these seperate flows (and there may be more levels, I'm generalizing) are balanced at all times. Obviously they're not going to spend more money than they think it'll generate.

[GabrielB]

Thanks, as always, for your comments.

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

DVD release patterns would be a good indicator on those more niche titles.

Yes I thought that would be our best bet but two factors came into mind.

1) With the technology evolving, did it cost about the same to release (including all the process needed: remastering, restoration, encoding, etc.) DVDs a few years back than it costs now to produce a well done BD title? I assume we also have to take into account the present status of the economy.

2) It seems the quality standards for BD are higher now than it was in 2000, also 2 1/2 years after the format debuted. Do we simply have better tools and technology or it takes more hours and man work to achieve that level of quality?


I know this is kind is fluffy (??) but I always assumed the Blu-Ray format couldn't really be compared to the DVD format in its time. I kind of assumed it was trickier now since of the greater resolution and level transparency to the master.

But if you tell me the comparison is a fair one - then great. It means in a few years we'll have tens of thousands BD released and even some of the most niche stuff will find its way...

[Jeff Kleist]

1) With the technology evolving, did it cost about the same to release (including all the process needed: remastering, restoration, encoding, etc.) DVDs a few years back than it costs now to produce a well done BD title? I assume we also have to take into account the present status of the economy.

Hmm, yes and no

There are more options now to spend money on when it comes to digital restoration. BD-J is far more complex than DVD scripting ever was

If you're doing a straight up disc, where you don't have to do any new coding and can use the templates you've already created, and nothing really extraordinary has to be done, then yes it's probably comperable to DVD 1999-ish.

2) It seems the quality standards for BD are higher now than it was in 2000, also 2 1/2 years after the format debuted. Do we simply have better tools and technology or it takes more hours and man work to achieve that level of quality?

Both. Expectations are higher, the tools are always getting better and the techniques and experience is always going up. As more and more discs reach a certain level of quality, the bar goes up for everyone. Blu-ray's resolution makes it far harder to cheat, and with a lot of early Blu-rays we saw a lot of DVD habits come to light, which in HD look terrible. The best way to put it is that the workload never changes, just the amount that goes out the door

[GabrielB]

OK Jeff. Thanks.

I hope you won't be too fed up one day to come over here and answer questions... I can only observe the time you spend here so hats off to you. (and to you other contributors as well... )


With what you said in your last post, my level of doubt remains about the same though concerning some niché titles. I still wonder if the cost and time involved in releasing some titles will at one point become a non-issue. Well time will tell...

To wrap this up, the 100$ question from Bob :
Do you think in - say - 2015 we'll have about the same titles released on BD than now on DVD? (And for instance, all the Criterion stuff?)

I know it's a stupid question (I'm still waiting for some titles to be released on DVD) but I'm curious to see what you're going to say.

[Jeff Kleist]

Prices will come down on Blu-ray authoring.

A DVD can be compressed and authored on a good desktop, full stop using professional level gear (the Sony encoder is a PCI card) in real time.

A blu-ray takes a GIGANTIC investment just to get started with encoding. You need a HUGE multiprocessor server with very expensive encoding software to even get started. This is a stumbling block for the smaller houses to get going.

Authoring prices go down as number of installations, trained techs, and speed of turnaround goes up. An expert at Panasonic told me he believes that real-time Blu-ray encoding is well beyond 5 years away in any practical level server, so I don't think it'll go down as fast simply because more hours are required for end product

I'm sure Criterion will try to get everything out they still hold rights on in a timely fashion, but remember they STILL haven't finished Kurosawa's catalog, didn't Do des ka den just come out? Criterion and the former Anchor Bay are/were special companies that cater to the niche audiences, and are willing to take a chance. I hope Blue Underground and others will be standing up big time as well.

I want My Best Friend is a Vampire, which has STILL not come out on DVD, ANYWHERE. yes I'm looking at you Lionsgate who now owns Trimark I believe. All I have is the EP VHS commercial release. *pouts*

EDIT, well, it was announced last week, pre-order today!

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Friends-V...3971799&sr=1-1

I will throw this in though, another former Trimark title IS coming to Blu-ray that I want, to replace the godawful DVD they put out, but the rights have reverted back to someone else. You'll see it in summerish if all goes well

[neo_reloaded]

Any word from WB about fixing the Matrix Revolutions glitch? I don't expect a press release or anything - but just word that they've fixed the problem and have replacement discs available would be great.

I have hopes WB will actually eventually follow through on this, considering they fixed the Terminator 3 issue as well as the Led Zeppelin TrueHD dropout (though that Led Zeppelin fix was never announced nor even acknowledged by customer support, you just had to go out and buy another copy with the same UPC and hope for the best, which was frustrating - and certainly not feasible with as high-priced an item as the Ultimate Matrix Collection).

If this was Fox, I'd just give up all hope - considering "replacement copies" for both Die Hard 2 and For Your Eyes Only are the exact same discs as the original problem ones, same disc ID and authoring dates and all.

[Jeff Kleist]

No, they're not going to replace it. Maybe when the singles come out we'll be able to get them to set up something

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

No, they're not going to replace it. Maybe when the singles come out we'll be able to get them to set up something

Have they even fixed it for future pressings of the Matrix Collection, or will they just keep pressing the glitched discs indefinitely?

[Jeff Kleist]

I have no idea whether there's even been another pressing yet.

[MerrickG]

Hey Jeff,

Much to my surprise the Bourne Collection ended up being the number one selling bluray last week, which is awesome.

I would like to know whether this is a case of it selling better than expected or were dvd and bluray volumes so low that it was easy for it to appear at the top.

Nevertheless, I consider it a great sign that a catalog title can take the number one spot.

Any idea of how many units it moved?

[Jeff Kleist]

It's a highly anticipated and evergreen catalog title released in the dead of winter at a good sale price.

No idea on units. It's very difficult to get units sold unless you subscribe to the Nielsen feeds.

[Mr. Cinema]

X-men Trilogy, 9 discs, $79.99 list price from Fox.

Bourne Trilogy, 3 discs, $100+ list price from Universal.

Jeff...what's wrong with this picture? Fox has been (rightfully) lambasted about their high pricing ever since they released on BD, yet they have done a great job pricing this set. Both of these franchises are hugely popular. Why is there such a gap on the pricing?

Especially between these two studios. Fox almost always is higher than everyone else. Universal's upcoming Fast and the Furious set is also $100 list price. Why are they pricing these sets so high?

[BluDomain]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

Why are they pricing these sets so high?

You are getting three movies. You expect Distributors
to mark down a list price so that you get each movie
for $15. It looks like they are all in a range for a
premium product. At least to me.

X-men Trilogy, 9 discs, $79.99 list price from Fox.
Amazon.com $55.99 $18.66 Each

Bourne Trilogy, 3 discs, $119.99 list price from Universal.
Amazon.com $64.99 $21.66 Each

The Godfather Trilogy, $124.99 list price from Paramount
Amazon.com $58.99 $19.66 Each

Ocean's Trilogy, $79.98 list price Warner Home Video
Amazon.com $51.99 $17.33 Each

Spider-Man Trilogy $92.95 list price Columbia Pictures
Amazon.com $56.49 $18.83 Each

Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy $82.99 list price Walt Disney
Amazon.com $53.99 $17.99 Each

The Mummy Trilogy $94.98 list price Universal.
Amazon.com $59.99 $19.99 Each

Resident Evil Trilogy $89.95 list price Sony
Amazon.com $49.99 $16.66 Each

[Jeff Kleist]

You're going to see catalog prices start coming down this year. I totally agree with you that the Bourne price is way out of line (it was brought down to $96.99 list IIRC). I really think part of the strategy is to test the price. Throw it out high, wait for people to go WTF, and then see what the market will stand until they can better establish the sweet spot between profit and sales, especially in these uncertain times. They KNOW that there's a certain segment that will pick up Bourne at any price, and they need to find out what that is.

Look at LOST, $129.99 until the outcry got it down to $99 for season 3, and again for season 4 given it's 8 eps shorter to $69.99. Personally I think $79.99 is about where we should be right now. It allows a solid sale price on release week, and if you're charging $29.99 for the singles gives incentive to buy all 3 at once. Make no mistake about how expensive Blu is to do right now, especially with all the bells and whistles on Bourne(they replicated all the gimmicks right? I don't have it), which is no longer being coded up for free by Toshiba or Microsoft. So they set the upfront higher in hopes of recouping that quicker.

Building studio confidence is the key. If they're confident they'll sell a certain number of copies that will meet their profit goals, they'll get those prices as low as possible to snag as many as they can. In this case, between Wolverine tickets, the grand popularity of the franchise, and the extreme demographic match with the PS3 crowd, I'd say Fox's confidence is high

[BluDomain]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

You're going to see catalog prices start coming down this year. I totally agree with you that the Bourne price is way out of line (it was brought down to $96.99 list IIRC). I really think part of the strategy is to test the price.

Nice test. Bourne Trilogy was the number one selling
blu-ray for the week ending 1 February. Evidently it
was priced right. And it is still in the top three on
Amazon this week.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by BluDomain

Nice test. Bourne Trilogy was the number one selling
blu-ray for the week ending 1 February. Evidently it
was priced right.

I think we are seeing a shift in the way media is priced. It used to be that to get the best deal before was to buy the week of the release. If you did not buy then you had to wait a few months before the title was repriced at a reduced catalog price.

With BD, it seems the studios are trying to keep the prices high. Look at some of the most high profile releases recently. KFP, IJ&KotCS, Iron Man... all were near $25 when released even with "sale" pricing. Within two months some these could easily be found for under $20.

It is not taking long for BD customers to catch on that buying during release week is not the best time to buy. BDs need to be hitting the $20 mark on release week. It is one reason that customers are becoming turned off.

I learned my lesson with KFP, I preordered at $27.95 figuring Amazon would lower it before release. Well Amazon got rid of their thirty day gurantee and they did not lower the price until after pre-orders had been processed. The title was $20 within a week or two after release.

I have such a huge stack of unopened titles now, that I am in no hurry to buy on release day. I can wait it out for better prices.

On Amazon right now the price difference between Madagascar2 DVD and BD is $10. I bet this title is on sale for under $20 within a month.