Starship Troopers 4K UHD (1997) (20th Anniversary Edition)

[bleakassassin]

Originally Posted by lgans316

Will cost around $200-$250 which is less than the price of a one-click Steelbook boxset of one film

You're asking people to...

• Invest in a UHD-friendly Blu-ray drive (which requires some research beforehand to make sure it'll actually work)
• Have the technical know-how to flash the drive with the proper firmware (or have the most-likely paid assistance of someone to do that for you)
• Have the hard drive space needed to store the large 4K rips from the disc(s)
• Know how to mux tracks from different rips together with software
• (if applicable) Know what the timing differences are for the different rips
• Have a software/app solution to play the remuxed file
• Have a powerful-enough source machine to process the movie without slowdown
• Have a powerful-enough client machine to play the movie without slowdown, and
• (if applicable) Have a fast-enough network connection to withstand the large bitrate of the remuxed file.

Keep in mind that that's without considering if they even have a traditional computer to do all this stuff nowadays.

Come on, dude. And this is coming from someone who actually does do this.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by bleakassassin

You're asking people to...

• Invest in a UHD-friendly Blu-ray drive (which requires some research beforehand to make sure it'll actually work)
• Have the technical know-how to flash the drive with the proper firmware (or have the most-likely paid assistance of someone to do that for you)
• Have the hard drive space needed to store the large 4K rips from the disc(s)
• Know how to mux tracks from different rips together with software
• (if applicable) Know what the timing differences are for the different rips
• Have a software/app solution to play the remuxed file
• Have a powerful-enough source machine to process the movie without slowdown
• Have a powerful-enough client machine to play the movie without slowdown, and
• (if applicable) Have a fast-enough network connection to withstand the large bitrate of the remuxed file.

Keep in mind that that's without considering if they even have a traditional computer to do all this stuff nowadays.

Come on, dude. And this is coming from someone who actually does do this.

Yeah, but it's not as hard as you make it sound. The hardest problem I see with people doing it is they're lazy.

[bleakassassin]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Yeah, but it's not as hard as you make it sound. The hardest problem I see with people doing it is they're lazy.

It's not hard for people who have experience with building computers or who are general computer power users. That doesn't describe most people, and certainly not most movie watchers. Most people who still watch physical discs either use a dedicated player or a video game console. Tons of them likely won't have the experience or the desire to mess with computer software like MakeMKV or MKVToolNix (not to mention having to boot into DOS mode to flash a compatible BD drive firmware), and they very well may not even have a rig with the necessary components to handle and facilitate the entire movie ripping/storage/remuxing/playback process. If they don't, that's a significant extra investment to make to do all that. And for what? To fix a dumb audio error that the studio shouldn't have made in the first place?

It's definitely an incredible option to have provided you have all the necessary skill/hardware for it. But it's unrealistic to expect most people to pursue that avenue.

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by bleakassassin

You're asking people to...

• Invest in a UHD-friendly Blu-ray drive (which requires some research beforehand to make sure it'll actually work)
• Have the technical know-how to flash the drive with the proper firmware (or have the most-likely paid assistance of someone to do that for you)
• Have the hard drive space needed to store the large 4K rips from the disc(s)
• Know how to mux tracks from different rips together with software
• (if applicable) Know what the timing differences are for the different rips
• Have a software/app solution to play the remuxed file
• Have a powerful-enough source machine to process the movie without slowdown
• Have a powerful-enough client machine to play the movie without slowdown, and
• (if applicable) Have a fast-enough network connection to withstand the large bitrate of the remuxed file.

Keep in mind that that's without considering if they even have a traditional computer to do all this stuff nowadays.

Come on, dude. And this is coming from someone who actually does do this.

And I'd like to add that even if you have all of this, you still won't be able to play FEL DV properly without a regular player. Not an issue with Sony discs, but with those where I'd care about DV.

When I check the according forums for the current state of things, I'm also always under the impression that they are more busy with dealing with problems than with actually enjoying movies. Re. FEL DV there's also a lack of knowledge and many don't even know that they aren't really getting the real thing with their supposedly FEL DV playback.

Don't get me wrong, I also intend to eventually rip them all, but the notion that this solves all problems is ridiculous (as of today). I think it's mostly really practical for those not actually buying the discs.

EDIT: Intially, flashing the drive was also a pain. Only by now every fool with a PC can do it, because certain software does it for you now. But it's always funny that those telling you how easy it is nowadays, wouldn't have managed themselves initially...

[lgans316]

So I wasn't asking everyone to make an investment.

If you visit Steelbook forums you will see many complaining about Region locked discs. These folks spend $300 for one movie, so how hard it would be to invest in a Region free player? Common sense 101.

UHD drives and software was suggested by me as an alternative and not a necessity. Whether it suits you is down to you. I am not holding you at gunpoint to buy and try lol.

Where remux could help:

1. Adding Atmos or DTS-X where it was missed on the disc. (Ex. 3D Blu-rays)
2. Adding subtitles.
3. Adding original audio track where it was missed or botched on the disc.

Btw, cost of a modded UHD drive is £140-£150. My current drive has ripped about 1500+ discs!!!

[Geoff D]

Sounds more like whataboutery 101. I’m glad that you can do whatever you want with your discs but the point isn’t that YOU can do it yourself, it’s that the studios shouldn’t be ****ing these things up IN THE FIRST PLACE. And it’s one thing to omit OG audio completely as that’s a choice from the rights holders (I’ve done several BD remuxes with audio I’ve ripped from other sources, PC is much too old for UHD) but it’s another thing entirely when OG is there and it’s faulty i.e. the onus shouldn’t be on the consumer to fix it!

The worst thing about it is that the 5.1 is apparently fine on the previous editions, just like how the 2.0 tracks on Ghostbusters were fine on the remastered BDs. Sony really are making a dreadful habit of dropping the ball with audio lately and it’s kinda scary, because how is this shit even happening?

[lgans316]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Sounds more like whataboutery 101. I’m glad that you can do whatever you want with your discs but the point isn’t that YOU can do it yourself, it’s that the studios shouldn’t be ****ing these things up IN THE FIRST PLACE. And it’s one thing to omit OG audio completely as that’s a choice from the rights holders (I’ve done several BD remuxes with audio I’ve ripped from other sources, PC is much too old for UHD) but it’s another thing entirely when OG is there and it’s faulty i.e. the onus shouldn’t be on the consumer to fix it!

The worst thing about it is that the 5.1 is apparently fine on the previous editions, just like how the 2.0 tracks on Ghostbusters were fine on the remastered BDs. Sony really are making a dreadful habit of dropping the ball with audio lately and it’s kinda scary, because how is this shit even happening?

Now that's the core issue and all we can do is email SPHE as most of us prefer to have one definitive edition to be flawless at least on the AV front

I bet the Studios know about T2 on 4K but they have remained tight lipped.

Coming to comments from others about being tech savvy to fiddle around with drives and remuxing it is down to the individual to learn, try and upskill.

I bet Geoff gained lots of knowledge about assessing picture quality by continuously learning.

[Geoff D]

Every day is a learning day…it just doesn’t cost me a new computer to do so

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by lgans316

[Show spoiler]So I wasn't asking everyone to make an investment.

If you visit Steelbook forums you will see many complaining about Region locked discs. These folks spend $300 for one movie, so how hard it would be to invest in a Region free player? Common sense 101.

UHD drives and software was suggested by me as an alternative and not a necessity. Whether it suits you is down to you. I am not holding you at gunpoint to buy and try lol.

Where remux could help:

1. Adding Atmos or DTS-X where it was missed on the disc. (Ex. 3D Blu-rays)
2. Adding subtitles.
3. Adding original audio track where it was missed or botched on the disc.

Btw, cost of a modded UHD drive is £140-£150. My current drive has ripped about 1500+ discs!!!

And yet you somehow forget to mention your frustration, which you mentioned here only a couple of days or weeks ago, when a disc won't rip (due to tiniest scratches for ex) (I won't bother searching, but as we all know, I do remember stuff). And yes, there are discs that won't rip without error, but play just fine on a player, because the PC drives are more finicky with the 4K discs. I will call everyone with a certain amount of discs who never had such a problem a liar. And I have plenty of drives and discs mind you.

It's also "great" when you receive the disc of a new movie you really want to see, but "of course" this one won't rip yet and you have to wait a couple of days first, isn't it? Well I for one prefer just using my player instead and watch the movie right away.

I also doubt that you bought and ripped 1500+ 4K discs, which is where the problems lie.

Why anyone with a PC would even spend £140-£150 on a modded drive (instead of modding the drive themselves) these days (when doing it yourself isn't a pain anymore) is beyond me as well btw. - one can buy two drives for that money.

And don't get me wrong: Being able to create backups, taking a quick and "proper" look, projector owners ripping the discs to enjoy the disc via better PC processing etc. is a nice option to have, sure - bless the people figuring this stuff out. But as I said: The notion that this stuff is very practical for most regular disc buyes? Nah, just nah.

[lgans316]

Originally Posted by andreasy969

And yet you somehow forget to mention your frustration, which you mentioned here only a couple of days or weeks ago, when a disc won't rip (due to tiniest scratches for ex) (I won't bother searching, but as we all know, I do remember stuff). And yes, there are discs that won't rip without error, but play just fine on a player, because the PC drives are more finicky with the 4K discs. I will call everyone with a certain amount of discs who never had such a problem a liar. And I have plenty of drives and discs mind you.

It's also "great" when you receive the disc of a new movie you really want to see, but "of course" this one won't rip yet and you have to wait a couple of days first, isn't it? Well I for one prefer just using my player instead and watch the movie right away.

I also doubt that you bought and ripped 1500+ 4K discs, which is where the problems lie.

Why anyone with a PC would even spend £140-£150 on a modded drive (instead of modding the drive themselves) these days (when doing it yourself isn't a pain anymore) is beyond me as well btw. - one can buy two drives for that money.

And don't get me wrong: Being able to create backups, taking a quick and "proper" look, projector owners ripping the discs to enjoy the disc via better PC processing etc. is a nice option to have, sure - bless the people figuring this stuff out. But as I said: The notion that this stuff is very practical for most regular disc buyes? Nah, just nah.

If you want to invest do it or if you don't want that s also fine. If there is an alternative then try it. If you don't like it that's fine. Opinions vary.

Even the best drives can struggle with certain discs. Even the best racing drivers mess up.

You are taking this too personal and far. I would leave it right there and enjoy this gloomy Sunday.

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by lgans316

If you want to invest do it or if you don't want that s also fine. If there is an alternative then try it. If you don't like it that's fine. Opinions vary.

Even the best drives can struggle with certain discs. Even the best racing drivers mess up.

You are taking this too personal and far. I would leave it right there and enjoy this gloomy Sunday.

I'm not taking this personal at all. I'm just saying that it isn't even the be-all and end-all, all problems solved solution you make it out to be (while omitting stuff in particular).

[EddieLarkin]

All this and no one bothered yet to verify the fault? There is absolutely normal and present surround activity on the 5.1 track on the new DV Troopers disc, I'm listening to it now. And yes that's whilst playing the track with no audio upmixing, the AV is not spreading the front channels to the surrounds for me, I am playing the track "as is".

singhcr perhaps has a problem with his set up, I would suggest he check other DTS 5.1 tracks to compare.

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

All this and no one bothered yet to verify the fault?

I surely would've, if I owned the disc. Which doesn't help much, but just saying.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

All this and no one bothered yet to verify the fault? There is absolutely normal and present surround activity on the 5.1 track on the new DV Troopers disc, I'm listening to it now. And yes that's whilst playing the track with no audio upmixing, the AV is not spreading the front channels to the surrounds for me, I am playing the track "as is".

singhcr perhaps has a problem with his set up, I would suggest he check other DTS 5.1 tracks to compare.

Alas, with just TV speakers I’m not qualified to judge

Thanks for checking though, looks we need to stand down from brown alert! But with Sony the risk still lives…

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

All this and no one bothered yet to verify the fault? There is absolutely normal and present surround activity on the 5.1 track on the new DV Troopers disc, I'm listening to it now. And yes that's whilst playing the track with no audio upmixing, the AV is not spreading the front channels to the surrounds for me, I am playing the track "as is".

singhcr perhaps has a problem with his set up, I would suggest he check other DTS 5.1 tracks to compare.

Huh, that is strange. The part that confused me is that the center channel was playing clearlly, but at least it appears to be on my end which is a much better thing than a bad disc. Thanks for checking.

[ksc2303]

Just watched the football scene and the surrounds were very active on the 5.1 track. Ironically with all the talk about remuxing, the Plex app on my apple tv recently quit outputting surround sound so I've been hyper aware of audio issues. And to prevent any misunderstanding, tested Starship Troopers in my ub820

[singhcr]

Hmm. Something is definitely up with my AVR in that case since we now have two people confirming the track works fine.

[singhcr]

Well I did some digging around and found an info screen for my Marantz that shows a speaker input and output menu. The Atmos track was outputting as 5.1, the DTS-MA 5.1 was stereo + center even though I never enabled stereo. The receiver will play mono as mono, surround as surround etc unless I force it to stereo, Dolby Surround etc but somehow it was downmixing only the DTS and not Dolby but when I forced it back to Auto the rears played just fine. The other odd thing is that despite being stereo the center channel was active but not the rears so it wasn't Dolby Surround. Definitely not something I have ever experienced but problem solved so who cares.

So please disregard, the disc is now perfect. Hey, better to make a mistake and have my tail between my legs for a while than have the disc actually be incorrect as I love this movie and the OG track as well.

[singhcr]

I also think people are beating up on lgans316 unnecessarily. Yes their method of fixing such an issue with a disc isn't cheap, practical or easy to do but it is a fix. There are people here that sync up laserdisc tracks to BDs which is way more work than your average person would ever do but hey it's a solution if you want say the OG Terminator mono mix to go with the great Terminator video on the latest BD.

My solution to crappy Disney releases of Chip and Dale shorts was to buy a 16mm projector and spend hundreds on 16mm prints. Not remotely practical but problem solved!

[trekky76]

Is the steel edition any upgrade disregarding dolby vision?