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

[WickyWoo]

Is Weinstein looking to be bought out??

No.

They got burned pretty hard on HD DVD, they'll be back soon enough

[blindcat87]

Hi Bill,

What is your impression about how enthusiastic MGM is about Blu-ray? Maybe I have missed some news or interviews, or maybe they just let Fox do the speaking as well as the distribution for them, but it seems to me that they haven't been as vocal as some of the other studios about their opinions and impressions. Just something that occurred to me the other day when I was thinking about some of the titles they pulled last year that are still in limbo.

Chris

[WickyWoo]

What is your impression about how enthusiastic MGM is about Blu-ray? Maybe I have missed some news or interviews, or maybe they just let Fox do the speaking as well as the distribution for them

Fox handles distribution, marketing and PR for all their releases

[Nick Graham]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Fox handles distribution, marketing and PR for all their releases

But does Fox dictate the content that goes on MGM BDs?

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by Nick Graham

But does Fox dictate the content that goes on MGM BDs?

It seems so:

All Fox BDs have had DTS MA and are region encoded - so are all MGM BDs.

[WickyWoo]

Default
Quote:
Originally Posted by WickyWoo View Post
Fox handles distribution, marketing and PR for all their releases

But does Fox dictate the content that goes on MGM BDs?

MGM BDs are authored to Fox's spec. MGM probably hasn't seen any reason to change that

Terminator is not region coded, the only MGM blu put out by Sony

[blu-suedeshoes]

Hi Bill,
Thanks for the info on the X-Men movies coming to blu later this year. Has there been any word from Sony about releasing Spider-Man part 1 & 2 separately later on this year with the special features? I thought it was cool of WB to release Ocean's Eleven and Twelve separately not to long after having them in the box set only. I hope Sony has the same consumer awareness with the Spider-Man movies. Thanks.

[jkwest]

Hey Bill, nice Bits today!!

Have fun at Speed Racer, looks great, IMO.

[Squozen]

Hey Bill,

If you speak to Fox, can you ask them why they insist on region locking Region B catalogue titles? I have a Region A player but live in Australia (Region B). That means that I can't rent a Region B disc to see if I like the film enough to buy it. Given the option of watching a Fox film on DVD, buying it sight-unseen from the US, or just ignoring it, I'm taking the path of least resistance and ignoring their titles.

It's no coincidence that my BD library is stuffed to the gills with Warner and Sony titles.

[Slec]

Originally Posted by Squozen

Hey Bill,

If you speak to Fox, can you ask them why they insist on region locking Region B catalogue titles? I have a Region A player but live in Australia (Region B). That means that I can't rent a Region B disc to see if I like the film enough to buy it. Given the option of watching a Fox film on DVD, buying it sight-unseen from the US, or just ignoring it, I'm taking the path of least resistance and ignoring their titles.

It's no coincidence that my BD library is stuffed to the gills with Warner and Sony titles.

No offense, but if you own a player from a region outside of the one you live in, that's the risk you run. It is not up to Fox to make sure you can watch movies from other regions. It would defeat the purpose of region locking (which is a entirely different discussion).

[Squozen]

Originally Posted by Slec

No offense, but if you own a player from a region outside of the one you live in, that's the risk you run. It is not up to Fox to make sure you can watch movies from other regions. It would defeat the purpose of region locking (which is a entirely different discussion).

Sure, but my question is, why can Warner, Sony and Disney leave their Region B catalogue titles unlocked when Fox can't? I understand the day-and-day restrictions, but why lock a 10-year-old title?

I'm okay with Fox leaving Region B locked, it just means they get less of my money. I just want to understand why they don't want it.

BTW, if you lived in Australia, you'd understand why I import. Every title here is $40, we have less titles available, enforced government censorship on certain films and non-removable ratings covering the cover art on the packaging. If I couldn't import a BD player from Region A, I would not have bothered getting one at all.

[WickyWoo]

If you speak to Fox, can you ask them why they insist on region locking Region B catalogue titles? I have a Region A player but live in Australia (Region B). That means that I can't rent a Region B disc to see if I like the film enough to buy it. Given the option of watching a Fox film on DVD, buying it sight-unseen from the US, or just ignoring it, I'm taking the path of least resistance and ignoring their titles.

Because Fox Australia wants to make sure they get your dollar instead of Fox US. While all the money eventually goes into the same checking account, for many studios they are effectively different companies who are expected to perform

[MerrickG]

Any chance of the Pearl Harbor Directors Cut coming to bluray? I know this isnt likely for a long time, but Im a HUGE fan of the 4 disc special edition that came out on dvd back in 2002 and Id like to see these supplements ported over to bluray.


p.s. unless you are Bill Hunt or another insider (Wicky can respond, too), dont bother responding to my post if you want to bash the film. Im a fan of the film and I have the write to ask about it

[scragham]

so anyway, i discussed this question with (a real) mod, and asking again...

hey bill, has there been any talk about bringing the various PBS miniseries to Blu? they're already broadcast in HD, so obviously exist in that format.

the most recent one i've been watching is carrier, which is an outstanding view of the people who live on those things for 6 mos at a time.

[WickyWoo]

PBS is going to be very careful with their production budget, federal funding of which will probably take another slash this year before maybe being restored in future years .Therefore given the expense of Blu production they're only going to hit the surefire returns. Carrier would be a great choice, but since it's what, 20 hours long, at best 50/50 for them to take the risk on it. I'd say if they're going to invest the money "The War" is far more likely

[scragham]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

PBS is going to be very careful with their production budget, federal funding of which will probably take another slash this year before maybe being restored in future years .Therefore given the expense of Blu production they're only going to hit the surefire returns. Carrier would be a great choice, but since it's what, 20 hours long, at best 50/50 for them to take the risk on it. I'd say if they're going to invest the money "The War" is far more likely

hmm, good to know. carrier's not that long though... 10 hours.

regardless, i'd cheerfully take the war, too... that's outstanding also.

[treyw00]

Hey Bill,

I noticed in the Bits you said EVERY title previously released is going to be back by Paramount by 5/20. I even noticed the ones they scheduled (Blades of Glory, Face off etc.) to release the week before they swithced. One i haven't seen as im sure you've been asked is Top Gun. Heard anything on that or are they upset about the Tom Cruise split and not releasing out of spite? Doubt that last part but then again it wouldn't suprise me

[savage1984]

Hey Bill,
I just wanted to say I really enjoyed your review of Speed Racer. I was on the fence about seeing it, but now it's a go for sure. I think I'll be at the theaters a lot this summer.

This fall and winter my blu collection is gonna erupt... hehehe. Hopefullymy funds will be able to support it.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by savage1984

I just wanted to say I really enjoyed your review of Speed Racer. I was on the fence about seeing it, but now it's a go for sure. I think I'll be at the theaters a lot this summer.

I too enjoyed your review Bill. I won't be seeing SR at the theaters (I rarely go to the theaters), but I've been anticipating the Blu-ray release for a while.

That being said, I totally got what you were saying about the "fun" factor as that's the feeling I walked away with after seeing this video clip (480p, 720p, 1080p). I converted it to MPEG4, copied it to my PS3 and I've viewed it multiple times.

NOTE: It even includes some of the scenes that you mentioned in your review!

~Alan

[Squozen]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Because Fox Australia wants to make sure they get your dollar instead of Fox US. While all the money eventually goes into the same checking account, for many studios they are effectively different companies who are expected to perform

You mean that the other way around, I can't watch an Australian Fox disc in my Japanese player.

I expect that will change in a year or so as people start hacking players to make them region-free.