Batman Begins (2005)

[captveg]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

He didn't actually sit down and approve every aspect of the disc, what actually happened was he made a list of extras he wanted on the Blu-ray and WB complied. They didn't even want the Dark Knight footage on the BD release, but Nolan pushed it through.

The movie transfer itself is just the HD DVD, and I suspect he was given final master approval for that and since it isn't changing his approval is still valid.

I'll tell you one thing though, it wouldn't matter how much they raised bitrates on this release, it would still look like a soft mess.

Well, that would still fit with what I heard, so that makes sense.

There is another release where one of the producers did his own QC of the final disc image and checked everything (though very briefly), and I saw that happen first hand. This was a couple weeks back when I hears the same news about Nolan, so I assumed it was a similar kind of thing.

[Daredevil666]

Basically, it's obvious this Blu-Ray is a con.

Expect a remastered Blu-Ray in a box with DK + the sequel by the time the third movie hit the BR shelves, with improved bitrate.

[captveg]

Knowing WB's track record, I doubt we'll see a double dip on this title for at least a few years. They are more than satisfied with this release.

I find it amazing that something that could have been accepted as reference worthy just two years ago is now considered trash.

[Arecsa]

Originally Posted by dvdvision

Basically, it's obvious this Blu-Ray is a con.

The standard edition is about $5 too high considering the circumstances, not quite a con. The "Limited Edition Gift Set" certainly is a con at that price. The same HD DVD knock off as the standard edition, but with a book, comic book and some postcards......and only nearly double the price. Wow!! Thanks Warner!

Originally Posted by captveg

I find it amazing that something that could have been accepted as reference worthy just two years ago is now considered trash.

I don't think most people ever considered BB reference. The same thing happened with DVDs though, a great release looks like junk compared to newer ones a few years later. It's happened with Blu-ray aswell, just not with Batman Begins.

I truly hope Nolan is doing his best to keep Warner's grubby little DNR hands off of The Dark Knight and that he's watching them at every single step along the way towards the Blu-ray release.

[RedIsNotBlue]

Originally Posted by Arecsa

The standard edition is about $5 too high considering the circumstances, not quite a con. The "Limited Edition Gift Set" certainly is a con at that price. The same HD DVD knock off as the standard edition, but with a book, comic book and some postcards......and only nearly double the price. Wow!! Thanks Warner!

I like how you conveniently leave out things included with the gift set because you have a hard-on for hating this release.

[Arecsa]

Originally Posted by RedIsNotBlue

I like how you conveniently leave out things included with the gift set because you have a hard-on for hating this release.

Not intentional on my part, the extras thrown into the giftset aren't something I have memorized. I think Warner are doing a terrible job here, and I'm not the only one that thinks that. Enjoy your collectors edition.

[RedIsNotBlue]

Originally Posted by Arecsa

Not intentional on my part, the extras thrown into the giftset aren't something I have memorized. I think Warner are doing a terrible job here, and I'm not the only one that thinks that. Enjoy your collectors edition.

Well the biggest thing for me in the gift set is the $7.50 in movie cash which doesn't come with the standard edition. So in actuality I am really only paying $6.50 for all of the little extras that come along with it and the sweet packaging. Well worth it for a Batman fan like me. And yes I saw the HD DVD and was very pleased with it so I already know what I am in store for and I will enjoy my collector's edition. Enjoy waiting 2 or 3 years for the trilogy set.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

I'll tell you one thing though, it wouldn't matter how much they raised bitrates on this release, it would still look like a soft mess.

Because it's a film master issue?

[Arecsa]

Originally Posted by RedIsNotBlue

Well the biggest thing for me in the gift set is the $7.50 in movie cash which doesn't come with the standard edition.

I forgot about that, it doesn't do anything for anybody buying it who isn't in the U.S. though.

No need to wait 2-3 years to get Batman Begins - I'll grab it later on this year, for a more reasonable price, during one of the many big sales we'll be seeing. It may be a subpar disc but it is still a fantastic movie.

[RedIsNotBlue]

Originally Posted by Arecsa

I forgot about that, it doesn't do anything for anybody buying it who isn't in the U.S. though.

No need to wait 2-3 years to get Batman Begins - I'll grab it later on this year, for a more reasonable price, during one of the many big sales we'll be seeing. It may be a subpar disc but it is still a fantastic movie.

Well yeah thats understandable. If you can't even use the movie cash I completely understand not wanting the gift set. And yes it is a fantastic movie easily in my top 5 of all time and it looks like The Dark Knight is going to outdo it.

[Arecsa]

Originally Posted by RedIsNotBlue

And yes it is a fantastic movie easily in my top 5 of all time and it looks like The Dark Knight is going to outdo it.

We're getting close now, less than a month to go. The hype has been extraordinary, The Dark Knight will be nothing short of phenomenal though. Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy will set an incredible benchmark for all superhero movies to come.

[mredman]

Originally Posted by Arecsa

I truly hope Nolan is doing his best to keep Warner's grubby little DNR hands off of The Dark Knight and that he's watching them at every single step along the way towards the Blu-ray release.

I guess we will get a look at how it looks on Batman Begins in the "Prologue"

[mredman]

Originally Posted by Arecsa

We're getting close now, less than a month to go. The hype has been extraordinary, The Dark Knight will be nothing short of phenomenal though. Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy will set an incredible benchmark for all superhero movies to come.

I have heard if the 3rd is doing very good there might be a 4th

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by captveg

I find it amazing that something that could have been accepted as reference worthy just two years ago is now considered trash.

Actually... there were quite a few HD DVD supporters who trashed the transfer over on AVSForum.com when it came out on HD DVD... and I'm not just talking about the whole 720p thing (), but people who saw the disc and were disappointed.

BTW, I wouldn't call it "trash" by any means... simply disappointing! I'm actually very happy to be getting it (the standard version... not the gift set).

Originally Posted by neo_reloaded

There is no such thing as "1080p detail." Level of detail and resolution are two separate things.

Which explains why "Lost" can have so much more detail on ABC-HD (720p) than "Batman Begins" on Blu-ray (1080p)...

~Alan

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

Which explains why "Lost" can have so much more detail on ABC-HD (720p) than "Batman Begins" on Blu-ray (1080p)...

~Alan

Exactly.

Resolution creates an upper bound for the level of detail possible in an image, but something not having that level of detail does not mean that the image is not truly at that resolution.

Lost having so much detail is a result of it being filmed with a lot of detail (due to camera type, camera mode, lighting, etc.), not being heavily DNRed, and then encoded with a high enough bitrate at a high enough resolution to show it. If you decreased the resolution slightly, you might not perceive any change at all until it hit a certain threshold. If you increased the resolution, you might notice increases up to a certain point, but there'd come a point where the resolution exceeded the level of detail in the image and raising the resolution further would have zero noticeable effect. 720p is NOT (NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT) any kind of descriptor for the level of detail in the show - this level of detail is dependent on a huge number of other factors, and resolution is only ONE link in the chain.

[Clark Kent]

I think I've made my peace with tolerating the HD DVD port we'll be getting for Batman Begins. But Warner better learn some lessons and make The Dark Knight the greatest reference Blu-ray ever seen or I am going to be pissed. Wait until you see a Kryptonian go all wrath of Khan on them at that point...

[jd213]

Originally Posted by neo_reloaded

Am I saying the Batman Begins encode is as good as it could be? Absolutely 100% not. It has obvious deficiencies, and nothing I have ever said has been an attempt to prove otherwise. But there is NO correlation between these observations and supposed proof of it being 720p. No amount of observations in the world could prove this - I don't care if Christopher Nolan, Robert Harris, Penton-Man, and Jesus Christ himself all sat down and said it looked like 720p. You can't look at something and determine resolution based on observations and some downscaling/upscaling techniques. Determining true resolution would require a mathematical comparison to determine the resolution required to properly encode all the details present in the most complicated frame of the encode - something which is orders of magnitude more complicated than what has previously been 'proven.'

I don't really see the point in making this distinction. If our eyes can't tell the difference between a 720p downscaled-upscaled shot from Batman Begins and the original 1080p frame, what difference will it make to say that the original 1080p can theoretically still contain more resolution/detail? It still looks the same to us.

[lgans316]

10 minutes from Akiba.
Dark Night(mare) on Chuo Dori.
jd213 are you Mr.Kato ?

Batman Begins at 1080p and 720p looked virtually identical.

[Mr. Hanky]

Think of it this way...the "Warner HD-look" (circa hdvd era) was essentially the practice run-up for hd digital downloads. It just happened to start up on an optical disc format. I hope they do change this practice up for new br releases, though. If they don't, well, they essentially have made their bed for the digital download age, imo.

It only behooves us to publicly shame them on any punted br releases they come up with...something like "The Look and Sound of Digital Download".

[GoBlu08]

I checked best buys website and the stand alone disc is like 20 dollars but the limited edition is only 40. Which one will yall be picking up.