Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

[notops]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Thanks for your input dear, but if you go back and read the original comment and my response to it, it had everything to with quantity. Universal are one of the best when it actually comes to getting their titles out their on bluray. If you and someone else want to discuss picture quality you can go in your own little corner and do that.

Good on you if your standards are so low as to praise the work being done by Universal. A majority of DVD-era masters in the era of 4K just doesn't cut it. Why not just stick with DVDs?

I read every word of your post, which is why I bothered to respond.

Btw: "dear"?

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by notops

Good on you if your standards are so low as to praise the work being done by Universal. A majority of DVD-era masters in the ear of 4K just doesn't cut it. Why not just stick with DVDs?

I read every word of your post, which is why I bothered to respond.

Btw: "dear"?

I made no comment whatsoever about the quality of Universal's work. If you truly read every word of my post, or even the follow-up you would have seen that. In addition to releasing their own catalogue titles they also licence to Shout, Criterion and Arrow as well as foreign labels like Viavision in Australia. Unlike some studios such as Paramount who release barely anything. So in that context, they are one of the best. Have I made that clear this time?

[notops]

Again, I understand your point. My counterpoint is that a company who puts out pile of sub-par product (including the masters they provide to the licencees) should not be congratulated for making a lot of junk.

"Hey, these toys we received don't work"
"Yeah, but look at how many they made. Neat!"

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by notops

Again, I understand your point. My counterpoint is that a company who puts out pile of sub-par product (including the masters they provide to the licencees) should not be congratulated for making a lot of junk.

"Hey, these toys we received don't work"
"Yeah, but look at how many they made. Neat!"

And I'm not interested in your "counterpoint". Again, if you want to pair off with someone else and derail the thread by engaging in the umpteenth debate about the subjective PQ of Universal masters, go for it.

[notops]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

And I'm not interested in your "counterpoint". Again, if you want to pair off with someone else and derail the thread by engaging in the umpteenth debate about the subjective PQ of Universal masters, go for it.

In life, some people are going to disagree with you. Deal

[notops]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Yep. Doesn't mean I have to engage with them.

I guess as you continue to engage, the irony of your statement is lost on you

[chaosmonkey]

I'm absurdly happy that this silly flick is getting the Blu upgrade!

Anyone else remember the promotion that some networks did with Wendy's with this movie? They put out Scratch'N'Sniff cards to go with a broadcast of this movie. Fun stuff!

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by notops

In life, some people are going to disagree with you. Deal

You're not disagreeing with me at all. You're changing the goalposts in order to discuss something that has no relevance to my original statement. So, yes, this IS my final comment to you on this matter.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

I'd rather have a passable deep catalog title on blu that is better than the DVD than not have it at all. I highly doubt these deep Universal catalog titles would get 4K remasters anyways and there are transfers for these deep Universal catalog titles that look very good/great with Brewster's Millions being a great example.

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by notops

Again, I understand your point. My counterpoint is that a company who puts out pile of sub-par product (including the masters they provide to the licencees) should not be congratulated for making a lot of junk.

"Hey, these toys we received don't work"
"Yeah, but look at how many they made. Neat!"

How many releases can you name that you would legitimately argue are not an improvement over the DVD release?

I certainly haven't bought a single one myself, though I do recognize that some releases could have been better.

Universal should be congratulated for all the catalog titles they have released on Bluray, even if they didn't do multi-million dollar current 4K restorations.

[rickah88]

I'd love to have my cake and eat too, for everything in life...not just home video. But I know that's not always going to happen, so I've learned the lost art of compromise.

[notops]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

How many releases can you name that you would legitimately argue are not an improvement over the DVD release?

I certainly haven't bought a single one myself, though I do recognize that some releases could have been better.

Universal should be congratulated for all the catalog titles they have released on Bluray, even if they didn't do multi-million dollar current 4K restorations.

Of course they are an improvement over the dvd. That is not even in question. But those masters were optimized for DVD's shortcomings, hence the use of digital sharpening tools and noise reduction, which have no place in a world of 1080p resolution. So, yes, most of their masters are on the junk side of things.

[burningfool]

Excellent news. The UV copy on Vudu looks quite good, so hopefully this will be a strong release.

This was the last film that Edith Head costumed before her death.

[edwoodjr]

Outstanding. Looking forward to retiring my ancient DVD.

[notops]

Originally Posted by rickah88

I'd love to have my cake and eat too, for everything in life...not just home video. But I know that's not always going to happen, so I've learned the lost art of compromise.

I own plenty of subpar Universal catalog titles, so I'm with you on compromising. It's when people start praising Universal's home video practices that I speak up. It disappoints me when people passively allow standards to be lowered, like the level Universal's home division has been operating on since day one of Blu-ray.. Praising Universal is where this conversation started

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by notops

I own plenty of subpar Universal catalog titles, so I'm with you on compromising. It's when people start praising Universal's home video practices that I speak up. It disappoints me when people passively allow standards to be lowered, like the level Universal's home division has been operating on since day one of Blu-ray.. Praising Universal is where this conversation started

I understand, and I've done my share of blasting Universal over the years, but I do give credit where credit is due also. They have put out a number of nice releases(catalog and new), the Reel Heroes steelbook line is among my favorite and the Jaws digibook might be one of the best ever put out.
While some of their transfers may not be the best, I can't think of one that is no better than it's DVD counterpart. Is this optimal? No. Is this horrible? No. For me it falls in the middle...like middle ground...like compromise.
Looking ahead, I'm very happy for Fletch Lives(for example) getting announced. Is it in the back of my mind that it could be a subpar transfer or barbones release? Sure. But I can cross that bridge if/when I come to it.

[notops]

Originally Posted by rickah88

I understand, and I've done my share of blasting Universal over the years, but I do give credit where credit is due also. They have put out a number of nice releases(catalog and new), the Reel Heroes steelbook line is among my favorite and the Jaws digibook might be one of the best ever put out.
While some of their transfers may not be the best, I can't think of one that is no better than it's DVD counterpart. Is this optimal? No. Is this horrible? No. For me it falls in the middle...like middle ground...like compromise.
Looking ahead, I'm very happy for Fletch Lives(for example) getting announced. Is it in the back of my mind that it could be a subpar transfer or barbones release? Sure. But I can cross that bridge if/when I come to it.

I agree with you on many of those points. However, I'm wholly disappointed that the videophile community out there has not made more of an effort to change Universal's apathetic attitude towards their consumer. If we don't flood them with emails and other forms of communication to let them know how unsatisfied we are with their product, then what is their incentive to improve? Compromise is good and necessary in certain situations, but I wish more people would email Universal like I have instead of just settling for whatever they feel like giving us

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by notops

I agree with you on many of those points. However, I'm wholly disappointed that the videophile community out there has not made more of an effort to change Universal's apathetic attitude towards their consumer. If we don't flood them with emails and other forms of communication to let them know how unsatisfied we are with their product, then what is their incentive to improve? Compromise is good and necessary in certain situations, but I wish more people would email Universal like I have instead of just settling for whatever they feel like giving us

I won't knock anyone for opting to fight the good fight, but I'm 46 and after kids, wife and work there's only so much free time left in the day and energy left in the tank.
I don't play the frame by frame pixel analysis game. I buy what I can, and like what I buy. For me, there's just bigger fish to fry in life.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by notops

In terms of quantity vs quality, they are an abject failure. The 1% of the time that they actually put out a transfer that looks like they scanned during this century cannot make up for the mountains of disappointing PQ that they have crapped out over the years.

Originally Posted by notops

Good on you if your standards are so low as to praise the work being done by Universal. A majority of DVD-era masters in the era of 4K just doesn't cut it. Why not just stick with DVDs?

I read every word of your post, which is why I bothered to respond.

Btw: "dear"?

Originally Posted by notops

Again, I understand your point. My counterpoint is that a company who puts out pile of sub-par product (including the masters they provide to the licencees) should not be congratulated for making a lot of junk.

"Hey, these toys we received don't work"
"Yeah, but look at how many they made. Neat!"

Originally Posted by notops

Of course they are an improvement over the dvd. That is not even in question. But those masters were optimized for DVD's shortcomings, hence the use of digital sharpening tools and noise reduction, which have no place in a world of 1080p resolution. So, yes, most of their masters are on the junk side of things.

Originally Posted by notops

I own plenty of subpar Universal catalog titles, so I'm with you on compromising. It's when people start praising Universal's home video practices that I speak up. It disappoints me when people passively allow standards to be lowered, like the level Universal's home division has been operating on since day one of Blu-ray.. Praising Universal is where this conversation started

Originally Posted by notops

I agree with you on many of those points. However, I'm wholly disappointed that the videophile community out there has not made more of an effort to change Universal's apathetic attitude towards their consumer. If we don't flood them with emails and other forms of communication to let them know how unsatisfied we are with their product, then what is their incentive to improve? Compromise is good and necessary in certain situations, but I wish more people would email Universal like I have instead of just settling for whatever they feel like giving us

Dead Horses Don't Wear Plaid

[notops]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Dead Horses Don't Wear Plaid

Awwwwww. So sorry to bore you with my responses. Although your contribution to the conversation is just captivating. Thanks for sharing.