The Descent MPEG vs AVC (need help from AVC owners)

[Rockercub]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

I got mine from JB Hi-Fi. I think I paid around $18 and some change which included shipping.

Me too. You can also find it on eBay, but I think the shipping is generally more expensive.

[Rockercub]

Originally Posted by cyborgLIS

I've read that the UK and Australian disc have similar PQ, but the UK has extras while the Aussie is barebones.

Aussie is not barebones. It includes commentary with director and cast, The Making of The Descent, three extended scenes, and storyboard and scene comparison.

[cyborgLIS]

Originally Posted by Rockercub

Aussie is not barebones. It includes commentary with director and cast, The Making of The Descent, three extended scenes, and storyboard and scene comparison.

Sorry, you're correct. I was thinking of the sequel. Though the UK for the first film still has a few more extras over the Australian.

[waxHead]

Originally Posted by Kriztoffer Swank

The catalog # on the sticker is not a 100% guarantee it's the AVC encode. A few years back I wanted to grab a second copy because Walmart had them cheap, and their copy was exactly like the AVC one I had right down to the sticker number, but it was an MPEG-2 version.

Thanks for mentioning that, didn't mean to spread misinformation regarding the AVC release.

[Kriztoffer Swank]

Originally Posted by waxHead

Thanks for mentioning that, didn't mean to spread misinformation regarding the AVC release.

It certainly was for a time one of the most definitive ways to tell if you had an AVC disc inside, but unfortunately that copy I grabbed at Walmart proved it's not 100%. It's still probably a safer bet to have the catalog number up top than not.

I lucked out by grabbing my copy in a closing out Circuit City some years ago. It was full MSRP which was ridiculous, but that copy must have been in that store since release, before there was any MPEG-2 version.

[mzupeman]

Well. That settles that. Ordered the Australian disc from JB Hi-Fi. Can't wait!

[mzupeman]

How long does JB take to deliver to the States, btw?

[Rockercub]

I don't remember exactly how long, but I would say in the range of 3 to 4 weeks. It's some of the slowest shipping I've encountered, but it's always showed up.

[Jegærn]

Don`t like how the Aussie disc looks. Too dark, hiding alot of details in the blacks. Too vivid bright colours. There are some scenes in the Lionsgate release though, that looks too much "grey" and not enough contrast. A 50/50 would be perfect in my mind.

[emmet otter]

Thats the reason why I did not pick up the aussie disc cause of the deep blacks. This movie is already dark to begin with so losing more info was not a good option. The US version is not perfect either but its still the better choice imo.

[Rockercub]

Well, the only thing I'll add is that it's not lost info if the info was never meant to be seen. For all we know, the Aussie disc is Marshall's intended look. Without any guidance though, I would agree that a balance between the two would be nice.

[mzupeman]

I can't be sure which is the 'real' look of the film or what isn't, or what was intended vs. what wasn't intended. But, realistically, the darker blacks in the background would make more sense. They're underground in a cave system. No light to be seen except what they make for themselves, and that darkness would also help provide a bit more of that 'claustrophobic' feel the film goes for. I'll give my impressions on the Aussie disc when I receive it, though.

[Underworld54]

Is the Aussie disc OOP? Can't find it anywhere.

[Thomas Irwin]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

Is the Aussie disc OOP? Can't find it anywhere.

I ran a search of the EAN. It does look like it's OOP, as there are not too many results. It is currently available here on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Descent...kAAOSwxupa8J6R

[Jman76]

Does anyone know if these will be rereleased in the US? Better yet, I would love them on 4K.

[steelstring41]

The AVC version of The Descent will not play on Xbox One S. I tried two different copies. This is the only blu-ray I have that will not play on the system.

I popped it into another player (Sony) and it works fine. Has anyone else had this issue?

[RookieWookiee]

For those who have the "Beyond High Definition" foil bands US version, I just discovered something when trying again to play this on my Xbox One this evening. As before, all the video (including the menu screen) work fine. Then when you choose to play either the rated or unrated versions, all I got was audio and no video. I brought up the pop-up menu after starting (hearing audio only, no video) and selected "The Underground Experience". This switched on the film footage + production picture-in-picture video. I was getting all of the video in this mode. Then, I brought up the pop-up menu again and switched back to the unrated version from the Underground experience and I got full video! So far, it's playing fine, looks and sounds great!

As a follow-up I stopped the video, relaunched the Blu-ray player, and once in the menu screen, I selected the Unrated version. It played without having to do any of the pop-up menu shenanigans! I can't believe I've had this Blu-ray for so long and didn't try this before. Just thought others could give it a try and see if it works for them as well. I'll probably still get the Australian version at some point, but for now, I have a disc that will FINALLY play! I'd be curious if others try it and it works :-)

[dg5150]

Anybody wiling to sell their avc version?

[PuppetMasterBlu]

Probably should just buy the Aussie copy.

[dg5150]

2nd person tonight to say that. Found one on ebay. My understanding is that it’s not better or worse pq, just a more accurate presentation of how it looked in the theatre. Is that right?