The ABYSS - Confirmed March 2023!!!

[Pocketkid2]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

As for tech knowledge, he's obsessed with "master interpositives" being part of the modern transfer process (that's generally a no) and the outright lie that the LOTRs and Hobbitses were rebuilt in 4K is a stain on his reputation quite frankly.

Can you point me to where Bill Hunt makes these claims? From what I've seen he says pretty much the same things that the other Bluray reviews/news websites say

[motorheadache95]

I still read the Bits updates sometimes (been doing it since the good old DVD days). I like Bill Hunt generally and I know he made a lot of friends in the industry starting his website (which back in 1997 was pretty novel). I have no idea how many people he knew are still around though— by his own admittance the industry ain’t what it used to be.

I remember him doing other controversial things over the years, like being a bit too “buddy buddy” with Sony when he was backing Blu-ray during the format war (I never saw too much into that though and think his take held up pretty well in retrospect). He’s been accused of rushing reviews too fast to be the first one out as well, but eh.

That Lord of the Rings review, though. Man that was disappointing. He convinced me they were going to be these great 4K rebuilds and they were… not that.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Pocketkid2

Can you point me to where Bill Hunt makes these claims? From what I've seen he says pretty much the same things that the other Bluray reviews/news websites say

That’s because everyone does that stupid “let’s just copy out the specs from IMDB” thing when doing reviews nowadays, but they don’t understand a thing about what they’re copying across. And you can always tell when someone’s copied his technical ‘information’ as they mention “master interpositives”. Again: he’s repeatedly claimed the LOTRs were 4K rebuilds from the original negative. They are not. His Phantom Menace UHD review is full of major inaccuracies as well.

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

I still read the Bits updates sometimes (been doing it since the good old DVD days). I like Bill Hunt generally and I know he made a lot of friends in the industry starting his website (which back in 1997 was pretty novel). I have no idea how many people he knew are still around though— by his own admittance the industry ain’t what it used to be.

I remember him doing other controversial things over the years, like being a bit too “buddy buddy” with Sony when he was backing Blu-ray during the format war (I never saw too much into that though and think his take held up pretty well in retrospect). He’s been accused of rushing reviews too fast to be the first one out as well, but eh.

That Lord of the Rings review, though. Man that was disappointing. He convinced me they were going to be these great 4K rebuilds and they were… not that.

Putting the technical illiteracy aside, as it’s not like he’s the only popular reviewer on the internet who knows jack shit, what truly soured me on him, this so-called friend of physical media, was how dismissive he was of UHD in the run-up to release. He backed the right horse with Blu-ray but with UHD he looked like a horse’s ass: It’s not gonna make much difference, I don’t see the point, physical media’s not gonna last much longer anyway because the studios stopped giving out goodie bags at CES etc. It was a slew of negativity but I’ll bet he likes 4K now as it’s business as usual, don’t forget to buy through the affiliate links!

People are allowed to change their minds, sure they are, but that specific switcheroo from 4K is DOA to love love love it put me right off him and anything else he’s got to say.

[Pocketkid2]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

That’s because everyone does that stupid “let’s just copy out the specs from IMDB” thing when doing reviews nowadays, but they don’t understand a thing about what they’re copying across. And you can always tell when someone’s copied his technical ‘information’ as they mention “master interpositives”. Again: he’s repeatedly claimed the LOTRs were 4K rebuilds from the original negative. They are not. His Phantom Menace UHD review is full of major inaccuracies as well.

So then, where do I find the most correct information about how transfers are made? And how can I tell what's accurate and what's not?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Pocketkid2

So then, where do I find the most correct information about how transfers are made? And how can I tell what's accurate and what's not?

That's the real trick, isn't it? And I wish I had an easy answer for you, but there isn't one. How can you know what's accurate when you've no frame of reference? Anyone confident/arrogant enough to write or record a review is automatically deemed to be knowledgable and trustworthy but it just isn't the case, and the lack of even basic technical knowhow is just astounding to me. But then I'm a nerd, a geek, a saddo who's spent most of his life ravenously devouring all the information he can on films - though I'm not aksing for everyone to be up to the same level! It's when 'trusted reviewers' get the most rudimentary things wrong or misunderstood that it just baffles me.