1146 replies to this topic

[Arbogast777]

Random doesn't begin to describe it.

I'd much rather buy them one at a time.

Go for it. Remember they're being released individually as well.

[Qwerty]

I can't say I like these random film pairings.

Random doesn't begin to describe it.

I'd much rather buy them one at a time.

Thankfully we have that option this time around.

[Professor Dent]

Your last post doesn't make any sense, the UE are sourced from the 4K scan only compressed do DVD size. Of course the BR will be the same 4K scans, they obviously picked titles which had the less problems on the UE (ie no Goldeneye fiasco or YOLT colorless black and white version).

The MGM HD channel has been playing Bond movies in HD since last year so a lot of these movies have already been converted from those 4K scans. I'm wondering whether they going to use those same transfers to make the Blu-ray discs or go back to those 4K scans & process them again having a Blu-ray disc in mind as the end result. Probably splitting hairs because they will still look great but just curious as to how much they processed that 4K master to get to the end result.

[Bondian]

K. I didn't think this warranted it's own thread, but I have a problem that I thought some of you experts would be interested in.

I have a Blu-Ray burner/player in my pc. I'm using a digital connection and a HDMI monitor. I purchase 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' on BD, but the picture is awful. Worse than my regular DVD collection edition. However, the titles are great and some of the film stands out. But it's not what I was expecting considering the quality that BD has over regular DVDs.

I thought I'd shove it into my PS3 on my analogue TV and there was some improvement. But after viewing a few minutes of the film I decided to slap in the 'special features' DVD. It wouldn't play nor will the first disk.

I know I should be using a HD TV, but why the deuce is the quality on my HD computer monitor so bad?

I have 'Power DVD 8' (with the new update and a firmware for the burner/player installed} and so far I'm not impressed.

Could someone who's experienced with this please shed some light on where I'm going wrong.

Thanks very much.

Cheers,


Ian

[Skudor]

Could it be because you're using a digital connection (whatever that is) rather than an HDMI connection?

[stamper]

It's fair to see all those will be new encodes, not the 720P level TV ones trust me

[Bondian]

Could it be because you're using a digital connection (whatever that is) rather than an HDMI connection?

Sorry. My mistake. I am using a HDMI cable.

[DamnCoffee]

Tell me you love me....

I've just came across Hi Res cover art!

http://www.dvdactive...n-blu-ray2.html

You better bloody love me!

[Skudor]

The fact that I'm now able to see the same awful cover art in hi def just doesn't do it for me.

[Professor Dent]

I know I should be using a HD TV, but why the deuce is the quality on my HD computer monitor so bad?

Could be that your monitor is not HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) compliant. If the chain of playback from the player to the monitor is not fully HDCP compliant, the system will down res the picture to standard DVD quality. One of those consumer friendly copy restriction schemes.

[Skudor]

I know I should be using a HD TV, but why the deuce is the quality on my HD computer monitor so bad?

Could be that your monitor is not HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) compliant. If the chain of playback from the player to the monitor is not fully HDCP compliant, the system will down res the picture to standard DVD quality. One of those consumer friendly copy restriction schemes.

The reason SPECTRE went out of business - too much competition from evil mainstream companies!

[Qwerty]

Now on the CBn main page...

James Bond On Blu-Ray Coming To Australia

Initial six titles scheduled for 12 November release

[Qwerty]

As a quick note, the Bond Blu-ray discs are featured on the cover of UK magazine DVD and Blu-ray Review.

[DamnCoffee]

Thanks for that Qwerto.

Oh I found this over at James Bond - fr. It's quite strange since It states that Die Another Day will indeed include Trailers and TV Spots, here's hoping they are included.

[Arbogast777]

And the first review of "Dr. No" and "From Russia With Love" Blu-rays are in!

LINK

[Professor Dent]

The review makes these sound promising. The reviewer also speculates that the next Blu-ray set is due around Easter 2009 when Quantum of Solace hits Blu-ray. Probably a safe bet.

[DamnCoffee]

I cannot wait to get these.

They sound fantastic, I cannot wait to see Dr. No in HD!

[Qwerty]

Now on the CBn main page...

James Bond Blu-ray Discs Reviewed

What's the verdict on 'Dr. No' and 'From Russia with Love'?

[sharpshooter]

This is very exciting. Looking better than cinema screen quality? I am definitely going to pick up Dr No and From Russia With Love.

[David Schofield]

Have the editors gone back in and digitally corrected the flaws in the movies? And why they're at it why can't they erase the wires on the jet in Thunderball or the cable pulling the Rolls-Royce in AVTAK?

Yes, as a non-Home Cinephile, if BluRay makes images even sharper than ordinary DVD (of which I have no doubt) some of the back-projection in the early films is now going to look horrific, and indeed, dare I say it, almost laughable.

Surely, what was easily ignored on a 28" box in the corner on VHS 'aint gonna look so good blown up to 42/50/60 inches on a lovely plasma, is it?

Or does one just accept those issues as faults of 60s action filmaking?

[Skudor]

I'm quite pleased to see that Dr No and FRWL retail for about 16 pounds at Play.com - hopefully that will drop by a few quid by Xmas.

[oatesy]

I'd like to hear from somebody that can explain "restoration" to a novice. I remember buying the special edition dvd boxsets back in 1999-2000 and being surprised to see a scratch here, a spot there, even though these discs were supposedly "digitally remastered". Now, almost 10 years later I'm being asked by the studio to pony up more money for the latest version of the same films and I'm trying to see the upside to doing it. I realize the clarity issues that come with getting Blu-Ray and a HD-tv, but I'm also fine with regular dvd for right now. Are these films going to be spotless? Have the editors gone back in and digitally corrected the flaws in the movies? And why they're at it why can't they erase the wires on the jet in Thunderball or the cable pulling the Rolls-Royce in AVTAK?

When the films were orginally transferred to video/DVD the process used was standard telecine, where essentially they find a good quality print of the original film (not the original negative though), and it is projected with the information captured via a video camera. When they were digitally remastered, better quality prints were sourced, and the film was captured using a digital-era process. Various adjustments would have been made to sharpness, colour tone etc., but any spots/scratches on the original print would have remained

The restored Blu-Rays and Ultimate Edition DVDs are taken from the original camera negative. The original camera negative was scanned using a very high quality scanner with 4,000 lines of definition. Working digitally they then used a interpolation technique to try and find extra detail within the image. Because grain structure of film is organic and random and not a geometric structure, it is possible to un-earth extra detail by comparing adjoining frames. Once this is done, the films are then correctly color timed (or incorrectly color timed in Thunderball's case). The next stage is a clean up. Dust and scratches are removed frame-by-frame and efforts are made restore damage that has occured since the film was made.

At this stage the film is essentially 'restored' as it is back to how it would have looked the day it was made (or even better if the interpolation technique managed to extract additional details, which from the review above saying it was better than in the cinema, it sounds as if it did). Decisions were then made about what errors etc. to correct. A trapped hair in the camera in Dr. No left a big mark on one shot, which was removed, and it seems (from the Ultimate editions) that there was some wire-removal done on model shots. There was no correction to bigger mistakes/problems such as the camera being in shot in the TMWTGG fight or restoration of bad back-projection or compositing (it is unlikely the elements exist to correct these probelems anyway)

The films should look very clean indeed. They should be 'spotless'in terms of scratches/dust etc. but there will be some grainy shots (such as the stock footage of planes landing) and some bad-projection. In addition, the enhanced clarity of the image means you can now see things you perhaps wouldn't want to see, such as where Connery's toupee is attached to his head.

[Skudor]

Thanks for that great explanation

[oatesy]

According to the review tt seems these discs only contain the new 'surround sound' mixes and not the original mono soundtracks
I only hope they've corrected the bad sound mix they gave Thunderball for the UE with the WRONG music and ridiculously over the top sound effects for SPECTRE headquarters. Norman Wanstall did the original sound design, and he won an Oscar for his sound effects on Bond movies, yet for some reason some idiot at MGM thinks they can do better

And I suppose we'll have to wait for the TB and LALD reviews to see if they've corrected the botched color timing on both of these films

[DamnCoffee]

Artwork for the Blu Ray Box Set has been revealed, it's very nice...

http://www.dvdactive...on-blu-ray.html

[Qwerty]

Artwork for the Blu Ray Box Set has been revealed, it's very nice...

http://www.dvdactive...on-blu-ray.html

That's actually been online for a few weeks now. Looks like DVDActive is catching up on this one.

[Arbogast777]

Here's a LINK to what the inside of the packaging looks like.

Also, the big rumor is that Best Buy will have as an exclusive "steelbook" versions of all the Bonds. Here's a sample...

Edited by Arbogast777, 11 October 2008 - 03:50 AM.

[bondrules]

I think I'll keep my standard format DVD's....in my opinion, BlueRay is DOA

[Arbogast777]

I think I'll keep my standard format DVD's....in my opinion, BlueRay is DOA

From Video Business 10/10/08:

"Worldwide Blu-ray Disc set-top player unit sales will outpace most other consumer electronics items over the next four years, according to an independent report released this week.

Blu-ray player unit sales, not including Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles, will total 5 million globally this year, up from about 800,000 players sold in 2007, according to Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Dallas-based Parks Associates. Annual Blu-ray player unit sales will jump eightfold within four years to about 40 million, Scherf said.

Revenue from Blu-ray disc sales in the U.S. alone is expected to approach $1 billion this year."

Bond in High-def? I'm in, baby

[Qwerty]

Now on the CBn main page...

James Bond Blu-ray Packaging Revealed

UK and US boxed sets