Blu-ray, in General

[mteller]

The "fuck you, you have to pay extra if you want the documentary" edition

Is that so horrible? It seems like a pretty fair deal to me. HEARTS OF DARKNESS is an entire extra movie, it's not a 10-minute EPK fluff piece they can tack on to the disc. I imagine a lot of people won't want the doc. I think it's nice they're presenting both options.

[JMULL222]

Exactly. Though it's "Heart of Darkness" teller.... don't even tease us about a "Fitzcarraldo" blu with "Burden of Dreams" intact. Don't even joke.

[Alphonse Doinel]

Excellent news. Just put the dvd on Amazon.

Wonder if 2.39:1 is a misprint.

[mteller]

Exactly. Though it's "Heart of Darkness" teller.... don't even tease us about a "Fitzcarraldo" blu with "Burden of Dreams" intact. Don't even joke.

Whoops sorry. I dunno how I transposed those two, still waking up I guess.

[Cinephrenic]

Burden of Dreams was a better film than Fitzcarraldo. More epic, I should say. This is great news guys.

[JMULL222]

I love Burden of Dreams, but Fitzcarraldo is one of my favorite pictures ever, hand down. Pure auteurist cinema. Incomprehensibly ambitious without a Chris Nolan size budget, excellent acting, and emotional range (culminating in the perfect last scene) I cannot transcribe.

[Finch]

If you were thinking of getting Universal Germany's BD of The Game, think again. The first review is out:

- picture lacks details
- edges are quite soft
- there is a mixture of a little bit film grain with video nois and static noise visible (-> quite old transfer)
- no sense of 3-dimensional depth
o DOP Harris Savides treated night scenes with the ENR process
o a restauration in the style of “Minority Report” would be appropriate
+ black level is quite solid

- rear effects are a bit subdued
+ English track offers a better channel separation, a clearer sound field and a more precise and powerful bass

Unfortunately Universal used a very old master for this BD. The image is quite soft and lacks details. DNR was also used. Then edge enhancement was applied to re-sharpen the picture. The sound is a bit front heavy and the sound field is not very clean. Despite the fact that Universal did release a special edition DVD there is no bonus material at all on this disc. So why is Universal releasing this BD?

[swo17]

Didn't Criterion hint a while back that this would be coming?

EDIT: Yes, they did.

[nsps]

Sounds like Universal Germany's edition is the same transfer from the HD DVD edition. You'd have to think that Criterion or SOMEONE is creating an improved version simply based on the amount of time that's passed since the format war ended. (Although I must admit, I'm often surprised to hear about new blu-ray releases that I've had on HD DVD for ages and simply assumed were already out on blu.)

[Noiretirc]

I still don't own a Blu, I'm convinced that they are great, but the last few posts aren't sending me to the Blu aisle. Website? Download? Firmware? WTF???

If you were thinking of getting Universal Germany's BD of The Game, think again. The first review is out:

- picture lacks details
- edges are quite soft
- there is a mixture of a little bit film grain with video nois and static noise visible (-> quite old transfer)
- no sense of 3-dimensional depth
o DOP Harris Savides treated night scenes with the ENR process
o a restauration in the style of “Minority Report” would be appropriate
+ black level is quite solid

- rear effects are a bit subdued
+ English track offers a better channel separation, a clearer sound field and a more precise and powerful bass

Unfortunately Universal used a very old master for this BD. The image is quite soft and lacks details. DNR was also used. Then edge enhancement was applied to re-sharpen the picture. The sound is a bit front heavy and the sound field is not very clean. Despite the fact that Universal did release a special edition DVD there is no bonus material at all on this disc. So why is Universal releasing this BD?

So (for the upteenth time) Bluray doesn't automatically = greatness then?

[nsps]

How many things in life automatically equal greatness? Buñuel? Murnau? Keaton with full creative control?

[Tommaso]

I still don't own a Blu, I'm convinced that they are great, but the last few posts aren't sending me to the Blu aisle. Website? Download? Firmware? WTF???

I feel exactly the same. So you can buy a region-free player, update it and then it's no longer region-free? But you need the update to play discs that came out after you bought the player? But you wouldn't be able to play the disc anyhow because your player is back to region B? Am I getting this right?

[gyorgys]

Yes and no.
No, if the player is hardware modified (i.e. chipset) for playing BD's/SD's of whatever region. Mostly (if not always), software updates are intended to play (new) discs and have no consequences for the universalness if the player has been modified hardware wise.
Yes, most software modifications which enable players to play every region locked disc are most likely susceptible to firmware updates which are sometimes not solely targeted at playing discs but also at reinstalling the original region locking and ' (..) your player [if bought in Europe] is back to region B'/2.

[Tommaso]

Thanks, gyorgys. Still not planning to go blu at the moment, but at least now I know that I have to make sure about hardware modification.

[nsps]

Also, I wouldn't say "the discs won't play" if you don't update the firmware. It's more likely some special features will be buggy or won't work. I'm not a fan of all these update requirements, mind you. It's very annoying. But I"m not of the opinion that you really have to install every update.

[aox]

I have never had any issues with any of this.

[Noiretirc]

I have never had any issues with any of this.

Did you have to download "stuff"? (Please say "no". If I have to stay on top of some kind of "updates" in order to fully enjoy Blu, if/when I ever get there, I will be very depressed.)

[mfunk9786]

I leave mine online to receive firmware updates if there are any and to use Netflix streaming
.. what is the problem with this again?

[Finch]

Interesting article on a forthcoming BD format with a storage of 128 GB on one disc

[domino harvey]

I leave mine online to receive firmware updates if there are any and to use Netflix streaming
.. what is the problem with this again?

Well, for my Sherwood 5004, there's the risk that it could download the update and become useless to me. I'm afraid to even connect it to my wireless

[mfunk9786]

My player isn't region free, and I've actually noticed the setup menus being sped up and expanded over the course of some firmware updates. Are you specifically speaking about region locking occurring with some theoretical future firmware update?

[zedz]

Are you specifically speaking about region locking occurring with some theoretical future firmware update?

I believe this has already happened with some players - firmware updates disabling region-free playing and owners having to track down earlier versions of the firmware in order to reinstate it. What a headache.

[domino harvey]

Yep, it's a real threat for the Sherwoods. Why in the world they would go out of their way to screw over the consumers who sought out their machines specifically for these features is beyond me

[Svevan]

I talked with a customer service rep when my Sherwood wasn't working, and he phrased it that he has "heard that the region-free capability of the player is removed by the new firmware." Which means a customer told him. I got the impression that most of the Sherwoods sold aren't sold to region-free customers, and only those who know of the (unadvertised and unmentioned in the included booklet) region-free capability are being hurt by the firmware change.

[perkizitore]

Those people buying Sherwood and don't use the region free capabilities are stupid.
You can have a much better player from Sony or Panasonic for less money.