MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Fortunately, I have yet to have the time to watch a movie but not have the extra minute to adjust the settings or wait for the disc to load.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

But thats no need to not be aware and critical of the shortcomings imposed upon us by either the studios or the technology manufacturers.

For example my biggest bugbear with BD is the lack of a resume function for BD-J discs. With more and more of these being released it seems positively insane not to enable a working resume function at least on the PS3 which could write something to the hard disc to tell the laser where to resume play.

Much as I adore HD it does seem that the overall usability of the experience has regressed from the days of DVD.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Oh you do...but i see a few on here, and its just a few, that dont have a BD player. But, they like to thread crap in the HD section a lot! Not to say everything is rosie with Blu (Ha! funny), and that the Bond movies couldnt use a bit more tweaking before they go to Blu-ray. But if you ( and i dont mean you Duncan, just saying) dont even own a Blu-ray player, why even bother to say, no menu=no sale, or, i wont buy if Bond has video based title cards, or whatever.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Pretty weird isn't it Rick?

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

When there´s a Bond-thread, we have some sort of OT debate. Now it´s.. Blu-ray pop-up menus? Or something. I kinda stopped reading. Wake me up when we talk about Bond again.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Yeah, I was going to pop in here to make this very point. I think that part of the problem with the implementation however stems from these subtitles being handled inconsistently across different Blu-ray Disc players. Penton-Man alluded to this briefy on blu-ray.com a while ago.

With HD DVD it was all Toshiba, so the subtitle implementation wasn't an issue, with different hardware vendors comes more selection but problems of standardization. I agree that the BDA should encourage hardware vendors to standardize the handling of subtitles so that the format can take advantage of player-generated subs that mimic their burned-in counterparts. My experience with the UK Brotherhood of the Wolf HD DVD subs was fantastic. There's really no reason it couldn't be implemented in BD if made a priority.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Well what would be the point posting Bond Blu-Ray requirements in the SD DVD section? That would be very silly, wouldn't it?

And they ARE legitmate requirements. Just because a person doesn't have a BD player right this very second doesn't mean they wouldn't have one when these particular titles are released. Or even 2 or 3 years down the road when they're in a position to pick up these discs.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Interesting as I am unaware of such an issue with subtitles on BD. At least as far as BD-J is concerned, there is an enormous amount of fine-grained control a disc-producer has over subtitles, to the point of disc-embedding or even allowing for the download of particular true-type fonts (i.e. with BD-Live). Also, one could use a graphics layer to overlay subtitles in an image format too (e.g. gif, jpeg, or png) if player-generated subtitles are not desirable for whatever reason, though a potential issue could be disc or virtual storage limitations for multiple languages. Possible future features would include user selection of screen placement, fonts, colors, sizes, and/or styles. Whether and when any of these would be implemented on specific discs one could only speculate at this point however.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Totally! Thanks Duncan!

You guys don't seem to understand the problem. ALL of the necessary audio settings should be configurable before the first frame of film comes onto the screen - it's a very basic and totally logical process that's worked perfectly well with DVD for 10 years and seems like a total non-brainer to me! Having the movie start straight away without trailers and long menu sequences is all fine and good, but not if it means you have to INTERRUPT the movie itself just to hear it the way you want!!

When was the last time you sat in a theatre, watched 5 seconds of film and then a stupid menu pops up while the projectionist tweaks the settings and then the movie continues or, worse still, it goes back and starts again (potentially) destroying the impact of those first few seconds? I mean let's look at BOND for example. You could, feasibly, miss every single one of the gunbarrel sequences while you're busy selecting "DTS-HD" or whatever. Or you could end up watching every single gunbarrel twice which rather dilutes the effect don't you think? I'm sure that isn't what the director intended!! Or, presumably, you could try and catch that instant of black between the disc finding the movie and the movie actually starting to pause and tweak which all seems a bit 1980s to me!! The whole concept is utterly ludicrous and user un-friendly.

All of that is for the initial settings, but there is some argument that you might legimately want to change the settings during the movie. Okay, well that's fine. Going back to the top menu CAN be a pain. But why not have the pop-ups in ADDITION to the top menu? I believe this actually happens on some discs but not all (this inconsistency is also a bad thing and, to my mind, would only necessitate more fumbling). But then again, how many of you suddenly felt the urge to switch audio settings DURING a movie on DVD? I mean while you're actually WATCHING a movie as opposed to demo-ing it or playing around to find out what sounds best, etc? Surely if you know there's a DTS track you pick it from the top menu and away you go, right?

Personally I would probably just accept whatever default audio setting was there because I want to watch movies, not play games.

Anyway... getting a bit off topic, although the above IS what I expect from Bond on BD so I think my concerns are just as valid as changes to the colour timings or framing or the amount of DNR or what any menus will look like or whatever...

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Wait, you don't own or use a BD player and you're telling those that do that they don't understand an (imagined) problem?

If you truely want to be educated:

The only BD discs that bypass the main or top menu by automatically starting the movie when you first insert a disc that I know for sure are Warner titles which guess what........do the same thing on DVD. On both BD and DVD - Press the main menu button before the movie starts or if you don't catch it in time - Press stop, then main menu, change audio settings, press play. Or with BD you can access the popup menu and change the audio within 3 or 4 seconds or change the audio with the audio button. Pretty much a non-issue here.

All BD discs have a main menu just like DVD. Most (maybe all) titles default to the main menu except Warner titles.

There is no need to "interrupt" the movie to set the audio.

But for some reason I don't think you do want to be educated:


Seriously, given your past [ahem] enthusiasm for BD (noted above from the BD pissing me off thread) I think your true motivation for continuing to post in this area is pretty transparent.

So anyway enough of this nonsense and back to Bond and us BD adopters.........

So what is everybody's buying strategy with this first wave of Bonds? 3-packs? a few individuals? Does everybody want all of 'em?

I really don't need or want to own DAD so I think I'll go with one 3-pack and the two other individual titles to avoid it.

I think I'm going to be more selective in the Bond titles I purchase on BD given that boxed sets don't look like they'll happen for a while and I don't have the patience to wait for them anyway.

Must Haves
Dr No
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The Spy Who Loved Me
Goldeneye

Like to haves
Live and Let Die
The Man With the Golden Gun
For Your Eyes Only
Tomorrow Never Dies

Undecided (i.e. I can take 'em or leave 'em)
Diamonds are Forever
Octopussy
Living Daylights
License to Kill
The World is Not Enough

Don't want (unless they're freebees)
Moonraker
A View to a Kill
Die Another Day

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by Duncan Harvey
"The complaint quite reasonably is that you should be able to start the film from the menu after you have adjusted the settings, as opposed to having to pause the film, make the adjustments via the pop up, and then restart the film.

Given that films still tend to have the lossy audio formats as their default as opposed to the lossless, this is a pain in the arse to have to pause and adjust."


i agree with jim.

you guys are really just complainng to hear your own voice,
bordering on trolling.

again i say, unless you guys have me on ignore and thats fine by me, that you don't have to pause or stop the film. just tap the audio button for the desired audio track.
sheesh, complaining and still don't have a player so you at this point don't even know how it works.

as for the Bonds i want them all, but it might be too much.
so i'll probably just have to pick them up here and there.

Live and let die, probably the favorite because it was the first i saw in a theater.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Given the fact that the majority of new blu-ray releases come with a lossless only audio track, this is a non issue, unless you want to listen to a foreign language. Some discs DO have a top menu, some don't. It depends on who is making the discs. Personally I MUCH prefer the pop up menu to a clunky top menu.

The nature of disc manufacturing for multiple regions means that player generated sub-titles are here and here to stay. As others have pointed out, blu-ray is capable of producing very cinema like titles, so again this should be a non issue.

Doug

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

I'll pretty much be only buying the Connery films on blu-ray.

Doug

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Well that's good to know. And thank you for being the first to actually answer my concerns rather than throwing insults, although you did throw a few of those as well.

That other quote of mine was taken entirely out of context. It was a response to another poster who was laughing at us "DVD users" for putting up with, oh I can't remember now.

And I have seen Blu-Ray. I've seen a couple of movies, most recently the Blade Runner Final Cut. I don't have to OWN a player to have views about it just as I don't have to own my own planet in order to have views about the environment!!

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

And this sucks because it means the "definitive" version of such a movie would be on the DVD or whatever. Sure the BD might have better picture and sound but the CONTENT would differ from the theatrical presentation. And at the end of the day the CONTENT is paramount.

After FINALLY getting the captions right on the UE Bond movies it would be a real shame if they took a backward step and got the player to create them or, as it more often the case with MGM, they leave them off altogether!!

Still, never mind, forget any technical concerns, get back to the ever-useful lists of who's buying what.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

John, blu-ray players are capable of accurately reproducing the look of the original burned in titles even down to the 24p cadence. When done correctly you might not be able to tell at first glance that they are player generated.

Of course it would be possible to do a branching version with alternate shots or sequences for the sections that have subtitles, like Disney used to do with the title sequences of their films on DVD. But that might be very expensive to do for sequences beyond the titles.

Doug

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

On this, we are in total agreement. MGM should try to avoid anymore of these frequent mistakes. Lets see, a few Bonds, and one of the Spinal Tap DVDs come to mind. They need to fix the color on a few of the Bonds, and the main titles from another is the TV safe ones, with text in the middle of the 16:9 screen, also need to be fixed.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

John, I'd echo the comment about player generated subs on Blu-ray. They are a hell of a lot less intrusive than there were/are with dvd. The real "test" though is whether the studios go to the effort to duplicate the relevant fonts etc which are used in the films rather than a generic font, however "clean" and non-jagged it looks.

Re the comment about trolling - well thats just a joke really.

As for the audio comments - well reading how its not really an issue reminds me of some of the cult of Apple fans who spin against any flaws/omissions in their precious toys and start to positively argue that less is more. I love Apple computers and kit almost as much as I love Blu-ray but that doesnt make me blind to improvements. There is no reason not to go straight to the menu, and as for pressing stop - well you try that with a BD-J title.

Anything which makes the experience less intuitive is not good in my book. Of course its not going to stop me buying titles, but its a pain all the same.

Still at least the Bond DVDs arent going to be issued by Warners - then we'd have them in those awful digipack "books". Try replacing that packaging when the spindle breaks or have been damaged in transatlantic transit.

At least in the UK the book packaging doesnt appear to have been introduced. Shame we have to suffer insane pricing though, which drives us to importing US discs.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Warners back to using (cardboard?) digipaks eh? Bless 'em!

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

I´ll be getting these all eventually. Box sets. I have literally waited years to see these again (didn´t want to get those SD DVD-releases, not even the UE ones), so it´ll be fun to see these in 1080p. Since I don´t have these on DVD, my table is clean (no double dipping for me).

While I hope everything to be "as good as possible", minor missing "burned-in" captions and such doesn´t bother me that much. Cropping etc will bother me, though, no question.

But again, I´ll wait for the reviews before the possible complaints.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Well its more like mini hardback books, with a spindle inside - akin to a digipack. Nearest DVD comparison I can think of is the R1 release of Schindlers List.

They are an attempt by Warners to make their titles look prestigious when for me it has the opposite effect. Looks cheap and there is no way of keeping the "case" shut.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Regarding which Bond titles I'll be getting on Blu-Ray:

Providing the extras ARE ported over from the Ultimate Editions then I'm in for the whole series.

I'd want most of them anway, with the only ones I actively dislike being Thunderball, Diamonds are Forever and Tomorrow Never Dies. But I even find merit in those.

I definitely want the whole series on Blu-Ray and I'm going to preorder these suckers in the very near future.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Is it really that hard to re-select Chapter 1? Sheesh.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Of course not, but why should we - stop apologising for clumsy design

Put it another way

Is it really hard to enable full selection of the relevant options without the user having to go out of his/her way or interrupt the start of the film? Sheesh

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Exactly.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

I think we're missing the point here, which is that this is almost certainly not an issue with the Bond titles. In fact, it's limited almost exclusively to Warner titles. It was off-topic to mention it as a fault with the format, yes, but really now, can we move on?

Here's a start: 'Casino Royale' Collector's Edition DVD Cover Artwork - James Bond 007 - CommanderBond.net - James Bond At Its Best

IIRC, only the last 4 were on the 2007 disc.

On Audio/Subtitle Topic

Watched "Closer" last night for the 1st time (this was my 1st Blu title).
Forced subs??? What is this 1998?
So I attempt to scroll down to 'subs off' & I've got to go though like thirty to get to "off". Super idiotic!!!
And yeah, weak lossy track default as well, had to change that as well to the far more enjoyable lossless.
Ugh, ugh, ugly, for "high def".

I'm thinking these will just be the last transfers, so they will have simular menu/options as well.

007
I don't mind the covers (seen MUCH worse; "PotA" & "The Beatles on Ed Sullivan" for instance).
I'm for "original" artwork as well, just the 60's movies would have 60's art, the 70's movies would have 70's art, the 80's movies would have 80's art, the 90's movies would have 90's art, & the 00's movies would have 00's art. So from a marketing standpoint I understand (however like some people here I don't want marketing to supersede art or history). Agree with the 'action shot' being in the 007 barrel of a gun; just disagree with choices/framing of those covers I've seen.
I would have put two women on each cover; both the good & bad female lead.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

From those Casino Royale SE specs, it looks like we still don't get the trailers! I guess if they're not on a 3-disc edition, we'll never get them. Same goes for the teasers on the SD editions of World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.

What's wrong with putting a teaser, a theatrical and a handful of TV spots on modern releases?! I'd much rather have that than the majority of back-slapping, self-congratulatory commentaries and bland EPKs we get nowadays.

As for the BD cover art, it could be worse. Like everyone else above though, I'd prefer the theatrical artwork.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

The HD Room has the following to say with respect to any extras found on these discs:


Of course, they don't say what extras will be there. However, it is nice to know that whatever winds up there will be in HD.

Re: MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray

Well...
those box's "cover art" looks KILLER!!!
007 killer.