Disney's Dinosaur on Blu-Ray

gushin · 09-14-2006, 04:37 PM

Here's a glowing review for Dinosaur on Blu-ray:
http://www.dvdreview.com/reviews/pages/2428.shtml

Unfortunately, I think the format war is just beginning now that Disney discs are coming out.

DaViD Boulet · 09-14-2006, 05:00 PM

It's as I expected.

Now that non-Sony studios are getting into the game (and leaving MPEG2 behind) we're seeing BD product that is at least as good AS what we see on HD DVD.

I've read at AVS that these Disney BD discs are using AVC which is MPEG4 (like Microsoft's VC1, this is much more efficient than older MPEG2).

In addition to the great picture quality, these two items really are impressive:

Quote:

To go along with this brilliant transfer, Disney has provided stellar soundtracks, the key track being the uncompressed 5.1 channel track that reproduces the soundtrack in its entirely unaffected beauty in full 48kHz/24-bit resolution. In a word – audio doesn't get much better or clearer than that!
The track is complemented by a 5.1 channel DTS track as well as 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks in English, French and Spanish. All of them are very well balanced and clear, offering the best presentation for each format's capabilities. Clearly, however, the uncompressed track reigns supreme as it delineates nuances and subtle textures that are sometimes diminished somewhat in the encoded tracks.
The subwoofer works overtime on this disc reproducing all of the pondering dino-sound effects and in addition, we get clear dialogue and a beautiful reproduction of the score by James Newton Howard.

The extras on the release are different form the previous DVD versions and are presented in a full 1080p high definition as well. First up is a commentary track that features directors Eric Leighton and Ralph Zondag, visual effects supervisor Neil Krepela, and digital effects supervisor Neil Eskuri. This commentary has be culled from the DVD and is full of valuable information while also having a very entertaining flair to it. One thing to note is that the commentary track is actually subtitled, so that even hearing impaired viewers will be able to follow the discussion of the commentators, which I find a very nice and considerate touch to this disc.

I hope that this isn't lost on anyone. Disney is giving us LOSSLESS 24 BIT RESOLUTION audio and bonus material in full 1080p HD.

Think about it...

MarekM · 09-14-2006, 05:48 PM

well here we are

can't wait to check it myself, but when there will be a blu-ray player in Europe hmm

Marek

Dan Hitchman · 09-14-2006, 06:10 PM

Hmmm... I don't know about the 24 bit audio implied by the review. Does this reviewer know something we don't? Buena Vista's own Blu-Ray site lists the audio specs. at 16 bit/48 kHz uncompressed LPCM. No word of 24 bit lossless (either encoded as DTS Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD). 16 bit audio is not master grade.

I don't get why they would waste space on an uncompressed track when they could considerably bump up the resolution by using one of the lossless codecs.

Dan

Neil Joseph · 09-14-2006, 06:48 PM

So PCM5.1 with Mpeg4 is official? I had been trying to find out the transfer specs. I have this one on pre-order.

**HTF Ads**

Ryan Wong · 09-14-2006, 10:10 PM

Hi def extras? This is amazing. How did they cram everything into a single layer Bluray disc? Maybe the reviewer should review the picture quality of extras as well.

Jeff® · 09-16-2006, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

It's as I expected.

Now that non-Sony studios are getting into the game (and leaving MPEG2 behind) we're seeing BD product that is at least as good AS what we see on HD DVD.

I've read at AVS that these Disney BD discs are using AVC which is MPEG4 (like Microsoft's VC1, this is much more efficient than older MPEG2).

Apparently Dinosaur looks great (according to that review) but is encoded using MPEG2. 'Eight Below' and 'Great Raid' going AVC/MPEG-4:

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...-ray_Specs/239

Buena Vista Unveils First Blu-ray Specs

Quote:

"Though all four discs will feature 1080p video transfers in their original theatrical aspect ratios, Buena Vista has split them up into two codec camps: 'Dinosaur' and 'Jay and Silent Bob' are encoded in MPEG-2, with 'Eight Below' and 'Great Raid' going AVC/MPEG-4.

Each title will also be presented in 48kHz/16-bit uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround, though 'Dinosaur' gets the added bonus of a full 48kHz/24-bit PCM track plus a DTS 5.1 surround option. All four releases also include standard Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks (encoded at 640kbps)."

Dan Hitchman · 09-16-2006, 01:17 AM

Now that is some nutty combining on the part of Disney! MPEG-2 with 24 bit/48 kHz uncompressed audio (Dinosaur), and lesser 16 bit/48 kHz uncompressed audio combined with MPEG-4 HP on most of their others!

If they had used VC-1 or MPEG-4 HP on all their titles they could have had lossless 24/48 on each and every one!

Fox uses MPEG-2 on their longest film plus a ton of extras on one BD-50, but uses a more efficient codec on their shorter slate of films!

What these studios are smoking is beyond me!

Dan

DaViD Boulet · 09-16-2006, 08:32 AM

24/48 lossless packing would also have taken up less space than the 24/48 LPCM on Dinosaur. Curious. I guess it's the lack of advanced audio decoding that's still keeping these studios from going lossless packed on BD. I wish they would anyway... it will only be a matter of months before full-featured players are for sale (fingers crossed) and the full-bitrate DD or DTS extracted from the signal would be a nice lay-over in the meantime.

Dan Hitchman · 09-16-2006, 12:32 PM

Yet Fox seems to have no problem adding DTS MA at (reportedly) 24 bit resolution for all their titles.

Dan

Ed St. Clair · 09-18-2006, 01:01 AM

WoW
Impressive HD sound.
Impressive HD video.
Impressive HD special feature.
Does this disc have an "impressive HD" menu?
If so, maybe we have the first "Killer App" in HD.
("KA" doesn't mean best selling, although that's a "KA" as well, I've been looking for great A/V, menu, & SF, for HD discs first "KA")

Congrats to The Mouse!