WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray) - Page 2

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

There is no HD DVD. I think it looks and sounds great so far.





Crawdaddy

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

No domestic HD-DVD, but I thought the OP had the Japanese import and that this (the Blu-ray) would be his third purchase.

Without question, for the 99.99% that don't have the import, the Blu-ray set as a whole is wonderful. But could have been better, visually, without the totally unnecessary grain reduction.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

There was an HD DVD release of BoB in Japan. It cost upwards of $200 to import it so not many own it.

I took a look at Xylon's pics and while I do see some grain reduction in the BD version compared to HD DVD, it does not look waxy at all. To me, it's subtle. On the other hand, a couple of still shots don't always tell the whole story.
Anyway, I bought it and I'm glad I did.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

I do not think you will have much of a wait, Rick. It was back ordered when I placed my order on Tuesday, too (paid $41.14 after the 25% code), and I received a shipping notice on Friday.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Thanks Scott, seems everything i wanted was on back order. I ordered way to much stuff anyway. I think $41.xx is what i paid too. Thats a great price, how can you go wrong!

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Also, I have to double check this, but on numerous instances throughout the first 4 episodes so far, the audio sounds much more enveloping, with greater sidewall imaging than the DTS track on the DVD set.

Now, I haven't spun the DVD set in about a year, but I've seen the entire BoB cycle on DVD 3 times over two years, and the audio really stood out on the Blu as I've been watching it these past few days. I do not have lossless DTS on my receiver, so I'm assuming I'm getting the core DTS stream with the Blu, which should be comparable to the DVD track...?

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Felix,

You're absolutely right about the audio. There were times when I nearly flinched or ducked.

After doing a mini-marathon, I agree with you, in that the DNR isn't applied heavily across the board. The first episode had me stewing, but upon a larger viewing, I've backed off my initial wholesale condemnation. Don't get me wrong...I still think HBO needs a spanking, but I can live with this, especially for the low price, until the set is revisited. I think most of these early titles will be, at some point, but I'm not holding my breath.

As with most all of the DVD releases during the first two or three years, there is a learning curve, both technical and practical. Don't forget that most of those early releases are disgusting by current standards.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

I ordered more than I planned on, too. While much of it was back ordered, only two items have yet to ship. At those savings, though, I can afford to be very patient.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

I am disappointed that they decided to use DNR on the Japanese hd-dvd transfer which (from what I have read and the screencaps I have seen) was fine to begin with but it does seem like the DNR isn't "too" bad so I will probably pick this up down the line. Plus, I do not wish to go and drop a bundle on the hd-dvd set.

It really is annoying when these companies do this though since it seems to take more work/effort to screw a perfectly good transfer up than to leave it alone.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Besides the DNR concern, I do wish I had not preordered from WHV just because it's substantially cheaper from the DDD sale now. And now that the good coupons seem dead for WHV plus they've hiked their regular prices, there goes the last incentive to preorder from them.

Anyway, glad to hear the DNR jobbies are not quite as bad as originally thought. I still haven't had time to spin my set yet though. Can hardly wait...

_Man_

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Still out of stock at Deep Discount. Still on back order. Hmmm...wonder how long it takes for them to get stock. Or if they are waiting til the sale is over, so they dont sell anymore so cheap!
I had The Omega Man on order the last sale, they never got it in. I let the order ride for 4 months before i cancelled it, and got it even cheaper from Amazon.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

You'll still get the sale price whether it's backordered or not.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Well, regardless of the DNR problems, I decided to pick up the set. 89 bucks,including taxes. Generally, I'm pleased with the quality of the set. The picture quality is a nice improvement, but I do notice at times a slight loss in detail in medium shots. Problem is, I'm not expert enough to decide if some of the softness is due to shooting style and processing or DNR.

I've pretty well decided that this will be my last purchase of this particular series. It is of good enough quality that I am going to be unwilling to spend another 90 dollars for a set that will be a re-do for a set that should have been done properly to begin with.

There are only three other things I wish they would have done and they are as follows:

1) The PIP commentary is Dolby Prologic which I don't have a problem with. The problem was that the episode soundtrack is also Dolby Prologic when the PIP commentary is playing. Either the whole thing should have been in DTS MA or the episode soundtrack should have switched back to DTS MA when the PIP closed.

2) The interactive field guide was a bit of pain. I found that the points of interest along the time line would not open automatically. I had to manually select them all of the time. It was distracting trying to watch the episode and the time line all at the same time.

3) It still annoys me that they entirely ignore the Spears (sp?) prisoner incident in both the PIP commentary and the field guide. Malarkey was one of the interviewees and could have shared more insight on that incident. The off camera shooting, along with the total silence in the commentary, just smacked as a clumsy whitewash of an ugly truth.

Other than those three items I thought the set was pretty good.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Of all titles I have considered double-dipping on...this is the one that's taking the most restraint--especially with the price at the DD sale.

I think the BD prices on this set seem so reasonable after the high pricepoint of the SD set for so many years. I felt lucky to find a used SD set at a decent price.

And when I see a price of $54.99 for the BD set new at my local BJs Wholesale Club, I cannot ever imagine finding a better deal than the $40+ price for the set at DD--EVEN USED!

But...somehow...I think I will end up sticking with the SD set. But, it's agony. But there are so many new titles being released that I'm having a hard time justifying putting much towards double dips right now.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

I don't consider buying a title again in a different and much improved video format a double dipped like buying the same title once in SD DVD then buying it again later on in a SE release that is still SD DVD.

However, I do agree that buying a title in HD DVD then later buying the same title in Blu-ray with the same video and audio specifications a double dipped because you're not gaining an improved video and audio presentation like it exists between SD DVD and either HD format.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

You can get this shipped for approx. $42 new through DeepDiscount.com (use code PRICESEARCH) or DVDPlanet (use code 25offsale) right now. It's obviously a title you love. The video and audio are markedly improved from the SD-DVD release. It has exclusive bonus features not found on the SD-DVD. And you can sell your SD-DVD version to help fund the purchase. I sold mine to a co-worker for $25 (could have got a bit more, I imagine, if I'd sold it online, but he's a pal). Imagine, $42 - $25 = only $17! C'mon, man, this is the no brainer of the year...

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Oh, goodness, please let me be real clear: as much as I disapprove of the grain reduction done on this title, it is not IMHO excessive, and looks AMAZING on my 92in FP set-up.

If you only have the DVD and you're a fan of the series, and you have a Blu-ray player, do not hesitate to pick this up.

It is truly an experience - like watching it for the first time.

In fact, it's time for episodes 7 and 8 tonite...'scuse me...

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

I did the exact same thing Travis. Sold my DVD set for the same price. It was a win-win for everyone!

Come on in Mike, join us.

Mine shipped today, yea!

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

I hope reviving month-and-a-half-old threads isn't a no-no around here.

I've been eying Xylon's screencaps over at AVS Forum, and I gotta say the BD transfer is bumming me out. Looks kind of poor compared to the HD DVD. It's still a pretty nice, crisp transfer, but the grain scrubbing really does bother me, and takes away A LOT of the detail in certain shots. Why do studios even use DNR to reduce grain? It pisses me off so much. There's no possible way to take away some of the grain without eliminating details; I refuse to believe such a thing can be accomplished, because every time I've seen it in practice, I only see negative results.

At any rate, it's probably the best we'll get, I'm not about to buy an HD DVD player and a highly expensive import set of the series, and it's currently $37.49 at Amazon and Best Buy, so I think I'll plunk down the cash. Perhaps the grain scrubbing and detail dulling won't bother me when everything's in motion.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

At $37.95 with free shipping from Amazon, I double-dipped, my SD-DVD will go bye-bye. It just showed up today and I am looking very forward to watching this for the second time, and on Blu this time.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Gee, Ron. That was quick delivery with the free shipping option. The thing only went on sale Sunday @ amazon!

I ordered mine tonight. I actually braved a trip to my local mall today to see if my local Best Buy had any in stock (this was my second check this week)...and they still did not. Place looked like a war zone. Anyway, I now wished I had just ordered from amazon in the first place this week.

Now the wait begins.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Not sure what happened Mike, I just checked last night and it wasn't scheduled for delivery until the 29th, and it's on my porch today.

I see it's down to $32.95 now. Wonder if Amazon would give me a credit?

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Cool.

You just had me scurry back to amazon with that line about it being $32.95! I had just placed my order minutes ago!

But you must have mis-read their SD-DVD price. I still see the BD as $37.49.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Aye. The first episode or two were definitely quite disappointing, but the PQ does seem to improve some in subsequent episodes (as if less DNR was applied later). I haven't finished watching my set yet, but I'm getting there real soon (w/ the last 2 episodes plus the documentary to go). Wish I had waited for a better sale and not jumped on the WHV preorder.

_Man_

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Yep, I did, my bad. Still, and excellent price.

I watched Parts 1 & 2 last night. The audio track is fantastic. But the image is all over the place, some very grainy soft scenes all the way to clean, sharp and very detailed scenes. Very inconsistent image quality with this one, but I'm guessing it was filmed this way.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Without a doubt. I really didn't think I would go for this (as I noted earlier).

I am having a bit of buyer's remorse...because $$$ is a little tight right now. But I am taking great comfort in Crawdaddy's reasoning that it's not really a double-dip because of the obvious improvements in video & audio when jumping to a high-definition presentation.

I am really amazed that with the premium price this title had on SD-DVD for sooooo many years, that so many good deals are being had on it's transition to BD.

Definitely a quality work at an uncommon price.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Ah...the vagaries of amazon.

The set goes on sale on amazon on 12-21-08. Ron ordered his set (with free shipping) on or after 12-21. Ron receives his set 12-26-08--five days (or less) later.

I order my set (with free shipping) 12-26-08. It is now 1-5-09--ten days later--and still no set. Sigh.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Its because you get Best Buy coupons now. Amazon hates you!

I am about 10 days into a shipment ( Day the Earth Stood Still, and Serenity, both on Blu) myself, Mike. Its supposed to be here tomorrow. Ironic thing, its shipped from NY, and stopping everywhere between here and there. Usually, i get my stuff a week before the arrival date they give.

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

I'm still not getting Best Buy coupons. Well maybe once in a great while I get a fluke (it must get past their direct-mail gnomes)...but it's pretty rare. Maybe BB and Amazon are sharing some of their information now...


D'oh! I completely forgot I could track my shipment! Hmpf! It arrived in Springfield Mass Saturday morning and is still sitting there! Springfield is only about an hour-and-a-half from my house! Grrrrr. And to make matters worse, Amazon is projecting it won't get here until Wednesday...and there's a big storm coming to boot!

Re: WHV Announcement: Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

Well, after watching the entire set, I decided to rewatch the 1st episode for the PQ issue, and seems that my PQ expectations might've lowered a bit after the first couple episodes, which I originally watched back-to-back. The 1st episode is not quite as bad as I remembered -- though it's definitely hit-and-miss from shot to shot, scene to scene -- but was probably more disappointing due in large part to higher expectations. I still think PQ improved somewhat in most of the later episodes, but the last episode ended up being maybe worse than the 1st one w/ *lots* of "miss" scenes/shots, especially those for the beautiful, picturesque Austrian countrysides unless the filmmakers were actually going for some sort of very soft, lush, (and overexposed) dream-like quality.

No idea if the PQ problem was caused by a DI process for the original source (like some are speculating) or actually the result of DNR -- and some shots look like they might just be poorly focused at the camera w/ the BD res revealing the deficiency (though this is purely a "looks like" to me, not anything I'd wanna run w/ ). Certainly, if it's just DNR, there isn't the usual EE added to "help" offset the softer image. If it's really DNR, then it looks like a pretty bad job of applying arbitrarily heavy doses of low pass filter (or similar) rather than what we normally see w/ other DNR-ed BDs (w/ more sophisticated tricks that yield other kinds of more subtle artifacts). Either way, the spottiness of the PQ seems pretty random aside from the interview shots...

_Man_