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A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

post #1 of 30
12/27/08 at 12:33pm
Thread Starter 
$5.

The difference in cost between Band of Brothers, all six discs and 705 minutes of it, on Amazon on standard definition vs. Blu-ray.

If not remarkable, and I find it so, at least quality marketing in moving out software on one front, while tempting folks to make the move to Blu-ray on the other.

If anyone out there is unfamiliar with the work, Band of Brothers was telecast on HBO in September of 2001, arriving in November of 2002 on standard def video, and six years later on Blu-ray.

It remains one of the consummate series ever created for broadcast.

How does the Blu-ray look?

Correct. And generally gorgeous.

All of the muted color, occasional grain and superbly crafted imagery that we saw back in 2001 is still there. Only sharper, cleaner looking and overall, better defined, and far advanced from its heavily compressed broadcast. It is possible that a bit of grain or noise reduction may have been applied, but not overall, and not in any damaging amount.

Once every decade or so there is a single defining production that sets the standard for all that are to follow. Band of Brothers is one of the productions.

The price -- inclusive of additional documentaries, commentary and a new interactive "field guide."

An amazing $37!

Very Highly Recommended from all perspectives.

RAH
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Band of Brothers [Blu-ray]
$40.58 at
See it »
The Pacific (HBO Miniseries) [Blu-ray]
$52.98 at
See it »
post #2 of 30
12/27/08 at 5:24pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Some members were complaining about the first couple of episodes being DNR'd or other quality problems, but I thought the entire series looked great on my setup.





Crawdaddy
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post #3 of 30
12/27/08 at 7:43pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

I've only watched the first four episodes so far, but it's been great to revisit this wonderful miniseries again, this time in high definition. I think the first few episodes look terrific on my setup.
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post #4 of 30
12/27/08 at 9:22pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Harris
It remains one of the consummate series ever created for broadcast.

How does the Blu-ray look?

Correct. And gorgeous.

All of the muted color, occasional grain and superbly crafted imagery that we saw back in 2001 is still there. Only sharper, cleaner looking and overall, better defined, and far advanced from its heavily compressed broadcast.

Once every decade or so there is a single defining production that sets the standard for all that are to follow. Band of Brothers is one of the productions.

And those are all the reasons I decided to re-buy this title on BD. Well, that and the amazing price @ amazon (and also Best Buy) this past week. I'd alert anyone who hasn't taken advantage of the amazon price to do so VERY SOON. I expect it won't last long.

After all the years that the SD version carried it's premium price tag, it is even more surprising that such low prices on the HD version have been rolled out...so early.
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post #5 of 30
12/28/08 at 6:50am

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

And I thought I'd gotten it at a bargain price of 54$ a few weeks ago (considering its MSRP, I think I got a decent price). I've yet to have the chance to sit down and watch any of it (I want to clear some space on my "viewing calendar" and catch at least half of it at one sitting) but I'm glad it meets with the "RAH seal of approval".
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post #6 of 30
12/28/08 at 7:20am
Thread Starter 

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

There does seem to be a bit of grain or noise reduction in certain shots, while there is "free range" grain in thinner areas of the negatives. This all may be a part of the image as originally presented, but viewing from a high definition source makes it a bit more obvious.

Bottom line is that within the parameters of the overall look of the imagery, it did not present any problem for me, even when projected relatively large.

Keep in mind that these productions were meant to be viewed on televisions.
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post #7 of 30
12/28/08 at 8:24am

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Watched it all in four days. We were very satisfied with the quality of the picture and the series (missed it on HBO).
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post #8 of 30
12/28/08 at 9:21am

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Some people on AVS have the Japanese HD-DVD release which they say showed much more grain and detail than the current Blu release. I'm waiting for my blu copy to arrive.
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post #9 of 30
12/28/08 at 12:14pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wayne_j
Some people on AVS have the Japanese HD-DVD release which they say showed much more grain and detail than the current Blu release. I'm waiting for my blu copy to arrive.

Is it possible that the Japanese release came from a film source, and the new blu-ray came from the original digital files? I know that film prints were struck for the premiere at Normandy. If that is the case the DNR maybe a part of the original image manipulation done for the project, and not visible until now because of the thin layer of new grain added by recording out to film. The "added detail" in the Japanese release maybe an illusion.

Doug
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post #10 of 30
12/28/08 at 12:39pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

This is the thread in question showing the comparison shots between the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The HD DVD shots are clearly more detailed, although whether this was the original intent of the filmmakers, I don't know; perhaps the BD more accurately represents the original look. But to my eyes, it looks like for the BD they just took the same master as the HD DVD, and applied DNR to it, minimizing grain and erasing detail.

I haven't watched either firsthand, so I don't have an opinion beyond these screencaps. I ordered the BD at that price, however.
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post #11 of 30
12/28/08 at 1:19pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kriztoffer Swank
This is the thread in question showing the comparison shots between the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The HD DVD shots are clearly more detailed, although whether this was the original intent of the filmmakers, I don't know; perhaps the BD more accurately represents the original look. But to my eyes, it looks like for the BD they just took the same master as the HD DVD, and applied DNR to it, minimizing grain and erasing detail.

I haven't watched either firsthand, so I don't have an opinion beyond these screencaps. I ordered the BD at that price, however.

Links between Home Theater Forum and AVS don't work.

Doug

Edit: Okay I was able to find the page on AVS. While I'm seeing more grain in the HD DVD, I'm not seeing inherently more detail. Look at the text on the cover of the magazine he is holding in the first image. Look at the buttons on his shirt.

Also the HD DVD has just slightly increased contrast, again lending to the illusion of detail that isn't really there.

The difference could also be the way the capture software processes HD DVD vs. Blu-ray. They may not match exactly.
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post #12 of 30
12/28/08 at 1:56pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

There is slightly more detail in the Japanese HD-DVD, but not substantially so. Enough to give HBO a mild slap on the wrist for applying unnecessary DNR to "remaster" the image for Blu, but not enough to bypass this awesome set.
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post #13 of 30
12/28/08 at 4:21pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Quote:
$5.

The difference in cost between Band of Brothers, all six discs and 705 minutes of it, on Amazon on standard definition vs. Blu-ray.

[...]

The price -- inclusive of additional documentaries, commentary and a new interactive "field guide."

An amazing $37!
I just checked Amazon, and it was even better than I expected. I thought you were saying that it was only an extra $5 for the Blu-Ray, but in fact it is the Blu-Ray that is the cheaper option - the DVD version was $42.

I think I'll pick that up. I've never seen it, although I've always meant to.
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post #14 of 30
12/28/08 at 5:59pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Matthew: You won't be disappointed. It is a terrific piece.

But do it fast. The SD version was $32 on amazon (and Best Buy) this week.
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post #15 of 30
12/29/08 at 8:59am

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Amazon shows it new for $37.49, but I can't actually find it for that price. It comes up as $54.99 in my cart. Am I missing some thing?
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post #16 of 30
12/29/08 at 10:10am

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Looks like the sale's over. I'm glad I bought it yesterday.
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post #17 of 30
12/31/08 at 7:58am

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by Felix Martinez
There is slightly more detail in the Japanese HD-DVD, but not substantially so. Enough to give HBO a mild slap on the wrist for applying unnecessary DNR to "remaster" the image for Blu, but not enough to bypass this awesome set.

My feelings exactly. I'd rather they didn't tweak the image compared to that HD-DVD release but it wasn't enough to keep me from buying it for the 38 bucks.
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post #18 of 30
12/31/08 at 2:04pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

I had no plans to get it despite it being one of my favorite shows on DVD. I'd rather spend that money elsewhere. But I just couldn't pass up $38 at Best Buy last week. Especially since my wife was going to pick up the DVD set for someone as a Christmas gift. I told her to get them another gift and get me the Blu-ray. Then at some future point I'll just give the guy my DVD set.
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post #19 of 30
12/31/08 at 2:11pm

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Mark: We are of like minds on this one. My son is going to be getting a late Christmas present!
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post #20 of 30
1/20/09 at 8:17am

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Today's Goldbox at Amazon, $34.99!
EDIT: HTF Amazon store: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/astore.php
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post #21 of 30
1/27/09 at 7:16am

Re: A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray

Damn - this is a great TV series and damn- it looked good on Blu-ray. I´m glad I waited for this one (I have the old DVD set, tough - Blu-ray was my third time when I saw the series).

Damian Lewis was just PERFECT in his role, and so were Ron Livingston, Neal McDonough and Donnie Wahlberg.. and Frank John Hughes, Matthew Settle... Damn!
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post #22 of 30
10/16/09 at 4:36pm
Has anyone else noted audio sync issues with any of the episodes in this set? I picked it up last week and watched the first two episodes yesterday, but am watching episode 3 (Carentan) now and am seeing some pretty obvious audio sync problems. I ran a quick Google search and have seen it reported a few other places, but no major sites.

I'm using a Sony PS3 as my player; audio is being fed through HDMI to an Onkyo receiver which doesn't have DTS-MA capability and is decoding only the DTS core. (Possible cause?) The player has the latest firmware revision.

I didn't see any problems in the first two eps and just wondered if anyone else has reported this problem. I can't imagine it's widespread or there'd be a lot more info online, plus news about a disc recall/replacement program, none of which I've found.

Just curious!

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post #23 of 30
10/17/09 at 9:48pm
I didn't notice anything off when I watched the set over the summer. Any moments in particular?
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post #24 of 30
10/18/09 at 5:59am
I did not have any audio sync issues with this title on my setup -- a Sony BDP-S350 player attached to a Pioneer Elite 94TXH receiver via HDMI, listening to the hi-res audio track.
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post #25 of 30
10/18/09 at 11:19am
I had no plans to get it despite it being one of my favorite shows on DVD. I'd rather spend that money elsewhere. But I just couldn't pass up $38 at Best Buy last week

its actually money REALLY well spent - I was a huge fan on the series on DVD, had not seen it for a long while and got to about Episode 4 on DVD and noticed a killer deal a big on-line retailer was doing for the Blu set and pulled the trigger

soon got the Blu-Ray box set and was blown away with the incredible increase in detail and depth in picture quality compared to many "movies" I have traded in on DVD for Blu-Rays, and the special features (specifically picture in picture of the veterans talking about experiences whilst the feature runs in the background)

I'm strongly recommending any friends with Blu-Ray players or PS3 get this boxset!
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post #26 of 30
10/19/09 at 5:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray H View Post

I didn't notice anything off when I watched the set over the summer. Any moments in particular?

Pretty much all of Episode 3 was off. The sound would appear up to half a second before the onscreen action. I'd never seen a sync issue before on any of the discs I'd played, and episodes 1 and 2 were fine. Episode 4 was also fine. Haven't gotten to the others yet.

I suppose I could live with it if it's just the one. If "Bastogne" and "The Breaking Point" have similar issues, though, I shall be very put out.

cheers,
Phil

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post #27 of 30
10/19/09 at 7:46pm
I didn't notice any sync issues either..using the 5.1 analog outs of a Panasonic BD-10.
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post #28 of 30
10/20/09 at 11:24am

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Carter View Post

Has anyone else noted audio sync issues with any of the episodes in this set? I picked it up last week and watched the first two episodes yesterday, but am watching episode 3 (Carentan) now and am seeing some pretty obvious audio sync problems. I ran a quick Google search and have seen it reported a few other places, but no major sites.

I'm using a Sony PS3 as my player; audio is being fed through HDMI to an Onkyo receiver which doesn't have DTS-MA capability and is decoding only the DTS core. (Possible cause?) The player has the latest firmware revision.

I didn't see any problems in the first two eps and just wondered if anyone else has reported this problem. I can't imagine it's widespread or there'd be a lot more info online, plus news about a disc recall/replacement program, none of which I've found.

Just curious!


I don't remember having any noticeable audio sync problem either when I watched my set soon after it was released.

I have a PS3 and let it decode the DTS-HD/MA into MPCM (ie. multi-channel PCM) to be passed to my Yammy 663 via HDMI.  Can't remember what software version I was using at the time, but it was probably either the first version that included DTS-HD/MA decoding or maybe the next version after that -- I don't like to "fix what ain't broke", so I don't regularly update the software.

Can't your Onkyo handle MPCM via HDMI?  If it can, you're probably better off letting the PS3 decode to that instead -- the PS3 doesn't bitstream DTS-HD/MA (nor Dolby TrueHD) anyway.

_Man_
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post #29 of 30
10/27/09 at 4:11pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong View Post

Can't your Onkyo handle MPCM via HDMI?  If it can, you're probably better off letting the PS3 decode to that instead -- the PS3 doesn't bitstream DTS-HD/MA (nor Dolby TrueHD) anyway.

Regrettably, it does not -- the PS3 is outputting via optical audio cable and outputting only Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1. The receiver doesn't even have HDMI inputs.

(I upgraded piecemeal last year -- first a new high-def TV, followed quickly by the PS3 for Blu-ray support. Haven't yet made the jump to high-def audio because A) I don't have a great set of speakers and B) my hearing is not all that great -- tinnitus issues after too many years of rock concerts. I'm not sure I could tell the difference between DTS and DTS-MA).  :)

Glad to hear it's not the set. I figured there'd be a lot more complaints if the set were at fault. Maybe this is the excuse I need to get some nice floorstanding speakers and a new receiver that supports the new audio standards. :)

Thanks!

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post #30 of 30
12/8/09 at 3:35pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Carter View Post


Pretty much all of Episode 3 was off. The sound would appear up to half a second before the onscreen action. I'd never seen a sync issue before on any of the discs I'd played, and episodes 1 and 2 were fine. Episode 4 was also fine. Haven't gotten to the others yet.

I suppose I could live with it if it's just the one. If "Bastogne" and "The Breaking Point" have similar issues, though, I shall be very put out.

cheers,
Phil
 
Phil, I joined this Home Theater Forum just now to say that I also have issues with episode 3.  It is really annoying.  I must have not noticed it the first time, but when I wanted to play it for a friend a second time, I couldn't stop thinking about what was causing this issue.  The first two times, I had played this episode on a Samsung LN-T3732H 720p LCD, with a 5.1 analog connection between a Sony receiver and Sony BDP-S550.  I've just tried to play episode 3 again our family's new setup (Sony KDL-46W5100, Sony BDP-S560, Yamaha RX-V663), and the lip-sync problem is still there.  Since you also have a Sony player, it might be a Sony firmware issue, or the disc.  

Our family does have another Blu-ray player, a Samsung BD-P1590.  I'll try it out on this player, and let you know what happens soon.

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Band of Brothers [Blu-ray]
$40.58 at
See it »
The Pacific (HBO Miniseries) [Blu-ray]
$52.98 at
See it »
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming Video and Digital Downloads › Blu-ray › A Few Words About By Robert Harris › A few words about...™ Band of Brothers -- in Blu-ray