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...™ Back to the Future -- in Blu-ray
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

A few words about...™ Back to the Future -- in Blu-ray

post #1 of 182
10/26/10 at 2:45pm
Thread Starter 

While I find it disturbing to read about people spending their hard-earned dollars on replacement packaging for the garbage that Universal is using for Back to the Future, it is what's inside that matters -- once you get past the packaging.

 

I've sampled all three discs, and have come away generally pleased.  In no way is this reference quality.  Images appear to be softened and then sharpened, and any desire to have the look of film is nowhere to be found.

 

However...

 

Step back and consider this set for entertainment value, which is absolutely there -- the films feel as if you're visiting with old friends -- and you realize that from a proper seating distance, ie. not a foot away from the screen seeking problems, that the release is far better than alright.  From a normal distance it looks very, very good.

 

Colors are beautiful.  Blacks, shadow detail, and the entire look of the films is wonderful.

 

What it comes down to with BttF, is whether one is viewing the software as a scientific experiment, or as good, old-fashioned pulp entertainment, albeit very, very expensive pulp entertainment.  These are not message films.

 

These are wonderfully entertaining films, which work their magic as well today as they did in when released.

 

Viewed as very high level entertainment, and not art, these films come off well in their new Blu-ray form.  There is certainly a digital look, with occasionally lines seen around objects, but the end result, for what it is, is far more than acceptable, and from the proper distance, beautiful.

 

Audio is thrilling, and fully rendered in uncompressed form.

 

Are these films perfect?  No.  

 

Are they far more than acceptable, with no major flaws?

 

Absolutely.

 

Still deplore the packaging, as I do that used by Warner for their special edition Harry Potters and Clint Eastwoods, only this is annoying to use.

 

That said, I can still...

 

Recommend the set, albeit extremely expensive for what it is.  If I had to choose between BttF and Fox's Alien Anthology at twice the price, my money would go to Fox, with the incredible work performed by Charles De Lauzirika.  The Alien Anthology is a class act.

 

RAH

 

*******************

 

Before viewing, I already hate this set, based only upon the horrific packaging.  People are going to be breaking discs, discs are going to attract dirt and dust, and it just feels...  cheap in every way imaginable.

 

You pick up the package, and the cardboard and plastic thing holding the discs falls out.

 

And the price on this is $80?

 

Who thinks these things up?  The only rational reason behind it would be if the brother-in-law of an NBC exec owned the packaging company.

 

This is the absolute worst that I've seen since Baraka's original paper pack.

 

RAH

Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy [Blu-ray]
post #2 of 182
10/26/10 at 2:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Harris View Post

I'll try to look at the discs later, if I can release them from captivity without damaging them.

 

RAH


This doesn't bode well. I was holding off anyway, but it's clear that Uni has yet to learn from the mistakes of Battlestar Galactica, etc.
 

Reply
post #3 of 182
10/26/10 at 2:52pm

I just got the BTTF set and I really wished the packaging was like the very impressive Aliens packaging.

 

AND DAMN IT! I just broke the packaging trying to get out BTTF 1

 

I want a suitable replacement packaging.

Reply
post #4 of 182
10/26/10 at 3:08pm

Why do these studios insist on re-inventing the wheel?  


But more importantly, are the studio's marketing executives & producers not reading online forums like HTF?  

 

If they are not, they are completely out-of-touch with the so-called "empowering of consumers" via forums & social media that other marketing experts have been aware of for the last decade. 

 

By simply keeping a pulse on this, and other respected forums, these Universal executives would have enough sense to know that their potential consumer advocates dislike packaging like this.  By ignoring the collector market, their efforts fail both in terms of functionality and in terms of public relations. 

Reply
post #5 of 182
10/26/10 at 3:11pm

Robert Harris was completely spot on. Very well said!

 

I've since imported the standard UK Blu release which has standard digipak packaging with regular push buttons.

Reply
post #6 of 182
10/26/10 at 3:19pm

This thread should be renamed a few words about back  to the future packaging.   Makes me glad I purchased the UK tin blu ray. Im looking forward to reading Mr. Harris"s thoughts. If he doesnt break the discs.

Reply
post #7 of 182
10/26/10 at 3:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Deeb View Post

Why do these studios insist on re-inventing the wheel?  


But more importantly, are the studio's marketing executives & producers not reading online forums like HTF?  

 

If they are not, they are completely out-of-touch with the so-called "empowering of consumers" via forums & social media that other marketing experts have been aware of for the last decade. 

 

By simply keeping a pulse on this, and other respected forums, these Universal executives would have enough sense to know that their potential consumer advocates dislike packaging like this.  By ignoring the collector market, their efforts fail both in terms of functionality and in terms of public relations. 


 

I completely agree with what your saying but with all the senseless nitpicking that you see on forums, I can't blame studios for having long given up on getting feedback from message boards.

Reply
post #8 of 182
10/26/10 at 3:43pm

Wow - I thought it was just a standard digipak!

 

Any photos anywhere of this unloved package?

Reply
post #9 of 182
10/26/10 at 4:33pm

Okay, I took a moment and opened my set to see how bad this is.


I studied it for a few minutes and it seems very simple. Once you understand how it works. At first I was a little confused too. The center spindle hole doesn't have anything there to push on like we're used to. There are springs molded at the bottom pressing the discs into the tangs that hold it in.

 

Once you do it, you see how it works:

 

1. Pull back

Pull back disc1.jpg

 

2. Lift up

Lift1.jpg

 

3. Lift out

pull out.jpg


Edited by Nelson Au - 10/26/10 at 7:56pm
Reply
post #10 of 182
10/26/10 at 4:43pm

Wow you know you have some bad packaging when you need a diagram to show you how to get discs out! LOL

Reply
post #11 of 182
10/26/10 at 5:05pm

I was trying to be helpful. I hope it didn't come off as anything negative.

Reply
post #12 of 182
10/26/10 at 5:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson Au View Post

I was trying to be helpful. I hope it didn't come off as anything negative.


No, no, absolutely not. I thank you for explaining it. Perhaps Universal should include your diagram with all sets.
 

Reply
post #13 of 182
10/26/10 at 5:25pm

You're welcome! 

Reply
post #14 of 182
10/26/10 at 5:46pm

Your diagram is very well made! (The arrow design are really cool!)

 

Still waiting my set from Amazon.ca, but I'll look forward to your "How to not break your set" pictures. Thank you in advance!

Reply
post #15 of 182
10/26/10 at 6:28pm

I'd just like to say to all those guys who used to complain about Warner's old figure 8 digipaks. You were idiots.

Reply
post #16 of 182
10/26/10 at 6:46pm

Look how much nicer the regular British version is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au5c-kOsCsw

 

Standard packaging, much better art on discs.

 

No digital copies, but that's a non-issue for me.

Reply
post #17 of 182
10/26/10 at 6:49pm

I got the set early today and it took me a few minutes to figure out this packaging is terrible, then a few more minutes to see that I need to pull the disc down and out to get it out.

I STILL COULDN'T GET IT OUT.

awful package for this set.

Reply
post #18 of 182
10/26/10 at 7:13pm

Just call me dumb and dumber!  Who knows how much damage I did to the disc on the bottom by continuously pushing on it through the hole in the top disc, trying to get it out.  I am looking forward to viewing this release, even though the packaging is not so great.


Edited by Jeff Brooks - 10/27/10 at 5:04am
Reply
post #19 of 182
10/26/10 at 7:32pm

Re: digital copy discs: Why not put these in an envelope on the back of the box and use slimpaks in the outer cardboard slipcover? It's not like anyone hangs onto digital copy discs once installed.

Reply
post #20 of 182
10/26/10 at 7:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson Au View Post

I was trying to be helpful. I hope it didn't come off as anything negative.



Not at all.  I thought it was great (and funny)!

Reply
post #21 of 182
10/26/10 at 8:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen_J_H View Post

Re: digital copy discs: Why not put these in an envelope on the back of the box and use slimpaks in the outer cardboard slipcover? It's not like anyone hangs onto digital copy discs once installed.

Better yet why not get rid of the disc all together and just offer it as a free digital download from iTunes which would not need any discs at all. Then people who find digital copies useless would not have to worry about the digital copy disc and would allow more room in the packaging for the discs that actually matter. 

Reply
post #22 of 182
10/26/10 at 9:18pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeBond View Post

Better yet why not get rid of the disc all together and just offer it as a free digital download from iTunes which would not need any discs at all. Then people who find digital copies useless would not have to worry about the digital copy disc and would allow more room in the packaging for the discs that actually matter. 


A 1-to-2GB download at home can still take quite some time for most folks -- not everyone's on fast FIOS or cable modem service -- and that would also require substantially greater resources to service from the internet host (vs merely doing code authentication/authorization).

 

Still, I guess doing actual download (vs having these DC discs) would probably be better for the environment, if nothing else, though one might need to leave the computer on for several hours to download a DC (over low cost A-DSL service for instance).

 

_Man_

Reply
post #23 of 182
10/27/10 at 1:58am

I am really curious why so much focus is given to the packaging.

 

Is the movie itself not important anymore ?

Reply
post #24 of 182
10/27/10 at 2:55am

Come on RAH, I'm anxious to see what your take on BTTF is. Far too many visible edge-halos for my liking.

Reply
post #25 of 182
10/27/10 at 5:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by oscar_merkx View Post


I am really curious why so much focus is given to the packaging.



 



Is the movie itself not important anymore ?






Oscar you know better than that. Of we care about the movies. When packaging is like this there will always be discussion about that too.
Reply
post #26 of 182
10/27/10 at 6:23am

Oh man, just caught up with this.  In my entire collection, I think Universal's efforts account for some of the worst packaging, in spite of how "nice" a package looks at first glance.  I will for sure be ordering the UK release ... providing the reviews of the discs themselves justify it! 

Reply
post #27 of 182
10/27/10 at 6:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by oscar_merkx View Post

I am really curious why so much focus is given to the packaging.

 

Is the movie itself not important anymore ?


The packaging on this is such that you feel like you could easily crack the disc in half as you're taking it out, so it's a definite concern if you're someone that wants to watch these movies repeatedly.
 

Reply
post #28 of 182
10/27/10 at 7:10am

I received mine yesterday. The packaging does indeed suck something fierce.

 

What's even more sad is that Universal screwed the pooch on the transfer. Why does Universal love edge enhancement so much? Throw some DNR into the mix and you have a recipe for disaster. The picture has a very artificial look to it, which seems to be Universal's standard operating procedure for catalog titles.

Reply
post #29 of 182
10/27/10 at 9:41am

This is the same packaging that Universal uses for all of their TV on DVD sets.

Reply
post #30 of 182
10/27/10 at 1:08pm

I took a real bath on this one. I bought the US release for 50 bucks, but once I opened it I realized I wanted nothing to do with it. The packaging is beyond garbage (even worse than feared) and it and the discs are highly unlikely to hold up over repeated usage. Something will get scratched or broken -- in fact, one of the discs got nicked a bit the first time I took out. The cheap silk screening job makes the disc highly susceptible to finger prints and smudge marks, which just makes it look like junk. I can usually deal with that, but not in a 50 dollar set with other problems on top of it. I had absolutely no desire to deal with such a shoddy product, but as it was open, all I could do is exchange it. That solved nothing -- same product, same problems. So the set went out with the trash and the basic British version, which has standard packaging and regular artwork on the discs, is en route to me now. Adds up to a 110 investment to get this on Blu.

 

I usually don't care about packaging, but this really got my blood boiling.

 

Another unboxing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti8rxhs2g7c


Edited by rdf8585 - 10/27/10 at 1:30pm
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy [Blu-ray]
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...™ Back to the Future -- in Blu-ray