Echo Bridge- The problem and the solution... (1 Viewer)

[FanboyZ]

Echo Bridge has been releasing Miramax Blu-Ray's in 16x9 Pan and Scan along with downmixed stereo audio. Bill Hunt and Robert Harris have been silent about this travesty. Echo Bridge along with Mill Creek literally represent the death of physical media as a premium format. With the exception of "From Dusk Till Dawn" every single one of their title's has had either their 5.1 Track downgraded to 2.0 DTS-HD MA. When a film's soundtrack is missing 3 channels of audio it isn't and can never be "Lossless". Here is a List of the movies movies Echo Bridge destroyed : *POKEMON HEROES / POKEMON DESTINY DEOXYS *DUPLEX / MY BOSS'S DAUGHTER *CHILDREN OF THE CORN V: FIELDS OF TERROR / CHILDREN OF THE CORN 666: ISACC'S RETURN *FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 2: TEXAS BLOOD MONEY *TWIN DRAGONS *HELLRAISER: BLOODLINE / HELLRAISER: INFERNO *HELLRAISER IV: BLOODLINE *CHILDREN OF THE CORN III: URBAN HARVEST *THE LOOKOUT *SUPERCOP *TEXAS RANGERS *HALLOWEEN VI: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS *THE CROW 2: CITY OF ANGELS *EQUILIBRIUM *THE YARDS *HALLOWEEN: H2O I am begging DTS to revoke their license for sullying their brand, as well as Miramax's new management to realize that they are essentially committing piracy. Contact Miramax's PR reps: Kristin Celauro, 732-291-5456, [email protected] Owen Blicksilver Public Relations, Inc.

 

[Craig Beam]

On the Echo Bridge warpath again, I see.


Christ, man, settle down. Echo Bridge isn't going to "kill" blu-ray, nor have they "destroyed" any films. Yes, they're releasing inferior product... but piracy? Really? They don't have the rights to release these films?


Don't buy them. Vote with your dollars. Write intelligent, thoughtful letters. But stop screaming as if the world is ending. Do you honestly expect a studio executive to take you seriously?

 

[mattCR]

The above kind of says it. Despite the call of "THEY ARE KILLING BLU-RAY" I can assure you they are not. They are sub-standard releases. But they aren't the end of Bluray. If you don't like them, don't buy them. They are fobbing them at places like Walmart for $5 to $10. In order to make any money, they are doing it at the cheapest way they can. I mean, they are not great releases, in fact, yes, they suck. But Echo Bridge is a business. They want to make money. If you don't like it, don't buy. That's as simple as it gets.

 

[AnthonyP]

Though I think the desire to spread the word about how poorly their releases from the Miramax/Dimension Films partnership have been is necessary and commendable, it is also important to do so in a manner that might inspire greater notice, participation and increase the ever so small odds of Miramax and/or Echo Bridge actually considering them.

Hyperbole of killing Blu-ray and piracy is counterproductive to those ends as it will only elicit immediate dismissal by anyone that might have any connection to these releases of taking them seriously. There are more than enough genuine issues to focus on. Modified aspect ratios. 2.0 audio tracks rather than 5.1 tracks. Masters that are beyond dated, or even 1080i, with the additional issues those come with (EE, DNR, etc.). Cut version of films. Only containing dubbed audio tracks. Erroneous tech specs, typos and images from different films on cover art. Missing extras previously available on DVD releases. Putting two feature length films on a BD-25.


The goal is twofold. To both act as a consumer advocate so that one doesn't unknowingly spend their money on such shoddy releases and to hopefully inspire improved quality for future releases. Chances are that Echo Bridge and Miramax already care so little about their releases and its catalog and brand that the only means, beyond providing constructive feedback to them, is to alert enough interested purchasers of these releases that they are not worth their money. If that percentage of lost purchases and overall negative word of mouth is more than those companies perceived cost to improve their future releases, perhaps they might consider implementing a greater degree of quality control.


Perhaps someone in a position within the company, or a trusted third party, may be able to alter the course of their releases as Echo Bridge now has access to a higher pedigree and profile of titles that should be ripe of monetary exploitation rather than becoming synonymous with a waste of time and money.

 

[ahollis]

I would go as far to say the Echo Bridge is releasing what transfers or materials Miramax is providing. I feel both companies are to blame for the poor transfers and sound. The main purpose behind the investment group for Miramax was to make money off the library, be that most of what they think are the prestigious films going to Lionsgate and the "B" film going to Echo Bridge or mining the library with remakes and sequels. Echo Bridge is cheap DVD/Blu-ray and they are not going to pony up money for new transfers, that just is not their thing. I am sure that while Miramax is making some coin off the deal, they are not going to do a new transfer that would cause them to spend any of the money they receive. They will just supply what they already have. I understand this was one of the points that caused Miramax to pick Echo Bridge and not Shout! Shout! wanted better materials and Miramax did not want to provide them.


The main culprit in all this is Miramax. Echo Bridge is just doing business as usual for them.

 

[FanboyZ]

Echo Bridge is intentionally downgrading them.

 

[dana martin]

Originally Posted by FanboyZ

Echo Bridge is intentionally downgrading them.

and you have an insider with proof of this fact? if you are going to state it that way, substandard releases can be handled by not buying the product, at that point maybe both companies will look at how things really are, readress the situation and do it corectly.

 

[cineMANIAC]

As much as I would have liked for these movies to be released with bells and whistles, for under $10 a pop I think they're more than good enough and plan to pick up a few of them. I don't really need a two-hour making of documentary and four commentary tracks for Children of the Corn 6, anyway.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by FanboyZ

Echo Bridge is intentionally downgrading them.

So you're saying they are provided by Miramax untouched LPCM 6-track audio or they are being provided completed HD audio tracks. Somehow, I find this preposterous. I can fault their releases, but I doubt this is the case.

 

[cafink]

Originally Posted by FanboyZ

Echo Bridge is intentionally downgrading them.

How do you know this?

 

[SD_Brian]

Originally Posted by FanboyZ

Here is a List of the movies movies Echo Bridge destroyed :


*POKEMON HEROES / POKEMON DESTINY DEOXYS

Who knew it was even possible to destroy a Pokemon movie?

 

[Bryan^H]

I know Echo Bridge is crap. Never expected anything more.


Are they going to be releasing Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown(Mirmax)? You see, I think that is a big cause for concern if they are.

 

[TravisR]

I would have bought the two Halloween movies and the first From Dusk Till Dawn but since they're junk, I'm passing. As others have said, I'm voting with my wallet and I'm also not becoming Chicken Little either.

Are they going to be releasing Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown(Mirmax)?

Lion's Gate has the popular Miramax titles (like the Tarantino movies and the Scream movies) and Echo Bridge got the lesser known/lower selling titles.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by FanboyZ

Echo Bridge is intentionally downgrading them.

That's a pretty harsh statement. Why would they intentionally downgrade them? I am certainly not in favor of these releases and will stay far away from them like the plague, for I certainly do not want to encourage them.

 

[FanboyZ]

I know they downgrade them on purpose, because the Halloween films Alliance released all had lossless 5.1 tracks.

 

[FanboyZ]

The Lookout was previously released by Miramax/Disney had lossless 5.1 and extras.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by FanboyZ

I know they downgrade them on purpose, because the Halloween films Alliance released all had lossless 5.1 tracks.

But do you know if Miramax gave them those tracks and that transfer? There are all types of issues involved right up to the part of what elements are offered in the agreement.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by FanboyZ

The Lookout was previously released by Miramax/Disney had lossless 5.1 and extras.

This still depends on what Miramax gave Echo Bridge and what the agreement called for. At a bargain price I would not expect extras to be included but lossless 5.1 should have been a given. This is why I wanted Shout! to get a hold of these titles.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Also, lumping the Mill Creek (licensed from Buena Vista) titles in with these is a stretch. Those have been generally acceptable presentations (Money for Nothing being the only outright problem discs I'm aware of so far).

 

[AnthonyP]

Mill Creek has been a step above Echo Bridge (solely due to what they have been given to encode apparently as their lack of quality control otherwise appears comparable,) but they still suffer from some 1080i transfers, 2.0 lossless audio tracks thus far, the aforementioned modified aspect ratio for 'Money for Nothing'.

The positive differences appear more to do with receiving better masters to encode, and not negatively impacting them further from what reviews I've read, and the lower price points. I'm still not hopeful that their releases will improve much beyond the first batch so expect to see more 2.0 tracks, 1080i transfers and the occasional modified aspect ratio.