Final Countdown - Final Word (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

there will be NO REFUNDS other than product replacement if it is actually defective

Then I hope PFE is ready to take on the consumer complaints and lawsuits for false advertising and failing to deliver a product as promised. If you have the DVD and the case says "scene selection" as a feature, and the disc does not feature "scene selection," then it seems a pretty cut-and-dried false representation of the product, IMHO.

I'm glad I didn't order and I feel sorry for those of you who did.

 

[Jim Bivins]

OH MY GOD!!!
I have been checking postings releated to this release for some time now. This is a movie i really wanted on DVD, though I avoided ordering early on because something in me said wait...I really feel for those of you who ordered this and have been putting put up with this sham for the last 6 months, what a bunch of amature hacks...and now they defend themselves...It's like saying "I suck, and am proud of it!".
Well, it's my understanding (according to a friend who is a lawyer, and wanted this DVD badly), that California is BIG on prosecuting consumer fraud...so all of you Cali members, cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!

 

[Jeff_HR]

I'm sorry that I thought this woman was actually on the ball! I sentence myself to 10 lashes with the DVD if it ever arrives!

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Maybe we can get her to fax us more incriminating evidence
Without having a look at the disc, here is my theory based on the reports I've read
They just took the PAL DVD, ripped it and encoded and authored the disc using some crappy consumer package for NTSC on an IMac or something. That's why the running time is still 98min. Anyone with a Laserdisc of VHS tape want to do a pitch/timing comparison?

 

[Todd Phillips]

I was hoping that PFE was more than they appeared, but it looks like they aren't. If you haven't browsed their website, it's good for a laugh (or at least a puzzled look).
Is it just me or do they seem like an imaginary company? They list like twenty TV shows that I have never heard of, plus they all have titles that sound like they'd be on public access cable: MY MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT, POSITIVE THOUGHTS FOR THE SOUL, etc. PLUS they list airtimes for the shows, but don't provide any local channels where they can be seen. It looks to me like a big smokescreen to sucker in investors and clients.
Also look at the bio page for one of their former VPs (who was responsible for their big show "Rise and Shine"): Hagen Smith. Especially the bottom part.

 

[Frank Anderson]

Well I just finished watching it. It's still a great movie. But my impression of this DVD is someone bought one of those $1000.00 DVD recorders, plugged in a widescreen VHS tape and recorded that. Of course recorded a bunch of copies. Then scanned the Hollywood DVD cover, made some changes, bought a bunch of keepcases and there you go... The Final Countdown legally reproduced for R1. Since there is no insert no additional work was necessary. For what it's worth it also has no UPC code.

 

[Jonathan.e]

Let’s face it - this PFE release is a bootleg to all intents and purposes. The reason the cover is a bit smaller is they’ve (unsuccessfully) tried to get rid of the screen clash which happens when you scan something into a computer that’s already been printed. The two dot screens "clash" against each other and form the moire pattern you can easily see on the PFE release. Reducing the size slightly can sometimes help in minimizing this effect, but PFE couldn’t even do this right.

 

[SvenS]

Geez you think they would be smart enough to use a scanner with de-screening abilites to avoid the screening look (moire)! Everyone needs to call there Credit card companies and dispute this crap!

 

[Eric Fisher]

wow.. moire and everything. thats horrible.

I could make a better one on my pc. lol

they dropped ball.. about 30 stories

This movie deserves so much better. its a classic and I'm sure it needs a top notch company that can "restore" the original film well.

 

[Frank Anderson]

I do not know what moire is but those diamond looking shapes most notable in the sky of the front cover were probably done when I scanned it.

 

[David Lambert]

That diamond-checkerboard pattern *is* the moire they're referring to, Frank. Are you saying it is or is not present on the actual physical insert?

 

[Christopher D]

The comparison is hysterical -- I already have the R4, but since the R2 is less than 5 pounds I think I will pick it up as well so I can have an "official" US release, too!

 

[Matthew Todd]

I got my 3 copies yesterday and popped one in this morning to take a quick look.
First off, the moire pattern seen above is not actually present on my covers. It's a result of the scanning I guess.
I watched the first few minutes on 2 different players. The first was on a Toshiba 6109c integrated DVD player/receiver connected to a 27" TV through s-video. It doesn't look good even on that small screen. There are a lot of jagged lines in at least those early scenes, and it is non-anamorphic. The sound comes up as 5.1. At least it looks like they got that part right:frowning:
Next I took it and played the same few minutes through my Onkyo player projecting onto a 72" wide screen. First off, on this player it pixilates and the audio drops out. I've never had that happen with any disc before, but I think it is a player thing because it worked fine on the Toshiba. Now about the picture quality when it wasn't pixilating . . . Holy crap! That looks bad! It is, I'm sure the worst transfer of all the 120 DVDs in my collection. Even if it were anamorphic, or non-anamorphic with some care taken in the transfer (think Titanic) it could have looked so much better.
Here's hoping that somewhere down the line someone else (Anchor Bay anyone?) can get a hold of this and do a respectable job!
Matt

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Worse than Highlander? (original Artisan version)

 

[Matthew Todd]

Hey Jeff. I can't speak to that as that's not part of my collection and I've never seen it, but let's just say it's really bad!
Matt

 

[Frank Anderson]

Yes David my scanner did that. At least when they scanned and edited it they used a better scanner.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Does anyone have a contact at Hollywood DVD? I'm curious as to whether the package art has been licensed by PFE or just ripped off.

This is the problem with technology becoming easily available to everyone...

 

[Douglas R]

Does anyone have a contact at Hollywood DVD? I'm curious as to whether the package art has been licensed by PFE or just ripped off.

These are the only details I have of Hollywood DVD. They don't seem to have a website:

HOLLYWOOD DVD LTD

Company Number:01700872

Registered Address:
5TH FLOOR, 71 KINGSWAY, LONDON WC2B 6ST UNITED KINGDOM

 

[Jeff_HR]

I received my copy today, about 2 months earlier than I anticipated. I did a quick check & IMHO the transfer is terrible. I could do a better job & nursing is my profession! The sound registered on my receiver as 5.1, but sounded terrible. The cover art is acceptable. Since this is the only version of this film that I have available at the moment, I'll keep it. I'm going to look into getting a LD version even though that will not be a letterboxed version. Does anyone out there in HTF land own a LD version of this film? If so, is it worth trying to acquire? What a MAJOR F**KUP!!!

 

[David Lambert]

Has anyone verified that the sound really is 6 distinct channels which comes out of 5 speakers and a sub? Or is it just "registering" as 5.1 on the receivers?

Is it TRUE 5.1 or not?