- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 66,786
- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
The Digital Bits:
Insider's Guide To DVD
Introduction
Anyone that has spent time here on Home Theater
Forum and other forums like it know the value of
the information these sites provide. Practically
anyone with little or no Home Theater experience can
arrive here, post a few messages and ultimately walk
away from this forum well educated.
What if someone took all the essential
information that every person should know about
DVD and Home Theater and put it into book form?
Well, this is exactly what Bill Hunt and Todd Doogan
have accomplished with their newly authored book,
The Digital Bits: Insider's Guide To DVD.
I'll talk about this book in a moment, but first
I want to talk a little about Bill Hunt, Todd Doogan
and THE DIGITAL BITS website.
When Home Theater Forum set up shop in 1997 the
Internet was still something most people knew
little about. While we were settling into our
new digs and enjoying the smell of the Internet's
fresh paint, we came in contact with Bill Hunt,
who had recently launched The Digital Bits
website which was at the time covering the launch
of the DVD format. After a few friendly conversations
on the phone, Bill Hunt took HOME THEATER FORUM
under his wing and made us his official
discussion forum. This joining of forces sparked
a close friendship amongst us and potential for
growth that would never have happened without each
other's support.
Thanks to the efforts of Bill Hunt and Todd Doogan,
The Digital Bits has been the Internet's
premiere venue for the latest DVD news, views and
reviews. Run by DVD fans themselves, The Digital
Bits has consistently been a reliable source
for those seeking the latest "insider" DVD news and
latest DVD release reviews. I personally visit the
website on a daily basis just to catch up on The
Rumor Mill, which teasingly gives us a hint at
titles that are in the pipeline for release.
I consider Bill Hunt to be a good friend. Both
he and I seem to cross paths every time I am out
in Los Angeles. Two years ago when I had the
opportunity to visit Skywalker Ranch, I knew I
wanted Bill Hunt to come along. Spending the day
with Bill, I found him to be extremely knowledgeable
about film, Home Theater, and the DVD industry.
He's also a very friendly, down-to-earth individual.
I don't think I have had the pleasure of meeting
Todd Doogan, though I have been an avid reader of
Doogan's Views, which often takes a humorous
look at what is happening within the industry,
while providing some of the best DVD reviews the
Internet has to offer.
Insider's Guide To DVD
I first became aware of this book that Bill Hunt
and Todd Doogan were writing over a year ago. While
spending some time out in Los Angeles, Bill talked
about his efforts to put together an essential guide
for DVD newbies and established enthusiasts. Both
Bill and Todd have been feverishly working on
this book over the past two years while at the
same time maintaining The Digital Bits website.
Nobody ever said writing a book would be easy!
Their efforts seems to have paid off. Just starting
to arrive on bookstore shelves, The Digital Bits:
Insider's Guide To DVD is the very first
publication of its kind to explore the DVD format
from history to future. You'll not only learn how
DVD discs are manufactured and compressed, but learn
about about the authoring process in creating some
of the great menu designs we have come to appreciate
over the years.
One of the greatest benefits of this book for
DVD "newbies" is the fact that it clearly explains
aspect ratios. Through the use of many comparison
film stills, a reader can not only see how a
1.85:1 ratio compares to 2.35:1, but how Full Frame
greatly compromises the widescreen scale. If there
is one thing I hope this book accomplishes is to
educate people as to why widescreen is so important
in preserving the filmmaker's intended vision.
For anyone just getting into Home Theater, this
book provides valuable information on how best to
begin building a theater based on a particular budget.
The authors are very careful in making certain that
readers wisely spend their budget, finding the right
compromise between features and price. Those of you
on a limited budget can actually do better than buying
a "home theater in a box," and you'll find some
invaluable advice on how you can better spend your money.
The book manages to answer just about every question
I have ever seen posted on HOME THEATER FORUM,
including...
* What does anamorphic mean?
* What is the difference between Dolby Digital and DTS?
* What is THX?
Page by page, this book carefully decrypts all
those numerous logos that adorn the back of a
DVD box. You'll decipher the differences
between DTS and DTS-ES as well as
learn what those strange DVD sound icons really
mean.
At this point, many of you reading this review
who are established DVD enthusiasts may be wondering
what's in this book for ME? While the book does
spend a good deal of its first 84 pages on material
already familiar to most of you, Bill and Todd have
included eye-opening material that will keep readers
glued to their seats.
This book contains comprehensive reviews of the
Top 100 DVDs of all time. I particularly
find these reviews to be valuable as there are so
many great films crossing all genres that I have
yet to become aware of. The book examines the
very BEST of both Film and TV on DVD, with reviews
that contain background history on its subject
matter as well as giving us detailed information
on its transfer and included supplements.
With all this book has to offer, I saved the best
for last....
As many of you are aware, Fox Home Video is
about to release The Alien Quadrilogy to
DVD. The Digital Bits had the opportunity
to go behind-the-scenes in the production of
this amazing 9-disc DVD that contains never-before-
seen versions of these films as well as all-new
supplemental materials.
The book introduces you to Charles de Lauzirika,
one of the hottest working DVD producers. His credits
include Hannibal, Legend, Gladiator and a slew
of Fox DVD releases. Members of HOME THEATER FORUM
should already be familiar with Charlie -- he is an
active member of this forum, often graciously taking
personal time to reply to numerous posts.
The Digital Bits sits down with Charlie
in an extensive interview that takes us through
the entire creation process of the Alien
Quadrilogy, a project that had not quite-too-
seriously been tossed around by Fox over the
past few years.
It was originally Charlie's passion to do something
special with David Fincher's Alien 3, but
never dreamed that Fox would offer him the massive
job of putting together a 9-disc Special Edition
that covered all 4 films.
Through interviews and photos, you'll be taken
to the film archives at Fox Studios where Charlie
searches through boxes of film reels and original
production artwork. You'll be carefully taken
through the day when Harry Dean Stanton,
Veronica Cartwright and Tom Skerritt
met at P.O.P. Sound in Santa Monica to record
the DVD commentary. From the moment these actors
walked into the building till they all bid their
final goodbye, I felt as if I had just been
placed in the middle of the action bearing witness
to every intricate detail of what happened during
the commentary sessions. This is a rare opportunity
for most everyone that has never witnessed how
one of these commentary sessions come together.
In addition, we take a look at the people and
processes in putting together the Special Edition
content for Alien Quadrilogy. As would
be expected, there's a lot of digging into archives,
trying to connect with the talent and creators
involved with the film, and the challenge of
meeting the alloted timeframe and budget of the
studio. Anyone who has ever questioned why a
Special Edition DVD doesn't contain a certain
deleted scene or element that fans have wanted,
will now understand the politics involved in
obtaining this material in the first place.
The book clearly talks about Charlie's efforts
to persuade director David Fincher to participate
in the Alien Quadrilogy project -- especially
since it was a film that the director was not
very proud of. Charlie never had the opportunity
to meet Mr. Fincher in person nor get him personally
involved, but there's an amazing story about a
"close encounter" with the director at a local
Mexican restaurant.
I found the entire Alien Quadrilogy piece
to be a fascinating read. It gave me the opportunity
to appreciate the work that goes into these massive
DVD projects, and understand the reason why we
can't always have everything we want included in
these Special Editions.
Final Thoughts
At just over 400 pages, The Digital Bits:
Insider's Guide To DVD is a very easy read.
You can pretty much flip through the pages and
find something that will catch your eye. Newbies
to the DVD/Home Theater experience will spend
more time scouring through the first 84 pages of
the book. These pages provide a thorough look
at everything anyone needs to know about DVD and
building a Home Theater. Established enthusiasts
will fully enjoy the in-depth look at the creation
of this year's anticipated release of Twentieth
Century Fox's nine-disc Alien Quadrilogy.
The fact that this book contains comprehensive
reviews of the Top 100 DVDs of all time
is reason enough to keep a copy next to your
favorite sitting chair. It certainly takes the
guesswork out of "What are we watching tonight?!"
The book lists at $17.95, about the cost of a
single DVD. AMAZON is offering the book for a
discounted price of $12.57.
Click Here for Purchase Information
This book not only makes a GREAT Christmas stocking
stuffer for any DVD enthusiast, but more importantly,
your purchase helps support the survival of The
Digital Bits website. Many of you should already
be aware that websites like ours cost more to run
than the advertising revenue we take in. Purchasing
this book makes a "win win" situation for both you
and The Bits.
This review isn't just support for a great bunch
of guys that we have gotten to know over the years --
but support for a book that is well worth its
purchase price.
