What's new

Episode II DVD: 11/26 - and more... (1 Viewer)

David Lambert

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2001
Messages
11,377
I find it interesting to note that - this far in advance - they are already planning on six-month-or-less windows between theatrical releases and home video releases.
Take Lilo And Stitch, which Disney is releasing to cinemas on 6/21 and DVD/VHS on 12/10.
Better example: Spy Kids 2, which is 8/7 on the big screen and 12/17 on the small screen. Net time: 4 months, 10 days! Are they expecting it to flop? :eek:
Stuart Little 2 has an almost-as-short window: 7/19 to 12/3. Other good examples include MIB2, Spirit, Scooby-Doo, and - yep - Star Wars Episode 2.
I guess I already know the answers to this: 1) Windows used to be about a year, but grew shorter as home video revenue and profits overtook theatrical run revenue and profits, 2) Six months has been typical for a while, so a few 4-month exceptions shouldn't be a surprise, especially since 3) They want to get the hot ones - especially hot for the kids - out in time for Christmas (certainly everything on that list I just gave qualifies as kid-oriented in some fashion).
Still, it's just amazing to me how the industry has changed from the first Star Wars movie release to the fifth. Now it is all "rush it into theaters, get as much money as you can in the first couple of weekends, hope it has legs to break into the top 25 all-time list during the next 2-3 weekends, then get it out onto home video so we can make the REAL money". It's like the theater run is just a big commercial leading up to selling the home video, somewhat akin to using MTV to sell CD's back in the 80's.
Huh.
 

Trace Downing

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 19, 1999
Messages
510
Location
Tampa Bay
Real Name
Trace Downing
All that and Left Behind 2! who could NOT want that one?:laugh:
Also did anyone notice that they won't be getting in the 4 disc/5 disc w/bookend editions of LOTR in the fall?
 

Chris S

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2000
Messages
2,546
Real Name
Chris S
O' my pocket hurts already....:frowning: It's interesting to see release dates on a lot of these titles even though they might be tentative. I too was amazed at the short turn around from theatrical to DVD. Hopefully this short time span won't impact the extras or the quality of the discs.
I also thought that Black Hawk Down was suppose to have an SE title by the end of the year. Is this no longer accurate or is W*lm*rt still afraid of a quality disc (aka one with the OAR).
 

Tony Scello

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 8, 1999
Messages
318
Excuse me but...Where is PANIC ROOM?!?!:angry:
Hopefully, this just didn't make the list, for whatever reason, as far as releases for the rest of this year.
 

LeeL

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 3, 2002
Messages
119
Holy crap, there's a Land Before Time 9 coming out? I remember the first one from when I was young, didn't know there had been sooooo many sequels
Yup, and let's not forget the CGI sequel called "Dinosaur."
Oops. Not a sequel? Disney just remade it? Well, color me embarrassed.
Well, going by this list, it looks like a welfare Christmas for this kids this year, there are just too many DVDs coming out to get them anything decent ;)...maybe I can convince them that Lilo & Stitch, Monsters Inc, and Episode II are for THEM, not me...
 

Tom Boucher

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 1, 1999
Messages
281
Location
Wake Forest
Real Name
Tom
Actually for me I'm more excited about Back to the Future than Star Wars Ep2.

I saw it twice over the weekend and I was kind of let down a bit.
 

Dean DeMass

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
1,826
What is that "Rage Against the Machine" CD on 9/24? Is that the new Cornell/Rage project, or something else?
 

Kami

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 2, 2001
Messages
1,490
Maybe Walmart isn't carrying the 4 and 5 disc editions of LOTR because they won't be available in pan & scan?
Kind of odd...then again, how many J6P will buy that 5 disc set? They are all probably waiting for "Undercover Brother" Fullscreen Edition :laugh:
 

Dave Moritz

Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2001
Messages
9,300
Location
California
Real Name
Dave Moritz
Hello fellow HTF members,

Kwang Suh - Episode I has the best best DD track of any DVD, hands down. Sorry, you can't argue that point.

Scott_MacD - FWIW and IMO, the Dolby Digital track on The Phantom Menace (DVD, or LD - they're both the same accounting for overall loudness and minor LFE volume adjustments) is amongst the top 10 soundtracks in Home Theater *ever*. And the only times I've heard a DTS track which is overwhelmingly superior to a Dolby track is when the disc producers use a different and better master for encoding in DTS. (Saving Private Ryan, The Haunting..)

I realize this has been a hot debate for a while and there has been many disagreements in this area. Dolby Digital transfers aprox 448 kbps with a higher compression rate than DTS. DTS tipically transfers in the area of at least 754 kbps and sometime more (as high as 1509 kbps) with less compression. The data on kbps is straight from Dolby! Dolby Digital can verry from 192 to 448 kbps depending on the number of audio channels and the application. Tipically Dolby Digital is a 16 bit 48kHz recording and in reality is barely CD quality. DTS has response to 24 kHz at 1.5 Mbit/s and response to 19 kHz at 754 kbit/s. Dolby Digital is only rated to 20 kHz. DTS can offer up to 24 bit / 192 kHz playback. DTS has better seperation, dynamics and a warmer sound than Dolby Digital. Most people I talk to seem to agree that DTS is the supioror product. Does this mean that other still will not enjoy Dolby Digital, no. Some people love the sound of Dolby Digital and that is there right. I just thought I would make my arument on that others will be making for other future formats in the future.

I also will be happy when Back to the Future trilogy is released. It has been a long painful wait one that we all will enjoy once released.
 

greg_t

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Messages
1,654
I know this has been beat to death, and I don't want to start a battle or anything, but all I know is that my Episode I LD in pro logic sounds better than the dvd in DD 5.1. If you listen to the ep. I dvd in 5.1, then switch to the 2.0 dolby surround track and listen through pro logic, you won't hear much difference. The dvd does have great use of bass and surrounds, but the dialog and music is just too low. The LD does not have this problem.

Try listening to a movie like "fight club", and go to the "plane crash" scene, now switch back and forth between pro logic and DD5.1 and you WILL hear a difference. Not sure what the deal was the the EP. I DVD.
 

Dave Moritz

Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2001
Messages
9,300
Location
California
Real Name
Dave Moritz
Also another point I almost forgot but covers the comercial theater aspect of this debate. Last summer I got a tour of a local Edwards cinima from a really cool manager. One of the things he brought up while showing me the Dolby Digital decoder as he flipped the face plate down. Was the fact that Dolby Digital seems to have a higher error rate when reading the digital bit steam from the film. Than DTS which reads straight from a CD and is sycronized to the film. He told me that he has seen error rates 2 to 3 times higher than average and in his honest opinion it can affect sound quality. He also pointed out a faw with SDDS beyond the higher compression than DTS and the fact that it defaults to mono audio if the SDDS fails. Is that the more the film is played and stretches the audio track becomes unsycronized do to the fact it is encoded on the film just like Dolby Digital. It is difficult to say if we would have been better of with Dolby Digital or SDDS competing against DTS that is another topic for another time :)
 

Chris Bardon

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2000
Messages
2,059
I'm just hoping that ALL of the Star Wars films will eventually be available on DVD in Widescreen only. You know that Lucas has the power to do it, and I can't think of a higher profile release to do this on. Perhaps Ep2 is a title that merits a "why widescreen" explanaion?
 

Eric Sevigny

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 25, 2000
Messages
157
Dave:
You can't really say DTS has less compression then DD since both use different scheme/algorithms. DTS could very well have the less effective one and thus provide worse results then what DD can do at a lower bitrate.
You also have to consider that DTS for the cineplex is very different then DTS for the home - so dragging that argument for comparison is pointless, unless you want to argue the merits of DD and DTS in the theaters of course... But I didn't think that was the point.
I am of the mind that 448kps DD is superior to half-bitrate DTS, but full-bitrate DTS beats both.
So I say split the film in 2 if you have too but put in a full-bitrate DTS track! I am tired of only getting those on import R2 special editions anime disks :)
Sadly, I think R1 has dropped full-rate DTS for good...
 

Bob Partovi

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 14, 2001
Messages
137
I think some of you guys are nuts. I had a Pro-Logic receiver with a 5.1 speaker setup for years and just got a DD/DTS receiver last week. The 5.1 DD soundtrack as compared to the pro-logic output is much Superior. I have yet to test out DTS vs. DD though.
 

David Judah

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 11, 1999
Messages
1,479
I can't wait to pop the Episode II DVD into my player and see the Star Wars logo come up on the screen. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. I hope that release schedule is accurate.

Dave,

Comparing DTS & DD through straight bit rate is not very telling because Coherent Acoustics front loads everything in the encoder so the decoder can be very simple, unlike DD, and that requires more bits.

Even after that though, DTS is capable of reproducing more of the original signal, but whether that makes a noticeable difference in the real world, of course, is open to debate(and beleive me it has been oft-debated in the three years I have been a member here).

DJ
 

Kwang Suh

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 4, 1999
Messages
849
realize this has been a hot debate for a while and there has been many disagreements in this area. Dolby Digital transfers aprox 448 kbps with a higher compression rate than DTS. DTS tipically transfers in the area of at least 754 kbps and sometime more (as high as 1509 kbps) with less compression. The data on kbps is straight from Dolby! Dolby Digital can verry from 192 to 448 kbps depending on the number of audio channels and the application. Tipically Dolby Digital is a 16 bit 48kHz recording and in reality is barely CD quality. DTS has response to 24 kHz at 1.5 Mbit/s and response to 19 kHz at 754 kbit/s. Dolby Digital is only rated to 20 kHz. DTS can offer up to 24 bit / 192 kHz playback. DTS has better seperation, dynamics and a warmer sound than Dolby Digital. Most people I talk to seem to agree that DTS is the supioror product. Does this mean that other still will not enjoy Dolby Digital, no. Some people love the sound of Dolby Digital and that is there right. I just thought I would make my arument on that others will be making for other future formats in the future.
Dude, I'm kidding. You can think whatever you want about whatever sound formats, soundtracks, whatever. There's no law against having a different opinion than me. Well, at least not yet - I'm still working on my mind obedience machine. :)
 

Dave Moritz

Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2001
Messages
9,300
Location
California
Real Name
Dave Moritz
Kwang

Hopefully I will finish my machine before you finish yours, rofl.

Well Eric I guess we can only agree to disagree on this subject. I can only say that IMHO DD is far insupperior to DTS and until they fix it will remain that way. I have been a fan of Dolby Labs for many many years until Dolby Digital came out. They have been it the business for along time and have made alot of products. DTS does not make any alterations like DD does to the master film. DD has on ocation done this in little was because of limited bit rate transfer. DD does not have a superior compresion sceem. And there are plenty of acticles that have talked about this issue. Like I said if you are part of the few who like Dolby Digital, great be happy. But for the rest of us who would like the option to hear a movie at home in DTS. I saw let us choose, you can listen to DD and we can listen to DTS.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,808
Messages
5,123,525
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top