IGN reveiews the patriot superbit version (1 Viewer)

[todd stone]

They gave the audio 10/10 this time around saying it to be fantastic. I will pick this one up for sure.
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[Gavin_L]

hum, interesting, I have the orginal version, don't know if i want to buy this new version yet. I guess the only real sell is the video and audio for the dvd....

also reading the review they seem to have left out the commentary track on this version and also the extra's are the same as the old one.

 

[Dave H]

I went ahead and ordered the Superbit version. I always liked this movie (more of the historical aspect than anything else) and will be curious to see the improvements - no matter how little because this was a great quality disc to begin with. I have read a few other online reviews which said the difference, albeit small, is noticable. Having a 61" TV I'm sure it will be obvious for me.

My old version is now up on Ebay.

 

[Bjoern Roy]

I just got the 2 new SB Delux titles, Hollow Man and Patriot.

Gavin, the cover does indeed not indicate a commentary track.

Dave, the improvement in PQ on Patriot is just as big as on the other SB titles. So if you appreciated the higher detail on, say 5thE, you will not be disappointed with it.

I will have a short review of both up on my website soon. With screenshot comparisons as usual.

 

[Jeremy Conrad]

The original DD mix on the original Patriot disc was incredible. The SB adds DTS. Even better
Only thing missing from the set is the commentary that the original disc had.

 

[Dave H]

Dave, the improvement in PQ on Patriot is just as big as on the other SB titles. So if you appreciated the higher detail on, say 5thE, you will not be disappointed with it.

Great to hear. I always look forward to your reviews, Bjoern.

 

[Troy LaMont]

Bjoern,

Dave, the improvement in PQ on Patriot is just as big as on the other SB titles. So if you appreciated the higher detail on, say 5thE, you will not be disappointed with it.

I'm glad you pointed this out. I don't have the SB version yet, but I came across the review that Dan gave at DVDFILE.com and I personally saw a big difference between the two screen captures. Where as the review said it was indistiguishable. How can he not see the difference in overall detail and clarity even with his own screen captures? The letters themselves are sharper and more visible than the original version based on his captures. I did a test, I called over one of my female co-workers who doesn't even own a DVD player and asked her to tell me which picture was sharper, clearer and more detailed, she chose the SB version. It boggles the mind.
I'll be picking this one up.
Troy

 

[Bjoern Roy]

Troy,
there is an explanation for this...
When Dan originally posted his review, the same question popped up in this thread on the AVS. I think he also had a different comparison picture up, one where i also wasn't clearly able to see a difference. If my new SB titles wouldn't have been shipped alraedy at that time, i might have even canceled Patriot. Hollow Man seemed fine, as his review reveals.
As i received the 2 discs, i popped in Patriot SB and non-SB and found the usual detail difference right away. Being puzzled by Dan's review, i contacted him and posted in the thread mentioned above.
He originally took about 5 shots and compared them (one of which he posted) and there were no or only subtle differenecs. It seems like he took pictures of scenes that don't have much fine detail anyway (there are some soft focus shots in the movie), so the difference was subtle.
I mailed some comparison shots i took where the difference was very noticable and he confirmed that he might have been unlucky in choosing scenes for comparison.
The pic that is now up shows the difference quite nicely, and i have some more which are even better. He probably hasn't changed his review text yet.
Overall, he found the difference to be a little less pronounced than on the other SB titles, which i might have to disagree with. I think the difference is as expected.
See, all is well.
Bjoern

 

[Dan Ramer]

Troy,

Allow me to paraphase some of my comments from another forum...

"Big" is a subjective term. Please note that I did not say that there weren’t improvements in the Superbit release of The Patriot. I even said that I prefer it. I simply commented that this is the first Superbit release for which, “I cannot detect a worthwhile improvement.” In other words, I found that the video improvements within Superbit releases such as Air Force One, The Fifth Element, and Hollow Man to be more dramatic, less subtle. And those owners of the original Patriot release might find that the investment is not worthwhile.

Bjoern mentioned that I may have made inopportune selections of screencaps to compare the original and the Superbit releases of The Patriot. With the exception of the printed text that appears in my review and which did not show as much of an improvement as I found on other Superbit DVDs, all the rest of my screencaps were of Mel Gibson’s face in close-up. I captured five from each disc, and there were such small differences, I doubted that anyone would see them. My intent was to make a comparison similar to the one I made when I reviewed Air Force One and demonstrated a clear improvement in the detail in Gary Oldman’s close-up. I find that the complex textures of the human face are a convenient and easily perceived means of comparison. It didn’t occur to me that The Patriot’s cinematographer might have slightly softened Gibson’s close-ups; I would have thought that such practices might be common for more insecure performers. If he had, it’s possible that my comments were affected by screencaps that could not demonstrate the kind of improvements I previously found. I guess I should limit my screencaps to images that contain narrow, vertical-striped patterns as Bjoern did and as I did in my Hollow Man review. An improved contrast ratio in such patterns is a direct reflection of a disc’s wider video frequency response.

Regular DVDfile readers know that I wrote a defense of Superbit in counterpoint to our editor’s commentary that questioned its validity. So I’m clearly an advocate. I simply did not find this particular Superbit DVD to be as compelling as others when compared to the original release.

Dan

 

[JaleelK]

They gave the audio 10/10 this time around saying it to be fantastic. I will pick this one up for sure.

The Patriot(superbit) is one awesome disc, just superior picture and sound quality. I think Sony has set a new standard trnasfer with this disc, the great thing about it, its a two disc set.

 

[Jeremy Conrad]

The biggest improvement in the SB Patriot's transfer is that the original disc had some problems in darker scenes, which as been fixed in the SB edition.

 

[Troy LaMont]

So I’m clearly an advocate...

Dan,
I am very well aware of that point. Thanks for your very informative and detailed reviews of the SB titles (and taking a stance on the validity of the SB titles, when everyone else thinks it's marketing BS).
The only point I was trying to make in my post without having the movie was the visible differences in the screen caps.
Now that Bjoern and yourself have cleared that up, I'll get back to enjoying the DVDs themselves.
Troy

 

[Charles M]

I haven't seen the original DVD, but from these positive remarks I might have to give this one try.

 

[Jonathan_]

I should be picking this one up tomorrow. I'll chime in with my two cents tomorrow.