***Official 'Iron Monkey' Discussion Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[Martin Fontaine]

I just bought Iron Monkey and checked it out a little (I'll watch it tomorrow) and noticed something horrifying. The audio bitrate for the English Dubbed track is 448kbps while the Original Chinese track is only 384!

WHY? Why is the quality of the original track lower than the dubbed one? (I'm one of the very few people who can actually tell the difference between 384kbps and 448kbps)

This is very scary if we think about the upcoming Amelie DVD... What will it be... English DTS 5.1 (754kbps), English AC3 5.1 (448kbps), French AC3 5.1 (384kbps) or worst French 2.0 (192kbps) ?!?!?!?

 

[BillM]

Martin,
_______________
(I'm one of the very few people who can actually tell the difference between 384kbps and 448kbps)
________________
Yes you are!

WM

 

[Adam Barratt]

Why? Who knows. Bitrate shenanigans happen sometimes (see the R1 Planet of the Apes). Maybe an accident?
I wouldn't exactly classify this sort of thing as 'horrifying', though.
Adam

 

[Josh_Hill]

Yeah, my disc sounded absolutely fantastic. Great Surround effects and the sub was taking the hits. The interview with Quentin was great.

 

[MaxY]

WHY? Why is the quality of the original track lower than the dubbed one?

Ok To really understand this you need to look at the languages involved here.
When compared with each other Chinise is a character based language where just a few symbols mean so much and english is a letter based language where we have to write lots and lots of letters to say what the chinese can say with just a few sysmbols.
Because of that English actually needs a higher bitrate to fit the same soundtrack on the DVD while the chinese language can sound just as good in a lower bit rate.
:p)
Max

 

[Neil Joseph]

I have now made this the official discussion thread for the new Iron Monkey release. Please confine all discussions about the disk to this thread.

That said, can someone post a comparison of this new version to the older version. I have heard that the score has been changed, as well as subtitle differences. Can anyone verify this please?

 

[Martin Fontaine]

Wow, I start a thread and it gets renamed "Official Thread"! Whoa!

Yes you are!

But not the only one, the last few webchats with Warner had at least one person (Not me) asking why they use 384kbps instead of 448. And when Ron put the 2001 Studio Ranking, he put Warner last and one of his reasons (Ok, maybe not the most important one but still) that they were using 384kbps. So I'm not the only one who cares about Bitrate!

 

[Adam Barratt]

The AC3 Track is at 384 while the DTS is at 754?

Yes. This was the first time Fox hadn't used 448kbps but only 384kbps that I'm aware of. Exactly why I'm not sure; it really wouldn't have saved much space on the disc.

Adam

 

[Matthew Brown]

Here is a link detailing the changes.
http://www.hkfilm.net/disney/cuts/ironmonkey.html
Matt

 

[Neil Joseph]

Anyone know where to find any comparative reviews yet?

 

[Richard Kim]

I have not seen the newer version yet, but I have the original region 0 DVD. Unfortunately, it's useless to me because I have a 16:9 TV and the subtitles are below the image on the bottom letterbox matte! :frowning:

 

[Denny_S]

Matthew, the link worked for me ....thanks.

Richard, I too have a 16x9 tv and the region 0 MegaStar version, but when I zoom in (using the player) the subtitles work just fine.

 

[ThomasC]

I just got the Chungking Express DVD, which had a trailer for Iron Monkey. I definitely won't be getting the Miramax version. I don't want to get the PAL version if I don't have to, and extras don't really matter to me. Does the HK version contain the movie as it was originally shown and heard?

 

[Matthew Brown]

Thomas -

The HK version is complete the way it was intended. It may be difficult to find the Mega Star version which is all region and out of print. There is currently a Region 3 Deltamac version.

Matt

 

[ThomasC]

Thanks! I've ordered the Deltamac version from DDDHouse.