re-releases same transfers? (1 Viewer)

[David Grove]

I was ordering some DVDs today, and I observed that two titles in which I had interest, "The Guns of Navarone" and "The Caine Mutiny", were listed by DVDSoon as re-releases, coming out early next year.

This raised the question for me-- how does one go about determining whether a re-release of a title is the same or new transfer as an older release of the same title?

DG

 

[Jack Shappa]

Wait for it to come out, then read a review or look at sites like this one where people will be talking about it.

- Jack

 

[Marko Berg]

Many etailers will also list titles that will get a price drop as re-releases. I am not familiar with DVD Soon's practices, but Amazon does this. The titles you mentioned could be released as new editions in January, or they could be the current releases, to be available in January for a discounted price.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Discs that are discontinued for a time then made available again often get new SKUs, as do discs that are part of a "group" price cut. The databases that many on-line retailers use flag these as "new releases" because the data records do not match what is already on file for the title. For similar reasons retailers often send out "cancelled" notices on discs that have merely had release dates postponed.

Finally even a genuine new release might have the same transfer as the original disc. If a film getting re-issued as a special editon with lots of bonus features had a good quality transfer on its original bare bones release there's no reason to spend money on a new transfer that will add nothing.

Not much you can do on these two but wait until the studio published more detailed information (which should be picked up by retailers) or until the reviews or user comments come out.

Regards,

Joe

 

[David Grove]

I'm rather a noob at actually assembling a DVD collection. I'm particularly interested in older titles. Most of the DVD "action" is in newer titles, many older titles are not really of interest to current audiences and reviewers.

So, how do experienced collectors research older titles?

Permit me to submit an example, or two. Perhaps, some more experienced folks could suggest how I might go about researching transfers.

1) Irving Berlin's "This is the Army" (1943). I have discovered that there are at least three releases: Platinum (released 10/01/2000), Delta (released9/03/2002), and Pro-Active (released 10/16/2003). The title is also included in a 2-pack and a 3-pack, but since those bundles are also from Delta, I would presume that they are the same as the Delta single release. I learned about the 3 releases from http://dvdlist.kazart.com/DVDList2.php . Now, how do I figure out whether these are the same or different transfers? One possibillity would be to buy them all, and evaluate them myself, but, is there another way?

2) Royal Wedding (Fred Astaire)(1951). Also from http://dvdlist.kazart.com/DVDList2.php , I see that there are over a dozen releases, from 10 distinct studios. Now, I've learned from doing searches here at HTF that Royal Wedding is a PD title. But, I'm still left with wondering how many distinct transfers might exist within these 10 studios. With all these releases, it's not as practical to try to buy every one.

How does one find out about the existence and quality of transfers for older, unreviewed releases?

Thanks for any tips from the "pros"

Regards,

DG