The only reason to buy Superbit... (1 Viewer)

[Sutjahjo Ngaserin]

>>>the lost director's cut of Air Force One starring George Harrison as the President of the United States... WOW! Perhaps the differences in superbit aren't so subtle afterall!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

How come only "old" movies come out in SuperBit?

First, I wouldn't consider movies that hit screens between 1992 and 2000 to be OLD. Anyway, I think many of the SB releases are intended to improve upon DVDs from the early days of the format; Fifth Element, Dracula, Air Force One, and Gattaca all hit shelves within the first year and a half of DVD's existence. Newer films like Crouching Tiger and The Patriot make less sense, however...

 

[James D S]

Check out Bjoern's page. For anyone on the fence about the quality of Superbit titles, that should put your fears to rest. Bjoern did an excellant job posting side-by-side comparisons. Some are quite amazing and eye-opening.

(I find it funny that we all really enjoyed The Fifth Element's transfer, claiming it was THE demo disc to own. Columbia did wonders even with that title in its Superbit form!)

 

[JackJD]

I don't want to sound like a pooper... but I think the pictures on Bjoern's page makes the case for Mr. Epstein's comments even stronger and more poignant. These are subtle differences in certain scenes/sections of frame...

That said, I WILL BUY superbit Raiders of the Lost Ark if they release it remastered with George Harrison as Indiana Jones; OR the superbit version of Star Wars or Bladerunner... George Harrison with a Laser (In Liverpool accent, speaking to Ravi Shankar: "Laugh it up, fuzzball"!)...Superbit...PRICELESS!-JD

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Was that to buy?
Or not to buy?

LOL! To buy.
I hate those damn moving menus! Especially ones that show half of a scene each time you change section.

 

[Sutjahjo Ngaserin]

>>>I think the pictures on Bjoern's page makes the case for Mr. Epstein's comments even stronger and more poignant. These are subtle differences in certain scenes/sections of frame...

 

[JackJD]

Jaw,
I couldn't agree with you more, that is the beauty of it!
Speaking of beauty, thank you for being such a good sport about my George Harrison jokes... I couldn't help it... It's still sooooooooo funny to me. The mental images just make me cackle!!! I suppose though that you must be pretty used to this kind of teasing, being that you've been a member of this forum since 1970 !!! Cheers, Jaw -JD

 

[JackJD]

I just read this thread through again from beginning to end. I believe this thread represents all of the best qualities of what this forum was designed to be about... educational, informative, entertaining, funny, exciting, discussion about rather diverse opinions regarding HT subject matter! How wonderful it is when a group can respect each other enough to disagree with each other, tease with each other, and still come away with some really great concepts to digest! WONDERFUL!!!! What do you guys think? Am I being too corny? Or is this really a nice place to be? Thank you everyone... and of course a great deal of thanks to you, Mr. Epstein... Just had to say it -JD

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

Jack,

It's members like yourself that help make the forum what it is. Keep up the good work!

So far, I only have the Desperado Superbit and I know that that one is a definite improvement over the previous release. But, it also used a new master to transfer the film. The improvements are not earth shattering, that is true, but they are improvements all the same. Is it worth giving up extras? That is a decision you have to make. So far, I like what I have seen out of Superbit, but would only buy a SB title if I don't already own it or the current release was really sub-par.

Bruce

 

[Sutjahjo Ngaserin]

>>>thank you for being such a good sport about my George Harrison jokes

 

[Dharmesh C]

Why not put the movie on one disc and the extra
material on a second disc?

Yes, why????

 

[Christian Dolan]

Doesn't the frequent question as to why CTHV doesn't make the Superbit titles 2 disc editions sound a bit like the "Why not make 10 the loudest, instead of going to 11?" joke from "Spinal Tap"?

 

[Ed St. Clair]

The J6P of rock!

 

[Darrel Johansen]

On my set (65" Mits, Sony 7700, Crystal Image), I can clearly see the difference between the first release of Bram Stroker's Dracula and the Superbits version. Since I like this film, I much prefer the improved picture of the Superbits title. If I look at the first scene with Tom Waits (Renfield) as he sits in his prison cell, with the camera shooting down, there is a lot of video noise on the pattern of the prison walls in the original version. With the Superbits DVD, it's very clear. On every scene I compared, the Superbits version was improved. It's entirely possible that on other equipment, the differences are less pronounced.

I would replace older titles with Superbits DVDs if they were movies that I would watch over and over again --especially if the artistry of the film was especially concentrated in the visuals, as is the case of Dracula. Air Force one, however, does not tempt me, since most of the appeal of the picture is the action story line. I'm happy with the original release, and an improvement in the PQ would not mean that much to me (at least not another $24 worth). Dracula, however, is such a visual feast, that I never tire of letting my eyes drool over the images --and so Superbits makes it even better.

 

[Bingo]

I own the Air Force One Superbit and the one thing I really like is that there is NO NOTICEABLE layer change when played on either of my players (Panasonic and Pioneer...can't remember model numbers off the top of my head).

I've heard that other Superbit titles have this feature as well....true?

 

[Anthony Hom]

FYI- 5 superbit titles are released in a package at Costco. However the set doesn't include Gattaca and Dracula.

AF1, FE, CTHD, JN and D.

The price: $79.99 for all 5 movies.

 

[Chris Tinglin]

even my 15 year old daughter is able to tell the difference when I pointed it out.

Hm. I dunno if we need a superbit player to see the subtleties in the last 5 words of that sentence, but therein lies the rub, innit?

DVD is a huge hit b/c there's (at least) an order of magnitue difference between it and what we hadda schlep with previously (ok, that and a killer price-value ratio).

If we need amazing tricked-out high-end equipment to be able to squint out niggling and peripheral background differences in a moving picture (hello?!), man, what the hell is the argument about?

Ron is right. There are always gonna be people for whom there is no such thing as too much minutae. Fine. I used to be that way with audio many moons ago. Personally, i couldn't possibly have enough detail to view Paolo Serpieri's drawings of Druuna (when, o when is science gonna be able to bring that chic to life?!). Moving pictures has to be a different thing.

You have to be able to pick up clear differences easily while there is action.

 

[Sutjahjo Ngaserin]

>>>amazing tricked-out high-end equipment

 

[Chris Tinglin]

Well, alright, mebbe i went a little goofy with the hi-end equipment bit. But i think you still miss my larger point in that the cheapest, rinky-dink DVD player will easily present a movie eye-poppingly better than a hi-end vhs player.
You could see the same person every day for years and not notice an odd wrinkle on the side of his neck until he pointed it out to you. Now you see it every time. I can appreciate that. If you like the person, it could be just one more endearing trait.
Still, there's something fishy to me when

"...you need careful comparison for first time watchers."

Get it if you wanna (and if they all start coming out in superbit+extras combos, you won't hear any complaints from me), but just don't intimate to the rest of us schleps that we're a buncha magoos missing out on whole new vistas of visual candy. :rolleyes
I agree with the general sentiment that if you're a freak for a particular film, ok, run out and get the superbit version. Otherwise, the money could be better spent (send cheques to chris tinglin, p.o. box... )

 

[David Meek]

Okay, here's one scene that I use for video comparison. In Fifth Element when Leeloo (sic?) jumps off the building and you are looking down. Look at the detail in the background especially focusing on the traffic. The detail level is superb in the Superbit.

Now on the audio side, it's not a contest - the DTS is flat awesome.

As always, just my 2 cents.