-
blogs
adam howitt
barry
bump
clemudelt
cyanbane
dave
get your free cone
hakeber
halfass
lost shaman
messages from the ether
mingaling
mostly muppet
scrivenings
stuff we found in our yard
sumo
-
me @
dvd spot
flickr
good reads
last.fm
super deluxe
whiskerino 2007
whiskerino 2009
-
links & such
atlanta blogs
walk jog run
-
info
-
search me
completely incomplete.
You’ve Failed Me For The Last Time
Wednesday May 17, 2006
05:40:14 pm - Nerdish, Watching - Comments (6)
As the world already knows, there is going to be yet another Star Wars release. The big selling point this time around is that we will get the theatrical versions on officially licensed DVDs. Like any good SW fanboy, I was pretty excited when I first read this a few weeks ago. Then I read that the films were going to be presented in Dolby 2.0 Surround and I was less excited. My limited knowledge of the Dolby technology suggests this is a stereo track with a matrixed surround effect. Yeah, I think I had Dolby Pro-Logic on my VHS copies from the 80s.
Now The Bits is reporting that the discs are going to be non-anamorphic. If you don’t yet own a widescreen TV, like me, this isn’t really a huge problem. But, someday you will and it will be. As I understand it, if you watch a non-anamorphic DVD on your widescreen TV you’ll not only have black bars across the top and bottom, but also gray bars along the left and right. You can zoom the image to get rid of this, but you sacrifice quality. To learn more about anamorphic widescreen, checkout The Ultimate Guide to Anamorphic Widescreen DVD.
Sadly, a lot of people are going to be in for an unpleasant surprise when they watch these discs on their state of the art home theater systems. Have no fear, though, I’m sure the solution to this exists in the 30th Anniversary Edition that is likely to drop next year.
Long story short, I won’t be purchasing these discs. Yes, I was as shocked to type that as you were to read it. I suppose the original movies that I fell in love with as a kid will have to live on in my memory only.
Comments
-
Yeah, good luck with the HD thing. I suppose at some point I’ll make the big purchase. Probably awhile off still, though.
-
The problem is, duane, the TV does make everything look better. You just never realized how shitty the incoming quality was before.
HD rocks for sports, but for other programming, it’s noticeably better but no shock and awe.
-
Lucas does not love you, only his particular vision of his films (and maybe your money).
Someone, somewhere joked that these DVDs ought to come with a rubber mallet you can use to bludgeon yourself into a stupor or vegetative state so you’ll feel the same kind of awe and wonder you had as a child while you watch the movies.
I’m not buying it either, though I may purchase a set of “Han shot first” bookends: http://store.yahoo.com/usacomicbooks/stwamoseicab.html
-
Oh, I know it’s all about the Benjamins when it comes to Lucas and the Holy Trilogy. It’s been that way for a long time now.
Those bookends are pretty sweet, btw.
-
Dark Master of Pants
Tuesday, May 23, 2006 05:00:17 pm
The reason that HD is not better for programing is that the Directors of Photography for most programming are still trying to make it look as if it were actually film. The reasons are simple:
1) They are usually shot on film first, then transfered into HD, or the other way around.
2) Makeup and SFX (which includes everything apart from base makeup) looks like shit through a HD lens, and the tech for makeup hasn’t caught up yet.
3) Most DPs are still playing with the technology. There are something like 32 different “standards” for HD, which just adds to the problem.
duane
Thursday, May 18, 2006 08:55:09 am
I can’t even believe I just read that. Wow. But I get what you are saying… the new TV interestingly enough makes all of our shows look like shit. You would think buying a more expensive and bigger TV would make everything look better, and it did the opposite. I am hoping that when the HD kicks in, it will greatly improve… can’t wait for Saturday!