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Warner Outlines 'Batman Anthology' Blu-ray Specs[teaser]Warner has unleashed the full details of its 'Batman' anthology Blu-ray box set, which arrives this May with five discs and multiple hours of bonus features. [/teaser] As previously reported, Warner announced a March 10 street date for 'Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology,' the five-disc set contains all four of the Batman films made from 1989-1997, including 'Batman,' 'Batman Returns,' 'Batman Forever' and 'Batman & Robin.' The studio has now confirmed final specs, which will see each film receive its own BD-50 dual-layer presentation, with 1080p/VC-1 video and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio. Extras are extensive and match the previous DVD release of the 'Anthology.' Consistent among each film is an audio commentary with its respective director, documentary galleries, character profiles, and theatrical trailers. Also spread across all four films in the set is the multi-part "Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight" documentary. Also included on 'Batman' is the featurette "On the set with Bob Kane," a cut storyboard sequence, and three music videos from Prince. 'Batman Returns' boasts an additional featurette ("The Bat, The Cat and the Penguin"), and a Siouxie and the Banshees music video. 'Batman Forever' features additional cut footage (presented as an extra) and a music video. Finally, 'Batman & Robin' also includes additional footage as an extra, and four music videos. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $129.95. You'll find the latest specs for 'Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under March 10.Posted Tue Feb 24, 2009 at 12:00 PM PST by: -
'Roxanne' Coming to Blu-ray[teaser]Sony Pictures has announced its latest catalog release for Blu-ray, marking an early-April date for the romantic comedy 'Roxanne.'[/teaser] A loose retelling of the classic tale Cyrano de Bergerac, the Steve Martin-Daryl Hannah charmer will make its Blu-ray debut on April 7. Tech Specs will see a BD-25 single-layer disc with 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio. Despite 'Roxanne' being one of the sleeper hits of 1987, Sony isn't planning any supplements for the Blu-ray release. As with all Sony titles, the disc will also come with BD-Live connectivity, though no exclusive content has been announced. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $28.95. You'll find the latest specs for 'Roxanne' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under April 7.Posted Tue Feb 24, 2009 at 10:00 AM PST by: -
Sony Sets April Blu Date, Specs for 'Not Easily Broken'[teaser]Sony Pictures has confirmed an early-April Blu-ray release for the romantic drama 'Not Easily Broken.'[/teaser] Starring Morris Chestnut and recent Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson, 'Not Easily Broken' will hit Blu-ray on April 7 (day-and-date with the standard DVD), following a fairly brief theatrical run earlier this year. Final tech specs are now in, with the film enjoying a BD-50 dual-layer disc with 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio. Extras include a trio of featurettes ("Driving with Julie," "Dropping off the Sawyers," "Making Not Easily Broken) and deleted scenes. As with all Sony titles, the disc will also come with BD-Live connectivity, though no exclusive content has been announced. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $38.95. You'll find the latest specs for 'Not Easily Broken' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under April 7.Posted Tue Feb 24, 2009 at 08:00 AM PST by: -
Pixar/Disney Set May Date for 'A Bug's Life'[teaser]The latest Pixar smash to get a special edition Blu-ray release, the studio has confirmed a mid-May date for 'A Bug's Life.'[/teaser] Featuring the voices of Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, and Kevin Spacey, the $100 million-plus grossing family favorite will receive its first-ever high-def release on May 19. It's debut is timed to coincide with the just-announced 'Monsters, Inc.', with both titles arriving only days before the theatrical release of the latest Pixar big-screen adventure, 'Up.' Presented on a BD-50 dual-layer disc, tech specs will see a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround track. Bonus features will mirror those found on the previous special edition DVD version, including a filmmaker commentary, multiple featurettes, an art gallery, abandoned sequences, outtakes, a short film, and theatrical trailers. New to the Blu-ray is a "Filmmakers' Roundtable" discussion, an original story treatment, and BD-Live connectivity. Also included on a third standard DVD disc is a Digital Copy of the film (in standard-def) compatible with PCs, PSP, and iTunes. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $30.99. You'll find the latest specs for 'A Bug's Life' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under May 19.Posted Tue Feb 24, 2009 at 06:00 AM PST by: -
Two-Disc 'Monsters, Inc.' Coming to Blu-ray this May[teaser]Disney and Pixar have set a Blu-ray date for 'Monsters, Inc.', which will make its high-def debut this May with multiple exclusives and bonus features.[/teaser] Originally announced at CES for Blu release, but with no exact date or specs, Pixar (via Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) has confirmed a May 19 next-gen release for the animated blockbusters. A two-disc set, the feature film will receive a BD-50 dual-layer presentation with 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround track. Bonus features spread across both discs will see all of the same extras found on the previous special edition DVD version, including a filmmaker commentary, two short films, outtakes, and a behind-the-scenes "Human's World" tour of Pixar. New to the Blu-ray is a "Filmmakers' Roundtable" discussion, "Go Seek: Building Monstropolis in Tokyo" featurette, an original story treatment, and BD-Live connectivity. Also included on a third standard DVD disc is a Digital Copy of the film (in standard-def) compatible with PCs, PSP and iTunes. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $40.99. You'll find the latest specs for 'Monster's, Inc.' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under May 19.Posted Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 12:20 PM PST by: -
'Doubt' Coming to Blu-ray[teaser]Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is bringing some 'Doubt' to Blu-ray, setting an early-April date for the multiple Oscar nominee.[/teaser] Scoring acting nods for Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis, and Amy Adams, the John Patrick Shanley drama will hit Blu-ray (day-and-date with the standard DVD) on April 7. Extras include audio commentary with Shanley, two featurettes ("From Stage to Screen," "Musical Score"), and cast & crew interviews. There are no confirmed tech specs as of yet, but we'll keep you posted. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $34.95. You'll find the latest specs for 'Doubt' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under April 7.Posted Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 10:00 AM PST by: -
Universal to Reveal 'Frost/Nixon' on Blu-ray[teaser]The latest Best Picture nominee to get a Blu-ray release, Universal has announced a late-April arrival for 'Frost/Nixon.'[/teaser] Starring Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen as journalist Frost, the acclaimed drama from Ron Howard (which missed out on the coveted award at last night's ceremony) will hit Blu-ray on April 21 (day-and-date with the standard DVD). Tech specs will see a BD-50 dual-layer disc with 1080p video and DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround. Extras shared with the DVD include audio commentary with Howard, three featurettes ("The Making of Frost/Nixon," "The Real Interview," "The Nixon Library") and deleted scenes. Exclusive to the Blu-ray are several Bonus View features, including picture-in-picture and "The Nixon Files" historical facts, an additional featurette ("Discovering Secrets: The People and Places Behind the Story") and the BD-Live "Download Center" with additional content. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $34.98. You'll find the latest specs for 'Frost/Nixon' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under April 21.Posted Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 08:00 AM PST by: -
Lionsgate to Launch 'Skynet Edition' of T2' this May[teaser]The unstoppable 'T2' is coming back to high-def, with Lionsgate unveiling two new editions of the sci-fi classic for Blu-ray release in mid-May.[/teaser] Released in late 2006 on Blu-ray in a relatively bare-bones edition, as well as numerous prior DVD and video incarnations, Lionsgate will repackage the James Cameron epic yet again on May 19. Featuring over six hours of bonus features is 'Terminator 2: Skynet Edition,' which will arrive concurrently with the 'Limited Edition Terminator 2 Complete Collector's Set,' a seven-disc set which will bundle the Blu-ray 'Skynet Edition' with the previous 'Ultimate Edition' and 'Extreme Edition' DVD versions. Lionsgsate has not yet unveiled the full specs for the 'Skynet' and 'Complete Collector's Set' specs, but watch for remastered video and audio, and several all-new bonus features. As always, we'll keep you posted as details are confirmed. Suggested retail price for the 'Terminator 2: Skynet Edition' Blu-ray has been set at $29.99, with the 'Limited Edition Terminator 2 Complete Collector's Set' going for $174.99. You'll find the latest specs for both versions of 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under May 19.Posted Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 06:00 AM PST by: -
Return of the HD AdvisorEditor's Note: It's Friday, which means it's time for another round of questions and answers with High-Def Digest's own HD Advisor! If you have home theater questions you need answered, our HD Advisor will try to help you out. Send an email to [email protected] to submit a question for consideration. To browse through previously answered questions, visit the main HD Advisor page. Answers by Joshua Zyber Frame Rates Q: Does the advent of hi-def resolutions make the PAL/NTSC issue redundant? Do all regions now run in identical frame rates? A: The PAL/NTSC frame rate issue is mostly redundant in the High-Def world, but not entirely. To explain, let me start with the basics. The majority of movies are shot on film or digital video at a rate of 24 frames per second. Unfortunately, when the Standard-Def formats were established, neither NTSC nor PAL was built to accommodate that frame rate. NTSC runs at 60 interlaced fields per second (equivalent to 30 frames per second) and PAL runs at 50 interlaced fields per second (or 25 fps). In order to maintain a movie's original running speed, NTSC employs a 3:2 Pulldown pattern for film-based material. The first film frame is repeated 3 times, the second frame is repeated twice, then the next frame 3 times, then twice, etc. This keeps the overall speed and length of the movie the same, but tends to cause judder during panning movements. PAL simply speeds up the movie to 25 fps. Movies transferred to PAL run 4% shorter, and have a corresponding increase in audio pitch. For compatibility purposes, HDTVs have maintained the same 60 Hz (in NTSC territories) and 50 Hz (in PAL territories) frame rates, even though the overall High-Def resolution is much higher. As a result, movies are still subjected to either 3:2 Pulldown or 4% speedup. However, many modern HDTVs are also able to display a movie image at the original 24 fps without 3:2 Pulldown or speedup if you set your Blu-ray player for that frame rate. Most feature films available on Blu-ray are natively encoded at 1080p24 resolution (the last two digits refer to the frame rate), regardless of where in the world they're released. If your HDTV is compatible with 24 fps playback, that's how it will be displayed. If not, either the Blu-ray player or your TV will frame rate convert the video to 60 Hz or 50 Hz as needed. Since the movie data is the same format, many Blu-ray discs from Europe work just fine in American Blu-ray players, and vice versa. However, this doesn't necessarily take into account other content on the disc, including the menus and bonus features. Some European Blu-rays have menus encoded at 50 Hz or supplements in PAL SD resolution, which will not work in an American disc player. For example, for the recent UK release of 'Son of Rambow', the disc has no region coding and the movie portion is encoded at a worldwide-compatible 1080p24 resolution. But the disc's copyright warnings and menus are encoded at 1080p50. If you try to play that disc in an American Blu-ray player, most players won't be able to access the menus and will simply reject the disc. Some feature content may also be natively encoded at 60 Hz, 50 Hz, or possibly 25 fps. This includes concerts and documentaries shot on video, or the occasional movie (European Blu-ray editions of the Spanish zombie thriller '[Rec]' are authored at 1080p25). These will also face compatibility issues. You should also keep in mind that everything I've described above is separate from the issue of region coding, which is another matter entirely. Even if a disc is authored at a worldwide-compatible 1080p24 resolution for all its content, the studio releasing it may still choose to lock that disc to Region A, B, or C. 1080i vs. 1080p Q: I have a Panasonic Viera FullHD plasma, and have difficulty determining a difference between 1080i and 1080P. I was under the impression that a progressive image made fast motion and swift pans “jerk-free,” yet it seems far from smooth on my system. Are you able to suggest some differences too look out for to help the layman like myself? A: I think you're confusing the issues of progressive scan and frame rate. Your plasma HDTV has a native resolution of 1080p. Whatever input signal you feed it, the set will automatically scale it to 1080p. If you send it a 1080i signal, it will deinterlace the fields before display. No matter how you set your Blu-ray player, what you watch on screen is always 1080p. "1080p" doesn't necessarily tell you what frame rate the content is being displayed at, though. As per my response above, most American HDTVs still run at 60 Hz, which will add judder to film-based movies. To reduce the judder, you'll need to verify whether your TV can accept a 1080p24 input signal from a Blu-ray player, and whether it will display that signal at the original 24 fps (or an even multiple such as 48 Hz, 72 Hz, 96 Hz, etc.). Many 1080p HDTVs simply add 3:2 Pulldown to a 24 fps signal to bring it back to 60 Hz, judder and all. Let me direct you to my What's the Big Deal about 1080p24? article for more information about 24 fps and judder. As noted in that article, even a native 24 fps display will still have some amount of inherent jerkiness due to the slow photographic capture rate. Just to add another wrinkle to this story, some newer 120 Hz HDTVs have a Frame Interpolation feature (sometimes called TruMotion, PureMotion, MotionFlow, Auto Motion Plus, etc.) designed to reduce judder and jerkiness. Unfortunately, Frame Interpolation has some very serious drawbacks, which I'll address in the next question. Frame Interpolation Q: I see the question pop up quite often, especially some arguing the feature makes HD look better. I think a better explanation of this feature in new TV sets would be beneficial. The preference for 120Hz over 24Hz is really more subjective --- 120Hz seems more artificial than the film-like appearance of 24Hz. A: The 120 Hz refresh rate on newer HDTVs was chosen because 120 is an even multiple of both 24 and 60. When displaying content, a 120 Hz set has two options for what to do with the video signal. On the one hand, the TV may simply multiply the frames in the input signal to repeat them more often. If fed a 24 fps input signal, the set can apply 5:5 Pulldown to repeat each frame 5 times, at 5x the original speed. The net effect is indistinguishable to the human eye. Likewise, if fed a 60 Hz input signal, it will apply 2:2 Pulldown to repeat each frame twice. One again, this is visibly identical to the original. (If that 60 Hz signal was built by applying 3:2 Pulldown to a 24 fps source, those 3:2 judder artifacts will remain unchanged). The other option is to apply Frame Interpolation, which will invent all new frames to insert between the original frames in the video signal. It does this by taking parts of the original frames and then estimating what the "in-between" frames should look like. When starting from a 24 fps movie source, each one of the original frames will be followed by 4 brand new frames, each gradually different than the last, until hitting the next original frame. This is a much more invasive process than simple repetition. Frame Interpolation will visibly change the appearance of the movie. The intent is to smooth out judder and 24 fps jerkiness. It can also make the picture look "crisper," for lack of a better word. Some viewers find it appealing, claiming that it adds more of that elusive "3-D pop." However, Frame Interpolation has a nasty side effect of making film-based content look like it was shot on a camcorder. Instead of watching a movie, it often feels like you're watching the behind-the-scenes footage from the making of that movie. While judder may be reduced, all those artificial frames can make the picture look smeary instead. Most movie fans find the tradeoff undesirable. Some viewers will argue that this is a matter of personal preference. I suppose that it is, in as much as that it's also personal preference to crank a TV's color control all the way to the maximum to make people's skin tones glow orange. If that floats your boat, I can't stop you. Just know that there's a difference between personal preference and accuracy. As far as I'm concerned, the purpose of the home theater hobby is to present movies as faithfully as possible to the way the original photography was shot and intended for theatrical projection. That means maintaining the Original Aspect Ratio, calibrating colors for accuracy, and not adding any additional processing that will visibly change the look of the movie. Frame Interpolation is a very serious alteration of a movie's photography, and I personally can't stand it. Audio Sync Q: Why is it that on some Blu-ray discs the sound is off when I play it on 1080p? I have to resort to 1080i to have the picture and sound match. I have an LG Blu-Ray, HD DVD combo player running through a brand new Pioneer Elite receiver using HDMI cables. Do I need a more up to date Blu-Ray player to solve this? A: There are a couple of possible causes to this problem. First things first, make sure that your Blu-ray player is up to date with the latest firmware. There may be a bug in your player that causes audio to fall out of sync at 1080p resolution. It's worth checking to see if the manufacturer is aware of this and whether they've already issued a fix. But let's assume that doesn't solve the problem. You didn't mention whether your HDTV is a 1080p model. If not, the set will need to scale the incoming signal to its native resolution before display. It's very possible that the TV's internal hardware may take longer to do that with 1080p input signals than with 1080i. In that case, you're better off leaving the Blu-ray player set for 1080i output. I would also recommend turning off any additional video processing such as Noise Reduction or Frame Interpolation. These can also cause delays and hence audio sync issues. Player Load Times Q: I've always wanted to know: What exactly is being "loaded" when a Blu-Ray disc first starts up? Java language? Blu-Ray Gnomes? What? A: As I'm sure you've noticed, some Blu-ray discs load faster than others. If you see a "Loading" icon on screen before playback, that means the disc is Java-enabled and the player needs time to prep and sort through all the Java programming. Sometimes, this is worth the wait, if the disc has useful Bonus View or BD-Live features. Sometimes it isn't. Believe me, I know how frustrating it can be to sit there waiting for a disc to load, just for a simple Bookmark feature you'll never use or annoying animated menus. Discs that aren't Java-enabled will load faster, but (on most players) are still noticeably slower than Standard-Def DVD. There are several things going on during this delay. For one, the player must authenticate the encryption keys on the disc. Blu-ray has more complex encryption than DVD, and some discs have several layers of it. Another thing the Blu-ray player does is scan the disc to buffer the video. This video buffer is used to ensure that there's no pause during layer changes, for example. Because 1080p video is much higher resolution than DVD's 480i video, it takes longer to buffer. And then there's the simple fact that some Blu-ray players are much faster or slower at loading a disc than others. The PS3 is still the standard bearer for Blu-ray loading times. A few recent standalone player models have caught up with its speed, but most trail far behind. That will close out the latest edition of the HD Advisor. Check back next week for another round of answers. Keep those questions coming.Posted Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
Updated Specs, Street Date for 'Grudge' Blu-ray[teaser]Fans can look forward to a fully-loaded Blu-ray of 'The Grudge,' but will have to wait a few extra weeks to get it, with Sony announcing a street date bump of over two months to mid-May.[/teaser] As first announced last month, Sony had planned to bring the $125 million-grossing horror smash to Blu-ray on March 10, complete was a special edition. The studio has now finalized specs and a new date, with the Blu-ray pushed back to May 12 (timed to coincide with the release of the direct-to-DVD sequel 'The Grudge 3.') Final tech specs will see a BD-50 dual-layer presentation, with 1080p/VC-1 video (2.35:1) and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio in both English and French. Among the extensive bonus features are two audio commentaries (with Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi and Sarah Michelle Gellar, plus a second track with director Takashi Shimizu, producer Taka Ichise and actress Takako Fuji), a pair of featurettes ("Myth of the Ju-On," "Under the Skin"), plus the features "Sights and Sounds: The Storyboard Art of Takashi Shimizu" and "Production Designer's Notebook: The Sketches of Iwao Saito," and two Ju-On short films ("4444444444," "In a Corner"). The disc will also come BD-Live-enabled, with links to Sony's online Blu-ray destination and downloadable trailers. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $28.95. You'll find final specs for 'The Grudge (2004)' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under its new date of May 12.Posted Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 10:30 AM PST by:
