Blu ray Transformers

[jimoinj]

What do you guys think of the Transformers Blu-Ray G1 movie? Is the quality really noticeably better than that of the DVD?

And speaking of Blu-rays, has anyone heard any news of the G1 series being released on Blu-Ray? What do you think the prospects are?

I like that Blu-rays can hold more information (though it seems this capacity is seldom used), take up less storage space and tend to have more features. However I've heard mixed reports about their quality, with some such as Ghostbusters being widely reported as no better than the DVD release, and in some instances worse! On the other hand some really are noticeably better than the DVD, particularly post 2006 ones which were filmed in HD format. It seems studios really need to do a proper remastering and to also go to the effort of putting in more extra features to make Blu-ray worthwhile. Do you think they will bother with Transformers G1? And if they do, will they just rehash the DVD release onto Blu-ray with a slightly superior quality but no extra features?

[griffin]

I'm noticing a trend from distributors lately to only include extra/bonus content on blu-ray now... with just the Movie on its own on a DVD release. I was at JB the other day and was wanting to buy some recent releases, but only Blu-ray had the extra features. And the store said that they were the only versions on DVD.

I personally don't go for much extra content and rarely watch/use it, but I love seeing the deleted & extended/alternate scenes, as it can give more insight into the story (especially when the director gives commentary as to why it had to be cut).
Bloopers are fun to watch as well... but the behind-the-scenes or making-of documentaries are only worth watching on the really great movies or ones with ground-breaking effects.

I don't care much for blu-ray or HD formats, because I don't have a huge TV and don't plan to splash out on one. With a standard size TV or even a standard-definition TV, like most people, High-Definition is wasted. And are there really movies out there that you just can't watch or enjoy if it wasn't in HD? It's not something I feel is important in my life to have an expensive home theatre system, which is required to fully appreciate/utilise the image & sound quality of Blu-ray.

[Paulbot]

I've got the Blu-Ray G1 movie and it looks really fantastic, but I'm not sure it's a improvement on the remastered DVD (which is the same version). (But both are so much better than the original Madman DVD release).

But then I'm still watching DVDs and Blu-Ray discs and games on an old-school PAL 4x3 TV so I wouldn't notice any difference that someone with a high res HDTV user might notice.


I'm noticing a trend from distributors lately to only include extra/bonus content on blu-ray now... with just the Movie on its own on a DVD release. I was at JB the other day and was wanting to buy some recent releases, but only Blu-ray had the extra features. And the store said that they were the only versions on DVD.

I saw this with X-Men First Class yesterday. The DVD at Big W actually had a sticker on it saying the special features are available on the Blu-Ray version(!).

But you can get Blu-Ray's cheap or at the same price as DVD if you're patient so I am now buying movies in that format anyway.

[jimoinj]

Looks like retailers are trying to force a switch to Blu-rays by removing special features from DVDs. Wrong way to go about it. They should be putting extra content on Blu-rays. Really if Blu rays hold so much I don't see any reason why 2 or more movies aren't being put on one disc so we can really save on storage space. In any case in the future the next format will surely just be digital copies in HD/Blu-ray quality that we can store on USBs or computer. So they should give us more in terms of saving storage space with this in between format Blu-ray.

That's disturbing that the DVD and Blu-ray of Transformers the movie are the same quality. But it was my feeling too when looking at it. So much for production companys' much hyped 5x the picture quality!

[Paulbot]

The newer movies could have that quality improvement, but as Griffin mentioned you'd only really appreciate it on a larger HDTV. Animation seems to scale better too because it's quite easier to clean up but a live action film 25+ years old (like Ghostbusters with 80s effects) can only be enhanced so much before you see the Matte lines and the poorer film stock quality of the time. Not many movies get the Lucasfilms total restoration/'enhancements'.

The extra lines of resolution do count as the screen gets bigger, and I'm looking forward to getting a big TV when I move. If I already have a movie on DVD I'm not buying it again though, except for my favourite movies that are also visually spectacular (eg Moulin Rouge, X-Men 2, Dark Knight). TFTM gets a free pass of course and I'm looking for a three-movie pack to get the Bayverse TF movies.

[GoktimusPrime]

The newer movies could have that quality improvement, but as Griffin mentioned you'd only really appreciate it on a larger HDTV. Animation seems to scale better too because it's quite easier to clean up but a live action film 25+ years old (like Ghostbusters with 80s effects) can only be enhanced so much before you see the Matte lines and the poorer film stock quality of the time. Not many movies get the Lucasfilms total restoration/'enhancements'.

I remember first watching the Star Wars Trilogy digitally enhanced on Laserdisc in 1995... suddenly all the matte lines, strings and other visual effect "flaws" became crystal clear!! It was funny watching TIE Fighters and X-Wings flying around with smoky white boxes around them. :p

I don't have Blu Ray yet... so is Blu ray meant to be hands down better than DVD or just better in aspects but not in others (like say DVD vs LD)?

[5FDP]

I don't have Blu Ray yet... so is Blu ray meant to be hands down better than DVD or just better in aspects but not in others (like say DVD vs LD)?

It depends on the application. Blu Ray holds more information that a normal DVD as has been stated therefore picture can be shown at a higher resolution e.g. 1080p given the right TV equipment, however, it is a really expensive process to remaster a movie that was made 20 years ago and in digital terms, it's easy to go backwards in terms of quality, but to polish a movie is like polishing a turd - it'll still look crap. It's the old LP's vs CD's argument.

[Shirokaze]

I bought the Transformers bluray solely to support Madman Entertainment, and I actually found it to be a pretty good upgrade compared to their first DVD release. :)

I didn't realise there were so many that hadn't jumped onto the bluray wagon yet. Why not buy a PS3 for $300 and plug up to your sdtv with the included RCA inputs? At least then you can pick up whichever movies have exclusive bluray content and not stress about having wasted money on a standalone player.

[Mr Ed]

With the right TV and Blu ray player you are running 1080p.

Normal DVD is running at 476i regardless of what tv you are running

[gantz]

My thoughts were very similar to Griffs - just thought I am not gonna bother with Blu-rays, until I started to notice the trend of Special Features being only on the blu-ray versions.

Although Waner Bros. apparently do not care or could not be bothered with remastering the sound for their blu-rays - perfect example of this is The Matrix Trilogy :(

The picture/image is amazing, the sound leaves a lot to be desired :confused:

[Paulbot]

I bought the Transformers bluray solely to support Madman Entertainment, and I actually found it to be a pretty good upgrade compared to their first DVD release. :)

Yes it's much better quality than their first DVD release of TFTM, but the difference to their second release (the double disc special edition) is less pronounced.


Why not buy a PS3 for $300 and plug up to your sdtv with the included RCA inputs? At least then you can pick up whichever movies have exclusive bluray content and not stress about having wasted money on a standalone player.
And you can play War for/Fall of Cybertron. I wouldn't have bought a standalone blu-ray player, but since I got my PS3 and Blu-Ray discs (except new releases) are the same price as DVD why not buy those versions.

[griffin]

Technology & storage mediums are changing fast enough for me to not bother collecting Blu-ray. By the time I can afford a home theatre system that can fully utilise the higher visual and sound quality of Blu-ray, I think that we'll have movies released on something like USB sticks or purchased online to download. I've seen a lot of Blu-rays already being released as 3-packs to get people used to installing a copy onto a computer... perhaps to have people more willing to download (legally) movies & TV shows instead of buying discs that take up a lot of physical space.
To me it just feels like Blu-ray won't be around for too long, as it will be replaced with a non-disc storage medium... so doesn't inspire me to buy them (needing two different players to watch my movies or buying a new one that can play all of them).

[gantz]

The problem with the digital copies is they're only standard definition with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, not the most amazing versions.

Would the cost really be that much different for producing a digital copy with greater resolution and and sound?

Another question: has anyone found the up-scaling of DVDs performed by your blu-ray player to be that good?

[UltraMarginal]

The problem with the digital copies is they're only standard definition with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, not the most amazing versions.

Would the cost really be that much different for producing a digital copy with greater resolution and and sound?

Another question: has anyone found the up-scaling of DVDs performed by your blu-ray player to be that good?

but the digital copies are primarily intended for use on portable media devices, so there is no point being higher res or having surround soiund. sound especially would be lost on a 2.0 setup if it were coded for 5.1 or 7.1.

[Mr Ed]

Another question: has anyone found the up-scaling of DVDs performed by your blu-ray player to be that good?

Up scaling is good but it's not Blu ray quality.

I got a Panasonic BD twin tuner and I run HDMI into a Yamaha 7.1 AMP which in turns runs into my Sony 52" LCD tv. Setup is about 3 years old and it cost me a load of $$$$ but it was well worth it watching BD movies

[Cat]

It depends on the application. Blu Ray holds more information that a normal DVD as has been stated therefore picture can be shown at a higher resolution e.g. 1080p given the right TV equipment, however, it is a really expensive process to remaster a movie that was made 20 years ago and in digital terms, it's easy to go backwards in terms of quality, but to polish a movie is like polishing a turd - it'll still look crap. It's the old LP's vs CD's argument.

Not quite.

Digital is actually quite a bit behind your traditional cinema master from decades past.

We're at 1920 x 1080 on Blu-Ray.

The original analog film most used back then gives a definition equal to something like 6800 x 2000.

It depends on the type of remastering, as there's different methods. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, nor 'polishing a turd'.

[5FDP]

Not quite.

Digital is actually quite a bit behind your traditional cinema master from decades past.

We're at 1920 x 1080 on Blu-Ray.

The original analog film most used back then gives a definition equal to something like 6800 x 2000.

It depends on the type of remastering, as there's different methods. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, nor 'polishing a turd'.

As I mentioned, it depends on the application ;) I doubt that anyone here has a rig set up to view 35mm film in the comfort of their home cinema room. My response was regarding a comparison between Blu Ray and DVD - not analogue film and Blu Ray.

There are many different methods for remastering a movie however in most cases movies filmed over the past 10 years will look better than digitally remastering a movie made over 20 years ago. I can't see how anyone could disagree with that.

[kup]

Since recently I bought a 50" full HD TV, I am only just getting into all this High Def stuff.

You certainly have to do a bit of homework as dealing with this thing is more 'computer' than TV, specially with the newer smart TVs. I had a bit of trouble with my attempt at installing 5.1 speakers mainly because I went in with the old school 'analogue' mentality of how they worked without taking the HDMI port into consideration which is all digital with device handshakes and whatnot.

Anyways, I am waiting to pick up my Blu-Ray drive/player today along with a rented copy of X-Men First Class for testing. I will see how it goes.

On a topic related note, I was also considering getting the G1 Movie on Blu-Ray but since I already own the latest DVD one, is it worth it?

[jimoinj]

Hey Kup, I have the G1 Blu ray movie and also had the G1 DVD. Well, the DVD had 2 versions - widescreen and fullscreen, while the Blu ray has only one, the full screen. Apart from that they are the same in terms of features.

For picture quality I honestly could find little difference at all. Both are remastered. I mean obviously it's better than the earlier Madman release of the movie, but that's because it wasn't remastered, the latest DVD (remastered) is also equally better.

However JB Hi-Fi told me that you need to have a TV with 'true HD', or 'full HD' as opposed to just HD in order to get the full benefits of Blu Ray. I believe mine is only HD, not true HD. True HD costs around $1000 plus I'm told. I got a cheapo Soniq 42' for $399. :p

[kup]

Hey Kup, I have the G1 Blu ray movie and also had the G1 DVD. Well, the DVD had 2 versions - widescreen and fullscreen, while the Blu ray has only one, the full screen. Apart from that they are the same in terms of features.

For picture quality I honestly could find little difference at all. Both are remastered. I mean obviously it's better than the earlier Madman release of the movie, but that's because it wasn't remastered, the latest DVD (remastered) is also equally better.

However JB Hi-Fi told me that you need to have a TV with 'true HD', or 'full HD' as opposed to just HD in order to get the full benefits of Blu Ray. I believe mine is only HD, not true HD. True HD costs around $1000 plus I'm told. I got a cheapo Soniq 42' for $399. :p

Recently, they are selling Full HD TVs from $600-$800. They aren't crap either, full features.

Try JB-Hifi for reasonable retail prices or small distributers for even cheaper.

My TV only cost me $650 and it's a Panasonic Viera 50" Full High-Def with DLNA connectivity so you can stream movies from your PC onto the TV through your home network.

Recently I have plugged in a little Zino PC to it which I bought very cheaply to play vintage console games and will be using this for Blu-Ray and youtube watching. The PC is designed for Home media so it plugs in through HDMI for video and audio.

[Paulbot]

I've been looking at HDTVs as I'll be buying one next month, and as far I can tell Full HD means 1080p resolution and HD is the 720p resolution. Unless I'm misunderstanding something.

Kup, if you can get the TFTM Blu-ray cheap, I'd say get it since it's in 1080 resolution you might see the benefits (and you can never have enough copies of TFTM right ;) )

[Arcee]

I have a 42" TV and a blu-ray player so I've bought blu-ray for all my Transformers Bayverse movies to test it out.

2009 ROTF: blu-ray is DEFINITELY far better off than DVD. I literally held my breath watching it, all subconsciously, just because it's got so much clear fine details which, though I have watched the movie in IMAX for 7 times and subsequently inumerous times on DVD, I have failed to catch with my nake eyes.

2007 movie: blu-ray's got finer details but somehow the color is worse off. Especially when it's a darker background (like a night scene with dark blue sky or indoor dim lights) you can see all those dense slim white lines across the screen as if it's a 1920s old movie re-screened.

I know nothing about the rationale of how everything works, and I don't know why such big difference between the two movies. Just my real life experience here. Blu-ray for ROTF is definitely worth it, that's the level of clarity and finery and feeling of stereoscope you'd expect for a Transformers movie. 2007 movie...not so much...

I hope DOTM's blu-ray quality is as awesome as ROTF.

[Cat]

As I mentioned, it depends on the application ;) I doubt that anyone here has a rig set up to view 35mm film in the comfort of their home cinema room. My response was regarding a comparison between Blu Ray and DVD - not analogue film and Blu Ray.

There are many different methods for remastering a movie however in most cases movies filmed over the past 10 years will look better than digitally remastering a movie made over 20 years ago. I can't see how anyone could disagree with that.

The problem there comes with how they were done. A lot of your 90's stuff, especially cheaper productions, used CGI that was done at a res of far less than today's 1080p, leading to a generally bad, cheap and incomplete look. (I can't remember offhand the resolution usually used in those cases)

So movies like that are harder than some older movies.

But yeah, it depends entirely on the film in question. :)

[Paulbot]

Just sat down to watch TFTM and thought I'd do some quick compares between the Madman special edition DVD (on a DVD player connected through HDMI) and the BluRay (on a PS3 through HDMI) on full HD TV.

The difference in quality is noticable. The BluRay is brighter and cleaner. For instance Unicron looked 'dirty' and the the view from inside his mouth looked off in colour on the DVD compared to the BluRay. I also picked up a small detail on the BluRay (you can see Kranix, Arblus and the scientist looking out a window when you see the first Lithonians being sucked into the sky) that I've never noticed before watching this movie.

[jena]

I couldn't decide where else to post this, but JB HiFi have Transformers The Movie bluray on sale for $12.98 online https://www.jbhifionline.com.au/default.aspx?T=&P=426879

[kup]

I couldn't decide where else to post this, but JB HiFi have Transformers The Movie bluray on sale for $12.98 online https://www.jbhifionline.com.au/default.aspx?T=&P=426879

Yeah I saw that and I am thinking of buying it despite already owning the DVD set. It is nice and cheap.

So what extras does the Blu Ray come with? Anything more than what it says on JB Hifi? I am assuming that it's identical to the DVD release aside from being Bluray - At least that's the case for the UK version according to Amazon.

Also do they improve on the colors as in Hotrod's somewhat pinkish paint job on the DVD? The UK version says that it's a straight release from the master.

[primatives]

thanks for the heads up! I just bought it and imo its worse than the madman dvd. You can see more flaws like the lines arent one clean cut line. It looks more like the 80's comics if that makes sense, and I suppose flaws show up more when you try to enhance something that is so old. But it was cheap so whatever. The colors arent as good compared to the dvd version especially during the scene on earth where hot rod and daniel are fishing the dvd version the colours are more vibarant whereas the blu ray is more dull.

[Paulbot]

Kup, the special features are all exactly the same as on the DVD


You can see more flaws like the lines arent one clean cut line.

That's not a "flaw" that's "hand-drawn animation". Kids these days with their flashy "computer" graphics :p

I actually like that you could almost see the pencil strokes on the backgrounds. It gave me a much better appreciation for the work that went into all the art for the movie.

And in comparison with the DVD I definitely think the colours are more vibrant on the Blu-Ray.

[kup]

Thanks for the info.


Kup, the special features are all exactly the same as on the DVD



That's not a "flaw" that's "hand-drawn animation". Kids these days with their flashy "computer" graphics :p

I actually like that you could almost see the pencil strokes on the backgrounds. It gave me a much better appreciation for the work that went into all the art for the movie.

And in comparison with the DVD I definitely think the colours are more vibrant on the Blu-Ray.

That's an interesting point when it comes to noticing the 'flaws' on the Blu ray. Although it may not be as 'clean' as the enhanced DVD release, watching the movie in it's 'raw' form would be an interesting experience. I will for sure buy it.

[jena]

It's too bad it hasn't been enhanced in the way the Disney movies are when they reappear from the Disney vault.

[kup]

I couldn't decide where else to post this, but JB HiFi have Transformers The Movie bluray on sale for $12.98 online https://www.jbhifionline.com.au/default.aspx?T=&P=426879

Note that TF:The Movie is no longer $12.98 but now at $32.99.

What a disapointment, I was just about to order it. $32.99 a bit too much for any regular Blu ray release so I'll just conform with my DVDs.

[Cat]

For under $20, I'd say pull the trigger.

But $33?


Nah.

[jena]

Damn, the sale must have ended. I hadn't even ordered it yet myself! :(

[kup]

For under $20, I'd say pull the trigger.

But $33?


Nah.

After the sale I was expecting it to get to like $20-$25 but $33 is a definite NO.

[Paulbot]

I got it for about $13 at a sale at JB just before Christmas in 2010, so it's likely to be reduced again eventually.

[Jay-Tron]

I still consider the colour on my old VHS video of Transformers the Movie to be better than the DVD. The so-called widescreen edition on disc 1 most closely resembles the colour on my old video, very bright viberant colours. Hot Rod has that slight Pink colour going on (I always thought was a bit weird lol) and Devastator is a almost bright glowing green. Plus there are no scratch lines going down the screen. You see a couple on the DVD of the movie and on the DVD of the cartoons. The VHS just has the snowiness you'd expect a 22 year old video to have.

I was hoping the Blu-ray would be even better than the DVD (the special edition DVD overall is great, I just miss the Star Wars intro as that's the version I grew up on) plus have all the extras from the first movie release and the special edition and maybe even some others as well. Oh well, at least it's there for people who haven't already got it.

[primatives]

oh i stated in my previous post that the madman dvd was better than the Blu-ray one. I made a mistake its the RHINO version that has the best colour out of the madman and Blu-ray version.

[jena]

It's a shame it hasn't been given the same treatment the Disney movies get when they're put on DVD. My DVD version of the 70 year old Dumbo is probably better than Transformers :(

[Cat]

http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/dvd/dvd-genres/action-adventure/transformers-3-movie-boxset-blu-ray-bonus-usb-stick/653917

Damn this packaging is nice.

Autobot head packaging.

Pity the flash drive is a useless 1gb. Still looks nice.

[Cat]

http://members.optusnet.com.au/veemon/ublurays.html

Looking good for Transformers Prime on Blu-Ray for us!

[Hursticon]

http://members.optusnet.com.au/veemon/ublurays.html

Looking good for Transformers Prime on Blu-Ray for us!

That's friggin' awesome news man, cheers for bringing this to attention! :D:cool:

[Quickstrike]

DVDs start coming out in June. (http://www.ezydvd.com.au/search?q=transformers+prime&t=all) I'll wait for the Blu-Ray.

Hey, we're getting Broken Blade on Blu-ray here. Cool.