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28th October 1999 |
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CTHV DVDs - Which are 16:9 and Which Aren't
Everyone knows of the commitment Columbia/Tristar have to DVD and yet both
here in OZ and the USA they fail to mention on their DVD Slicks a very important feature,
and that is which DVDs are 16:9 Enhanced and which are plain 'ol 4x3 letterboxed.
To CTHV's credit a HUGE majority of their DVDs are in fact 16:9 Enhanced so chances are
ever so slim that you won't find their DVDs without this enhancement, BUT with their
recent International aquirement of the Univerals DVDs a few more titles are coming thru
that aren't 16:9 Enhanced (Backdraft and Out of sight as well as the upcoming "The
Thing" Collector's Edition, just to name a few)....
While a few consumers are not familiar with what 16:9 Enhanced DVDs do (or what the term
even means)..not to mention too many stores looking at you funny if you asked if a DVD is
16:9 Enhanced as they have no clue, it's a feature of DVD that should be pointed out as
another reason why it's worth upgrading to DVD (as it seperates DVD from laterdisc and
even VHS)
To some people this is not a big deal, however, with DVD technically out doing all other
Home Video Formats in ALL areas I beleive it is important to let the consumers know what
is and what ins't included on a DVD (look at the debacle with Buena Vista in the USA with
H20.....someone screwed up BIGTIME there with the DVD slick information, DTS and a running
commentary that weren't really there...wouldn't you be pissed if you bought them for those
very reasons), same as if you bought a DVD, like Backdraft, expected it to be 16:9
Enhanced and it's not....(this happened to poor old Paul folks:-)
Columbia/Tristar , at least in Oz, haven't included the words 16:9 Enhanced
on the back of their slick as part of the information regard screen aspect, as they aren't
wanting to create anymore confusion with DVDs and what they are. However, I beleive
this could be changing soon as the demand for 16:9 Enhanced DVDs increase...as seems to be
the case already. Until a few months ago
Warner followed a similar path, but now include the words 16:9 Enhanced
on both Warner and Buena Vista DVD Slicks. Roadshow also mention it on their's, as Does
Universal Pictures Home Video (ex Polygram).
I for one really hope to see it appear soon on CTHV DVD slicks, then I can stop nagging
them about it (sorry Bil :-)
Click HERE for the list of November CTHV DVD's which ARE and AREN'T
16:9 Enhanced
Click HERE for the list of November Univeral DVD's which ARE and
AREN'T 16:9 Enhanced |
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27th October 1999 |
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Site Cleanup
Sorry, nothing overly exciting to report today, have been cleaing up some of
the special reports around the place. If you haven't read or heard of them.
There's one on the very first and now very dead CSD
- Cinema Digital sound format offered in cinemas even before old Dolby Dig.,
Paul's informative article on Letterboxing
Versus Pan &...dare i day..Scan, and of course the Region 4 DVD Q&A Oh and though i'm sure most of you won't care as it's only news about the T2 DVD,
but I've heard something about it coming out around 6th December or something like
that :-) |
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24th October 1999 |
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Pioneering the First Phase
Michael(DVD)
Demtschyna is heading up a campaign on everyones behalf with respect to the Audio Sync
problems many Pioneer owners are experiencing.
Pioneer have admitted that there IS in fact a problem (due to a delay they intentionally
put in the for audio), but at this point are not going to (or are unable to) fix the
problem.
t is very important that as many pioneer DVD owners help out in this situation...The more
information that can be gathered and the more people who come forth identifiing they too
have a problem, may enable something to be done, beleive me, when enough noise is made
action is generally taken.
Case in point, Samsungs DVD905 was riddled with problems, most notibly, with RSDL titles
AND any DVD with an MPEG5.1 track. As a result of these problems that Samsung
couldn't fix with the DVD905 they were willing to EXCHANGE any Australians DVD905 for the
NEW model. Fortunately for me being one of the first to identify the problems,
Samsung were willing to give me a complete refund for my player (which i took after
finding out the Samsung DVD907 released in OZ didn't have RGB output, unlike on the 905,
which I used)...
So stupid self bought a Pioneer DV717 because it DID have RGB, so am now kicking myself
that I've gone from one buggy machine to another....grrrr..Pionner Audio Sync Campaign at MichaelDVDs |
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23rd October 1999 |
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Amarays and Clear Cases Now in Stock
The latest batch of Amarays arrived yesterday, as did the Clear DVD Cases the
other day, please drop by DVD Station
for prices and ordering detailsPS
It appears that CTHV are using a NEW Clear DVD Case (for at least Patch Adams) It is
"almost" identiacal to the Clear DVD
case, but is of a thinner and flimsier plastic with a weaker centre
clip...sorry don't like it.... |
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21st October 1999 |
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Die Hard : Remastered With a A Vengeance
They say Third times a charm, so Roadshow's THIRD DVD verison of Die Hard 3
should be pretty darn tootin' good.
Unlike the first version, which was sourced from the same version used in the USA, and the
second which Roadshow's Authorer's DVM apparently did themselves (Roadshow didn't use one
of their own Release Prints), the THIRD version has been sourced from a 16:9 Transfer from
the United Kingdom, though with Cinergi, the company who made DH3 , having gone bust a
while back, the exact origins of the latest transfer is unknown.
Wanting to make up for the previous 2 version of DH3, Roadshow have sourced a new 16:9
transfer, dropped the MPEG5.1 track, decided on a dual Layer DVD (to up the bitrate some
more), thrown in an Extra Music Video, reframed the interviews to FULL 16:9 (as opposed to
windowboxing) and added some groovy music to the main menus, AND the Canyon Dolby Digital
trailer to boot. (though this is NOT classified as one of their Special Editions). Muriel Ammendment
My bad, turns out Roadshow DID NOT use an interpostive from their Muriel DVD
it was a low contrast full range
telecine print from the original negative.
DVDs for Sale
anyone after a few Region 1 DVDs?? I have my copies of
Lost In Space and Austin Powers 1, going for $25 each or $45 for both (std postage
included in prices).
With the appauling price hike from Aust Post for COD I would rather post these DVDs out
After receiving payment to keep this as cheap as possible, so if you are interested in
either or both please E-mail me (i
can post them the next day if you direct debit the money instead of posting it) |
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20th October 1999 |
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CTHV & Universal November Releases
I was faxed the DVD Film facts for the November lineup today, and so all the
important specs, bar one, are now included. Still no word on which DVDs are 16:9
enhanced and which are merely letterboxed.
From the looks of the Films on show, and going by the region 1 versions, only The
Thing Collectors Edition should be non 16:9 letterboxed, with the others being
16:9 Enhanced (fingers crossed though that JC's film is 16:9 enhanced, as even the region
1 version looked pretty good).
Seeing as the very soon to be released DVD of Universals Psycho was 16:9 Enhanced for PAL and only
letterboxed for Region 1 could mean that CTHV have requested a 16:9 Transfer for the
Thing, but we'll just have to wait and see (i'm already on the case!!! :-)Another price of news past my way and there's a good chance that the
highly requested and anticipated Terminator 2 will hit our shores Before Christmas..though
with all the bad luck T2 has gone through so far for I'm not counting on it........much
:-)))
Also the October release have been bumped back a week, and
the November titles have been pushed from 1st November to the 15th November
Warner/MGM/B Bista Line-Up Changes
There's been a big change to the November catalogue so goto the Studio Releases Page for the
all the links.
PS The Region 4 Exorcist release will be the Special Edition!!!!!! |
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18th October 1999 |
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So, Which DVD Case is Best??
Niall Young, the brainchild behind the Babylon 5 petition has written an article on the
different cases we are faced with as consumers buying DVDs from different distributors..While in an ideal world we would have only 1 case for our beloved
DVDs (Niall recommends the Amaray), on planet earth we are faced with so many cases we
essentially need custom built shelving to house each type.
To read Niall''s great article please click the
appropriately entitled link The Good the Bad and the Ugly
Gotta Be Happy with Muriel
Some more info passed my way the other day that Roadshow's "go to
woe" DVD of Muriel's Wedding looks fantastic and sounds incredible.
In case you missed the previous updates on this DVD. Roadshow took it upon
themselves to create a brand new low
contrast full range telecine print from the original negative of Muriel for creation of a
16:9 Enhanced DVD. AND also delved deep into the pits of Roadshow music den to
create a new Dolby Digital 5.1 remix...I am told Dancing Queen has never sounded better:-)
Psycho Previewed
Just in time for it's 18th October DVD release is my preview of the 1960's
Classic Psycho.
PS CTHV have been re-releasing some of
their DVDs with NEW picture Disc artwork..the two mentioned to me were My Best Friend's
Wedding and the Fifth Element. |
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17th October 1999 |
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I Feel Pretty
Well after a very long week, there's still work to do, but the guts of it is
done....Hope you like the new and improved DVDown
Under.
There's a few new additions, most notably the Site Map., as well as other minor tweaks and
adjustments. All of the important and most visited features are located at the top
of the page in the new look navigation bar that will appear on every page of this site
(eventually). Our On-Line store, DVD Station
has been overhauled and looks a lot better, though the product line-up is still the same.
Some of the links (mostly the older reviews themselves have
NOT been updated with the new Nav Bar, but they'll be done as soon as possible
If you come across any broken links or problems, please let us know as
there's sure to be a few.
Enjoy |
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14th October 1999 |
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20th Century FOX DVD specs Up Now!!!
Okay the details have been updated......due to my Chicken scratching there is
One DVD i don't know the name of coming in February....looks like Pone, Dome, Rome, could
be Rore..i don't know.......sorry :-)Upcoming DVD
Releases
PS Roadshow's Analyze this DVD is great.... |
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13th October 1999 |
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20th Century FOX DVD specs!!!
Got so carried away with the new site layout last few nights I forgot to post
the FOX DVD specs....can you beleive that!!!!! So they'll be up tomorrow (as i've
now left the info at work!!!)
Anyhoo.....As previously reported ALL are definitely 16:9 Enhanced, which is great and the
only DVD release from FOX for November, There's Something about Mary, has
some great extras (music video, running commentary, and more)Upcoming DVD
Releases
Cass's FIRST Chick Flick REVIEW
Our New site reviewer, Cassandra Nunn, has finished up her first DVD review,
being It Could happen to You.
Cass was a bit worried that she wouldn't be able to critique the quality of the DVD, but
she's come up with the goods
So here's to many more great Click Flick reviews from Cass...
New DVD Slicks
Received the slicks for the remastered Pulp Fiction, Analyse This and Lost In
Space...Thankfully the roadshow preview discs AND the slicks arrived in one piece (Anyone
got a spare Crystal Ball that Mike
D may borrow..I think the Swammie dropped his last one, bad karma :-)))))
DVD
Slicks |
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11th October 1999 |
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The Wedding Singer - Reauthored & Reviewed
Hitting the shelves in a few weeks, here's an earlier review of Roadshow's
Totally reauthored The
Wedding Singer .
This is a big improvment over the first attempt, but your best to read the review for all
the dirt |
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10th October 1999 |
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New Reviews
Well i finally got around to writing up my reivew for CTHV's terrific little Cruel Intentions (my first preview disc from
CHTV, though i did get it after it's release, so guess it's technically NOT preview
copy..still I won't argue :-)Roadshow are very soon
to release their reworked Wedding Singer DVD, due to the first one have some god aweful
sync problems. Well I've had a look at the latest version this weekend and it's a
huge improvement, even the picture quality has been tweaked, though the Pioneer player
still shows a slight "enhanced" lag in a few spots with less than perfect ADR,
but overall it's a hell of a lot easier on the eyes.
While on the subject of Syncing, I tried out a few Roadshow
DVDs on Cass's Sammy 907 DVD player. Lost In Space and the Wedding Singer to
be exact, and low and behold the syncing was so damn close to being Perfect I nearly fell
off my chair...CURSE PIONEER I SAY.
(This "extra" delay that Pionner players (and some others) exhibit is such a
pain in the arse). What Sync problems i could see were simlpy from bad dialogue
looping, and it was close enough not to be a bother
More Changes to DVDown Under
In a few days we'll have a new reviewer on board. Cassandra Nunn,
has joined in to review "Chick Flicks", err sorry, I mean Romantic Comedies and
Dramas :-)
First up is a preview of It could happen to You..As this is her frst DVD
review, she's taking her time to get it just right....
Also coming in a few days is a new look to DVDown Under..yes yes I know,
another one jeez...soon we'll have had more face lifts than Joan Rivers, but the new look
has been approved by Cassandra, so who am I to argue. |
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8th October 1999 |
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ROADSHOW to Author Austin 2 For ALL PAL
TERRITORIES!!
Six months ago [I'm sure] many would have scoffed at the idea of Roadshow
being given the honour to Author a DVD for the entire PAL market...but now, with such a
big improvement in the overall quality of their DVD titles, it's not so far fetched.....
We've all read the praise most DVD site have given to their last several DVDs (and rightly
so), and it seems New Line in the USA have obviously been thrilled with these advances as
you'll read below"Roadshow Entertainment has been given the opportunity to
author the PAL DLT master of Austin Powers 2 for the rest of the world." commented
Roslyn Wilson. "The US has been watching our up-dated authoring process very
carefully and believe we are the standard in PAL authoring – A REPUTATION WE WORKED
HARD TO ACHIEVE AND WILL WORK EVEN HARDER TO MAINTAIN."
So Kudos to Roadshow....they'll certainly have their work
cut out for them with this little baby now the entire PAL market is depending on them to
deliver the goods :-)
ROADSHOW Press Releases
Roadshow released a press release today (mentioning the austin 2 deal) as
well as for Analyse This, and the Matrix..ALL 3 DVDs are going out DATE AND DAY with the
VHS rentals...
For all the goss please goto the PRESS RELEASES PAGE
PS CTHV's upcoming the Mummy DVD will have
ALL the goodies of the region 1 version, we will only get the option of a Widescreen
version, though Universal in the USA did release a Pan & Scan version as a SEPERATE
disc (as opposed to the likes of New Line, Columbia and Warner who double side their discs
to fit both aspect ratios) |
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6th October 1999 |
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CTHV November Releases
Received some details on the CTHV / Univeral DVD releases..most of the
Important bits are there, though it's not as detailed as the new u-beaut format they
recently started....I want my Muuuuuummy
CTHV are already hard at work on the 1999 version of The Mummy DVD
release...This DVD is slated for the 3rd of January 2000, to be date and day with the VHS
rental.....
CTHV Collector's Editions - yeah yeah
Coming this November is a DVD collector's dream from CTHV and Universal, the
Desperado/El Mariachi double pack / Dragonheart / EDtv / Taxi Driver and The Thing.
All these DVDs are chock full of goodies and I'm especially pleased the Columbia have
prices Desperado/El Mariachi at the normal $34.95, as are the rest of them (El Mariachi is
such a cool film)
Release Updates
Have made a few updates to upcoming releases from Several Studios, so goto
the Studio Releases page
for the latest and greatest
Texas is being Forced Upon Us
Force Video's upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre DVD (for the 25th Anniversary)
has been downconverted from the High Definition transfer and is suppose to be a
cracker......coming in Widescreen
PS More Amarays are arriving in a few days |
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4th October 1999 |
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TOP 5 Reasons you should Buy Roadshow's Lost in
Space over the Region 1 Version
Though I haven't finished reviewing this DVD (Cruel Intentions arrived the
day before so it's reviewed first, plus the Elm Street box set was my #1 priority this
weekend..sorry :-) I thought it was worth mentioning what makes the region 4 version
superior to it's USA counterpartTOP 5 Reasons you
should Buy Roadshow's Lost in Space DVD over the Region 1 Version
Number 5. You'll be supporting region 4 DVD :-)
Number 4. This has even More deleted scenes that the
region 1 version
Number 3. The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is richer and
fuller sounding
(the lip sync problem some notice is no worse than than the region 1 DVD (A/B
comparisons proved that for me)...it's definitely an ADR problem..a New Line Cinema trait
it seems)
Number 2. Improved Picture quality..absolute
cracker picture, and ours is just that much better...na na :-)
And the Number 1 reason you should by the region 4 DVD
of Lost in Space over the region 1 DVD of Lost in Space...
it's 7 minutes shorter!!!!!!! (there is a God and it's name is PAL
:-)
(*shorter running time is due to video speed increase for PAL frame rate conversion)
After seeing Austin
Powers :SE and now LIS it's easy to see that Roadshow's gotten serious with
their DVDs..can't wait to see the new Die Hard 3 DVD
PS Roadshow's upcoming True Romance DVD
will be UNCUT - 16:9 Enhanced and in Dolby
Stereo (as it was in theatres)
PPS You could score a FREE COPY OF THE MATRIX
from the Digital DVD Shop
...check out the bottom of their page for details |
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1st Oct 1999 |
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This Just keeps getting better and better
Roadshow have been able to ADD another extra goodies to their sure to be
totally bitch'n Matrix DVD.....Seeing as there is only going to be 1 subtitle track on our
version (that being English for the Hearing Impaired, instead of the original plain
English subtitle) there is a bit of room for a Dolby Digital Trailer, which was not going
to be used as this DVD is being authored in the USA by Warner (they are giving Roadshow
the DLT master though)....the Dolby Trailer looks to be City.......
I had a quick look at my friends region 1 version and it is awesome.....having been
disappointed with the grainy washed out picture at the cinema, I was worried that the DVD
would suffer similar fate, but it's simply excellent and there is the most unusual look to
this film on DVD that I just love (it's also the most dynamic soundtrack I've heard to
date)..
But I'll happily wait for the region 4 version..let the countdown begin..Columbia Tri-Star Press Releases
Received via emailed a few press releases from CTHV today and was surprised
to read that the new DVD User Group
site I mentioned the other day is an initiative
co-ordinated by Columbia Truster Home Video
Please click the link below to goto the Ghostbusters, October Releases & DVD User
Group press Releases
Region
4 Press Releases
Elm Street Box Set Rules
I am very excited to announce that my Elm Street Box set arrived yesterday
(note: get your DVDs sent to your work address (sans the business name though) as there is
NOTHING WORSE than getting one of the god damn Collect from your Local Post Office
slips in in your mail box when it's Monday and you can't get their til
Saturday)....anyhoo.... have spent a few hours, okay, 5 or 6 hours last night going
through them all I can say I was totally blown away by what I saw.... New Line pulled out
all the stops to bring this series to DVD and it is now my most prized [DVD]
possession.....now I just have to buy a DVD-ROM Drive to suss out the ROM extras. (and
best of all I Finally got to see via subtitles what Alice says to Freddy as she sticks him
with pool cue...only took 10 years to find out..jeez
PS Anyone going to the Mystery Movie tonight?? |
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