Fox/MGM Give Us BD25/MPEG2 Releases

[Rasczak]

Fox/MGM have released details of their October releases. Fox have always had quite high standards with their releases so we mustn't get too concerned about this news as of yet - but it seems several of their titles are going to be authored in MPEG2 and released on BD25 discs:

- Edward Scissorhands
- Robocop (Unrated Cut)
- The Hills Have Eyes 2 (Unrated)

Unfortunately I am not allowed to post the link but you'll find the news on several sites now. Nobody is sure of the cause for this reversion though - some have mooted it is merely to streamline releases following the Paramount defection.

MPEG2/BD25 were of course the source of BluRay's 'quality' issues early on in the formats life. Time will tell if we see the same here - meanwhile I have cancelled my order for The Hills Have Eyes 2 until we see some good reviews.

[Jeff]

These were probably done ages ago and projected sales couldn't justify any rework.

[Rasczak]

Originally Posted by Jeff

These were probably done ages ago and projected sales couldn't justify any rework.

Indeed - lets hope this is just clearing out old stock. Surely we have moved beyond the MPEG2/BD25 combo?

[Sonic67]

Wasn't Robocop pulled before for being of bad quality? Surely this is a disk that should be a special edition.

[zz101]

Originally Posted by Rasczak

MPEG2/BD25 were of course the source of BluRay's 'quality' issues early on in the formats life. Time will tell if we see the same here - meanwhile I have cancelled my order for The Hills Have Eyes 2 until we see some good reviews.

In that case Fox have done you a favour THHE2 sux.


WRT to Robocop surely they wouldnt release the old version that go slated first time round?

[Rasczak]

Originally Posted by zz101

WRT to Robocop surely they wouldnt release the old version that go slated first time round?

I can't quite remember what happened here. I know that Sony went to release the title, getting as far as pre-release review copies going out and it got naff reviews. But, for ownership reasons, it never went on sale. It's here where my memory goes fuzzy - did Fox/MGM almost release another version? I'm sure I remember people talking about how Robocop was much improved over the Sony version. I can't say it's a title I want or am interested in though but I suspect a few people are?

[zz101]

Where is this news anyway?

I thought Robocop was as follows?

Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles
English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean

Disc
25GB Blu-ray Disc

[zz101]

Originally Posted by Rasczak

I can't quite remember what happened here. I know that Sony went to release the title, getting as far as pre-release review copies going out and it got naff reviews. But, for ownership reasons, it never went on sale. It's here where my memory goes fuzzy - did Fox/MGM almost release another version? I'm sure I remember people talking about how Robocop was much improved over the Sony version. I can't say it's a title I want or am interested in though but I suspect a few people are?

No - I think only those review copies exist.

[zz101]

Found it...

May be the are just going to re-use the old copy.



This sound v good though...

The Day After Tomorrow - Authored in BD-Java and AVC (MPEG 4 compression). Presented on a 50GB dual-layer disc with English 5.1 DTS HD Lossless Master Audio plus French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound. Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Chinese and Korean.

Blu-ray Exclusive Extras include:
Global Warming Trivia Track
Search Content
Personal Scene Selections
Global Warming Interactive (Java Game)
D-Box
Additional Bonus Features (Standard Definition):
Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Roland Emmerich and Producer Mark Gordon
Commentary by Co-Writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Ueli Steiger, Editor David Brenner and Production Designer Barry Chusid
10 Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Director/Co-Writer Roland Emmerich and Producer Mark Gordon

[BadAss]

I might get Day after Tomorrow, haven't seen it yet, might be good in HD.

I quite like disaster movies, they should make one on the format war.

[brian s]

MPEG 2 and single layered discs are two of the things that made me go HD DVD. I borrowed a BD player and went for discs that I thought were dual layer. There were a few problems with the machine but I have to say some of the discs were first rate and better than I've seen on HD DVD. When I can find a reliable player I will go BD subject to quality discs.

Cheers
Bri

[Rasczak]

Originally Posted by brian s

MPEG 2 and single layered discs are two of the things that made me go HD DVD.

Some of the first BluRay discs were truely terrible - if it wasn't for the stronger launch of HD DVD in this respect then I doubt The Fifth Element would have been re-issued. these days though both formats are virtually identical in that they both can achiieve the highest of standards and similarly can both be very average. The days of poor encodes though (thankfully) seems to be gone...although this announcement from Fox has doubtless got many fans concerned.

[Greg]

I've deleted the offending posts and reopened the thread as it seems to be an important topic.

Next person to post a format war inflaming post gets a week ban. That goes for you lot on both sides.

[Geoff_D]

MPEG2/BD25 is not automatically a bad thing, as long as the title is transferred with due diligence. Although it would appear that the issues of replicating BD50s is forcing Fox's hand (it's why the re-done Master And Commander won't reappear until next year, because the slates for replication are apparently already full for the rest of the year).

I'm more ****** off at Fox for releasing Robocop with zero extras.

[Rasczak]

Originally Posted by Geoff_D

MPEG2/BD25 is not automatically a bad thing

True - there were a few very satisfactory MPEG2/BD25 releases such as Stealth. However the vast majority were below par and I think we all welcomed the move to BD50.