Japanese Superbit Reviews

Ger

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Does anyone know where I can find comparisons/reviews of Japanese superbit DVDs? There are hundreds of superbit titles on Amazon.co.jp (Taxi Driver is coming out next month!), but its hard to tell what's worth buying (would a DTS track and a higer Bit Rate picture make Taxi Driver look any better?).

I have seen the odd review here and there, but nothing comprehensive.

Taxi Driver Superbit (Japanese)
 
This is one I would like to get , but would it be worth the money? (I know that neither of these are released yet, but just wondering if anyone has experience of superbit versions of older films).
 
I don't know for certain and perhaps somebody can correct me but my feeling is this . For older films such as these I wouldn't expect much from the DTS soundtracks. Bearing that in mind there are probably buying these films for the picture quality which is probably much better than the original version, assuming you have the equipment to take advantage of this. Personally I think these Japanese Superbit DVDs are grossly overpriced, at least with at least with other Japanese two-disc editions you're getting something more for your money but £20 - £30 for Jap Superbit's seems exorbitant.
 
Ive got quite a few of these japanese superbits and they just keep coming!

I recomend them in terms of pic and sound quality. They are ALL superb. (get it? :rotfl:)

I havent seen any badly made superbits so go for it!
 
AML said:
Ive got quite a few of these japanese superbits and they just keep coming!

I recomend them in terms of pic and sound quality. They are ALL superb. (get it? :rotfl:)

I havent seen any badly made superbits so go for it!

But it's also true that they aren't necessarily any better than their "standard" counterparts...
 
There are certain ones which are though: -

The Jurassic Parks, Ghostbusters, Spiderman 1+2, Last Action hero to name a few.

These Japanese versions normally have the best audio and picture out of all the avaliable releases.
 
Russell_Piper said:
These Japanese versions normally have the best audio and picture out of all the avaliable releases.

A misleading generalisation.
 
Which non superbit versions of the ones I have quoted do you think are better?

The R1 JP's definitely do not stand up to the Jap's.

Ghostbusters cannot be touched by any other release.

Last Action Hero is superb.

And the Spiderman's are pretty good also.

I do not see where you are coming from?, can you elaborate? Even if I did not comment on my own personal views and based them on the review section of these forums they would confirm exactly what I have said.
 
So far Ive bought: Ghostbusters (for such an old film they did an amazing job with this)

Fast and Furious (having 3 different versions of this film, the superbit version blew me away!)

Spiderman 1 and 2. (again, excelent)

Tears of the Sun. (i bought the original jp release, then the Superbit, with this one I didnt see as much of an improvement.)

I have a few more, but the first ones i mentioned are the best so far.
 
If you are prepared to pay the extra amount of dosh for them, then it's up to you, but I really don't think it's worth it in the vast majority of cases.

Yeah, I'm sure some will argue that certain SB disc's are way beyond the quality of their standard R1 & 2 counterparts, but I really don't think it's worth the extra outlay (especially for R2 Japanese DVD's which can be hugely expensive) when a great many standard releases have excellent transfers/sound already.

I think people who fork out for the likes of the Japanese discs must be minted!
 
Its true that they are a bit too expensive. But if you are looking for the best in quality these are some of the best.

Still, I am starting to back off from DVD as Blu Ray is just round the corner.
 
Don't believe the hype Japanese dvd's can be just as bad as other regions, my japanese version of X-Men 2 is in my humble opinion cra* absolutely terrible picture quality redeemed somewhat by the sound, japanese dvd's suffer from just as much edge enhancement as other regions.

As for Superbit, well its very true that some titles will look better but bear in mind when you start getting films which run 2 and a half hours long then you are going to find Superbits don't have much advantage over the original release ( Bad Boys 2 is a prime example although you might wanna get it for the dts soundtrack even though i believe the mix is the same as the dolby one but the pic quality is already great on the standard release and trust me i have a 106inch screen and projector and can see a lot of detail or lack of it if theres none there ) sites like Dvd Beaver have already examined the files of the standard edition of Black Hawk Down and the Superbit edition and found no difference and once again thats due to that film running so long, generally speaking the same film print is used for the standard editions and the Superbit editions and if the film is a long one and the disc already doesn't have many extra's on it then you will see no difference between the standard and Superbit editions.

Those pointing out Jurassic Park differences have to bear in mind Universal released in America and Columbia released in Japan thus a different film print was used, you can't even begin to compare when that happens as its the same when a different soundmix is used and people mistakenly start harking on about dts being better than dolby ( look at Blade 2 as an example of the SAME sound mix and then tell me u can hear a difference other than the brief nightclub scene where the dolby bass is stronger )

As for Spiderman 2 Superbit edition its not perfect and i discuss why on my website but its generally very good and the reason the non - superbit is so bad is due to Columbia's mishandling of it and consumers should ask themselves why other studios can provide extra's and commentaries and get it right first time yet Columbia seem to deliberately give us sub-standard releases so they can later justify the all singing all dancing devoid of any extra's Superbit editions, their claims of using all the disc space is also bullshi* as anyone who has Charlies Angels can testify ( 3 gigabytes of unused space ) Look at Spiderman and note the commentary track and then ask yourself why other Superbits cannot have this and its all down to hype and merchandising the product as being the ultimate viewing experience which unfortunately it isn't as too many Superbit editions are lacking when it comes to picture quality and i have seen several ( and own several ) that have edge enhancement.

There is no reason why ALL Columbia titles cannot be called Superbit editions and they CAN add a commentary and CAN stick extra's on a second disc but the studio likes to milk consumers and release substandard editions first time round on some of its titles then followed up by the Superbit and then we usually get the lame directors cut which adds nothing of value other than more money for the studio.

Am i being harsh on Columbia ? nope they deserve it as their marketing policies suck and there is no reason why every title should not be Superbit quality ( without the edge enhancement please ) for me they are the worst studio for treating their customers and sure other studios have released substandard stuff particularly in the early days of dvd but most now release top quality pic and sound for their blockbusters first time around.

I would change my opinion on Superbit titles if they actually used a different film print to the regular editions but all they do is use the same film print and throw more bits at it ( which doesn't work when the film is 160 minutes long as there aren't many bits left to throw at it )

Roll on the high definition formats and hopefully this shameful practice of selling the same film many times over will cease.
 
Straying slightly from the discussion here, I was reading the sleeve of one of my superbit DVDs are it says "By convering the full physical space of the disc, Superbit DVD delivers the best picture and audio quality available on the market today." Now, I have never seen a Superbit DVD that actually does use up the entire space on the disc (I have read that the MIB2 Superbit is very close to being a DVD5) and am surprised that nobody has taken Sony to tsak over this (ie. to court, some people in the US did something similar with MGM recently, saying that their widescreen discs were not true widescreen and settled out of court, I believe, even though it wasn't true).

Having said that, I have seen some superbits that have amazing clarity and are a definite improvement over the original, whether they use up the full disc or not. So that's why its best to find some comparison reviews before going for the purchase. I would never buy a Japanese Superbit without reading a review first as they are so expensive.
 
Just went on the Jap Amazon to order Spiderman 2 superbit, but at 4000 yen (20 quid) is bloody expensive. Anyone now were I can get it cheaper on R2?

Thanks
 
Best bet is to wait around and pick them up secondhand.
 
Save your money and wait for the hi-def releases on hd-dvd or BD.
 
Quick question on Jurassic Park in Region 2. Why is it so hard to find any shop that sells those new right now? I have not managed to find this Superbit Japan with DTS on the internet, apart from people selling second-hand at very high mark-ups. I dont understand because in Region 1 all the discs are available new. Is there a distribution rights issue/dispute going on in Region 2?
 
Jap R2 disks are already expensive. Combine that with the fact that they are hard to find and somewhat "exotic" as they are Japanese, that is usually reason enough to make them more expensive or sought after.
 
Thanks AML. I see you are based in Tokyo.
Is there an online shop you know of that has these new right now in Japan?
 
You wont find either JP1 or 2 available to buy from the Japanese retailers (HMV, CDJapan, Amazon, YesAsia, etc) because they went out of print last year.
 
OK. Do we know when it might be reprinted then?
 
There is actually a good japanese web site called kakaku.com

Its all in japanese though. And recently it had to shut down for repairs due to a virus attack.

Still, they have lists of the cheapest stuff in japan, including DVDs, and where to order from. You can order online, but they may not ship overseas.

Even if you are looking for rare jp DVDs like superbits, you should be able to find them there.

But like I said, the site was down recently and they still havent fixed everything.

http://kakaku.com/
 
the reason the Jp superbits is OOp is cause, as most already know....Unviersal made the movie and CT picked up the rights in Japan but since there rights expired for the movie last year and they never re-newed them it means they cant release or re-issue anymore jp dvds in Japan.
 
Ger said:
This is one I would like to get , but would it be worth the money? (I know that neither of these are released yet, but just wondering if anyone has experience of superbit versions of older films).

Has anyone got the Japanese superbit version of "A Man for all Seasons" (linked above)?? I love this film and already have the version that came out here a few years ago (DVD5!), but would buy the Japanese one if the quality was an improvement. Does anyone have it????????
 

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