Posted by Goro on 10/03/05 15:27

Jeff Rife wrote:
> (electrictroy@gmail.com) wrote in alt.video.dvd:
> > "Superbit" was originally coined by Columbia, not Sony, and it's not a
> > scam.
>
> Yes, it can be, since many non-"Superbit" releases have just as many bits
> dedicated to video/audio encoding as some "Superbit" releases. The extended
> versions of LotR trilogy are a good example...they have about 110 minutes
> per double layer disc with nothing extra except a couple of very low bitrate
> commentary tracks.
>
> > Removing all the extra material provides nearly twice as much
> > room for the Video, resulting in better quality.
>
> "Twice as much" is definitely an exaggeration. Most double layer single-disc
> DVD releases use at least 6GB for the main movie. Double-disc releases
> easily give as much space to the main movie as a Superbit disc.
>
> In one way, Superbit is definitely a scam in that they are almost
> universally released after the first release that had the extras. Sony
> could easily do a two-disc "Superbit" release in place of the original,
> and put all the extras on the second disc.
>
> > Look at the difference yourself. The normal dvd is blurred, like a VHS
> > tape, where the Superbit version brings out the details:
> >
> > http://www.videophile.info/Review/TFE/42_c1.jpg
> > http://www.videophile.info/Review/TFE/36_c1.jpg
>
> Those aren't very stunning differences (in particular, both shots in each
> pair have quality issues, just different kinds), and most of the difference
> could be attributed to a different transfer, not lack of bits to do a
> quality MPEG encoding. The change in the amount of edge enhancement is a
> dead giveaway that a different transfer was used.
>

it certainly encourages Sony to do crap releases so that SuperBit ones
look better. STEAMBOY is a perfect example. A title that really begs
for a beauteous transfer (as that's about all it has going for it) and
what do we get on the DVD? <4.5GB dedicated to the movie and some crap
extras, but all told, it still only takes up <7GB of space. They COULD
have upped the bitrate on the movie abot 20% and still kept the extras.

Hell, why BOTHER releasing a DVD when a person could rip the movie and
burn it and NOT LOSE ANY QUALITY?

-goro-

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