DVD Editions:infinifilm,criterion,superbit, vistaseries, limited, etc...

[byron]

Hi! I'm new in the world of R1 dvd collecting.  Just want to ask what the differences are or differentiators of versions of a title.  There are criterion collection versions; or vista series; etc etc...

what's the value add for the premium?

thanks!

[benny]

Welcome to Pinoydvd, byron.  

Please see :

Help on Different DVD Editions: infini/criterion/superbit/ultimate/special

The Criterion Collection

[byron]

thanks benny!!! great info!

[xage]

Ganito yan.

Infinifilm is a line of DVDs from New Line. This type of DVD usually contains loads of extras which are integrated into the movie itself (you can check out the extras while watching the movie in an immersive, interactive style), kaya everything is fit into a single DVD-9 disc. Some experts say that this results in lesser image quality, but this isn't necessarily true. Kung magaling yung pagka-encode, or short lang yung movie, di mo naman halata. I kinda like this line kasi no need for disc-swapping, and as far as I'm concerned the purported decrease in image quality is mostly negligible.

Why is it that despite The LOTR series being the highest grossing film of Newline was not treated for infinifilm? Im kinda confused yet they have released it for 5 discs insted?

[CoolKidd]

Limited Editions, Superbit Collections, Final Edition, etc...

It really depends on what is you are willing to spend on it.  For example, I bought the Criterion Collection of Armageddon (2 Disc Set).  It was a good buy for me.  I enjoyed the movie and its feature rich extra features!  Then a DTS version came (from Japan) but without any features.  I immediately bought it as well because it is the only movie that incorporates full bitrate of 1509 kbps!  While the Criterion that I have only has 448 kbps.  Right now, my Armageddon R2 is one of the most sought after DVD!  I have a friend that is willing to buy my copy for $150!  Now, that is not bad!

[diver]

Hmmm seems like the trend with the studios nowadays is to bring out different types of DVDs aside from what you think is the ULTIMATE Edition na and here they come with another dvd, a few years after, that has something new again ( even an itsy bitsy part lang ) so that we collector's will have a difficult time deciding if we should let go of what we thought was the ultimate edition and it turns out meron pa palang lalabas na meron special thing again ... HAAAAAAAAY 

That's the reason why I like Concert DVDs    There are fewer instances na you'll make "sisi" with what version you got kasi madalas there is ONLY one version or at the most 2 , kasi yung first one wala pang DTS before or the audio quality of the first one is not that great pa PLUS of course with Concert dvds .... Wooooo 1 to sawa yung watching mo over and over again 

Haaaay with the trend nowadays, we need all the willpower to say NO, I will not get the new edition anymore kasi I'm super contented with what I have already.

Good Luck to all of us 

[xage]

Add this to FOX's Collector's Edition

Try checking out FOX's "New releases/Re-releases Collector's Editions" lower left spines, it indicates what number amongst its library.


Below is the sample of the new numbering system by FOX to its Collector's Edition Library




Collector's Hidden Chase Set? probably .. IMHO its a $$$ spenditure.. chasing the library (deyyymmmm the latest ones.. Man On Fire,Day After Tommorow, I Robot are in it's late 20's number.. and if chased for complete collection.. is roughly cashin out around $$$500.00++ ..)

[av_phile1]

Hmmm seems like the trend with the studios nowadays is to bring out different types of DVDs aside from what you think is the ULTIMATE Edition na and here they come with another dvd, a few years after, that has something new again ( even an itsy bitsy part lang ) so that we collector's will have a difficult time deciding if we should let go of what we thought was the ultimate edition and it turns out meron pa palang lalabas na meron special thing again ... HAAAAAAAAY 

That's the reason why I like Concert DVDs    There are fewer instances na you'll make "sisi" with what version you got kasi madalas there is ONLY one version or at the most 2 , kasi yung first one wala pang DTS before or the audio quality of the first one is not that great pa PLUS of course with Concert dvds .... Wooooo 1 to sawa yung watching mo over and over again 

Haaaay with the trend nowadays, we need all the willpower to say NO, I will not get the new edition anymore kasi I'm super contented with what I have already.

Good Luck to all of us 

It's really the direction of studios to maximize their margins from any film they release or acquire.  Any corporation will want to do that, knowing there will always be suckers in their markets.  Not that there's anything wrong with that - i.e., their greed for profit and the market being suckers for the most part.  (I too am a sucker for the Saving Private Ryan commemorative edition.)  That's essentially manipulating the law of supply and demand.  My hats off for their marketing savvy.    It's really the responsibility of the buyers to educate themselves to discern what is of value among these reissues. 

TOY STORY has recently come out with its 10th anniversary edition a few years after coming out with a box set with TOY STORY 2.  I am sure within the next few months, they'll release a TS2 anniversary edition.  Then down the road, they'll release an ULTIMATE Box Set containing heretobefore unreleased footages and other special features.  Film Editing and archiving suddenly became a lucrative aspect of film making.  Little did the studio think those edited footages that went to the archives or the garbage would make profits for them when they restore these excised footages back for the DVD home markets.  And they probably won't restore all of them in one release.  Perhaps in 2 -3 releases.  The thread on R1 and R3 release is shot full of new releases of the same title.  Many have their merits.  I personally am in line for the special edition TITANIC.  However, many reissued titles don't seem to have much value.  Just my thoughts.

[Haywire]

NEWBIE HERE  ano po ba ibig sabihin ng superbit pag may nakalagay sa DVD?meron pa bang ibang sound format ng DVD bukod sa DTS/dolby digital?

Tnx
ALIKABOK

[purple_jedi]

check this site, alikabok http://www.hifi-writer.com/he/superbit/superbit.htm...and welcome to pinoydvd 

[cel-shaded]

Kaya ba nawalan ng subtitles ang R1 na Rush Hour 2 dahil sa infinifilm (loads of extras on 1 DVD)?

[techdude]

What about Vista and Five Stars Collection.  Are they just another series exclusive to a certain studio, and are both line still being supported with new titles?

The link posted by benny to the old PinoyDVD board is no longer working.  I don't know if that link contained the answers to my Q but I don't think Vista was discussed here, unless I skimmed over it...

[crazyguyallert]

Some editions I know:

Inifinifilm
Superbit
Special
Limited
Special Limited
Critereon
Rated
Unrated
Platinum
Aniversary
Premium
Universal Legacy
Legacy
Collector's
Ultimate
Ultimate Collector's
Special Collector's
Special Aniversary
Uncut
Director's Cut
Theatrical Cut
Extended / Extended Cut
Fox Cinema Classic
Fox Award Series
Marquee Musicals
Deluxe
Spcial Deluxe

[RNIverson]

may pinadala po saking player na region 3 lang, is there any way to convert that to multi?pwera nalng kung bibili ako, sayang naman po

bro, mas maganda ata itanong yan sa HT thread 


OT (sorry cant find any thread re superbit): how would i know if the film will be released in superbit edition? went to their site and titles in the coming soon link are movies to be released by sony 

[techdude]

I think Superbit is a Sony technology.  And only select titles from Sony are encoded in Superbit.  I don't think other studios uses that compression technique...

[RNIverson]

thanks sir. but i'd like to know exactly which new movies from Sony will have a superbit edition 

[xage]

Add OOP and the re-release of an OOP.

[deadpool]

Superbit is a brand of premium DVD-Video versions of motion pictures from Columbia TriStar Home Video, a division of Sony. but what exactly is superbit? meron pa ba pabenta nito? i have seen pirated dvds that have superbit labels..are they the same with the original sony release? enlighten me please

[pchin]

Superbit is a brand of premium DVD-Video versions of motion pictures from Columbia TriStar Home Video, a division of Sony. but what exactly is superbit?

It seems you already read the reference from Wikipedia

Superbit: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Superbit is a brand of premium DVD-Video versions of motion pictures from Columbia TriStar Home Video, a division of Sony. Superbit DVDs aim to improve picture quality over a standard DVD edition of a feature by increasing the bit rate of the encoded video. Audio quality is also improved by the mandatory inclusion of both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround audio tracks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superbit

[deadpool]

yep galing sa wiki but i still need to know more in actuality.. sino ba dito meron superbit dvds and are they the same sa mga pirated superbit?

[barrister]

meron pa ba pabenta nito?

Yes, marami pa.  Go to Astro outlets.

i have seen pirated dvds that have superbit labels..are they the same with the original sony release?

No, they are not.  Pirated Superbits are low-quality because they are compressed.     

Piracy discussions are prohibited here, so I can only answer very briefly.

Superbit is a brand of premium DVD-Video versions of motion pictures from Columbia TriStar Home Video, a division of Sony. but what exactly is superbit?

It is no longer a "premium DVD version". 

It used to be a premium, but not anymore.  Today, regular DVD releases have even higher quality than the Superbits.



Here's my old post:

Actually, Superbit is yesterday's gimmick.

I've been itching to post something about Superbit for the longest time, I just didn't know where to post it.  This may be slightly OT, but I guess this would be a good time to discuss it, since we're discussing how the quality of the SD DVD can affect the upscaling performance of the Oppo.   


=========================================================


The maximum peak bitrate for SD DVD is 9.8 Mbps.

Professionally encoded DVDs, which comply with proper DVD specs, have a very safe average bitrate of 4 to 5 Mbps for relatively static content; and, to avoid pixellation, a maximum average bitrate of 7 to 8 Mbps for high-action content.

Encoding at rates higher than those specifications results in lower compatibility with various players, and increases likelihood of buffer underruns.

DVD specifications from mpeg.org: http://www.mpeg.org/MPEG/DVD/Book_B/Video.html

According to this site: http://people.csail.mit.edu/tbuehler/video/MPEG-2.html, a major concern is that high bitrate encodings sometimes result in juddering/stuttering and skipping. To avoid this, a maximum average video bitrate of 7 Mbps is recommended; or up to 8 Mbps for high-action content.

When DVD was introduced, the early encodings had an average bitrate of about 3 to 5 Mbps.

Columbia TriStar Home Video, a division of Sony, introduced a premium DVD brand, and called it "Superbit".  Since the DVD standard can handle up to 8Mbps,  Superbit DVDs improve picture quality over a standard DVD edition feature by increasing the bitrate of the encoded video to a safe maximum average bitrate of 7 Mbps.  Audio formats of both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 were made mandatory on Superbit titles.

According to Superbit, their DVDs are encoded at a bitrate approximately twice as high (6-7 Mbit/s) as standard DVDs, which helps minimize artifacts caused by video compression and allow the image to be pre-filtered less prior to compression, which results in more detail. To maximize space for the main feature, static menus are used and commentary tracks are removed.

The high bitrate slightly improved picture quality; however, the complaint against Superbit was the lack of special features. 

Soon thereafter, titles such as "Gladiator" showed Superbit how it should be done.  Universal released Gladiator in a 2-disc DVD with a healthy bitrate, with both DD and DTS, and with a load of special features.  Other studios followed with their own 2-disc versions. 

Superbit slowly became irrelevant.  Other studios can release multiple-disc versions with 8 Mbps bitrates, with DD and DTS soundtracks and special features.  What's so great about Superbit with 8 Mbps bitrate and no special features?  They can't go higher than 8Mbps without causing playback problems on existing DVD players, so they're stuck with a spec that no longer commands a premium.

Realizing their irrelevance, the Superbit line followed up with Superbit Deluxe, which bundled a Superbit-quality feature with a second disc containing the special features.

What's so great about that?  Other studios had already been doing the same, and without the Superbit price tag premium.  Today, 8 Mbps bitrates or slightly higher are common for new releases of regular SD DVDs.

Finally realizing that they can no longer charge a premium for something that other studios can do at regular prices, Sony Pictures discontinued the Superbit line on January 18, 2007.
 
Sony officially drops Superbit line
Brand was an 'interim bridge' toward high-defintion Blu-ray Disc
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 1/18/2007

JAN. 18 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has retired its Superbit line in order to promote its Blu-ray Disc format.

The studio’s last produced new Superbit disc was the April 2005 release of theatrical circus series Cirque du Soleil.

http://www.videobusiness.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6408427


When they dropped the Superbit, Sony's official line was, “It was always an interim bridge strategy to get people excited about what high-def would be looking like in 2006 and 2007”. 

[pchin]

are they the same sa mga pirated superbit?

deadpool, it's against forum rules to discuss "pirated" issues.

You can refer to such similar discussion here:
http://pinoydvd.com/board/index.php?topic=74311.0