However, not all movies nowdays are released in "Superbit" format. For the benefit of those who are sitting on the SD fence, I'm just curious how the "recent" SD movies PQ as Atty barrister suggested earlier esp those discs came from the same high def master hence not much difference btw SD vs HD. Also, some members say the SD PQ nowdays are much better than before (probably near Superbit quality?) thus, there's no urgency to migrate to HD yet as in atty barrister & MAtZTER's case .
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.
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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.htmlAccording 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 lineBrand 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=CA6408427When 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”.