Another Glaring Example of how worthless SUPERBIT is
 

DVD Talk says that "Riverdance" Superbit looks like crap. I wonder why Sony uses their Superbit name on a POS video quality movie. Just another example of how ridicoulous SuperBit is!

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=8095

From DVD Talk's Review

In my experience, the whole Superbit thing is either a hit or miss. I personally enjoyed the SB version of Fifth Element, though many of the other titles are just not worth upgrading.

Thanks for pointing this specific title out, btw! :up:

NOT anamorphic?!?!? WTF Sony?

:D

A non-anamorphic superbit has got to be the most rediculous thing I've ever seen

I'll take the Pepsi challenge with a Das Boot Superbit vs the flipper version any day of the week. Ditto Lawrence Of Arabia Superbit vs the LE.

Granted, some Superbits are questionable in their need and/or improvement (based on your gear) and the choice of movies is suspect at best (I own 4 Superbits from the entire line), but to write them <i>all</i> off as worthless is wrong...

Non-anamorphic though? That's a little radiculos, Superbit or not.

Haven't upgraded any to Superbit. Never heard enough to convice me they were far superior.

i have five, and three of the five push my system to the max sound wise. two of the five just look great, although some dvds that i have can blow superbit out of the water anyday Saving Private Ryan DTS. Gladiator. The Haunting DTS. just to name a few

You can only make a video track as good as the source. If you have an excellent video source, you can boost the quality a little. However, with an inferior track, it just gets worse because you are magnifying the problem.

That said, I think Superbit is crap. :D

Superbit is just marketing speil. It's like "special edition" or "platinum edition"

People who think Superbits are incredible... I just don't understand. I once heard someone say they wanted Gladiator in Superbit. Uhh.. why? the picture is wonderful on the two disc set, and the second disc has TONS of extras. Basically this person was saying they want to pay more money to lose an extra disc of extras.

That's a bold statement. :)

I'm sure most people here share your sentiments, me being one of them - regardless, a Superbit update of a deserving title is often good news, if the release warrants an upgrade.

PS England has a Gladiator Superbit... :)

there are people that care to have extras & decent picture/sound quality & there are others who concern more on picture/sound quality more than anything... i fell in the middle but lean towards the last qualification

i got few SuperBits (7 to be exact) & most of the time i can see the difference (better) in picture quality even on my 27" HDTV... i can only imagine much better quality differences on bigger HDTV system
BUT i can really feel the difference in sound quality on SuperBits (thanx to DTS)... maybe not much, but its there
specially in action movies like Air Force One, Bad Boys ( :drool: ), Desperado, Fifth Element....

Columbia Star/Sony regular (or Special Edition) DVDs tend to have a rather skimpy extras anyway... so, i don't mind sacrificing 'em for better picture/sound quality

that just my take :)

Just give me a damn two disc and I'll be happy.

Some Superbits are better than the their original release. Bad Boys,Lawrence Of Arabia and Das Boot (the DTS track at least) are noticably superior

Every Superbit I have bought shows a noticable difference.

Re: Another Glaring Example of how worthless SUPERBIT is
 

Actually, I think it's another example of how ridiculous Columbia is with some of their choices for a SuperBit release.

I have 4 SBs and I'm happy with 'em.

The problem is that those transfers should have been included on the discs originally.

And with most Superbits, there IS still quite a bit of free space on the disc that could be filled with extras. But that would ruin their marketing scheme, wouldn't it?

Yep... when the original release is sabatoged to not look as good as it could - the Superbit will have to look better.

I think I'll stick to releases from other studios who do it right the first time with better transfers than the Superbits, and for a cheaper price too.

Marketing Scam all the way.

Exactly.

It's all a marketing scheme. It has nothing to do with if you care more about extras or not. I personally do not. I'll buy the Lawrance of Arabia superbit over the other titles because of it's superior picture quality... it's just the people who want Superbits I don't understand. Why want a Superbit? why not want a nice 2 disc set with extras on one disc and a nice commentary, DTS, Dolby, and kick ass picture on the other.

Desperado! Of course I haven't seen the latest re-re-re-re-release for comparison, but damn the SB looks FINE!

If there is so much space left over, why are SBs looking better? Some have said they aren't applying the filter which allows more detail to be seen. This may be the case; I don't think anyone knows for certain. I am glad some space is left over on the disc to be on the safe side.

Yes, marketing is involved. But, it's no different that any other studio - every studio is releasing and re-releasing multiple versions of DVDs - which I am glad - some movies really need it (obviously, pre-2000 releases in particular).

But, to counter Columbia's marketing strategy, I NO LONGER purchase any of their movies until the Superbit version comes out.
If they would release both versions, or make "Deluxe" Superbits from the beginning, they would be getting my buck sooner. But, since virtually any movie from them that is a blockbuster, classic, or has a good transfer will become a Superbit, I will just wait. They aren't going to play me with it anymore.

You obviously have no idea how DVDs work, let alone what a SUPERBIT actually is.

Are you talking to me?

Bought my first Superbit a couple days ago, Bram Stoker's Dracula. Watched the entire film tonight and I am quite disappointed with it. The 5.1 DTS sound is pretty solid and uses the surrounds well, but the transfer is awful. Full of grain and lacks alot of detail. I was expecting something fantastic and was let down. Compression wasn't really much of a problem but I could see some speckles on the print every now and then. Some of the day scenes looked decent, but I'm very unimpressed with the picture overall. Hopefully not all Superbit titles are as lackluster as the Dracula one. I wouldn't even be able to count the number of Non-Superbit DVDs that blow away this one in terms of picture and sound. I was about to buy Das Boot Superbit but now I am reconsidering.

I never noticed any grain on the Dracula SB.... guess I'll have to do a double check....