There is no cover artwork. It's about half a page and talks about how secretive Manga is about the details of the DVD.

Not to sound overly negative, but that sounds like such BS. Like a very typical rumor.

It's hard to get shittier than the current disc though.

Some specs from dvdempire.com Looks good!
Product Information

Features:
Custom Motion Interactive Menus
Disc Two
Character Dossiers
Creator Biography
Director Biography
Digital Works
Production Report
Ghost In The Shell Trailers
DVD Catalog
Weblinks
2 Sided Full Color Special Edition Poster
Postcard

Audio: ENGLISH: DTS ES 6.1
ENGLISH: DD-EX 5.1
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Stereo
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Stereo
JAPANESE: DTS ES 6.1
JAPANESE: DD-EX 5.1


Subtitles: English
Release Date: 1-11-2005

Item Code: M20049
UPC Code: 013138200495

I just hope that they won't mess up the 5.1 audio like they did with the GITS:SAC Vol.1 DTS.

I'm mostly interested in the improved video and audio quality. If they live up to expectations, then I'll be happy.

That said, the second disc sounds like a collection of absolutely worthless fluff. "Character Dossiers," "Creator Biography," and "Director Biography" will be screens of text with a picture or two. The trailers are okay but fairly standard, and the DVD catalog and weblinks are typical Manga Ent. disc padding. That leaves "Digital Works" and "Production Report"--which could be good, but who knows? IIRC, there's also a featurette on the existing GITS DVD, so I don't see that we're really improving on the extras all that much.

Once again, though, the A/V quality matters the most, and that's what will determine if I redip.

I feel the same way. I it has two dts tracks, I am fearing that the video will suffer.
The extras doesn't sound that great.-But if picture and sound is much improved I will have to get this!

At 82 minutes (according to dvdempire), they may not have to sacrifice the video bitrate since the 2 DTS tracks can be half bit rate anyway.

Since this is MANGA, I'm more worried about them screwing up the release like they did to the GITS:SAC volumes so far (volume 3 seems to be screwed up as well) than having them intentionally compromising between video and audio transfers.

I was pleased with Ninja Scroll 10th Anniversary, and I believe I will be pleased with this release.

Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition had ES and EX tracks in addition to four commentaries. Disc One of that set has almost twice as much feature as Ghost in the Shell has. I'm not worried about space on this release.

I just hope that they don't add as much ugly edge enhancement as they have to the SAC volumes.

Putting two DTS tracks on the same disc is never a good idea. It eats the hell out of the bit-rate.

Here are the specs. The retail price seems a little high, but maybe that is because of the poster.
From www.davisdvd.com
Ghost in the Shell
Some more details have just arrived for Manga Entertainment's upcoming Ghost in the Shell: Special Edition. The two-disc set, due on January 11th, will feature a brand-new anamorphic transfer, along with newly remixed English and Japanese Dolby Digital EX 5.1 and DTS-ES 6.1 audio tracks. Extras will include character dossiers, a "Digital Works" featurette, filmmaker bios, a production report, "Ghost" trailers, DVD-ROM materials, a two-sided special edition poster and a collectible postcard. Retail will be $34.98.

Need this NOW!!!

A little pricey, but I'll get it nonetheless.

edit: can a mod edit the title to reflect the new release date (Jan 11th)?

This is from Overstock.com.



Here's the Ninja Scroll SE art for comparison purposes.



Is Perfect Blue: SE far behind?

Nice!!! I like that.

Well I can't see anything! But but...I found this pic. at the link you gave.

A little smal...I was expecting something a little more different! Something with one these;'

Oh well. It worked earlier.

I picked this up yesterday at Target. $22.99

Anyone else get this? The slipcover is a real pain. Very tight. It gets a little easier the more I take it out. Other than that, the packaging is pretty cool. Standard fold-out double digipak. Artwork is nice.

I can't compare it with the old one since I haven't had it for over 3 years (it was a victim of a break-up since I technically bought it for her son). I briefly watched some and the DTS sounded fine. Video looked clean. But, like I said, I only checked it out a little bit. I liked the way they did the menus.

TomOpus, could you please confirm all the audio options available?
I'd be particularly interested in Italian dub and/or subs, if there are any.

Thanks!

Here are some comparision pics.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...t+in+the+shell
Doesn't look better at all, the same PQ.
And the song at the end is still the dub version, no original.

Okay, taken from the disc menu we've got:

Languages:

English 6.1 DTS
English 5.1 DD
Japanese 6.1 DTS
Japanese 5.1 DD
Spanish 2.0 DD
French 2.0 DD
German 2.0 DD
Italian 2.0 DD

Subtitles:

English

Thanks very very much!

greetings from Italy!

I'll stick with the original disc.

The only reason I'd see to pick this up would be for an improved japanese track. Nothing else about this release seems to be any good.

Not enough for me.

How is the Japanese 5.1? Is it some remix heck job done by Manga or sourced from Japan?

Is this movie a good blind buy? Also, after seeing what you guys are saying, should I get the original release or the new 2 disc?