I do wish that a bunch of the Japanese Superbits were easier to get for decent prices, like Jurassic Park and Baron Munchausen. Jurassic Park looks tons better than what we have in R1, and I could only hope that the good Baron looks better than what's currently offered in R1 (which admittedly, is still pretty good) (the sound field is awfully tinny, though).

From an A/V stand point, Superbit DVDs are basically what most other studios, like Warner and New Line, put out on a regular basis; they even surpass that quality on many occasions, too.

If you want to watch Gattaca in 2.35:1, you're going to have to get the Superbit.

This really says more about the mediocre quality of Sony's non-Superbit discs than it does about any great advances in "Superbit technology".

Or the regular non-Superbit disc, which is also 2.35:1.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=912

Almost all Superbit discs come from the same transfer as their non-Superbit counterpart. All Sony does is drop the bonus features and incrementally increase the bit-rate to levels comparable with other studios.

I don't know about that. Seems to me the definition of a "lackluster" release would be something that only contains a trailer or two, then they double-dip with a full-blown DC, SE, or CE. I haven't actually compared bitrates, but even though I'm sure it's lower on the non-SB versions, I don't think it has anything to do with enticing people to buy the SB version. Even if regular Sony DVDs used a lower bitrate than other studios, I doubt it was due to the possibility of a SB double-dip. That said, any time some supposedly wonderful new "technology" is only available from one studio or manufacturer, you have to be skeptical about exactly how special it is. The best example I can think of is Sony's "Digital Cinema Sound". I mean was it really any different than Dolby Digital or DTS?

Have you ever authored a DVD?

Then you know that among the choices available is the bitrate range, which can and does vary from frame to frame depending on the authoring software used and the choices the engineer makes.

What *can't* be changed are the upper and lower limits -- the maximum and minimum bitrates allowable by the DVD specification; exceed the limits, and the DVD won't play.

"Superbit" DVDs were authored using exactly the same software, and were subject to exactly the same limits, as any other DVD. Knowing that he had the entire capacity of a dual-layer disc available for the movie alone, the Superbit author could (but sometimes didn't) increase the average bitrate.

This is not "specialized technology." It's standard technology, and indeed there are many films transfered to DVD at bitrates as high or higher than many "Superbit" DVDs, but not labeled as such, because "Superbit" is in fact nothing but a brand name, and does not indicate the use of any particular technology.

Your statement that "Superbit was a specialized technology for the DVD format" is simply incorrect.

RichC

In this case, SDDS actually is different than Dolby or DTS. SDDS allows up to 7.1 channels of discrete audio (5 front channels, 2 surrounds, and LFE). That said, the actual quality of the sound has been pretty variable. Early generations of the decoders sounded pretty thin and were called "Still Doesn't Do Shit". Later generations improved the sound quality to put it on par with Dolby and DTS theatrical formats.

Ah, I see. Well, the only DVD I've ever seen encoded with DCS was a Maylasian (bootleg?) copy of STAR WARS Episode I. I'm fine with 5.1, especially if it means I don't need a separate decoder just for DCS discs. For that matter, I can't be 100% sure the disc I have was actually DCS-encoded, and even if it was, I can't be sure it's not just converted from 5.1. Were any major Stateside release encoded with a DCS track?

I think it's a bit unreasonable to assume that people in this forum have authored DVDs, although many probably have. It's just a collector's forum after all. However, this guy has ignored repeated explanations from reputable folks that SUPERBIT simply means a higher bitrate, not "specialized technology", so I think this is a pretty good illustration of what it would mean to pursue the debate any further...

:brickwl:

SDDS is a theatrical audio format. The acronym stands for "Sony Dynamic Digital Sound". There is no home video equivalent. (For that matter, the home versions of Dolby Digital and DTS are different than the theatrical versions.)

I have no idea what "DCS" is.

where's that thread about message hijacking/trolling? LOL

No. The regular disc is 1.33:1. Sony discontinued the flipper about a year ago.

The old widescreen disc is still available on many retailer shelves, and will likely continue to be for a long time. There's also of course eBay and many other outlets for finding out of print discs.

Well, "Digital Cinema Sound" just may be the home equivalent of SDDS. I have a DVD player that has built-in DCS decoding, along with the aforementioned Malaysian DVD that claims to include a DCS track.

...or maybe I'm wrong. A Google search for "Digital Cinema Sound" turned up the following:

http://www.sony.net/Products/audio/t...ogy/index.html

As best as I can tell, DCS is simply a processing preset available on some Sony hardware. My guess is that the "DCS" logo and trailer on my Malaysian STAR WARS Episode I DVD means nothing. The trailer was probably just a demo clip from Sony, and the bootleggers probably just threw the logo onto the DVD like they do with many other logos that don't actually apply, like "DVD9" and sometimes "dts".

If only that were true. It might be the case with Gattaca, but most of the time, no matter how many copies are supposed to be out there and were no doubt traded in once an SE or something came out, it's often nearly impossible to find a WS/FS version once the studio switches to FS-only (namely Sony). I've been looking for Hero (not the Jet Li one) on a 2-sided disc for quite a while with no luck whatsoever. I mean it's a fairly unremarkable Dustin Hoffman movie that's obviously overstocked because they're blowing them out at WAL-MART, but I can't seem to find the original WS/FS version anywhere. It was out long before Sony went to single-sided discs, so there should be many more WS/FS discs out there than the newer FS ones.

Oh sure, eBay's an "outlet", but you gotta be quick on the "Bid" button and have pretty deep pockets. Anything "out-of-print", no matter how lame, is typically WAAAY overpriced on either eBay or Amazon.

Dubious Chinese Sound?