Christi P

Are superbit dvds compatible with HD-DVD & Blu-ray players?

Mr. Salty

*Sigh*

Despite Sony's marketing hype, there is no difference between Superbit DVDs and any other standard DVD. None. Zero. Zip. What I'm saying here is, it's a frickin' DVD.

If the HD-DVD or Blu-ray player plays standard DVDs, it will play a Superbit DVD.

NatrlBornThrllr

Yes...Superbit is just a standard DVD that, according to Sony, devotes all of it's space to audio/visual performance. Hence the lack of extras. When it comes down to it, it's just a DVD. Most of the next-gen players will be backwards compatible, so yes, Superbit discs (as well as the rest of the standard DVDs) should play just fine.

-JP

Brian Shannon

Mr. Salty I am not sure I understand your frustration. Not everyone is up-to-date on all of the specs and nuances of the DVD world.

Blame the media companies and the hardware manufacturers who create and promote this situation. Not one of these companies is interested in educating the customer only squeezing more money out of them.

basaro

I think that's exactly what Salty was sighing about, the marketing. Marketing is why people are so ignorant when it comes to pretty much everything (not just dvds). Too many people just hear what the marketing tells them, and they never do any research on their own to make informed decisions.

Drexl

Okay, how about HDCDs? Some BD players won't play those, right?

Brian Shannon

If so then I apologize for my post.

Bottom line is that most consumers have no idea what they are buying and no real idea how to operate the equipment. They become convinced they have to have whatever it is. Even trying to research is tough because there are so many conflicting sources of info to sift through.

NatrlBornThrllr

Well, the first five words of his post were, "Sigh. Despite Sony's marketing hype..."

Cinemaddiction

So, with HD-DVD player's automatic upconversion of standard DVD's, how would a Superbit DVD's output compare to that of an HD-DVD? I wouldn't think the difference would be too incredibly different. I was just wondering, if the titles that are available via Superbit weren't on HD/BR, wouldn't they make for a cheaper alternative?

digitalfreaknyc

This is the wrong forum for this discussion but yes, the difference is huge. Ask any of us who have a player.

RoboDad

Just because a Superbit DVD may have better detail and less artifacts than other DVDs, that doesn't mean they have any more resolution than any other DVD. They are still fixed at 720x480 pixels, just like every other DVD, compared to the 1920x1080 pixels of HD DVD and Blu-ray. So, even upconverted, a Superbit DVD will be noticeably softer than ANY HD version of the same film.

darkside

Actually those play in any CD compatible player, but to access the HDCD sound you need a decoder. HDCD is probably on par with Superbit though for this discussion. The difference is pretty slight from the normal version.

Giles

that maybe the case, but some viewers of the latest 'Fifth Element' in Blu-ray have complained bitterly that the HiDef DVD edition is only a smidgen better than the Superbit edition. The less than perfect print used for the HD 'Fifth Element' is (and should be) an utter embarrasement to Sony and it's plan to convert the masses to Blu-Ray DVD's.

darkside

What is the deal with Fifth Element? Did they store the master in a dumpster? How could such a new film have so many print defects?

Giles

it just boggles the mind, to think that no looked at the finished disc - and maybe decided NOT have released this - Sony is just shooting itself in the foot (but then again this doesn't surprise me coming from them). 'The Fifth Element' disc makes the format look bad - plain and simple.

awmurray

Does that make the Blu-ray Crash disc a superbit? It doesn't have any extras either...

Alan Smithee

What about THX Full Screen DVD's?

Spiky

Sorry, Sony called and wanted a copy, I gave them a VHS tape I made. I had no idea they wanted it as a "BD master" for the rollout. My bad. Guess I should've loaned them my SB version. Or maybe a Beta tape.

Drexl

Yeah, I know. I was just riffing on some of the BD players' inability to play CDs.

Mr. Salty

That's exactly what I was doing, which NatrlBornThrllr kindly pointed out.

gimmepilotwings

Except Sony + DTS = Superbit

digitalfreaknyc

Sony Superbit= easier for me to hold off on Sony movies until they cave.

Mr. Salty

Except what? What does that mean exactly? DTS is not exclusive to Sony or Superbit. Superbit DVDs are just like any other DVD that has a DVD audio track. Why? Because that's all it is: A DVD with a DTS audio track.

gimmepilotwings

This means that if you want to have a Sony title with a DTS track, you should wait for the Superbit version.