Solid Snake

I'd hate this idea of splitting the movie. Break it down for by spec. What would be the reason to do it for Titianic? Somebody shoot out some bit rate numbers and etc.

Doctorossi

You clearly demonstrate that you know the reason. What help are numbers going to be?

Nick Martin

Indeed it will be:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/04/...tanic-blu-ray/

Also, it was pretty telling that the Jim Cameron / Jon Landau interviews about making the film, converting it to 3D and the whole phenomenon were all filmed in the same location as that great National Geographic documentary.

Matthew Chmiel

The movie-only edition of Avatar was a 46GB disc. The actual feature was 45GB. When you break that down, that's:

• 161 minutes of video encoded into AVC at an average bitrate of 28.8 Mbps.
• One lossless audio track.
• Five lossy audio tracks.

Granted, 28.8 Mbps isn't something to sneeze at. The Godfather Part II is 202 minutes and fits on a single disc with an average bitrate of 28 Mbps, a lossless audio track and numerous lossy tracks.

However, we're also looking at the possibility that:

• Cameron wants a higher average bitrate for the film than 28 Mbps.
• We will also have higher bitrate audio tracks. I would assume we will see a DTS-HD MA 7.1 track based upon the fact the DVD had a DTS-ES 6.1 track.
• There will be multiple lossy audio tracks included as the DVD set had three commentaries alone.
• Paramount already has five-hours of video content already created based upon the DVD release alone. If all of that content stays in standard definition, it's barely about 15GB of content. However, there could be the chance that some bonus material (like the theatrical trailers) will be presented in 1080p.
• Nobody knows a definitive list of what Paramount will be throwing into the mix as well.
• I'm assuming what Paramount releases in Region A will be the same disc Fox releases in Region B and C based upon the DVD release.

Alan Smithee

I wish they'd make an extra effort to avoid splitting a movie onto 2 discs. At the very least, they could leave out any foreign-language tracks if that takes up too much space. The original DVD of "Titanic" was uninterrupted- in fact even though I don't like the movie that much, I bought it just because I was amazed at seeing such a long movie uninterrupted, coming from laserdisc where that was impossible.

Does the BD spec allow for 2-sided Blu-Rays? I've seen a few with Blu on one side and regular DVD on the other, but never Blu-Ray on both sides. Flipping a movie in the middle is slightly less annoying than switching discs in my opinion.

Matthew Chmiel

Like the majority, I'd prefer the single disc. I just can't see Paramount spreading the bonus features across two discs unless all of the bonus material is in 1080p. At the same time, if they do go the route of two discs, why even bother with separate 2D and 3D versions? If you're going to split the film across two discs, might as well include both options on the same disc(s).

The BD spec does not allow for dual-sided Blu-ray discs. Thank God.

fitprod

You're all better off not speculating... I'm just saying.

As for going the route of combining 2D & 3D on the same disc... If you pay close attention, unless the disc was originally a packaged promotional disc, no one is using the 2D/3D option on the same disc... There are technical reasons for not doing this. (Compatibility issue with certain 2D players and poor 2D image extraction, just to name two.)

fitprod

Matthew Chmiel

Except if you're Lionsgate, Sony, or Summit, because, well....









Just a few options where 2D and 3D versions are made available on the same disc. Last week's release of The Darkest Hour has 2D and 3D options available on the same disc. I also own both Blu-ray 3D editions of Piranha and Saw: The Final Chapter and there's only one Blu-ray disc inside the packaging. They also work great on my PS3 and my cheap-ass Insignia in 2D.

Nick Martin

The Panasonic release of Avatar is also a 2D / 3D blu-ray, as well as Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.

A menu prompt appears on screen if you don't have a 3D TV or 3D compatible player, telling you that 2D is the only viewing option.

davidh777

I myself prefer two discs to a flipper mostly for cosmetic reasons, I guess. Back in the DVD era, there were scratching concerns, of course, and I had a five-DVD carousel that made it easy to switch discs without leaving the couch. I still kinda miss that carousel.

Nick Martin

The failure rate of double-sided discs is too high. Really wouldn't want to take the risk with Blu-ray.

Alan Smithee

You never know until you try... I'm just thinking people either don't like the lack of full-size labels on 2-sided discs (even though many 1-sided discs now have minimal labeling) or they lack the agility to properly handle them. Yes, the Universal DVD-18s were a disaster, but that was from ONE MANUFACTURER which was located in Mexico to cut costs on top of that. At any rate, they should be able to fit Titanic on one side with no loss in quality, at least in 2D and if they only include one audio track. I've heard the 3D Imax showings have an intermission as their projectors can't fit that much film on one platter, so maybe it might be OK to split that.

Three Musketeers actually has the 2D version on a separate disc. Monster House is on one disc, Final Destination 4 is one disc though I haven't checked to see if that even includes a 2D version. Only disc I've watched in 2D is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs which looked as good as any other 2D disc- hopefully will be getting my 3D TV soon, already have 13 3D movies to watch on it!

b2net

I just confirmed Three Musketeers is 2 discs.

zyzzle

I'd prefer a high video bitrate above all else (mid 30s on up), so it would have to be split across 2 discs for that. I mean, it is TITANIC, guys! How often are we really going to watch it to make the splitting a problem? Higher bitrate and better quality will make this a truly spectacular release.

The only barely-acceptable way it could fit on one disc is if a lossy DTS track (1509 kbps) was the ONLY audio track, AND the movie takes the FULL 50 Gb of space. This might allow a video bitrate in the upper 20s.

Oh, and I can't understand why Cameron doesn't release TWO versions, one a 2D-only one (for those who care). the 3D. I couldn't care less about 3D, so I don't want it included in a set where the quality of the 2D version may be compromised as a result of trying to cram everything in...

fitprod

It would be the same manufacturer that replicated those DVD-18s.

fitprod

fitprod

But as I stated, that is a promotional disc... If it had been done for sale purposes, it would be like Titanic, seperate discs.

If I remember correctly Cloudy was also originally a promotional disc around the end of 2010.

fitprod

Matthew Chmiel

Nope. Retail only. In fact, while I was wrong about The Three Musketeers, these following discs are currently on sale through retail channels (i.e. non-exclusive) that include both 2D and 3D options on a single disc.

Lionsgate
Conan the Barbarian
My Bloody Valentine
Saw: The Final Chapter

MPI
Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Sony
Cirque de Soleil
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Monster House
Piranha
Priest
Open Season
Resident Evil: Afterlife
The Smurfs

Summit
The Darkest Hour

Warner
Deep Sea 3D
The Final Destination
Hubble 3D
The Lion of Judah
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Polar Express
Space Station 3D
Under the Sea 3D

I can keep on proving you wrong if you'd like and list upcoming discs next.

TheMovieman

You can add the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011: The 3D Experience to the list under Sony...

bluetoast

There is a 2D only one. The White Star Line Boarding Pass (got it from the theater) has three listings:

2 Disc DVD
5 Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (BD/DVD/Digital Copy)
5 Disc Blu-ray 3D Collection (BD3D/BD/Digital Copy)

I'm assuming by the disc count that means 2 discs each for BD/DVD/BD3D.

Now I'm starting to get worried about those extra features from the 3 Disc edition.

Spiderbite

Looks like the 3D version popped up in my gold box today for $25.64. With the $3 promo, I might actually pick this up. Hell, after selling my dvd version for over twice what I paid for it, I would actually be getting this nearly free.

b2net

Hoping they add this as a Special Feature... as well as some of the other things about the restoration to the 2012 version.. Kinda thinking of keeping the 3-Disc DVD as the best momento of the 1997 version...

http://channel.nationalgeographic.co...james-cameron/

bluetoast

I think that is indeed being added.

Solid Snake

and you would think that....why? Cuz for me it'd be badass. I've yet to have a source to watch that.

Mr. Cinema

I got this gold box deal today and decided to order it.

CertifiedTHX

As Nick Martin posted above (#53):

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/04/...tanic-blu-ray/

--THX