Blu-ray.com
#51
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Re: Blu-ray.com
I'm not sure if you're being serious, but 40 pages of mostly the same people arguing about a transfer of a catalog title from the early 90's or something NEEDING a 4K scan accomplishes nothing.
The model for BD releases is out for all to see and it's pretty clear that most catalog titles are not going to get a total restoration. I'm not picking a side, but it's your loss if you want to waste time about stuff like that.
And the DNR complainers are the same way. They complain when it's justified, but then they pick really good looking transfers apart and start attacking reviewers who MUST be working for the studios.
So much complaining goes on there, I wonder when some of those people watch their movies.
The model for BD releases is out for all to see and it's pretty clear that most catalog titles are not going to get a total restoration. I'm not picking a side, but it's your loss if you want to waste time about stuff like that.
And the DNR complainers are the same way. They complain when it's justified, but then they pick really good looking transfers apart and start attacking reviewers who MUST be working for the studios.
So much complaining goes on there, I wonder when some of those people watch their movies.
#52
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Re: Blu-ray.com
Why do people have issues with those two questions? I like to know if it comes with a slip and I like them, and if I'm importing a BD, I certainly want to know if it's region free.
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Re: Blu-ray.com
Hour for hour, AV Maniacs' forum is down more than every other board I read combined. It's been that way for years now. Why they don't change to a less-shitty hosting service or something, I have no idea.
#57
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Blu-ray.com
I agree that it's pretty inane to obsess over freaking slipcovers, but I think the quality of the transfers and audio are what ultimately compels all of us to upgrade/not upgrade.
Admittedly, I don't delve too deeply into the threads over there, focusing mostly on the deals, but I have to say, I am somewhat disappointed in the quality of many releases we've seen thus far on Blu-ray, and poor transfers + DNR are major drivers of that opinion.
Of course, there's always the next new transfer + bonus features driving the never-ending upgrade cycle, but that's a "whole n'other" story....
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Re: Blu-ray.com
They essentially lost a hard drive and had no backup since they transitioned to their new super server. No backups, no hot/warm/cold servers, no raid in place for 7 weeks. Not so super after all ... I would have expected more from such a heavily used site.
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=8895
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=8895
Originally Posted by blu-ray.com
Database Loss
We are extremely sad to let you know that we've experienced 7 weeks of database loss. 7 weeks ago we moved to a new much improved server, but unfortunately earlier today the hard drives of the database crashed (was using RAID). On the old server we did daily backups, but since we changed server and setup, the old server backup solution didn't work anymore. We have been discussing the new backup system on a daily basis, but hadn't yet implemented it, so the timing couldn't have been worse.
What is missing the last 7 weeks
We would like to give our deepest apologies to our members, because it's also your data we have lost and what we feel the absolutely worst about. Blu-ray.com is built as a community and wiki and is nothing without it's members, collectors and contributors. We basically beg on our knees that you update your last 7 weeks of collection updates and other things you have lost. New Android collectors will have to register again and re-add their complete collections
We will try to make it up to you the very best we can.
We have a complete image dump of the crashed hard drive that we are trying to dig information in and we will do our best to try to recover more data, but it doesn't look very good. Because we deem the chance of recovering more data low, the site is in a live state and all changes you make will stick. If we find more data we will try to append it, but as we said, the chances seem very slim.
Again, our deepest apologies.
We are extremely sad to let you know that we've experienced 7 weeks of database loss. 7 weeks ago we moved to a new much improved server, but unfortunately earlier today the hard drives of the database crashed (was using RAID). On the old server we did daily backups, but since we changed server and setup, the old server backup solution didn't work anymore. We have been discussing the new backup system on a daily basis, but hadn't yet implemented it, so the timing couldn't have been worse.
What is missing the last 7 weeks
- DVD database additions/updates
- All products except Blu-ray movies
- Price trackings
- Collection updates
- HT Gallery updates
- Movie ratings
- Movie reviews
- All forum activity
- New user registrations
- Any other database data other than mentioned below
- The complete Blu-ray database
- The complete Blu-ray review database
- A few weeks of news
We would like to give our deepest apologies to our members, because it's also your data we have lost and what we feel the absolutely worst about. Blu-ray.com is built as a community and wiki and is nothing without it's members, collectors and contributors. We basically beg on our knees that you update your last 7 weeks of collection updates and other things you have lost. New Android collectors will have to register again and re-add their complete collections
We will try to make it up to you the very best we can.
We have a complete image dump of the crashed hard drive that we are trying to dig information in and we will do our best to try to recover more data, but it doesn't look very good. Because we deem the chance of recovering more data low, the site is in a live state and all changes you make will stick. If we find more data we will try to append it, but as we said, the chances seem very slim.
Again, our deepest apologies.
#62
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Re: Blu-ray.com
Don't get me wrong, whenever I get a release myself that is not updated in their database, I certainly update it, add specs, slipcover, region etc.
Anyway, now that the site is back, it certainly was like a time trip back to April... haha
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Re: Blu-ray.com
^ I use their deal tracker. It is great.
But I don't post over there because:
a) I'm loyal to this site.
b) The douche factor is a problem over there.
c) I'm a creature of habit - dvdtalk is like the local diner where you know everyone. Blu-ray.com is the McDonald's on the Interstate.
But I don't post over there because:
a) I'm loyal to this site.
b) The douche factor is a problem over there.
c) I'm a creature of habit - dvdtalk is like the local diner where you know everyone. Blu-ray.com is the McDonald's on the Interstate.
I do find the main page of blu-ray quite useful for the concise summary of release news and the price drops.
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Re: Blu-ray.com

#66
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Re: Blu-ray.com
Damn, my whole collection, with retailers, prices paid, and other customized details, is gone. There's no way I'm entering all of those titles again.
#67
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Re: Blu-ray.com
What a nightmare. Not only do I have to add like 100 blus and 300 dvds to my collection, but I also lost 2/3rds of my trading score as well as trying to search out the people I was working on trades with, and the ones I still need to leave feedback for.
#68
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Blu-ray.com
So you still have a partial collection? Their announcement stated that only collection updates made over the last seven weeks were lost, but my entire collection page is blank.
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Re: Blu-ray.com
I had added a lot of stuff in the last 7 weeks.
It seems daunting and I haven't warmed up to hanging out over there yet. I'll be back in a day or two.
It seems daunting and I haven't warmed up to hanging out over there yet. I'll be back in a day or two.
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Re: Blu-ray.com
For those wondering which post it was that unraveled Penton-Man's insider status. I've pasted the reply below courtesy of Robert Harris's initial post about the matter on HTF.
Today, 07:43 PM #19886 (permalink)
reelthings
New Member
Member since:Oct 2007
I am just now back in Los Angeles this morning from what I think was a successful premiere of our new restoration of Lawrence of Arabia at the Cannes Film Festival. I hope fans of the film will be pleased when they finally get a chance to see it and I appreciate the many comments from readers of this forum who are looking forward to this release on Blu-ray and in theaters. While I have appreciated the friendly and complimentary comments posted on this forum about the work that we do, both by the members and the” insider”, I need to correct a misimpression or two. I was greatly surprised, but also disappointed, to see a video of my participation in a discussion at the most recent CES event used in a way I disagree with on this forum. (See posts 19865 and 19866) The discussion topic is fine and participating in an event like CES means that you at least tacitly approve of recordings and should expect to see yourself all over the place. Still takes some getting used to, though, but fair game and I have no complaints there.
However, since my likeness and comments were used to push what I consider a personal agenda by the “insider”, I must object. The context in which this clip was used was unfortunate in that it linked my comments directly to what I would consider an unfair and misguided criticism of what I presume to be my colleagues, now and in the past, in the photo-chemical laboratory business. It may not have been directly intended as such, and I presume not, but when you recklessly fire a shotgun, you are likely to hit a lot of targets. These are the dedicated technicians who work very hard to restore and preserve our films. Without the many decades of commitment by these people and laboratories, all of whom I work with have embraced newer digital technologies (the ironic and specious assertion of the postings), there would be no such thing as film restoration. We need to keep in mind that the digital techniques employed today for restoration are complimentary to the traditional path of this work, not necessarily the antithesis. Those of us who actually work in this business, and do the work, know this. So, I want to clearly disassociate myself from this curious and misguided digital-photochemical inference.
Since those posts, there have been a few others related to the actual work on LoA. Some of this is accurate, some not. So, I would ask Penton to refrain from speculating about what was or was not done during the year + that we worked on the film here at Colorworks and other companies. Though it is always nice to hear good things said about one’s work, I don’t really want any personal attribution for any of the work as the work itself is what is most important, not personalities. So, I would appreciate it if fans could just be allowed to focus on the film.
Lastly, and most importantly to me, since it is well-known that this “insider” allows readers and members of this forum to assume that he works for the same company that I do, and that he is even a colleague of mine, I now need to set this record straight. The association of the clip he used, plus the casual use of my name in many posts also uncomfortably infers that we are in collaboration to promote my work and “our” company’s work, with all the self-serving implications that entails. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no association, either through work or personally, with this “insider” and me or the company I work for. None, and I find it embarrassing (to me, him and, frankly, to Blu-ray.com) to have the good and knowledgeable readers and members of this forum think otherwise. We have asked many times of Penton to admit not who he is, but who he is not and clearly he prefers to let readers draw a certain conclusion. I do not bring this up to divulge the true working identity of Penton; that is for him to do if he chooses. But, he does not now and never has worked at my studio, nor with me, and he can continue to say whatever he wants, wherever he wants, pseudonymously so long as that point is clear. Pseudonyms can be useful and even fun, and I used one to post this statement, but they can also be used to obscure the truth. Just because someone is really good at researching topics and looking for quotes on the internet, that alone does not make that someone an expert, nor an insider, nor even a member of this industry. I support and encourage good debate and discussion of any and all topics, but I think it really works best when these things happen under the cloak of honesty, not anonymity. The dedicated readers here deserve better.
Grover Crisp
Executive Vice President
Asset Management, Film Restoration & Digital Mastering
Sony Pictures Entertainment
10202 W. Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Today, 07:43 PM #19886 (permalink)
reelthings
New Member
Member since:Oct 2007
I am just now back in Los Angeles this morning from what I think was a successful premiere of our new restoration of Lawrence of Arabia at the Cannes Film Festival. I hope fans of the film will be pleased when they finally get a chance to see it and I appreciate the many comments from readers of this forum who are looking forward to this release on Blu-ray and in theaters. While I have appreciated the friendly and complimentary comments posted on this forum about the work that we do, both by the members and the” insider”, I need to correct a misimpression or two. I was greatly surprised, but also disappointed, to see a video of my participation in a discussion at the most recent CES event used in a way I disagree with on this forum. (See posts 19865 and 19866) The discussion topic is fine and participating in an event like CES means that you at least tacitly approve of recordings and should expect to see yourself all over the place. Still takes some getting used to, though, but fair game and I have no complaints there.
However, since my likeness and comments were used to push what I consider a personal agenda by the “insider”, I must object. The context in which this clip was used was unfortunate in that it linked my comments directly to what I would consider an unfair and misguided criticism of what I presume to be my colleagues, now and in the past, in the photo-chemical laboratory business. It may not have been directly intended as such, and I presume not, but when you recklessly fire a shotgun, you are likely to hit a lot of targets. These are the dedicated technicians who work very hard to restore and preserve our films. Without the many decades of commitment by these people and laboratories, all of whom I work with have embraced newer digital technologies (the ironic and specious assertion of the postings), there would be no such thing as film restoration. We need to keep in mind that the digital techniques employed today for restoration are complimentary to the traditional path of this work, not necessarily the antithesis. Those of us who actually work in this business, and do the work, know this. So, I want to clearly disassociate myself from this curious and misguided digital-photochemical inference.
Since those posts, there have been a few others related to the actual work on LoA. Some of this is accurate, some not. So, I would ask Penton to refrain from speculating about what was or was not done during the year + that we worked on the film here at Colorworks and other companies. Though it is always nice to hear good things said about one’s work, I don’t really want any personal attribution for any of the work as the work itself is what is most important, not personalities. So, I would appreciate it if fans could just be allowed to focus on the film.
Lastly, and most importantly to me, since it is well-known that this “insider” allows readers and members of this forum to assume that he works for the same company that I do, and that he is even a colleague of mine, I now need to set this record straight. The association of the clip he used, plus the casual use of my name in many posts also uncomfortably infers that we are in collaboration to promote my work and “our” company’s work, with all the self-serving implications that entails. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no association, either through work or personally, with this “insider” and me or the company I work for. None, and I find it embarrassing (to me, him and, frankly, to Blu-ray.com) to have the good and knowledgeable readers and members of this forum think otherwise. We have asked many times of Penton to admit not who he is, but who he is not and clearly he prefers to let readers draw a certain conclusion. I do not bring this up to divulge the true working identity of Penton; that is for him to do if he chooses. But, he does not now and never has worked at my studio, nor with me, and he can continue to say whatever he wants, wherever he wants, pseudonymously so long as that point is clear. Pseudonyms can be useful and even fun, and I used one to post this statement, but they can also be used to obscure the truth. Just because someone is really good at researching topics and looking for quotes on the internet, that alone does not make that someone an expert, nor an insider, nor even a member of this industry. I support and encourage good debate and discussion of any and all topics, but I think it really works best when these things happen under the cloak of honesty, not anonymity. The dedicated readers here deserve better.
Grover Crisp
Executive Vice President
Asset Management, Film Restoration & Digital Mastering
Sony Pictures Entertainment
10202 W. Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
#72
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Re: Blu-ray.com
Sure it's a free site and they seemed to be "discussing" the best way to handle it, but c'mon. A few days lost maybe OK, but SEVEN WEEKS. That's pretty unprofessional and just plain stupid.
#74
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Re: Blu-ray.com
I lost a little over 20 BDs, luckily I was planning on going through my collection anyway to make sure I didn't miss adding any or remove any I sold. I'm totally with jimmywong, I also work in IT and was disgusted when they said they went 7 weeks without backups. Now I feel like I need to get backups of my collection, but they don't have any kind of export, so about the best I can do is grab the printer-friendly version of my collection.
#75
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Re: Blu-ray.com
I lost about 40-50 Blu-Rays from my collection.
Luckily, I also maintain my collection on DVDAf, so I was able to compare the two lists and add what I needed fairly quickly.
Luckily, I also maintain my collection on DVDAf, so I was able to compare the two lists and add what I needed fairly quickly.