Lane03

Can anyone elaborate on what the "old inferior" versions look like, and how to tell them apart from the new release? From what I understand, there was a really old version which was individual keepcases and were pan-and-scan. The newer versions are DVD-9 and widescreen format. I have seen about 4 different packaging styles of the DVD-9 widescreen. I have attached pictures of them all, can anyone tell me which one's pictured are good or bad?









???

EDIT: Modified pictures to remove contact info...

digitalfreaknyc

Thanks for posting all those pictures.

I have the second set. The one that only says "Raiders" and the rest in another language.

As far as we know, NONE of them are good quality. They're all the same horrible transfer.

The new version HAS NOT come out yet.

Thanks for the pictures!

ugabuga

Well i just bought the same set as lane damn so it looks like I got the old crappy versions grrrr. Guess I will have to sell it....I hope the "new" release is decent quality like the 5 star Star Wars set. That set while not nearly as good as my Lasers is definitely adequate so i am disappointed to hear how shitty the Indiana Jones sets are!

phraseturner

i have the second set, and my friend has the third set pictured. having viewed both on the same set-up, both look about the same picture quality-wise.

the menus have different methods of adding the Chinese choices, though. the third set pictured has the word "chinese"--but in a different font-- below the Korean subtitle menu choice (at least on the Raiders disc)

the second set pictured actually adds Chinese characters to the right of the other menu choices on most screens (to translate them, i suppose).

oh, and the third set pictured has a weird quote on the cardboard page with Indy and his machette, but the quote is about the movie "Bounce"! the bottom of the box is copyright info on MGM's Robocop discs. very surreal...

anxiously awaiting a new wave of boots with "5 star-like" quality.

Dane

Beside the quality of the disc, the forth set pictured last looks kinda cool. Was wondering if anyone out there could tell us somting more about it.

digitalfreaknyc

Please consult the rest of this thread for the information you are looking for.

Each release is the same. They are all of horrible quality.

Joseph B

Since your original post was in reference to both the Star Wars Trilogy and the Indy Trilogy, it's kinda' difficult to tell which of those titles you're referring to.

In the case of the Indy Trilogy, there is speculation that "studio politics" between LucasFilm and Paramount have conspired to keep those discs off the market. Probably the only event large enough now to force a release of these discs would be an Indy 4 movie, assuming that it's done through Paramount and not Dreamworks. Since they haven't even started production of Indy 4 yet, we probably have a long wait for these discs.

In the case of the original Star Wars Trilogy, there has been quite a bit of definitive information that has come out over the course of the past 2 weeks. LucasFilm, through Rick McCallum, has stated there there will be no original Star Wars Trilogy releases to DVD of any kind until after Episode 3 is released in May 2005. (This doesn't necessarily mean that we'll get the Trilogy in 2005; most observers think that we'll get the Episode 3 disc in late 2005, followed by the original trilogy in late 2006 or early 2007, which is the 30th anniversary of the first Star Wars film.) A few days after McCallum made this statement Lucas was quoted as stating that not only would the OT not be released until sometime after the release of Episode 3 in 2005, but that the Classic Original Trilogy (in other words, the "Han shoots first" films) would probably never be released to DVD.

So ... that pretty much catches you up on this situation with these two classic franchise trilogies.

By the way, it's estimated that LucasFilm will lose, conservatively, a half-billion dollars over the course of the next 4 years by keeping these films off the market. (This is based on estimates of DVD going into 60 million homes by 2005 plus the fact that demand for the OT should peak in April-May 2005, just before the release of Episode 3.) According to what I've heard, this was mentioned to a spokesperson for LucasFilm who simply shrugged when asked about it. It's amazing that the old adage that "Money Talks" has no meaning for LucasFilm.

ransome

I am like everyone else here,trying to find a watchable version of the trilogy.Looked at everything on Deleted - Static..very confusing,glad you are all here to let us know how crappy these all are.

If anyone views one of the newer releases and finds it alright please email me...

Startide

Hmm, the old boots are running about $7.50 each (after tax) and the new ones cost only $2 more. The stores selling boots haven't gotten the new ones yet, so I am excited. Unfortunately, the only way that I can see how good the "new" ones are is to buy one. In the past, sometimes a "new" re-release of a boot wasn't any better (all that was changed was the email address of the boot seller printed on the back, which was the reason to re-release another "version" of the boot with new printing for the changed email).

digitalfreaknyc

Startide...

You're going to have to elaborate. Please do not use "new" and "old" to describe these. All of the widescreen versions hit at the same time essentially and we are waiting for the official "NEW" ones to hit now. They have been delayed. There is no difference in any of the widescreen versions out now and all were released around the same time. Possibly you mean the "old" as the P&S versions.

RoboDad

digitalfreaknyc,

I understand that you consider the quality of these discs to be horrible. However, your basis for comparison is the laserdisc presentation of the films, which I would expect to be very good. And, unfortunately, this comparison does not offer any value to someone who does not own the laserdiscs (or a laserdisc player), but only has access to the Indy trilogy on VHS (in pan and scan, no less). So, given the choice of watching your P&S VHS copies of the movies, or these (admittedly subpar) DVDs, which would you choose? And "neither" is not an option .

digitalfreaknyc

I would choose the WIDESCREEN VHS that was released in the last few years.

That is your best bet.

palebluedot

Agreed...the DVDs are comparable to the VHS.

RoboDad

But if the DVDs are comparable to the widescreen VHS version, then the DVDs are still the better deal (if only because DVD is a better medium than VHS). Or are you saying that the DVDs are worse than the VHS versions? And, if so, can you provide specifics? (I'm not trying to be belligerent, I'm just trying to separate opinions from "clinical" differences)

Chrisedge

Acutally you should read some of the boards at doom9. Someone there has created a animorphic, dvd-r with 5.1, commentary of the pal star wars laserdisc....


BUT I do know it's very frustrating to deal with a DVD burner... I spent 5 weeks working on a concert boot, my friend recorded...(from Hi8>Digital8 playback>firewire>etc...)

kajs

What is the best way to watch Temple of Doom? In 5.1 the voices are from the back left speaker as mentioned before, and the pro-logic is very front left heavy with a right echo.



This is my set, which seems to be different from the ones pictured above. It has the 3 subtitle options. The discs, I think, are from the 2nd set with the 3rd set box.

I just finished Raiders and I am very happy I got it. For never seeing it in widescreen, I think it was a decent purchase.

Disc-Flipper

I bought the same set as kajs (immediately above) and I rate the quality 6.5/10. I wouldn't use the word "horrible" to describe them. They're almost as good as the VHS, but suffer from low colour, some softness (which the original movies likely were), noticeable electrical speckles on the screen and video noise on the opening credits of all three movies. They're about as good as the Star Wars Original Edition Bootlegs, except no audio sync problems. I can't really judge the sound quality, because I am only running them through stereo TV speakers. I'm fairly satisfied with the set. The fold-out packaging was crappy. The glue holding the plastic trays onto the cardboard didn't hold during transport. I'll be putting them in nicer covers from dvdcoverart.net anyways.

kajs

I agree with everything Disc-Flipper said execpt the audio problem, which is a pain if your DVD player is run through your receiver.

moocher

I think a better way to phrase a statement like that is:

"They're even WORSE than VHS."

digitalfreaknyc

No news really...but just wanted to let you know.

I got word from my supplier and here's the latest word:

"The new sets are not yet available. We are waiting for them."


So nothin

DavidH

digitalfreaknyc,

Is it expected that better editions will come soon?

digitalfreaknyc

Please read my above posts.

This is what I have stated.

Disc-Flipper

Uh, oh... I'm noticing a lot of annoying pixellation and breakup on Raiders and Temple of Doom in the middle chapters of the movie. I did an extensive cleaning and reduced much of the glitches, but not all of them. It could be bad authoring, or some incompatibility with my Panasonic A120 AND Creative Labs DVD-Rom players. Someone else with the sets, have you watched all the way through without any problems? How do I tell if I have the Korean set or the Chinese copies ?

digitalfreaknyc

wait...i want to know where this rumor came from that there is actually a difference in quality between the Korean and Chinese versions. As far as we know...they all suck.

Lane03

The Korean version is the one that comes with the reptile style cases. As far as if there is any difference, I don't have a clue...