Many thanks. Just the answer I was looking for. That helps a lot!

OK Frank...

could you explain WHICH ones you have then? Because I'd love to pick them up. What do the covers look like and the discs themselves?

I'm not sure what the best way to differentiate these things are...but obviously if people are interested in them, they would like to know which ones have the discreet surrounds and which ones do not.

Yes, and there was also another (very subtle) change to the film for the DVD release:

http://cgi.theforce.net/theforce/tfn.cgi?storyID=12726

I didn't notice this until the 2nd time I watched the DVD.

Sorry, this is a volunteer job and my paying one takes me away from the office now and then. I believe I got all the offending remarks. FYI, if you're concerned about a post on the forum, using the "Report this post to a Moderator" feature is usually the best way to get a response.

To address your larger concern, the fact is that there's a large amount of interest in these titles and as long as the majority of posts refrain from discussion of how or where to purchase the DVDs, then I think we're ok.

digitalfreaknyc,

As long as it doesn't get too involved, there's nothing wrong with voicing dissent or concern that we're encouraging people to buy bootleg material by allowing this thread to survive. Obviously, I disagree with this opinion, but I think it helps keep us honest too.

new2theplace,

I believe what Frank S meant by "newest versions" were the newest reviewed versions. The 5 star versions aren't widely available or reviewed yet.

To all:

Please remember to not discuss the details or process of a bootleg purchase you are or have made. That's getting a little to close to "how to buy bootlegs" discussion for me.

Also, I appreciate wanting to help out your fellow DVDTalkers, but let's try to keep from turning this into a psuedo meet and greet for folks who want to arrange to obtain bootlegs via email.

Finally, it is well known that auction sites commonly carry bootleg material. But there's a difference between general references to auction sites and saying that "you can buy them at abc_auction.com" or "abc_auction.com has them listed right now."

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I also appreciate some of the self editing you folks have done when it was pointed out that you went over the line with the "how to buy" info.

Wow! Lot's of "snips" there. You should get a job with the Govt working on files released through the freedom of information act!

Thanks for your work Blade, I think we all appreciate the time that you (and all the Mods) put into this place.



No no, I think you're confused, you see when he made the comment on the newest versions, the 5 Star version wasn't even ou.... Okay Blade, I get the hint

Thanks again for your work.

What all that said and done letīs get back to what this thread is all about. Star Wars-waiting-for the-real-deal-dvd-thread.

How good are those new 5 star remastered versions of the Star Wars Trilogy. Is it just a gimmick to make more profit in the wake of the soon to be realesed Ep. 2. Or is there really something to it there is worth keeping this thread going. Thatīs the question everyone are asking themselves.

Anyone who has viewed the new babies please print their opinion right this moment.

May the force be with you.

It will probably be a few weeks before you see any reviews on the new five-star versions.

I just ran across these five-star trilogy dvds on the net for about $42 ($49 shipped) and no I can't tell you where to find them since it is against the forum rules. Much cheaper than that other place being discussed above. Keep looking and you may find them too.

Have seen them for $ 35.99 for all three of them.

And, no. I wonīt either tell where I have found them.

seen these 5 star ones for 39 bucks shipped, plus Schindlers List dts etc.. lotsa these kind of things online, some cheaper than others. Point is, you can get anything for free, cheap, bootlegged pirated etc on the internet. Everyone knows this, so there is no reason, I think, to discuss how much or little you can get things for

I would have to disagree on the fact that everyone knows this. I'm sure things like that aren't that easy to find, except maybe on auctions. I happened to find those by accident when I was looking for something else. I was simply trying to point out that the auction prices may not be worth it, especially since those sellers on those sites are making a huge (>100%) profit.

I was even surprised to see The Scorpion King, ET 20th Anniversary, Dragonfly and Resident Evil out as bootlegs. Although I'm sure the quality on some of those are probably horrible.

Nobody has posted screen shots yet to show how good these things look. I'd like to see some captures of some detailed scenes.

Just to confirm what was said above, $85 is a rip off for these disks. They can be had much cheaper (under $40 shipped). EDIT: Oops, I think I included too much about "how to purchase". The problem here is knowing the reputation of the source. I took a chance and got lucky with the DTS set. The guys I bought from were excellent. The same source is now selling these 5-stars for the same price but I will not discuss the source so don't ask.

I am waiting on a review of the 5 star version from someone who already has the DTS set before I buy. I have a feeling these will not be any better but if the sound is discrete 5.1 and the video is comparable then I will probably get them. They apparently only include a trailer just like the DTS set so unless there is some other reason it might be an "upgrade", I won't be purchasing.

Frank S,

I believe you are mistaken about the discrete surrounds on the DTS set. I was fooled at first because the fronts are discrete and that combined with the mono surround faked me into believing the rears were as well. After listening closely, I believe it is prologic but it does sound pretty good to me.

Do not waste your money on bootlegs of current theatrical releases. They are crap. Just for kicks I ordered Black Hawk Down with my Star Wars disks because it was only $4.98 and no extra shipping. I was curious to see what the quality was like when there was no LD or DVD to master from.

It looked horrible and the sound was pretty bad as well. Mono I think. It looked like someone took a camcorder into the theater with them to do the "transfer". I was half expecting to see shadows of heads popping up in the picture from people going to get popcorn...

Hollywood has nothing to worry about in this regard.

THANK YOU! Finally someone else has come forward to confirm this. I knew my ears weren't going crazy.

I too will be ordering this set if they are 5.1. Just waiting for a review.

My set of the 5 star dvd's should be here around 10:00 am Monday morning. I will post my findings as soon as I have a chance to look them over.

Well...it's 10am...

how bout that review??!??!?

Well, the Fed-ex driver just dropped them off. Give me about 30 min. and I will be back with a brief overview.

Star Wars appears to be an overall improvement from the other release with the dts banner. I noticed that the black level is a tad off on all three movies and that each movie has had a slight level of noice reduction applied. This causes a noticable smearing to the image. The sound on Star Wars is very good on all 3 tracks and there is no audio delay at all. The dolby digital and dts tracks appear to have discrete surround. Overall I would say the new Star Wars disc is an improvement from the old one. The Empire Strikes Back is another matter. The picture is very good, but for whatever reason huge amounts of compression has been applied to the dolby digital and dts 5.1 tracks. This caused the levels to drop down when it should get loud as during the movies more dramatic moments. The 2.0 dolby digital sounds fine, thank goodness. Otherwise this dvd would be unwatchable. Return Of The Jedi is the best of the bunch. Picture wise it is very sharp with excellent shadow detail and color. The sound is also very good and after checking out the "speeder bike" scene, I can confirm the dolby digital 5.1 as discrete. Overall I would say these are the best version of the Star Wars trilogy on dvd.
--Edward

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....so this is ALMOST perfect? lol

We're getting closer at least. It would be great to finally have all 3 of them in discreet 5.1 surround.

Oh well...*sigh*

Just ordered my set.

How are the menus? Trailers?

Yes, any extras? Trailers? Menus? You mentioned smearing, but says it's still better than the other releases?

This sounds superior to any other set in just about every area. Would that be an accurate statement?

Details, please

I'd love to hear someone who has the newer DVD set as well as this NEWEST set...AND the laserdisc masters...and see what they think.

I'm kinda annoyed at this whole Empire thing...and is a let down. Unwatchable? I hope the surround track is at least as good as the older version.

The menu screens are very cool. Each movie shows a static image in the foreground with a rotating starfield and moving images from the movie in the background. The only extra's unfortunately is the movie trailer in 1.85:1 for each movie. The smearing that I mention is very subtle and I must mention that I am displaying each movie on a 42" Toshiba hdtv. It might not be noticable on smaller displays. The 2.0 dolby track on "Empire" is very dynamic and spaceous and since the other release was not discrete I still prefer the sound on this release.

I also just received my 5 Star DVD's today and can confirm the gamma is a bit high on all three DVD's but can be adjusted with your TV's black level. The bitrate is definetly higher on these 5 star as opposed to the most recent DTS release and is indeed dual layered (witness the layer change that is a bit long but OK).

The audio on ANH and ROTJ is very good (discrete surrounds) but ESB has big problems with the DD and DTS 5.1 sound! It appears the fronts are simply playing on the surrounds (as well as the fronts) and the center doesn't exist! Indeed when there should be loud audio scenes the volume is very low. The DD 2.0 audio on EBS though is very good and has very nice bass!

The DVD's came shrink wrapped all together without being individually wrapped. Unfortunately all three DVD's were loose but not damaged beyond some marks that wipped off easily.