I know, like many, I've put alot of money into my HT setup and I would like to have the best copy of the movie available, even if it costs a little more to import it. What movies that have multiple releases, have a superior copy? PQ or AQ.

Please, give me your input/findings. Thats what this is about. :)


12 Monkeys
German (Concorde) - VC1 Encode, DTS-HD HR 5.1, No Extras, BD25. Region Free.
US/UK (Universal) - VC1 Encode, DTS-HD MA 5.1, Extras, BD50

16 Blocks
Japan (SPEJ) - MPEG-2 Encode, PCM 5.1
NL (DFW) - VC1 Encode, DTS-HD MA 5.1
US/UK (Warner) - VC1 Encode, DD 5.1

1408
Dutch (DFW) - Jaggies, better PQ, DTS-HD, Region Free
US - Jaggies, bad blacks/greys/colors, 24-bit TrueHD

10000 B.C.
Japan/NL (Warner) - VC-1, TrueHD, History Channel's Journey to 10,000 BC (VC-1, 480i, 90 min), Region Free
US -

30 Days of Night
French (Warner) - AVC, DTS-MA, Region Free
German (Concorde) - Region Free
NL (DFW) - VC1 Encode, English DTS-HD MA 5.1, Extras
UK/AUS (Icon) - AVC, 24-bit DTS-MA, Region Free (PQ same as US - Sony)
US (Sony) - AVC, 24-bit TrueHD (PQ same as UK/AUS - Icon). HD Extras.

Aeon Flux
Japan (Geneon) - AVC, TrueHD, Region Free.
US HD DVD - VC-1, Better PQ than US BD, DD+ (lossy) audio
US - MPEG2, DD (lossy) audio.

American Psycho
AUS (Sony) - Uncut, AVC, BD50, 16-bit TrueHD 5.1, Region Free.
German (Concorde) - Cut Version, VC-1, 16-bit DTS-MA 5.1, BD25, wrong aspect ratio. Region Free
Sweden (Nordisk film) - DTS-MA 5.1
US - Uncut, MPEG2, 24-bit DTS-MA 5.1, BD25.

Aviator
Dutch - High bitrate VC-1 and DTS-MA.
US - VC-1 and DD (lossy) audio

Bad Santa
UK/EU - Unrated, Slightly higher bitrate AVC, 20-bit TrueHD
US - DC - AVC/Unrated - VC-1, PCM

Band of Brothers
US - DNR, DTS-MA
Japan HD DVD - No DNR, DTS-HR (lossy)

Bangkok Dangerous
German (Constantin) - AVC, DTS-HR 5.1, Region B locked.
UK (EiV) - 1080i50, Region B locked.
US (Lionsgate) - AVC (highest bitrate), DTS-MA 7.1, Region A locked.

Basic Instinct
AUS (Universal) - Region Free.
UK (Momentum) - Better PQ, VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1
US - DNR, AVC, DTS-HR 6.1

Battleship Potemkin
Nordic (Atlantic): AVC (low bitrate), DD, no English subtitles, 1080i50 (18fps converted to 25fps, at correct speed)
US (Kino): AVC (high bitrate), DTS-MA, 1080p24 (18fps converted to 25fps, slowed down to 24fps)

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
UK (EiV) - AVC, DTS-MA
US (Image) - AVC (slightly higher bitrate), DTS-MA
US/UK mouseovers (http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/80995/picture:0)

Beowolf
UK (Warner) - Low bitrate VC-1 (15Mbps), 16-bit TrueHD, No BonusView
US (Paramount) - High bitrate AVC (27-30Mbps), TrueHD, more HD extras, BonusView

Black Hawk Down
Nordic - AVC, Better PQ, 7.1 DTS-MA
US - MPEG2, 16-bit PCM

Casino Royal
Aus (Sony) - Uncut (http://movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4011), PCM audio, Region Free (144:34)
German (Sony) - Uncut (http://movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4011), DD (lossy) audio
UK (Sony) - Edited (only missing one scene from AUS), Region Free (Deluxe Edition has TrueHD) (144:20)
US (Sony) - Edited, 16-bit PCM audio (Deluxe Edition has 24bit TrueHD) (144:12)

Che - Part 1 & 2
French (Warner) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, No English subs
Japan (Sony) - AVC, TrueHD 5.1 (Spanish, English, Japanese), No English subs
UK (Optimum) - AVC, Spanish DTS-MA 5.1, Region B locked with forced PAL trailers, English subs when Spanish is spoken only
(Rumors of a US Criterion release fall '09)
(Part 1 - 2.40:1, Part 2 - 1.78:1)

Children of Men
Nordic (Nordisk Film) - AVC, DD (lossy 640kbps), no extras
US HD DVD - VC-1, DD+ (lossy 1.5Mbps), HD extras

Cinderella Man
UK/E.U/AUS/JP (Disney) - High bitrate VC-1, better PQ, LPCM 4.6Mbps, extras
US HD DVD - VC-1, DD+, extras

Cliffhanger
Japan - AVC (higher bitrate), TrueHD
UK - VC-1, DTS-MA

Crank
German (Universum) - Some have said slightly better PQ, Extended Cut, DTS-HD 5.1, Region Free. (extras on Region 2 DVD)
US - MPEG2, 6.1 PCM audio.

Danny the Dog
HK (Panorama) - AVC Encode, DTS-HD MA 5.1, Region A & C locked
Japan - AVC (higher bitrate than French), TrueHD. Region Free.
French - AVC (Different Color timing), DTS-HR, Region Free.

Dawn of the Dead - 1978
German - MPEG2 (low bitrate), DD 5.1/2.0
US - AVC, PCM 5.1/DD2.0

Death Sentence
UK (EiV) - High bitrate AVC, 1080i50, DD (lossy) audio, Region B locked
French (Metropolian) - DTS-MA 5.1, Region B locked
German (Concorde) - DTS-HD HR 5.1, Region Free
Nordic (Nordisk Film) - DTS-MA 5.1, Region Free.

Deja Vu
German (BVHE) - AVC, PCM, 2.35:1.
US (BVHE) - VC-1, PCM, 2.40:1.

The Departed
French (TF1) - AVC, DTS-HR 5.1. BD50. Region B. Forced French subtitles.
UK (EiV) - VC-1, DTS-MA, Region Free.
US - VC-1, PCM.

The Descent
AUS (Icon) - Higher bitrate AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, Natural colors and deeper blacks compared to both US BD's, Region Free. PAL extras. International Cut
German - VC-1 (low bitrate), DTS-MA 6.1
UK (Pathe) - AVC, PCM/DTS-MA 5.1. More extras than AUS. Looks similar to AUS as far as blacks/colors. Region B locked.
US - MPEG2 (DNR), PCM 6.1
US - AVC (No DNR), PCM 6.1
Break down of different version (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1063833&page=15)

The Devil Wears Prada
French, German, UK and Netherlands - AVC, DTS-MA, Region Free.
US - MPEG2, DTS-MA, Region A

District B13
French - AVC, PCM
US - MPEG2, DTS-HR 5.1 ES

Disturbia
UK - AVC, TrueHD 5.1. Region Free.
US - AVC, DD EX (640Kbps)/DD ES 6.1 (1.5Mbps)

District 9
Nordic - AVC, 24bit DTS-MA 7.1. Region B.

Eastern Promises
UK - VC-1 (slightly higher bitrate), DTS-HR 5.1
US - VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1

Enter the Dragon
HK - DTS-MA/TrueHD 7.1 Cantonese DUB track, English subs. BD50 Possibly Region A locked
US (warner) - English DD 5.1 (lossy), more extras

Equilibrium
UK (Momentum) - 1.78:1, VC-1, DD (lossy)
Japan (Sony) - 2.35:1, AVC, TrueHD, Region Free.
Polish - 1.78:1, PCM 5.1, Region Free.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose
UK (Sony) - MPEG2, PCM, Unrated, Region Free
US (Sony) - AVC, 16-bit TrueHD, Unrated, extras, Region Free.

The Eye
German - VC-1 (slightly higher bitrate), DTS-HR 5.1
US - AVC, DTS-MA 7.1

Face-Off
Aus (Disney) - Uncut version, less DNR, better PQ, PCM audio.
UK (Buena Vista) - Edited version, less DNR, AVC, better PQ, PCM audio.
US - DNR, AVC, DTS ES 6.1 (1.5Mbps) and DD EX 5.1 (640Kbps) (lossy) audio, extras.

The Fall
German - VC-1, DTS-MA. BD25.
UK - VC-1, DTS-MA. Cut slightly for animal cruelty. BD25
US - AVC, TrueHD. BD50

Fantastic Four
German (Constantin/Highlight) - MPEG2, DTS-HR 5.1, Extras, Region Free.
US (Fox) - MPEG2, DTS-MA 5.1.

Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer
German (Constantin/Highlight) - VC-1, DTS-HR 5.1, Region Free.
US (Fox) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, more extras, Region A locked.

Fearless
HK - AVC (higher bitrate), DTS-MA and PCM 7.1, Directors Cut only, Region A locked
US - VC-1, 24bit DTS-MA 5.1, All 3 cuts (PG-13, Unrated, and Directors)

The Fifth Element
French (Gaumont) - AVC, DTS-HR 5.1. Region B.
German (Ufa) - VC-1 (lower bitrate), DTS-HR 6.1 (4608Mbps), extras. Region Free.
US (Sony) - AVC, 16-bit PCM/20-bit TrueHD, no extras. Region Free.

Fight Club
German (Kinowelt) - VC-1, DTS-HR 7.1. Region B.
US - AVC (better PQ than German), DTS-MA 5.1

Flags of Our Fathers
UK, German, French, Netherlands all have VC-1 (lower bitrate) and PCM audio
UK (Dreamworks) - Region Free.
US, Japanese - AVC (higher bitrate), DD (lossy audio)

Gangs of New York
French (M6) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1
UK - AVC, DTS (lossy @ 1509Kbps) audio
US - VC-1, PCM 5.1, more extras
Comparison in French with screenshots (http://www.ecranlarge.com/article-details-9230.php)

Gladiator
German -
UK (Universal) -
US (Paramount) - DNR/EE.

The Guardian
UK (BVHE) - AVC, PCM, Region B locked.
US (BVHE) - MPEG2, PCM, Region A locked.

Gothika
EU - MPEG2, PCM 5.1.
French (Sony) - VC-1, PCM, Region Free.
US (Warner) - VC-1, DD (lossy).

The Graduate
French (StudioCanal) - DTS-MA 2.0. BD50. Region B.
US (MGM) - MPEG2, DTS-MA 5.1, English Mono (lossy). BD25. Region A.

Hannibal
German (Ufa) - VC-1, DTS-HR 6.1. Region Free.
UK (Universal) - VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1
US (MGM) - MPEG2, DTS-MA 5.1, no extras. Region A

Happy Feet
UK, Netherlands, Japanese all have PCM audio and more extras.
US - DD EX (lossy) audio

Hitman
French (EuropaCorp) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1/PCM 5.1. Region B? BD50?
US (Fox) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1

House of Flying Daggers
AUS/FR - Uncut, VC-1, DTS-HR, BD50, Region B Locked
UK (Pathe) - VC1 Encode, Mandarin DTS-HD HR 5.1, UK Cut, Region B Locked
US - Cut, MPEG2, PCM, Region Free. BD25

History of Violence
UK (EiV) - VC-1, TrueHD, Less DNR, Region B locked
US (Warner) - VC-1, TrueHD, DNR/EE.

Home of the Brave
Holland (DFW) - 2.35:1, VC-1, DTS-MA, Region Free.
US (Fox) - 2.40:1, MPEG2, DTS-MA, Region A.

Hostel
UK (Sony) - MPEG2, 24bit PCM
US - AVC, 16bit TrueHD, Extras.

The Illusionist
German - VC-1 (low bitrate), DTS-MA
Italian (Eagle) - AVC (higher bitrate), DD (lossy)

In Bruges
AUS - 1080i50 AVC, DTS-MA
French (M6-Warner) - AVC, English DTS-MA 5.1, Extras (PAL), 24FPS (not 23.976), BD50. Region Free.
Nordic - AVC (low bitrate), DTS-MA 5.1, exactly 24fps
US (Universal) - VC-1 (high bitrate), DTS-MA, 23.976fps

Inside
Swedish - 1080i50, AVC, DTS-MA 5.1. No English subtitles.

Into The Wild
FR - VC-1 (very low bitrate), DTS-MA/TrueHD (16-bit)
German (UFA) -
US - VC-1, TrueHD (24-bit)

IP Man
HK - AVC, PCM/TrueHD/DTS-MA 7.1, English Subs. Better PQ. BD50. Region A locked?
UK (Showbox) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, English Subs, Region Free. BD50.

The Italian Job (2003)
German - VC-1 (low bitrate), DTS-MA (16-bit), Region B
US - MPEG2, DD (lossy)

Jarhead
US - low bitrate VC-1
All non-US? (UK) - high bitrate VC-1, more extras

JCVD
FR (Gaumont) - AVC, French DTS-HD MA 5.1, English Subs (optional), Extras (PAL, No Subs), BD25
UK (Revolver) - AVC (higher bitrate than US), French TrueHD 5.1, Forced English Subs, Extras (PAL and English Subbed), BD50, Region Free
US - AVC, English&French DD 5.1 (lossy - 448kbps), English Subs, BD25, No Extras

Jumper
German (Kinowelt) - VC-1, DTS-HR 7.1, no extras, Region B locked. BD25
US (Fox) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, extras, Region A locked.

The Kingdom
UK - VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1
US - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1

Kingdom of Heaven
French (Fox Pathe) - Director's Cut, low bitrate VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1, Extras (The Path to Redemption 6 hours 56 minutes) in 480p, No English subs, Incorrect Gamma, Region Free
US - Director's Cut, MPEG2, No extras

Kung Fu Hustle
Korean - Uncut, Region Free
UK (Sony) - Uncut, MPEG2 (low bitrate), PCM 5.1.
US - Edited, MPEG2 (low bitrate), PCM 5.1.

LA Confidential
Japan (TFC) - AVC, DTS-MA
US - VC-1, TrueHD

The Last Samurai
HK (Deltamac - Warner) - VC1, TrueHD 5.1
KOR (Warner) - VC1, TrueHD 5.1 **Unconfirmed (Not Released)
US/UK (Warner) - VC1, DD 5.1

Leon
GER (Kinowelt) - AVC, English & German DTS-HD HR 7.1, HD Extras, US and International Cut
FR (Gaumont) - AVC, English DTS-HD HR 5.1, English & French DTS-HD MA 5.0. US and International Cuts.
UK (Optimum) - AVC (film grain more preserved), DTS-MA 5.1/PCM 2.0, US and International Cuts. Region B locked.

Let the Right One In
Nordic - AVC, DD 5.0/DTS 5.1. Correct Theatrical English subtitles.
UK (Momentum) - AVC, DTS-MA. Theatrical English subtitles
US (Magnolia) - VC-1, DTS-MA, BD25, Region A. Only fixed version has Theatrical English subtitles.
Lord of War
French (M6 Video) - AVC, DTS-MA 6.1, PAL? extras. BD50. Region Free
US (Lionsgate) - MPEG2, DD EX/DTS ES 6.1, no extras. BD25

Life
UK (2entertain): VC-1, DTS-HR, 1080i50 (correct 25fps)
US (Warner): VC-1, DTS-HR, 1080p24 (slowed down, except one episode in 1080i60)

The Lives of Others
US (Sony): AVC, LPCM, edge enhancement, a hint of DNR, but otherwise OK
UK (Lionsgate): AVC, DTS-MA, same as US but has a nasty chroma shift in the reds giving it a washed out, sickly look:
US/UK mouseovers (http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/80999)

Lucky # Slevin
UK (EiV) - VC-1, better PQ, 16-bit DTS-MA 5.1, Region Free.
US - AVC, TrueHD

Lust, Caution
KOR (CJ Entertainment) - AVC, Mandarin PCM 7.1 & Mandarin DTS-HD MA 7.1, English Subs, Extras (English subs)
HK (Edko) - AVC, Mandarin PCM 7.1 & Mandarin DTS-HD MA 7.1, English Subs, Extras (English subs?)
JPN (Victor Entertainment) - AVC, Mandarin PCM 5.1 & Japanese PCM 5.1, No English Subs, Censored
TWN (Deltamac) - AVC, Mandarin DTS-HD MA 5.1, English subs

The Machinist
German - VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1
Japan -
US - AVC (high bitrate), TrueHD 5.1

Mad Detective
UK (Eureka - MoC) - AVC, Cantonese TrueHD 5.1 & Cantonese DTS-HD MA 5.1, More Extras (English Sub), Shorter Director's Cut, Better PQ, BD25
HK (Mei Ah) - AVC, Cantonese PCM 7.1 & Cantonese DTS-HD MA 5.1, Less Extras (No subs), Longer Theatrical Cut, BD50, Watermark

Man On Fire
US (Fox) - AVC, DTS-MA
UK - AVC, DTS-MA, more extras. Region Free.

Micheal Clayton
French (M6) - Better PQ, AVC, DTS-MA, BD50, Region Free
US (Warner) - VC-1, DD (lossy), BD25.

Million Dollar Baby
French (StudioCanal) - DTS-MA 5.1. Region B?
US (Warner) - VC-1, DD 5.1 (lossy).

Mongol
German - 1080i50, VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1, no English subs
UK (Universal) - Better PQ than US, AVC, Mongolian DTS-MA 5.1, Region B
US (Warner) - VC-1, Mongolian DD 5.1

Mr and Mrs. Smith
French (Warner) - AVC, DTS-MA, Region Free.
French (M6) - Uncut, AVC (better PQ than US), DTS-MA 5.1. Region Free.
US - Slight DNR

Next
UK (EiV)- DTS HD HR @ 2 Mbps, VC-1, extras in SD
US - 24-bit LPCM, high bitrate AVC, extras in HD

The Orphanage
UK (Optimum) - low bitrate AVC, Jaggies, DTS-MA 5.1, English subs, Region Free
US (New Line) - VC-1, Jaggies, DTS-MA 7.1, English subs, Region A
Spanish (Warner) - DTS-MA 5.1, extras (PAL), English subs, Region Free. BD25 (no confirmation of Jaggies)

Pan's Labyrinth
French - No DNR, no English subs, PQ better than US but not as good as UK.
German (Senator) - 1.85:1, Spanish and German PCM 6.1/DTS-MA 5.1, only German subtitles, much less extras, Region Free.
UK (Optimum) - 1.78:1, VC-1, Best PQ, Spanish DD (lossy), English subs, Region Free, PAL extras.
US - 1.85:1, VC-1, DNR, Spanish DTS-MA 7.1, Extras.

Payback
UK/German/Spanish (Warner) - Theatrical/Director's Cut, AVC, TrueHD 5.1.
US - Director's Cut, MPEG2, DD (lossy)
US HD DVD - Director's Cut, AVC, DD+

The Phantom of the Opera
Japan (GAGA) - AVC (double the US bitrate), TrueHD/PCM 5.1
US (Warner) - VC-1, DD 5.1 (lossy, SD extras. BD25.

Pitch Black
UK (Universal) - Theatrical, VC-1 (slightly higher bitrate), DTS-MA 5.1.
US (Universal) - DC/Theatrical, VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1.

Planet Earth
Spain (Cameo Media) - 1080i, VC-1, Region Free. (530min) (Sir David Attenborough)
UK (2entertain) - 1080p24, VC-1, Region Free. (530min) (Sir David Attenborough)
US (BBC Version) - 1080p24/VC-1, Region Free. (530min) (Sir David Attenborough)
US (Discovery) - 1080i/AVC, Region A locked (480min) (Sigourney Weaver)

Planet of the Apes - 1968
Dutch (Fox) - AVC, DTS-HR, Region Free. (No Mono track)
US (Fox) - AVC, 24bit DTS-MA 5.1/DD 2.0 Mono, Region A locked.

The Prestige
Dutch (Warner) - AVC, DD (Lossy)
EU (Warner) - VC-1 (low bitrate), DD 5.1 (lossy)
US (BVHE) - AVC, 24bit PCM, Region A locked.

P.S. I Love You
NL (Warner) - TrueHD/DTS-MA, No English subs, More Extras, Region B
US - VC-1, TrueHD 16-bit

Pulp Fiction
AUS - 1080i50 AVC, DTS-MA 5.1. Region Free.
French - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1. Region B.
Scandinavian - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1 (much higher bitrate audio). Region Free.

The Punisher
Canada (Alliance) -
Japan (Sony) -
UK (Sony) - AVC, TrueHD, more extras, Region Free.
US (Lionsgate) - MPEG2, 6.1 DTS-ES/5.1 DD EX. BD25

Punisher: War Zone
UK (Sony) - AVC, TrueHD 5.1, Region Free.
US (Lionsgate) - AVC, DTS-MA 7.1, Region A locked.

Rambo
Hong Kong - 16-bit DTS-MA/16-bit TrueHD, Better PQ? (Higher bitrate encode)
US - AVC, 24-bit DTS-MA 7.1

Rambo II
French (Studio Canal) - DTS-MA 5.1. Region Free
UK (Optimum)- Region Free
US - VC-1, Better PQ, DTS-MA

Rambo III
French (Studio Canal) - Region Free
UK (Optimum) - Region Free
US - VC-1, Better PQ, DTS-MA

Red Cliff I
UK (EiV) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, forced English subs, PAL trailers. BD50 (Special Edition contains both parts. Standard Edition is a trimmed single part)
Hong Kong (Mei Ah) - AVC, Mandarin PCM 7.1/DTS-HD MA 7.1/TrueHD 7.1, English Subs, BD50, Watermark, Region Free
Japan - TrueHD 5.1, no English subs?
Korean - 7.1 TrueHD/DTS-MA/PCM, no English subs?
Taiwan (Deltamac) - AVC, Mandarin PCM 7.1/DTS-HD MA 7.1/TrueHD 7.1, English Subs, BD50, Open-matted (1:78:1), Region Free
CN (Zoke Culture) - AVC, Mandarin PCM 7.1/DTS-HD MA 7.1/TrueHD 7.1, English Subs, BD50, No Watermark, Region C Locked

Red Cliff II
UK (EiV) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, forced English subs, PAL trailers. BD50 (Special Edition contains both parts. Standard Edition is a trimmed single part)
Hong Kong (Mei Ah) - AVC, Mandarin PCM 7.1/DTS-HD MA 7.1/TrueHD 7.1, English Subs, BD50, Region Free
Japan - TrueHD 5.1, no English subs?
Korean - 7.1 TrueHD/DTS-MA/PCM, no English subs?
Taiwan (Deltamac) - AVC, Mandarin PCM 7.1/DTS-HD MA 7.1/TrueHD 7.1, English Subs, BD50, Open-matted (1:78:1), Region Free

Requiem of a Dream
Canada - 1.78:1, AVC, DTS-MA 5.1
French - 1.85:1, AVC, DTS-HR 5.1
US - 1.85:1, AVC (double the bitrate of CA/FR release), DTS-MA 7.1

Reservoir Dogs
Dutch (DFW) - 2.40:1, Better PQ, MPEG2, DTS-HR 6.1, more extras than US (PAL), Region Free.
UK - Extras
US - 2.35:1, MPEG2, DTS-HR 6.1/DD EX 5.1

Resident Evil
Japan (Sony, Trilogy only) - AVC, TrueHD, Region Free
US - AVC, TrueHD

Resident Evil Apocalypse
German - Extended Cut, MPEG2 (low bitrate), DTS-HR 5.1 (Disc from Trilogy has a superior encode compared to US)
Japan (Sony, Trilogy only) - Extended, AVC, TrueHD, Region Free
Japan (Single Disc) - MPEG2
US - Theatrical, MPEG2 (slightly higher bitrate than German), 4.6Mbps PCM

Resident Evil Extinction
German (Highlight) - VC-1, DTS-HD HR, Region Free
Japan (Sony, Trilogy only) - AVC, TrueHD, Region Free
US - AVC, TrueHD

Revolver
German (Ascot) - Original Theatrical Cut (1:57.21), VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1
US (Sony) - (1:44:27) AVC (higher bitrate than German), TrueHD 5.1

Rocky Balboa - 2006
France/German (Fox) - MPEG2, DTS-MA 5.1
US (Sony) - AVC, 16bit PCM 5.1

Running Scared
German - VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1
Dutch (DFW) - 1080i50, AVC, DTS-MA, Region B locked?

Saw
French (Metropolitan) - DC, DTS-MA 6.1. Region B
German (Kinowelt) - 1.85:1, VC-1, Uncut, DTS-HR 7.1/DTS ES 6.1, Extras, Region Free. BD50
Japan (Sony, Quadrilogy) - AVC and TrueHD 7.1, Region Free.
US - 1.78:1, Theatrical, MPEG2, DD EX 5.1/DTS ES 6.1 audio, no extras. BD25

Saw II
French (Metrpolitan) - DC, DTS-MA 6.1. Region B
German - 1.85:1, VC-1, 16bit DTS-HR 7.1. Region B?
Japan (Sony, Quadrilogy) - AVC, TrueHD 7.1, Region Free
US - 1.78:1, MPEG2, 24bit DTS-HR 5.1

Saw III
French (Metropolitan) - DC, DTS-MA 6.1. Region B.
German (Kinowelt) - Unrated
Japan (Sony, Quadrilogy) - AVC and TrueHD 7.1, Region Free.
UK - Unrated, MPEG2, DTS-HD 6.1/DD EX 5.1, Region B locked.
US - Unrated, AVC, DNR, DTS-HD HR 6.1/DD EX 5.1 audio, Region A locked.

Saw IV
French (Metropolitan) - DC, DTS-MA 7.1. Region B.
Japan (Sony, Quadrilogy) - AVC, TrueHD 7.1, Region Free.
US - AVC, DTS-MA 7.1

Saw V
French (Metropolitan) - DC, DTS-MA 6.1. Region B

The Seventh Seal
US (Criterion) - AVC, Swedish PCM 2.0, English Subs, Slighlty better PQ (better Grain structure), HD Extras, BD50
UK (Tartan) - AVC, Swedish DD 2.0, English Subs, SD Extras (on DVD-9), BD 25 + DVD-9

The Shawshank Redemption
French (TF1) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1. Region B. Forced French Subtitles?
German (EuroVideo) - Region Locked
UK (ITV) - AVC (higher bitrate), DD (lossy) audio, PAL extras. Region Free.
US - VC-1, 16bit TrueHD.

Silent Hill
French (Metropolitan) - AVC (high bitrate), DTS-MA 5.1, Region Free.
German (Concorde) - VC-1, Better PQ than US and UK, DTS-HR 5.1, Region Free.
Italian (Eagle) - AVC, TrueHD 5.1.
UK (Pathe) - VC-1, DTS-HR 5.1, Region B locked (Can be avoided by jumping to Top Menu/Player dependant)
US (Sony) - MPEG2, PCM 5.1, Region Free.

Sin City
Canada - low bitrate AVC, 24bit DTS-MA
French (Wild Side) - Threatical and DC, DTS-MA 7.1 (Theatrical)/DTS-MA 5.1 (DC). Region B?
Japan (Geneon) - high bitrate AVC, 16bit TrueHD, Region Free.
Nordic - AVC, DTS-MA 7.1 (reported to have a red tint)
UK/EU - AVC, DTS-MA 7.1
US - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1 (Extended/Theatrical)

The Sixth Sense
German - 1.78:1, AVC, DTS-HR 5.1, different extras than US.
US (Disney) - 1.85:1, AVC, 16bit PCM 5.1

Sleepy Hollow
French (Studio Canal) - DTS-MA 5.1. Region B
German - AVC, DTS-HR
Japan (Kadokawa) - 1080i30, AVC, TrueHD, Better PQ than US.
US (Paramount) - MPEG2, DD/DTS (lossy) audio. BD25

Stargate
French (StudioCanal) - Theatrical/Directors Cut 2-Disc, DTS-MA 5.1. Region B?
German - Extended Cut, AVC, DTS-MA 5.1. Forced Subtitles
UK (Optimum) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, Extras, Region B.
US (Lionsgate) - MPEG2, DTS-HR ES, Region Free.

Starship Troopers
UK (Buena Vista) - No Sync issues, better PQ, VC-1, PCM, Region Free.
US - Audio Sync issues, AVC, TrueHD, Region Free.

Taken
AUS - Uncut, AVC, DTS-MA 5.1. Region B.
French - Uncut, AVC (low bitrate), DTS-HR 5.1. Forced French Subtitles
UK - Uncut*, AVC, DTS-MA 5.1.
US - Uncut/Theatrical, AVC, DTS-MA 5.1. Region A.
* - Cut by 22 seconds? Theatrical is about 2.5 minutes shorter.

Tell No One
FR (Pathe) - AVC, French PCM 5.1/DTS-HR 5.1, English subs, Extras (PAL, No subs), Region Free
US (MPI) - VC1, French DD 5.1 & French PCM 2.0, Extras (English Sub), Region A Locked
UK (Revolver) - 1080i50hz AVC, French TrueHD 5.1, Forced English Subs, Extras (English Sub), Region B Locked, Poor PQ

Terminator 2
US (Lionsgate) - 1080p MPEG-2 Encode, English DD & DTS Lossy, Theatrical Cut Only
US/FR/MEX/UK/GER Skynet (Lionsgate/Optiumum/Studio Canal) - 1080p VC-1, English DTS-HD MA 6.1, Tons of Extras, DNR (Steelbook for Certain Countries)
FRA (Studio Canal) - 1080p VC-1 Encode, English DTS-HD MA 5.1, 2 Disks (Directors Cut |Region A+B| & Theatrical |Region B Locked - Forced French Subs|), Best PQ
UK (Optimum) - 1080p VC-1 Encode, English DTS-HD MA 5.1, Director's Cut only, PQ same as French
AUS (Universal Studio Canal) - Same as UK
JPN (Geneon) - 1080p AVC Encode, English & Japanese TrueHD 5.1 EX, Extras, 2 Disks (Theatrical & Directors Cut), Steelbook, High Bitrate
JPN (Geneon) - 1080p AVC Encode, English & Japanese TrueHD 5.1 EX, Extras, 1 Disk (Director's Cut Only), High Bitrate

Terminator 3
German (Sony) - AVC, TrueHD 5.1
UK (Sony) - AVC (higher bitrate, better PQ than US), TrueHD 5.1. Region Free.
US (Warner) - VC-1, DD (lossy)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - 2003
UK (EiV) - AVC, DTS-MA. Region B locked.
US (Warner) - VC-1, TrueHD.

The Thing
UK/AUS/JP/EU/FR - BD50, VC-1, DTS-MA, extras, Region Free
US - BD25, VC-1, DTS-MA, no extras
US HD DVD - Best PQ, less DNR.

There Will Be Blood
UK - VC-1, PCM 5.1
US - VC-1 (slightly higher bitrate), TrueHD 5.1

Three Days of the Condor
French HD DVD - DNR, audio pitch issues.
US (Paramount) - AVC, No DNR, 5.1 TrueHD

Total Recall
AUS (Universal) - Region A/B locked.
UK (Optimum) - Better PQ, VC-1, DTS-MA 5.1, Region Free
US - MPEG2, DTS-HD HR 5.1, Extra.

Training Day
Japan - VC-1
UK (Warner) - VC-1, DD (lossy), Region Free.
US - MPEG2, DD (lossy) audio
US (HD DVD) - VC-1, better PQ than US Bluray, TrueHD.

Trainspotting
Canadian (Alliance) - AVC (low bitrate), DTS-MA 5.1, no extras. BD25
Japan (Sony) - Uncut, AVC, TrueHD 5.1, 480i extras. Region free. Original "Scottish" accent monologue. BD50
UK (Studio 4) - AVC, DD/DTS (lossy) audio. Original "Scottish" accent monologue.

Transporter
France (EuropaCorp) - AVC, DTS-HR 5.1, PAL? Extras, Region Free. (92:26)
German (Ufa) - DTS-HD 6.1
Japan (Sony, Twin Pack) - Uncut, High bitrate AVC, better PQ, TrueHD, Extras, Region Free. (92:32)
US (Fox) - Theatrical, MPEG2 and DTS-MA

Transporter 2
French (EuropaCorp) - Low bitrate AVC, DTS-HR, Uncensored, removable French subs, PAL extras, Region Free. (exactly 24fps, not 23.976fps) (88:07)
German (Ufa) - DTS-HD 6.1
Japan (Sony, Twin Pack) - Uncut, High bitrate AVC, better PQ, TrueHD, Extras, Region Free. (88:12)
US (Fox) - Theatrical, MPEG2 and DTS-MA

Transporter 3
Dutch/German (DFW) -
UK/AUS (Icon) - AVC (double US bitrate), TrueHD 5.1
US (Lionsgate) - AVC (low bitrate), DTS-MA 7.1, BD25

Twister
French/German (Universal) - VC-1 (higher bitrate), DTS-MA 5.1.
US (Warner) - VC-1, TrueHD 5.1.

U-571
French (StudioCanal) - DTS-MA 5.1. Region B.
Japan (GAGA) - Open-matte 1.78:1, AVC, TrueHD, Region Free. No English subs.
UK (EiV) -
US (Universal) - 2.35:1, DNR, AVC, DTS-MA, Region Free.
US HD DVD - Slightly better PQ than US Bluray, DD+ (lossy) audio.

Ultraviolet
Japan (Sony) -MPEG2, PCM, Extended Cut, Region A/B locked.
All others PG-13.

Underworld
Dutch (DFW) - Theatrical, 2.40:1, AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, Extras, Region Free. (Possible audio sync issues)
French (M6) - Unrated, AVC (high bitrate than US), DTS-MA 5.1 (16-bit) (higher bitrate than US), extras (PAL?). Region Free.
German (Concorde) - Extended, 2.35:1, VC-1, DTS, Region Free, No extras.
Japan (GAGA) - Theatrical, AVC, TrueHD
US (Sony) - Extended, 2.35:1, AVC, 16-bit PCM

Underworld: Evolution
French (M6) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1 (16-bit), extras (PAL?). Region Free.
Spanish HD DVD - Slightly better PQ than US, DD+ (lossy) audio.
UK - MPEG2 (higher bitrate than US), DTS (lossy) audio
US - MPEG2, PCM audio.

Vertical Limit
UK - AVC (better PQ), PCM 5.1
US - MPEG 2, PCM 5.1

Wallace and Grommit - A Matter of Loaf and Death
Japan (Disney) - AVC, DTS-MA 5.1, PCM 2.0. Unsure if video is 1080i or 1080p.
UK - 1080i50, AVC (slightly higher bitrate than US), TrueHD 5.1
US - 1080p24, AVC, PCM 5.1, Aliasing/jaggies throughout movie

Watchmen
US/CND (Warner) - VC1, English DTS-HD MA 5.1 (24bit), Director's Cut, Lower Bitrate, Extras (Exclusive), Filtered/DNR
JPN/FR/UK/AUS/GER (Paramount) - AVC, English TrueHD 5.1 (24bit), Theatrical Cut, Higher Bitrate, Extras, Better PQ

We Own the Night
French (Wild Side) - DTS-MA 5.1, more extras (HD). Region B?
US (Sony) - AVC, TrueHD 5.1

We Were Soldiers
French (StudioCanal) - DTS-MA 5.1. Region B locked?
UK/Aus - AVC and DTS-MA
US - MPEG2 and DD EX (lossy) audio

Welcome to the Jungle - The Rundown
AUS - Uncut, Region Free
UK - AVC, TrueHD (16-bit), Edited, Region Free

X-Men Trilogy
UK/German - More extras than US. Has PiP. Region Free.

Zodiac
International (Warner) - Low bitrate VC-1, DD 5.1 (lossy), SD extras, Region Free
US (Paramount) - High bitrate AVC, 24bit TrueHD, HD extras (2nd disc), Region Free.

[REC]
French (Wild Side) - 1080i50, AVC, DTS-MA 5.1 (16-bit), Spanish audio, No English subs, forced French subs, extras (720p?). Region B locked.
German (E-M-S) - 1080p24, AVC (low bitrate), DTS-MA 5.1 (16-bit), No Engligh subs, Region B locked.
Italian (MediaFilm) - Region B locked
Japan (Happinet) - 1080i30, No English subs.
Spanish (Filmax) - 1080i50, VC-1 (high bitrate), Spanish DTS/DD, English subtitles, Extras, Region Free. BD50.
Swedish (Noble) - 1080i50, DTS-MA, No English subs, Region Free.


Region Info from www.Blurayregioncodes.com
AVS FORUM - HD DVD/Bluray EE and DNR Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=937873)
French BD Specs (http://www.dvdfr.com/index.php)

Crank - in germany it's extended cut, but us has lossless audio
reservoir dogs - UK's has more extras
gangs of new york - french is **** too

gangs of new york - french is **** too

but is it still better than US or are they the same?

Thanks for your input.

but is it still better than US or are they the same?


The French disc is slightly better, but they're both still crap.

Japanese version of RE2 is the extended edition on DL w/AVC vdieo & probably with 24bit audio and back cover says its region free. Source (http://blurayblog.blog79.fc2.com/blog-entry-148.html)

I am of the opinion that the UK Starship Troopers has a bit better pic quality, as well as the points you mentioned.

Pan's Labyrinth
French - best PQ, no English subs
UK - No/less DNR, English subs, Region Free.
US - DNR

The UK BD has the best picture quality of all the releases. 30 Mbps VC1 on it vs 20 Mbps VC1 on the French version. Both are DNR-free.

Japanese version of RE2 is the extended edition on DL w/AVC vdieo & probably with 24bit audio and back cover says its region free. Source (http://blurayblog.blog79.fc2.com/blog-entry-148.html)

This is apparently just the RE2 that's included in the Japanese trilogy box. The separately sold Japanese release is an SL disc in MPEG-2. (I don't have either version but I've seen them in some shops.)

Japanese version of RE2 is the extended edition on DL w/AVC vdieo & probably with 24bit audio and back cover says its region free. Source (http://blurayblog.blog79.fc2.com/blog-entry-148.html)

This is apparently just the RE2 that's included in the Japanese trilogy box. The separately sold Japanese release is an SL disc in MPEG-2. (I don't have either version but I've seen them in some shops.)

hmm. I'll update this when I get more confirmation.

More updates made. Thanks everyone, keep them coming!

Hrmmm, doesn't the Tier thread basically tell us what the best release of a film is?

Though U.K version of ST might tend to look better, there seems a layer of grain missing on it when you watch it from a distance of < 3ft. The U.K version is the best in terms of sound quality, peak video bit rates, sharpness in close-up shots and less amount of print impurities during the action scenes.

Flags of Our Fathers : Non US are all PCM audio -> This is wrong. The Japan version of Flags released by Warner doesn't feature LPCM audio. Only the U.K / NL / GER / FR versions feature LPCM.

Also add Happy Feet (U.K / NL / JP - Import) to the list as it features LPCM audio.

We Were Soldiers (U.K / AUS - Icon) features DTS-HD MA audio and is encoded using AVC.

Aviator (Dutch Import - Dutch FilmWorks) features high bit rate VC-1 encode and DTS-HD MA.

Face/Off (Import) features LPCM audio and a better video encode with slightly less DNR than the Paramount version.

Hrmmm, doesn't the Tier thread basically tell us what the best release of a film is?

Very few imports in the tier thread. I think the only imports are even there because a US disc wasn't available yet.

The UK BD has the best picture quality of all the releases. 30 Mbps VC1 on it vs 20 Mbps VC1 on the French version. Both are DNR-free.

Even besides the bitrate difference, the French disc has additional processing (scratch removal?) that degrades the picture.

Though U.K version of ST might tend to look better, there seems a layer of grain missing on it when you watch it from a distance of < 3ft. The U.K version is the best in terms of sound quality, peak video bit rates, sharpness in close-up shots and less amount of print impurities during the action scenes.

Flags of Our Fathers : Non US are all PCM audio -> This is wrong. The Japan version of Flags released by Warner doesn't feature LPCM audio. Only the U.K / NL / GER / FR versions feature LPCM.

Also add Happy Feet (U.K / NL / JP - Import) to the list as it features LPCM audio.

We Were Soldiers (U.K / AUS - Icon) features DTS-HD MA audio and is encoded using AVC.

Aviator (Dutch Import - Dutch FilmWorks) features high bit rate VC-1 encode and DTS-HD MA.

Face/Off (Import) features LPCM audio and a better video encode with slightly less DNR than the Paramount version.

Should I add DNR to ST?

Where is the Face/off import from?

Does the Dutch Aviator have better PQ than the US, both are VC-1?

I like the idea of this thread. I'm curious how Aviator compares to the US version as far as PQ.

Can anyone explain what is different about the uncut Casino Royale ? Does it still have PCM? Will the new special edition US release be uncut?

Also curious about RE2 from Japan -- was this encoded from a different master?

Should I add DNR to ST?

Where is the Face/off import from?

Does the Dutch Aviator have better PQ than the US, both are VC-1?

Should I add DNR to ST? - Don't know but it's easy to observe the missing layer of grain in the U.K BD.

Where is the Face/off import from? - NL/FR/AUS/JP/UK - Same encode but the U.K version is cut by 8 seconds.

Does the Dutch Aviator have better PQ than the US, both are VC-1? - Both are VC-1. Not sure if the PQ of the import is better but it's slightly grainier than the U.S version which looked Warner'd.

Aus Casino Royale is 22 seconds longer, I think split between 2 scenes.

Terminator 2
UK - Better PQ, DTS-MA 5.1, Region Free.
US - DD EX/DTS ES Audio (lossy)


The UK version is also the "extended edition" (sometimes called the director's cut, which it actually isn't, though I personally do prefer it)....while the US disc is only the theatrical cut....

I am waiting for the US double dip from Lionsgate, since I am sure one will be coming as they have a history of really liking to milk their top titles....I am hoping for both cuts of the film with AVC compression, lossless audio, and ALL of the extras from the multiple previous DVD releases....it'd also be nice if they could add the GNR video on there as well!

WRT Terminator 2, I think there are 3 cuts: the theatrical cut, the director's cut, and the extended cut. The one I want is the director's cut, which is longer than the theatrical cut but shorter than the extended cut.

T2 is an obvious target for a re-release due to it only having the theatrical cut and leaving out many of the extras. It's also arguably Lionsgate's biggest catalog title.

The Descent
US - MPEG2 (DNR) 7.1 PCM, AVC (No DNR) 6.1 PCM

Both are encoded as 7.1 PCM with only 6.1 discrete channels.

Great, productive thread... I don't want to throw a wrench in the proceedings, but there may be an argument to be made in cases where the (*cough*) HD-DVD included features/specs that are preferential to current BD releases. For example, Happy Feet with its TrueHD soundtrack, or the Thing with the uncut doc (a =major= extra, rather than simple EPK fluff). Or, take something like Planet Earth, where the OZ version supposedly has the extra disc that includes the diaries, but is region locked (at least, to the best of my recollection, that's the last I heard about the matter.)

Again, I'm not thinking that poluting the above list with DD+ vs DD banter, but in cases where there are major differences (lossless vs. lossy, extended extras such as PiP on 300, etc.) it might make sense to include in this one, helpful, non-political thread.

Devil Wears Prada - NL/FR/GER - BD-50 / AVC / Region A, B, C
Training Day - U.K / EU / JP - VC-1 (U.S - MPEG-2)
Rambo - H.K / DTS-HD MA 5.1 16-bit, Dolby True HD 16-bit / Slightly higher bit rate encode / No BonusView [Tough choice]
Rambo II, III - U.S - Better PQ
Next - U.S / LPCM 24-bit, High bit rate AVC, Extras in HD vs U.K / EIV DTS-HD HR 2 Mbps, VC-1, Extras in SD vs JP release pending

Correction:

Face-Off

Aus - Uncut version, Less DNR, Better PQ, PCM audio.
UK - Less DNR, Better PQ, Edited version, PCM audio.

WRT Terminator 2, I think there are 3 cuts: the theatrical cut, the director's cut, and the extended cut. The one I want is the director's cut, which is longer than the theatrical cut but shorter than the extended cut.

The theatrical cut is the "director's cut" of T2. James Cameron has specifically stated this, and that the "special edition cut" (what I was calling the extended edition in my original post) was just made for the fans for home video. This is similar to the Lord Of The Rings films and how Peter Jackson feels about the theatrical vs the extended special editions.
I was just pointing out how even to this day, the "special edition" version of T2 can still erroneously be labeled as the director's cut.

And yes, there is a 3rd version of T2 that was available only as an easter egg on the second DVD release (aka the Ultimate Edition).....that one features one additional scene during the film, and then a terrible future flash forward ending with John as a US Congressman and Linda Hamilton in bad old age makeup....I guess I would call that one the "extended special edition with the alternate ending"....which Cameron has also specifically stated that he very much dislikes!


T2 is an obvious target for a re-release due to it only having the theatrical cut and leaving out many of the extras. It's also arguably Lionsgate's biggest catalog title.

No doubt, I hope they do it right the second time around....I would want both the theatrical and special edition cuts via seemless branching, and then put the deleted scene and alternate ending from the extended SE as deleted scenes!

Both are encoded as 7.1 PCM with only 6.1 discrete channels.

It shows 7.1 on my receiver. Are you saying the sixth channel is split into 7 with the actual info just getting duplicated into both surround back channels? I haven't actual listened for discrete sounds for each channel, I just know my receiver is capable of showing 6.1 but it does show 7.1.

Rambo - H.K / DTS-HD MA 5.1 16-bit, Dolby True HD 16-bit / Slightly higher bit rate encode / No BonusView [Tough choice]
Rambo II, III - U.S - Better PQ

H.K = ?

What are you comparing the US version of Rambo II and III to?

Thanks alot, you've been a huge help to this thread!

What's the difference between the uncut version of Face/Off and the US release?

I like this thread, nice job Blacklac.

Great, productive thread... I don't want to throw a wrench in the proceedings, but there may be an argument to be made in cases where the (*cough*) HD-DVD included features/specs that are preferential to current BD releases. For example, Happy Feet with its TrueHD soundtrack, or the Thing with the uncut doc (a =major= extra, rather than simple EPK fluff). Or, take something like Planet Earth, where the OZ version supposedly has the extra disc that includes the diaries, but is region locked (at least, to the best of my recollection, that's the last I heard about the matter.)

Again, I'm not thinking that poluting the above list with DD+ vs DD banter, but in cases where there are major differences (lossless vs. lossy, extended extras such as PiP on 300, etc.) it might make sense to include in this one, helpful, non-political thread.

Hmm, I suppose if there is a truly superior HD DVD version available, it should be added. I guess, if people suggest them, I can add them. Agreed, I will not add them for simply having a DD+ track vs a DD for Blu.

I mean, I personally have Underworld and The Prestige from Japan on HD DVD and they are both AVC and TrueHD, but I have no idea how they compare. They are reference as far as I'm concerned. I will leave it up to everyone if they would like these and others added or not.

However, if we add HD DVD, should it then be put into "HDTV Software Media Discussion"? I'd like to keep the thread here for more exposure.

Face/Off (Import) features LPCM audio and a better video encode with slightly less DNR than the Paramount version.

so glad i got the japanese import for this, partial thanks to paramount for delaying the release.

Anybody see Optimum's Evil Dead 2???
DVD Active's review was sparse, is Optimum's release better than Anchor Bay's?
Is it region locked?

I wish I didn't click on this thread. Urge to import growing....

BTW, what was cut in Casino Royal and Kung Fu Hustle US versions? And sodding hell, I just bought face/off :(

BTW, is there a list of BR movies exclusive to certain regions?

Wait a sec, DVDcompare says the US version of face/off is uncut...?

However, if we add HD DVD, should it then be put into "HDTV Software Media Discussion"? I'd like to keep the thread here for more exposure.

Nah, here's good... Again, I think it's entirely appropriate to keep it here, the goal is to decide (in one nice place) whether a given BD version is definitive, or if another (other region, other format) has elements that are noteworthy.

For example, as Uni/Paramount (in particular) move to release on BD, many may wish to know if there are features that their old HD-DVD disc contains that the new release does not. I also don't think that PQ comes into play either - while many will argue that most BD look identical to their HD-DVD counterparts (regardless of bitrate or encode), few argue meaningfully that the HD-DVD version looks superior. Ergo, simply concerning ourselves with =critical= differences to BD versions (ie., T2's European disc with both versions of the film, TrueHD soundtracks vs. lossy on BD, dropping or absence of substantive extras) would be extremely helpful to have in one place, and (with respect) wouldn't take anything away from what you're trying to accomplish. Heck, I'd love often to know what the BD lacks in terms of any so-called definitive edition (ie., the need to keep my SD copies of some Criterions, or Master and Commander, pending an inevitable double dip on BD). We're already seeing a number of second releases from the likes of Warner (FMJ, et.al.). If the idea is to track definitive versions, I think critical HD-DVD differences, as well as extreme cases of SD version differences would be good.

But then again, I'm just suggesting it to a bunch of people that'll do all the work...:)

H.K = ?

What are you comparing the US version of Rambo II and III to?

Thanks alot, you've been a huge help to this thread!

The H.K version of Rambo is nothing but the latest Rambo.

I was comparing U.S version of Rambo II & III to the U.K version released by Optimum.

Kung Fu Hustle - The U.K version is also UNCUT and also cheapest.

Cinderella Man - U.K / E.U / AUS / JP - BVHE/Miramax - High bit rate VC-1, LPCM 4.6 Mbps & includes many film extras. If Universal does an HD DVD port for the stateside Blu-ray then expect it to be slightly inferior in the PQ department.

It shows 7.1 on my receiver. Are you saying the sixth channel is split into 7 with the actual info just getting duplicated into both surround back channels? I haven't actual listened for discrete sounds for each channel, I just know my receiver is capable of showing 6.1 but it does show 7.1.

Yes, a few other titles have this as well. Benes uses ^ to denote it on the specs thread.

The H.K version of Rambo is nothing but the latest Rambo.

I'm sorry, I don't know what "H.K" is.

Lol. HK= Hong Kong :cool:

Ah, thanks. I wasn't aware they had their own releases... :o

A very helpful thread. Some specification comparisons for worldwide Blu-ray releases can be found at the following site, though their information is not as thorough yet as it is for dvds:

http://www.dvdcompare.net/

Isn't a Director's Cut of Rambo going to be released this Winter?

I got the 1080i/1080p info of Planet Earth from the "professional" reviews on HiDefDigest. Can some verify that that info is incorrect and they are both 1080p?

L.A Confidential - U.S BD will be the best version to own as it's reported to have very good PQ and SQ with a nice selection of film extras. The Japanese BD is reported to be MPEG-2 / 1080i / DTS 5.1.

Most of the BVHE / Disney BDs released stateside that feature 24-bit lossless / uncompressed audio gets downgraded to 16-bit when they are released overseas. Sometimes they replace uncompressed audio with Dolby TrueHD mix.

CR US vs Uncut (http://movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4011)

CR US vs Uncut (http://movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4011)

Excellent! I linked that to the original post.

CR US vs Uncut (http://movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4011)
Pisses me off. Why can't they release the proper cut in BR/DVD? Like it would make any difference :mad:

BTW, does anyone know what cut the "special edition" is going to have?

bump for more info...

Still wondering about those Panet Earth discs too, I don't know why one would be 1080i and another 1080p...

30 Days of Night - Icon Pictures - U.K / AUS - Region A, B, C (?) - Same video encode as Sony but features 24-bit DTS-HD MA & DD AC3 track instead of 24-bit Dolby TrueHD. Optional English subs provided but no SDH/HoH. Doesn't mean that the import is superior but you can make note of it.

Correction:

Rambo : US - AVC, 24-bit PCM 7.1 ==> DTS-HD MA 7.1 24-bit

Isn't a Director's Cut of Rambo going to be released this Winter?

I read it was happening and it's going to be called John Rambo...Which it's already called in certain parts of Europe like Germany.

No idea if it will happen soon or if they will wait for the cinema release of the next one to cash in on that.


I don't think Welcome To The Jungle ( AKA The Rundown ) is cut in the UK....It was cut for a 12A cert but i thought the cuts were re-instated for the 15cert on DVD.

Regardless a directors extended edition has been passed and it says uncut at the BBFC website ( which isn't always accurate if the distributor decides to make pre-cuts before submitting )

http://bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/723AB2D407A79C3280256EB5001B5E98?OpenDocument

The UK edition of Casino Royale is also longer than the American edition and features just one edited scene during the torture sequence but other than that retains all the violence of the Australian version.

30 Days of Night - Icon Pictures - U.K / AUS - Region A, B, C (?) - Same video encode as Sony but features 24-bit DTS-HD MA & DD AC3 track instead of 24-bit Dolby TrueHD. Optional English subs provided but no SDH/HoH. Doesn't mean that the import is superior but you can make note of it.

Correction:

Rambo : US - AVC, 24-bit PCM 7.1 ==> DTS-HD MA 7.1 24-bit

I absolutely love Sony's release of 30 Days of Night, but I'm curious about the German Concorde release and even the French Warner release. I'm not sure if PQ can get any better than what Sony already has though...

Thanks again. :)

The Saw Boxed Set from Sony Japan contains only the theatrical versions of each movie, according to the runtimes on the covers, and there is no mention of extended/director's cuts anywhere on the box.

http://blurayblog.blog79.fc2.com/?q=saw

I was able to compare the Japanese Transporter 2 disc to the US disc and the Japanese HD DVD Underworld to the US Bluray disc. Transporter 2 was just like my comparison of Transporter 1. The Japanese disc uses AVC and nearly twice the bitrate to the US MPEG2, but the difference isn't nearly that big. The Japanese Transporter 2 may be a hair sharper, but they both have incredible detail. The main difference is the yellow/orange saturation of the US copies. The Japanese releases have much more natural color and skin tones, which for me, made the PQ much better. For Underworld, again both are incredible releases. I think the US disc had a bit of motion noise/artifacts that I didn't see on the Japanese release. When I first saw it, it had that digital look to it. The Japanese copy seemed to look slightly more natural, but this is getting quite picky. I don't think the average person would notice this difference, since I was actually looking for them. Another note, the Japanese HD DVD has a 24-bit TrueHD track that is IMO reference in every way. The US disc is 16-bit PCM, and is still very nice, but just didn't quite have the punch that the TrueHD track had. I did not know about the 24-bit vs 16-bit until I had compared them and came to this conclusion. Again, my findings are nothing scientific or definite, but those are the conclusion I've drawn.

I use an Onkyo 805 for HD DVD and a Pioneer 51FD for Bluray and a Denon 1909 AVR with Elemental Designs 7.1 speakers.

I doubt many have the disc's to make a comparison, but I think the Japanese HD DVD of Underworld has slightly better PQ than our US Bluray release. Both are AVC, but the US Bluray seems to have a little motion noise/artifacts that I don't see as much of on the Japanese disc. Could be player related, but I doubt it. Onkyo 805 for HD DVD and Pioneer 51 for Bluray. Both look incredible, but the Japanese also has an incredible sounding 24-bit TrueHD track while the US disc is 16-bit PCM (no slouch, the TrueHD track just sounds incredible).

I gave you a link fgor Welcome To The Jungle that shows its been classified uncut ( longer edition of the movie )

IMDB lists it as a PG-13 movie so i imagine any cuts were MPAA enforced in order to get a lower American rating....It got 12A in the UK for the cinema release and was cut to achieve this....Blu Ray edition is a 15 certificate ( equivalent on some of the American releases to an R certificate )

I think it's uncut despite what some internet websites say.

This site tells you it is uncut now......Great site for censorship info in the UK. They cut a headbutt scene among other things for the cinema release and it's now uncut on DVD and Blu Ray with the certificate raised to 15.

http://www.melonfarmers.co.uk/hitsw.htm

Sounds good, updated it Foxy. :)

B2G1 at Amazon.co.uk if anyone wants some of these imports. ;)

You might want to use this site for your list as far as cuts or censorship issues go.

http://www.dvdcompare.net/

Does Blu Rays too.

Could we have the best one for each film highlighted in some way?

OP,

WoW

GREAT post/thread!!!
I thought you were just asking a question! :-0

I do think is would be better, because of the HD DVD references, in the HD Software Thread. ;-)
Still, GREAT job!
And BIG thanks.

EDitEDbyED:
Maybe you could highlight (color) the best version?
One color for best PQ, one color for best SQ, & one color for best overall?
Thanks again!

reEDitEDbyED:
Now that I read the whole thing... :p
see were people posted simular concerns.
"KoH" blew me away the most, as I'd always heard the US BD was exceptional. How 'bout the HD DVD (import) of "M&MS"? Heard that was better than the US BD.

Man, you spend a LOT of $$$ on discs!!! :eek:

I don't own all these, most are info I found on the net or from people on forums. :p

Also, I found on blurayregioncodes that Welcome to the Jungle (UK) is confirmed CUT version by multiple people.

I don't own all these, most are info I found on the net or from people on forums. :p

Also, I found on blurayregioncodes that Welcome to the Jungle (UK) is confirmed CUT version by multiple people.

Someone screwed up and they haven't bothered to recall the copies and reissue the uncut edition then ?

BBFC passed it uncut...DVD edition is uncut...No reason other than sheer incompetence for them to have made this mistake and for them not to recall the disc is shocking.

I guess Rewind need to update their info as well as Melon Farmers and the BBFC site. ( although to be fair to the BBFC they did pass it uncut it's just some idiot that used the wrong print )

I have a question to anybody that might know, is Die Hard 4.0 UK or anywhere for that matter the R rated cut we didn't get on Blu, but did on SD-DVD?

I would do the different color for the "best" release, but there are too many factors for different people. For a few, there may be a clear cut better release, however since we are comparing PQ, AQ, extras, region playback, edited/uncut, there are too many factors to make a "best" fit for everyone. I would hate to list one as "best" because it may have, say a 16-bit audio track vs a 24-bit audio track but yet the 24-bit audio disc could have way less/no extras or even be cut...

10,000 B.C - Japan / NL Import - Warner - Region A, B, C - Pressed on BD-50 just to accommodate a 480p/90 min special feature.:rolleyes:

U.S

A Wild and Wooly Ride (13 min)
Additional Scenes (10½ min)
Inspiring an Epic (12½ min)
Alternate Ending (3 min)

Japan / NL

"10,000 BC: A Wild and Woolly Ride" -featurette (12:48 min)
10 Deleted scenes (10:44 min)
"10,000 BC: Inspiring an Epic" -featurette (12:29 min)
Alternate ending (3:10 min)
Journey to 10,000 BC (90 min)

P.S. I Love You - NL Import - Warner - Region B - BD-50 , More special features.

DD 5.1 - French
DD 2.0 - French
PCM 2.0 - English
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 - English
DTS HD MA - English

No English subtitles

U.S

Featurette: "A Conversation with Cecilia Ahern" (HD, 8 minutes)
Featurette: "The Name of the Game is Snaps" (HD, 6 minutes)
Alternate Scenes (SD, 12 minutes)

NL - could be in 576i/p ?

A Conversation with Cecilia Ahern (7½ min)
The Name of the Game is Snaps (5 min)
Deleted scenes (12½ min)

The Making of P.S. I Love You (13 min)
Behind the Scenes (15 min)
Trailer P.S. I Love You (2 min)
James Blunt ‘Same Mistake’ (4 min)

Correction:

The Devil Wears Prada

French, German, U.K and Netherlands - MPEG-4 AVC, BD-50, DTS-HD MA, Region A(?), B, C(?) - Region coding unverified.
US - MPEG2, BD-25, DTS-MA, Region-A

Beowulf

UK / NL / AUS Import - Warner - VC-1 15 Mbps, 16-bit TrueHD, No BonusView
US - Paramount - MPEG-4 AVC 27~30 Mbps, 24-bit TrueHD, BonusView

As always, Thanks lgans.

Updates made, more are always welcome. :)

Info well seems to be running a little dry, I'll throw this to the top.

Info well seems to be running a little dry, I'll throw this to the top.
Just wait for the Matrix on BD! :p

An alternative UK release of Planet Earth is rumored to be 1080i. I'd assume it would be 1080i50, as it was shot mostly with 1080i50 HD cameras.

Pics: http://hd-photo.blogspot.com/2008/05/planet-earth-complete-bbc-series.html
Box is different from the US version I have too.

An alternative UK release of Planet Earth is rumored to be 1080i. I'd assume it would be 1080i50, as it was shot mostly with 1080i50 HD cameras.

Pics: http://hd-photo.blogspot.com/2008/05/planet-earth-complete-bbc-series.html
Box is different from the US version I have too.

So, if this was actually shot at 25 or 50fps, does that make the current releases technically wrong? Did they slow it down or what? I know that PAL speedup is very noticeable (to me, anyway).

I'm one of the few who have not bought this, so I was wondering.

So, if this was actually shot at 25 or 50fps, does that make the current releases technically wrong? Did they slow it down or what? I know that PAL speedup is very noticeable (to me, anyway).

I'm one of the few who have not bought this, so I was wondering.

Yeah, it was deinterlaced and slowed to 1080p24. Seems like they did a good job on it, audio is pitch corrected and no issues with video playback. Not technically correct, but some other BBC stuff was horribly mucked up. Galápagos was 25p -> 60i with frame-blending.

Is their actually 2 BBC releases? I had originally listed the BBC as UK, but someone said it was also US. So is this UK in 1080i?

There are two Planet Earth releases in the US. One by Warner which is the "BBC" version of the series and one only available from the Discovery store which is the "Discovery" version with alternate narration etc etc (check High Def Digest reviews for both).

Then there is the UK dual format release that also features the "BBC" version since it's actually released by the BBC in association with another company. It simply recycles Warner's 1080p23.976 encodes of the series (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14456426#post14456426), but the back cover states 1080i so people got all freaked out. It also features an extra disc with episodes from another documentary series that IS in 1080i but 59.94 (aka 1080i60), not 50.

I've always heard...
UK "PE" was the best for PQ (over the US)
&
"Galapagps" was GREAT!!!

Now "G" "was horribly mucked up"?!?!

(looking for info, not a fight, thanks)

Rambo
German (Warner) -
Hong Kong - 16-bit DTS-MA/16-bit TrueHD, Better PQ? (Higher bitrate encode)
UK (Sony) -
US - AVC, 24-bit DTS-MA 7.1

I'm still confused about the new Rambo whitch version is the best in presenting the original aspect ratio?

And is there really multiple european versions as I heard that the UK version should differ from eg the Finnish version?

I've always heard...
UK "PE" was the best for PQ (over the US)
&
"Galapagps" was GREAT!!!

Now "G" "was horribly mucked up"?!?!

(looking for info, not a fight, thanks)

"Horribly mucked up" as in "could be a perfect video conversion from the master but is instead frame-blended and interlaced". He's not commenting on underlying PQ but the method used, which causes unnecessary artifacts that many won't notice (just like many don't notice DNR, but many consider it an abomination).

They just happened to pick the frame rate conversion method that affects the video track instead of the audio track negatively. And it is ugly in my opinion.

I'm still confused about the new Rambo whitch version is the best in presenting the original aspect ratio?

And is there really multiple european versions as I heard that the UK version should differ from eg the Finnish version?

Is there a Finnish version? I know there is a Dutch version by DFW and a French version by Metropolitan. I have ordered the French version and will add direct digital screenshots of it to my already gigantic comparison thread, but I'm not willing to throw even more money at this to get even more versions yet. The UK version is Sony so the assumption is that with all these different studios, different encodes are being used - but who knows, maybe some are sharing even though they usually don't.

Not sure what you mean by best in presenting the OAR. MovieSwede or someone mentioned a Swedish version that is 1.78:1, all others should be 2.35:1 just like nearly all of the many DVD versions of this movie are.

Do you just mean what's the best PQ available that's also OAR? No one can say without a screengrab comparison of all versions. I'd be happy to do it if you'd be willing pony up the cash! :D

All we can say for sure right now is that the German disc is NOT the one to get. Also the Sony disc was reported to be softer than the US disc, but again this hasn't been verified. User reports/reviews can often be inaccurate for whatever reasons (display chain, bias, not caring to look that close..) - see my T2 comparisons, Xylon's Universal BD comparisons, etc. for proof of that. Even the ridiculous claim above that the UK Planet Earth is higher quality when it's the same encode (not blaming BIG ED as he's just repeating what he remembers hearing)...

Sigh. :o

Then there is the UK dual format release that also features the "BBC" version since it's actually released by the BBC in association with another company. It simply recycles Warner's 1080p23.976 encodes of the series (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14456426#post14456426), but the back cover states 1080i so people got all freaked out. It also features an extra disc with episodes from another documentary series that IS in 1080i but 59.94 (aka 1080i60), not 50.

Totally missed that. Thanks for clarifying. I'm still curious to how the US Discovery version compares to the VC1...

Totally missed that. Thanks for clarifying. I'm still curious to how the US Discovery version compares to the VC1...

Undefeatable 1080i (i.e. not telecined) makes it a rather useless comparison in my opinion since every decoder and display will handle the deinterlacing in a different way. You can compare screenshots but it won't match up to what's piped out of your TV.

Is there a Finnish version? I know there is a Dutch version by DFW and a French version by Metropolitan. I have ordered the French version and will add direct digital screenshots of it to my already gigantic comparison thread, but I'm not willing to throw even more money at this to get even more versions yet. The UK version is Sony so the assumption is that with all these different studios, different encodes are being used - but who knows, maybe some are sharing even though they usually don't.

Not sure what you mean by best in presenting the OAR. MovieSwede or someone mentioned a Swedish version that is 1.78:1, all others should be 2.35:1 just like nearly all of the many DVD versions of this movie are.

Do you just mean what's the best PQ available that's also OAR? No one can say without a screengrab comparison of all versions. I'd be happy to do it if you'd be willing pony up the cash! :D

All we can say for sure right now is that the German disc is NOT the one to get. Also the Sony disc was reported to be softer than the US disc, but again this hasn't been verified. User reports/reviews can often be inaccurate for whatever reasons (display chain, bias, not caring to look that close..) - see my T2 comparisons, Xylon's Universal BD comparisons, etc. for proof of that. Even the ridiculous claim above that the UK Planet Earth is higher quality when it's the same encode (not blaming BIG ED as he's just repeating what he remembers hearing)...

Sigh. :o
Finnish and Swedish are the same 1.78:1. Ok, thanks for clarifying that all others should be 2.35:1. Makes it even harder to chose the version. :D

Just got my copies of Total Recall and Terminator 2 from amazon.uk. I only had the SD-DVD on T2 but had the US BD of Total Recall and was very disappointed with it so I'm anxious to see the UK release. I'm a big fan of this movie so even a slight upgrade will make me happy.

"Horribly mucked up" as in "could be a perfect video conversion from the master but is instead frame-blended and interlaced". He's not commenting on underlying PQ but the method used, which causes unnecessary artifacts that many won't notice (just like many don't notice DNR, but many consider it an abomination).

They just happened to pick the frame rate conversion method that affects the video track instead of the audio track negatively. And it is ugly in my opinion.
WoW
Thanks for that! Is it because people tend too sit too far away that they don't notice this?

Even the ridiculous claim above that the UK Planet Earth is higher quality when it's the same encode (not blaming BIG ED as he's just repeating what he remembers hearing)...

Sigh. :o
Thanks for NOT blaming me! :p
So the only difference between the two too you is the narration?
What about the "UK dual format release"?
BIG thanks.

Does anyone know how the image quality is in the French releases of The Transporter and Transporter 2? I know that they are uncensored and all region, but an idea on image quality would be great.

WoW
Thanks for that! Is it because people tend too sit too far away that they don't notice this?

Certainly sitting closer will make any PQ issues more obvious. My personal theory is that in most cases, people notice something is wrong on at least a subconcious level but since they aren't aware of the technical issues they can't put into words what's bothering them and so just ignore/forget about it. Until someone like eric.exe or me comes along and spoils the fun by educating people. :p

I think this is at least true for myself regarding editing or directorial issues with movies. There are little things in movies that bug me and I'm not sure what exactly to blame so I sometimes just assume I'm crazy when other people don't bring my little niggles up in discussions of the flick. It's something I'd like to learn more about but I really don't know where to start.

Thanks for NOT blaming me! :p
So the only difference between the two too you is the narration?
What about the "UK dual format release"?
BIG thanks.

;)

I'm happy to help but all the info I remember reading about the two US Planet Earth releases is in the post above. Please check the High Def Digest reviews to see more info about the content differences as I recall the reviewer was quite in-depth about it.

The only difference between the Warner US release and BBC UK release besides the additional disc might be in subtitles or something like that. I got the UK HD DVD for a little more than getting the US release due to a deal some site was having (thanks, HD DVD deal thread!). I wanted to check out the "Natural World" episodes on the bonus disc but haven't gotten around to it so I can't say whether they're worth bothering with.

I remember reading in a thread a while back that someone got confirmation straight from BBC that 1080p was a misprint on the U.S. release, and it was in fact 1080i60 just like the Discovery edition.

Anyway, great idea for a thread. I hope it continues to be updated and becomes an encyclopedia for this info. If it stays on track I vote for sticky. No the PQ tier thread is not the same, nor any other existing thread. We need a thread with this info.

I will absolutely keep this thread up. I just don't have funds to test movies on my own anymore, so all my info is just updating what others post. I have an identical thread on HiDefDigest and it is a sticky. :)

Does anyone know if the UK EiV releases of The Departed and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead are any better than the US editions? I think The Departed has a DTS-HD MA tracks so it doesn't look like a port of the Warner disc.

Amazon France B2G1 (http://www.amazon.fr/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_80681565_2?ie=UTF8&docId=1000226753&pf_rd_m=A1X6FK5RDHNB96&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1QTXXTMKMWCF68WBXN4B&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=222719491&pf_rd_i=294297011)

Does anyone know if the UK EiV releases of The Departed and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead are any better than the US editions? I think The Departed has a DTS-HD MA tracks so it doesn't look like a port of the Warner disc.

I'd love to know also, if they are better I'd replace mine for sure. :(

Bump this thread from the dead. :)

Baraka - Overseas version should be the best if the disc comes in the proper Amaray BLU case.;)

Added Sin City and BoB.

Does anyone happen to know if the Dutch version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith is all-region and the director's cut like the French release? I can save a decent amount of money getting that version instead, so I thought it was worth asking here.

2 for 25 pounds sale at hmv.com. They have some great UK imports too! I'm picking up Lucky # Slevin (EiV), The Departed (EiV), Orphanage (Optimum) and trying to find another...

The linked 'moviecensorship' site lists the running time of the "uncut" German edition of Casino Royale as approximately six minutes shorter than the "cut" US release. Anybody know what's going on with that? Is that just an artifact of their review being of the SD discs with their attendant NTSC vs. PAL (24fps vs. 25fps) discrepancy? :confused:

Meanwhile, thanks for maintaining this awesome thread!

The linked 'moviecensorship' site lists the running time of the "uncut" German edition of Casino Royale as approximately six minutes shorter than the "cut" US release. Anybody know what's going on with that? Is that just an artifact of their review being of the SD discs with their attendant NTSC vs. PAL (24fps vs. 25fps) discrepancy? :confused:

Meanwhile, thanks for maintaining this awesome thread!

I would imagine they are talking about the PAL DVD edition with regards the running time.

The Blu Ray editions run 24fps exactly the same as all worldwide editions and so the uncut will run slightly longer at 144minutes and 34 seconds approx.

I believe the original German edition was missing the PCM track....I have the Australian original release which is also fully uncut....The cuts are minor though and Rewind DVD Compare lists them all.

I too am interested in the directors cut of Mr & Mrs Smith but i can only play discs with the same region as America and Japan so it would have to match that and i doubt any European releases region match and Fox always region codes ?

Hope Fox release it in America next year as well as the unrated cut of Live Free Die Hard.

I too am interested in the directors cut of Mr & Mrs Smith but i can only play discs with the same region as America and Japan so it would have to match that and i doubt any European releases region match and Fox always region codes ?

Hope Fox release it in America next year as well as the unrated cut of Live Free Die Hard.


French is region free, UK and AUS are locked B. I don't know anything else about them though. Info from Blurayregioncodes.com.

Anyone know if the Australian Casino Royale Collector's Edition uses the same cut as the Australian standard edition? And, for that matter, if it's also region-free?

Is the T2 UK BluRay region free?

Anyone know if the Australian Casino Royale Collector's Edition uses the same cut as the Australian standard edition? And, for that matter, if it's also region-free?

It does, and it is.

It does, and it is.

Thank you, kind sir! :)

Is the T2 UK BluRay region free?

According to blurayregioncodes.com, it is Region Free.

American Psycho:

US is uncut, MPEG2 on BD-25.
AUS is uncut, AVC on BD-50, Dolby True HD - Region Free
German is cut, VC-1 on BD-25 with WRONG aspect ratio

The Deer Hunter:

Aus is on BD-50, VC-1, DTS-HDMA - Has both A and B logos on the cover, plays on my A machine.

Not sure on any other releases to compare The Deer Hunter with, I think there is possibly a Swedish release that may be the same anyway.

American Psycho:

US is uncut, MPEG2 on BD-25.
AUS is uncut, AVC on BD-50, Dolby True HD - Region Free
German is cut, VC-1 on BD-25 with WRONG aspect ratio


The German version really got treated badly.

Has it been confirmed that the Australian version has significantly better video quality than the US release?

Just got my copies of Total Recall and Terminator 2 from amazon.uk. I only had the SD-DVD on T2 but had the US BD of Total Recall and was very disappointed with it so I'm anxious to see the UK release. I'm a big fan of this movie so even a slight upgrade will make me happy.

How were these compared to the US versions?

:)

Its hard to say with American Psycho, I don't have the US one to compare. The picture on the Aus one is pretty good though.

The Australian versions of T2 and Total Recall are the same as the UK ones.

Its hard to say with American Psycho, I don't have the US one to compare. The picture on the Aus one is pretty good though.


Thanks. The Australian version is an easy buy for me anyway, as my US version just so happened to stop playing because of debris stuck in the disc. It's always been there, but just recently became a problem.

Not sure if this thread is only for BDs that have already been released, but Sony has announced The Punisher ('04) for Feb. 9th in the UK. It will have TrueHD and special features including the alternate opening. It's almost guaranteed to be better than the US Lionsgate release and Sony is always region free, right?

How were these compared to the US versions?

:)

I've never seen the US T2 release but the UK looks better than I expected. It could be much better but with the bogo I'm glad I got it. Total Recall is much better, again no where near reference or anything but much better than the US release.

I've imported T2, Total Recall, Face Off, The Cave, Running Scared, and The Island and I haven't regretted any of them.

Not sure if this thread is only for BDs that have already been released, but Sony has announced The Punisher ('04) for Feb. 9th in the UK. It will have TrueHD and special features including the alternate opening. It's almost guaranteed to be better than the US Lionsgate release and Sony is always region free, right?

As far as I know, every one of Sony's catalog releases is all-region.

Is there any word as to whether the UK release will include the extended cut?

I've never seen the US T2 release but the UK looks better than I expected. It could be much better but with the bogo I'm glad I got it. Total Recall is much better, again no where near reference or anything but much better than the US release.

I've imported T2, Total Recall, Face Off, The Cave, Running Scared, and The Island and I haven't regretted any of them.

Thanks, GenKen!

Sounds like a safe buy.

:)

ordered El Orfanato AKA The Orphanage Spanish version from Xploitedcinema.com and it has an AVC encode not VC-1 like the U.S. version

ordered El Orfanato AKA The Orphanage Spanish version from Xploitedcinema.com and it has an AVC encode not VC-1 like the U.S. version

Does it have jaggies like the US? I have the UK release in the mail to me, right now.

Not that i could tell. I did see some redish purple where it should have been black near the end of the movie which other people reported as well. Still a good looking blu ray.

Not that i could tell. I did see some redish purple where it should have been black near the end of the movie which other people reported as well. Still a good looking blu ray.

Are the specs I found on the first post correct? PAL extras, DTS-MA 5.1...?

It would help if i knew Spanish lol, i will check into it as soon as i can

There are a few threads going around about best versions. I havn't seen what I'm looking for so far, so I decided to ask the forum for answers.

First id the JP version of "Perfume". It states a DolbyTrueHD track, but not revews other than that. Trying to find out if this is better than the German version out there.
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%91%E3%83%95%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0-%E3%81%82%E3%82%8B%E4%BA%BA%E6%AE%BA%E3%81%97%E3%81%AE%E7%89 %A9%E8%AA%9E-Blu-ray-%E3%83%88%E3%83%A0%E3%83%BB%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%82%AF%E3%83 %B4%E3%82%A1/dp/B00137UQ3A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1230330941&sr=1-1

Another is the JP version of "Bound". Amazon/JP states its 108 min. and not the Unrated 109 min. version, can anyone confirm this?
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%90%E3%82%A6%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89-Blu-ray-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A6%E3%82 %A9%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E3%82%A6%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AD%E3%83%BC/dp/B001J5WSEG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1230331560&sr=1-3

Next is the JP version of Johnny Mneumonic. What version is this, theatrical, Japaneese cut or both?
http://www.amazon.co.jp/JM-%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9A%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%82 %A8%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3-Blu-ray-Disc-%E3%83%AD%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AD%E3%83 %B3%E3%82%B4/dp/B001HUN1PS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1230331712&sr=1-2

Also curious about the UK double-featur of "Hills have Eyes". They both appear to be region free, I'm just curious if they are the "unrated cut's" availaable in the US or if they are cut?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hills-Have-Eyes-Blu-ray/dp/B001E8V6FA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1230331857&sr=1-6

Last but not least is the new "Harry Potter" boxset from the UK. I'm just wanting to know if WB used the slim BD cases on this one. I now have the UK BD and the US versions of the others, but would like a slim boxset of all 5.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Year-1-5-Blu-ray/dp/B001F7ADUE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1230331980&sr=1-5

One more I forgot. The "Planet of the Apes" collection from the UK. I'm assuming this is the same crappy package as the Omen collection in the US, but all I'm concerned with if the disc are the same in the UK as the US?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Collection-Blu-ray-Charlton-Heston/dp/B001GPTCE8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1230332094&sr=1-2

So if anyone can answer any of these question, you will help save me a ton of cash.

I just received a copy of the Japanese Johnny Mnemonic / JM BD from Amazon.co.jp so I'll share the details. First, the disc is labeled as region A/B/C so cheers to that. Though much to my disappointment the version of the film in HD is the US version instead of the Japanese cut. However, the Japanese cut is included on the disc in standard definition as a bonus. The other extras (all in SD) are: a making-of EPK fluff piece, some behind the scenes production footage, a handful of very short cast & crew interviews (including William Gibson), the music video for Stabbing Westwards's "Nothing" and a trailer. Menus are all in Japanese, but with the basic layout there's little trouble with navigation.

Moving on to the technical details, the video encoding is MPEG4-AVC and I'm happy to say that I did not notice any significant compression artifacts, EE or DNR. The picture was sharp throughout and detail was quite good, but the one negative is that there were many instances of specks and dirt. The CG scenes do look especially good and overall the PQ feels as close to seeing the movie in the theater as I can recall. With all the DNR madness of late I have to say that seeing proper film grain again pleases me to no end. Audio on the HD version is TrueHD, but as I lack a compatible receiver I can only comment on the DD shadow and that does sound fine. The BD is a definite improvement on the Superbit release, not to mention the original R1 DVD.

The Japanese cut is presented in 16x9 using MPEG2 with 2.1 DD in both English and Japanese. The picture is very soft and the black level is a bit too high so shadow detail is lacking. Subs are Japanese only and just like the Japanese DVD the additional scenes with Japanese dialogue have no English subs. The quality of this version is slightly higher than the original R1 DVD, but not nearly as good as the Superbit.

With regard to the narrative differences between the two cuts there are many sites that have gone into great detail so I won't waste people's time repeating every alteration here. Having already been a fan of the US version I found the changes in the Japanese cut made that version considerably more enjoyable. Though if you didn't like the movie I'm not sure the Japanese cut will make you a convert.

Bottom line, the Japanese Blu-ray is the best release of Johnny Mnemonic available right now. Not only do you get a nice version of the US cut in HD, but you also get the Japanese cut as a bonus. Having personally tried to acquire a copy of the Japanese DVD to no avail I'm pleased with my purchase despite the price.

Obviously the same master, just a slight lessening of compression artifacts in the lower bitrate VC-1 vs the MPEG-2. I guess the USA disc is still the one to go for since it's the Director's Cut, is considerably cheaper, and looks practically the same. Plus the German disc is locked to Region B... On the other hand, it actually has extras.

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/crashcomp/0-16-49_1.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/crashcomp/0-16-49_2.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/crashcomp/0-54-30_1.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/crashcomp/0-54-30_2.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/crashcomp/1-12_19_1.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/crashcomp/1-12_19_2.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/crashcomp/1-43-31_1.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/crashcomp/1-43-31_2.png

Again same master just encoded to VC-1 instead of MPEG-2 with added black bars and less compression artifacts. Supposedly this is the Director's Cut but the specs show the same length as the US release. At least this one has extras, in NTSC no less.

Unfortunately the Saw II disc can't be decoded by AnyDVD as of yet so no comparison for that. It's Region B locked anyway. :(

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/sawcomp/0-06-28_1.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/sawcomp/0-06-28_2.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/sawcomp/0-24-51_1.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/sawcomp/0-24-51_2.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/sawcomp/0-31-17_1.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/sawcomp/0-31-17_2.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/sawcomp/1-32-46_1.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/sawcomp/1-32-46_2.png

Jerry Mcquire and In the line of fire are decent ones.

Again same master just encoded to VC-1 instead of MPEG-2 with added black bars and less compression artifacts. Supposedly this is the Director's Cut but the specs show the same length as the US release. At least this one has extras, in NTSC no less.

Actually, both cuts of Saw are nearly the same running time. I think the uncut version is about 8 seconds longer, but I remember reading that it was slightly re-edited, not just added scenes.

Jarhead - Universal

U.S.A / Movie size: 21,42 GB / Disc size: 22,05 GB / Average video bit rate: 15.91 Mbps
Overseas / 35,89 GB / Disc size: 47,47 GB / Average video bit rate: 27.33 Mbps / More extras

The Thing E.U / U.K / AUS / JP Vs. U.S.A -> BD-50 with all extras vs BD-25 with no extras. No confirmation application of DNR on the overseas BD.

I watched the French BD of Transporter 2 today. The video is a somewhat low bit-rate AVC encode, but the image quality is a bit better than the US release at the parts I compared later on. There was noticeable macroblocking at some points. The frame rate is exactly 24.00fps (not 23.976), so those with display systems that have trouble with this should know.

The English audio track is DTS-HD HR at 2.0 Mbps.

I watched the French BD of Transporter 2 today. The video is a somewhat low bit-rate AVC encode, but the image quality is a bit better than the US release at the parts I compared later on. There was noticeable macroblocking at some points. The frame rate is exactly 24.00fps (not 23.976), so those with display systems that have trouble with this should know.

The English audio track is DTS-HD HR at 2.0 Mbps.

If the above is true, then the French BD is not the same encode as the Japanese BD which is encoded at a very high bit rate featuring 16-bit Dolby True HD track and optional subs.

Zodiac Blu-ray - Paramount vs Warner

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15644620#post15644620

I should add that the French BD of Transporter 2 does indeed play on Region A players, and the French subtitles are removable. Like the Japanese version, it is uncensored with the blood, increased violence, better CG effects and more of Kate Nauta's goods intact. The extras are in the PAL format, so unmodified Region A players will not be able to access them.

I also noticed that the back cover and some sites claim the English audio track to be DTS-HD MA, but these sources are wrong and the track is in fact DTS-HD HR at 2.0 Mbps.

Excellent stuff guys. Thanks!

Blacklac,

You are yet to reflect the above info in the OP.

I missed your Zodiac info, so I just added that. Anything I missed? I thought I got it all.

L.A. Confidential - Japan - MPEG2, 1080i, DTS (lossy) audio

Blacklac,

FYI: I think the spec was changed to 1080p, AVC and DTS-HD MA.

Shouldn't this be a sticky? Lots of important info that's very hard to find.

L.A. Confidential - Japan - MPEG2, 1080i, DTS (lossy) audio

Blacklac,

FYI: I think the spec was changed to 1080p, AVC and DTS-HD MA.

Ok, any word on the comparison to the US?

I finally viewed the Australian release of Face/Off last night, and while it has its own problems related to a less-than-stellar transfer (noise in particular), I was pleasantly surprised by how much better it looks than the US release. It doesn't have the severely pasty and waxy faces that exist in the Paramount version. It has problems, but unlike the US release, it is acceptable to my eyes.

Anyway, I definitely agree with the first post that the Disney releases have the better image quality.

any real difference from the US Dark Knight and the german steelbook? thanks

Lots of additions and updates made.

There is an AUS version of The Descent which is supposed to have better color and contrast than the US AVC or MPEG-2 versions. I dont have the details on the sound yet as I havent received the disk, but there are screenshots in the Descent thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1063833&page=15

There is an AUS version of The Descent which is supposed to have better color and contrast than the US AVC or MPEG-2 versions. I dont have the details on the sound yet as I havent received the disk, but there are screenshots in the Descent thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1063833&page=15

Yeah, thanks. I have an AUS copy coming my way right now. :)

Is there any less DNR with the UK version of The Departed?

Is there any less DNR with the UK version of The Departed?

DNR seems to be applied in couple of spots on the Warner BD. Rest of the feature has film grain intact. There is no need to import this BD from elsewhere.

DNR seems to be applied in couple of spots on the Warner BD. Rest of the feature has film grain intact. There is no need to import this BD from elsewhere.

Agreed. I own the US HD DVD and the UK BD and they look exactly the same to me.

Has the information about the German Deja Vu been confirmed by anyone? Looking at the German cover art seems to indicate that it has an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, so the same as the US version.

Has the information about the German Deja Vu been confirmed by anyone? Looking at the German cover art seems to indicate that it has an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, so the same as the US version.

I just found that off a spec comparison site. They had both the German and US specs, it could very well be an error. All the other specs seem identical to the US. I found a couple other BD's that had 2.40:1 on US and 2.35:1 for European BD's. I was kind of assuming it was normal, otherwise that site is loaded with errors. dvdcompare.net.

The US release of Rocky Balboa (2006) was released by Sony. Not Fox as stated in the original post.

today,it is GROUNDHOG DAY since it was mulple released when dvd version.This BD picture is awesome with EE and DNR but I don't mind,The sound also great,there was surround presentation which never heard from the former ones,

today,it is GROUNDHOG DAY since it was mulple released when dvd version.This BD picture is awesome with EE and DNR but I don't mind,The sound also great,there was surround presentation which never heard from the former ones,

We're only comparing between multiple BD releases, not comparing BD to DVD. Extras aside, it goes without saying that most BDs are going to be better quality than their DVD counterparts.

We're only comparing between multiple BD releases, not comparing BD to DVD. Extras aside, it goes without saying that most BDs are going to be better quality than their DVD counterparts.
If that so ,I will tell you about The French Connection part1,2 which already out in my area,they are the worst BDs picture transfer to my experience,so many noise.I think it should be retransfered again.:confused:

If that so ,I will tell you about The French Connection part1,2 which already out in my area,they are the worst BDs picture transfer to my experience,so many noise.I think it should be retransfered again.:confused:

Hang on let me get this right....You say the picture of Groundhog Day is awesome with EE and DNR ( which you don't care about ) You then say The French Connection which is a director approved and supervised transfer has too much "noise" - Do you mean film grain ?

I'll take the grain and you can leave the EE and DNR on the shelf please.

I must just add that going by the link provided on page one and looking closely at each image Gangs Of New York does not seem to be better in the French edition....Look closely and you will see it is slightly zoomed in and it's contrast has been boosted but it is clearly taken from the exact same print as the American edition as the edge enhancement is very visible in all the same spots....Contrast boosting will also destroy some shadow detail so i would say the French edition is if anything worse and that's saying something.

You're right there Foxy

The French Connection discs look awesome!

I must just add that going by the link provided on page one and looking closely at each image Gangs Of New York does not seem to be better in the French edition....Look closely and you will see it is slightly zoomed in and it's contrast has been boosted but it is clearly taken from the exact same print as the American edition as the edge enhancement is very visible in all the same spots....Contrast boosting will also destroy some shadow detail so i would say the French edition is if anything worse and that's saying something.


I thought they also looked extremely similar, but more than one person had said the French release was better. :confused: I think I will change it since I'm not the only one who thinks they look similar.

Can anyone elaborate on the PQ differences between Beowulf UK and US versions? I know the US version uses a newer codec and has a higher bitrate, but does this improve the picture in any way, however small? I currently have the UK import-- while it looks good, I feel like it could definitely be better-- any input would be appreciated.

I think there are screen shot comparisons floating around here somewhere, but I couldn't find them. I know I sure couldn't tell a difference.

Can anyone elaborate on the PQ differences between Beowulf UK and US versions? I know the US version uses a newer codec and has a higher bitrate, but does this improve the picture in any way, however small? I currently have the UK import-- while it looks good, I feel like it could definitely be better-- any input would be appreciated.

All i can find is this.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1029931

Comparison between the two codecs but for different formats ( HD DVD and Blu )

All i can find is this.

(link)

Comparison between the two codecs but for different formats ( HD DVD and Blu )

That was great, thanks. If I had to choose again I'd probably get the US version (AVC) instead of UK, but the difference is too small for me to double dip at 20 bucks. ;)

The UK has banding IIRC.

Quick question on the Transporters, in the US release the list says, "theatrical", but both the Japanese and French releases do not. Does this mean that both the French and Japanese versions of both movies are uncut?

I want to buy the uncut versions of these movies and can't decide if I should buy the French or Japanese versions, this is why I ask.

That was great, thanks. If I had to choose again I'd probably get the US version (AVC) instead of UK, but the difference is too small for me to double dip at 20 bucks. ;)

Paramount

AVC @ 28 Mbps
24-bit Dolby TrueHD audio
Features BonusView

Warner

VC-1 @ 15 Mbps
16-bit Dolby TrueHD audio
Doesn't feature BonusView

Quick question on the Transporters, in the US release the list says, "theatrical", but both the Japanese and French releases do not. Does this mean that both the French and Japanese versions of both movies are uncut?

I want to buy the uncut versions of these movies and can't decide if I should buy the French or Japanese versions, this is why I ask.

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=10265

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=10220

Looks like the French and Japanese are nearly identical, except audio and French extras may be PAL. Both Uncut. I can say the Japanese releases looks incredible. They had a slightly more natural color, not quite as yellow/orange saturated as the US releases. It was still slightly over saturated though. The Japanese are high bitrate AVC, often in the upper 30-40Mbps. I think the Japanese releases are reference, both PQ and AQ.

I have no idea how the French releases compare PQ wise to either.

Edit: someone had noted the French releases were low bitrate AVC and exactly 24fps and not the usual 23.97fps. Also they do have PAL extras.

Thanks for the info, it sounds like the Japanese release would be the way to go, but when I placed in the cart at Amazon.jp, the price shipped came to $85! I can't justify that.

Hi - anyone own this version? Lossless or Lossy audio? Thx.

Training Day UK (Warner) - VC-1, Region Free.

So, when will Johnny Mnemonic on bluray be out in the US?

I want it pretty bad but I've seen the Japan version for almost $50 online and that seems a bit steep for a disc that should be closer to $20 or $25.

Any word on the US release date yet? thanks

Hi - anyone own this version? Lossless or Lossy audio? Thx.

Training Day UK (Warner) - VC-1, Region Free.

Hiya - I have this version. it's standard 5.1 Dolby Digital I'm afraid - lossy.

Been awhile, bump this back up...

U-571
US Blu-ray has DNR applied.
HD DVD has better picture quality but is DD+

Same deal as "The Thing".

Is there anyone out there with the UK/BBC version of the newly released Pride and Prejudice Blu-ray who can verify that the soundtrack is in fact DTS-HD MA? That's what the back of the box says, but a poster on another forum said it was actually High Resolution, not Master Audio (implying the back of the box is wrong). My follow-up queries and e-mails have gone unanswered.

Thanks in advance for your help - anyone. Just let me know which codec is actually being decoded by your player/receiver. I'm seriously this close to making a purchase from amazon.co.uk, but need to have this issue resolved.

Are there any releases of Sleepy Hollow that look half way decent? I compared the dvd in my HDA2 to the BD last night and while the BD was a bit sharper it had a laundry list of problems that made it arguably worse looking than the dvd. I know this is old news but was wondering if any of the imports got better treatment.

I haven't seen it but the recent Japanese release from Kadokawa appears to be a new encode with lossless audio.

i got the Sweeny Todd steelbook yesterday and I noticed that it was released by Warner and the US version is Dreamworks released. Are there any big differences other than that?

I thought about No Country for The Old Men the lastest version was the great BD.

Is there anyone out there with the UK/BBC version of the newly released Pride and Prejudice Blu-ray who can verify that the soundtrack is in fact DTS-HD MA? That's what the back of the box says, but a poster on another forum said it was actually High Resolution, not Master Audio (implying the back of the box is wrong). My follow-up queries and e-mails have gone unanswered.

Thanks in advance for your help - anyone. Just let me know which codec is actually being decoded by your player/receiver. I'm seriously this close to making a purchase from amazon.co.uk, but need to have this issue resolved.

The soundtrack on the UK version is DTS-HD High Resolution, not MA. I own the UK disc and checked it. The back of the cover just states "DTS HD" by the way. I also noticed that many reviews and forum members in several forums give (most likely unintentional) wrong information on this subject...

Coming uk BD version of Trainspotting?
Any differences to the Japanese version BD?

Yeah, thanks. I have an AUS copy coming my way right now. http://www.*****************/trafficreport/img/3721/k08t1221bbuq/gdsmile.gif

I just got my AUS. I'm very excited with it.

i got the Sweeny Todd steelbook yesterday and I noticed that it was released by Warner and the US version is Dreamworks released. Are there any big differences other than that?

They're completely different discs, actually. The UK Warner version has a higher-bitrate video encode (go figure) compared to the US Paramount release, and has 16/48 TrueHD instead of 24/48 TrueHD (not that that even matters). Nobody seems to be able to see or hear any differences one way or the other, though.

I think that the only other notable difference would be a slight difference in the selection of special features. If I recall correctly, each has one featurette that the other doesn't and the US version has the theatrical trailer as well.

I do love my steelbook of this one.

I haven't seen it but the recent Japanese release from Kadokawa appears to be a new encode with lossless audio.

Anyone pick up this release of Sleepy Hollow? I might be interested in importing it if that weird digital noise present in the US release was not there.

I would also be interested in the question above.

Whats the best version of trainspotting thats out?

Can anyone tell me what the best versions are for trainspotting?????

Theres a uk disc, and apperantly two versions in america, anyone know which one looks the best.

I think there are only two releases out so far, Japanese and Canadian. The UK disc is out soon, so I would wait for that to see if they've managed to do something decent with it (I doubt it though, probably just a quick cash-in on the Danny Boyle name after the success of Slumdog.)

U.K / German version of X-MEN TRILOGY features PIP, slightly more extras and ain't Region Coded.

afaik the optimum UK disc of terminator 2 has said to have slightly better PQ than the japanese edition

I have a friend in Australia asking to purchase a BR for me as a present. What do you all recommend? Looking at the list on page 1, I was thinking of Welcome to the Jungle. Or, is there a title only released in Australia that is not available in the US yet that's worth getting?

Thanks!

Casino Royale Japan version BD,the picture was more saturated and razor sharper,also Transformers BD.

Does anyone know whether the Kinowelt release of 1408 is better than the US/Dutch versions? I can seem to find squat anywhere.

Can anyone tell me what the best versions are for trainspotting?????

Theres a uk disc, and apperantly two versions in america, anyone know which one looks the best.

Updated OP with Trainspotting.

Casino Royale Japan version BD,the picture was more saturated and razor sharper,also Transformers BD.

Really, I'm under the impression both Sony and Paramount use the same enconde worldwide.

Well I have both the US and Japanese version of these movies so I'll check latter.

The one I did check was Iron Man because they are from different companies (Paramount US x Sony JP) and I believe the Sony SP version is slightly better.

I have a friend in Australia asking to purchase a BR for me as a present. What do you all recommend? Looking at the list on page 1, I was thinking of Welcome to the Jungle. Or, is there a title only released in Australia that is not available in the US yet that's worth getting?

Thanks!

The Descent Australian version is much better and more accurate than the US one, specially the new MPG-2 version.

If that's not for you I'd recommend The Deer Hunter (not available in the US) or American Pshycho, The Punisher are also better than the US version.

No Country for Old Men features a similar encode but a PCM 48/24 audio track.

Welcome To The Jungle is also superior to the US version in terms of PQ.

Really, I'm under the impression both Sony and Paramount use the same enconde worldwide.

Well I have both the US and Japanese version of these movies so I'll check latter.

The one I did check was Iron Man because they are from different companies (Paramount US x Sony JP) and I believe the Sony SP version is slightly better.

I'd love to here your findings. Also any specifics about Iron Man US vs. JP. My experience with Sony JP HD/BD has been excellent. They put out quality movies.

I'd love to here your findings. Also any specifics about Iron Man US vs. JP. My experience with Sony JP HD/BD has been excellent. They put out quality movies.

Iron Man

Judging from the comparison pix (Xylon Vs. Zonadvd.com), the Paramount version looked a hair better in terms of contrast and black levels.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Close call but Region A, B, C is going to make Warner richer. Sorry Paramount and Criterion.

http://www.blurayreviews.ch/reviews/curious-case-of-benjamin-button-the-blu-ray-review.htm

2-Disc Special Edition review of the German release with 1080p screenshots.

First disc contains the movie.

Second disc contains extras and is not a digital copy.

Good job, Warner.:)

Hm I really dont want to purchase lossy blue rays.

Is there a u.s. version of trainspotting?


I really dont see much comparison between any of the 3, one review of the uk gave it an 8 for video, the japanese and canadian reviews I seen gave it mediocre reviews.

One person said the japanese looked like upconverted dvd.

The soundtrack on the UK version is DTS-HD High Resolution, not MA. I own the UK disc and checked it. The back of the cover just states "DTS HD" by the way. I also noticed that many reviews and forum members in several forums give (most likely unintentional) wrong information on this subject...

Is it region free or region coded ?

Hm I really dont want to purchase lossy blue rays.

Is there a u.s. version of trainspotting?


I really dont see much comparison between any of the 3, one review of the uk gave it an 8 for video, the japanese and canadian reviews I seen gave it mediocre reviews.

One person said the japanese looked like upconverted dvd.

Not sure on a US release. I changed the Dub part for the Japanese release, i got confused in a review, I think they started talking about the Canadian as having the Dubbed Monologue, not the Japanese.

I "think" all Trainspotting releases look similar.

Blacklac - Please add Sleepy Hollow (JP) to the list. Superior PQ and lossless audio.

I'd love to here your findings. Also any specifics about Iron Man US vs. JP. My experience with Sony JP HD/BD has been excellent. They put out quality movies.

I haven't had time to check this one yet but, regarding Transformers and CR I didn't notice any differece in PQ between japanese and US version. Only that JP version of CR is uncut.

Blacklac - Please add Sleepy Hollow (JP) to the list. Superior PQ and lossless audio.

Will do. Took the plunge, huh? :D

What kind of specs? AVC, TrueHD, BD50? Also, what studio?

What about the PQ was better? I'd guess less artifacts and possibly sharper...?

Will do. Took the plunge, huh? :D

What kind of specs? AVC, TrueHD, BD50? Also, what studio?

What about the PQ was better? I'd guess less artifacts and possibly sharper...?

I really need to rent the US version again so I can compare directly. I'll check the specs when I get home but I know it's TrueHD and pretty sure it is a BD50, Pony Canyon release.

As for PQ, yes the image is sharper and the annoying digital noise that seemed to dance all over the place in the US release is gone. The natural film grain is intact and there is a fantastic sense of depth. I don't remember how blacks the blacks were on the US release but they seem exceptionally inky on the JP release and shadow detail is equally impressive.

Lots of additions/updates

I also received sleepy hollow, I will check tonight i only took a quick look on my plasma, but it looks much better, those annoying digital artifacts are gone, and it looks good. Some shots look really cool to, I remember looking at my hd dvd and saying this movie could look really good if these artifacts and such were not popping up everywhere.

I will do a/b tonight with my hd dvd u.s. copy.

If your a fan of this movie, do yourself a favor and get the japanese copy.

I also received sleepy hollow, I will check tonight i only took a quick look on my plasma, but it looks much better, those annoying digital artifacts are gone, and it looks good. Some shots look really cool to, I remember looking at my hd dvd and saying this movie could look really good if these artifacts and such were not popping up everywhere.

I will do a/b tonight with my hd dvd u.s. copy.

If your a fan of this movie, do yourself a favor and get the japanese copy.

Glad to hear someone is not pissed at me for recommending this:p Be sure to chime in on Foxy's film grain thread too. I recommended that this be added to the main list and the US release be placed on the minor issues list. Also interested in reading your impressions on the audio.

Well I will need more time to go over it again tomorrow.

Its for sure an improvement over the original. Although I think the master needs to be redone.

Some scenes still presented a gritty look that bothered me. A bit to much yet in spots. My projector is very unforgiving and shows anything good or bad.

Some scenes looked like bottom teir 1, but some scenes looked like they couldnt be improved anymore and maybe bottem teir 3 or 4.

Overall it was for sure an upgrade. I was maybe expecting to much due to the difference in american psycho i seen.

You could see in some scenes that this movie is capable of being bottom teir 1 through and through, but short of a cleaning up the master I dont expect a better version then this. And I dont like dnr or at least very slight, so i am concluding that it needs a new master.

Audio was very good however, very impressed with the audio. I really like this movie though, so it was still worth it for me. I just wish some scenes could have been cleared up even more and the extreme noise was still present at times, although to a lesser degree.

It is tough to rate this, better then the u.s. overall for sure, but some parts still looked a bit haggard.

I should mention on my plasma it was much harder to spot excessive noise/grain so if you have a smaller screen, get this for sure.


I will check it out again tonight, i didnt have quite ideal conditions the entire way through. People kept turning lights on behind me in my house ruining part of my analyzing.

Well I will need more time to go over it again tomorrow.

Its for sure an improvement over the original. Although I think the master needs to be redone.

Some scenes still presented a gritty look that bothered me. A bit to much yet in spots. My projector is very unforgiving and shows anything good or bad.

Some scenes looked like bottom teir 1, but some scenes looked like they couldnt be improved anymore and maybe bottem teir 3 or 4.

Overall it was for sure an upgrade. I was maybe expecting to much due to the difference in american psycho i seen.

You could see in some scenes that this movie is capable of being bottom teir 1 through and through, but short of a cleaning up the master I dont expect a better version then this. And I dont like dnr or at least very slight, so i am concluding that it needs a new master.

Audio was very good however, very impressed with the audio. I really like this movie though, so it was still worth it for me. I just wish some scenes could have been cleared up even more and the extreme noise was still present at times, although to a lesser degree.

It is tough to rate this, better then the u.s. overall for sure, but some parts still looked a bit haggard.

I should mention on my plasma it was much harder to spot excessive noise/grain so if you have a smaller screen, get this for sure.


I will check it out again tonight, i didnt have quite ideal conditions the entire way through. People kept turning lights on behind me in my house ruining part of my analyzing.
I viewed it on a 58" Pany plasma and agree for the most part but I found it overall to be a fairly impressive looking title preserving the natural film grain as it should. Some of the scenes looked a bit soft but I have to wonder if this is how they were shot. The movie as a whole often has a dreamy feel to it and I agree that the BD lacks the hyper detail that we've come to love in so many top tier titles but still resolved with super inky blacks, gradial shadow delineation, and for the most part an impressive sense of depth.

The black levels and color were very good on the japanese release. Much better, and looked great.

My only issue was a few scenes looked gritty and flat yet.

Some scenes were excellent though, the flashbacks with his mother looked great, the opening shot of him going to sleepy hollow in the carriage was also incredible.

You might be right that its how it was shot. There was some incredible looking scenes, and then at times it still looked a bit decayed.

I was wondering if it might have been a camera they used. When johnny depp got stabbed and is sitting in the bed, and christina ricci dad is there, the camera switched from depp whose faces showed alot of distracting grain/noise, and then a camera shot of the dad whose face showed a ton of detail, and no extra noise/grain, it was a huge contrast as the cameras switched back and forth, it literally was going from teir 1 quality back to bottem teir 3 as they carried on there discussion.

So looking back and forth tonight, Im not sure if I can recommend this or not.

Some scenes offered great changes with the japanese looking much better, yet other scenes i complained about earlier, a/bing the u.s. and japanese copy, some scenes only provided subtle if any upgrade.

Its really a mixed bag, overall it is an upgrade, but again some scenes look way better, and others just barely improved.

I did find the sound to be excellent though.

Iron Man

Judging from the comparison pix (Xylon Vs. Zonadvd.com), the Paramount version looked a hair better in terms of contrast and black levels.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Close call but Region A, B, C is going to make Warner richer. Sorry Paramount and Criterion.

http://www.blurayreviews.ch/reviews/curious-case-of-benjamin-button-the-blu-ray-review.htm

2-Disc Special Edition review of the German release with 1080p screenshots.

First disc contains the movie.

Second disc contains extras and is not a digital copy.

Good job, Warner.:)

does that review suggest the warner version was better than the criterion? If so thats a mighty effort

Dont know if kenobi can comment on this, but I noticed the japanese version of sleepy hollow is 1080i? The menu is 1080/24fps, then once the movie starts its 1080i.

I thought it might be my projector, or ps3, so i tried a bunch of other discs, all played fine at 1080/24, but sleepy hollow played at 1080i, after the menu (menu was in 1080/24).

Is the OP still being updated? The UK/French encode of T2 should be listed as the highest quality, and the Sony release of T3 is available in the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, and probably other countries in addition to Germany.

Here's pics of the US Vertical Limit encode (MPEG-2) vs the UK and Brazilian encode (AVC).

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/0-00-51_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/0-00-51_UK_MPC.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/0-16-56_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/0-16-56_UK_MPC.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-30-25_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-30-25_UK_MPC.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-30-47_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-30-47_UK_MPC.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-37-48_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-37-48_UK_MPC.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-56-01_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-56-01_UK_MPC.png

As you can see the US encode is zoomed in, blurry, and even exhibits small interlacing artifacts in some areas (tiny ones). Despite being progressively encoded. I think it's an artifact of the zooming.

Thats a huge difference with Vertical Limit! (puts US version up for sale!!) :)

Is the OP still being updated?

Yes sir!

I will get to those after work. Thanks for the updates!

Is the OP still being updated? The UK/French encode of T2 should be listed as the highest quality, and the Sony release of T3 is available in the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, and probably other countries in addition to Germany.

Here's pics of the US Vertical Limit encode (MPEG-2) vs the UK and Brazilian encode (AVC).

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/0-00-51_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/0-00-51_UK_MPC.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/0-16-56_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/0-16-56_UK_MPC.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-30-25_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-30-25_UK_MPC.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-30-47_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-30-47_UK_MPC.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-37-48_US_MPC.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/vlcomp/1-37-48_UK_MPC.png

As you can see the US encode is zoomed in, blurry, and even exhibits small interlacing artifacts in some areas (tiny ones). Despite being progressively encoded. I think it's an artifact of the zooming.

The UK/Brazilian edition looks fabulous - The American edition looks very poor by comparison.

I came across three PNG shots of Sony's Terminator 3 disc in a Google search, so here's a little Warner Bros VC-1 (HD DVD and Blu-ray - US, etc) vs Sony AVC (Blu-ray - UK, etc) comparison.

Color differences are only due to the different software conversion in place, so try to ignore that.

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/t3comp/0-07-08_WB.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/t3comp/0-07-08_Sony.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/t3comp/1-23-57_WB.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/t3comp/1-23-57_Sony.png

http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/t3comp/1-30-32_WB.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/t3comp/1-30-32_Sony.png

A surprise to absolutely nobody, it's a different encode of the same master. The 13.52Mbps VC-1 holds up well compared to the 26.79Mbps AVC, although obviously with more blocking. No evidence of the infamous Warner (or VC-1) "filtering" in sight.

I expect a similar result with Watchmen if anyone does a comparison between Warner and Paramount.

The grain looks maintained much better in the Sony release on T3.

Is it region free or region coded ?

Sorry for answering only now... The UK release of Pride & Prejudice BBC is region free (plays fine with PowerDVD set to Region A or B - didn't check C).

Sorry for answering only now... The UK release of Pride & Prejudice BBC is region free (plays fine with PowerDVD set to Region A or B - didn't check C).

Thanks.

I took a calculated risk and bought it a few weeks back for someone in America and thats why i originally wanted to know. :)

I had read on Blu-ray.com forums, someone claimed Sleepy Hollow was re-released in the US, with a new transfer. Perhaps those interested would like to look into that.

I came across three PNG shots of Sony's Terminator 3 disc in a Google search, so here's a little Warner Bros VC-1 (HD DVD and Blu-ray - US, etc) vs Sony AVC (Blu-ray - UK, etc) comparison.

Color differences are only due to the different software conversion in place, so try to ignore that.



A surprise to absolutely nobody, it's a different encode of the same master. The 13.52Mbps VC-1 holds up well compared to the 26.79Mbps AVC, although obviously with more blocking. No evidence of the infamous Warner (or VC-1) "filtering" in sight.

I expect a similar result with Watchmen if anyone does a comparison between Warner and Paramount.

Yeah I was surprised that it looks pretty much identical... I would buy the Sony version for the TrueHD track though.. Too bad Warner didn't include that.

I had read on Blu-ray.com forums, someone claimed Sleepy Hollow was re-released in the US, with a new transfer. Perhaps those interested would like to look into that.

Any more info on this, or where that came from? How would we know we are getting a new transfer? I live in canada, and already ordered a japan one, which was better but not great, I would like to know more info on this, could you point me where that quote came from? And how people would know they are getting a re-released one.

Its the same disc in a package without the old Paramount border and lower price. There were already 2 other threads about this for Sky Captain and the Warriors... I wish that people on Blu-ray.com would stop spreading this misinformation..

Old Packaging
http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/prod_lrg_images/855/202986855.jpg

New Packaging

http://blog.chezlezard.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/sleepy-hollow-blu-ray.jpg

SAME DISC

This one's a straight-up codec comparison from Sony: same master with no zooming or other crap this time.

Here's the specs and extras info for the Spanish release. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16893785#post16893785) Notably limited by only including 2.0 audio for the English track, yet inexplicably presenting that in LPCM... It's also Region B locked, so most wouldn't be interested anyway.

17.53Mbps MPEG-2 vs 24.97Mbps AVC
http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/0-01-49_US.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/0-01-49_ES.png
http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/0-03-32_US.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/0-03-32_ES.png
http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/1-01-00_US.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/1-01-00_ES.png
http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/1-27-01_US.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/1-27-01_ES.png
http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/1-50-10_US.pnghttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/mementocomp/1-50-10_ES.png

AVC encode of Memento seems ever so slightly better, at least in the darker/noisier areas.

But I would probably still get the US disc because I don't trust 24.000fps encodes.

I know most of what's in this thread is blu vs. blu but does anyone have any feed back on the US release HD-DVD Red Dragon vs. the JP release?

Regarding Vertical Limit

I recently found out that SPHE has issued yet another Vertical Limit Blu-ray disc in Brazil. Now we have 2 different versions with AVC encode

Version 1:
The first was identical to the US version.

Since the subtitles were in featured portuguese from Portugal (not brazilian portuguese) it was quicly replaced with:

Version 2:
The replacent, second was identical to the US version in terms of extra features, audio and subtitles languages, but with the brazilian portuguese subtitle track and the AVC encode.

Version 2:
Now SPHE has quietly replaced the above version with yet a new one, apparently to include the dub track.
This new version features AVC encode, DTHD audio track and the same extra features as before. By the other subtitles languages included this is the same disc that's been released on eastern europe.



SHPE has pulled similar issue with Hellboy, though the first disc didn't even include any sort of portuguese subs. The second disc was correted to include the appropriate subs.

Now, a third version comes out features both subtitles and dub track, but with the peculiar fact that it's now the Theatrcial Cut with slightly higher bitrate and DTHD 48/24. As with VL, this is the same disc that is been distributed on eastern europe.

As I have mentioned before, all SPHE brazilian discs are authored and pressed in the US, with identical disc label.



msgohan,

Would you be interested in doing a screencap comparison with Hellboy?

Also (with all due respect for gay men, but this is not a gay request :) ) , could you post a screen cap comparison of a Chris O'Donnel close up from the final moments of the film, when he's talking to Robin Tuney at the enfermary. Detail is outstanding in this scene.

Payback
UK/German/Spanish (Warner) - Theatrical/Director's Cut, AVC, TrueHD 5.1.

I just noticed this on the list but the only one I see on amazon.uk is the US import directors cut and a pre-order for a Sept. 28? Can anyone confirm that this is region free and where I can order? I love this movie but hated the director cut and have been looking for a BD or HD copy of the theatrical release.

Would you be interested in doing a screencap comparison with Hellboy?

Only if you're willing to provide the discs. ;) I think I'm saving up to get one of the Japanese Rambo discs or maybe Basic Instinct.. so that I can be promptly disappointed and throw them at a wall when it's the same crappy master.

could you post a screen cap comparison of a Chris O'Donnel close up from the final moments of the film, when he's talking to Robin Tuney at the enfermary. Detail is outstanding in this scene.

Added the shot you requested to the end of my post on the previous page.

Payback
UK/German/Spanish (Warner) - Theatrical/Director's Cut, AVC, TrueHD 5.1.

I just noticed this on the list but the only one I see on amazon.uk is the US import directors cut and a pre-order for a Sept. 28? Can anyone confirm that this is region free and where I can order? I love this movie but hated the director cut and have been looking for a BD or HD copy of the theatrical release.

Well Warner has never region coded a BD as far as I know... Pretty sure it's a preorder everywhere so that Amazon.uk link should be good.

I'd like to know the source for the claim that they've actually encoded an AVC though.

Only if you're willing to provide the discs. ;)

:D


I think I'm saving up to get one of the Japanese Rambo discs or maybe Basic Instinct.. so that I can be promptly disappointed and throw them at a wall when it's the same crappy master.

That would be a great comparison, looking foward to that ;)

Added the shot you requested to the end of my post on the previous page.

Thank you very much!

There is a $10 copy left of the UK Vertical Limit (AVC) on ebay.. I bought one.

No Country for The Old Men.

Now that you mention it, the brazilian and european (minus UK) version of 'No Country for The Old Men' have a 48/24 PCM track.

If you could add the other titles I commented on the 'X-Men: Origins & The Siege' thread ;)

Now that you mention it, the brazilian and european (minus UK) version of 'No Country for The Old Men' have a 48/24 PCM track.

Doesn't the US collector's edition have DTS-HD MA that's 24-bit? It seems like that would be the best one due to the extras.

You are correct.

Sure, I know that. I posted it for reference and because it might be useful information for owners of first generation players who are not yet DTS-HD MA capable.

Dont forget the Japanese edition of "Phantom of the Opera" from GAGA.
It has 5.1 TruHD and 5.1 PCM

been a while.

Bump.

What's the consensus for picking up the Terminator movies in the US? Seems like the US releases are terrible.

T1 - Is there another option?
T2 - UK (Optimum), is the JPN (Geneon) as good?
T3 - UK (Sony)

Salvation looks like it will actually be ok to pick up in the US.

What's the consensus for picking up the Terminator movies in the US? Seems like the US releases are terrible.

T1 - Is there another option?
T2 - UK (Optimum), is the JPN (Geneon) as good?
T3 - UK (Sony)

Salvation looks like it will actually be ok to pick up in the US.

You got it all right. T1 is the same disc everywhere, T2 UK looks better than both US releases but I haven't seen the Japanese release. Considering the price difference I would just go with the UK. T3 UK isn't a huge leap over the US, but it is better and it has lossless audio.

What's the consensus for picking up the Terminator movies in the US? Seems like the US releases are terrible.

T1 - Is there another option?
T2 - UK (Optimum), is the JPN (Geneon) as good?
T3 - UK (Sony)

Salvation looks like it will actually be ok to pick up in the US.

T1 - No, wait for remaster
T2 - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1073273
T3 - http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/13214/

You got it all right. T1 is the same disc everywhere, T2 UK looks better than both US releases but I haven't seen the Japanese release. Considering the price difference I would just go with the UK. T3 UK isn't a huge leap over the US, but it is better and it has lossless audio.

Thanks for the advice!

T1 - No, wait for remaster
T2 - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1073273
T3 - http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/13214/

Nice! The UK release looks better on both to my eyes. Are they region free? Is T1 something that is going to happen for sure? I guess it doesn't matter too much seeing as it's $10 or less most places.

Thanks for the advice!

Nice! The UK release looks better on both to my eyes. Are they region free? Is T1 something that is going to happen for sure? I guess it doesn't matter too much seeing as it's $10 or less most places.

Yes, all region free. T1 is definitely getting re-done at some point, but how long it will take is anyone's guess. For $10, I'd just buy the current release now and replace it when the new one comes out.

I'm guessing this Transporter / Transporter 2 twin pack isn't the same as the Sony/Japan one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Transporter-2-Blu-ray/dp/B001GPTCEI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1261173089&sr=8-4 ?

I was hoping to pick up those two along with the T2/T3 discs of better quality all in the same order. The quality Transporter twin pack I'd have to order from Amazon.co.jp ?

It list Fox under studio so my guess its same as the US release. The French version seems to be the best without breaking the bank version if you don't mind only DTS-HD HR audio.

I'm guessing this Transporter / Transporter 2 twin pack isn't the same as the Sony/Japan one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Transporter-2-Blu-ray/dp/B001GPTCEI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1261173089&sr=8-4 ?

I was hoping to pick up those two along with the T2/T3 discs of better quality all in the same order. The quality Transporter twin pack I'd have to order from Amazon.co.jp ?

http://www.yesasia.com/us/transporter-twin-pack-blu-ray-japan-version/1005182513-0-0-0-en/info.html

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9D%E3%83%BC%E3%82 %BF%E3%83%BC-%E3%83%84%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%91%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF-Blu-ray-%E3%83%AB%E3%82%A4%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AC%E3%83%86%E3%83%AA%E3%82 %A8%E3%80%81%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%A6%E3 %83%B3/dp/B0010XIPTY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1261250731&sr=8-2

Yes, that Amazon UK looks to be a different set. I don't really know anything about the UK set.

Any details on the Pan's Labyrinth US release on 2/2/10?

Made a few updates and additions.

Bump

Just came across this thread
great work- will come in handy

Made a few updates and additions.

Bump
The Leon listing does not mention the U.S. version at all. And you are missing the Canadian version of The Illusionist.

A good site to check out specs for foreign Blu-rays is:

http://www.dvdcompare.net/

Though many of their listings are incomplete also, at least for certain Blu-rays.

Where can I get the Nordic copy of Black Hawk Down? According to the first post, it's encoded with AVC right? I'm assuming it'll be better than the MPEG2 version sold in North America?

What about Casion Royale? Is the Australia version the best one to get? I'm not sure if I got the Deluxe version in North America. I just bought the disc from Amazon at the time.

Has anyone seen the spain version of hero? Suppose to have loseless original language on that one.

Backlac i was wondering regarding your underworld stats you state the french is higher bitrate video then the u.s. do you know if its better pq, or how much higher the bitrate is?

Wondering if its worth the import.

Has anyone seen the spain version of hero? Suppose to have loseless original language on that one.

Here's a review for the Spanish version of Hero (not good): http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/3043/hero_es.html

Where can I get the Nordic copy of Black Hawk Down? According to the first post, it's encoded with AVC right? I'm assuming it'll be better than the MPEG2 version sold in North America?

What about Casion Royale? Is the Australia version the best one to get? I'm not sure if I got the Deluxe version in North America. I just bought the disc from Amazon at the time.

http://english.megastore.se/template/next%2CProduct.vm?itemid=2039303

The AVC Blackhawk down is not noticeable alot better. There were a few scenes in the US MPEG2 where macroblocking showed and you do not get that with this disc. They actually look quite similar.

Yes, the Australian Casino Royale is probably the best one to get, if you want the uncut version. The UK is cut less than the US, but still cut.

Backlac i was wondering regarding your underworld stats you state the french is higher bitrate video then the u.s. do you know if its better pq, or how much higher the bitrate is?

Wondering if its worth the import.

I'm pretty sure I just saw the bitrate listed in the Bluray Video Specifications thread. I have not seen this Bluray. Sorry.

Just an addition to In Bruges - I recently picked up the Nordic release and it is encoded at exact 24 Hz rather than 23.976Hz - just like the French release. Verified with my Oppo bdp-80.

which version of The Fountain best by the PQ ?

where can i order casino Royale? aussi ed

where can i order casino Royale? aussi ed


I think this is what you are looking for.

http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/792930

The Nordic version of Casino Royale is the same as the Australian. Some other European countries also has the same Uncut version.

I think this is what you are looking for.

http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/792930

are all the uncut versions in 1080i?

are all the uncut versions in 1080i?

I doubt that's correct.

Rogue Unrated(the croc show) Alliance or Rogue U.K? From what i read both versions have the same cut except U.K version comes with the extras and take upe less disc space. I own the Alliance version and the picture quality seems interlaced. Anyone can confirm which version is better?