Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring 'Serenity' to Blu-ray on December 30th. As one of the first HD-DVD titles released, it been a long wait for fans to get the film on Blu-ray, but it appears to be worth the wait. Coming on a BD-50, video will be presented in 2.35:1 1080p accompanied by a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.

Extras for this release include:

* Alliance Database
* U Control
o Mr. Universe Compendium
o Digital Tour of Serenity
o Picture in Picture
o Visual Commentary with Writer/Director Joss Whedon & Cast
* BD Live: My Scenes Sharing
* Feature Commentery with Writer / Director Joss Whedon
* Feature Commentary with Writer / Director Joss Whedon & Cast Members Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau and Ron Glass
* Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director Joss Whedon
* Future History - The Story of Earth That Was
* What's In A Firefly
* Re-Lighting The Firefly
* A Filmmaker's Journey
* We'll Have A Fruity Oaty Good Time!
* Extended Scenes
* Take A Walk On Serenity
* The Green Clan
* Session 416

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=2023

This is great news! I've been waiting for this for a long time. This will go well with Firefly coming out on Blu-ray next week.

Awesome! Can't wait for this!

awesome! Can't wait for this!

finally!

Sweet ;)

sold my first hd dvd in hopes of getting the improved euro encode, now it looks lke I can get the BD instead

Very nice. I was wondering if they would get it into this year like rumoured. Just.

That's great, but unfortunately can't buy it because Fox still hasn't announced Firefly for Region B! :mad:

Good news. I really like this movie and I hope it gets a good transfer like the HDDVD.

I wonder if they will use the Euro transfer. The HD DVD encode was good, but it's over 2 years old. I'm sure 35mbps AVC would be an improvement.

I wonder if they will use the Euro transfer. The HD DVD encode was good, but it's over 2 years old. I'm sure 35mbps AVC would be an improvement.


I bought the Euro transfer since I love this film. Head to head I could see no differences to the early HDDVD,did you ?

Art

Lets not confuse transfer and encode.

Is the Euro transfer superior in terms of print defects, contrast and color accuracy, or are people just saying the encode is better on that disc, preserving more detail with less artifacting?

I think it was pointed out here awhile ago that Univeral's HD-DVD encodes are not compatible with BD so it should be a new encode regardless.

The problem is that a lot of the HD DVD portovers are getting higher bitrate transfers but someone is applying too much DNR thus the higher bitrates are pointless.

Hopefully Universal will stop this practice soon and give us high bitrate transfers without the DNR.

This is one of my favorite HD-DVD's! This is good news. I wonder if the sound will sound much better as DTS-HD Master, it is pretty awesome as DD+ on the HD-DVD.

Lets not confuse transfer and encode.

Is the Euro transfer superior in terms of print defects, contrast and color accuracy, or are people just saying the encode is better on that disc, preserving more detail with less artifacting?



Did you see any of these issues with the original ?

Art

Nice. An audio upgrade plus the additional extras from the double-dip DVD release.


This movie was my first HD-DVD purchase incidentially.

Coming on BD-50 accompanied by a DTS-HD Master Audio

Shame on Universal for not featuring lossy DD audio on BD-25.:D

Did you see any of these issues with the original ?

Art

I never bought the Serenity HD-DVD. I bought the DVD way before the high def versions came out and I never bought the HD-DVD in the hopes that eventually that the special features of the double dip would be ported to a high def release.

Now that they are, I will probably have to pick it up.

all i know is that they better adjust the super hot volume on that. Yes I know, it is a volume knob turn down away but it was an excesively hot signal!

One of the first HD DVDs I bought at Best Buy when they were closing out their stock.

One of my best hi def purchases bang for buck that I own! :)

Oink will post that Serenity/Firefly sucks in 3... 2...

The problem is that a lot of the HD DVD portovers are getting higher bitrate transfers but someone is applying too much DNR thus the higher bitrates are pointless.

Hopefully Universal will stop this practice soon and give us high bitrate transfers without the DNR.

This is the crux of the matter for sure. Does Xylon still do Universal HD DVD/BD comparison, or did The Thing fiasco put him off it completely? The reason I ask is that I don't recall seeing a comparison thread here in a while.

That's great, but unfortunately can't buy it because Fox still hasn't announced Firefly for Region B! :mad:

Firefly is region free. The release is the same worldwide.

So are the special features the same as the HD DVD or are there more?

I'll be buying this puppy. My HD DVD count--;

Seggers

I've long been waiting for this title on br, as well. However, if it is a rewarmed hdvd encode and no lossless sound, that will give me pause. (Sorry if anyone disagrees. It's my purchase. That's the product I seek.)

I think I'll pick this one up.

This may be my first HD-DVD to Blu-Ray upgrade. I love this movie, and while the DD+ soundtrack was stellar, I think I may actually upgrade "just cause." :)

Firefly is region free. The release is the same worldwide.
That's good to know, but it doesn't help me because it's still too expensive to import from the US.

Great title to add to my BD library.

That's good to know, but it doesn't help me because it's still too expensive to import from the US.

I live in the US and I think too expensive to consider buying.

So are the special features the same as the HD DVD or are there more?

That is what I wanna know too... :confused:

Hmmn, I'm going to stick with my HD DVD until I can get this cheap.

I was underwhelmed by the PQ and AQ of the HD-DVD, so will be slow to buy this BD release unless someone can do a comparison. I thought the HD-DVD was only marginally better than what I saw on UniHD.

finally!


Great News!!!
Can't Wait, just need Van Helsing I know lots of people did not like it but
I do come Universal!

Hmmn, I'm going to stick with my HD DVD until I can get this cheap.

I'll just stick with my HD DVD.

Great News!!!
Can't Wait, just need Van Helsing I know lots of people did not like it but
I do come Universal!

Van Helsing has Kate Beckinsale in it, what's not to like.

Serenity was my first hidef movie experience, and I was blown away by the quality. I'm still satisfied with the hd dvd though. I'll hold out until my a2 dies.

So are the special features the same as the HD DVD or are there more?

Tech specs will see a BD-50 dual-layer presentation with 1080p video and English DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround audio.

Extras carried over from previous versions include two cast & crew audio commentaries, deleted scenes with optional commentary by Whedon, and a host of featurettes ("Future History: The Story of Earth That Was," "What's In a Firefly," "Re-Lighting the Firefly," "A Filmmaker's Journey," "We'll Have a Fruity Oaty Good Time," "Take a Walk on Serenity," "The Green Clan," "Session 416").

Exclusive to the Blu-ray is a host of bonus content, including U-Control features "Mr. Universe Compendium" and "Digital Tour of Serenity," a picture-in-picture visual commentary with Joss Whedon and cast (Bonus View), My Scenes Sharing and additional BD-Live features.

I've long been waiting for this title on br, as well. However, if it is a rewarmed hdvd encode and no lossless sound, that will give me pause. (Sorry if anyone disagrees. It's my purchase. That's the product I seek.)

DTS-HD Master Audio already announced in specs.

As for the new BD-50 encode, I'll wait and see. Serenity was not a long film and could easily run full-mux on a BD-50 without features, so one presumes that with features and a reasonable variable-bitrate encode it should look absolutely flawless. That being said, I'm still going to wait and see if there is DNR.

I never bought the HD DVD so if this release is good quality I'm all in.

The HD DVD PQ was great except for the dark cinematography of the climax sequences.

The HD DVD PQ was great except for the dark cinematography of the climax sequences.

Well thats an artistic choice....I sure wouldn't want to see them contrast boost it or mess with the image....

I will be triple dipping on this one. I'm hoping for a better transfer than the HDDVD. But even if it's on par, I won't be dissapointed. And I'm not usually one for the extras, but the the 'Serenity Tour' looks like it might be interesting.

Old news... Already seen in in HD over 2 years ago.

Old news... Already seen in in HD over 2 years ago.

Wow, Captain Obvious... you must be a real fart smeller... I mean... smart feller. :rolleyes:

I live in the US and I think too expensive to consider buying.

Buy on Amazon, it's a lot cheaper that way.

This was my first HD-DVD purchase, one of my favorite movies.

I didn't see it listed, but I hope the BD has the gag reel too. Pretty much the only one I've watched that I thought was funny. I wish I could have been on set with these guys.

I may triple dip on this just on the slim hope that sales are so good that we'll see an unlikely sequel.

Awesome news. Will have to import this to go with the Region B Firefly that gets released in a few weeks. :)

Gratuitous screen shot from the HDDVD....

http://www.seriouspc.com/artsim/6.jpg

Shiny !!!!

Good news, this is one of my favorite movies. Now all I need is the Bourne Trilogy on BD, and I'll finally be able retire my XA2.

Good news, this is one of my favorite movies. Now all I need is the Bourne Trilogy on BD, and I'll finally be able retire my XA2.

And Big Lebowski, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead ;)

Actually I remember shortly after I got the HD DVD(my 1st also), seeing reviews of the UK edition and people noting that it had a very slightly better transfer. I'd be suprised if this one isn't an improvement.

Any case, lossless audio, it's a no brainer for this one!

I was underwhelmed by the PQ and AQ of the HD-DVD, so will be slow to buy this BD release unless someone can do a comparison. I thought the HD-DVD was only marginally better than what I saw on UniHD.

If the Universal HD broadcast was encoded from the same master as the HD DVD, besides some artifacting cleanup, what type of difference do you expect to see?

If the Universal HD broadcast was encoded from the same master as the HD DVD, besides some artifacting cleanup, what type of difference do you expect to see?

UniHD is heavily compressed MPEG-2 here, the discs are not similarly compressed. With 2x the bitrate, I would expect the discs to look substantially better. They do not.

What problems did you guys see with the Serenity HDDVD ?

Art

Waht problems did you guys see with the Serenity HDDVD ?

Art

There was this huge artifact on the packaging: the lack of a "lossless sound" bullet.

Completely ruined the experience.

:rolleyes:

:p

There was this huge artifact on the packaging: the lack of a "lossless sound" bullet.

Completely ruined the experience.

:rolleyes:

:p

Generally artifacting as a term is used in reference to video artifacting.

Art

Buy on Amazon, it's a lot cheaper that way.

It's still too damn expensive. I'm not paying $60 for a 13 episode TV series no matter how much I love it.

Take a look at the first season of Chuck for somewhat sane pricing. $33 for 13 episodes. First season of Pushing Daisies and Terminator:SCC are similarly priced (only 9 episodes of each, but also cheaper).

Fox knows there's a fanbase and are pricing the set accordingly. I find it insulting and I'm not going to bite.

It's still too damn expensive. I'm not paying $60 for a 13 episode TV series no matter how much I love it.

Take a look at the first season of Chuck for somewhat sane pricing. $33 for 13 episodes. First season of Pushing Daisies and Terminator:SCC are similarly priced (only 9 episodes of each, but also cheaper).

Fox knows there's a fanbase and are pricing the set accordingly. I find it insulting and I'm not going to bite.

Reality check:
The other series you mention all have different financial scenarios, having made money from broadcast and other sources. Serenity and Firefly made nothing or almost nothing from anywhere other than DVD sales. But since this is the Serenity thread, and we don't really have a MSRP for this disc yet, it remains to be seen what it will cost. But for Firefly, $60 for the full set of what is essentially a direct-to-DVD series is not a bad price. Far better than most movies on a $-to-hour pricing ratio.

Reality check:
The other series you mention all have different financial scenarios, having made money from broadcast and other sources. Serenity and Firefly made nothing or almost nothing from anywhere other than DVD sales. But since this is the Serenity thread, and we don't really have a MSRP for this disc yet, it remains to be seen what it will cost. But for Firefly, $60 for the full set of what is essentially a direct-to-DVD series is not a bad price. Far better than most movies on a $-to-hour pricing ratio.

Another reality check, you can walk into target almost every other week and pick up the whole series on DVD for $19.99. They want 3x for a high def releases which is absurd especially considering any scene that has SFX in it is only going to be upconverted DVD since they don't have high def renders for any of the CGI. Also, the series is rerun quite often on Universal HD which means continuing money coming to fox though reruns.

I'm a huge firefly fan, I saw serenity at a early screening months before it was released and I've converted dozens of people into fans of the series, but FOX's pricing on the Firefly set is waaay out of line.

Since this is the Serenity thread, I'll drop it now. But it turns my stomach to see people paying apologist to ripoff studio pricing.

Generally artifacting as a term is used in reference to video artifacting.

Art

I realize that...the artifact on the box itself...I guess my attempt at humor failed. ;)

The problem is that a lot of the HD DVD portovers are getting higher bitrate transfers but someone is applying too much DNR thus the higher bitrates are pointless.

Hopefully Universal will stop this practice soon and give us high bitrate transfers without the DNR.

They haven't been doing that with newer titles, so I wouldn't worry about Serenity. Doing direct comparisons with their respective HD DVD versions, I can tell you that the BDs of Miami Vice, Knocked Up, American Gangster, Eastern Promises, and Land of the Dead have not received such "enhancements." Even Casino, an older movie in the bunch, did not get the treatment for the BD release.

I realize that...the artifact on the box itself...I guess my attempt at humor failed. ;)

No it didn't, it was me. I've gotten way too serious.:o

art

First review is up here http://www.areadvd.de/blu-ray_disc-reviews/2008/Serenity_BD.shtml

The score for the audio is way too low. Picture score seems off too, Uni will probably do the Miami Vice type thing for this title. No sense in applying any noise reduction.

Oh please I hope Universal doesn't do the Higher bit rate then DNR the IQ trick like done on The Thing, and The Mummy 1 & 2. ;{ Would have bought those titles.
The HD-DVD looks sweet and the DD+ does sound very nice and reflective of the source, of course a lossless track will be nice, some audio clipping here and there but over all great track.

Best Regards
KvE

Another reality check, you can walk into target almost every other week and pick up the whole series on DVD for $19.99. They want 3x for a high def releases which is absurd especially considering any scene that has SFX in it is only going to be upconverted DVD since they don't have high def renders for any of the CGI. Also, the series is rerun quite often on Universal HD which means continuing money coming to fox though reruns.

I'm a huge firefly fan, I saw serenity at a early screening months before it was released and I've converted dozens of people into fans of the series, but FOX's pricing on the Firefly set is waaay out of line.

Since this is the Serenity thread, I'll drop it now. But it turns my stomach to see people paying apologist to ripoff studio pricing.

The DVD has also been out for 5 years. I can almost guarantee that if you wait 5 years for the BD to drop in price, you will get a similar bargain.

So, considering that it probably cost $40-45 to pick up the DVD at release date, I certainly don't consider the $57 that Amazon is charging is out of line. That's like looking at a new car and complaining that it's so much more expensive than it's 2003 counterpart.

I'd have preferred about $50 myself, but I don't think the price is that awful.

In an interest to keep further Firefly price talk out the Serenity thread, you can find my response in the Firefly thread.

Oh please I hope Universal doesn't do the Higher bit rate then DNR the IQ trick like done on The Thing, and The Mummy 1 & 2. ;{ Would have bought those titles.
The HD-DVD looks sweet and the DD+ does sound very nice and reflective of the source, of course a lossless track will be nice, some audio clipping here and there but over all great track.

Best Regards
KvE
The Thing didn't actually get a higher bit rate, it just got the DNR. And for whatever extremely light amount of DNR was applied to The Mummy and The Mummy returns, the Blu editions still show more detail than the HD-DVD versions in some scenes.

The Thing and U-571 are the real big DNR tragedies from Universal and they seem to be wising up, as American Gangster, Eastern Promises and Casino (their last 3 catalog releases) were all released sans DNR with great encodes.

Thanks for the clarification, I thought The Thing did have a higher bit rate. I did a touch-up of a cap from Xylon that had a chemical blotch and even though it isn't perfect it retains grain and high frequency detail w/o the blurring-glossy affect that the DNR had.
Just need to figure out how to post it. ;}

Bring on Mal and co. in HD splendor!

Best Regards
KvE

Good news, this is one of my favorite movies. Now all I need is the Bourne Trilogy on BD, and I'll finally be able retire my XA2.

Universal has officially set The Bourne Collection, including The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, for Blu-ray Disc release on 1/27/09 (SRP $119.98).
Video will be 1080p with audio in DTS-HD MA 5.1, and each disc will be a BD-50.

I know you prob saw this, but wish and you shall receive ;)

:D:cool:

"Three full mags and my swingen cod"

Art

van helsing has kate beckinsale in it, what's not to like.

+1 :d

Serenity Blu-ray review with 1080p caps

http://www.blurayreviews.ch/reviews/serenity-blu-ray-review.htm

van helsing has kate beckinsale in it, what's not to like.
Every thing else.



Thanks for the link lgans316.

The jpeg screen caps look OK so far. But with the Jpeg compression and the down sizing it is really hard to tell. Does any one speak enough German to give us the gist of the review?

Serenity Blu-ray review with 1080p caps

http://www.blurayreviews.ch/reviews/serenity-blu-ray-review.htm
sad that American sites have not reviewed this BD

sad that American sites have not reviewed this BD
Why is that sad? It's not showing up on our shores until December 30th.

Doesn't look DNR'ed at all to me. However it is harder to notice on 720p shots.

Certainly look like the grain is retained. Fingers crossed.:cool:

this could sound odd, but i hated firefly yet loved Serenity. :confused:

this could sound odd, but i hated firefly yet loved Serenity. :confused:
Yes, that's definitely odd, considering that the movie was essentially finishing the first and only season of Firefly.

Serenity Blu-ray review with 1080p caps

http://www.blurayreviews.ch/reviews/serenity-blu-ray-review.htm

wow. That site actually has...

3-D / HD-Effekt:
70%

as part of their rating score.

this could sound odd, but i hated firefly yet loved Serenity. :confused:

I will go out on a limb and say that most likely you like action packed features over quality character driven, nuanced TV series. :p

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/35796/serenity

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1932/serenity.html

Damn, I want to go watch my HD DVD of this now.

Serenity Blu-ray review with 1080p caps

http://www.blurayreviews.ch/reviews/serenity-blu-ray-review.htm


I haven't watched Serenity in a while.....I forgot how good those space scenes looked.

Serenity Blu-ray review with 1080p caps

http://www.blurayreviews.ch/reviews/serenity-blu-ray-review.htm

mine is on the way from tower, hope to have it Friday :-) can't wait to try out the visual commentary
should really be cool glad I got BD-live Player

DVDtalk has a review up.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/35796/serenity/

Just got my copy today - it looks great!

This is one that I have waited a long time for in HD.

I'm almost done watching all of the Firefly episodes on Blu-ray now too.

Just got my copy today - it looks great!

This is one that I have waited a long time for in HD.

I'm almost done watching all of the Firefly episodes on Blu-ray now too.

I didn't even know Firefly was out on blu ray, how is it look, I have it on dvd and would love to pick it up on blu, serenity was one of my first HD DVD buys and I loved it.

Well it does not look as good as Serenity but it is still pretty decent IMO.

The review of it done here at AVS can be found here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1082624

Also here is a thread dedicated to Firefly on Blu-ray:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1017116

I finally ordered Firefly for a reasonable price. Can't have Serenity and no Firefly...

I finally ordered Firefly for a reasonable price. Can't have Serenity and no Firefly...
My copy of Serenity arrived today. I'm looking forward to doing a Firefly/Serenity in HD marathon this weekend. :D

Anyone having issues going to the Alliance Database in the Extras Menu?
All I get is a black screen with nothing showing. Hitting the display on the remote shows "Title 33." I can't pause, fast forward or rewind. I have to quit and restart the movie.

I have a 40 gig PS3. I deleted the data on the hard drive and it does the same thing.
I checked the other forums and some are having the same issue.

Watched Serenity for the first time tonite.
Nice AV quality with this release.
Light grain and aggressive surround audio.

However, this movie (like the series) is all about style, with little substance.
Little replay value here...

Anyone having issues going to the Alliance Database in the Extras Menu?
All I get is a black screen with nothing showing. Hitting the display on the remote shows "Title 33." I can't pause, fast forward or rewind. I have to quit and restart the movie.

I have a 40 gig PS3. I deleted the data on the hard drive and it does the same thing.
I checked the other forums and some are having the same issue.

I have the exact same issue. Original 60g here with recent firmware etc.

However, this movie (like the series) is all about style, with little substance.
Little replay value here...

Now I know your kidding. :eek: This is a great movie, have rewatched it plenty of times in the past.

Anyone having issues going to the Alliance Database in the Extras Menu?
All I get is a black screen with nothing showing. Hitting the display on the remote shows "Title 33." I can't pause, fast forward or rewind. I have to quit and restart the movie.

I have a 40 gig PS3. I deleted the data on the hard drive and it does the same thing.
I checked the other forums and some are having the same issue.

My copy won't get to the menu. Sony BRD 300S with 4.30 firmware. Upon putting it in it immediately shows the 20th Century Fox logo followed by a long list of langauges to choose from, followed by the FBI screen, ratings screen, several minutes of 2 different loading screens, then IT REBOOTS THE PLAYER AND STARTS OVER!!! No error codes, nothing else.

I am really getting fed up with this. Now I have to take it back to Best Buy to see if it will play in their machine. I have the 4.40 (I think it is) firmware update disc ordered but could take several weeks. And who knows, that may not even be the reason. But, I'd guess it's most likely likely the ever changing protection crap that continues to punish legitimate purchasers.

There is a known glitch with the Alliance Database. First delete your Serenity save data from the player menu. Then insert the disc and when prompted to download a new BD Live update, refuse it. If you download it, Alliance Database will not play. You won't be able to access BD Live but there's nothing on it right now anyway so just don't download it till Universal fixes the problem. So contact Universal so they can get on that.

Watched Serenity for the first time tonite.
Nice AV quality with this release.
Light grain and aggressive surround audio.

However, this movie (like the series) is all about style, with little substance.
Little replay value here...

I would have to disagree, have watched over 10 times and still love it plus the new visual commentary is the bomb! Joss is a great writer just need Buffy & Angel on BD

I would have to disagree, have watched over 10 times and still love it plus the new visual commentary is the bomb! Joss is a great writer just need Buffy & Angel on BD
The first four seasons or so of Buffy were on video, unfortunately. It was only later that they switched to film - while continuing to compose and release only in 4:3. Angel was done entirely on film and in widescreen, however, so it could end up looking quite nice on Blu-ray.

Actually the first season of Buffy is shot on 16mm and all the subsequent seasons are on 35mm. The show continued to be primarily composed at the 4:3 ratio, however from season 4 onward it was released as 16:9 in the UK for whatever reason, this ultimately lead to a US reissue of the DVDs in 16:9 as well. --> Incorrect info. ;{

Regardless the intended ratio is 1:33:1 aka 4:3 and the widescreen version can look very nice but the effects were composed for 4:3. If I remember correctly fx were rendered in SD and the show was edited and transferred on video.

Best Regards
KvE

Actually the first season of Buffy is shot on 16mm and all the subsequent seasons are on 35mm. The show continued to be primarily composed at the 4:3 ratio, however from season 4 onward it was released as 16:9 in the UK for whatever reason, this ultimately lead to a US reissue of the DVDs in 16:9 as well.
Best Regards
KvE

Are you sure about that? I was under the impression every episode was 4:3 with the exception of "Once More With Feeling".

Sorry I was wrong on the WS for the US. The reason I originally said that was because I recall my local library actually has widescreen versions in their system. I don't know what region they are since the discs worked in a region 1 player.

Of course it was years ago since I watched the library copies so I could be misremembering. Now I'm going to make a visit to make sure.

Best Regards
KvE

The first four seasons or so of Buffy were on video, unfortunately. It was only later that they switched to film - while continuing to compose and release only in 4:3. Angel was done entirely on film and in widescreen, however, so it could end up looking quite nice on Blu-ray.

I have season 4-7 of Buffy in widescreen on DVD via UK release it's real cool!

I have season 4-7 of Buffy in widescreen on DVD via UK release it's real cool!

Yeah, the UK has them in WS. I've been meaning to import them...what region are they? I have the Chosen Collection in America...but I'd like to watch Buffy in WS.

All of the framing for seasons 4-7 was still done in 4:3, so what you're getting with the widescreen version is not OAR. There will also be production mistakes in the widescreen sets that were out of frame for the proper 4:3 sets. The only episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that was actually framed for widescreen is Once More With Feeling. Which, unfortunately, is non-anamorphic in the NA release.

All of the framing for seasons 4-7 was still done in 4:3, so what you're getting with the widescreen version is not OAR. There will also be production mistakes in the widescreen sets that were out of frame for the proper 4:3 sets. The only episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that was actually framed for widescreen is Once More With Feeling. Which, unfortunately, is non-anamorphic in the NA release.

Yeah, I've seen screenshots with the various flubs. Its a TV show, I saw plenty in the 4:3 versions as well.

Watched Serenity for the first time tonite.
Nice AV quality with this release.
Light grain and aggressive surround audio.

However, this movie (like the series) is all about style, with little substance.
Little replay value here...

Yea, I disgaree with this. I'd not seen Firefly before this on HDDVD. A wonderful entertaining film. I've watched it through ,I bet,at least ten times( with various friends)

Art

However, this movie (like the series) is all about style, with little substance.
Little replay value here...
I couldn't disagree with you more. I thought there was a great amount of substance to both the series and the film and I've watched the series about six or seven times through now and I've seen the film five times now.

I couldn't disagree with you more. I thought there was a great amount of substance to both the series and the film and I've watched the series about six or seven times through now and I've seen the film five times now.

One man's substance can be another man's fluff.

Substance is overrated anyway.;)

There is enough wit, charm and atmosphere in all of Whedon's work to keep me entertained after many viewings.

The choreography of the Bar fight scene with River (Glau's Ballet training being evident) is worth the price of admission alone .

ted

Anyone having issues going to the Alliance Database in the Extras Menu?
All I get is a black screen with nothing showing. Hitting the display on the remote shows "Title 33." I can't pause, fast forward or rewind. I have to quit and restart the movie.Yup, same here. Additionally, I can't seem to get the Digital Tour of Serenity (or whatever it's called) to work from the onscreen U-Control menu bar, either. BD player is a newer 80GB PS3 with most recent firmware.

The choreography of the Bar fight scene with River (Glau's Ballet training being evident) is worth the price of admission alone .


You know, it took several viewings of the movie before I realized just how damn great that scene was.

The Fruity Oaty Bar?

In case it hasn't been mentioned, the "Fruity Oaty Good Time" easter egg is hidden in the Extended Scenes menu.

The sound on Serenity is off the chart. It's the only HD movie I have where I have to turn the sound dow quite a bit. Only thing, the dialogue is to low. So low that I ended up putting the subtitles on the screen to keep up with what was being said. I've never had to do that with other HD movies.

The sound on Serenity is off the chart. It's the only HD movie I have where I have to turn the sound dow quite a bit. Only thing, the dialogue is to low. So low that I ended up putting the subtitles on the screen to keep up with what was being said. I've never had to do that with other HD movies.
I didn't think dialog was low at all on the sound mix for Serenity. It seemed perfectly in balance with the rest of the movie. If you want to hear dialog that's too low in the mix, give Doomsday a watch on Blu-ray. I think everything from the center channel is too low in that movie.

In case it hasn't been mentioned, the "Fruity Oaty Good Time" easter egg is hidden in the Extended Scenes menu.
More info, please. Is it present on the HD, or only the BD? How to access? COME ON! I am in a dead zone of no new Firefly material, and will slaughter kittens wholesale to get a meager taste...

More info, please. Is it present on the HD, or only the BD? How to access? COME ON! I am in a dead zone of no new Firefly material, and will slaughter kittens wholesale to get a meager taste...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595821627

More info, please. Is it present on the HD, or only the BD? How to access? COME ON! I am in a dead zone of no new Firefly material, and will slaughter kittens wholesale to get a meager taste...

It's been present on every video release of the movie. On the HD DVD, highlight "Features" and press Left twice. On the Blu-ray, go to the "Extended Scenes" menu and press Down after the last option listed.

Any word on when the fix from Universal will be released for the Alliance Database issue ?

Just bought the BR (added to my collection of Serenity discs) and its slightly disappointing the lack of new material but I don't really care...was worth it for the incredible audio and visual presentation of the movie...

...finally got to Target to pick this one up. The price was very nice- a great success. [use Borat voice] :D

I got my HTPC blu ray player a little before Christmas and every other disc seems to be a new adventure. Some play fine but when you run into a problem its a real ordeal.

Figured it wouldn't hurt to go with a Netflix trial account to try different Blu Ray movies and iron out problems. My current problem is with Serenity. I couldn't play beyond the opening menu. When I started the film I got an infinite loop error which caused a blu screen faulting a file called ATI2VAG. After two days of trying to make it play, I saved the disc to my hard drive so I could keep working on the issue and sent it back. A suggestion in one of our forums to roll back the ATI Catalyst drivers to 8.4 seems to have solved the blu screen crash problem.

I would still like to watch the movie as I never liked the sound or picture on the DVD version. I heard this disc is quite good. The only thing I have saved is the main movie file .m2ts. I can watch the movie but the commentary track plays instead of the regular track when using Power DVD.

I have been toyying with a multiplex tool called TsMuxeR as I am reading I can remove the unwanted audio tracks with it. I have processed the file three times without success. It seems to queue up but not play. I uncheck all the foreign subtitles and audio tracks. I tried leaving the two 720 video and single 1080 files and then on my next attempt tried just saving the 1080 with the HD. I guess next I'll try preserving 720 and a lesser english audio if I have it.

I have re-ordered the disc from Netflix as I assume it will play, but would like to learn how to do this workaround. With files this large I have no interest in keeping them on my hard drive. (As is is I only have barely enough room to hold the original and the muxed file.) But with every third Blu Ray disc giving me problems, it seems I am going to need some ready work arounds if I am to risk buying and renting Blu Rays.

If you have a tip as to which files I might choose to save or favorite software you prefer for this sort of issue, that would be real helpful.
I'll keep researching and plugging away. When I get a solution I'll post it. Thanks.

I also thought on first viewing that the dialog was kind of low in the mix. Will need to rewatch it though to get a better take on that. I wondered at the time if it was intentional.

Anyone compared the UK bluray and the US bluray?

Xylon? :D

Just rented and watched Serenity - great flick. Overall the video quality was quite good but did anyone else notice some sort of strange artifacts occasionally (e.g. safe haven chapter where it was the actor in front of a very dark background)? I think it's called macroblocking with very blotchy blacks. It only happens occasionally but was quite noticeable.

Anyone compared the UK bluray and the US bluray?

Xylon? :D
Considering the language choice thing that pops up at the beginning, I wouldn't be surprised if this was a "universal" release from Universal.

I watched this movie for the first time last night, I enjoyed it and thought it was a fun movie. PQ seemed very inconsistent to me, some scenes were just breathtaking and some were very mediocre. Audio was just fantastic!

Have any of you did a side by side HD-DVD vs Blu-ray comparison yet? Believe it or not I just ordered this on HD-DVD for (forgot no price mention here, let's just say that I could buy 5 plates at the 99 cent store for what I paid lol) so I was curious if I would be missing out not getting it on Bluray for my PS3.

Have any of you did a side by side HD-DVD vs Blu-ray comparison yet? Believe it or not I just ordered this on HD-DVD for (forgot no price mention here, let's just say that I could buy 5 plates at the 99 cent store for what I paid lol) so I was curious if I would be missing out not getting it on Bluray for my PS3.

Some related links...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=152

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1100644

Some related links...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=152

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1100644

Thanks for the links. I think I'll stay outta that one though cause I feel some of those guys are drinking the bluray koolaid. Terms like "clearly" more detailed and differences being "quite noticeable" are way over the top. There's 4 screens in that thread and I honestly see no difference between the bluray and hddvd versions. I would love to build up my blu collection but it's gotta be worth my while. I can't see spending upwards of 6 times the money for virtually identical materials.

Any word on when the fix from Universal will be released for the Alliance Database issue ?

I would like to know too. It doesn't work on my 40 gig PS3. Deleting the file and avoid the downloading the files doesn't work either.