Just got back from Japan and picked up some BD titles.. I have only watched a couple of them so far.. I will post reviews of the PQ and AQ over the weekend.. Nice to see different titles available elsewhere....

Chris

Here is a pic of the jackets..

Japan BD Titles

:eek: Nice! What you got there is pretty much every Japan-exclucive BD currently available. But you forgot to get Ghost in the Shell 2! :(

LOL you should be ashamed of yourself for owning The Pacifier...

Layer Cake was pretty good, might buy that as well.

I know.. I really did not want to buy it (Sorry Disney), however my work pays for all of the BD titles I buy.. So I buy them all.......

Chris

LOL you should be ashamed of yourself for owning The Pacifier...

Layer Cake was pretty good, might buy that as well.

:eek: Nice! What you got there is pretty much every Japan-exclucive BD currently available. But you forgot to get Ghost in the Shell 2! :(


If I would have seen it I would have bought it... They had a couple other titles (Japanese Anime), however they were really expensive.. One was a box set for over $300.00........

Chris

HAHAHA I'm just teasing :) I just think that movie was pure crap. Vin Diesel should be more ashamed than you. Where do you work? I wanna work there :D

Any word on what the extras are for Black Rain that aren't available here?

No Ghost in the Shell 2!?!?!

Any word on what the extras are for Black Rain that aren't available here?

I wish I could fill you in on this one, but Black Rain has been sold out at every store I've been to for the past week! I knew this movie was popular here, but YIKES!!! If I can find it anytime soon, I'll post an update.

I wish I could fill you in on this one, but Black Rain has been sold out at every store I've been to for the past week! I knew this movie was popular here, but YIKES!!! If I can find it anytime soon, I'll post an update.

Thank you! I've been dying to find out!

Let us know how 'Deep Blue' turns out. I almost bought it myself, but it's just too pricey for me.

I wish I could fill you in on this one, but Black Rain has been sold out at every store I've been to for the past week! I knew this movie was popular here, but YIKES!!! If I can find it anytime soon, I'll post an update.


Hey Ktak,

I saw black rain at the HMV store at the Meguro Hilltop above the station.. I was not aware of any additional extras, otherwise I would have purchased it..

Chris

Let us know how 'Deep Blue' turns out. I almost bought it myself, but it's just too pricey for me.


Deep Blue, is really, really grainy in some scenes.. As much as I like the disc overall it is not a very good transfer. My guess is that the original looks this bad as well...

Chris

HAHAHA I'm just teasing :) I just think that movie was pure crap. Vin Diesel should be more ashamed than you. Where do you work? I wanna work there :D


Hey Darkjedi,

I work for Pioneer Electronics.. I am in charge of Blu-ray product planning...

Chris

I work for Pioneer Electronics.. I am in charge of Blu-ray product planning...

Chris

Now you will be bombarded with questions from all of the Pioneer fans around here... ;)

mm... layer cake. lemme know how that one looks because it is on my list of things to pick up a couple of weeks from now, ahead of casino royale.

Hey Darkjedi,

I work for Pioneer Electronics.. I am in charge of Blu-ray product planning...

Chris

That is a cool job. Any plans to give us normal Blu-ray recorder with HDD in US?

That is a cool job. Any plans to give us normal Blu-ray recorder with HDD in US?


Not at this time.. We currently do build BD recorders for PC use as well as HDD for High Def in other countries, so it is not out of the question..Just not this year....

The current state of Cable Cards and Two-Way cable cards makes it very difficult to make a product that would be easy to use.....

Chris

Walkamo,

Any update on Black Rain?

I would REALLY like to get Casshern on BD from Japan....hint, hint. ;)

:eek: Nice! What you got there is pretty much every Japan-exclucive BD currently available. But you forgot to get Ghost in the Shell 2! :(

That's the only one I did pick up while I'm here.

I was rather surprised at the complete lack on Japanese titles (as in movies from Japan rather than Hollywood).

The $300 box set of the anime series Air was the only other title I saw that came close to tempting me, until I realized I had no real interest in the show, and was just looking for an excuse to buy more BD movies.

BB

Walkamo,

Any update on Black Rain?

According to the notes on the disc case, the Japanese Blu-ray release of Black Rain includes all the U.S. release extra materials plus special "Japan Original" extras. These include.

- Japanese cast interviews (not sure who yet - see below).
- Interviews with Japanese fans.
- Yusaku (Sato) Matsuda's audition tape
- Photo Gallery

I was finally able to find a copy of Black Rain on BD after several failed attempts over the past week (Every one of my usual BD retailers was sold out!). Unfortunately, my old Sanyo Z2 is out for service (dreaded blue polarizer replacement), but is due back this week. When I get it back, this will be the first BD title I'll play on it.

Hey Ktak,

I saw black rain at the HMV store at the Meguro Hilltop above the station.. I was not aware of any additional extras, otherwise I would have purchased it..

Chris

Hey Chris,
Thanks for the heads up! I ended up buying my copy from Yodobashi Camera's Akiba store yesterday. The sales guy said they were on their third shipment! I'm glad they had it because I was able to use my points to get it at a discount.

According to the notes on the disc case, the Japanese Blu-ray release of Black Rain includes all the U.S. release extra materials plus special "Japan Original" extras. These include.

- Japanese cast interviews (not sure who yet - see below).
- Interviews with Japanese fans.
- Yusaku (Sato) Matsuda's audition tape
- Photo Gallery

I was finally able to find a copy of Black Rain on BD after several failed attempts over the past week (Every one of my usual BD retailers was sold out!). Unfortunately, my old Sanyo Z2 is out for service (dreaded blue polarizer replacement), but is due back this week. When I get it back, this will be the first BD title I'll play on it.

It's rumored that everything is in japanese (which obviously won't help me) but if they had English subtitles, I'd snatch it up.

anyone know where we can order rent, pacifier?

I ended up buying my copy from Yodobashi Camera's Akiba store yesterday.

If I had to pick what would be my favourite store in the whole world, that place would definitely be it. :D

Deep Blue, is really, really grainy in some scenes.. As much as I like the disc overall it is not a very good transfer. My guess is that the original looks this bad as well...

Chris

Yep - AIUI "Deep Blue" is a movie made up of elements of the BBC series "The Blue Planet". This was shot on a mix of media - mainly Super 16mm above the water, and 576/50i video below the water...

The series was converted to HD twice - once as a straight SD to HD upconvert via a decent upconverter (for KBS in Korea) - and later where the Super 16 was re-telecined to HD video, and just the SD video original upconverted, for Discovery HD Theater in the US.

Not sure if "Deep Blue" was edited in the HD domain, or the Super 16 and video converted directly to 35mm for cinema release...

(Of course I may be mistaken and this may be a different Deep Blue)

anyone know where we can order rent, pacifier?

The Pacifier BD can be purchased at play-asia (http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-yf-49-en-70-1qax.html) for $35 + shipping.

How was the PQ of The Cave?

If I had to pick what would be my favourite store in the whole world, that place would definitely be it. :D

I know what you mean. As far as consumer electronics stores go, Yodobashi Akiba pretty much redefines the term "one-stop-shopping." Before Yodobashi opened up, I used to spend hours wandering around Akihabara looking for one specific item. Now, I just go to Yodobashi first and 90 percent of the time they have what I'm looking for.

Their listed prices are usually a little higher than the cheapest Akihabara prices, but if you shop there often and collect a lot of points on their point card, you can get some good deals. For example, I just bought an Evergreen 2-in-1 HDMI switcher with remote control from them. It retailed for 9,850 yen (about $83), but with my points I got it for just $10.

Even my wife loves that place. When she gets tired of following me around, she just goes to one of the many restaurants or cafes in the building and relaxes until I come to get her.

If anyone reading this finds themselves in Tokyo with only a limited amount of time to spend in Akihabara, Yodobashi Camera is a good place to start.

That's the only one I did pick up while I'm here.

I was rather surprised at the complete lack on Japanese titles (as in movies from Japan rather than Hollywood).

The $300 box set of the anime series Air was the only other title I saw that came close to tempting me, until I realized I had no real interest in the show, and was just looking for an excuse to buy more BD movies.

BB

Aside from an extended version of the opening re-animated in 1080i, Air is just upconverted (again, to 1080i I believe) from SD. It also doesn't have English subtitles. So it's probably not worth getting unless you're a fan of the show and weren't satisfied with the Japanese DVDs (which have some compression problems in the opening and had interlacing problems on my player). I hear the 5.1 LPCM track is pretty nice though.

The real treat will be when Kanon (done by the same studio, Kyoto Animation) is released to BD. Only DVDs so far, but it was actually animated in HD, unlike Air.

Today I had the chance to take a look at a few of the titles at work.. I looked at all of them on a Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1 and running a BDP-HD1 with our latest internal test firmware....

Layer Cake: Looks very good.. Not reference quality, but definately shows of high def very well.. Plus it is a great movie....

Pacifier: A little noisy. This disc was created by Disney Japan, and it not representative of how the US version will look when it is announced/released in the US. However my guess is unless the source material is different it might look similar.

Rent: Rent look pretty good.. Not great... Again, a little grainy in some areas.. This grain that is on many BD titles is a tough one for me.. I like the fact that the player or creation does not mess with the original and what I am seeing is identical to the master, however sometimes the grain gets to me.. Depends on the title..... Black Hack Down for instance does not bother me at all.....

Gospe Rats: Now this disc looks very good, however the content is very bizarre and I am guessing it will never be released in the US. It features a group of Japanese guys wearing black face and singing classic Motown tunes in Japanese/English. It is a live concert from 2005, however asking one of my Japanese co-workers told me that they were popular about 15 to 20 years ago.. Just not the smartest idea in the world...

The Producers: This disc looks quite good. Great color and low grain. I did not have a chance to watch the entire movie (Story of my life), however I jumped around through most of the film....

Most of the discs included LPCM English Soundtracks with Dolby Digital Japanese language tracks as well.....

I will try and get to the rest of the discs tomorrow.

I have also asked that Ghost in the Shell 2 and Black Rain be sent to me.. I should receive in the next week or so...

Chris

I agree with you Ktak,

This past week I did visit Akihabra, only to be disappointed. I was staying in Shinjuku, so both Yodabashi Camera and Bic Camera (inside odakyo) were within 5 minutes of my hotel. I don't really see a reason to visit Akihabra anymore, unless I am looking for something really bizarre (like a very cool cell phone jammer)....

I was little let down with the small amount of High End two channel products in the Yodabashi and Bic though, I need to do a little bit a research for some upcoming products and ended up having to go to Akihabra for that little mission...

Chris


I know what you mean. As far as consumer electronics stores go, Yodobashi Akiba pretty much redefines the term "one-stop-shopping." Before Yodobashi opened up, I used to spend hours wandering around Akihabara looking for one specific item. Now, I just go to Yodobashi first and 90 percent of the time they have what I'm looking for.

Their listed prices are usually a little higher than the cheapest Akihabara prices, but if you shop there often and collect a lot of points on their point card, you can get some good deals. For example, I just bought an Evergreen 2-in-1 HDMI switcher with remote control from them. It retailed for 9,850 yen (about $83), but with my points I got it for just $10.

Even my wife loves that place. When she gets tired of following me around, she just goes to one of the many restaurants or cafes in the building and relaxes until I come to get her.

If anyone reading this finds themselves in Tokyo with only a limited amount of time to spend in Akihabara, Yodobashi Camera is a good place to start.

cool finds!

How's RENT...?

:)

Walkamo,

thank you for all the great and much appreciated info. I love Japanese releases. :D

In addition, do you have any info on M:I:3 BD from Paramount Japan?

Their official site indicates what appears to be some additions in the special features in relation to the US BD version and even more imporant, it lists both discs as BD-50s, while the US packs two BD-25s. Any chance for a better bit-budget encode?

http://www.paramount.jp/blu-ray/

Walkamo,

thank you for all the great and much appreciated info. I love Japanese releases. :D

In addition, do you have any info on M:I:3 BD from Paramount Japan?

Their official site indicates what appears to be some additions in the special features in relation to the US BD version and even more imporant, it lists both discs as BD-50s, while the US packs two BD-25s. Any chance for a better bit-budget encode?

http://www.paramount.jp/blu-ray/


I am not sure about that one.. I will ask for it to be sent over as well......

Chris

That's great Chris. ;)

please report back when you can.

Not to sound too pedestrian here. But 16 Blocks is also out in Japan and it's released by Sony.

So it features their standard 1080p MPEG2 video encode plus 5.1 PCM track. It would be really interesting to compare it to Warner's US VC-1 release that's actually a direct port from an HD-DVD 15, so it should be a bit starved on video birate and doesn't offer any lossless audio.

I'm pretty sure the titles now mentioned here cover all exclusive or 'different' japanese BD releases.

I know.. I really did not want to buy it (Sorry Disney), however my work pays for all of the BD titles I buy.. So I buy them all.......

Chris

Can I have an application? :D

Hey Darkjedi,

I work for Pioneer Electronics.. I am in charge of Blu-ray product planning...

Chris

Hello new best friend! :cool:

Today I had the chance to take a look at a few of the titles at work.. I looked at all of them on a Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1 and running a BDP-HD1 with our latest internal test firmware....

Layer Cake: Looks very good.. Not reference quality, but definately shows of high def very well.. Plus it is a great movie....

Pacifier: A little noisy. This disc was created by Disney Japan, and it not representative of how the US version will look when it is announced/released in the US. However my guess is unless the source material is different it might look similar.

Rent: Rent look pretty good.. Not great... Again, a little grainy in some areas.. This grain that is on many BD titles is a tough one for me.. I like the fact that the player or creation does not mess with the original and what I am seeing is identical to the master, however sometimes the grain gets to me.. Depends on the title..... Black Hack Down for instance does not bother me at all.....

Gospe Rats: Now this disc looks very good, however the content is very bizarre and I am guessing it will never be released in the US. It features a group of Japanese guys wearing black face and singing classic Motown tunes in Japanese/English. It is a live concert from 2005, however asking one of my Japanese co-workers told me that they were popular about 15 to 20 years ago.. Just not the smartest idea in the world...

The Producers: This disc looks quite good. Great color and low grain. I did not have a chance to watch the entire movie (Story of my life), however I jumped around through most of the film....

Most of the discs included LPCM English Soundtracks with Dolby Digital Japanese language tracks as well.....

I will try and get to the rest of the discs tomorrow.

I have also asked that Ghost in the Shell 2 and Black Rain be sent to me.. I should receive in the next week or so...

Chris

Are these all MPEG2 encoded?

Walkamo,

Any word on when you guys are putting out AKIRA?


Hey Josh,

I wish I knew the answer to that question.. Pioneer sold the software side of the business a couple of years ago. They now operate under the Geneon Brand. They do still however reside in our building.. I will take a walk downstairs and ask them.....

Chris

Are these all MPEG2 encoded?


Sorry I forget to mention that.. I did not even look.. I will pop each disc in the player and check......

Chris

That's great Chris. ;)

please report back when you can.

Not to sound too pedestrian here. But 16 Blocks is also out in Japan and it's released by Sony.

So it features their standard 1080p MPEG2 video encode plus 5.1 PCM track. It would be really interesting to compare it to Warner's US VC-1 release that's actually a direct port from an HD-DVD 15, so it should be a bit starved on video birate and doesn't offer any lossless audio.

I'm pretty sure the titles now mentioned here cover all exclusive or 'different' japanese BD releases.

No problem Alex.. I wish I would have known all of this information before I left.. I would have bought several other titles....

I will ask for 16 blocks as well...

Thanks,

Chris

Hey Josh,

I wish I knew the answer to that question.. Pioneer sold the software side of the business a couple of years ago. They now operate under the Geneon Brand. They do still however reside in our building.. I will take a walk downstairs and ask them.....

While you're there, ask them to remaster it to clean up the disturbing edge enhancement that infested the DVD.

Next time I'm in Japan, I want to check out the new Yodobashi in Yokohama. I've heard it's even bigger (not certain about that though).

You are right about it being a one stop shopping place in Akiba. First time I went there made my jaw drop. And their prices are pretty good too. And the points card is good. My father-in-law has spent so much money there over the years that he's ended up getting tons of free stuff by redeeming his points. :D After I'm done there, I usually just wander around the rest of Akihabara to check out the toy stores, and for sightseeing/window shopping. :)



I know what you mean. As far as consumer electronics stores go, Yodobashi Akiba pretty much redefines the term "one-stop-shopping." Before Yodobashi opened up, I used to spend hours wandering around Akihabara looking for one specific item. Now, I just go to Yodobashi first and 90 percent of the time they have what I'm looking for.

Their listed prices are usually a little higher than the cheapest Akihabara prices, but if you shop there often and collect a lot of points on their point card, you can get some good deals. For example, I just bought an Evergreen 2-in-1 HDMI switcher with remote control from them. It retailed for 9,850 yen (about $83), but with my points I got it for just $10.

Even my wife loves that place. When she gets tired of following me around, she just goes to one of the many restaurants or cafes in the building and relaxes until I come to get her.

If anyone reading this finds themselves in Tokyo with only a limited amount of time to spend in Akihabara, Yodobashi Camera is a good place to start.

Any word on that 2nd disc for Black Rain?

Walkamo,

I couldn't find any comments regarding The Cave. Can you post you impressions about PQ on this title?

Any update on Black Rain?

Walkamo,

I couldn't find any comments regarding The Cave. Can you post you impressions about PQ on this title?

I'd like to hear about its PQ as well.

Never got a response on that Black Rain set eh?

The DVD and Hi-Defs from Japan is only for Richie Rich. They are priced nearly twice the U.S price. So I buy the stuffs from U.S online stores when there is a discount or sale and save nearly $8-12 a title. Most of the Japanese editions of Hi-Def are encoded in MPEG2 except for pronounced titles so don't expect anything great. Yodobashi is a great place but everything in the retail stores is overpriced by 10-30%. For example, I got my HD-A2 (XF2) and PS3 for 34,400 ($286) and 54000 ($450) JPY respectively via online sites (www.kakaku.com, www.coneco.net) with free home delivery and the same costs 49,800 and 62,700 respectively with 10% points. Who cares about the points when everything is overpriced by 10-30%.

Hi-Vision (Hi-definition) is promoted in Japan by means of HDD based DVRs. Most of the Blu-ray manufacturers are yet to release a standalone Blu-ray player like the BDP-S300 or DMP-BD10A in Japan. So there is nothing much to talk about Hi-Def in Japan.

Thanks for digging up this post.
Chris, can you comment on the AQ of legend of Jazz @blue note tokyo?

There are a few highly anticipated concert BD releasing in the next few weeks.
I am looking forward to order the Misia title.

Walkamo,

any new comments about the japanese BDs?

Never got a response on that Black Rain set eh?I have the Japanese BD of Black Rain (haven't watched it yet) - what do you want to know about - what extras it has over the US version?

Sure lfletcher,

that's what I'd like to know. Does it has english menus too?


Actually, if it's not too much trouble, can you break down the full description of special features and tech spec for the disc?

I'm trying to make a custom cover for it with a complete description of the itens. When I get it done, I can make it available here through Evangelo's site (more info on the coverart thread)

Sure lfletcher,

that's what I'd like to know. Does it has english menus too?

Actually, if it's not too much trouble, can you break down the full description of special features and tech spec for the disc?

I would not expect the Japanese-language parts of the movie to automatically bring up English subtitles the way the American disc does.

I have the Japanese BD of Black Rain (haven't watched it yet) - what do you want to know about - what extras it has over the US version?

Yeah. Apparently the 2nd disc has extras that are not on the US version.

I know.. I really did not want to buy it (Sorry Disney), however my work pays for all of the BD titles I buy.. So I buy them all.......

Chris

I want your job

Walkamo,

any new comments about the japanese BDs?

He hasn't posted in the last two weeks. Maybe he's on vacation in Japan again. ;)