Is Superbit that Great?
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Basically if your looking for the best possible transfer of a film...... you get a Superbit. Also Superbits always? have a DTS soundtrack.
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Well, there are some truly great Superbit transfers. Then again there are also some others that aren't as great.
Superbit is nothing more than a marketing ploy by Sony to justify re-releasing a film again. They could just as easily do a non-Superbit DVD the same exact way. Make it a 2-disc DVD and offer bonus materials on disc two and give disc one the SB style treat. If they did it right the first time, they wouldn't need SB. They just want you to buy the same title twice, just like every other studio. But every other studio doesn't do it under the disguise of some silly moniker.
| I have a DVI DVD player. I was curious as to if Superbit DVDs really shine on DVI DVD players? |
Superbit is nothing more than a marketing ploy by Sony to justify re-releasing a film again. They could just as easily do a non-Superbit DVD the same exact way. Make it a 2-disc DVD and offer bonus materials on disc two and give disc one the SB style treat. If they did it right the first time, they wouldn't need SB. They just want you to buy the same title twice, just like every other studio. But every other studio doesn't do it under the disguise of some silly moniker.
I've heard time and again the SB is just a marketing ploy, yet every SB movie I've watched just seem to have better detail, color and sound that even the latest releases. Maybe I'm lucky, but I think overall Superbits are a step up.
Of course how bit a step depends on your setup. The larger the image, the more noticeable the difference.
Of course how bit a step depends on your setup. The larger the image, the more noticeable the difference.
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IMO, what Terrell means when he calls SB a marketing ploy is that Sony could have given that same SB treatment the first time around when that title was initially released, thus eliminating the need to release another version with improved PQ and sound. Making a second release, improving PQ and SQ, calling it SB, and selling it to customers who already have that same title (but with inferior PQ and SQ) in their collection is the marketing ploy.
Most SB titles may be superior to their non-SB counterparts or to most releases from other studios. But why call it SB and re-release? Why not get it right the first time?
| Originally posted by HTCrazy I've heard time and again the SB is just a marketing ploy, yet every SB movie I've watched just seem to have better detail, color and sound that even the latest releases. Maybe I'm lucky, but I think overall Superbits are a step up. |
Most SB titles may be superior to their non-SB counterparts or to most releases from other studios. But why call it SB and re-release? Why not get it right the first time?
I can say I hate the fact that they don't release titles in SB quality immediately. I can say I feel ripped off every time I double dip in order to buy a movie with a DTS track on it. On my system I haven't really seen too much of a picture quality difference but then again I rarely ever try to do a one right after the other comparison of the video, but sound wise the DTS track is often several times better than the DD track on the previous release. So I end up wanting to buy the superbit version. Right now I am thinking "Should I rebuy Underworld again for the DTS track that should have been with the original release like it was in the R2."
Slightly off topic anyone know if the Superbit Underworld is the extended cut or the normal version?
Slightly off topic anyone know if the Superbit Underworld is the extended cut or the normal version?
Superbit was a great idea when it came out. Taking older films that had received bad transfers in the early days of DVD and fixing them up was a great idea.
Now Superbit is a complete scam. Sony could very easily release all their movies with excellent transfers but they don't. (Warner seems to do a pretty good job these days) They release passable DVDs so that they have a reason to have a Superbit down the road. Is anyone here really under the misguided belief that Sony has gained new transferring abilities that allow them to improve the DVDs in the 6 month window between first release and Superbit release.
The only way Superbit makes any sense today was if Sony started doing day and date concurrent releases. Superbit and Special Edition side by side for consumers to choose what is more important to them. Features or quality.
BTW Superbit Underworld is the theatrical cut
Now Superbit is a complete scam. Sony could very easily release all their movies with excellent transfers but they don't. (Warner seems to do a pretty good job these days) They release passable DVDs so that they have a reason to have a Superbit down the road. Is anyone here really under the misguided belief that Sony has gained new transferring abilities that allow them to improve the DVDs in the 6 month window between first release and Superbit release.
The only way Superbit makes any sense today was if Sony started doing day and date concurrent releases. Superbit and Special Edition side by side for consumers to choose what is more important to them. Features or quality.
BTW Superbit Underworld is the theatrical cut
I think we are kind of missing the point of superbits. Sure Sony COULD give all their new movies a SB treatment but then all of you would be complaining about no commentaries or infinifilm type options that have to be on the same disc as the movie. ALMOST all SBs remove everything but the movie and the audio, and some deluxe releases have all the extras on the 2nd disc but there are no commentaries etc.. on the first disc to dedicate as much bandwidth as possible to the audio/video which is what people buy superbits for anyway.
No, superbit isn't some magical DVD transfer technology its designed and well implemented in my opinion to cater to us audio/videophiles. Sure Ive seen some amazing non SB DVDs, and there are a few bad SB DVDs which I read enough reviews to stay away from. Overall, if you do your homework and you have a nice setup and are anal about audio/video then SB is a good investment.
No, superbit isn't some magical DVD transfer technology its designed and well implemented in my opinion to cater to us audio/videophiles. Sure Ive seen some amazing non SB DVDs, and there are a few bad SB DVDs which I read enough reviews to stay away from. Overall, if you do your homework and you have a nice setup and are anal about audio/video then SB is a good investment.
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That's what I've heard around here. A bit disappointing, eh?
I'd have a look at DVD Beaver as they've done some head-to-head comparisons between Superbit and regular editions of several movies. Just do your homework before you buy a Superbit movie.
| Originally posted by Version BTW Superbit Underworld is the theatrical cut |
I'd have a look at DVD Beaver as they've done some head-to-head comparisons between Superbit and regular editions of several movies. Just do your homework before you buy a Superbit movie.
Spiderman 2 and Spiderman 2 Superbit are coming out on the same day. Why not just have a Spiderman 2 SB with an addition special features disc? Then, there would only need to be ONE version.
This is one of the reasons I stopped buying ANY DVDs. I fear that as soon as I buy a DVD, 2 or 3 months later a SB version will come out. Forget it!!! I rent now. Forget about buying!!!
Plus, there won't be ONE SuperBit DVD that can measure up to the quality of an HD-DVD/Blu-Ray. Ha!!! Screw you DVD studios/manufactures.
This is one of the reasons I stopped buying ANY DVDs. I fear that as soon as I buy a DVD, 2 or 3 months later a SB version will come out. Forget it!!! I rent now. Forget about buying!!!
Plus, there won't be ONE SuperBit DVD that can measure up to the quality of an HD-DVD/Blu-Ray. Ha!!! Screw you DVD studios/manufactures.
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Yeah that would be great wouldn't it. I guess they don't cuz it would just be costing more money than the mass market is willing to pay for. Sorry, but you can beat your head on the wall till it falls off, but the fact is, SB transfer + preparing and transferring all those extras on a 2nd DVD costs more money than your avg fare Walmart DVD offering.
So would everyone be willing to pay the MSRP that the studios will put on their SB + extras package? Heck no.
And MOST importantly, here is why they release regular and then a SB version: CUZ THERE IS A MARKET FOR IT. If the vast majority of DVD buyers just stopped buying the regulars in protest, guess what the studios would do next season? Bye-bye to those and go straight to SB. It is very easy for us here on AVSFORUM to think that everyone out there MUST be thinking like we do, but the very fact that you even VISIT such a website, puts you at in a whole different group of consumers from the mass market lemmings. That is a fact.
| Originally posted by ckenisell Spiderman 2 and Spiderman 2 Superbit are coming out on the same day. Why not just have a Spiderman 2 SB with an addition special features disc? Then, there would only need to be ONE version. |
So would everyone be willing to pay the MSRP that the studios will put on their SB + extras package? Heck no.
And MOST importantly, here is why they release regular and then a SB version: CUZ THERE IS A MARKET FOR IT. If the vast majority of DVD buyers just stopped buying the regulars in protest, guess what the studios would do next season? Bye-bye to those and go straight to SB. It is very easy for us here on AVSFORUM to think that everyone out there MUST be thinking like we do, but the very fact that you even VISIT such a website, puts you at in a whole different group of consumers from the mass market lemmings. That is a fact.
I'll take a superbit DVD any day. The better the display, the easier it is to notice the difference. The best thing about it is that it has, IMHO, caused other studios to be more picture quality-conscience and raised the image-quality bar for all DVDs.
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Superbit DVD always look better in my experience. They aren't HD generally very very good DVD. The best looking DVD I've seen is a Superbit.
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I've become suspicious about the trade offs made for superbit. I like the concept, but after just getting my first HDTV this month and buying the starship troopers DVD (supposedly among the very best superbit transfers) to compare with my trusty regular troopers disk (which is widely seen as an excellent transfer, apparently, and looks and sounds great on my set up), I was surprised to find the sound seems to have been cut in favor of picture on the SB. Now, I'm sending the signal over good cables to my Krell integrated 2-channel instead of surround, and i haven't tried tweaking the output of my player to see if the disk defaults to some lame sound file for some reason. But, the overall dynamic range of the sound is seriously cut in the SB. Anyone else notice this? Am I missing something?
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That's the thing. all the commentaries and extra language things that people want to have on the dvd's cant be on a seperate disc. If you notice, Superbit dvds (or at least all 7 that i have) only have an english DD and dts track, and subtitles for the rest of the languages. That's why they need 2 seperate releases. I just wished they would release the superbit ones at the same time for all their movies, so i dont have to double dip.
-Ryan
| Originally posted by ckenisell Spiderman 2 and Spiderman 2 Superbit are coming out on the same day. Why not just have a Spiderman 2 SB with an addition special features disc? Then, there would only need to be ONE version. |
-Ryan
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That's the theory at least, but in practice there is typically a GB or two of unused space on the typical Superbit. For example:
Mask of Zorro (Superbit) - 6.76 GB used, 1.19GB free
Heavy Metal (Superbit) - 5.65 GB used, 2.3 GB free
(This is based on the fact that a DVD-9 holds 7.95 GB of data)
A commentary track would only take up about 0.2-0.4 GB at most, so clearly the decision to leave them off isn't being made because the movie is taking up too much space. For a particularly long movie space might get a bit tight, but they could always free some up by using static menu's instead of those fug-ugly spinning metal animated menus that most Superbit titles have. They actually take up quite a bit of space.
| I think we are kind of missing the point of superbits. Sure Sony COULD give all their new movies a SB treatment but then all of you would be complaining about no commentaries or infinifilm type options that have to be on the same disc as the movie. ALMOST all SBs remove everything but the movie and the audio, and some deluxe releases have all the extras on the 2nd disc but there are no commentaries etc.. on the first disc to dedicate as much bandwidth as possible to the audio/video which is what people buy superbits for anyway. |
Mask of Zorro (Superbit) - 6.76 GB used, 1.19GB free
Heavy Metal (Superbit) - 5.65 GB used, 2.3 GB free
(This is based on the fact that a DVD-9 holds 7.95 GB of data)
A commentary track would only take up about 0.2-0.4 GB at most, so clearly the decision to leave them off isn't being made because the movie is taking up too much space. For a particularly long movie space might get a bit tight, but they could always free some up by using static menu's instead of those fug-ugly spinning metal animated menus that most Superbit titles have. They actually take up quite a bit of space.
Steve, the superbit DVD only has 5.1 tracks, so if you mix it down in your system to 2 channels of course the audio's going to suck. The regular Starship Troopers has a stereo track that's optimized for 2 channel systems and so it doesn't suffer from that.
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