Groundhogday Special Ed - First review !

[Hamburger3]

http://www.thebigpicturedvd.com/cgi-bin/master/viewer.cgi/Groundhog_Day_Special_Edition

[Ericf]

So a director's commentary and a featurette is enough to make a DVD a special edition? I like the movie but I sure don't call this a special edition.

Ericf

[jroadley]

The disc also now includes a 5.1 and DTS track, the original disc was only Pro Logic (I think!) ;)

[Chief Brody]

Eh? I just got the R4 version and there was no 5.1 on that - just Ye Olde Dolbye Surrounde. Bah! :(

[Tony Keats]

I'm sure EZY-DVD had it listed as 5.1 to begin with and then it said 5.0 for ages, now it just says 3.0. So if you want the R4 I'd snap it up quickly before it drops even further (it'll be plain mono before they've finished!).

The Australian disc has 24 subtitle languages and 5 audio tracks (for whatever reason) and it would probably have been too much of a stretch to fit a 448kbps DD5.1 track on there aswell. I think the R2 might prove to be the one to buy in the end (assuming it's not the same as the R4) as a PAL disc with all the R1 extras would be the best possible package.

[Ben Martin]

Originally posted by Tony Keats
... a PAL disc with all the R1 extras would be the best possible package.

would it? depends entirely on your own personal preferences. give me that region1 with no BBFC logos and no PAL-speedup every time. apparently george fenton's score sounds particularly good in the new 5.1 mix, and i don't want to hear it at the wrong pitch. not to mention the cheaper price and earlier availability.

[Tony Keats]

Posted by Ben Martin
would it? depends entirely on your own personal preferences. give me that region1 with no BBFC logos and no PAL-speedup every time.

Virtually every element of buying DVD's depends on personal preferences in one way or another, but that's kind of a given (and I'm not going to end every sentence with "although this is all my own opinion of course" just to avoid nit-picking remarks!).

In any case, I'm pretty sure the majority of U.K customers would prefer the improved picture quality (by way of increased resolution) over supposed audio purism. The side effects of speed-up are either of no concern or go completely un-noticed in my experience. I'd hazard a guess that 75% of DVD owners are completely unaware of the speed-up process anyway (maybe more).

apparently george fenton's score sounds particularly good in the new 5.1 mix, and i don't want to hear it at the wrong pitch. not to mention the cheaper price and earlier availability.

How do you know that the encoders haven't performed some sort of pitch-correction though?, it wouldn't be the first time and if they have, then the sound would merely be (insignificantly) faster. I'm also fairly sure that no-one would give it a second thought if it wasn't for all the hyper-analysis that the conversion process gets exposed to these days. I think you have to be listening specifically for the speed-up in order to pick up on it, wheras I'd noticed the superiority of PAL's picture long before reading anything on the topic.

As for price, that depends entirely on where you buy it from, but there's no rush anyway as lots of people will already own the bare-bones version (although this is all my own opinion of course!)..

[Ben Martin]

tony, no need for all the sarcasm mate! you put one side of the case, and i put the other. plain and simple. as you say, not everyone is aware of the pros and cons and so some people could be reading this thread unawares. my post only sought to perhaps balance things up for the uninformed. then they can go make their own decision the way you and i already do.

I'm not going to end every sentence with "although this is all my own opinion of course" just to avoid nit-picking remarks

no, i agree. all too often on here the phrase "in your opinion" is thrown back in peoples' faces when the fact that they were only expressing their own opinion was implicit in their post. however, you presented "a PAL disc with all the R1 extras" being "the best possible package" as a statement of fact. as this is not necessarily always the case, i added my caveat.

I'm pretty sure the majority of U.K customers would prefer the improved picture quality

this is just as "supposed" as the "audio purism" you refer to. fair enough if you've never noticed the effects of PAL-speedup - similarly, i and many others haven't noticed any additional visual benefit from a PAL picture. yes, PAL is much better than broadcast NTSC, but not so the NTSC transfers of quality region 1 DVD releases.

lots of people will already own the bare-bones version (although this is all my own opinion of course!)..

nope, no need to qualify that one. i own both the R1 and R2 bare-boned versions, having bought the R2 for it's superior picture quality (and a slight colour preference on the packaging! :rolleyes: ). but if you compare the two the image is identical.

anyway, i hope you enjoy your R2 ... i'll stick with my region 1.

[George vader]

This is possibly the dullest most pretentious thread I've read for a long time:rolleyes:

[Ben Martin]

well .... thanks for letting us know george.

[Tony Keats]

Posted by Ben Martin
tony, no need for all the sarcasm mate! my post only sought to perhaps balance things up for the uninformed.

I didn't realise it sounded that obnoxious. There are some people that thrive on posting unhelpful/egocentric comments (see George's post) and I must have responded with that in mind.

you presented "a PAL disc with all the R1 extras" being "the best possible package" as a statement of fact. as this is not necessarily always the case, i added my caveat

I see your point, but I think my views are just based on technical grounds wheras the audio pitch issue is largely a purist one. There are other factors that give PAL the edge (it doesn't have to repeat frames for instance), so it's as much about NTSC's failings as it is PAL's better resolution.

If you have no qualms about those issues (or your set-up doesn't display them) then it makes sense that you have no bias towards PAL and just concentrate on its drawbacks. I've always believed that the pitch differences are only identified by those with prior knowledge of the speed-up (and that renders their assessment unfair IMO).

i own both the R1 and R2 bare-boned versions, having bought the R2 for it's superior picture quality (and a slight colour preference on the packaging! :rolleyes: ).

A true fan!..

Hope you enjoy your R1 (and that George has some sort of misfortune in the near future!).

[Ben Martin]

Originally posted by Tony Keats
If you have no qualms about those issues (or your set-up doesn't display them)

indeed, it is the latter in my case. i watch my discs on my PC monitor and never see any juddering that some people claim you get on panning shots on NTSC.

however, i have to admit that i am now totally biased against R2 without even bothering to watch/listen to them if there is an R1 available (albeit there are other factors i prefer about R1 too). and exactly as you say - now that i am aware of PAL-speedup i'll always be bugged by the possibility it might be there rather than actually hearing it!

A true fan!..

absolutely! as you seem to be yourself!

Hope you enjoy your R1

cheers matey, will do! can't be much more than a week until ringos has them in stock. enjoy your R2! :)

[fattyboombatty]

can one of you purists please kiss my A...

ha ha, only kiddin':clap:

but i do have a quick ?. when i watch US film on tv is that speeded up? cos if it is, how would i know, if i never saw the NTSC version, that the PAL broadcast was faster? what i mean is, if i never saw a R1 disc, ever, would i be blissfully unaware of PAL speedup?

does that make any sense???:confused:

[Davester]

S.E is becoming all too common - an easy way to rip teh high street Bods off!!

On a different matter what has Bill Murry been up to recently - not seen him in a major film for a couple of years.

[Ben Martin]

Originally posted by Davester
On a different matter what has Bill Murry been up to recently - not seen him in a major film for a couple of years.

he's been around. most notably playing bosley in charlie's angels at the end of 2000. in 1999 he was in tim robbins' cradle will rock and last year he played 'frank' (the body inhabited by the animated characters) in osmosis jones. and we'll be seeing him in the much-anticipated the royal tenenbaums this march. as you may know, this is the new film by wes anderson and owen wilson (yes, he of behind enemy lines and armageddon 'fame') who directed and wrote rushmore respectively.

[Jimmyboy]

Originally posted by Ben Martin

..depends entirely on your own personal preferences. give me that region1 with no BBFC logos and no PAL-speedup every time. apparently george fenton's score sounds particularly good in the new 5.1 mix, and i don't want to hear it at the wrong pitch.
Who's to say the NTSC version will have the correct speed though ?.
The idea that just because something is NTSC it has the correct intended audio speed is a myth.;)

[Cirrus888]

The idea that PAL DVDs have superior resolution is also a myth! :)

[Jimmyboy]

Originally posted by Cirrus888
The idea that PAL DVDs have superior resolution is also a myth! :)
Not at all.
PAL has a higher resolution and no one can argue otherwise.
Whether or not its noticable is another matter.;)

[Davester]

Originally posted by Ben Martin
Originally posted by Davester
On a different matter what has Bill Murry been up to recently - not seen him in a major film for a couple of years.

he's been around. most notably playing bosley in charlie's angels at the end of 2000. in 1999 he was in tim robbins' cradle will rock and last year he played 'frank' (the body inhabited by the animated characters) in osmosis jones. and we'll be seeing him in the much-anticipated the royal tenenbaums this march. as you may know, this is the new film by wes anderson and owen wilson (yes, he of behind enemy lines and armageddon 'fame') who directed and wrote rushmore respectively.

Yep, i was aware of those roles, but no high profile roles (Angel was but is was cack) of the Ghostbusters kind.