Arrow Video - Dawn Of The Dead Blu-ray

[Vampix]

I don't think some BD player owners realise they are still very much in the minority and will be for some time to come.I have a full HD TV and a Blu-ray player incorporated into a Sony laptop and, in future, I will only fork out for films I really love on Blu-ray and the rest (the majority) on SD DVD.I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on Arrow's DotD set and watching the theatrical cut on Blu-ray and the Argento cut, extended version & extras on SD DVD.

[Splatterdragon73]

Originally Posted by Vampix

I will only fork out for films I really love on Blu-ray and the rest (the majority) on SD DVD.I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on Arrow's DotD set and watching the theatrical cut on Blu-ray and the Argento cut, extended version & extras on SD DVD.

I couldn't agree more.

We all know the latest Hollywood blockbusters should obviously look pristine on Blu-Ray so you have a pretty good idea what you're gonna get in the way of audio and video performance and interactivity.
But i'm more interested in seeing what the new technology does with our fave cult and exploitation titles. How much better are they gonna look and sound? That's the real test for Blu-Ray for me!

The vast majority of movies (mostly the big studio efforts i reckon) in my collection i'm quite happy to own and watch on DVD so i feel a Blu-Ray upgrade of these titles is probably unecessary for me. However, all the vintage gorefests, kung fu classics and violent actioners i truly enjoy i would very much be interested in buying on Blu-Ray. The Hollywood output will mostly do for me in SD but much of the low-budget, foreign and independent variety i would like to see benefit from an HD makeover.

There's a fair bit of DVD-bashing going around just because Blu-Ray is the new format on the rise and i wouldn't be surprised if the same people who now criticise DVD were the same ones who kissed the technology's butt when it first arrived on the scene. We all know DVD is inferior to Blu-Ray but i won't turn my back on the former because even now i think it's still a great little format and i don't ever regret investing in it.

Guess what? I can't wait for the Dawn Blu-Ray either!

Judging from what i've read about ABUS Blu-Ray releases all they seem to be are the previous Divimax DVD prints 'tweaked' for Blu-Ray consumption and therefore not true HD transfers. Hence the likes of Dawn, Day Of The Dead, Evil Dead II and Halloween could and should potentially look better if (or most definitely when!) ABUS reissue these titles in the future as improved editions.
Personally i think Arrow's Dawn Blu-Ray will probably wipe the floor with it's U.S. counterpart so bring it on!

[vipco]

£17.99 for the Arrow BluRay package is giving it away.

I paid £19.99 for Hostel and that was bare bones , and the HD print was not that much different to my DVD version when properly upscaled.

New release DVD's can still sell for up to £19.99 in Belfast , BluRays for over £25.
My last Blu was £25 and that was just WWE , but that was purely for the extra's. (Ok, I know im near 40 and im kidding no one. I got it for the wrestling . hehehe)

My VIPCO's all cost £19.99 each. ( Thank God for Upscaling , lol ) and the last non Shameless / Arrow DVD I bough was £17.99.

UK BluRay owners like myself still benifit from Arrow's release , over non BluRay owners via Upscaling , so having SDVD included in the BluRay package still gives the BluRay user the ability to up the standard def to a rather nice 1080i , which I know is'nt the same as a Bluey but its a hell of a lot better than SD. (see VIPCO's for proof .lol)

I definetly will be getting this.

The BBFC have relaxed, maybe its time for us collectors to relax, and wait and give the UK companies a chance before looking to the US with certain titles .
They can only get better if we support them.

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by vipco

I paid £19.99 for Hostel and that was bare bones , and the HD print was not that much different to my DVD version when properly upscaled.

I always find it strange when people say this.Not one of the dvd's i've ever played upscaled in my blu-ray player has ever looked as good as a blu-ray disc (and yes I have it set correctly).I just dont see much difference than if I play it in my dvd player

[Funktion]

Originally Posted by Vampix

I don't think some BD player owners realise they are still very much in the minority and will be for some time to come.I have a full HD TV and a Blu-ray player incorporated into a Sony laptop and, in future, I will only fork out for films I really love on Blu-ray and the rest (the majority) on SD DVD.I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on Arrow's DotD set and watching the theatrical cut on Blu-ray and the Argento cut, extended version & extras on SD DVD.

I understand BD player owners are obviously in inferior number to DVD owners (although the number of owners is quite larger than most of you seem to think it is), but I don't see what that has to do with anything. This is a Blu-Ray release, and the BD owners should be the main "target", not people who still haven't bought the player. The same way the main "target" for DVD releases are DVD owners.
It's nothing against the DVD format. Before I bought a BD player, when a film received BD and DVD releases I would obviously pick the DVD release, because it's the one I could play. Now that I own a Blu-Ray player, I choose the better option available to me, which is Blu-Ray.

I don't think BD releases should have to make concessions by making part of the content available on DVD, so that people who still haven't purchased a BD player can have something to watch in the meantime. There should be a proper distinction between DVD releases and BD releases, and not "hybrids". In a few years, when you all buy a BD player, you will obviously wish these concessions weren't made. What's stopping DVD owners from purchasing the film on DVD, and later, when they indeed "upgrade", they can pick up the BD release if they wish to? Why buy a release in a format they still don't own, and only having access to part of the content?

And Splatterdragon73, I hope your comments regarding the "DVD bashing" weren't for me. I didn't bash the DVD format, it served me well until the new, better format was available (and I still purchase DVDs). But if there's a better way to present films for home video, and it's something I can access, I obviously prefer the better option. If anything, since many still haven't bought a BD player, it's the BD format that's being bashed a bit, and it's importance minimized. I remember the same thing happening with the DVD format...

stevoj, you're right: I don't understand why people keep insisting that upscaled content is identical to proper HD. Unless the BD is a SD source upcaled and put on a BD disc, there's a huge diference in detail.
I'm guilty of saying the same thing before I actually bought a player and saw it with my own eyes, but the difference between formats is huge. I recently watched Peter Sellers' Pink Panther, and I was blown away with the marvelous visual quality of the disc.

[Vampix]

When Blu-ray players and discs are as cheap and have the huge variety of titles that DVD has, then I may feel the same way you do.But they aren't and they don't and it's going to take a long while for them to catch up because new DVD titles are constantly being released and the average consumer is always going to go for the cheaper good quality option imo.It's not as if DVD is VHS quality, brand new movies look great on DVD.I say if you're not happy with Arrow's package, don't buy it!

[Almar@Cult Labs]

Well I think the thing is the consumer is always right as they say so we'll see how this fares but I know certainly from the past months that a lot of agonising has gone into this release and I'm looking forward to seeing what people the Scream Greats and Fan of the Dead documentaries.

[Funktion]

Originally Posted by Vampix

When Blu-ray players and discs are as cheap and have the huge variety of titles that DVD has, then I may feel the same way you do.But they aren't and they don't and it's going to take a long while for them to catch up because new DVD titles are constantly being released and the average consumer is always going to go for the cheaper good quality option imo.It's not as if DVD is VHS quality, brand new movies look great on DVD.I say if you're not happy with Arrow's package, don't buy it!

I don't understand your comment, you completely misunderstood my post. I'm not trying to sell Blu-Ray players to everyone, I don't get paid to advertise either format, you obviously do whatever you want with your money.
And again, my post wasn't a Blu-Ray vs DVD post. It was my feedback, as a Blu-Ray owner, of Arrow's first Blu-Ray release. I think honest feedback should be given to a company that's open to it's customer's opinions, but it seems some of you think I'm supposed to just plain "kiss" their ass and say how great Arrow is, when effectively while much is being done good with this release (extras, lovely cover, ...) there is room for improvement.

And I don't get this "I say if you're not happy with Arrow's package, don't buy it!" thing, because like I already said I'm buying the release anyway, to support Arrow's first BD release (which will hopefully work out well enough for us to get further BD releases). I just posted my thoughts, nothing more nothing less. All I said is: BDs for BD releases, DVDs for DVD releases. I don't understand why several of you are all worked up. I didn't say "stop releasing films on DVD" and/or force everyone to own a BD player, I only said (and I say it again): you shouldn't include DVDs on a Blu-Ray release to cater to people who don't own a BD player, when this content could be made available on a second Blu-Ray disc with better results.

[Almar@Cult Labs]

Ok well I think everyone has said their piece on this matter and this forum is here for frank opinions and we're not all going to agree - so let's agree on that!

Like I said - you have to balance your budget on how you put together a release and blowing it to put two more cuts in standard def on a second disc versus using two DVDs and using the money to assemble a great line-up of extras was what it boiled down to and that decision has been made and I thin it's a good one.

Let's all move on for now eh and wait to see what people think once it comes out yeah?

With any luck I should tomorrow have an image of how it all looks and what's inside and so on and hopefully that'll go down nicely.

[Funktion]

Originally Posted by Almar@Cult Labs

Ok well I think everyone has said their piece on this matter and this forum is here for frank opinions and we're not all going to agree - so let's agree on that!

Almar, I wasn't insisting on "complaining" about your decision, I gave my opinion, you gave your opinion and explained a bit your decision, and all's fine.
My posts afterward were just replying to other posts, not further insistence on complaining. I don't understand why some people took my comments so personally, as if I was trying to say I was against DVD releases or something, and I just tried to explain my point of view.

Again, I wasn't trying to complain just for the sake of complaining, I appreciate your efforts with this release. The only negative point I found with the BD format is the lack of older genre releases, so any efforts in that front are more than welcome, and you have my support.