The Beyond – The Reviews

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

And what I said was I find it strange that people say they think it looks good based on a couple of reviews, then as soon as one review says they thought it looked bad, the same people say they're now thinking of cancelling their pre-orders. That is all.

[skyofcrack]

I'm not gonna order it until I'm sure:

1. the opening is NOT B&W
2. the opening is NOT sepia
3. the opening IS golden-yellow
4. the disc is BD-50
5. the bitrate is around 30

[bgart13]

I personally never said it looked good on the couple of reviews so far, so I'm definitely being put off by all of the similar info that the preview discs are showing issues in all reviews I've read (at least, that's how I recall it right now...I have a splitting headache currently). When doing blu-ray, there is no reason for a feature to only be 7.7gb and with such a low rate -- at least not with the current technology. I'm sure a smaller compression will come along for pro releases that will look very good with low numbers, but currently? Nope. I also know numbers aren't the be-all-end-all of home video releases -- the recent Italian dvd of CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD has the feature barely over 2gb and I think it looks swell -- but THE BEYOND and other features on blu-ray need to be at least 20gb with a relative bitrate. Anything under starts to have issues (look at any review for any blu-ray that's this tiny from any company). I looked at wtFilm/Kevin's review and the caps, then blew them up to full resolution and I can clearly see compression/digital problems (pixelation, perhaps? Not sure of the technical jargon). I don't mind it being brighter, if that's how it truly is supposed to look (ie, NY RIPPER), but the details are lacking so far.

On the other hand, PHENOMENA is still looking like a killer release. I won't be damning Arrow for THE BEYOND, but it is reinforcing the idea that I have to wait for reliable reviews before purchasing Arrow titles (they aren't alone, btw -- I do my research for many if not all companies' releases, I'm just naming Arrow since we're talking about Arrow). I waited for A BAY OF BLOOD (and am fully happy that I did and with the release itself despite the color issues) -- I will do so for THE BEYOND, too.

I stand behind my belief that the transfer of the main feature is above all the most important factor of any release from any company -- everything else is gravy. Gimme a passable transfer for a title released by multiple international companies that shows a passable transfer is the only thing that exists for it currently (think: DAWN OF THE DEAD), then the packaging & extras can help balance it all out. But if there's only one company releasing a title in HD -- a la THE BEYOND, PHENOMENA, VAMP and A BAY OF BLOOD -- then I certainly hope the transfer is a knock-out and not subpar. I don't think that's unfair.

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

I think we all need to wait and see if Arrow have anything to say about the low file size on the disc before crying foul. And I'm not directing that at anyone in particular btw. They have said they will sort the B&W opening,so they DO listen to consumers, I'm sure they will have been watching these threads very carefully and will be aware of people's concerns.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

And if they've said they'll fix it,I'm sure they will.

[bgart13]

Oh, I fully trust Arrow when they stated they'd look into it and correct it. But I'll await the final verdict overall.

[tollickd]

It's getting close to the March 14th, do we know if they are still on target?

[springjack]

Originally Posted by skyofcrack

I'm not gonna order it until I'm sure:

1. the opening is NOT B&W
2. the opening is NOT sepia
3. the opening IS golden-yellow
4. the disc is BD-50
5. the bitrate is around 30

[springjack]

Originally Posted by bgart13

Oh, I fully trust Arrow when they stated they'd look into it and correct it. But I'll await the final verdict overall.

What´s strange it´s that the review on A/V Maniacs clearly states that Arrow is going to rectify the B/W opening to it´s original version. But until now, no one here came up with a final statement.

Does A/V Maniacs know something we don´t???

[Almar@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by springjack

What´s strange it´s that the review on A/V Maniacs clearly states that Arrow is going to rectify the B/W opening to it´s original version. But until now, no one here came up with a final statement.

Does A/V Maniacs know something we don´t???

Nope.