logo Sign In

Reminder: Bootlegs of commercially available DVDs (such as the upcoming trilogy release) are NOT PERMITTED

Author
Date
Author
Time
Post link
I'm seeing links to bootleg downloads for the upcoming release of Star Wars.

DO NOT POST SUCH LINKS!

The original theatrical cuts are unavailable on DVD in an official release, so I turn a blind eye to those. Not everyone can have a laserdisc player and the original LDs.

However, the upcoming 2004 cuts will be available for you to purchase if you want them. Whether you agree with the changes or not, PAY FOR THE DAMN BOX SET if you want to watch it.

I understand many of you would like to see just how much has changed from the originals; I have the same desire. This site can't afford to defend that position. If we're associated with distributing bootlegs, or even allowing them to be provided via our forums, we could get into serious trouble.

It's not hard to find such things on the internet. Just don't post them here.
Forum Administrator

MTFBWY…A

Author
Time
Post link
Personally, I think that ANY bootleg talk is going to be negative against this cause. I feel it should all be removed and all that energy should be put into strengthening the main purpose here!
Author
Time
Post link
Bootleg discussion is crucial to the purpose: The Original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD.

I'd say we've done a good job of getting us fans the O-OT on DVD.

But I agree, discussion of bootlegging the upcoming set isn't right for this site.
(Aside from pics and stuff, but the rest shouldn't be discussed here.)
I don't like bootlegging and would never do it except in rare cases like this where the films are not on DVD.

My stance on revising fan edits.

Author
Time
Post link
agreed...
the OT being on DVD can only be done by copying the LD transfers...
i hardly consider that bootlegging
"Never. I'll never turn to the darkside. You've failed your highness. I am a jedi, like my father before me."
Author
Time
Post link
I also fully agree with this

- I have since removed the upcoming titles from my collection and I even DESTROYED my DROIDS project once I heard they were coming out.

I still hope that one day we get the original OT on a REAL LUCASFILM DVD!

“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK

Author
Time
Post link
I can see Lucas now, saying, "the ones who really want the original versions are hardcore fans. Since they are making so many bootlegs, why should I bother to change my mind. I will make money no matter what I release. Let them make thier bootlegs and I'll keep fucking Star Wars up until I die and make a few billion dollars more doing it".

WE ARE SHOOTING OURSELVES RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES!

Lucas gets the last laugh if we continue to advertise it.
Author
Time
Post link
I think the general consensus of those here who own the OT bootlegs is that we would buy still them if they were ever officially released.

By the way, since we all know that what is coming out on DVD are the 2004 versions, does that mean we can still discuss making copies/ bootlegs of the 1997 versions?
Author
Time
Post link
Quote
Originally posted by: Mr.Coffee
Personally, I think that ANY bootleg talk is going to be negative against this cause. I feel it should all be removed and all that energy should be put into strengthening the main purpose here!


I disagree. Personally Lucas is not going to release the originals. I don't believe he will change his mind no matter what we do. So you might as well bootleg. It will give you your precious originals with picture quality much better then the VHS and many in anamorphic video. I agree with Jay that we shouldn't rip the 2004 edition. Personally I am buying the new DVDs and I can wait the month.
Author
Time
Post link
Quote
I disagree. Personally Lucas is not going to release the originals. I don't believe he will change his mind no matter what we do. So you might as well bootleg.


Then what is the purpose of this site and any others like it? If you truly believe all hope is lost for an official release, then we may as well call this site originaltrilogybootlegs.com. I too am going to buy the DVD's. However, I would love to have the original versions on DVD as an official release. DVD is probably the best format we will see in our lifetime, and I will always love the originals best, but I won't give up hope. I will enjoy my Laserdiscs, VHS, and any other copies I own until an official release is made. I won't hold my breath however. But by telling everyone “it's never going to happen, you may as well bootleg them", is totally counter-productive. As of now, this site is small potatoes. But it is growing everyday, and someday, who knows? All I'm trying to say is, let's not burn any bridges. If you want to bootleg copies, or whatever, go ahead. I don't have a problem with that. I'm saying maybe this is the wrong place to advertise it. I don't want to give up hope. Star Wars is a HUGE part of my life. Maybe life is just too fucking short to bother with any of this. Maybe I will just go stick a gun in my mouth. What the fuck! Why hang around and be disappointed all over again by Episode III.

"Good-bye cruel world. I'm leaving you today. Good-bye. Good-bye. Good-bye. Good-bye all you people. There's nothing you can say, to make me change my mind. Good-bye."
-Roger Waters
Author
Time
Post link
I take the Homer Simpsons attitude

"Kids you tried hard and you failed. The moral of the story. Never try"

Also dude HD-DVD is coming out next year. If you believe DVD is the best format we will see in your lifetime you really are in a bad way or just have a negative outlook on life.
Author
Time
Post link
Quote
Originally posted by: Jay
I'm seeing links to bootleg downloads for the upcoming release of Star Wars.

" If we're associated with distributing bootlegs, or even allowing them to be provided via our forums, we could get into serious trouble."

New to the site but I see another meaning in Jay's comment. Trouble from Laserdisc or DVD bootlegging would be equally serious. I don't think a judge would appreciate the artistic standpoint of preserving the OT from one medium vs. another.

I predict that the 2004 DVD release will be the most bootlegged release yet because improved PQ and AQ are the only desired enhancements that most hard core fans will accept. Comments from people like 'Laserman' suggest that the splicing won't be a major challenge with the right equipment/knowledge. If done right (Anamorphic, Dual-Layer) someone should mail a set to Lucas to show him how much he tainted his own masterpiece!
Bullets can't silence ideas. Anti-Flag
Author
Time
Post link
Also Mr. Coffee Revenge of the Sith will be the best. You'll see.
Author
Time
Post link
While I admire the efforts and dedication of everyone on this sight, it does seem to be a wasted effort. I grew up with these movies. At 28 I saw them all in the theaters during there original runs. Granted I don't remember seeing Star Wars as I was only 1 at the time, but I have very fond memories of seeing Empire and Jedi in theaters with me family. I owned all the toys (and in a rather crafty move for every figure my mom bought me she bought another and left it in pacakage) and had the books,coloring,books,bed sheets everything. I am very much a product of the Star Wars generation, and am not ashamed to admit that. The one point that seems to get lost in any debates about Star Wars is that Lucas owns the universe lock,stock and barrell. It is for better or worse his playground to do with as he sees fit. When the special editions were released in 1997, I stood in line to see them. Like most fans I think my reactions were mixed, some of it worked and some of it didn't, but to see Star Wars again on the big screen was exciting. I took my son who was four at the time to see all three films and that began a love of them for him. I think the issue with old versus new stems from these films being a generational thing. Those of us who grew up with the original versions will always hold a place in our hearts for them. I've seen so many post ranting and raving against Lucas and his continued changes in these movies, and more than a few harsh reviews for the prequels. The prequels were never going to live up to the hype that we the Star Wars fans placed on them. No matter what was done they would never take the place of that galaxy far away that was so much a part of our lives. I own both versions of the trilogy on dvd and while I lean towards the originals, on occasion I prefer the cleaner versions of the SE. As a film maker myslef I know that I have done projects that I wish I could go back and change when the technology has made it possible for me to do it the way I wanted to in the first place. As artist it is the nature of our art to want to present what we think is the best possible version of our work. I for one will be buying the DVDs in September if for no other reason than to see what changes have been made, and hopefully like the SE continue to nuture the 28 year love affair with these movies.

Brias
www.suicidalwombat.com
Author
Time
Post link
Quote
Originally posted by: jimbo


Also dude HD-DVD is coming out next year. If you believe DVD is the best format we will see in your lifetime you really are in a bad way or just have a negative outlook on life.


HD-DVD is in no way coming out next year. If it does, it will only be a few select releases, and will probably end up like laserdisc.

Why?

Well, the reason DVD ended up being so big is that it offered so much more over VHS than LD did. Higher quality movies, chapter skipping tons of extra features, etc.

The average consumer will see no reason to upgrade, and HD-DVD will exist only for a while as a film collector's item.

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

Author
Time
Post link
HD-DVD will come out in both America and Japan in 2005. True titles will be slow at first but they will grow. No doubt that SD-DVD will not last forever. HD-DVD will eventually replace it. Also I garuntee that Star Wars 30th anniversery will be avaible on HD-DVD.
Author
Time
Post link
Quote
Originally posted by: jimbo
HD-DVD will come out in both America and Japan in 2005. True titles will be slow at first but they will grow. No doubt that SD-DVD will not last forever. HD-DVD will eventually replace it. Also I garuntee that Star Wars 30th anniversery will be avaible on HD-DVD.


Tell that to the executives. Hardly anyone wants to go ahead with HD-DVD. And why should they? DVD is their biggest money-maker.

Blu-Ray on the other hand...

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

Author
Time
Post link
Quote
Originally posted by: bad_karma24
Quote
Originally posted by: jimbo
HD-DVD will come out in both America and Japan in 2005. True titles will be slow at first but they will grow. No doubt that SD-DVD will not last forever. HD-DVD will eventually replace it. Also I garuntee that Star Wars 30th anniversery will be avaible on HD-DVD.


Tell that to the executives. Hardly anyone wants to go ahead with HD-DVD. And why should they? DVD is their biggest money-maker.

Blu-Ray on the other hand...


Same could be said about VHS in 1996. People could have said VHS is fine for people now and DVD will be a niche. HD-DVD has everything that made DVD successful. Its cheap, its vastly vastly superior, it just makes sense.
Author
Time
Post link
^^^Remember laserdiscs, Jimbo?

If I were them, I'd wait a while first before letting them all out.

Heck, even I wouldn't upgrade to HD-DVD this soon. I have over 1200 DVDs!

My stance on revising fan edits.

Author
Time
Post link
"Hardly anyone wants to go ahead with HD-DVD....Blu-Ray on the other hand... "

Uhm, you do realize these are both HD delivery systems, right?

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

Author
Time
Post link
Quote
Originally posted by: jimbo
Quote
Originally posted by: bad_karma24
Quote
Originally posted by: jimbo
HD-DVD will come out in both America and Japan in 2005. True titles will be slow at first but they will grow. No doubt that SD-DVD will not last forever. HD-DVD will eventually replace it. Also I garuntee that Star Wars 30th anniversery will be avaible on HD-DVD.


Tell that to the executives. Hardly anyone wants to go ahead with HD-DVD. And why should they? DVD is their biggest money-maker.

Blu-Ray on the other hand...


Same could be said about VHS in 1996. People could have said VHS is fine for people now and DVD will be a niche. HD-DVD has everything that made DVD successful. Its cheap, its vastly vastly superior, it just makes sense.


Did you even read what I said? I explained the reasons why HD-DVD will just be a passing fad and the differences it between it and DVDs takeover of VHS. Oh, and..

It's not cheap, it's superior depending on the source and way it's mastered, and it doesn't quite make sense...

Quote
Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
Uhm, you do realize these are both HD delivery systems, right?

Yes... what's your point? AFAIK they're two different products.

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

Author
Time
Post link
HD-DVD - 1920 x 1080
SD-DVD - 720 x 480
VHS - 320 x 240

The difference in quality between HD-DVD and SD-DVD is huge. Even greater then the difference between DVD and VHS. HD-DVD has twice the resolution of D-VHS, 3x the resolution of HDTV, and 6x the resolution of SD-DVD. The worst looking HD-DVD will be alot better then the best looking SD-DVD. To say that the picture quality won't be much better must come from a person who has never seen a D-VHS movie on a good HDTV. Its amazing. Also unlike Sonys junk HD-DVD can be manufactored with the same assembly lines as current DVDs. With that HD-DVD will be very cheap. Laserdisc and D-VHS were both niche formats because they offered higher quality at the expense of cost and convience. HD-DVD offers much much better quality with all the cheap cost and convience.
Author
Time
Post link
Quote
Originally posted by: jimbo
HD-DVD - 1920 x 1080
SD-DVD - 720 x 480
VHS - 320 x 240

The difference in quality between HD-DVD and SD-DVD is huge. Even greater then the difference between DVD and VHS. HD-DVD has twice the resolution of D-VHS, 3x the resolution of HDTV, and 6x the resolution of SD-DVD. The worst looking HD-DVD will be alot better then the best looking SD-DVD. To say that the picture quality won't be much better must come from a person who has never seen a D-VHS movie on a good HDTV. Its amazing. Also unlike Sonys junk HD-DVD can be manufactored with the same assembly lines as current DVDs. With that HD-DVD will be very cheap. Laserdisc and D-VHS were both niche formats because they offered higher quality at the expense of cost and convience. HD-DVD offers much much better quality with all the cheap cost and convience.


Your missing the point. Cost and convenience don't matter. If the average consumer sees no reason to upgrade, they won't get it, and it will die right there. And at this point the average consumer sees no reason to upgrade. The majority of Americans won't benefit much anyway as most don't own an HDTV.

And where are you getting all this that HD-DVD will be cheap? It will need an entirely new player, it uses a different codec, etc.

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

Author
Time
Post link
"Yes... what's your point? AFAIK they're two different products."

They are competing products, like VHS and Beta. Near as I can tell, the demise of Beta didn't do VHS in (and Beta was the better product, too!)

Think of it this way - HD-DVD can hold @30 gigs (HD-VHS is about 50). An lightly compressed AVI capture of a Star Wars LD is about 30 gigs. This means a very lightly compressed end product for DVD video (or more special features). Imagine each 3-hour Lord of the Rings film, or Das Boot, on a single HD-DVD, or for you computer nuts, much more space for easy hard drive backups onto optical disks, versus tape or internet storage.

HD-DVD is DVD on steroids. Your talk of it becoming a niche product sounds very similar to what was once said about DVD. You may not see much use in it, but it's a bigger world out there. Hell, some people still buy their movies on VHS nowadays. Luddites, you gotta love 'em.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

Author
Time
Post link
"Your missing the point. Cost and convenience don't matter."

Uhm, yes, they do. This is precisely why laserdisc remained a niche product, versus the inferior picture of VHS. This is also why Netflix is such a booming business.

"If the average consumer sees no reason to upgrade, they won't get it, and it will die right there."

You are presuming they won't. Have you seen the numbers for home theater sales for the past 5 years, or projected sales for the next 5. I mean, who really needs 5.1, right? Most people don't even have their systems set up correctly.

"And where are you getting all this that HD-DVD will be cheap? It will need an entirely new player, it uses a different codec, etc. "

Only Blue-Ray requires a new player. The other standard is backwards-compatible. Of course, there's always Joe Kane's idea of adding the HD information to the already-SD info of a standard DVD. Old players play the 480P, and newer players could read the 720/1080 info. Best of both worlds.

"And where are you getting all this that HD-DVD will be cheap?"

Most DVD players used to cost several thousand dollars. Now you can get them for 50 bucks at the local drug store. Do you get out much?

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

Author
Time
Post link
Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will require a new player to play the new discs. Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players will play standard DVD discs. Thing is just about everyone with a digital television will see a reason for upgrading. People don't like bought and payed for movies looking worse then there TV shows. HD-DVD is definutly the best of the two new formats. While supporters of Blu-Ray always point out the fact that HD-DVD has a capacity of 30 gigabits while Blu-Ray has a capacity of up to 54 gigabits. HD-DVD uses VC-9 and MPEG-4. Blu-Ray still uses MPEG-2. With MPEG-4 compression a 30 gigabit HD-DVD holds 30% more information then a 54 gigabit Blu-Ray.