Mike O

xhonzi said:

What region are you looking at trying to play?  Better: what movies are region locked that you want to play?

A vast majority of my BD are region free.  But I suppose when you get into other genres (Anime maybe, I don't know) it becomes an all new ballgame.

Inception is region free. :)

Not 100% sure, things come down the pipe (as you say, anime, martial arts flicks, horror movies, etc.), I just want to be able to put whatever I want in and play it like I can do with DVD and VCD.

This is generally posted from other forums I visit, and I'm too lazy to edit it, but the whole idea is there:

OK, so while I was reticent to adopt Blu-Ray, all interesting special features seem to have been moved there, and I have thought about changing over. However, in doing some searching online, apparently the region-locking issue is significantly more complicated than with normal DVD players. Whereas my wonderful little Phillilps DVP player was a minor expense that I managed to make region-free with a few keystrokes on the remote, evidently region-hacking is a significantly more costly prospect on BR, and apparently, given that BR is updated repeatedly as well as what seem to be features designed by the manufacturers to prevent the consumer from becoming region-free are big stumbling blocks. Some research indicates that I might be well off with Oppo, whom I'm told are the Cadillac of BR players. However, quite apart from the significant expense of the players (The highly-regarded BDP-93 retails, before modding, already puts me back $500!), evidently region hacking is significantly complex, apparently requiring actual hardware modding. This is apparently usually done by an intermediary third party. I'm not particularly comfortable with that, especially since it further raises the price, but I'm unsure as to if I could undertake that extensive endeavor myself without sound damage and voiding the warrantee on a $500 player. There are various features associated with BR players that seem enticing, particularly Netflix streaming, but the region-coding is my prime interest. Exactly what options do I have? It sounds like I'm just SOL if I don't want to spend quite a significant amount of money, but is there any way to ensure a return on the investment? I was not hugely interested in upgrading as my TV and DVD player are still concocted by a coaxial splitter, for the love of Frith, so it seems like any upgrade at this point would he throwing he baby out with the bathwater, but given how fast BR seems to taking over, I though a rundown of how things are and a through understanding of these issues might make my purchase easier, whether I make the choice next week or next year, since both my interest in foreign discs of both SD and HD material, as well as the ones I already own, factor into the decision-making process, for the eventual building of my hopefully not imaginary future home theater system. Fully laid out, how does the whole issue look and what are my best options?

skyjedi2005 said:

Pros for laserdisc over vhs and dvd.  No region code and no macrovision.

Pros over Blu ray no drm.

Hacks or ways to bypass macrovision and dvd region lockouts were taken care of though not necessarily legal under USA laws.

Blu ray could have been without region codes or lockouts but Sony and some studios did not want that because of reverse importation.

While a Blu ray movie that is in region A say a japan release will also work in the USA, a Blu ray pS3 game will not.

I don't think there's any way of circumventing that short of buying a PS3 from Japan. Sony and Nintendo did GIANT mod chip crackdowns a few years back, and I don't think there's a legal way to make game consoles region free for games. But I also don't know much about the subject. On that subject, I have an electronics question I have posed in the off-topic forum if anyone would know...

Jaskoen said:

Geez Mike O.  Glass half empty much?

Well, we've been battling forever, and first wound up with the GOUT and now this. It's just hard not to finally just throw up my hands.

 Based on the sample size of my household, Gears 3 is outselling the Star Wars blu-rays 1-0.

Yes, well, that is just YOUR household though :(.

Now I do not condone Lucas actions towards the originals, but why should he give a shit about the originals when this boxset sold well enough to keep the Lucasfilm gravy train rolling

Exactly. The majority of people don't care. It's like spitting a fire.

But what we're doing here is still important.

It doesn't matter if it's important, it matters if it does anything. And it obviously doesn't.

Wow, thanks for posting those stats! Our people have DEFINITELY made a statement that WILL be heard at LFL. There's no way they can ignore us now.

What do these "stats" indicate? Sales have dropped because it's a new format, maybe a few more people care, so in 100 years we'll have it? They can ignore us all they like until they don't make any money, and that'll be the 12th of never.

Plus, since when has monetary returns meant anything about quality, or people's attitude towards something? "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was one of the highest-grossing films of all time, but it's also one of the shittiest and universally-reviled movies of all time.

And it still got the sequels green-lit and kept the franchise going. It doesn't matter what it says about the quality of the product, what matters is what it says about the future, and what it says is that people will buy anything with STAR WARS on the package.

Regardless, there's a huge spin here in selling this as some massive success story

Um, a broken record doesn't qualify as a big success?

Well said everyone! What I have noticed, is that FINALLY there are several articles and blog entries about the changes and how bad they are, where's the originals, etc. That speaks volumes.

The only thing that talks here is the money, and it has spoken.

That's an important step that we have taken, and I hope we keep on walking!

Right off the edge of a cliff.

More have realized the crime against culture and history here.

Just because they know is no guarantee they care, and even if they do, like I said, it probably doesn't mean much.

I sincerely hope we are closer to getting the OOT.

I sincerely hope I win the lottery. Wish in one hand...

Promus said:

^ Well, I prefer to remain optimistic. Surely we've had SOME effect, and I'm sure that any effect, no matter how small, is still felt by the higher-ups. They know we exist, and they know what we want - Lucas can't hold out forever.

I think he can, but hopefully you're right.

Promus said:

Mike O said:

We've lost guys. It's over.

"No we're not...what kind of talk is that?"

Just a realistic view of things, I fear.

Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

Overall, I think the whole Amazon review situation has gone spectacularly better than any of us could have imagined.  I thought there'd be a healthy batch of low reviews, but that it would be far outweighed by the gushers.  Now, I know it will still sell well, but all told this has been great publicity for the OOT side, way better than I would have ever imagned.

Hardly matters given that all that'll speak here are sales, and this thing is going to sell like hotcakes covered with crack.

MJPollard said:

"Lucas breathes oxygen! An evil plot to deny the rest of us breathable air? Film at 11!"

Honest to God, the outrage over this man has reached ridiculous proportions.

I'm kind of inclined to agree in the sense that, let's face it, there's a big disclaimer on the front of all DVDs about how public display is illegal, so he's hardly outside his rights, or indeed any other filmmaker.

shandy706 said:

georgec said:

For every fan that boycotts there are 500-5,000 fans that don't care.

 

 

FIXED

Plus the kids that are too young to know/care.

Who are his primary audience anyway, and who will buy anything with the SW brand on it. We've lost guys. It's over.

FunkyDays said:

I've been talking with my wife lately about the "backlash" and how it's even been picked up in the mainstream media this time around. Maybe fans have been pushed to far.  I know I have.  I don't object to whatever changes George wants to make to his SEs, I just want the freedom to watch the OT alongside them, and judging from the 1 Star reviews on Amazon, it "seemed" like a lot of others felt the same way.

Walked into Future Shop yesterday morning to buy some coffee for my Keurig.  My wife says "Do I need to hold you back from the SW display"?  Ha ha ha!  I go in, and find "every" copy in their AT-AT display sold out! That thing held a lot of copies, and I know they refilled it throughout the day, the day before.  Wife looks at me and says "You might as well just buy the damned thing".  The sad thing is, I know she's right :-(

QED.

none said:

Mike O wrote: Any word on how this sold?

The NYTimes has some stats either this weekend or early next week.  This site:

http://www.the-numbers.com/weekly-bluray-sales-chart

Will have stats in a week or two.  (they are currently showing the week ending Sept. 4th)  There's probably a site which does daily, anyone know?

I know they're at the top of Amazon's rank. The thing is going to sell like gangbusters, and I think it's just another final nail in the coffin.

Any word on how this sold? I know we've all been hoping in vain for all of the cancelled pre-orders to make a dent, but what's the betting it's one of the best-selling things in the history of capitalism?

Just more proof that we're fighting a losing battle, sadly.

CatBus said:

Sure, we'd love it.  It's not like we're fanatics or anything.*

But really, even if he approached this with the best possible intentions, isn't it a given that he'll screw up color timing and sound at the very least?  But even then I'd appreciate it as a much better source for proper restoration projects.

 

* Okay, that was a little tongue in cheek but I'm serious.  Minor cleanups would put him well within the boundaries of what other directors regularly do.  Sometimes I wonder why they bother and wish they wouldn't, but I don't begrudge them for it.  Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blood Simple, etc.  A certain amount of change is, even if not desirable, tolerable.

Raiders tweaked the reflection in the glass (which still drive me nuts, but moving on), what'd Blood Simple change?

Aw, now that's such a shame.

Chewtobacca said:

Uncanny Antman said:

I was never one of those guys that whined about every little change in '97 and '04 ...but this time? ... Cancelled pre-order.

You're not alone.  Many people online are saying that they have cancelled their pre-orders, and this time it's not just the purists.

I doubt it'd be enough to make a dent in the astronomical profits that the set will make though. I wish I could feel like this is a slow burn kind of thing and this is a sort of last straw that'll put a lot of people onto our side, but the reality is that it's probably the opposite, the final nail in the coffin.

Anchorhead said:

Bingowings said:

It might be more productive if someone designed a token, like a bank note or bond which said something to effect that the sender of the token promised to purchase a blu-ray set when (and only when) it included a restored HD version of the OT.

 If instead of buying the current sets on the release date token holders posted their promissory to Uncle George he might get an idea of the real greenbacks he is missing out on.

It would need a catchy name and design which people could download and print off.

A Twitter/Facespace campaign could keep tabs on people who sent their bond to Lucas.

There have been some notable people backing some of the activities on here and getting them to endorse the scheme would serve as publicity for positive activism rather than vandalism.

That's more what I was thinking too.  Something along the lines of education instead of something that may be a nuisance, ineffective, or illegal. 

We (OT.com & savestarwars.com) still have some credibility in the film buff community.  I'd hate to see us lose that.  For Christ's sake, The Humdinger went legit**

We may be too hyper-focused sometimes to see it, but respected critics and film bloggers know who we are now.  They understand what is happening and they're starting to write about it.  They're starting to discuss it and address it intelligently.

 

** Truth be told, I was sorry the issue was addressed and fixed, possibly because of this very site.  I'd rather Star Wars 5.0.2 have the same flaws it had before.  I'd rather casual fans and consumers finally realize that with Lucas it's all selfishness and marketing - not preservation or respect for the films or the people who got him where he is.

 

Much as I'd love to believe it, I doubt that we carry that much clout much of anywhere. I'd love to believe that OOT fans have some weight, but every time I look at Amazon and see the SW BR set at the top of the charts, I just don't think so. Or maybe it's just that Internet fanboys don't carry and clout at all, which might well be the case. I've felt that maybe in the social networking world, we should try to get some heavier hitters involved, maybe some of the bigger name directors who hang around the web, but I don't know what kind of help they could offer.

I'm with Anchorhead. All of the beauty and magic that that Star Wars has brought me is pretty much gone. I just don't give a shit any more. I want the OOT. That's all I want. I didn't buy the GOUT, and I haven't bought a single Star Wars product in years. I didn't watch the T.V. show, I won't go see the rereleases, and I won't go buy the BR or anything else. The OOT isn't coming ever again. And that's the only thing I want. I'm at the point where I just no longer give a fuck.

Mielr said:

 

What about a facebook page?

 

We could try. It's a new age of social networking, so maybe it'd make a dent. It'd be worth a shot, I suppose.

Isn't the audio on the DVD of The Conversation a remix?

TV's Frink said:

Well that was an odd bump.

Yeah, sorry about that.

CP3S said:

Mike O said:

Davnes007 said:

I think he 'ignored' me because I made a joking reference to DTS. From then on, he hated my guts.

What's your avatar?

That is a photo of Davenes herself. Definitely one of our hotter female forum members! Hang around off-topic just for a bit and you'd discover that her name is Erica.

There's a supermodel hobnobbing around STAR WARS forums?!

TV's Frink said:

Mike O said:

Davnes007 said:

I think he 'ignored' me because I made a joking reference to DTS. From then on, he hated my guts.

What's your avatar?

A woman.  You've probably heard of them.  There's even a few on this forum.

;-)

I've even seen a few. They just don't talk to me ;)!

Ziggy Stardust said:

You're quite the Debbie Downer, no?

He's not wrong though. It's over guys. We've lost.

Davnes007 said:

I think he 'ignored' me because I made a joking reference to DTS. From then on, he hated my guts.

What's your avatar?

Mielr said:

I won't buy it on blu-ray either...but not just because of the sound. I'll only buy it if it includes the pre-Special Edition version.

I won't buy it period. There is one Star Wars product I want. Until it comes out, there are better things to spend my money on.

Quackula said:

Call me strange, but I'd actually really like it if we got a standalone release of the OOT on blu-ray without the SEs included.

No chance at all. Personally, I think that what could be done is release it only in some giant, mega-priced boxed set. That'd actually probably make sense from a financial perspective, simply because he knows the OOT clique have enough interest that some of them might buy it. While even if the OOT did come out, I would intensely scrutinize the Internet to make sure it was not messed up in any way, if it was released properly, I would pay virtually ANY price for it. I try to tell myself that since the GOUT has been in the bestsellers list on Amazon for almost 550 days, there is at least pretty significant interest in it (though it's below the new BR set), maybe that means something, but I doubt it.