vadertyme

dark_jedi said:

Hey Guys I just wanted to ask 1 more time what Blu-ray players do you all like? I have no choice now but to get a new one, I can no longer test our BD50's and we have NOTLD68 coming and it will need testing big time, and now it is started to have a hard time reading retail BD50's as well, so it is about to shit for good lol, so what players do you guys like that load fast and can read these projects we do?

I would like 3D but I don't think any Company supports "checkerboard" output anymore, my Panasonic Player now does but as I said it is almost dead! so if you guys know of any that support that type 3D playback as well that would be sweet but I doubt it.

Thanks

Hey DJ,

It appears that the only company that supports the "checkboard" output is Panasonic.  Here is a list of Panasonic models which have been verified as of 2015 to include this output:

DMPBDT100
DMPBDT110
DMPBDT210
DMPBDT215
DMPBDT220
DMPBDT230
DMPBDT300
DMPBDT310
DMPBDT320
DMPBDT350

I did a quick look over on Amazon and found that they have a new DMPBDT230 (2013 model) which is region free for a little over $100.  In addition someone asked on the product page aboout checkerboard output and it was confirmed that it does support it.  If this is true, this maybe your best bet and the region free ability is the icing on the cake.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-BDT230-Smart-Blu-Ray-Player/dp/B00AYB3OMG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1434480781&sr=8-4&keywords=Panasonic+3D+blu-ray+players

As for me, I agree with the PS3 being a good all around player but I personally have a stand alone Sony player to handle movies and reserve the PS3 for  game playing only.  I might also add that all of the Team Blu projects that I have, have been successfully on the 2 players above and an older Samsung player as well without any issues to bring up.  I hope this helps.

-VT

Man, that NOTLD '68 Ultimate Edition is aptly named.  Can't wait to see it!

Also, thats cool news on Trick or Treat 1986.  What is the audio source used.  I think a lot of us were really let down by the German release due to the volume having to be cranked up to make anything out.  I can't wait to see Team Blu release of this one, as well.

dark_jedi said:

Thanks Scruffy and Triple for the nice comments, very nice to read some of those once in a while lol.

OK so I am pretty sure this is a stupid question but I am sure no one here wants to see The Black Hole without the opening overture/intro correct?

1 more thing, I know it is not our thing to release a bunch of versions, we are a 1 and done and move on type, but The White Buffalo we feel we can really correct, so no promises but we are looking into making a v2 of this video and to make it more look like the DVD and not so drab in color like our release and the new Kino release.

We are also rounding up NOTLD 68 extras, the 3 main video files are ready.

Thanks again for the nice comments and we hope you enjoy the releases.

***edit, please do not ask when these will be finished, I will post here when we are done and all is tested, all of us have some serious "real life" stuff going on right now and we are going to relax and take our time, plus Summer is coming, thanks for your understanding.

Regarding "The Black Hole", definitely overtune all the way!!!  I really don't think that any release would be complete without it.  This is easily one my favorite sci-fi movies and I can't wait to see the Team Blu edition when it's ready.  I know that it's going to be EPIC and SUPER SWEET (just like the other Team Blu edition that I proudly have in my movie collection).

Also, glad to hear the NOTLD '68 is progressing nicely.  I will always have a soft spot for this film as it started my love affair with the Horror genre.  I'm definitely looking forward to the Team Blu editions of this and Day of the Dead.

As a proud supporter over the last couple of years, I can say with confidence that any release from Team Blu is always worth the wait.  Their track record has show this time and time again and has consequently made a huge believer out of me.   

dark_jedi said:

vadertyme said:

Greetings all, I just wanted to post a quick review of Team Blu's latest release "The NeverEnding Story" 2-disc set that I received last week.  To cut to the chase, this is yet another strong entry into their ever growing list of quality releases. 

As most (if not all) of you may recall, the biggest flaw with the theatrical (i.e. domestic) release was that the transfer was too dark and the biggest flaws with the international release were that it was too light and DNR'd to hell.   

Here's a quick breakdown after viewing both discs:

Theatrical: Comparing the domestic release which I own to Team Blu's release, the PQ really shines with the lightening techniques applied to the transfer. 

International: On the flipside, I don't own a version of the international so I had to compare it to screen captures but it is very plain to see that the darkening of the international cut and grain application have restored a filmic presentation to this cut of the film. 

To put it bluntly, the previous issues with both transfers has been corrected with this release and fans of this film owe it to themselves to put this on their shelves post haste.

Thanks for this, but just to clear some things up, the Theatrical is the International and the International is the Extended in your post lol, there are only 2 versions, the International which is the Theatrical almost everywhere, and then the Extended which was only available in Germany up until recently, and our Extended is 100% English Friendly, if I have anything wrong here I will let You_Too straighten it out lol.

Thanks again for the review!

Hey DJ, sorry about the confusion.  I always correlated the extended with the international for personal reasons.  I updated my review accordingly.

Greetings all, I just wanted to post a quick review of Team Blu's latest release "The NeverEnding Story" 2-disc set that I received last week.  To cut to the chase, this is yet another strong entry into their ever growing list of quality releases. 

As most (if not all) of you may recall, the biggest flaw with the theatrical (i.e. domestic) release was that the transfer was too dark and the biggest flaws with the extended release were that it was too light and DNR'd to hell.   

Here's a quick breakdown after viewing both discs:

Theatrical: Comparing the domestic release which I own to Team Blu's release, the PQ really shines with the lightening techniques applied to the transfer. 

Extended: On the flipside, I don't own a version of the extended so I had to compare it to screen captures but it is very plain to see that the darkening of the extended cut and grain application have restored a filmic presentation to this cut of the film. 

To put it bluntly, the previous issues with both transfers has been corrected with this release and fans of this film owe it to themselves to put this on their shelves post haste.

Update: Fixed based on DJ's info.

dark_jedi said:

The Return of The Living Dead Part 2 LD does have the unaltered audio correct? lol I do not know a lot about this part, I know I should but somehow I skipped this one and went right to 3.

Hey DJ, I believe that the French track on the DVD has the unaltered theatrical audio, so you can use that to verify that the LD is correct.

And without further ado...my Team Blu Terminator No Fate Collection Review (DJ...I apologize for not getting this up sooner but my holiday familial obligations got in the way)

I am going to start off by saying that Team Blus streak of excellence continues.  To put it bluntly these movies have neither looked nor sounded better.  The bonus materials were solid and I especially enjoyed the very informative "Making of the Terminator" documentary included on the Terminator disc. The menus are as sleek as usual and I felt that the boot-up sequence was a nice touch on the discs.  Lastly, the art cards (pictured below) were are very nice and appreciated touch.

Regarding the technical merits of these discs, I tested these discs out pretty thoroughly and everything responded like a champ and without any issues to report.    Team Blus QA/QC is really something to be celebrated. 

In closing, this set is now easily my go to for these awesome films and it is good to see these films get a quality release that they clearly deserve.  Leave it to Team Blu to get right what the studios can't (and seem incapable of)...give the fans what they want.  Excellent job, guys... keep it up!!!  I can't wait to see Team Blus next project.

dark_jedi said:

I know Synapse is working on this but who knows when we will see it, but for now I have read nothing but positive reviews on this release, I may go ahead and do up a Trilogy BD50 for now until the Synapse version comes out, plus we don't know for 100% certainty that they will even fix ALL issues, I certainly hope so but still to early to really tell, but this is the release I am talking about, what do you all think of this and check out the specs, would the LD audio even still be needed now?

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Suspiria-Blu-ray/90162/

 I'm a fan these films so I would definitely like to see a Team Blu trilogy BD50.  As for the release, based on what's referenced, the audio options look solid so the LD probably won't be necessary.  You may want to get confirmation from someone who has the release that those tracks are actually included and that there are no errors.  Sadly, I've noticed that English audio tracks are sometimes considered to be a "bonus" on international releases so they aren't given the same level of care that we would expect.

And the also impressive Private School, The Wild Life and Nurse 2D Uncensored projects:

As promised...

Because my last post was abit lenghty, I thought I would provide the photos in separate posts to do them justice...

The [rather awesome] Maximum Overdrive package:

dark_jedi said:

vadertyme said:

DJ, You_Too, & Deathcab…I congratulate you again on your triumphs and encourage you keep up the great work!!!

Thank you so much for that nice little write up vadertyme, we all really appreciate it very, very much, but I have to add 1 person here, do not forget about our "Menu Guy" without him we would not have all these fancy menu's with great extras, so a huge thanks to him as well when he reads this.

So thank you again for all your support and help.

I think I may have misinterpreted Deathcabs post when he reviewed Maximum Overdrive and thought he was pulling double duty.  I definitely don't want to leave anyone out lol...so a special congratulations to "The Menu Guy", the movie clips on the main menu were a nice touch and really speaks to how much Team Blus projects continue to evolve in excellent ways.

-VT

I received my package last week which included Maximum Overdrive, Private School, The Wild Life and Nurse 2D Uncensored and I wanted to start off by offering a sincere thank you again to DJ and the rest of Team Blu for once again putting together several outstanding projects.

After testing out all of the discs from a functionality standpoint, I am happy report (again) that i haven't encountered any issues to speak off on any of these discs.  Everything functions as it should and I am truly appreciative of the time and effort spent on the QA/QC of not just these but  all of Team Blu projects.  I think what truly separates Team Blus projects from other blu-ray projects I’ve come across is this QA/QC aspect.  I bring this up because the only projects that I have of Team Blu that I didn’t get directly from them were Sheena and The White Buffalo (BTW these are another 2 excellent projects worth getting when they are available) which were obtained from the ‘spleen and took me 20 hrs. each to download…I know, I know I have a crappy internet connection.  Anyway, after downloading and burning them to a BD, they both behaved as they should (i.e. perfectly) right out of the burner.  I mention this because I have downloaded several other projects from others which took the same amount of time to download and the results were mixed at best and I later was able to confirm that other people had the same issues with these projects that I did.  With Team Blu, you never have to worry about that…so download these with confidence.

In closing , I get the vibe sometimes that the team wishes that it could work faster and are frustrated that they don't but for me when you look at the level of care put into the transfers, bonus materials, elaborate menus, artwork (both inside and out) and disc art, the TLC put into these is very apparent and I say take as long as you guys need as the results are well worth it.  Fellow OT member vbangle, hit it right on the head when he said that there is no difference anymore between commercial retail product and Team Blu's because truthfully there isn't.  Actually, I might venture a step further and say that Team Blus projects are superior to the vast majority of what’s being commercially released that we all lay down are hard earned money for.  For instance, take this Maximum Overdrive project, which included lobby/post cards and a poster…totally unexpected and incredible:)  I mean it when I say that I’m eagerly anticipating Team Blu's releases more than 95% of what’s coming to retail in the near future. DJ, You_Too, & Deathcab…I congratulate you again on your triumphs and encourage you keep up the great work!!!

-VT

Note: I will update this post with some photos of these items when I get a chance this weekend.  

EDIT: Photos added in separate posts later in thread.

MrBrown said:

Maybe you just pick someone randomly who helped with one of your projects in some kind (helpful suggestions, donations, ressources) also the winner, and recipient (if he agree to take them) should have to pay the shipping..

I agree with MrBrown, but maybe with a slight tweak in that you ask the loyal supporters if they want to be entered in to a drawing then  go with a random number generator.  You could even raffle off each one separately if you wanted to spread out the love.  I also agree that the winner(s) should pay shipping (in fact this would be a necessity if you go with the splitting up method). 

I received my package on Monday, which was a very nice surprise after a super busy day at work.  Once again I’m impressed with the fruits of Teams Blu's labor.  Right off the bat, I have to admit that I had a smile from ear to ear when I was checking out the theatrical SW disc and saw the animated image and musical selection on start-up.  I can't wait to share these with my parents who made me into the proud Star Wars nut that I am:)

I'm still going thru the discs but both discs are responsive and I’ve enjoyed the extras included on both discs.  I’ll add that going thru the comparison photo gallery of before and after was a treat and is a revelation in regards to the hard work which went into these discs.   As usual, I'll let you know if I find anything noteworthy.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you again to “the Producer" and the rest of team as you have done a great service for all the SW fans the world over.  I just want to say in closing that I remain a huge fan of Team Blu and will continue to support them any way I can.  Never forget that you guys remain the gold standard when it comes to these fan projects and I personally can’t wait to see what you come up with next.

Deathcab6366 said:

I would love to do a triple feature like this for American Ninja, American Ninja 2 and Avenging Force, but unfortunately there are no HD sources available.

That is a great call for a triple feature.  I'd be all over that.  It does really suck that there are no HD transfers available for these fine 80s action flicks.  I'm going keep looking though and report back if I come across anything...

I meant to post this review much earlier but I've been very busy at work.

Anyway, I received Team Blus Ninja Trilogy project and am glad to report yet another triumph.  The disc loaded up without issue and reacted like a champ allowing me to freely and repeatedly switch between the films and/or chapters without issue or noted glitch.  This is another technical achievement feather in Teams Blus cap as I have yet to see another blu-ray fan project which features 3 full HD transfers on 1 disc.  BTW,  I really like the ninja star motif on the pop-menu as it looks like they have been thrown when the pop up menu slides onto the screen.  To put it bluntly, I believe that this fan project should be a must have for any Sho Kusugi fan.  I myself had forgotten how much I enjoyed these films and am thankful to Team Blu for this project.  

In closing, I will say don't hesitate to download this excellent project as it appears that Shout/Scream Factory has zero interest in releasing the first 2 Ninja films after the disappointing sales on Ninja III and the only current releases of the first 2 films are region locked.

Keep 'em coming, Team Blu!!!

-VT

Deathcab6366 said:

Quick poll - Of all the teaser WIP's on the first page of this thread, which are you most excited about?

It may be cheating but it's a 3 way tie between The Black Hole, Return of the Living Dead Part 2 and 3.

dark_jedi said:

Thanks VT for adding the pic of the "black" cover and for being a huge supporter for the Team!

No problem, DJ...you guys make it easy to be a supporter.  

I also wanted to take a moment and give Deathcab a proper shout-out.  The cover and lobby cards on this project are excellent and look even better in person.  Keep up the good work, man.  Really digging all of your WIP covers on the upcoming projects.

-VT

Dude...Return of the Living Dead 2 and 3...Team Blu are my heroes!!!

Sorry about the late review but my copy just arrived in yesterday. To put it bluntly, Team Blu has knocked it out of the park again. As was to be expected the presentation of the film is top notch. The PQ and the 3 included audio mixes are all excellent.  Furthermore, I will echo what the other reviewers have stated  which is that the 5.1 custom mix is spectacular and sounds very natural.  It is impressive work all the way around.  Menu design is awesome(as usual) and the disc worked flawlessly.   Last but not least, the included bonuses including the HD trailer!!! and lobby/trading  cards were the frosting on the cake.

In closing, I’ll say right now that if a commercial blu-ray edition of FN2 is made available some day (which appears at this point to be highly unlikely), I will be stunned if true fans of the movie aren’t  still seeking out this Team Blu project because this overall package will be very difficult (near impossible) to beat.  I want to thank every member of Team Blu for their contributions on this project as all of their hard work has really paid off.  Keep ‘em coming, guys!!!

-VT

Is there a good way to capture movies off of Amazon Instant Video?

The reason that I ask is that there appears to be HD sources for a few potential Team Blu projects that I would like to request/recommend.  The following snippet taken from the FAQ page is intriguing and indicates..."Our HD files are streamed in high-quality 720p resolution, or can be downloaded to TiVo at 1080i resolution."

If it's viable, then the following are all available in HD and would make great projects IMHO as there have been zero announcements about potential releases anytime soon:

-Return of the Living Dead 3 (R-Rated)[I would prefer uncut as well but this will due in the interim]

-Tales from Crypt: Bordello of Blood [Not as good as Demon Knight but still fun and would make good companion piece for the upcoming Team Blu Demon Knight project]

-The Hidden (1987)

I have a couple of suggestions for future Team Blu projects as it appears that there are no releases coming any time soon:

Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight

Rollerball (1975)

It appears that there are HDX versions available for rent, so these might be possible depending how the RotLD 2 project goes.

Digging the WIP list.  

Both of the Black Hole covers look good, real good. I can't decide which I like more.  Absolutely love that movie.  You definitely need to include the theatrical overture from the dvd as a bonus.

Excellent...excellent news:)  Can't wait to see the finished product!!!

Just wanted to report in that I was able to obtain this from the download site using a free registered account and all of the rar files worked just fine.

I checked out this upgraded EE with the new DTS-HD MA 5.1 track and it is nothing short of spectacular.  To put it simply...Team Blus releases of the EE and the Theatrical should be a must for any true Conan fan.  Exemplary work...guys, exemplary work.

I want to thank Team Blu for all of their efforts on this project and am anxiously waiting to see their future releases as I have a great deal of interest in the vast majority of them.  Keep up the great work!!!

-VT