以下這篇網路新聞稿有包含官方人士對SUPERBIT DVD的說法:
"Crouching Tiger" set for SuperBit DVD release
Updated: Sun, Aug 05 10:30 PM EDT
By Ann Donahue
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment is launching a high-resolution line of DVDs offering enhanced video and audio but no extra features.
The first titles in the new SuperBit Collection being introduced Oct. 9 are "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Johnny Mnemonic," "The Fifth Element," "Air Force One" and "Desperado."
The SuperBit versions of the films, using digital space on the disc usually set aside for special features, are being offered as a choice to consumers who want to test the full capabilities of their high-end home theater systems, the studio said.
The titles will retail for $27.96, about the same price as new DVD releases such as "Crouching Tiger," but higher than the current price on the older titles with extra features.
"If you're not interested in the in-depth information but you want the movie to look as good as it can, this format gives you that option," project manager Marshall Starkman said. "The big difference is that there is twice as much (digital) information dedicated strictly to the film on the new editions, and that translates to being able to see a lot more of the subtle details.
"You will see lovely costuming details that high-def can capture. In addition, if they're using strings to fly around the screen, all those details will be there."
The discs will offer a choice of DTS and Dolby 5.1 audio and will be compatible with a standard DVD player, Starkman said.
A three-pack SuperBit selection of "Crouching Tiger," "Desperado" and "Fifth Element" also will be released and priced at $73.95.
Reuters/Variety
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而下面的這篇測試報告卻傳來教人有點失望的結論:
Well... I've finally gotten a look at one of Columbia TriStar's new SuperBit discs. And I've got some first impressions to share with you. First of all, though, we're pleased to announce that we've added an additional domain name address here at The Digital Bits. You can now reach this site by going to either
www.thedigitalbits.com OR
www.digitalbits.com. You'd be surprised how many people forget about the "the"! ;-)
Okay... on to SuperBit. To start with, let me just say that I've ONLY had a chance to look at one title - The Fifth Element. I also requested Air Force One and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but was only sent the one disc. It seems that Columbia is being stingy with them, and that's a shame. Without looking at several titles as a whole, it becomes very difficult to tell, across the board, how much improvement results from SuperBit's higher bit rate itself. That said, based on Fifth Element, I've drawn some conclusions.
To do this comparison, I used Pioneer's AX-10 DVD player and Mitsubishi's Diamond series WS-65908 rear projection display, connected using progressive scan, component video. Know that I've spent my whole professional life looking at video quality, first a video director and editor and later as editor of The Bits. And I spent several hours doing back and forth comparisons between the new disc and Columbia TriStar's original Fifth Element DVD. So does SuperBit's higher video bit rate make a difference? The answer is yes... but it's extremely subtle. So subtle, in fact, that the average user will NEVER notice it. The greatest difference seems to be in rendering fine picture detail. The very slight digital artifacting that was occasionally apparent on the original DVD (in the most finely detailed areas of the picture) is gone on the SuperBit disc, thanks to the higher bit rate. The video image on the new disc is rock-solid, virtually everywhere you look, at all times. But since most consumer display devices (particularly non-anamorphic displays) aren't capable of rendering such fine detail, most will never see this improvement. To be sure of this, I then compared the discs on a standard, 4x3 consumer television - no difference was distinguishable. I did notice that the color seemed to be very slightly more vibrant on the new SuperBit disc, but that's likely due to a difference in the color timing work done on each disc, and has nothing to do with the added video bit rate. Don't get me wrong - the disc looks amazing. But so does the original DVD. Video quality is not a reason to invest in a SuperBit disc, in my opinion.
If you're an audiophile, however, SuperBit's DTS audio option is the real justification for purchasing one of these discs. The improved clarity and smoother soundscape of The Fifth Element's higher-resolution DTS 5.1 track added tremendously to the viewing experience. And that's about what we expected. Without any extras, it's going to be very hard for most DVD consumers to justify buying a SuperBit title. But for fans of DTS, the decision will be easier.
When I was up at Skywalker Ranch recently, THX's Rick Dean reminded me that video quality is much less a factor of video bit rate, as it is the efficiency of the digital video encoder itself. Sony's HD Center has always had, in my opinion, one of the most (if not THE most) efficient video encoding processes in the business. It seems a surprise then that Columbia TriStar would see the need for a SuperBit line of discs at all (other than as an additional marketing product line). I'd rather see them keep the video bit rate where it was, add the DTS 5.1 track to as many discs as they can and continue delivering solid extras. Or, if they stick with the SuperBit line, why not make all SuperBit titles 2-disc sets and have the second disc be supplemental materials (so people actually get their additional money's worth)? But hey... if we ran the world, things would be different, wouldn't they?
So that's SuperBit. We'll try to get reviews up of all these titles, provided we actually get our hands on the others at some point.
Stay tuned...
請注意~~~~該主筆所使用的測試DVD Player為頂級旗艦Pioneer's AX-10~~
所得出的結論是:
查覺得出其畫質是有差異的....但是卻不是明顯的!!!
更遑論是一般的Player!!!
在收編內容上並未額外增加其他附屬片段~~~這是為了提升畫質所做出的犧牲!!!
在字幕選單上增加不少多國文字~~~
如果是衝著音效的改版收編............倒是值得一試!!!