AIR TV on Blue-Ray Disc

[Varion]

Originally Posted by andiyar

@ Valdra & Sushi-Y

Oh, indeed they are a bargain as I stated before, especially when compared to the DVD set. Limited editions... make me cry. Because if it is limited, it makes me want it even more. Damn.

Well that's why they do them Don't want anyone waiting for the price to go down, do we? I have both the same problems you do though, actually - after years of enjoying being R2 with Japan that'll all be coming to an end, and 2008... well, that's somewhat generous. I'll have a PS3 before I have a HDTV to get the most out of it probably. I don't doubt that some people will find a way to get past region coding though - you know what these people are like, it's a challenge and they'll beat it. I hope they do, anyway, seen as I never buy UK R2 disks so everything I want will be in the US/Japan region. So I don't think region coding's worth worrying about, and the date? Well, if you want to see Air in HD ever, you'll have to buy it now =/ At least, that's what I'm thinking.

As for licensing... well, I wouldn't hold out on that one, but it doesn't hurt to dream. After seeing one of the Air DVDs in action myself I have to say the complaints people make about them are somewhat justified anyway, so I'm hoping that not only will the bluray look better in its HD glory but it'll fix those, too.

Key fandom is a dangerous, dangerous thing.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Valdra

Key fandom is a dangerous, dangerous thing.

Of course it is, even more so when looking at this..



^___^

[andiyar]

@ Valdra

I suppose that's true, at least about the region issue. If nothing else, I'm pretty sure I can eventually pick up a blu-ray drive for whatever computer I'm using at the time, and I'm fairly sure that whatever region locking is built into the firmware will be flashable, much like DVD drives today.

As to the flaws in a possible DVD, I would say that isn't quite valid - as far as I'm aware, whichever company licensed the material would have access to pre-DVD masters, which they would then encode to MPEG-2 themselves, most likely with more skill than Pony Canyon demonstrated in their Air DVDs. Thus the video should be rather better, I doubt very much that a distributor would want to simply demux the MPEG streams, create a new audio track and a subtitle track or two, and remux the resulting mix back together. Admittedly, it's not too hard to do, but then neither is encoding from a master anyway. The blu-ray disks should indeed not have any of these problems... unless, of course, the Pony Canyon encoding team (if it is them) are completely stupid. Or just don't care. :/

Oh, and @ Angelsama

Dammit! You are eroding my forbearance with your images of gratuitously and lasciviously displayed Air. In the perfection of the first natsukage moment.

... don't stop. ^^


-Andiyar

[Varion]

Originally Posted by Angelsama

Of course it is, even more so when looking at this..

I wonder if they'll give you that TV if you preorder early...

Originally Posted by andiyar

As to the flaws in a possible DVD, I would say that isn't quite valid - as far as I'm aware, whichever company licensed the material would have access to pre-DVD masters, which they would then encode to MPEG-2 themselves, most likely with more skill than Pony Canyon demonstrated in their Air DVDs. Thus the video should be rather better, I doubt very much that a distributor would want to simply demux the MPEG streams, create a new audio track and a subtitle track or two, and remux the resulting mix back together. Admittedly, it's not too hard to do, but then neither is encoding from a master anyway. The blu-ray disks should indeed not have any of these problems... unless, of course, the Pony Canyon encoding team (if it is them) are completely stupid. Or just don't care. :/

While that's true, years of R1 experience seem to prove otherwise - R2s always seem to end up looking superior. I suppose it would depend on who picked it up though. And yeah, it's Pony Canyon again, and I don't think Air was the first time they messed up. Hopefully they'll do it right this time... it'll at least look better than the fansubs, anyway

... don't stop. ^^

Aha, he's out of material now Shame there's little chance of a really nice h264 HD trailer for them.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Valdra

I wonder if they'll give you that TV if you preorder early...

One could seriously have a dream about that one.. >_>

Originally Posted by Valdra

Aha, he's out of material now Shame there's little chance of a really nice h264 HD trailer for them.

I'm saying we'll probably get more image/trailers sometime in September, you know just after Kanon Prelude is released~

[nani]

Apart from the new 3 minutes opening, will there be other new animations/scenes in this edition?

Unless they include a lot of new materials, I will probably skip the Blue-ray set as there are some other goodies which will also be out at the end of this year .

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by nani

Apart from the new 3 minutes opening, will there be other new animations/scenes in this edition?

Something else i wouldn't mind knowing. I'n guessing we'll be told the information once preorders go up on some sites, like Amazon.jp or CDjapan.

[Varion]

Originally Posted by nani

Apart from the new 3 minutes opening, will there be other new animations/scenes in this edition?

Unless they include a lot of new materials, I will probably skip the Blue-ray set as there are some other goodies which will also be out at the end of this year .

No one knows so far, though I'm sure it'll be posted if it's revealed. All we know now for extras is the opening, lots of extra audio tracks including 5.1 sound, subtitles for the cast interviews and an "illustration gallery". If there was going to be any extra scenes I get the impression they'd have said that as one of the first things revealed :/ But hey, hope I'm wrong.

[Varion]

(ohnoes the double posting)

Looks like amazon japan's put the bluray boxset up now and IS offering its 25% discount (clicky here for it), so that's Y7450 less than it should be.

Just thought anyone planning to purchase it would want to know

[andiyar]

... so now I learn that it has a 5.1 audio track as well as the standard 2.0, and that Amazon JP is selling it for 25% off (assuming I order before the end of August, it appears). I have a difficult four weeks ahead it appears - though I must say, my decision almost appears made for me. With Amazon's discount, assuming this will ship internationally, it will only be costing $200 US. Which is around what I paid for NOIR back in the day, when I was buying single volumes. And I love Air a great deal more than NOIR.

Get thee behind me, Satan, and all that... but I think it's too late. ^_^


[Edited five minutes later]:

And so it is done. Preordered, international expedited shipping. Total cost, ¥23,586. In my currency at home, that's around $260, depending on the exchange rate at the time. So, I figure twenty dollars a week for the next couple of months, and we're set to go.

I'm going to hell. ^_^


-Andiyar

[Minoto]

Originally Posted by andiyar

And so it is done. Preordered, international expedited shipping. Total cost, ¥23,586. In my currency at home, that's around $260, depending on the exchange rate at the time. So, I figure twenty dollars a week for the next couple of months, and we're set to go.

I'm going to hell. ^_^

Well, I only managed to hold out for not quite 24 hours from the time I first heard the news...looks like you'll have company.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Valdra

(ohnoes the double posting)

Looks like amazon japan's put the bluray boxset up now and IS offering its 25% discount (clicky here for it), so that's Y7450 less than it should be.

Just thought anyone planning to purchase it would want to know

Its also appeared on CDJapan - hoping to preorder pretty soon~

[Pepz]

Damn I really wanna order it but don't have the money yet!

[andiyar]

Preorders aren't generally charged until they ship - CDJapan charges a 'holding fee' to your credit card, but this is refunded within a few working days if the order does'st ship immediately. Amazon doesn't charge you at all until it ships, so nothing until the end of October.

I normally buy from CDJapan... but Amazon is six thousand yen cheaper, including EMS shipping. So... Amazon it is. ^^


-Andiyar

[Shiroth]

The thing is - you might as well preorder now with the money.. 'cause they'll probably be sold out by the release date.

[Minoto]

Originally Posted by Angelsama

The thing is - you might as well preorder now with the money.. 'cause they'll probably be sold out by the release date.

Most likely so -- Amazon recommends placing your preorder by 8/31 to be sure. And when I went back to check that, I noticed that it's currently ranked #82 in DVD sales: that's pretty impressive for something that won't even be available for almost three months, in a new format that not very many people even have a player for yet.

[fict_ticious]

Which is more important - food or AIR?

I lol'd at this quote.

At any rate, I may have to buy this before getting the bluray player for the fear of having it sold out. Or, I may just settle for the DVD releases. Either way, I won't have a TV which would get the most out of the bluray experience :'(

[Nightfall]

I'm sorry andiyar, can you explain to me how to preorder? °_° Sadly i don't speak Japanese yet (though i'm planning to learn it soon).

Thanks

P.S. Dont mind. I noticed now the "Want to see this page in english?" button.

I'm a dumbass.

[Pepz]

I just got off the phone to say I have an job starting for me on Monday (been out of work for 7 months so I'm really happy right now!) So yeah I'll preorder mine now as well!

[Asirt]

For those who don't already know this, if you're planning on preordering the Blu-ray box set at amazon.co.jp, you're out of luck. They took the page out of their site, and for a time had "This item is currently not available" displayed. The other option at the moment is CDJapan, but you'll have to pay about $250 dollars instead of the $200 on Amazon Japan.

As for me, I've already made my preorder, despite me not having a Blu-ray player yet. I plan on seeing how things go in the Fall with more players and movies for Blu-ray coming out before I decide on which player I want.