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Gladiator Blu Ray Exchange Program FYI

J

JerryL

Well-known member
I just came across this- in case anyone here didn't already know about this...

The original BR disc image quality is pretty mediocre- have a look here- in particular notice how the original one features hard edges- look at the staff/ candle pole in the middle of the screen- look at the ghosting next to it- and look at how it disappears in the remastered- that kind of artifact is typical of too much edge enhancement.

http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/68257/picture:0#

I read about the exchange program at The Digital Bits (one of my favorite websites since probably 1997)

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa182.html#070810

All right... now for that awesome Gladiator news. If you've been reading any of the A/V enthusiast forums in the last 24 hours or so, you may now be aware that Universal has just released the new remastered Gladiator Blu-ray in Holland. Fans will know that the previous U.S. Blu-ray release - a DreamWorks title distributed by Paramount, with elements provided by Universal - featured a (shall we say) somewhat disappointing and recycled high-def transfer. Let me rephrase that: It was an extremely disappointing transfer. Well... the good news is that a brand new 4K transfer of the film was done several months ago with fresh elements, and the title has been re-authored to include it. It's this new transfer that's now available on Blu-ray in Europe, and early word is it's spectacular. Here's a link to a good online screenshot comparison of the new and old Blu-rays. (The first image that appears is the old Blu-ray - roll your cursor over it to see the same shot on the new Blu-ray). As expected, the difference is pretty shocking. You see? There IS a real quality difference when a studio spends a little extra money on the A/V presentation of a Blu-ray to get it right.

Anyway, word (and visual proof of) the new transfer appearing on Blu-ray in Holland has resulted in hundreds of concerned U.S. Gladiator fans e-mailing us in the last day or so, understandably hoping/pleading/begging for any information as to when they might be able to get their hands on the new disc here in the States. So here's the AWESOME news: Paramount Home Entertainment is about to initiate an exchange program for anyone who would like to swap their previous GladiatorBlu-ray for an otherwise identical disc with the new transfer. Here's their official statement:

"We are implementing a limited exchange program. This program is only for those consumers that may have preferential issues with some of the technical DVNR (digital video noise reduction) and EE (edge enhancement) choices made in the original source transfer, and so would prefer to exchange it for one that addresses those preferences in a different manner.

While the version that we originally distributed was of the highest quality, some enthusiasts may prefer to view it without the Edge Enhancement and DVNR implemented as standard process in bringing the film to hi-def. This new master resolves those issues."

[Editor's Note: You can call Paramount Home Entertainment's UPDATED customer service hotline number (888-889-9456 - give them a couple days to get things together) to arrange the swap. Replacement discs will be available soon. For those in the U.S. and Canada who don't yet own the disc, a running production change has been initiated, so future copies shipped to retailers will include the new transfer. Rest assured, we'll post details as to exactly how you'll be able to identify the new discs (likely via some kind of packaging marking) when they start becoming available in stores in the coming weeks. And for those of you in other countries around the world, the new disc is being gradually rolled out in each region, so contact your local distributor for the details.

On behalf of Gladiator and Blu-ray fans everywhere, I'd like to send out a big BitsTHANK YOU to everyone involved in the decision to do the new transfer, to those talented mastering wizards involved in the actual work (for a job well done!), and to the folks at Paramount for implementing their exchange program. THAT'S how you do right by your customers, and it's very much appreciated.]
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It may just be based on what I am used to seeing, but those new caps looks like someone shot the film under florescent warehouse lights. To make matters worse, as is best illustrated by #6, all fine detail seems to go flying out the window at warp speed. So, if those screenshots are supposed to be representative, then I could not be more unimpressed.
 
I will get the disc and do a comparison. The detail youre seeing disappearing I believe is excessive EE but who knows. I didnt do the captures.
 
Transepoch said:
It may just be based on what I am used to seeing, but those new caps looks like someone shot the film under florescent warehouse lights. To make matters worse, as is best illustrated by #6, all fine detail seems to go flying out the window at warp speed. So, if those screenshots are supposed to be representative, then I could not be more unimpressed.
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It is exactly what you are used to seeing, and that's the issue -- so many disks these days are over-processed and no longer look like movies but like videos. Here the original has tons of digital noise reduction that not only removed any digital noise, but also nearly all the original film grain. If you look at the new versions (and you have to ignore the colors because that is notoriously inconsistent in screen captures), you can see that all that luscious film grain has been restored (meaning that the images look like they were shot on film not on video) along with a fair amount of fine image detail.
 
The other (entirely unrelated) thing I'd mention about Gladiator, for the R4 DVD version anyway, is the Kaleidescape movie db does not recognize it! I need to loan it to K for bookmarking, which I'm doing.
 
Thats Great that your going to load yours. I could not believe when I put the BD in and it was not recognize it. I thought what a huge bummer. :(
 
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