I was just wondering what all of you think about Superbit DVDs.

If you don't know what they are, Sony releases some of its movies and films on DVD where all of the space is dedicated to the Movie.

There is no commentary track. There are no documentaries, deleted scenes, or trailers. There aren't even animated menus.

All of the space is dedicated to the video and the audio. There are usually only two audio tracks. A Dolby Digital 5.1 track and DTS 5.1 track. There are also subtitles but that is it. They really go after quality on these.

So is it worth it? Do you go after Superbit instead of the Special Edition with extra features?

I am a supporter of Superbit. I think it is a great idea. I know that I usually only watch extras once while I watch the film or movie more then once. Therefore I want the movie to be the best quality possible. They are beginning to have extras included with Superbit (Superbit Deluxe) with the extras on the second disc.

So far I have bought xXx, The Mask of Zorro, Lawrence of Arabia, and Panic Room on Superbit DVD.

I hope they release more of their titles in Superbit in the future.

http://www.sonypictures.com/cthe/superbit/)

Depends on the movie I guess. :) SOme movies like Star Wars, Matrix, and Pirates of the carribean, you would probably wnat all the cool extras. ;)

it also has a limited library to choose from since it can only be columbia/tri star movies and films since superbit is done by sony

Did I miss something? Thinks superbit

Why can't they just stick to normal dvds, it's confusing enough already :P ah technology...everything will get better and people will want more, making everything obsolete.. I find DVD to be of great quality already instead of crappy vcr, and I like extras. (and what the superbit deluxe they just release a 2 cd one..there are several dvds with the movie on 1 and extras on 2, i dont get the difference) Normal please!

Well, it's a good idea if you have the equipment to take advantage of the extra data being streamed.
If you have a true High-Def widescreen TV coupled with a progressive scan player with component-video outs, then it's probably great... otherwise it seems like overkill on lesser systems... most people aren't getting anything near the full quality that regular DVDs are capable of on thier equipment right now, let alone the video quality that Superbit is capable of, so it seems like a bit of a waste of time to me.

And Blue-Ray DVD disks and players are right around the corner anyway... they will be able to hold over 5 times more data, so it will be a bit of a non-issue when these machines begin to become mainstream. You'll be able to have video quality that far, far exceeds Superbit with all of the extras and dozens of audio tracks, and still not fill the disk.

I would say no. I mean, regular DVD quality is already so good, why would it need to be better? And I really enjoy watching the extras, behind the scenes, commentaries, and whatnot.

edlib brings up a good point. it all depends on the equipment used to watch the movies and films. if you have a home theater system and large tv you can tell the difference and superbit is a lot better

Yeah,.. I'm always hearing stories about people spending tons of money on top-of-the-line DVD players, surround systems, and super-expensive Monster Cable for everything, and then hooking them up to 10 or 15 year old 20" TVs... kinda missing the point.

A guy I work with has a whole state-of-the-art home theater setup and just got high-definition digital cable, and you can really see and hear a difference. It's sooooooo sweet! I'm jealous... but then he spent thousands to get there.

Someday...

In general i think they are a complete con. It's just yet another way of getting people to buy the same film after they have already bought the normal edition, the special edition, the ultimate edition etc.... :mad:

In some cases the video might be noticeably better (if you have the equipment to tell the difference, which most don't), and if you have the equipment then it might be worth it for the DTS soundtrack (if the other versions don't have it).

Otherwise I would totally base the decision on reviews. Just cos somehitng is a higher bitrate doesn't necessarilly make it better quality. Depends on the source, the mastering etc... Some "normal" dvds have "superbit level" bitrates anyway (LOTR SEs).

I don't often get around to watching the extras, but even so I would probably prefer that option to the superbit unless I read a review that the normal version had problems that the superbit fixed.