Superbit DVD Price Break

[Woochifer]

Looks like that $10 price on the Superbit DVDs at Best Buy is not just a sale price, but the new price point for all of the Sony Superbit DVDs, including the Superbit Deluxe editions that come with the second bonus features disc. All Superbit DVDs come with increased video bitrates and DTS soundtracks, along with extended language subtitles. Most of them are movie-only discs, but at $10 a pop, that's actually cheaper than most of the other movie-only DVDs out there, and the Superbit DVDs typically sport outstanding video and sound quality. Definitely worth considering, even without any other of the other bonus features included.

I don't know if this price rollback has made its way to other stores yet, nor do I have any idea if this represents a clearance/closeout price for Sony's Superbit lineup. Some of the titles I saw in the store today retagged at $10 include:

Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Lawrence of Arabia
Guns of Navarone
Johnny Pneumonic
Once Upon A Time In Mexico
S.W.A.T.
The Patriot
Heavy Metal
Vertical Limit
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Men In Black
Black Hawk Down
The Missing
Underworld
Resident Evil
Seven Years In Tibet
Bad Boys
Air Force One
XXX
The Big Hit
The Mask of Zorro
Legends of the Fall

A few months ago, Sony released brand new editions of The Fifth Element and Leon: The Professional that repackaged the previously released Superbit DVD with a new bonus feature disc. These new two-disc editions had a lower list price than the previously released Superbit movie-only editions. I've not seen this treatment done with any of Sony's other Superbit titles, but with the price rollback on the existing Superbit titles, maybe it points to newer two-disc versions in the works?

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

This all depends on availability. I went to BB last tuesday and found a few superbit titles and purchased those I found interesting. Because of the way they display superbit titles(all over the place) it really difficult to know exactly what they have in stock.

I have a feeling this sale is to push stock and prepare for the upcoming high definition formats.

[L.J.]

[QUOTE=Sir Terrence the Terrible]This all depends on availability. I went to BB last tuesday and found a few superbit titles and purchased those I found interesting. Because of the way they display superbit titles(all over the place) it really difficult to know exactly what they have in stock.

Same with the BB in my area. I haven't seen even half of those listed titles. I'm gonna go today and see if I get my hands on a couple of em.

[Defshep]

Okay, I couldn't keep myself away from Best Buy when I read about the Superbit DVD sale. They have a nice selection, all the SB titles, I think. It's weird that there was nothing in the local ad in the paper mentioning the deals. And the staff wasn't able to tell me when the $9.99 sale would end.
As I was checking out the titles, I wondered if it would be worth buying these editions if I currently own Spiderman, Spiderman 2, Black Hawk Down, Resident Evil, and The Patriot (2000 w/ Mel Gibson). How do the picture & DTS audio tracks compare to the previous prints and Dolby 5.1 surround versions I already own? I must say that I do prefer DTS to DD on most occasions, but I don't know how the awesome DD soundtrack in Black Hawk Down could get much better! Just looking for comparisons. Is it worth the extra dough for these films in particular?
Thanks!

P.S. I don't own Air Force One on DVD, so this may be the version to get.

[L.J.]

I went to BB today and they must have just stocked their shelves. Not only did they have all the titles listed by Woochifer, I saw at least ten more not on that list. I picked up about six titles to add to my library. I love DTS. I already had about 5 of the listed SB titles that I got from sony through a rewards program.

[GMichael]

Best Buy huh? I'll have to take the long way home from work.

[Lexmark3200]

Indeed the truth; this sale is supposed to last until September 3 or so, and I had picked up MEN IN BLACK from the local BB here in Sin City for the $9.99 asking price; on my list of replacement titles (when I get around to getting back there) are:

-BAD BOYS
-BAD BOYS II
-THE PATRIOT
-JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES

....all of which I have the original Columbia standard releases of.....interesting note though, as I had posted this information on another site I am senior DVD reviewer for, when you go on Best Buy's website, some of the titles are coming up as 22 bucks or so or more----like VAMPIRES, which I would never pay that kind of money for; so we need to physically go into these stores and verify if they're all $9.99 because I dont trust that website.....

Time to start replacing these titles with their Superbit DTS counterparts!

[L.J.]

Indeed the truth; this sale is supposed to last until September 3 or so, and I had picked up MEN IN BLACK from the local BB here in Sin City for the $9.99 asking price; on my list of replacement titles (when I get around to getting back there) are:

-BAD BOYS
-BAD BOYS II
-THE PATRIOT
-JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES

....all of which I have the original Columbia standard releases of.....interesting note though, as I had posted this information on another site I am senior DVD reviewer for, when you go on Best Buy's website, some of the titles are coming up as 22 bucks or so or more----like VAMPIRES, which I would never pay that kind of money for; so we need to physically go into these stores and verify if they're all $9.99 because I dont trust that website.....

Time to start replacing these titles with their Superbit DTS counterparts!



Do you really think it's worth it, to replace existing titles with superbit titles? Juz wondering.

[Lexmark3200]

Do you really think it's worth it, to replace existing titles with superbit titles? Juz wondering.

Well, because I am a DTS enthusiast and junkie, to me, the soundtrack upgrade would be worth the $9.99 alone for each of these titles; besides, I can easily sell the standard ones I replace and make some money back....

Do you not believe in upgrading to Superbit titles?

[L.J.]

Well, because I am a DTS enthusiast and junkie, to me, the soundtrack upgrade would be worth the $9.99 alone for each of these titles; besides, I can easily sell the standard ones I replace and make some money back....

Do you not believe in upgrading to Superbit titles?

I juz wanted to make sure there was some people as crazy as me out there. I will probably only do titles that I watch often.

[Lexmark3200]

I juz wanted to make sure there was some people as crazy as me out there. I will probably only do titles that I watch often.

Oh yeah, Im that crazy when it comes to DVD.....and yes, these titles I do watch often and like, so I will replace them eventually before this sale ends.

[L.J.]

Oh yeah, Im that crazy when it comes to DVD.....and yes, these titles I do watch often and like, so I will replace them eventually before this sale ends.

You should have saw the look on my wife's face as I tried to make her understand why I needed to replace existing DVD's. She eventually got the point when I converted it into shoe shopping and finding shoes she loved for 9.99 a pop.

[Lexmark3200]

You should have saw the look on my wife's face as I tried to make her understand why I needed to replace existing DVD's. She eventually got the point when I converted it into shoe shopping and finding shoes she loved for 9.99 a pop.

LOL.....this will happen......

[toenail]

Is there a marked improvement in PQ with superbit versions? I ask because new to me HDTV doesn't always do so well with standard DVD and I would replace a few of my titles with superbit if I thought the PQ would improve.

[Lexmark3200]

Is there a marked improvement in PQ with superbit versions? I ask because new to me HDTV doesn't always do so well with standard DVD and I would replace a few of my titles with superbit if I thought the PQ would improve.

Toe,

Please take a look at some of my Superbit reviews over in the FAVORITE FILMS forum.....

[Woochifer]

Is there a marked improvement in PQ with superbit versions? I ask because new to me HDTV doesn't always do so well with standard DVD and I would replace a few of my titles with superbit if I thought the PQ would improve.

That would depend on the title in question, and your TV. The only Superbit title I have where I noticed a huge improvement in the picture quality was Lawrence of Arabia. But, on that title, in addition to the higher bitrate, Columbia also brought in Robert Harris to supervise the DVD transfer. Harris supervised the original 1989 65mm negative restoration, but was not invited back to participate in the original DVD transfer. For the Superbit release, Harris rebalanced the colors and noticeably improved the overall look of the image.

Others who swear by Superbit have said that you won't notice the benefit of Superbit all that much unless you use a calibrated large screen TV. My TV is calibrated, but it's a 32" analog set, so the benefit in my case has been more limited on the picture front. But, the other benefit is with the inclusion of the DTS soundtracks. Again, the difference that you hear will vary from title to title. Given that a lot of poorly done movie-only DVDs sell for more than $10, these $10 Superbit titles will at least give you a well done transfer with a DTS soundtrack for no more than the price of a run-of-the-mill DVD release.