Beauty and the Beast -- Blu-Ray

[Tarheel_]

So, over the last few months I've watched about 10-15 blu-rays on my 120" screen with a 720p projector. I have for the most part been underwhelmed on the video portion (maybe its the 720 thing).

Anyway, yesterday I picked up this movie at BB for $25. I have 5 & 7 year old girls and they love this movie so it was a no-brainer.

Within the first 5 mins my jaw was on the floor! I mean the color leaps from the screen, The images have so much depth that I doubt going 3D on this will add much. The audio was so detailed...as we picked up on small nuances like wind blowing or metal scrapping. And trust me, we've listened to this movie a dozen times via legacy DD.

The package is a 3 disc set with a standard DVD, an extras disc, and the movie disc itself (3 versions).

For those who have some interest and want to see what blu-ray can do for your experience I highly recommend this set.

[audio amateur]

The Disney Cartoon? Maybe because it looks good because it's a cartoon?

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

The Disney Cartoon? Maybe because it looks good because it's a cartoon?

AA, Beauty and the Beast is an animation feature, not a cartoon. Cartoons are made expressly for television, animation can be made for both. Cartoons are strictly a 2D process, while animation is a 3D process(not to be mistaken for a 3D presentation).

Animation can be expanded to 3D, cartoons cannot.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

So, over the last few months I've watched about 10-15 blu-rays on my 120" screen with a 720p projector. I have for the most part been underwhelmed on the video portion (maybe its the 720 thing).

Anyway, yesterday I picked up this movie at BB for $25. I have 5 & 7 year old girls and they love this movie so it was a no-brainer.

Within the first 5 mins my jaw was on the floor! I mean the color leaps from the screen, The images have so much depth that I doubt going 3D on this will add much. The audio was so detailed...as we picked up on small nuances like wind blowing or metal scrapping. And trust me, we've listened to this movie a dozen times via legacy DD.

The package is a 3 disc set with a standard DVD, an extras disc, and the movie disc itself (3 versions).

For those who have some interest and want to see what blu-ray can do for your experience I highly recommend this set.

Tarheel, we did an extensive restoration on Beauty, both on the video and audio side. Terry Cole and I went back to the original elements and created a completely new soundtrack from scratch, rather than using elements from the DVD and dressing them up.

[kevlarus]

Tarheel, we did an extensive restoration on Beauty, both on the video and audio side. Terry Cole and I went back to the original elements and created a completely new soundtrack from scratch, rather than using elements from the DVD and dressing them up.

Personally, I think is precisely what makes some blu-rays a better end product than others. I've read some reviews where people were not "blown away" when comparing the DVD to the blu version in vision or sound.

I think going back to the original work and "regenerating" the source from which to produce a blu-ray makes all the difference in the world rather than going back to what was taken to produce a DVD version of it. I suspect (I don't know for sure) that the DVD source is superior in the specs than that required for DVD but may not be far removed from the blu-ray specs.

Is there a difference between processing 2K vs 4K (video) source material when producing a blu-ray spec final product ?

[recoveryone]

TT, I was watching the story of Pixar the other night ( I recommend it), I was just wondering if you were in some of the scenes of the documentary...lol

side note, if you are able to view this documentary in Full HD, you will be thrilled with the cut scenes from the various movies by Pixar.

[Mr Peabody]

Tarheel, have you seen Prince of Persia yet? That's a stunning soundtrack as well. Thanks for the info, I have had B&tB on DVD for a long time and didn't plan to get the BD but if it's that much better I will have to pick it up, every one in my family likes it. I wonder if there is a single disc version, don't really need another DVD copy.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Anyone who thinks The BATB Bluray looks like the DVD is either blind as hell now, or could not see well in the first place. Haters said the same thing about Toy story, and a direct comparison would end that foolishness right away.

[audio amateur]

Sir T, we're talking about Disney's Beauty and the Beast that came out in 1991? That's not animation as I know it (Toy Story, Ratatouille etc..) so why are you saying it's animation?
Tarheel didn't mention anything about 3D. Has it come out in 3D?

I'm not questioning what you say just trying to understand

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Sir T, we're talking about Disney's Beauty and the Beast that came out in 1991? That's not animation as I know it (Toy Story, Ratatouille etc..) so why are you saying it's animation?
Tarheel didn't mention anything about 3D. Has it come out in 3D?

I'm not questioning what you say just trying to understand

AA, you seemed to be making a common mistake when differentiating between a cartoon and animation. While Beauty and the Beast is generally hand drawn(with CG doing the more complex environments of the movie), it is combined with the CG elements in a 3D fashion much the same as Toy Story and Ratatouille. 3D in this case meaning it is rendered with depth, and there are depth cues within the 2D environment. All animation is rendered in 3D even if it is not designed for 3D viewing. This is why animation is so easy to convert to 3D, as the spatial cues are already there, and just need to be pulled apart.

Cartoons are strictly flat 2D renderings with no spatial cues whatsoever. They can never be converted to 3D effectively because no depth perspective is drawn in. To simulate depth, they usually just make the background smaller. Great eye trick(and pretty effective) but not real 3D depth.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Personally, I think is precisely what makes some blu-rays a better end product than others. I've read some reviews where people were not "blown away" when comparing the DVD to the blu version in vision or sound.

Those reviewers need to check the calibration of both their display and their sound systems. Secondly the only way to compare the DVD to the Bluray is by butterflying both side by side, and I know of very few people that can do that. Our visual memory is just as unreliable as our auditory memory.

I think going back to the original work and "regenerating" the source from which to produce a blu-ray makes all the difference in the world rather than going back to what was taken to produce a DVD version of it. I suspect (I don't know for sure) that the DVD source is superior in the specs than that required for DVD but may not be far removed from the blu-ray specs.

Is there a difference between processing 2K vs 4K (video) source material when producing a blu-ray spec final product ?

The answer to your last question is you may see a little more crispness and a bit more detail going 4K, but there is a point of diminishing returns if the movie isn't shot at a higher resolution.

[audio amateur]

AA, you seemed to be making a common mistake when differentiating between a cartoon and animation. While Beauty and the Beast is generally hand drawn(with CG doing the more complex environments of the movie), it is combined with the CG elements in a 3D fashion much the same as Toy Story and Ratatouille. 3D in this case meaning it is rendered with depth, and there are depth cues within the 2D environment. All animation is rendered in 3D even if it is not designed for 3D viewing. This is why animation is so easy to convert to 3D, as the spatial cues are already there, and just need to be pulled apart.

Cartoons are strictly flat 2D renderings with no spatial cues whatsoever. They can never be converted to 3D effectively because no depth perspective is drawn in. To simulate depth, they usually just make the background smaller. Great eye trick(and pretty effective) but not real 3D depth.

I just watched a clip of the film on youtube and now completely understand, thanks to your explanation.

[L.J.]

If anyone's interested, I printed up a $10 off coupon from Disney via a link posted in the deals section at Bluray.com. Came to $12.99, purchased at Toys R Us. Best buy would not honor the coupon but Toys R Us did no problem.

[Woochifer]

Picked up this one last week as well. Exemplary job all the way around, and my three-year old daughter was totally transfixed. I'd read that they rerendered the CGI backgrounds, which I thought blended in really well.

I originally saw this movie in 70mm multiple times (my GF at that time was addicted to this movie, so we went from one showcase theater to another all over California in search of 70mm screenings), and the Blu-ray revealed some visual nuances that I'd never picked up on before. It also revealed some inconsistencies in the animation (just instances where a character looks like it was drawn sharper in one scene than another). I've seen this in other Blu-rays as well, and that's probably just a reflection of the hand-made nature of these films and what's actually on the original cels.

Within the first 5 mins my jaw was on the floor! I mean the color leaps from the screen, The images have so much depth that I doubt going 3D on this will add much. The audio was so detailed...as we picked up on small nuances like wind blowing or metal scrapping. And trust me, we've listened to this movie a dozen times via legacy DD.

If you're looking for a reference quality traditional 2D animated feature, I think Princess and the Frog is about as good as it gets. (Sleeping Beauty is also a jaw dropping visual experience) The visuals on that movie are as stunning as anything I've seen yet.

If anyone's interested, I printed up a $10 off coupon from Disney via a link posted in the deals section at Bluray.com. Came to $12.99, purchased at Toys R Us. Best buy would not honor the coupon but Toys R Us did no problem.

If you're a Disney Movie Rewards member, they also got a $10 off coupon, which I did redeem at Best Buy. That coupon expires tomorrow.

[Tarheel_]

Tarheel, we did an extensive restoration on Beauty, both on the video and audio side. Terry Cole and I went back to the original elements and created a completely new soundtrack from scratch, rather than using elements from the DVD and dressing them up.

Holding a cold beer in the air for you Sir TT...you guys knocked this out of the park. We followed up the first viewing with a small kids party Friday night and all of them were locked onto the film.

I'm more of an audio guy so i really dug deep into this one. ??? Did you add sound effects to the original? Example, toward the beginning, Belle is laying in a field of dandylions...as they dance in the wind, we actually hear the wind blowing softly. I cannot recall that effect from earlier versions.

[Tarheel_]

If you're looking for a reference quality traditional 2D animated feature, I think Princess and the Frog is about as good as it gets. (Sleeping Beauty is also a jaw dropping visual experience) The visuals on that movie are as stunning as anything I've seen yet.

Thanks,,,I may have to pick this one up.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Holding a cold beer in the air for you Sir TT...you guys knocked this out of the park. We followed up the first viewing with a small kids party Friday night and all of them were locked onto the film.

I'm more of an audio guy so i really dug deep into this one. ??? Did you add sound effects to the original? Example, toward the beginning, Belle is laying in a field of dandylions...as they dance in the wind, we actually hear the wind blowing softly. I cannot recall that effect from earlier versions.

We didn't add anything Tarheel, it was there all the time buried in the mix, and covered by noise. All we did was get denoise the soundtrack, and adjust the levels of some effects to bring them out of the mix.