Wilco tells fans not to waste $$$ on their Blu Ray

[watchtower41]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog...-save-your.html

 

 

This has caused quite a bit of stir up over at Hi Def Digest http://forums.highdefdigest.com/high-defin...ur-blu-ray.html

After reading the article, it seems like the fellas are more pissed that it is being released without their consent and the upcharge of doubling the pricetag. Perhaps they won't recieve royalties either? Maybe Jeff is so sick of the references from this film, he loathes the fact that it is being brought to attention again?

One thing is for certain, "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" will no doubt look and sound better than it ever has or will on Blu Ray, no matter what the original source material was. The uninformed comments is what really got people going on this topic, but I hadn't seen anything about it over here so I thought I'd be the first to share....

 

 

Can't wait to see this masterpiece on Blu!

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

from the latest Wilco HQ email:

 

Also, we have a CONSUMER ALERT. Without consulting us, the DVD company (not WB/Nonesuch) that released "I am trying to break your heart" is about to issue a Blu-Ray Edition which, no surprise, costs considerably more (nearly 2x) than the standard DVD. We're unsure as to the rationale for the release, given that the film was shot in beautiful grainy B&W and has a stereo-only audio track... there is, in our opinion, not much to be gained by spending the extra cash. It's your money... and in this case you should probably hang onto it.

[mfwahl]

Will you also be voting for McCain?

[watchtower41]

from the latest Wilco HQ email:

 

 

right, and it's easy to understand why they are pissed if they did not have to give permission, but to think this film is not gonna look or sound better is being somewhat ignorant. Of course I don't know the underlying issues here, but they should be psyched, this is gonna do a lot for them by reaching out to people that may have not heard that much out of them before. This will be a day 1 buy for me without a doubt.

 

What does this have anything to do with McCain?

[Spawn's dad]

One thing is for certain, "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" will no doubt look and sound better than it ever has or will on Blu Ray, no matter what the original source material was.

 

 

why?

[tugmoose]

Of course I don't know the underlying issues here, but they should be psyched, this is gonna do a lot for them by reaching out to people that may have not heard that much out of them before.

Are people who will only buy bluray gonna be dazzled by really, really sharp black and white grains? Will Jeff's puke actually stain your carpet?

[aricandover]

Are people who will only buy bluray gonna be dazzled by really, really sharp black and white grains? Will Jeff's puke actually stain your carpet?

 

you get to do the coke that Jay Bennett talked about.

[jff]

wow, there are some real lame-asses on that hi-def forum.

[watchtower41]

why?

 

 

This is not a knock on you, Wilco, or anybody else for that matter, but I'm gonna take it for granted that you havent seen a movie on Blu Ray. It's all good, most people have not besides seeing a few minutes within a store. For starters, there has yet to be a Blu Ray released that doesnt look better than it's standard definition(480i) dvd counterpart. Grain does not equal low resolution, and when a film is transferred to Blu Ray it is treated with the the highest resolution (1080p) allowing for shaprer and more vivid imagery, videos that will "pop" of the screen. This also has the ability to get upgraded with sound by either transfering to lossless, or maybe even get a PCM stereo track.

 

 

The original article was just updated:

 

UPDATE: Plexifilm co-founder Gary Hustwit e-mailed in a response to Wilco's statement. He says that the Blu-ray carries a higher list price because it costs more to make, and that there are added licensing costs to manufacture discs in the format. Additionally, Hustwit says, the quality of the film is significantly greater in Blu-ray.

 

Wrote Hustwit, "If you've got a film that was shot on super-16mm, like the Wilco film, a high-definition transfer on Blu-ray disc is going to look better than a standard-definition transfer compressed to DVD. Watching the Blu-ray disc is the closest you can get to actually sitting in a theater and watching the original film.... But we want to release our films in the best available format, and Blu-ray is just better than DVD, period."

[imdwalrus]

I've never heard of this band but they sound like drooling nitwits!

 

Because they're stupid and have no idea what they are talking about?

 

 

 

I've never agreed with a post more in my life.

 

This dude Fettastic has it in all the right places! I like the cut of his Boba Fett mask.

[jff]

videos that will "pop" of the screen.

 

Is that desirable?

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Don't sit too close to your TV--it's all fun and games until one of Jay Bennett's dreadlocks pokes you in the eye.

[bleedorange]

I'm not sure why either party has an issue with this. For Wilco fans that already have it on DVD, there really is no need to shell out the extra money for it on Blu-Ray since the improvement in picture quality won't be great enough to justify the price.

 

On the other hand, there's no reason not to release it on Blu-Ray, since it will be of higher quality, for those that want to complete a library or new fans since the movie's release. Every movie should get a hi-def transfer and blu-ray release.

[Spawn's dad]

This is not a knock on you, Wilco, or anybody else for that matter, but I'm gonna take it for granted that you havent seen a movie on Blu Ray. It's all good, most people have not besides seeing a few minutes within a store. For starters, there has yet to be a Blu Ray released that doesnt look better than it's standard definition(480i) dvd counterpart. Grain does not equal low resolution, and when a film is transferred to Blu Ray it is treated with the the highest resolution (1080p) allowing for shaprer and more vivid imagery, videos that will "pop" of the screen. This also has the ability to get upgraded with sound by either transfering to lossless, or maybe even get a PCM stereo track.

 

 

The original article was just updated:

 

UPDATE: Plexifilm co-founder Gary Hustwit e-mailed in a response to Wilco's statement. He says that the Blu-ray carries a higher list price because it costs more to make, and that there are added licensing costs to manufacture discs in the format. Additionally, Hustwit says, the quality of the film is significantly greater in Blu-ray.

 

Wrote Hustwit, "If you've got a film that was shot on super-16mm, like the Wilco film, a high-definition transfer on Blu-ray disc is going to look better than a standard-definition transfer compressed to DVD. Watching the Blu-ray disc is the closest you can get to actually sitting in a theater and watching the original film.... But we want to release our films in the best available format, and Blu-ray is just better than DVD, period."

 

 

Since I'm voting for McCain because Tweedy said to vote for Obama, I'm going to try and balance out my karma and go

with the big guy on this one. Just say no to blu-ray.

[watchtower41]

Since I'm voting for McCain because Tweedy said to vote for Obama, I'm going to try and balance out my karma and go

with the big guy on this one. Just say no to blu-ray.

 

 

That's too bad, you are missing out on the best of both worlds.

[ction]

Great thread! Hi-fives for all of you.

[the carlos]

damn I already pre-ordered this.

[mastershake]

i think it depends on how the sound turns out on the blu-ray whether it's worth it or not. the sound on the normal dvd is beyond awesome, and i can't see it being that much better on blu-ray unless they put 5.1 dolby digital surround sound on there. Then it truly would be better and would be worth picking up the blu-ray. i'm not sure if Wilco is trying to say that the audio will be the same on the blu-ray or not, but i don't see how that will be the case. i think they might just be a little butthurt that the company is releasing the film without telling them (which is a stupid - they should have told them). however, the video will definitely be clearer, and some people like that sort of thing, especially on a large HDTV. wilco might prefer the rougher standard version as they might see it as more "artsy." it's all a matter of personal preference. if the audio is 5.1 dolby digital (which i thought is standard on blu-ray), then if you have a 5.1 system it would be worthwhile to pick it up and hear the improvement. i love the audio of the DVD and i've been meaning to try to get lossless rips from it but i haven't had spare time to attempt yet.

 

the price is probably pretty substantial (in the range of $30) due to the licensing fees and the fact that they probably don't expect to sell that many copies to cover the fees, so they have to raise the price. Movie blu-rays tend to be released cheaper because they sell so many more copies.

[Spawn's dad]

i'm not sure if Wilco is trying to say that the audio will be the same on the blu-ray or not,

 

 

I'm pretty sure they're saying not to buy it.

[Opuntia]

I just got myself one of those new HDTV's...anyway, for the most part, regular DVD's look like crap on a HDTV, and it's crap because it's stretching a lower resolution image to fit the higher resolution of the HDTV, analogous to enlarging a low resolution jpg image. Some folks say a regular DVD looks better on a non-HD CRT.

 

To me, blu-ray is really just a feature to make moves suitable/watchable on HDTV's, it really is comparable to watching the film in the theater (as far as resolution goes), actually now that I think about, movies are shot in HD anyway and there resolution is lowered for SD DVD.

 

After reading Wilco's email, it does appear that they don't get the purpose of the blu-ray format. If they think the cost is too high, that's fine, that's a complaint that even blu-ray adopters having been making for a while (and a reason why Sony sucks with all their licensing costs!), but the black/white and graininess of the original will still be there.

[mfwahl]

This thread must be for Platinum members. I don't have HD or Blu-Ray.

[mastershake]

I'm pretty sure they're saying not to buy it.

well duh, but what is their reason? is it because they are mad at the company, or because they really think the quality won't be improved with blu-ray? i think it is the former and not the latter - i can see it being much better on blu-ray, in particular the sound which is the most important part of the movie. if you have a blu-ray player and a 5.1 surround sound system then it might be worth checking the blu-ray out.

[Spawn's dad]

[isadorah]

i'm not extremely savvy to this whole Blu Ray thing, but i've noticed that when you watch older movies, especially those not filmed for HD or Blu Ray or whatever you call it these days, the quality isn't better, the grain is more prominent instead and all you see is the grain of the film and that does not equal picture clarity for the high quality you would w or expect. someone else probably said that already though.

[IATTBYB]

well duh, but what is their reason? is it because they are mad at the company, or because they really think the quality won't be improved with blu-ray? i think it is the former and not the latter - i can see it being much better on blu-ray, in particular the sound which is the most important part of the movie. if you have a blu-ray player and a 5.1 surround sound system then it might be worth checking the blu-ray out.

In our recent email blast of 10/28 we discussed the impending release of the film "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" on Blu Ray DVD. It's due out in mid-November. In expressing our reservations about it, conceptually, it appears from a handful of comments that we may have confused the message and a clarification may be in order. Please note that our comments were not in any way intended to be an indictment of the merits of Blu Ray as a technology. On the contrary, for many projects and with careful preparation it appears to be quite a valid (if slightly expensive) enhancement. That said, we'll reiterate that the band were not involved in any way in remastering or otherwise preparing the film for Blu Ray production. That combined with the facts that the film was shot in 16mm b&w and, to our knowledge, the audio was not remastered makes us continue to question whether the potential incremental increase in audio/video quality is worth the price for THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT. For the time being, we're sticking with our caveat emptor.

 

When the new DVD is released, we're going to purchase several copies and ask for a select few volunteers among you, dear readers, to A/B the original DVD release with the Blu Ray to further the discussion. So look for information re: this in the coming weeks. This is one of those rare cases where we'd actually love to be proven wrong.

 

Source: http://wilcoworld.net/news/index.php