Hurin

You might want to have them checked. Sounds like a "torsion." H

So, I assume then that these don't have anti-UV glass? I was thinking of getting a display case. But I'd like anti-UV built-in. Are there any cases out there with such a thing that are affordable? H

Well crap! Now we have to start over.

Regarding doing this on a Mac. I think equivalent software exists. Though I don't know what it is or if it will cost you anything. You should be able to get equivalent results with any DVD decrypting/extracting software. . . and you can hopefully find some DVD authoring software that will import one or both of the file formats of the script editing files I provide in the ZIP. At that point, it's just a questions of tweaking and formatting the lines. . .. H

Having read this, I now have no idea what we're supposed to be talking about. H

Well, as with any brand, they make high-end and low-end stuff. Yes, there are Sony TVs that suck. But I'm pretty sure that Philips is making a TV right now that I could say sucked as well. It's really all about the value. Which TV sucks less for the money!?!

Bah! That was before the girlfriend moved in! Now there's candles, coasters, doily-like things, and the Raiders of the Lost Ark poster has been replaced with a friggin' cat!!! H

Well, I count myself as a widescreen TV owner, even though, when you first look at my TV, it's a 4:3 set. My TV does a "anamorphic widescreen mode." So, I actually have my DVD player set up so that it thinks it's sending out a signal to a widescreen TV, so it sends out the anamorphic signal. My TV's widescreen mode essentially turns the TV into a widescreen TV. Its raster actually squeezes down so that anamorphic widescreen movies display correctly while still using all lines of resolution. Unlike regular 4:3 TVs without anamorphic widescreen mode that actually have to use some of its lines of resolution to draw black bars above and below the image, my TV just isn't drawing anything for the black bars. All its capabilities are going into the actual film, just as a more conventional looking 16:9 TV would do. The same goes for HD material. It's really the best of both worlds. Standard TV fills the whole screen without distortion. . . and yet "widescreen enhanced/anamorphic" DVDs play back in all their glory. Another way to put it is: If I put my TV in this widescreen mode (one push of a button), and saw off the upper and lower portions of the screen. . . it would be a widescreen TV. Though, I'd need to do some finishing work on the sawed off edges! But I agree with you. Once you have a kick-ass home theater system, it's hard to watch movies or anything else at a friend's house ever again if they aren't similarly equipped. And just because I love it so. . .

I tried three 36" Wega tubes before I settled on the Sony KP-53HS10 (which is now discontinued). I'd urge you to stay away from tubes that large. Color purity in the corners (pink glows, etc.) is tough to get on a tube that big. Anything over 32", and I strongly recommend a rear-projection TV (RPTV). When I finally turned away from tubes, I realized that I could get a bigger picture and actually use less space than a tube like the Wega. my 53" Sony RPTV isn't any "deeper" (pokes out from the wall) than the 36" tube. And, well, it's 53" vs only 36". . . and I was able to take it apart, align the optics, adjust the electronic and mechanical focus, etc. You can't do that on a tube. Of course, you can now get LCD-based RPTVs. But CRT-based RPTVs still provide superior video quality (especially in dark scenes). A lot of people are caught up in the "flat" craze too. But nothing looks quite as good as a well-tuned CRT-based RPTV. Well, actually, nothing looks better than a CRT tube. But, those are size-limited. But really, if you don't care much for picture quality, I wouldn't recommend Sony at all. . . just wander down to Costco and pick up whatever is cheapest! But, once you see a well-tuned home theater system playing widescreen anamorphic DVDs or High-Def (HD) material, you'll never want to watch on anything else ever again. H

That's exactly the type of attitude I'm trying to facilitate. You shouldn't have to care. But the person mastering the DVD needs to. . . or things will looked borked. H

so, is there a blank option? Cuz I'm noticing people are voting for a non-existent option. Anyways, guys. . . I'm trying to get everyone DYRL with the best possible subtitles on the best possible video source with the best possible presentation. It does matter to some people. So, I thought I'd ask. And the type of TV used (especially aspect ratio) matters a lot in how the DVD profile is configured. H

If you have more than one, choose your primary TV where you get the best experience. This poll will be useful to me because it will help me decide how to format subtitles and menus for the resubtitled DVDs on which I'm working.

I'm pretty sure that the Vader in that new poster still has girly hands. H

Sorry if this has been mentioned before. This thread is long and I stopped reading about 2/3 down. I'd go with subtitles. But I'd also look on this as an opportunity to possibly interest my child in another language! One of the greatest gifts you could give a child is the ability to speak two languages fluently from an early age. Children have the ability to grasp the subtleties of linguistic nuance almost through osmosis in a way that adults can't seem to replicate. So, maybe use this as an opportunity to introduce your child to Japanese. . . and perhaps start learning Japanese as a family? I could also see turning off subtitles altogether at first, and then adding them later as an incentive to learn how to read (english) as a possibility too! H

I'm sorry I can't help. . . but I would like to offer encouragment! I'm sure I'm not the only one eagerly awaiting the results of your efforts! Model box art is usually the best Macross mecha art available! I can't wait to see them! H

The opening menu (when you actually see it since the DVD jumpes straight to the movie by default), is exactly the same as the fx one and takes you to the same extras: A few trailers and/or promotional pieces about the movie (in Japanese of course). There is the closing concert/credits scene from Flashback. I was hoping for a less jarring transition to this footage in the official Bandai/Emotion DVD. . . but it looks exactly the same as the fx DVD. (disclaimer: I really dislike the concert footage. I just seems too "tacked on" to me and both the animation style and video quality don't mesh well with the rest of the film.) H

Hmmmm, talent-less dramatic actor with huge ego who won an oscar as a directory and then managed to ruin every project he's since been in with his monstrously large ego. vs comic actor who constantly tells everyone he doesn't belong in Hollywood and he's expecting everyone to discover he's a fraud and have him kicked out of show business (Farrell has said this in just about every interview I've ever seen him do). Yeah, the similarities are astounding. So, they're turning Miami Vice into a comedy like they did Starsky and Hutch? H I don't care what they say... I never listen to actor interviews anyway. They are similar because they are viod of personality. I can't imagine you are a CF fan so why the hell do you care what my comparison of him is? Oh crap. My mistake, I suck. I thought we were talking about Will Farrel (Anchorman, Elf, Zoolander, etc.). Not Colin. My apologies. I misunderstood. In light of this, your comparison was apt. H

It's even funnier because he gave it to himself.

Hmmmm, talent-less dramatic actor with huge ego who won an oscar as a directory and then managed to ruin every project he's since been in with his monstrously large ego. vs comic actor who constantly tells everyone he doesn't belong in Hollywood and he's expecting everyone to discover he's a fraud and have him kicked out of show business (Farrell has said this in just about every interview I've ever seen him do). Yeah, the similarities are astounding. So, they're turning Miami Vice into a comedy like they did Starsky and Hutch? H

Nope, it's a bootleg. But it's a very good quality bootleg. It's the only one you should really consider if you don't have a Region 2 DVD player. H

Did you see the "outtakes" episode of Chappelle where he showed "Playa Haters Travel Through Time?" That was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Mostly because of Charlie Murphy and how they pointed out his "preparation" for the scene. Why it didn't make the "cut" for a regular episode, I have no idea. But according to Chappelle, it just didn't "make sense". . . which in my view made it funnier. H

Yes. Quite true. If a correlary idiomatic expression can be found, it should be used. Thanks for pointing that out! H

First, if it is playing okay, I wouldn't clean it. But if you must, find a very soft cloth (fluffy T-shirt or something like that). . . and then just use water. Wipe from the center --> out. Do not wipe in circles along what would be the grooves if it were an old-style LP record. Just found this link. You might find it useful. H

It's a pressed DVD-ROM that is dual-layer. H