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Author Topic:   Space exploration-theme Blu-ray titles
garymilgrom
Member

Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 10-29-2007 12:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for garymilgrom   Click Here to Email garymilgrom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Has anyone found high definition Blu-ray titles of any space-themed footage? I've seen the HDNet disk on "Shuttle Discovery's Historic Mission" and I know 2001: A Space Odyssey will be released shortly, but other than that I'm at a loss.

space4u
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Posts: 323
From: Cleveland, OH USA
Registered: Aug 2006

posted 10-29-2007 02:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for space4u   Click Here to Email space4u     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have two other Blu-ray discs:
  1. Roving Mars -- the IMAX movie

  2. Blue Planet and The Dream is Alive -- Imax movies together on one disc

garymilgrom
Member

Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 10-29-2007 03:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for garymilgrom   Click Here to Email garymilgrom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Where did you purchase these? I would LOVE the IMAX movies on Blu-ray, I have the DVDs and they are terrific films.

space4u
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Posts: 323
From: Cleveland, OH USA
Registered: Aug 2006

posted 10-29-2007 07:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for space4u   Click Here to Email space4u     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The Roving Mars disc was purchased from Best Buy and the Blue Planet/Dream is Alive was purchased at Costco. Both were fairly recent purchases.

Mercury7
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Posts: 360
From: Greenville, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2006

posted 03-05-2008 07:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mercury7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
We recently acquired a large 1080p LCD and a Blu-Ray player for an exhibit in the Mercury7 Science Center trailer. The kids loved it. We looped some footage of the shuttle launches and space scenes from the Dream Is Alive blu-ray disc... really incredible.

I bring this up because it made me realize that with the advent of high resolution displays, video sources that we find acceptable or even good on DVD, look horrific on a high resolution monitor. It is kind of sad really. Only a few set manufacturers are even trying to incorporate circuitry to make the old NTSC system look decent.

I am afraid that all the old footage that we love will be forever lost because I am not sure that any amount of restoration will be good enough. Spacecraft Films and others will really have there work cut out for them, it would seem that any spec of noise is amplified a 1000 times on these new sets.

------------------
Mercury7 Science Center
www.mercury7.com

ejectr
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Posts: 1751
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 03-05-2008 07:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ejectr   Click Here to Email ejectr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a Sony 52" XBR4 and it upscales everything that it is fed to 1080p.

I have an old DVD player, not even progressive scan, feeding it regular DVDs, including Spacecraft Films "Gemini" set and it makes all of them look incredible.

That being said... you certainly can't beat the high definition stuff.

spacecraft films
Member

Posts: 802
From: Columbus, OH USA
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 03-05-2008 07:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for spacecraft films   Click Here to Email spacecraft films     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mercury7:
I am afraid that all the old footage that we love will be forever lost because I am not sure that any amount of restoration will be good enough.
This all depends upon the original acquisition medium. The 16mm HD transfers we are working with are much improved over SD, the material that was originally shot in 35mm looks stunning. Of course anything acquired in SD video is not scalable.

The real challenges are the parts you don't know about - current archives rules don't allow the preservation copies to go back out after a digital (even SD) copy has been made, so right now I can't get originals on a lot of stuff because WE made SD digital transfers of them. But we're working that and it will most likely change - but slowly. Blu-ray authoring, functionality, and replication are also issues, but will improve with time.

Not sure why you think the old footage would be "lost," though. I find it interesting that my generation loves the resolution of HD, but all my kids don't care and are just as content to watch something on an iPod. And it is a worthwhile improvement to make HD transfers of the material that was originally acquired on film.

Blu-ray is still a tiny proportion of the market, and is likely to remain low for the next 2 years or more. But there are things in the works!

Mercury7
Member

Posts: 360
From: Greenville, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2006

posted 04-07-2008 12:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mercury7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Now that we are moving to bigger monitors in the trailer I still would like to run a demo disc of Spacecraft Films for the kids to enjoy. I really think you are providing a national service by restoring a lot of this old footage and in a lot of cases just to have access at all is cool. Anyway, kudos to Spacecraft Films from the Mercury7 Science Center.

bthumble
Member

Posts: 267
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 11-13-2009 08:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for bthumble   Click Here to Email bthumble     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am purchasing a Blu Ray player this weekend and would like to know what suggestions people have regarding what space related discs to purchase.

Editor's note: Threads merged.

Dwight
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Posts: 576
From: Germany
Registered: Dec 2003

posted 11-14-2009 04:56 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dwight   Click Here to Email Dwight     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I recommend "2001". It was shot on 70mm and is the flagship blu-ray I have. Also anything Imax related is visually stunning.

bthumble
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Posts: 267
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 11-14-2009 08:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for bthumble   Click Here to Email bthumble     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was looking for more of actual space footage related documentaries on Blu Ray.

Rick
Member

Posts: 379
From: Yadkinville, NC
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 11-15-2009 07:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick   Click Here to Email Rick     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
On Blu Ray, along with those already mentioned:
  • Discovery Channel's When We Left Earth
  • Criterion Collection's For All Mankind
  • IMAX Space Station/Mission To Mir
Oddly enough, the movie Apollo 13 is not yet available on Blu Ray.

paulushumungus
Member

Posts: 466
From: Burton, Derbyshire, England
Registered: Oct 2005

posted 11-15-2009 01:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for paulushumungus   Click Here to Email paulushumungus     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I know that the wonderful film "In the Shadow of the Moon" is available on Blu Ray and it is extremely cheap on Amazon at the moment... £6.98 including free postage.

bthumble
Member

Posts: 267
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 12-06-2009 09:15 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for bthumble   Click Here to Email bthumble     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does anybody know why Apollo 13 has not been released on Blu Ray yet?

dave
Member

Posts: 414
From: Hinckley
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 12-07-2009 03:12 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for dave   Click Here to Email dave     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Amazon UK have it listed as a 4 Jan 2010 release, so I'd assume you will get it much the same time.

garymilgrom
Member

Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 12-07-2009 08:17 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for garymilgrom   Click Here to Email garymilgrom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There is wonderful current HD footage available on the Spaceflight Now website. You have to subscribe to get the HD stuff but for $50 a year I think it's a good value. You will need some kind of "media bridge" to get the footage off your computer hard drive(s) and onto your HDTV. I use Apple TV for this, but more and more hard drives are becoming available with HDMI outputs which should work fine.

Blackarrow
Member

Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 12-07-2009 04:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Blackarrow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Not for the first time, I'm going to ask if anyone in the UK has bought the US Bluray version of "The Wonder Of It All"? I have seen one review (which I now can't find!) which said that the Bluray version DOES play in the UK, and I'm tempted to buy a copy as the official UK Bluray release won't be until summer, 2010. Howwever, I would first like to hear that somebody else out there has bought a copy and can confirm that it plays on UK Bluray machines. Anyone?

Pat Gleeson
Member

Posts: 44
From: Limerick, Ireland
Registered: Aug 2009

posted 01-14-2010 04:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Pat Gleeson   Click Here to Email Pat Gleeson     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Blackarrow:
However, I would first like to hear that somebody else out there has bought a copy and can confirm that it plays on UK Bluray machines. Anyone?
Is Ireland close enough? I have an Ed Mitchell signed edition and it plays no problem.

kennetzel
New Member

Posts: 7
From: Buffalo, NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2010

posted 01-15-2010 10:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for kennetzel   Click Here to Email kennetzel     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The "When We Left Earth" series is available on Blu Ray. It was one of the first Blu ray titles of anything I got. And it looks great.

Blackarrow
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Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 01-15-2010 02:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Blackarrow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Pat, thanks for the information. I chickened out and just went for the standard DVD version which (in spite of being "Region 1") played perfectly on my DVD player (AND upscaled on my Blu-ray). It's a great film in either format!

Pat Gleeson
Member

Posts: 44
From: Limerick, Ireland
Registered: Aug 2009

posted 01-18-2010 06:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Pat Gleeson   Click Here to Email Pat Gleeson     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Blackarrow:
Pat, thanks for the information. It's a great film in either format!
You're welcome It is indeed!

Playalinda
Member

Posts: 152
From: Peoria, AZ, USA
Registered: Oct 2009

posted 02-03-2010 02:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Playalinda     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The prices for Blu-ray players are much lower. I have seen the first player for less than $90. I don't own a Blu-ray player yet as I heard about a common problem. In order to play all Blu-rays you must keep the firmware of your hardware up to date. Some Blu-ray discs don't play and that is rather frustrating. I do own a Philips all region standard DVD player, tops only $45, and it works perfect.

No freezing or problems whatsoever.

All I can say is do your homework and enjoy the movies you love.

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