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Maxor127 wrote:

Tawmis wrote:

Maxor127 wrote: I didn't like that they used points rather than money, which is just another way of trying to squeeze more money out of you.

So I assume you buy nothing on XBOX LIVE if you have it?

Nope. Nothing. I didn't even have Xbox Live Gold until a couple months ago when I bought a card that was on sale and still haven't used it. I think Xbox Live is a ripoff. It would be like if Valve charged $50-$60 a year for Steam since they're essentially the same thing. I could see if Xbox Live actually hosted servers for games, but they don't from what I understand. Instead, it assigns whoever has the best connection as the host. Plus, even with a gold account, you still get a ton of ads. And if you and someone else who uses the same system want to play on Xbox Live with your accounts, you have to pay for separate Xbox Live accounts. Ridiculous.

From what I've read, I don't think Xbox Live is worth the price either. Like you said, it'd be like Steam charging to use their service AND then making you buy the games separately. If that were the case (and we're fortunate it isn't) I seriously doubt Steam would be as popular as it is today.

Maxor127 wrote:I used to hate Steam too, but I can't argue with the great sales and ease of use. I just hate not being able to trade my games or let someone borrow a game like I could with a boxed copy. And I hate the method that it installs games in the Steam folder.

Steam does have some awesome sales. Of course... that can lead to trouble: "I'll buy this game, it's 50% off. Hey! That game is 75% off! I'll get it too!"

I think developers and publishers don't want you to trade or borrow copies. Technically, that could be considered pirating software and that's illegal. All it takes is someone with a CD Crack or a similar DRM workaround and they've now got a free copy!

The thing most gamers don't understand is that you don't own the software you bought. You purchased a license to use it and that's all. That seems a like a similar idea, but it can mean the difference between a legal and illegal action.

Yeah, it sucks, but even older games had similar policies. Look at the notice on QFG1 when loading up the game.

As for the Steam folder, that doesn't really bother me. Having all of my games in one place is actually nice. It's better than having it divvied up between Program Files and My Documents when a game uses both.

That said, the fact you need to download the game is real a pisser. It can take a LONG time to download games of 10 GB or more. As much as I like Steam, I still prefer having the disc.

At least you can back the game up to a DVD or Flash Drive or whatever. That way you can simply put it back into Steam's game folder without having to download and reinstall it. And no, this doesn't mean you can share games this way. The game itself is tied to a specific Steam account, so even if you try it, it won't work right.

DeadPoolX wrote: From what I've read, I don't think Xbox Live is worth the price either. Like you said, it'd be like Steam charging to use their service AND then making you buy the games separately. If that were the case (and we're fortunate it isn't) I seriously doubt Steam would be as popular as it is today.

So why is XBOX Live as popular as it is today?

Tawmis wrote:

DeadPoolX wrote: From what I've read, I don't think Xbox Live is worth the price either. Like you said, it'd be like Steam charging to use their service AND then making you buy the games separately. If that were the case (and we're fortunate it isn't) I seriously doubt Steam would be as popular as it is today.

So why is XBOX Live as popular as it is today?

Choice or lack thereof in the Xbox's case.

Valve knows that Steam has competitors and that people don't need them to play online with other people. As such, it would be a poor business model to charge for the service itself in addition to games.

Contrast that with the Xbox and you have... well, no option other than Xbox Live. If you're fine playing single player or you've got a friend who can come over to play on the same machine, you don't need Xbox Live. However, if you want to play online with other Xbox gamers, you have one choice and Microsoft knows it.

DeadPoolX wrote:

Maxor127 wrote:

Tawmis wrote:

Maxor127 wrote: I didn't like that they used points rather than money, which is just another way of trying to squeeze more money out of you.

So I assume you buy nothing on XBOX LIVE if you have it?

Nope. Nothing. I didn't even have Xbox Live Gold until a couple months ago when I bought a card that was on sale and still haven't used it. I think Xbox Live is a ripoff. It would be like if Valve charged $50-$60 a year for Steam since they're essentially the same thing. I could see if Xbox Live actually hosted servers for games, but they don't from what I understand. Instead, it assigns whoever has the best connection as the host. Plus, even with a gold account, you still get a ton of ads. And if you and someone else who uses the same system want to play on Xbox Live with your accounts, you have to pay for separate Xbox Live accounts. Ridiculous.

From what I've read, I don't think Xbox Live is worth the price either. Like you said, it'd be like Steam charging to use their service AND then making you buy the games separately. If that were the case (and we're fortunate it isn't) I seriously doubt Steam would be as popular as it is today.

Maxor127 wrote:I used to hate Steam too, but I can't argue with the great sales and ease of use. I just hate not being able to trade my games or let someone borrow a game like I could with a boxed copy. And I hate the method that it installs games in the Steam folder.

Steam does have some awesome sales. Of course... that can lead to trouble: "I'll buy this game, it's 50% off. Hey! That game is 75% off! I'll get it too!"

I was going to mention that Steam has great deals, but deleted it since I felt I was getting sidetracked. I bought a ton of games over the holiday though. Too many good deals to pass up.

Oh. Lucasfilm announced the details of the Star Wars Blu-ray sets today, but really, all you need to know is that they won't be including the original versions of the original trilogy. Nope, just the special editions. Of course.

The full breakdown of the extras on the 9-disc megaset is after the jump, because it's too long for the front page. Don't forget, if you just want the original trilogy (or god help you, the prequels) they will only be 3-disc sets, and thus appear to have no extras except for commentary tracks. You want extras? You get the 9-disc set. So... "Happy May the 4th," guys. You'll forgive me if I don't feel especially like celebrating. (Via Film School Rejects)
Special Features:

STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA ON BLU-RAY is presented in widescreen with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Special features include:

DISC ONE - STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
DISC TWO - STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
DISC THREE - STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
DISC FOUR - STAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
DISC FIVE - STAR WARS: EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
DISC SIX - STAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
DISC SEVEN - NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES I-III
Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more
DISC EIGHT - NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES IV-VI
Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more
DISC NINE - THE STAR WARS DOCUMENTARIES
NEW! Star Warriors (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes) - Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures...these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.
NEW! A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) - George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.
NEW! Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) - The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more -- and don't miss "Weird Al" Yankovic's one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!
The Making of Star Wars (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) - Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) - Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas' vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!
Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) - Go behind the scenes -- and into the costumes -- as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.
Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) - See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.
Star Wars Tech (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) - Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today.

I'll be skipping the Blu-Ray. I have the special edition trilogies on DVD, and I don't feel the need to upgrade to Blu-Ray, and I don't really care about the prequels. The only thing that would convince me to double dip is if they included the originals remastered. Han not shooting first makes me madder the older I get, and I never cared for the changed Return of the Jedi ending. I don't think any of the other changes bother me, though.

Oh, of course no original editions (as usual)

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-tal ... 58967.html

(Go to the link for a few videos and pictures)

George Lucas has been making changes to "Star Wars" for nearly as long as it's been in existence. When the original film was re-released in 1981, the opening text was revised to include "Episode IV: A New Hope" as a subtitle. And he's continued to update the picture and sound in new versions of the movies, from 1997's "Special Editions" to the DVD release in 2004.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that when Lucas prepped both the original trilogy and the prequels for their debut on Blu-ray, he'd make some more adjustments to the films. And while fans have been upset about some of the changes made in earlier revisions -- most notoriously making Greedo shoot at Han Solo first -- the new editions actually address some things true "Star Wars" geeks have complained about for years.

One fix in the new Blu-ray is a quick but embarrassing mistake in "The Empire Strikes Back." In a scene early in the movie, Luke Skywalker is out patrolling on the ice planet Hoth when he's attacked by a giant monster called a Wampa. In one shot, the monster's arm sweeps in and hits Luke, but the puppeteer working the arm pushed it too far into frame. The fake arm was attached to a pole which managed to sneak into the picture, and it's been visible in the movie for 30 years. Digital effects artists at ILM extended the Wampa's arm, and on the Blu-ray the pole is no longer visible.

The Blu-rays also correct some issues from when the movies were converted to DVD. Fans were upset at the time that colors and brightness on the lightsabers were duller than they were in the theatrical releases. On Blu-ray, the saber blades have been restored to their vibrant colors with bright, white-hot cores, like in this shot from "Return of the Jedi."

Probably the most visible change in the Blu-rays is actually in one of the newer films. When "Episode I: The Phantom Menace" hit theaters in 1999, many fans complained about Yoda's physical appearance. A new puppet was created for the film with the intention of making Yoda look younger than he did in the original trilogy. But fans complained that the new Yoda just didn't look right, and apparently George Lucas agreed. In the following two prequels, Yoda was entirely a digital creation that more closely resembled the original character. And in the Blu-ray, the puppet in "Episode I" has been removed completely and replaced by a computer-generated Jedi. Here's a side-by-side comparison of the two.

In addition to the changes to the films, "Star Wars: The Complete Saga" is stuffed with extras for fanatics. There are two discs of archives featuring deleted and alternate scenes, concept art, and prop close-ups. Plus, there is an additional disc of documentaries showcasing the making of the films, the global network of fans, and spoofs of the saga from other shows and movies. All told, the set has over forty hours of bonus materials.

I actually gave my sister my 2004 star wars trilogy set (fullscreen at the time), and then a few months later picked up the 1995 THX VHS Widescreen trilogy release (the wide black box) at a garage sale for $1 and gave it to her as well. I didn't realize until recently that the 2004 DVD trilogy that I gave her apparently does have all three original versions on the fourth bonus disc. I haven't asked her to check for me though.

I'm very interested in the bluray collection simply because I no longer have any copies. I'm in the same boat of "why buy when a new version will come out in a few years, and maybe finally, finally, it'll be remastered theatrical releases?" So, instead, I catch them on TV from time to time. It's a real shame, really. I would prefer my kids experience the original version first. I may just have to back-borrow one of the two sets I gave my sister sometime when my kids get a little older..

But I also agree that purchase of a movie (or game for that matter) on a particular medium does not loose its quality when a re-release comes out. The re-release may have enhancements (or NOT, such as the VU re-releases of most Sierra games!), but the prior releases still hold their same quality. And FWIW, VHS only looks "worse" because the screen size is so much larger. If you pull out your VCR (yes, we still have one, and still use it!) and hook it up to a 19" TV, I think that it looks as great as it did in the 80's. Or even better, because the pixel quality of the (newer) TV is better. Sure, it's only 19". But it has to be, if you want to compare apples to apples. Comparing VHS to Bluray isn't really a fair comparison in that situation (IMO).

I was "this close" to pre-ordering the bluray collection. But I really want the theatrical release. Preferably remastered, but I'd even take un-touched if that's all I could get.

..dane

Maia and I have considered purchasing a Blu-Ray player, mostly because our current DVD player has some issues. The disc tray tends to open and close at random intervals. It's obviously a mechanical malfunction, but sometimes repairing electronics is just as expensive (if not more so) than buying an entirely new unit.

DeadPoolX wrote:Maia and I have considered purchasing a Blu-Ray player, mostly because our current DVD player has some issues. The disc tray tends to open and close at random intervals. It's obviously a mechanical malfunction, but sometimes repairing electronics is just as expensive (if not more so) than buying an entirely new unit.

For sure repairing any electronic device is not worth it, IMHO. You can get a replacement usually for 80% (or less) of what you paid for the original, and get improved features (admittedly, you might not need or want them). In the last 15 years, I think I've replaced my DVD player 3 times because it stopped playing discs properly. My current one supports Blu-Ray & can stream Netflix. It's just nuts how much electronics have become commodity items.

gumby wrote:

DeadPoolX wrote:Maia and I have considered purchasing a Blu-Ray player, mostly because our current DVD player has some issues. The disc tray tends to open and close at random intervals. It's obviously a mechanical malfunction, but sometimes repairing electronics is just as expensive (if not more so) than buying an entirely new unit.

For sure repairing any electronic device is not worth it, IMHO. You can get a replacement usually for 80% (or less) of what you paid for the original, and get improved features (admittedly, you might not need or want them). In the last 15 years, I think I've replaced my DVD player 3 times because it stopped playing discs properly. My current one supports Blu-Ray & can stream Netflix. It's just nuts how much electronics have become commodity items.

We'll probably wait until the holidays or maybe Boxing Day to get one. It's not a priority right now and in a worst case scenario, I could hook my laptop to the TV and play movies from there.

I wish I had opted for a Blu-Ray drive in my laptop. I didn't bother since it was more expensive and nothing is on that format for the PC.

DeadPoolX wrote:Maia and I have considered purchasing a Blu-Ray player, mostly because our current DVD player has some issues. The disc tray tends to open and close at random intervals. It's obviously a mechanical malfunction, but sometimes repairing electronics is just as expensive (if not more so) than buying an entirely new unit.

Being the audiovideo freak that I am, I have particular "wants" with bluray players, as I imagine everyone does. load time is *extremely* important to me, because of how much slower blurays are to load than DVDs. That single item is by far the biggest beef I have with the bluray format. I understand why it is the case. But it still bugs me like nothing else.

Online reviewer Winston has gone to some terrific lengths to compare some of the more "important" features of a number of bluray players, for those interested. Load times, proper 3:2 pulldown for DVD playback, etc. Lots of things tested.

For myself, I ended up with an Oppo BDP-80. Absolutely love it. Since I don't have any sort of streaming accounts over any medium, that particular function was not important to me. Newer Oppo models now support online streaming though. Oppo's are generally a bit pricier than other models, but their quality is outstanding, and their customer service is superb. BDP-80's can still be found in the used market, and occasionally pop up on Oppo's own site as refurbs become available, but they go extremely quickly. The -80 was Oppo's lowest-cost BDP offering because it removed some dedicated analog outputs and other things (that I don't use anyway), which made it extremely popular. Unfortunately however, it had a short life because some critical components went EOL (end of life) shortly after the player hit the market. They still have plenty of parts for warantee and post-warantee repair, but do not have new-stock anymore.

Anyway, long story short- I'd be happy to discuss anything related to bluray players themselves if you (or anyone else) has questions.

cheers,
..dane

EDIT: it seems Winston hasn't updated his page in a while. I'll have to send him a note to see if he's still in the comparison market..

I never gave any thought to load time, but it's a good point. I'll have to remember that.

We'd probably buy a Samsung model, not out of any brand loyalty, but that appears to be the only company that streams NetFlix into Canada. I've read several stories of Canadians that've bought Blu-Ray players that promised NetFlix capability, but when they got it home, they found out it only worked for NetFlix in the US.

DeadPoolX wrote:Maia and I have considered purchasing a Blu-Ray player, mostly because our current DVD player has some issues. The disc tray tends to open and close at random intervals. It's obviously a mechanical malfunction, but sometimes repairing electronics is just as expensive (if not more so) than buying an entirely new unit.

The benefit to Blu-Ray player is that it will also play your DVDs. So you don't have to immediately replace all your DVDs, just because you don't have a DVD player.

Also, most of the things coming out now all include: Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Download within the same packaging.