AoD Blu-ray Review: Ghost in the Shell 2

[Chris Beveridge]

http://www.animeondvd.com/images/bd/gitsinnocence.jpg Review (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/5787.php)

Released By: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan
MSRP: 7,800
Running time: 100 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen
Resolution: 1080p
Encoded With: MPEG-2
Release Date: 12/06/2006
Review Date: 12/09/2006
Date Announced: 08/29/2006
Region: A - N. America, S. America, East Asia
Reviewed By: Chris Beveridge

In Summary:
A visual and technical masterpiece that will certainly show off just how far anime has come since its predecessor, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence unfortunately is a very formulaic story that's so highly infused with religious and philosophical discourses that they seemingly forgot to put in dialogue for much of the plot. While the US DVD release was probably one of the best looking anime releases out for that format, the film reaches a whole new level here. Its animation style and approach is quite different from that of Brave Story that we saw recently but this one again shows that anime can look amazing here. Buena Vista Japan did a solid job with the presentation of this film and has provided materials from a multi-disc DVD edition on a single dual-layered disc that is quite simply the reference version of this film.

[DeadlyMessiah]

Meh, I still refuse to spend even a penny on thismovie until I can get a dub using the SAC cast.

[inu-liger]

Meh, I still refuse to spend even a penny on thismovie until I can get a dub using the SAC cast.

Keep dreaming.

[kakugo]

Simple problem, simple solution: buy the UK DVD. Manga Entertainment used the same cast as the Stand Alone Complex dub, and the R2 PAL DVD even has DTS audio and all the extras from the sub-only R1.

$30 shipped at Play.com to the US. I may buy this for the Japanese DTS track and subbed special features before I start springing $70+ for a Blu-Ray I can't play... but I have to admit, 1080p24 and LPCM 7.1 makes this sound like a reason to look in to getting a player. :)

Chris, does the Blu-Ray have English or Kanji end credits?

[isamu]

OK where's the best place to buy this Bluray disc?

[Skywise]

Try Amazon JP or CDJapan.

[isamu]

Thanks. Just ordered from yesasia for $70. Too bad it's impossible to get it cheaper than that :(

[finalevangelion]

Mine just made it through Customs from CD Japan and is enroute from San Fransisco. I guess I'll have to wait while the mail system is closed for 3 days.

[Chris Beveridge]

CD Japan does EMS for the most part, which will be delivered during the next three days. I've received many a package on Sundays and holidays that were sent EMS. You might see it yet before Wednesday.

[isamu]

Here's the thing... my projector is 720 native res. I will be playing my copy on my PS3. I heard the PS3 CANNOT play BR discs at 720P. So how am I supposed to watch Innocence? My projector *CAN* scale to 1080i but who wants 1080i when you can have 720p?

I have a BenQ 8720 projector by the way and have my PS3 hooked up via HDMI.

[Skywise]

You heard wrong.

[Wagg]

Who's wrong?

I'll assume you're talking about the PS3 not scaling to 720p, which he's right. I own one, and a 720p display, and while the output looks marvelous I think native 720p would look even better.

[ilmaestro]

Yeah, if you don't set your PS3 to 1080i/p it will kick it down to 480p automatically. The PS3 really doesn't like doing any helpful scaling.

[CrazyAsano]

Yeah, if you don't set your PS3 to 1080i/p it will kick it down to 480p automatically. The PS3 really doesn't like doing any helpful scaling.
Remind me not to get one of those piles of crap. I've also got a 720p native projector.

[finalevangelion]

I'll be waiting a little while before I get a PS3 from what I've been hearing. I've been very pleased with my Sammy so far, as it's been nearly perfect since the firmware upgrade.

It looks like USPS tried to deliver my disc at 7:20 AM this morning, but I was dead asleep. So, Alas, more waiting. I guess they require a signiature for international delivery.

[Wagg]

Oh please. The PS3 isn't a "pile of crap" at all, it simply doesn't scale HD output to 720p, but then neither does my D-VHS JVC 30K component output either. So, it's up to your TV/Projector to handle it.

My Samsung DLP does a pretty decent job of it, but I'm sure it would look better once the PS3 gets the firmware stuff sorted out because right now it outputs 1080i/60Hz and I can tell my display is having a little bit of a jitter problem with it. Not much, but it's there.

Hell, for $500, it still looks amazing, and I didn't even expect it to be this good. I highly recommend people to get one if you can find it.

[ilmaestro]

They're excellent pieces of kit overall, to be fair. I'm sure a firmware update will be released somewhere along the line to fix the issue.

[finalevangelion]

I got mine today, and I took it into one of the local AV stores with a Pioneer BD hooked up to the Pioneer 1080p plasma (since I don't have 1080p), and all I've got to say is WOW!!! I went to the [/SPOILER]festival part[/SPOILER] and now I want a 1080p display so badly. Definitely the #1 BD out there as far as PQ. Looks like Mpeg2 can still do what it needs to do.

[CrazyAsano]

Oh please. The PS3 isn't a "pile of crap" at all, it simply doesn't scale HD output to 720p, but then neither does my D-VHS JVC 30K component output either. So, it's up to your TV/Projector to handle it.

My Samsung DLP does a pretty decent job of it, but I'm sure it would look better once the PS3 gets the firmware stuff sorted out because right now it outputs 1080i/60Hz and I can tell my display is having a little bit of a jitter problem with it. Not much, but it's there.

Hell, for $500, it still looks amazing, and I didn't even expect it to be this good. I highly recommend people to get one if you can find it.
I probably don't know enough about this, but if the PS3 won't output 720p, how can I make my projector change its 1080i signal to 720p? As far as I know, that's not an option. It just displays what gets sent to it. And my Xbox 360 despite being much older than a PS3 does have the option of 720p output.

[Rhodes]

from what i read, the PS3 outputd only 1080p and 720p... if your tv set doesnt support 720p, it will downscale it...

ps3 games on sale are only at 720p... if the ps3 doesnt display 720p then we'd have a problem wont we?

PS3 Downscales 720p on Incapable TVs - article from ps3 ign...
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/746/746282p1.html

if your ps3 isnt displaying 720p then its an issue with the tv your using. or you have it set up funky.

[kakugo]

Admitedly, some older HDTV's can't accept 720p signals, but the overwhelming majority of TV's - even standard def sets nowadays - can handle a 720p signal. If your set isn't 720p you'll have to deal with some scaling anyhow, so why worry if the PS3 or the TV is doing it? If memory serves this will be fixed via firmware anyhow.

The PS3 sounds like the cheapest, fastest loading, most reliable and most future-proof (both as it stands and with the probability of firmware updates) Blu-Ray player on the market in the forseeable future. The lack of an analog 5.1 out, 1080i scaling and a dedicated remote seem pretty small annoyances to me rather than equating it in to any sort of "pile of crap", at least as a Blu-Ray player. (If you meant as a game/LINUX box, that's another matter entirely.)

Really, where's its' better?

[isamu]

from what i read, the PS3 outputd only 1080p and 720p... if your tv set doesnt support 720p, it will downscale it...

ps3 games on sale are only at 720p... if the ps3 doesnt display 720p then we'd have a problem wont we?

PS3 Downscales 720p on Incapable TVs - article from ps3 ign...
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/746/746282p1.html

if your ps3 isnt displaying 720p then its an issue with the tv your using. or you have it set up funky.


What you say is true, but we're referring to Blu-Ray movies. The PS3 does NOT output a 720P
signal when playing Blu-Ray films. That is a FACT, and is the reason most of us 720P native folks are pissed off. Like I said, my projector can do 1080i no problem. But a progressive signal always looks better than an interlaced one in films....ESPECIALLY anime. Sony needs a firmware patch for this blunder ASAP!

[Sensuifu]

I probably don't know enough about this, but if the PS3 won't output 720p, how can I make my projector change its 1080i signal to 720p? As far as I know, that's not an option. It just displays what gets sent to it. And my Xbox 360 despite being much older than a PS3 does have the option of 720p output.

Your pj will display what its fed, or just downscale any higher resolution than its native output. And since the PS3 forces 720p to 480p, just use 1080i for the pj to scale something closer to 720p. If the pj allows, select 1080p on the PS3 and force the image to scale to the pj's native res (if it is a 720p projector). Even though it's not a true 720p signal, the display should output 720p (notably better than 480p). Still, I'd take 1080i over 480p for most video playback, though it depends on the source material.

[ilmaestro]

No, the PS3 outputs games in 720p because the games are natively in 720p. Blu-ray (where the video is encoded @ 1080p) can only be output (for some strange reason) at 480/1080i/p because the PS3 won't scale it internally to 720p. If you want anything close you have to have the PS3 set to 1080i and let the TV scale to 720p.

edit: clearly I hadn't read all the posts in the thread when I thought I had. ^_^

[kakugo]

Same here, as I thought the scaling bug was limited to 720-1080 rather than the other way around as well. I guess the issue is related to scaling any resolution except down to 480... that is a big problem if your display can't handle 720 or 1080 at all, but as I said earlier, if it's going to be scaled someplace, so why not at the display? There's no reason scaling it at the player level should be any better, unless your projector/monitor's built in scaler is really bad. As the PS3 doesn't scale in any way, even if it did I doubt it would be particularly good at it.

At least almost every HD DVD and Blu-Ray player has needed a firmware update to perform the way it was supposed to out of the gate, so in that regard the PS3 isn't so out of the ordinary.

[Cplhicks]

Been waiting forever for Yodobashi Camera here to restock this so I could pick it up (I have tons of points on my point card, so I got it free!). Took a quick look at it. I have to say, The picture quality is pretty nice, but it is grainier than I would've expected digitally made animation to be. Was the grain added? Was this taken from a film print? It looks good, but not as amazingly good as Brave Story's picture from what I've seen. I wish the extras were subbed, but oh well, good for my Japanese practice I guess. I think I need to compare this to my old DVD to see the differences more clearly. Unfortunately my DVD is back in the US, and I am not, so it'll have to wait a while.
Now if only they'd get a few more interesting titles out here.

[ilmaestro]

Oh, so it's been a general shortage, then? I've been waiting a good couple of weeks for an Amazon order to ship after I added it in. Should be here Monday, I'm looking forward to it.

[Cplhicks]

Blu-ray in general isn't so easy to find in large supply around here, but among the places that stock it, Innocence has been a little harder to find. Yodobashi Camera, a huge store (but slightly bad about keeping decent stock on hand) hasn't had any copies since about the second week it came out. Finally they restocked, though I'm guessing the 3 copies they got are gone by now...
The Blu-ray section got wiped out towards the end of December, took them a while and they still don't have some of the major titles released here. I can see that HD-DVD is losing here in Osaka, at least, because that sections is always packed and I rarely see anyone look at it, while the Blu-ray section is often cleared out of bigger titles and the section has been half empty a lot of the time.

[Purple_X]

I can see that HD-DVD is losing here in Osaka, at least, because that sections is always packed and I rarely see anyone look at it, while the Blu-ray section is often cleared out of bigger titles and the section has been half empty a lot of the time.


Oh man I can back that up. Stock seems to move pretty quickly for BD but the HD seems to not change much.

Yodobashi is also the ONLY store in Osaka that has a significant HD-DVD software display. Sofmap Zaurus has a large BD display, they are usually pretty good at getting new titles out on release day but sell out real fast. They only have a token 4-5 HD-DVD titles available.

Tsutaya doesnt rent yet, but at least the Motomachi, Kobe store has a large selection. Im guessing the other larger branches also stock BD. I havn't seen any second hand yet.