Funimation comments on the Blu-Rays, hints at more DBoxes

[KiddoCabbusses]

How does Amazon work? Because the stock for Boxes 5-7 keep changing. Not too long ago they had like 4 left. But now it seems that the have more.

That tends to happen often. From what I recall hearing in a prior DBox 1-4 discussion they supposedly replenish their stock from taking from other affiliated retailers to get some new small quantity supply.

[TonyTheTiger]

I'm not so sure its shrinking as fast as you are inferring.

What's taking so long is the cost/benefit analysis, or so they said on Anncast. They said the packaging is expensive. I would rather have Dragon Ball in a flimsy cardboard case than nothing at all.

Even if it weren't shrinking at all, at some point a 480p transfer is going to be a tough sell to even the end user, let alone retailers. Despite the false start, people have now gotten a taste of HD Dragon Ball and even a multigenerational transfer looks stunning.

FUNi (and probably Toei) has an interest in seeing the series on Blu-ray at some point. If Toei were to announce tomorrow that they'll be doing an HD transfer and FUNi hops on board then there would be no point whatsoever in even trying to sell the Dragon Boxes. They have a shelf life simply based on the fact that we can probably assume that in the perhaps not to distant future they'll be rendered obsolete. It's kind of a race against the clock. Make your money on this thing while you can, if you can.

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

I'm not so sure its shrinking as fast as you are inferring.

What's taking so long is the cost/benefit analysis, or so they said on Anncast. They said the packaging is expensive. I would rather have Dragon Ball in a flimsy cardboard case than nothing at all.

Even if it weren't shrinking at all, at some point a 480p transfer is going to be a tough sell to even the end user, let alone retailers. Despite the false start, people have now gotten a taste of HD Dragon Ball and even a multigenerational transfer looks stunning.

But how many people, if the levels didn't sell well enough to continue being made as it is? By virtue Funimation's own cannibalization via the Orange Bricks, no less!

DVD will be on it's way out when a double-digit number publishers have the guts to release movies and series exclusively on Blu-ray, not before. Anime, though more likely to be selling to tech-savvy people by virtue of catering to a nerd audience, is too small a market to be any different.

[KiddoCabbusses]

But how many people, if the levels didn't sell well enough to continue being made as it is? By virtue Funimation's own cannibalization via the Orange Bricks, no less!

DVD will be on it's way out when a double-digit number publishers have the guts to release movies and series exclusively on Blu-ray, not before. Anime, though more likely to be selling to tech-savvy people by virtue of catering to a nerd audience, is too small a market to be any different.

Pretty much this. If anything, the DBZ Blu-Rays proved that people are more willing to pay for an obviously-inferior product (The orange bricks) if it's significantly cheaper.

Not to mention there's a lot of content that'll be released on DVD, but probably never will be released on Blu-Ray. A large chunk of 80's and 90's TV Animation would make for easy examples here. This is probably because it's easier/cheaper to present these shows in a SD-res video than make them look good in HD video. TV series -in general- are slow to leap to Blu-Ray, at that.

Also, non-physical-media-based video formats like Netflix and hulu streaming are cutting big into the media format.

Blu-Ray's done well enough to stick around, like LaserDisc did prior (In some areas, at least) but I'm betting the next "format" will come around before it has a chance to truly "replace" DVD.

[dbboxkaifan]

Pretty much this. If anything, the DBZ Blu-Rays proved that people are more willing to pay for an obviously-inferior product (The orange bricks) if it's significantly cheaper.

Not to mention there's a lot of content that'll be released on DVD, but probably never will be released on Blu-Ray. A large chunk of 80's and 90's TV Animation would make for easy examples here. This is probably because it's easier/cheaper to present these shows in a SD-res video than make them look good in HD video. TV series -in general- are slow to leap to Blu-Ray, at that.

Also, non-physical-media-based video formats like Netflix and hulu streaming are cutting big into the media format.

Blu-Ray's done well enough to stick around, like LaserDisc did prior (In some areas, at least) but I'm betting the next "format" will come around before it has a chance to truly "replace" DVD.

The Blu-ray seems to be the last physical disc format, because it's all aiming towards digital format, games (Xbox LIVE, Steam, Nintendo, Sony), music (iTunes, Zune, Sony), films (Zune, LOVEFiLM, Netflix, Hulu, Vudu HD), news (RussiaToday, Sky News, BBC, ITV), books (Amazon's Kindle, mobile phones), saving content aka cloud space (MediaFire, RapidShare, Xbox LIVE - games, PS3 - games, etc), well basically everything!

Digital Copy discs, which are included with Blu-ray titles feature the UltraViolet technology, the UV tech basically requires you to be connected to the internet to watch the film on the UV format.

OnLive even offers game streaming directly from the servers to your PC regardless if it doesn't have the necessitated hardware or not since all it demands is the ISP speed min/max. I played OnLive for free (30mins per game is free of charge) and no lag at all!

Digital being without any limits it allows to have the best uncompressed quality, though, the video file can be pretty big, but the quality surely would be amazing, though. I'd like to see some DB in 1080p uncompressed.

[eledoremassis02]

Thats true. Theres a lot of Animation, as well as general TV that is not on DVD and only VHS!

I wonder when we will start seeing (legal) digital DBZ as the main format. I believe you can watch it on Netfix and such now right?

Digital can be cheaper but I prefer having a physical copy.

[dbboxkaifan]

Dragon Ball Z (Orange Bricks) is available in US in several different services, Zune Marketplace (Xbox 360 / PC), Sony PlayStation Store (PS3 / PSV and PSP I think), Hulu, Netflix, plus others I may've forgotten.

Oh yeah, Zune 360 has the whole Saiyan arc in 1080p HD (Level 2.1 unreleased episodes), so whoever wants to complete their Saiyan DBZ HD collection, get 'em!

160 MSPs per 1080p DBZ HD Episode, they were at a fantastic price of 80 MSPs a couple months ago.

Edit: And episode 001 SD/HD + S09E01 was also free, but now they're only available for sale.

[eledoremassis02]

Oh yeah, Zune 360 has the whole Saiyan arc in 1080p HD (Level 2.1 unreleased episodes), so whoever wants to complete their Saiyan DBZ HD collection, get 'em!

For real?! I think if FUNimation should do a thing where you send a proof of perchance you get those episodes on Blu Ray .... they can call them pity discs

Do they also have a Japanese subbed option?

[Gonstead]

They should do a print-on-demand for the entire Saiyan Saga, I'd love to own the unreeased eps on Blu-Ray since I can't access my 360 anyway. Plus, I believe it was a US exclusive anyway.

[KiddoCabbusses]

The Blu-ray seems to be the last physical disc format, because it's all aiming towards digital format, games (Xbox LIVE, Steam, Nintendo, Sony), music (iTunes, Zune, Sony), films (Zune, LOVEFiLM, Netflix, Hulu, Vudu HD), news (RussiaToday, Sky News, BBC, ITV), books (Amazon's Kindle, mobile phones), saving content aka cloud space (MediaFire, RapidShare, Xbox LIVE - games, PS3 - games, etc), well basically everything!

Digital Copy discs, which are included with Blu-ray titles feature the UltraViolet technology, the UV tech basically requires you to be connected to the internet to watch the film on the UV format.

OnLive even offers game streaming directly from the servers to your PC regardless if it doesn't have the necessitated hardware or not since all it demands is the ISP speed min/max. I played OnLive for free (30mins per game is free of charge) and no lag at all!

Digital being without any limits it allows to have the best uncompressed quality, though, the video file can be pretty big, but the quality surely would be amazing, though. I'd like to see some DB in 1080p uncompressed.

While I may be pessimistic at times, I don't think physical media's gonna ever outright go away. Multiple reasons, mostly relating to video games:

1) The video game industry is FULL of controversial developments surrounding the shady practices that come along with downloadable media. A significantly large gamerbase can tell you of various stories of developers doing stuff with "Download" content that would have been considered inexcusable in the days when console games were only on physical media, including the rather infamous "forced update that turns a free game into a demo/ad-supported game" or "Making you pay more money for data you already have but they won't allow you to use". As long as these kind of stories persist, and as long as certain greedy game corporations continue to act like you don't "own" a game you purchased with your own money because it's not a physical media, a digital-only future will be seen as unfavourable.

2) While compressed 1080p video might be viable to stream on the internet now, a Blu-Ray sized video game is not.

3) Combined with 1+2 above, remember that video game consoles have been a heavy influence on the physical media wars, second only to porno. Sony has known this, and they tend to enjoy pushing their own physical media formats.

4) Most online sites will not offer you the "extras" that tend to have made DVD and Blu-Ray appealing to hardcore audiences.

[dbboxkaifan]

1 + 2) Minecraft on Xbox 360 sold over one million copies just within a week, Modern Warfare 3 DLC packs are pretty much like hotcakes, everyone who's into CoD gets them asap. As for the Blu-ray PS3 games' size, I wouldn't worry, Xbox 360 has been doing wonderfully and it has proven that BD isn't needed on Xbox, plus loading from Blu-ray is a bit too slow.

3) Physical format won't disappear quickly, but slowly as more and more people accustom to digital format and see the advantages digital has over physical (Blu-ray / DVD). TV is starting to lose to the internet, so there's also this.

4) There are sites that offer extras, but I'm not one that cares about extras, instead, just the main content of the BD/DVD.

Btw, the way you guys write Blu-ray is really weird.

[rereboy]

Pretty much this. If anything, the DBZ Blu-Rays proved that people are more willing to pay for an obviously-inferior product (The orange bricks) if it's significantly cheaper.

Not to mention there's a lot of content that'll be released on DVD, but probably never will be released on Blu-Ray. A large chunk of 80's and 90's TV Animation would make for easy examples here. This is probably because it's easier/cheaper to present these shows in a SD-res video than make them look good in HD video. TV series -in general- are slow to leap to Blu-Ray, at that.

Also, non-physical-media-based video formats like Netflix and hulu streaming are cutting big into the media format.

Blu-Ray's done well enough to stick around, like LaserDisc did prior (In some areas, at least) but I'm betting the next "format" will come around before it has a chance to truly "replace" DVD.

The Blu-ray seems to be the last physical disc format, because it's all aiming towards digital format, games (Xbox LIVE, Steam, Nintendo, Sony), music (iTunes, Zune, Sony), films (Zune, LOVEFiLM, Netflix, Hulu, Vudu HD), news (RussiaToday, Sky News, BBC, ITV), books (Amazon's Kindle, mobile phones), saving content aka cloud space (MediaFire, RapidShare, Xbox LIVE - games, PS3 - games, etc), well basically everything!

Digital Copy discs, which are included with Blu-ray titles feature the UltraViolet technology, the UV tech basically requires you to be connected to the internet to watch the film on the UV format.

OnLive even offers game streaming directly from the servers to your PC regardless if it doesn't have the necessitated hardware or not since all it demands is the ISP speed min/max. I played OnLive for free (30mins per game is free of charge) and no lag at all!

Digital being without any limits it allows to have the best uncompressed quality, though, the video file can be pretty big, but the quality surely would be amazing, though. I'd like to see some DB in 1080p uncompressed.

There will always be a physical format even if the mainstream is digital. There will always be books, even if ebooks become the mainstream method of reading, and there will always be some sort of physical format for movies, music and the like, even if the mainstream method is digital.

Digital offers unbeatable convenience, which is why I believe that it will become the mainstream method. However, it doesn't offer the physical sense of actually owning a book, a movie, a series, an album, etc, that is very important to a lot a people. Digital is very immaterial to say the least, especially in books.

So I doubt that the Bluray will be the last physical format, even if it is the last mainstream physical format.

[TonyTheTiger]

If the Blu-rays sold that poorly I think it's probably more likely due to people simply being done buying Dragon Ball entirely (particularly at a relatively premium price) rather than not seeing the benefit of the HD transfer. Correlation not being causation and all that. Once things die down a bit and FUNi stops competing with itself and an HD version does release to a market ready to take the plunge, the Dragon Boxes may very well become obsolete. They'd have to sell them before that happens.

[SilverPlaqueVII]

Is there a possible GT Redub in the Dragon Boxes via Kai cast? If so, they could use the episode title cards in English with the GT Episode Card font, revise the scripts to match either Japanese ones, and do on. At least those could give the pseudo-Kai treatment. But I don't think it'll happen since they'll stick to the 2003 dub.

[Pokewhiz7]

Is there a possible GT Redub in the Dragon Boxes via Kai cast? If so, they could use the episode title cards in English with the GT Episode Card font, revise the scripts to match either Japanese ones, and do on. At least those could give the pseudo-Kai treatment. But I don't think it'll happen since they'll stick to the 2003 dub.

Unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't think any company would redub an entire show.

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

There will always be a physical format even if the mainstream is digital. There will always be books, even if ebooks become the mainstream method of reading, and there will always be some sort of physical format for movies, music and the like, even if the mainstream method is digital.

Digital offers unbeatable convenience, which is why I believe that it will become the mainstream method. However, it doesn't offer the physical sense of actually owning a book, a movie, a series, an album, etc, that is very important to a lot a people. Digital is very immaterial to say the least, especially in books.

So I doubt that the Bluray will be the last physical format, even if it is the last mainstream physical format.

It well goes beyond psychological value; with physical you have no DRM, can sell the product afterward, and can use it in more places than digital; I still buy music CDs because I can rip them to my PC AND play them in CD drives (particularly the older ones that don't accept burned discs). There are simply more ways and times to use physical media- even the otherwise impeccable Steam (I was playing Skyrim for free last week simply by logging onto my brother's account) has the issue since it requires the internet to obtain game data, as few cases where you couldn't access it as there are.

[dbboxkaifan]

1) The video game industry is FULL of controversial developments surrounding the shady practices that come along with downloadable media...

Now I remember..

The companies and their games for online purposes have gotten worse as newer games demand to have an Online Pass, which a used copy most likely already used the code and in case I'd want to play online I'd have to buy it.

So whether it's Xbox 360, PS3, Wii2, paid or free online gaming, you'll still need the Online Pass. The Online Pass is normally found digitally on the stores of XBL or PSS.

Used's cheaper but the online can make it cost a couple more pounds/euros/yens/dollars.

Is there a possible GT Redub in the Dragon Boxes via Kai cast? If so, they could use the episode title cards in English with the GT Episode Card font, revise the scripts to match either Japanese ones, and do on. At least those could give the pseudo-Kai treatment. But I don't think it'll happen since they'll stick to the 2003 dub.

The difference between the FUNi GT and FUNi Kai-ish GT would be:

Clinkenbeard > Naldony (Goku)
Ayres > Young (Freeza)

Plus a couple others I may be forgetting, but the FUNi GT is actually all right, though for myself, I'd prefer the Blue Water Dub of GT.

[Mountain]

I'd rather have the boxes in 480p - which include all of the recaps, previews, title cards, etc. - rather than 1080p versions without those things, personally.

[SilverPlaqueVII]

The difference between the FUNi GT and FUNi Kai-ish GT would be:

Clinkenbeard > Naldony (Goku)
Ayres > Young (Freeza)

Plus a couple others I may be forgetting, but the FUNi GT is actually all right, though for myself, I'd prefer the Blue Water Dub of GT.

Don't forget the others I also mentioned:

Jinzoningen #18: Clinkenbeard > McCoy
Bulma: Rial > Vollmer
Chaotzu: Palencia > Antonelli
Umigame/Popo: Cason > Sabat
Oolong: Massey > Jackson
Narrator: Morgan > Chandler

I'd rather have Pan voiced by either Bailey, Palencia, or Clinkenbeard instead of Baughman lol.

[son veku]

Why are we talking about Games,Disk space,Media replacement,GT, and voices.
this thread is so offtopic