FUNimation Dragon Box Z #1 (In-Hands) Discussion

[shenron002]

So how does the image look on an 46-inch tv?
Can anyone give some opinion with their experience?

Or doesn't this mather so much if you have a small or big tv? I have no idea actually...

Shit Mikey beat me to it!

They look pretty amazing on my setup! But don't sit to close, atleast 5ft recommended distance. Only grip is that the japanese audio is only comming from my centre channel, my dbox singles use my front light and right. If only they left the sets at 7 discs or increased it to eight they could have maintain the orginally audio bitrate, and included both dubs, this way the majority and the minority are both catered for.

My Setup!
- "Sharp" Aquos LC52D65U 52-Inch 1080p LCD 60hz
- "Oppo" DV-983H Upconverting DVD player (the best upconverting dvd player)
- "Energy" 5.1 surround sound
- "Yamaha" Receiver

[Mountain]

So how does the image look on an 46-inch tv?
Can anyone give some opinion with their experience?

Or doesn't this mather so much if you have a small or big tv? I have no idea actually...

I've been watching on my PS3 connected over HDMI to my Sony STRDG920 receiver itself connected via HDMI to my Pioneer 50" Kuro plasma TV, which can do a full 1080p.

You lucky bastard! =O

[russ869]

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/4684/s ... 191800.png
Do I see some bit-rate slippage here? It looks like a shot from the old Pioneer DVDs!:shock:

Is the macroblocking on the actual DVD, or is it due to the capture method?

Yes, if you pause the DVD that is what it will look like during that shot. The grain does cause noticable macroblocking in scenes that flash with a seizure-inducing strobe. (The screenshot that was posted with Nappa sleeping in his spacepod was also in a flashing scene.) From what people said, it sounds like the Japanese DBOX also has similar macroblocking in flashing scenes. One of the limitations of DVD's MPEG-2 compression.

So how does the image look on an 46-inch tv?
Can anyone give some opinion with their experience?

Or doesn't this mather so much if you have a small or big tv? I have no idea actually...

I've been watching on my PS3 connected over HDMI to my Sony STRDG920 receiver itself connected via HDMI to my Pioneer 50" Kuro plasma TV, which can do a full 1080p.

It looks like a show from 1989, as best as it can be presented, upscaled as best as it's going to get.

"Dragon Box: The Movies" certainly upscales the best out of any of the remastered material... no doubt. Yes, the process of upscaling is going to bring out a little extra in the faults that you might not notice, but it's a very viewable experience.

Yeah, I have a similar setup. PS3 -> HDMI -> 50" 1080p Panasonic Plasma. I agree with everything Mike said.

They look pretty amazing on my setup! But don't sit to close, atleast 5ft recommended distance.

Yeah, unlike something that's actually HD (where I want to sit as close as possible practically), you should be at least 5 ft away. I found the softness of the compressed grain annoying if I got any closer. But that certainly not unusual when watching an SD DVD.

[johnboy1]

I have a 37" screen that maxes out at 768p (yeah, yeah, I know; I'm going to get a 1080p TV for Christmas, hopefully). According to a calculator I downloaded, the ideal viewing distance* for such a display (considering that I have 20/25 vision) is 165 centimeters, or about 5 feet, 5 inches. That's where I have my chair set up. Will the Dragon Box look good from that distance, you think?

*"Ideal" meaning the distance at which someone with a given visual acuity will just be able to distinguish all the detail of a display with a given resolution and size. In other words, close enough to see everything, but far enough away that a higher resolution wouldn't make a noticeable improvement.

[OutlawTorn]

My Dragon Box order finally arrived and, man, the packaging alone is quite impressive, save the stacking of the discs in the book. I did not notice any peeling of the box as has been detailed here, so I hope it stays that way.

Content-wise, I only watched the first episode and, not only is it good to finally be able to watch the series in 4:3 again, but to actually hear the proper opening music. I have a question, though, did the first episode include a preview for the next episode? It cut straight to the opening of the second episode after the closing credits.

[pjay]

I too watched the Dragon Box on my PS3, I agree with VegettoEX, it does look great upscaled to 1080p 4:3 (1440 x 1080) and even stretched to widescreen (1920 x 1080) it still looks great

[SSJSteve]

I have a question, though, did the first episode include a preview for the next episode? It cut straight to the opening of the second episode after the closing credits.

Yeah their is a preview for the second episode. If your watching in English Dub I don't think the next episode previews play. If your watching in Japanese then they play.

[Kendamu]

So, I happened to be watching the part of the Goku vs. Vegeta battle last night where there happened to be supposed sync issues and decided to switch to the dub to see for myself. There are, in fact, sync issues with that scene shown in the YouTube video on my copy, but the issue lasts for about a whole ten seconds and is like half a second off. A moment later the timing is correct again.

[obiwan23s]

So, I happened to be watching the part of the Goku vs. Vegeta battle last night where there happened to be supposed sync issues and decided to switch to the dub to see for myself. There are, in fact, sync issues with that scene shown in the YouTube video on my copy, but the issue lasts for about a whole ten seconds and is like half a second off. A moment later the timing is correct again.

I did the same when I came across that scene and really, unless you're trying really hard to listen for that stuff, it's not there unless you're trying to hear it. Today I finished off the last disc and am really pleased with FUNimation's work throughout the Saiyan saga. I'd never seen those subtitles before beyond where the UUE stopped at.

[OutlawTorn]

I have a question, though, did the first episode include a preview for the next episode? It cut straight to the opening of the second episode after the closing credits.

Yeah their is a preview for the second episode. If your watching in English Dub I don't think the next episode previews play. If your watching in Japanese then they play.

Yeah, you're right. I switched between the languages and the previews only show up when watching in Japanese. I also noticed something interesting concerning the audio tracks. While "Cha-la Head Cha-la" sounds the same on both tracks, the Japanese mono track for "Zenkai Power" is actually noticeably clearer than the English track.

I can't wait for the remaining sets to be released so I don't have to rely on the season sets in order to watch any of the episodes. This is, by far, the best I've ever seen the show.

[TheGreatness25]

So I got it today. I'm really impressed. I was, however, absolutely pissed off that this set, which had the neatest packaging, which was so delicately wrapped and cared for...had a DVD freaking bouncing around in one of the DVD books! Yes, a DVD came loose inside. The case isn't broken, so I can put it back in, I was just super pissed. Doesn't seem to have any physical damage and it played well, so I'm cooled off on that. I love the Dragon Book. No peeling yet, but having listened to the Podcast, seems like it's something that happens gradually (well, pretty quickly I guess) and doesn't come with it. I got some double-sided tape all ready. I was a little bit disappointed that the main menu did not have moving images like the Japanese one, but what can you do? I still hate that there is a commercial for another show in the beginning. It is really annoying. The quality looks great, and not really what I expected from Dragon Box to be honest. I expected green skies and really pink flesh, but so far, it's been looking...pretty "normal". I can't wait to watch it through in Japanese and get that next release in February.

I'm seriously considering holding off on Amazon for next time. I'll just have to compare the prices between Rightstuff and Amazon because I got it, what, 6 days late?

[Kendamu]

I expected green skies and really pink flesh, but so far, it's been looking...pretty "normal".

The 10% brightness difference (due to the difference in output signals in Japan and the US) does away with some of the overly-red tones, but they weren't all that bad to begin with. They were really overplayed in the argument against the DBox, to be honest.

[Captain Awesome]

My Dragonbox arrived today.

For those not in the know, I live in Australia, and I also ordered it from Amazon, so I'm pretty impressed by the shipping speed considering I chose the cheapest option, it shipped on the 16th, so just over a week isn't too shabby. I'm really impressed with the set, I was lucky enough to have no problem with cracked dvd books or scratched discs, though on the spine of the box itself is a small dint/tear but as it's not going to be on the side facing out on my shelf it's not a big deal.

The video and audio quality is great and I'm viewing it upscaled to 720p, through my 360, I didn't bother trying it at 1080p as it would just make any flaws more apparent, but after being on the ass end of Madman's awful PAL conversions so long, the nice progressive encode is nothing short of beautiful.

All in all it's a fantastic release, I've only watched the first episode thus far, but greatly look forward to contuining putting the set through its paces.

[pjay]

My Dragonbox arrived today.

For those not in the know, I live in Australia, and I also ordered it from Amazon, so I'm pretty impressed by the shipping speed considering I chose the cheapest option, it shipped on the 16th, so just over a week isn't too shabby. I'm really impressed with the set, I was lucky enough to have no problem with cracked dvd books or scratched discs, though on the spine of the box itself is a small dint/tear but as it's not going to be on the side facing out on my shelf it's not a big deal.

The video and audio quality is great and I'm viewing it upscaled to 720p, through my 360, I didn't bother trying it at 1080p as it would just make any flaws more apparent, but after being on the ass end of Madman's awful PAL conversions so long, the nice progressive encode is nothing short of beautiful.

All in all it's a fantastic release, I've only watched the first episode thus far, but greatly look forward to contuining putting the set through its paces.

I actually did try out the Dragon Box on my new Jasper 360 with HDMI output at 1080p. It looks good, but not nearly as good as on the PS3.

[TheGreatness25]

I expected green skies and really pink flesh, but so far, it's been looking...pretty "normal".

The 10% brightness difference (due to the difference in output signals in Japan and the US) does away with some of the overly-red tones, but they weren't all that bad to begin with. They were really overplayed in the argument against the DBox, to be honest.

Yeah I heard the podcast I'm about to turn my TV brightness down for that Dragon Box experience.

[jjgp1112]

I expected green skies and really pink flesh, but so far, it's been looking...pretty "normal".

The 10% brightness difference (due to the difference in output signals in Japan and the US) does away with some of the overly-red tones, but they weren't all that bad to begin with. They were really overplayed in the argument against the DBox, to be honest.

Yeah I heard the podcast I'm about to turn my TV brightness down for that Dragon Box experience.

It's to my understanding is that the brightness difference is so that TVs can display them properly, so on your TV they should probably look the same as it would if you were watching the R2 DVDs. The only time the differences show up are when you're watching them on your computer.

[Armymanis]

Amazon.com actually delivered it early! I am very pleased with the Dragonbox! Like many, I do have a problem with the overlay of the DVD's, but no company is perfect. My back piece was peeling off a little bit, but I think its going to be ok. You have to expect stuff like that and its only paper so you can always tape it on right? Well I am really happy with my Dragon book that they included in the box as well. I will finish up watching the edited series of Dragonball Z before moving onto the Uncut. For now, it is on my shelf.

I cannot wait to pre-order the second set again from Amazon.com! I have not had a problem with Amazon ever! All my DVD's come in really super nice condition! Whoever is handling the shipping department over there really knows how to ship DVD's.

[Hao_Kaiser]

My back piece was peeling off a little bit, but I think its going to be ok. You have to expect stuff like that and its only paper so you can always tape it on right?

Wait... Do you mean the bottom of the box, or the sheet on the back that has that really long thing saying "OMG THE DRAGONBOX IS HERE!!!1".

Because that thing is totally supposed to come off.

[Kingdom Heartless]

Captain Awesome, no trouble getting it to work on an Australian 360 system?

[SSJ Helldog]

Captain Awesome, no trouble getting it to work on an Australian 360 system?

Curious about this too. I was able to play an Italian DVD (PAL) after making a copy of it and removing region coding on my friend's American 360. I'm not totally familiar with the 360's specifications.