Dragon Box the movies = "stereo?" (except for Movie 13)

[Fulicer]

There is a misconception regarding the Dragon Box movies being entirely in stereo. I have them, and they seem monophonic to me except for Movie 13.

Or am I mistaken? The reason I ask this is because people think that it is a "stereo" release. Maybe it's because they were encoded in a stereo format and people confuse that with two distinct channels. In this case the audio format just duplicates the same track for each speaker.

Am I totally wrong here?

[Gonstead]

The Dragon Box movies, unlike the TV show, kept their master recording tapes which is why they sound better, which is probably where the whole Mono-Stereo thing comes from.

At least that's how I see it.

[Fulicer]

The Dragon Box movies, unlike the TV show, kept their master recording tapes which is why they sound better, which is probably where the whole Mono-Stereo thing comes from.

At least that's how I see it.

Well they sound better, but I just want to make sure that I'm not incorrect here in regards to the number of channels (and not quality).

[kei17]

All the movies have mono audio except for DBZ movie 13 and Path to Power. However, some of them were released on compact cassette or CD, and they're remixed in stereo.

[penguinlover]

The movies are in mono? How did they even put these in theaters? I've never seen a movie in mono before (the dub is in stereo, I'm pretty sure?)

[Gonstead]

The movies are in mono? How did they even put these in theaters? I've never seen a movie in mono before (the dub is in stereo, I'm pretty sure?)

I'm just going to quote these posts.

This isn't intended to sound snarky, so I apologize if it does, but please take five minutes out of your day to look at my post on what mono audio actually is and why "mono" has nothing whatsoever to do with "bad quality" sound. That explanation is 8 posts above your own and starts "If you are confused about the difference between stereo and mono..." I think you will find it educational.

Mono means "one." It does not mean "bad quality."

Monocle = An eyeglass for one eye
Monopoly = One company that dominates an industry.
Monophonic sound (the "mono" you refer to) = Audio designed for one channel. One channel meaning one speaker. This means if you have more than one speaker, they all play the exact same sounds (or rather, receive the same signal; the sound you hear depends on the capabilities of each speaker).

I think what is happening with lots of people talking about Dragon Ball audio is that they are confusing "stereo/mono" with "fidelity." Fidelity literally means "faithfulness." In the context of audio recording, it means faithfulness to the original sound source. If I record something and the recording sounds as clear as it did in real life, it is high fidelity (or hi-fi: highly faithful to the source). If it has hiss, static, vinyl crackle, or any other kind of noise that was not part of the original source sound, it is low fidelity (lo-fi). Sometimes this is a desirable sound, for example, with some bedroom four-track tape recordings, because tape hiss, some people think, adds a certain warmth, or character, or nostalgic value. But often people want high fidelity sound, probably because in real life, there is no hiss or crackle.

[Fulicer]

All the movies have mono audio except for DBZ movie 13 and Path to Power. However, some of them were released on compact cassette or CD, and they're remixed in stereo.

Thanks...that's what I figured too. So interesting to hear this version. It would be interesting if they released the movies like this.

[Sin]

All the movies have mono audio except for DBZ movie 13 and Path to Power. However, some of them were released on compact cassette or CD, and they're remixed in stereo.

Would be cool for someone to sync the audio with actual clips and then run a comparison that way, would be strange listening to DBZ with no video.. a lot of screaming.

[kei17]

Incidentally, DBZ movie 13 and Path to Power are not in "stereo". Their audio tracks have only two channels, but they're mixed in Dolby Surround, so you get surround audio with proper equipment.

[IAmTheMilkMan]

All the movies have mono audio except for DBZ movie 13 and Path to Power. However, some of them were released on compact cassette or CD, and they're remixed in stereo.

Which movie is this clip from? And how many have been released on compact cassette or CD?

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

All the movies have mono audio except for DBZ movie 13 and Path to Power. However, some of them were released on compact cassette or CD, and they're remixed in stereo.

Which movie is this clip from? And how many have been released on compact cassette or CD?

DBZ Movie 6. It's the part where Coola becomes a wire man.

[Metalwario64]

The movies are in mono? How did they even put these in theaters? I've never seen a movie in mono before (the dub is in stereo, I'm pretty sure?)

The first Terminator film was in mono.

[kei17]

And how many have been released on compact cassette or CD?

DBZ movie 11 was released on CD, and as far as I know, 2, 4 and 6 were released on compact cassette. Among them, only 6 and 11 are in stereo. There must be more, but I haven't seen other ones yet.

[AnimeMaakuo]

.

[BluezaBladeNZ]

It'd certainly make for a good lossless track too as the DVD tracks are compressed, assuming they are complete.

[Pretorious]

Thanks for quoting me, Gonstead . Maybe I should put a link to those mono explanations in my sig.

There is a misconception regarding the Dragon Box movies being entirely in stereo. I have them, and they seem monophonic to me except for Movie 13.

You have good ears. Here's proof of mono audio in DBZ movies. This is the back of my Japanese VHS of movie 12:



So, it says right on the box that it is mono audio that is high quality!

The first Terminator film was in mono.

So were Stanley Kubrik's movies, according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaural

[Fulicer]

You have good ears. Here's proof of mono audio in DBZ movies. This is the back of my Japanese VHS of movie 12:

Here's the problem: the audio is encoded as stereo on the Dragon Box: The Movies release, so people automatically think that it's stereo. I've gotten into a little debate with a Youtube member who is convinced that they are in stereo for that reason, even if the box says monophonic. It appears that he doesn't want to continue the debate. I've asked you guys just to double-check.

Anyway, if someone wanted to, I suppose they could do a cursory analysis of the movies' audio tracks in Audacity to show that it's just one channel.

Addendum: From what I understand, the Laserdisc releases had a special characteristic that allowed one to replace the BGM.

[Pretorious]

Here's the problem: the audio is encoded as stereo on the Dragon Box: The Movies release, so people automatically think that it's stereo.

I don't have this set, so I'll have to go off what you tell me, but where does it say it's in stereo? In the audio menu of each individual movie? Or on the outer box of the entire set?

They probably could have remixed it into stereo, but given the fact that they did nothing to upgrade the audio on the other Dragon Boxes--even for GT when they had access to a hi-fi version--I have an extremely hard time believing they would put forth that kind of effort for the movie set. Plus, the point of the Dragon Boxes is not to alter the source material, but to clean up what already exists and put that out, right? So why would they put in stereo effects where they didn't exist before?

People don't create a new mix of pre-existing audio so you can not notice a difference. If they were going to bother to remix the movies into stereo, there would be parts where they would showcase it in an obvious way. Think about when 2D movies are re-released into 3D. You don't have to strain to notice the 3D effect exists.

You know what stereo sounds like and are actively listening for it. If it is that hard for you to hear a single stereo effect, it is almost certainly not there. I say trust your ears.

Toei can get away with claiming the set uses "stereo" because one movie, at least, uses stereo effects. That sounds like all it is.

[Fulicer]

I don't have this set, so I'll have to go off what you tell me, but where does it say it's in stereo? In the audio menu of each individual movie? Or on the outer box of the entire set?

They probably could have remixed it into stereo, but given the fact that they did nothing to upgrade the audio on the other Dragon Boxes--even for GT when they had access to a hi-fi version--I have an extremely hard time believing they would put forth that kind of effort for the movie set. Plus, the point of the Dragon Boxes is not to alter the source material, but to clean up what already exists and put that out, right? So why would they put in stereo effects where they didn't exist before?

People don't create a new mix of pre-existing audio so you can not notice a difference. If they were going to bother to remix the movies into stereo, there would be parts where they would showcase it in an obvious way. Think about when 2D movies are re-released into 3D. You don't have to strain to notice the 3D effect exists.

You know what stereo sounds like and are actively listening for it. If it is that hard for you to hear a single stereo effect, it is almost certainly not there. I say trust your ears.

Toei can get away with claiming the set uses "stereo" because one movie, at least, uses stereo effects. That sounds like all it is.

kei says mono( except for #13). It may have been encoded as x kbps stereo ("it" being any of the movies in the set) -- i.e. the audio format. People look at the audio stream assume it's stereo based on that fact. I could check again.

[Pretorious]

I pretty much trust you and Kei that only that only movie 13 is in stereo. Also, most Youtube commenters don't know doodley squat.

The other movies may have had their audio split into two channels, for whatever reason, but if they didn't do anything different with either channel, it is the same as mono, practically speaking.