Rounders - Collectors Edition DVD - Sept. 7th

[Syntax]

There are no details yet on the content but check out the box art:

http://www.bytestreamstudios.com/rounders/cover.jpg

Heres something else all you Rounders fans might be interseted in. A year or two ago I bought the Australian DVD. I don't think most people here in the US realize that many of the DVD's we get here are completely different in box art and content then DVD's realeased in other countries.

The Rounders DVD in the US is barebones as it gets. No extra features or anything. Its in a letterbox format and not enhanced for widescreen tv's. The Australian Rounders DVD has a bunch of extra features and some new box art. If anyones interested in more about it, I can post some pics etc.

[pudley4]

And does it include any of the scenes from the trailer?

[jwvdcw]

I'll be picking this up when it comes out...some of my very favorite actors.

[Blindfolk]

[ QUOTE ]
Its in a letterbox format

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good thing.

[TimTimSalabim]

If this is the "Millenium Edition" I heard about awhile back, then it contains a running commentary track by Johnny Chan and Chris Moneymaker.

[Syntax]

No, letterbox sucks. You are probably confusing letterbox with anamorphic widescreen which is good. Check out this comparisson. (http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/anamorphic235demo.html)

The US released Rounders is letterboxed. The Australian Rounders is anamorphic. HUGE difference when you have a 65" HDTV like myself, and the extra stuff on the DVD is pretty cool too.

[Cosimo]

Letterbox sucks compared to anamorphic, but it's still far better than pan-n-scan "fullscreen." I think that's all he was trying to say.

[bvaughn]

Whoever is producing and promoting this DVD should partner with a poker site and include poker software on the DVD...talk about getting new players and tons of new fish in the game. Of course, legal issues would probably prevent this, but it would be a very cool special feature that could be included on the DVD very easily.

[cero_z]

Hi Syntax,
For film purists, your example proves that Anamorphic is horrible compared to Letterbox. I hate looking at a distorted image; I'd much rather see a film in the proportion intended by the director than look at a funhouse mirror version that uses a few more inches of my
TV screen.
But thanks for the update on the DVD.

[bwana devil]

[ QUOTE ]
No, letterbox sucks. You are probably confusing letterbox with anamorphic widescreen which is good. Check out this comparisson. (http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/anamorphic235demo.html)

The US released Rounders is letterboxed. The Australian Rounders is anamorphic. HUGE difference when you have a 65" HDTV like myself, and the extra stuff on the DVD is pretty cool too.

[/ QUOTE ]

your link demonstrates a compelling arguement for letterbox.

the other pictures look distorted next to letterbox.

[Syntax]

cero_z, you need to go back to that link and actually "read"
the captions a view ALL the images. I think you saw the top two pictures only and have no clue what you were looking at.
Anamorphic DVDs are exactly what film purists and owners of wide screen monitors look for.

[Syntax]

I think you guys are getting distracted by the pictures and not "reading" the captions. This link explains how anamorphic dvd's work. They are not meant to be viewed on standard 4x3 TV's with the DVD player set to widescreen. That would produce a distorted image as shown.

The point is, anamorphic dvd's contain ONLY film information. The black bars you see on your tv are generated by the tv or dvd player. In letterbox format, the black bars are added to the movie frames during editing just so it will take up a 4x3 screen. Anamorphic dvd's only contain the film image in its pure form.

[Syntax]

..virtually EVERY DVD on the market is done anamorphically these days. The only ones that you will find that are not done this way are low budget or low interest DVD's, because of a very small amount of extra cost and time to produce it.

I found it suprising that Miramax felt this way about Rounders and thus chose to release the DVD completely barebones and low cost.

[sin808]

<clip>
Anamorphic video as it appears on a Standard 4x3 TV. The DVD player performs a mathematical downconversion on the video signal, in effect combining every 4 lines of vertical resolution into 3 until the correct aspect ratio is achieved. Electronically-generated black bars are added to the existing ones (to fill in the remaining screen area), completing the image. Visually, it's nearly indistinguishable from a non-anamorphic (letterboxed) DVD image.
</clip>

For those of us who are still living in the stone age of standard 4:3 it makes no difference either way. So letterbox doesn't "suck". It's all you're fault for having some TV too fancy for the movie /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Syntax]

[ QUOTE ]
For those of us who are still living in the stone age of standard 4:3 it makes no difference either way. So letterbox doesn't "suck". It's all you're fault for having some TV too fancy for the movie

[/ QUOTE ]

I know youre just joking around a little bit, but it really does make a differnce. Sooner or later (probably sooner then you think) you will have a widescreen television. And you WILL want widescreen dvd's. I cringe when I see someone next to me at a checkout buying the fullscreen version of some movie. But I digress, anamorphic DVD's do not cost anymore to the consumer, but replacing letterbox ones with high quality ones sure does.

You can still watch an anamorphic dvd on a 4:3 tv, and it will look no different then the letterbox one. Except when you watch a letterbox one on a widescreen tv it will have friggin bars on every side of the tube. Trust me on this.

[TobDog]

[ QUOTE ]
it contains a running commentary track by Johnny Chan and Chris Moneymaker.


[/ QUOTE ]

Ok the Johnny Chan commentary I can see, but Chris Moneymaker? WTF? Wasn't he in high school when the movie came out?

[TimTimSalabim]

[ QUOTE ]
Ok the Johnny Chan commentary I can see, but Chris Moneymaker? WTF? Wasn't he in high school when the movie came out?

[/ QUOTE ]

The commentary track was added for the new edition.

[sin808]

[ QUOTE ]
I know youre just joking around a little bit, but it really does make a differnce. Sooner or later (probably sooner then you think) you will have a widescreen television.

[/ QUOTE ]
Not really joking at all (other than making fun of your tv /images/graemlins/smile.gif)..I won't own a widescreen tv until they come down in price to a reasonable level (my idea of reasonable anyway, oh and it'll have to be a plasma screen too).

[ QUOTE ]

And you WILL want widescreen dvd's.

[/ QUOTE ]
99% of my movies are widescreen anyway, don't like fullscreen movies...my point was just that on a standard tv you can't tell the difference between letterbox and anamorphic. So you're statement that letterbox sucks is really only applicable to you and others with s00per d00per tv sets. For people that have the standard 4:3 aspect ratio tv's they are almost indistinguishable. Though I will note that on my grandparent-in-laws widescreen tv there's a function that'll get rid of the bars on the side (basically it's a stretch to fit kinda deal). Not a perfect way of dealing with it, but you can't really tell much in the way of difference.

[Syntax]

There will come a time when you undoubtedly agree with everything I mentioned about this. Think of me on that day.

Honestly, I think you will be getting a new widescreen TV within the next say 5 years. By 2007, all broadcast channels will be in widescreen, so now regular tv will have the bars too and it will be reason enough to upgrade. The cost of the widescreen tv's have already dropped sooooo much over the past three years, and in three more you won't even see a 4x3 TV in Best Buy anymore. You sound like you expect to be the last kid on the block to get with the program. You should do yourself a favor and dont be that guy.

Make yourself a deal. Try to make enough money at poker by Christmas to buy yourself a 55" Widescreen HDTV. That's your goal. You should be able to pick one up for about 1200 dollars or less. You can do it.

[Syntax]

There will come a time when you undoubtedly agree with everything I mentioned about this. Think of me on that day.

Honestly, I think you will be getting a new widescreen TV within the next say 5 years. By 2007, all broadcast channels will be in widescreen, so now regular tv will have the bars too and it will be reason enough to upgrade. The cost of the widescreen tv's have already dropped sooooo much over the past three years, and in three more you won't even see a 4x3 TV in Best Buy anymore. You sound like you expect to be the last kid on the block to get with the program. You should do yourself a favor and dont be that guy.

Make yourself a deal. Try to make enough money at poker by Christmas to buy yourself a 55" Widescreen HDTV. That's your goal. You should be able to pick one up for about 1200 dollars or less. You'll be able to watch that big TV everyday and think how great it is. What a great reward for playing good poker. You can do it.

As a matter of fact, I bought my 65" inch TV with money I made from Paradise and Planet at the .5/1 level 5 years ago. It cost a lot more then. Good luck.

[cero_z]

Hi Syntax,
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.