Star Wars errors in Region 1 and likely in region 4

[Fred Franackapan]

It looks like the region 1 release of episode 4 has audio/mixing errors, and
if the list of erros is anything to go by, it will be in region 4 as well.

Can anyone confirm these errors in region 4?

regards,
Simon


from: http://www.thedigitalbits.com/

In all the hype over the DVD release of Star Wars, I'm afraid to say there's
a bit of bad news about the discs (or at least one of them) from a quality
standpoint. We've discovered what we believe are serious audio defects on
Episode IV - A New Hope. We've updated our DVD review of the set accordingly
with the details as follows:

[Editor's Note: since we initially wrote this review, we've detected a
number of audio/mixing errors on the DVD version of A New Hope. They are as
follows:

1) The familiar Force theme trumpet fanfare that used to play right after
Red Leader says: "This is it!" and just as the X-wings start diving towards
the Death Star's surface has been dialed back in volume so that it's almost
inaudible - it's almost completely buried in the surround mix.

2) The audio quality varies wildly as Tarkin says the line: "You would
prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system." - almost as
if the master sound element was damaged. It's very distracting.

3) Possibly most critically, John Williams' entire score for the film has
been flipped in the rear channels, so that what should be the left rear
channel is playing from the right rear channel (and vise versa). What this
means is that the rear channels don't match the front channels - instruments
heard from the front right channel come from the left rear instead of the
right rear. Again, this is very distracting once you notice it.

These problems are certainly severe enough in our opinion to merit a
repressing/exchange of the disc. We're waiting to hear back from Lucasfilm
on this issue and we'll update this review with the details as soon as we
do.]

[Jace the Ace]

It's on all versions of the DVD, R1, 2 ,3 and 4.

[Phreak]

Dont worry bout it Simon, according to Lucasfilm its all part of the package
:) Kinda like how Lucas's original vision had Greedo shooting first :)

Also from thedigitalbits.com

Well... a lot of you aren't going to believe this, but Lucasfilm has
responded to our questions about the audio issue on the DVD of Star Wars:
Episode IV - A New Hope. Here's the company's official statement:

"We are always impressed with how closely fans listen to the many different
sound mixes we have made for the Star Wars movies over the years. It is
flattering to know that, indeed, the audience is listening. Consequently,
each mix comes out differently and any changes that you hear on the all-new
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX tracks on the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set are
deliberate creative decisions. We can confirm that there are no technical
glitches as reported."

Dialing down the trumpet fanfare during the Death Star attack... okay, I can
see that could be a creative decision. But the strange audio quality shift
of Tarkin's line and the surrounds issue - I don't really buy that those are
creative decisions. Judging by the e-mails we're getting, we're certainly
not the only ones to have noticed these things. We're going to dig into this
further and see what we come up with.


"Fred Franackapan" <fred@franackapan.com> wrote in message
news:414f4c53$0$10348$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> It looks like the region 1 release of episode 4 has audio/mixing errors,
> and
> if the list of erros is anything to go by, it will be in region 4 as well.
>
> Can anyone confirm these errors in region 4?
>
> regards,
> Simon
>
>
> from: http://www.thedigitalbits.com/
>
> In all the hype over the DVD release of Star Wars, I'm afraid to say
> there's
> a bit of bad news about the discs (or at least one of them) from a quality
> standpoint. We've discovered what we believe are serious audio defects on
> Episode IV - A New Hope. We've updated our DVD review of the set
> accordingly
> with the details as follows:
>
> [Editor's Note: since we initially wrote this review, we've detected a
> number of audio/mixing errors on the DVD version of A New Hope. They are
> as
> follows:
>
> 1) The familiar Force theme trumpet fanfare that used to play right after
> Red Leader says: "This is it!" and just as the X-wings start diving
> towards
> the Death Star's surface has been dialed back in volume so that it's
> almost
> inaudible - it's almost completely buried in the surround mix.
>
> 2) The audio quality varies wildly as Tarkin says the line: "You would
> prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system." - almost
> as
> if the master sound element was damaged. It's very distracting.
>
> 3) Possibly most critically, John Williams' entire score for the film has
> been flipped in the rear channels, so that what should be the left rear
> channel is playing from the right rear channel (and vise versa). What this
> means is that the rear channels don't match the front channels -
> instruments
> heard from the front right channel come from the left rear instead of the
> right rear. Again, this is very distracting once you notice it.
>
> These problems are certainly severe enough in our opinion to merit a
> repressing/exchange of the disc. We're waiting to hear back from Lucasfilm
> on this issue and we'll update this review with the details as soon as we
> do.]
>
>
>
>

[horizontal]

"Fred Franackapan" <fred@franackapan.com> wrote in message
news:414f4c53$0$10348$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> It looks like the region 1 release of episode 4 has audio/mixing errors,
and
> if the list of erros is anything to go by, it will be in region 4 as well.
>
> Can anyone confirm these errors in region 4?
>
> regards,
> Simon
>
>
> 2) The audio quality varies wildly as Tarkin says the line: "You would
> prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system." - almost
as
> if the master sound element was damaged. It's very distracting.
>
I listened to this on the 1997 laserdisc release and the audio quality does
not vary and it is good quality so an avoidable mistake has been made it
seems.

[horizontal]

"horizontal" <not@square.eyes> wrote in message
news:4150c2fd$1@clear.net.nz...
>
> "Fred Franackapan" <fred@franackapan.com> wrote in message
> news:414f4c53$0$10348$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> > It looks like the region 1 release of episode 4 has audio/mixing errors,
> and
> > if the list of erros is anything to go by, it will be in region 4 as
well.
> >
> > Can anyone confirm these errors in region 4?
> >
> > regards,
> > Simon
> >
> >
> > 2) The audio quality varies wildly as Tarkin says the line: "You would
> > prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system." -
almost
> as
> > if the master sound element was damaged. It's very distracting.
> >
> I listened to this on the 1997 laserdisc release and the audio quality
does
> not vary and it is good quality so an avoidable mistake has been made it
> seems.
>

So can someone who has the new dvd's please tell me how bad this problem is,
digitalbits says it varies but does not say if it varies from bad to
excellent, very good to excellent or whatever. Are we talking a very minor
drop in quality that although shouldn't be is only nit picking? The other
audio problems don't sound like much to worry about but this one makes me
very hesitant to buy.

[Matthew Kirkcaldie]

In article <4150c472$1@clear.net.nz>, "horizontal" <not@square.eyes>
wrote:

> So can someone who has the new dvd's please tell me how bad this problem is,
> digitalbits says it varies but does not say if it varies from bad to
> excellent, very good to excellent or whatever. Are we talking a very minor
> drop in quality that although shouldn't be is only nit picking? The other
> audio problems don't sound like much to worry about but this one makes me
> very hesitant to buy.

Basically it sounds like switching between location audio and
post-production dialogue recordings - some lines are very clear and
sharp, while others sound muffled. It's in the trash compactor scene as
well. It's noticeable but not worth a hissy fit. And yes, I have good
speakers etc.

MK.

[Jim]

horizontal wrote:

> So can someone who has the new dvd's please tell me how bad this problem is,
> digitalbits says it varies but does not say if it varies from bad to
> excellent, very good to excellent or whatever. Are we talking a very minor
> drop in quality that although shouldn't be is only nit picking? The other
> audio problems don't sound like much to worry about but this one makes me
> very hesitant to buy.
>
>

A copy of my post to feedback on Michael's dvd page:

The biggest issue I found with sound was with the dialogue. The Tarkin
example has been noted by others but I noticed it right throughout the
film. The quality of vocals that had been recorded live on set as
compared to ADR (ones re-done in the studio post-production) were quite
marked.

I think we are looking at differences in the source and modern home
theatre equipment being able to reproduce those differences.

We are so much more fussy now about our films.

I still very much enjoyed Star Wars and it bought back plenty of great
childhood memories. Don't let this stop you from buying the dvd - the
film still looks and sounds better than you have ever seen it before.

Jim

[Ian Galbraith]

On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 11:18:56 +1000, Jim <jimnospamforme@tasmail.com>
wrote:

[snip]

>I still very much enjoyed Star Wars and it bought back plenty of great
>childhood memories. Don't let this stop you from buying the dvd - the
>film still looks and sounds better than you have ever seen it before.

It obviously doesn't sound better than ever before.

[horizontal]

"Jim" <jimnospamforme@tasmail.com> wrote in message
news:4150d301@derwent.nt.tas.gov.au...
> horizontal wrote:
>
> > So can someone who has the new dvd's please tell me how bad this problem
is,
> > digitalbits says it varies but does not say if it varies from bad to
> > excellent, very good to excellent or whatever. Are we talking a very
minor
> > drop in quality that although shouldn't be is only nit picking? The
other
> > audio problems don't sound like much to worry about but this one makes
me
> > very hesitant to buy.
> >
> >
>
> A copy of my post to feedback on Michael's dvd page:
>
> The biggest issue I found with sound was with the dialogue. The Tarkin
> example has been noted by others but I noticed it right throughout the
> film. The quality of vocals that had been recorded live on set as
> compared to ADR (ones re-done in the studio post-production) were quite
> marked.
>
> I think we are looking at differences in the source and modern home
> theatre equipment being able to reproduce those differences.
>
> We are so much more fussy now about our films.
>
> I still very much enjoyed Star Wars and it bought back plenty of great
> childhood memories. Don't let this stop you from buying the dvd - the
> film still looks and sounds better than you have ever seen it before.
>
> Jim

I bought the star wars trilogy dvd and compared tarkin audio problem with my
5 star 1997 laserdisc dvd copy, although I had never noticed it before I did
notice a drop in quality at the same point but I had to listen hard as it is
very subtle unlike the new official 2004 dvd release where the drop in
quality is very marked. I will compare the 2 more closely at a later date to
see if the new release dvd audio quality falls to a lower point in quality
or not, first impression is that it does, but I will have to listen to both
several times to be sure.
The fanfare music when attacking the deathstar in ANH is a disappointing
loss on the new release, I do prefer the way it was in the 1997 release.

[WKC]

what does he say about the mucked up surround though?

WKC.
"Ian Galbraith" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:8sp1l090enkfn59ll8t8u7t7s4bkpga63h@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 11:18:56 +1000, Jim <jimnospamforme@tasmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> >I still very much enjoyed Star Wars and it bought back plenty of great
> >childhood memories. Don't let this stop you from buying the dvd - the
> >film still looks and sounds better than you have ever seen it before.
>
> It obviously doesn't sound better than ever before.
>
>

[DigitalG]

It's noticable, BUT doesn't bother me one bit. Jedi 3 SE anoyed me more.
I'm just glad they're finally released! :)

[DigitalG]

DigitalG wrote:

> It's noticable, BUT doesn't bother me one bit. Jedi 3 SE anoyed me more.
> I'm just glad they're finally released! :)

Wait a minute, did I put 3 hahaha. :$

[Bruce the Shark]

Ian Galbraith wrote:

>> Don't let this stop you from buying the dvd - the film still looks
>> and sounds better than you have ever seen it before.
>
> It obviously doesn't sound better than ever before.

Hehehe. :)

[Luke Hooft]

"WKC" <wakeco@email.com> wrote in message
news:4151122f$1@news.comindico.com.au...
> what does he say about the mucked up surround though?

Well, I've only ever seen the films in mono on TV, so I can't say I'm
familiar with the full-on surround version of the score.

I now I have a stereo TV, and I didn't notice anything "wrong" with the
music, and I'm sure that'll be the case with most people.

Obviously, If you think you're the kind of person who'll actually notice
that the instruments aren't placed the way they are in an orchestra, then
it's going to bother you. It bothers me that the error is there, but at the
moment it's not really affecting me.

The dialed-back fanfare in the death star battle is a far worse problem for
me - it totally jars with my memory of how that scene is supposed to sound.
John Williams would be pretty pissed off about this, and I absolutely do not
believe it was intentional, as the lame-arse Lucasfilm reply states.

LH

[Luke Hooft]

"horizontal" <not@square.eyes> wrote in message
news:4150f680@clear.net.nz...
> I bought the star wars trilogy dvd and compared tarkin audio problem with
my
> 5 star 1997 laserdisc dvd copy, although I had never noticed it before I
did
> notice a drop in quality at the same point but I had to listen hard as it
is
> very subtle unlike the new official 2004 dvd release where the drop in
> quality is very marked. I will compare the 2 more closely at a later date
to
> see if the new release dvd audio quality falls to a lower point in quality
> or not, first impression is that it does, but I will have to listen to
both
> several times to be sure.

Maybe the "bad" bit of the audio in that line is the same as it always was,
and the "good" bit is just better than before?

> The fanfare music when attacking the deathstar in ANH is a disappointing
> loss on the new release, I do prefer the way it was in the 1997 release.

Absolutely.

LH