Indian Movies on Blu-ray

[realactivex]

Folks,
Looks like Saawariya is finally going to be the first indian movie on blu-ray with a release date of 6 May 08.
Here is the link:
Blu-ray.com - Saawariya (Blu-ray)

 

[smedhavi]

That's right.

EROS is also planning to release 500 titles on BluRay starting with "Heyy Baby" (don't ask me why this movie ).

I read somewhere that even Om Shanti Om is expected on BluRay soon.

Thanks,
Sharad

 

[realactivex]

The clarity on a blu-ray is only as good as the source material and the mastering process ( give or take video processing from chips like Realta, Reon etc). If Eros uses old VHS tapes to master films onto Blu-ray media.. we all know only too well how good the clarity is going to be.
Even with our existing DVD media, we can easily make out the picture/sound quality difference between indian made DVD's and western prints on DVDs..
Folks in the western world take as much processing care for their dvd's as they would for their movies.
Unfortunately, i need to see that on the Indian movie world. This not intended as bollywood bashing.. We earnestly pray that bollywood, tollywood, kollywood whatever improve on their technical commitments to their consumers.

Finally, since Saawariya was extensively draped in " Blue"( pun intended).. it is only appropriate that it gets the honor of the first blu-ray

 

[Kamal]

1400 bucks for a movie & that too Saawariya?
Scratch, scratch !!!!! ( on the head,guys!!!)

 

[smedhavi]

EROS Says:
Driven by its mission to provide the greatest quality... HEYY BABYY has been mastered directly from the negative digital source...

So the scene is not all that bad, but I would still keep my expectations low.
The disk is already up for sale for Rs999/-. So someone who has a BluRay player can try it out and let us know.

Thanks,
Sharad

 

[particleman]

I hope Indian companies will take the initiative to release not just new titles on Blu-ray but also the classics like Sholay, Pyaasa, Shree 420, etc. I don't care for any of the new movies so it would be a pity if this is not done.

 

[ravict]

I could not agree more. It feels like a gamble whenever I buy indian DVDs (usually I buy from Music World (Hyderabad) or Food World or Trinethra super market). The quality of the DVD whether it is an old or a new movie is never predicatle.

Is there a good yardstick that I can go by, like all the DVDs from EROS are good, etc.

My problem is enhanced by the fact the I use a projector to view these movies (same HD70 mentioned by someone else in earlier posts) and the experience totally depends on the quality of the DVD.

Looking forward to Blu-Ray discs. But how much does a typical Blu-Ray player costs in India? (I know PS3 is around 25,000 Rs.)

Ravi

 

[particleman]

The Sony BDP-S300 costs about 30,000 (not too bad a markup from its US $500 MRP) and is probably one of the cheapest on the market but lacks Dolby TrueHD & DTS HD-MA decoding. Current blu-ray players are still plagued by painfully slow load times but firmware released by the manufacturer should solve this problem in future. It may not hurt to hold out for a while as improvements are made and problems solved.

 

[suniil]

PS3 is the best bet in terms of VFM. Plus points are less loading time, less depreciation [compares to other players] and capable of outputting LPCM 7.1 over HDMI.

And ofcourse as a bonus it's a gaming machine too

Looking forward to Blu-Ray discs. But how much does a typical Blu-Ray player costs in India? (I know PS3 is around 25,000 Rs.)

Ravi

 

[audiodelic]

When are regular indian movies in high def going to be a reality?

I believe now the industry is leaning towards blu ray. HD-VMD is dead before it could get a headstart.
I bet Sony with its million dollar resources won't let any other format prevail.

Although once indian movies in good number are released in blu ray it should bring production costs down making it more affordable to the regular folks.

 

[particleman]

It is going to be very difficult in a market like India where even in the cities people are perfectly content with Video CDs! It will take a bold step like actually phasing out old formats.

 

[audiodelic]

But if you think about it from an economic point of view. Indian government is coming out with liberal trade policies which would boost the consumer electronics industry..

There are enough people in major cities with more money than they can even handle.If people start investing in Home theaters vcd's cant provide multichannel soundtracks, 480p. etc. In a couple of years Indian Movie Industry would be in a different league and people would want the best way to reproduce these movies.

Indian people i think in general love movies. Im from Hyderabad and love hindi, telugu movies. I own a movie theater and ive seen the craze people have for movies here.On the first day shows there are stampedes for tickets.

 

[rikhav]

Hi audiodelic
I agree we Indians are big movie lovers, but sadly as someone else also posted production quality is not up to the mark. So coming out with a title in blue-ray wont help till they make use of the all the potential blue-ray has to offer
Even a B grade Hollywood movie is technically so superior in sound and video then most of our A grade Indian movies

 

[audiodelic]

Hi audiodelic
I agree we Indians are big movie lovers, but sadly as someone else also posted production quality is not up to the mark. So coming out with a title in blue-ray wont help till they make use of the all the potential blue-ray has to offer
Even a B grade Hollywood movie is technically so superior in sound and video then most of our A grade Indian movies

See mastering is slowly improving over time, the public wont take shitty mastering if they are ready to spend to buy the blu ray and watching it on a HT.I think its a matter of time.

Ther are limited indian production houses have decent quality indian movies for overseas distribution. idream dvd's come to mind. Hopefully as the market increases manufacturers would start putting more emphasis on quality.

 

[rikhav]

See mastering is slowly improving over time, the public wont take shitty mastering if they are ready to spend to buy the blu ray and watching it on a HT.I think its a matter of time.

Ther are limited indian production houses have decent quality indian movies for overseas distribution. idream dvd's come to mind. Hopefully as the market increases manufacturers would start putting more emphasis on quality.

I agree with you. The thing hurts me most is that many a times a small banner and newcomers make a technically better product then their established and big counterparts. They completely ignore technical aspects. I know i am expecting a lot and as you said things are improving
In established names i think Farhan Akhtar directed movies have sound and video quality upto internationl standards.
You own a movie hall , tell me if i am wrong.
Most hindi movie sound is just aimed to be loud, just loud

 

[suniil]

I own several bollywood movies [mainly eros] including heyy babyy in bluray. None of them are nowhere near average hollywood movies.

rikhav: I just echo your comments, It's simply loud !!

 

[suniil]

Saawariya bluray released (announced date tomorrow), but couple of friends in US already got it and has glowing reviews.

Shivaji (tamil) bluray is in production, screen shots are floating around in interweb, looks amazing.

 

[rikhav]

Saawariya bluray released (announced date tomorrow), but couple of friends in US already got it and has glowing reviews.

Shivaji (tamil) bluray is in production, screen shots are floating around in interweb, looks amazing.

Saawariya will be out on SONY if i am not wrong. And i expect something better then others from them
Would wait for the reviews

 

[suniil]

and OSO is out and more in next few weeks. further reading here

 

[smedhavi]

I got Saawariya on Blu-ray. It is fine, but not really as great as the reviews claimed it to be.

Most of the 14 English movies I bought on Blu-ray look either as good or better than Saawariya.

Thanks,
Sharad