Criterion Blu-ray

[RyanGallagher]

I'm still not convinced he's a real person at this point, and that it's more of a catchall address, where they all read it and respond in turn.

It's long been established that Mulvaney is not a real person.

It's strange, I believe that he is not real, but everyone I talk to refers to him, and they swear he is real. I'm not sure if this is one big hoax/secret that they have to keep up, under penalty of death or what.

[med]

Well, I like the way their Blu subs look most of the time, but yeah, occasionally I suffer a bit of eye strain during brief moments of certain black-and-white movies. I think 8 1/2 is the worst of their Blu-subs offenders.

[kaujot]

I like the way they look, too, but a fat lot of good it does me when I can't read them. Would it be that difficult to add a thicker black outline around the text? I don't think so.

[med]

According to the post above,

We tested two and even three pixel borders, which are fine over dark backgrounds but very intrusive on light-colored ones, where the black borders become even more prominent than the white letter bodies and the outlines often clang.

That may be the case, but is having the white letters almost fade into obscurity really preferable to adding that second pixel?

[knives]

It's not just their B&W movies either. Pierrot le Fou is unreadable in parts and when your subtitles are too thin for something with those colours you have a serious problem. I'd be more than willing to deal with more of the screen covered up if it means I can figure out what the hell is going on.

[dwk]

I haven't had any problems reading Criterion's Blu-Ray subtitles. Those that have been experiencing trouble reading them, try turning your contrast down or check your player and/or television for any automatic contrast/color boosting, which could be causing the problem.

[mfunk9786]

With all due respect: shut up. After all the calibration I've done on my television, don't tell me there's a problem with it because you're the only person with no subtitle issues.

[Tribe]

I predict we are heading for a thread split.

[knives]

If I can read the DVD subs to Stagecoach just fine (yes I did rent from the library just for this), but can't the Blu than the problem is most definitely with the disc.

[dwk]

With all due respect: shut up. After all the calibration I've done on my television, don't tell me there's a problem with it because you're the only person with no subtitle issues.

That's right, I am the only person on the internet that has absolutely no problem reading Criterion's subtitles. The internet is filled with dozens of review sites that have reviews of dozens of their releases and how many of these reviews complain about the legibility of the subtitles?

[fdm]

Either I've not watched the "right" blu-ray titles' subtitles, or I dunno what, but I've had no problems with them. (Goes for their DVDs also.) Single pixel seems sufficient for my set-up. Which one(s) should I watch to see what all the brouhaha is about?

(Oh, and what is "Traveller"?)

[TMDaines]

With all due respect: shut up. After all the calibration I've done on my television, don't tell me there's a problem with it because you're the only person with no subtitle issues.

That's right, I am the only person on the internet that has absolutely no problem reading Criterion's subtitles. The internet is filled with dozens of review sites that have reviews of dozens of their releases and how many of these reviews complain about the legibility of the subtitles?

I'm with you here. Can't say I have any problem at all either.

[dad1153]

No problems reading any subtitles on Blu here either ("House" being the latest, which is packed chock-full of lines on top of lines). But (a) I have perfect 20/20 vision and (b) my 47" HDTV was calibrated out of the box; I could see someone with slight vision problems and/or an improperly-uncalibrated HDTV having trouble with white backgrounds making the thin-edge letters invisible.

[Michael Kerpan]

I don't recall any problems in Last Year in Marienbad (where I would have most expected some). And have not compared Seventh Seal BRD to DVD.

[zitherstrings]

Subs worked on my 32" and 50". Perfect size/clarity. Even on 81/2 which has many scenes of white.

MY only complaint is dvd subtitles = too big. Blargh.

[Peacock]

Count me in the camp which doesn't have any problems with the Blu subs, I actually much prefer them to the dvd, higher res and less jarring.

[swo17]

I've never had problems reading Crit's Blu subs. In fact, I find them quite pleasing to the eye. I wonder if it might have anything to do with TV size.

[movielocke]

the solution would be for criterion to add another subtitle stream on the bluray for the visually impaired that uses a bigger font and 2-3 pixel border.

The subs became more difficult to read when I reoriented my living room and increased the line of sight to the tv by about two feet, but they are definitely many worlds more clear to read than subs on old prints, last time I saw the bicycle thieves the print was such that about 60% of the subtitles were nonexistent because they were over white&gray image, occasionally, you'd know there was a subtitle there because a few letters or word from the line(s) would extend over a darker section. Rashomon was another that was similarly problematic on a print, but moreso because the subtitles were very sparse in translating the dialogue.

[ola t]

Question about Criterion's 2-disc blu releases: are the extras discs also always coded for region A? Was just wondering if there's a chance that Charles Laughton Directs "The Night of the Hunter" could be shown on a region B-locked player. Suspect not...

Apologies if this is in an FAQ somewhere. (And yes, I *will* be getting a region free player eventually, but not now.)

[kinjitsu]

14. Does Criterion sell its Blu-ray discs outside the United States? And what regions do they play in?

We only publish Blu-ray discs for the North American market, and our Blu-ray discs are encoded Region A.

[med]

If I can read the DVD subs to Stagecoach just fine (yes I did rent from the library just for this), but can't the Blu than the problem is most definitely with the disc.

Criterion programs (am I using the right word here?) their DVD subs differently from their Blus, so that isn't a fair comparison.

It's reassuring to me that many people do not have the problems that I (and others) have with the Blu subs. My TV's calibrated based on the research done for my make and model. I haven't tried any additional fiddling with the contrast yet, but that may not be the problem. Could it be TV size vs. distance from watching it? I live in a small apartment; my TV is set up about as far from my couch as can I comfortably place it in the space available. I can't really change much without doing an overhaul of my living room, which I'd rather avoid.

Anyway, for all this talk, this is actually a minor quibble.

[zitherstrings]

last time I saw the bicycle thieves the print was such that about 60% of the subtitles were nonexistent because they were over white&gray image, occasionally, you'd know there was a subtitle there because a few letters or word from the line(s) would extend over a darker section. Rashomon was another that was similarly problematic on a print, but moreso because the subtitles were very sparse in translating the dialogue.

Saw Rashomon on many TVs from bigHD to smallSD. Never had a problem. Something fishy here!

[knives]

If I can read the DVD subs to Stagecoach just fine (yes I did rent from the library just for this), but can't the Blu than the problem is most definitely with the disc.

Criterion programs (am I using the right word here?) their DVD subs differently from their Blus, so that isn't a fair comparison.

What I was trying to say, poorly I assume, was that if they haven't changed their subs for DVD why not just dup them in for the blus? I doubt they've gotten complaints there as it's the one area that seems unchanged over their history.

[med]

I don't know. Except for the problem already discussed (and it looks like, for me, that could be a matter of TV placement), I do find the Blu subs to be aesthetically pleasing, more so than the DVD subs.

I'll tell you that looking at regular DVD subs, regardless of the company that produced it, did take some getting used to on a 16:9 screen. So wide!

[zedz]

With all due respect: shut up. After all the calibration I've done on my television, don't tell me there's a problem with it because you're the only person with no subtitle issues.

Given the recent evidence to the contrary, I guess now dwk gets to tell mfunk to shut up. "With all due respect," of course.