Question about Region 2 Macross Plus Remaster Box

[oshan]

I pulled out my region 2 Mac + box the other day and noticed something odd.

Episodes 1234 are labled as PCM but I can't seem to get any surround channels out of them.

My AV system is fine as everything works with surround channels on every other disc.

My question is were these discs mastered in 2.0?

I've learned to expect the unexpect with region 2 mastering in the past.

Really doesn't matter much as I hope there will be a Blue Ray soon.

[VT 1010]

Yes, they are 2.0 stereo, 16bit/48khz. I think it's also Dolby Pro-Logic too. Multi-channel PCM is pretty rare on plain ol' DVD (I'm not even sure if it's in the spec). It's not too surprising with anime to only be in stereo; even the Macross Frontier Blu-ray discs are only in 2.0 LPCM, so I wouldn't get your hopes up. Personally, I'd take well mastered stereo over a terribly mixed 5.1 any day.

[oshan]

Personally, I'd take well mastered stereo over a terribly mixed 5.1 any day.

Agreed.. But I swear I remember the japanese laserdiscs having a surround channel.

And I never simulated surround back in the day.

[VT 1010]

Dolby Surround/Pro Logic was the (digital) norm for Laserdisc. Other than that, there was no discreet, multi-channel PCM on LD. In the mid-90's, 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS were introduced, but that was it.

After checking, it seems multi-channel PCM is indeed a part of the DVD-Video standard (Link); however, considering how much bandwidth and space would be required, it wouldn't be very practical.

[Marzan]

I pulled out my region 2 Mac + box the other day and noticed something odd.

Episodes 1234 are labled as PCM but I can't seem to get any surround channels out of them.

My AV system is fine as everything works with surround channels on every other disc.

My question is were these discs mastered in 2.0?

I've learned to expect the unexpect with region 2 mastering in the past.

Really doesn't matter much as I hope there will be a Blue Ray soon.

A Mac Plus in blu ray would be sweet. I'm surprised that Mac Zero has been released on blu ray yet Plus has not.

[The Shade]

A Mac Plus in blu ray would be sweet. I'm surprised that Mac Zero has been released on blu ray yet Plus has not.

Probably for 2 reasons:

1) The remaster R2 DVD boxed set hasn't been out for that long yet (2008), so Bandai/Big West probably want their stock to sell out as much as possible.

2) As M+ was animated (?) on 35mm, it would probably require a new transfer. Maybe the wait is just to make sure that the money spent on a new transfer would translate well into sales. Tying back into 1), in order to maximize profit, they would wait until they knew they could squeeze as much of out of new BD set as they can.

[VT 1010]

Well the M+ Remastered boxset was supposed to be a limited edition, and it is now OOP according to amazon.co.jp. Since the HD masters have already been made (hence the new DVD release), it should only be a matter of time until they release it. Blu-ray versions of older movies, shows, and the like just keep on coming out with no end in sight, so I wouldn't be surprised if they announce an M+ BD in the next couple of years. Hell, there still a chance it could come out before the year is over.