James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have finally released the first version of "Avatar" on Blu-ray, and it's a gorgeous, but barebones disc with promises of a double-dip. But will future BD releases house fresh, new innovations for both the film, and the Blu-ray disc itself? We sure think so! Find out why...
Avatar double-dip to be game-changer for Blu-ray?
by R.L. Shaffer
If you haven't already, be sure to read (or watch) my review of AVATAR on Blu-ray.
By now you've probably already purchased your copy of "Avatar, hopefully on Blu-ray. Over 1.5 million units were sold in just one day (it became the top selling BD of all time by the end of the weekend), so I'm guessing so. If not, it costs about five bucks more than the DVD and even includes a DVD (and for the record, the DVD looks pretty terrible in comparison to the BD). And by now, hopefully, you know that the Blu-ray is one helluva disc, at least as far as the picture and audio are concerned (sadly, there are no extras on this release).
Some of this is due to the film's lush high-def visuals, which are brought to life under the microscope of an uncompressed THX-certified 1080p encode.
Some of it is also due to the Fusion 3D camera system -- the method that was used to shoot the film. This setup melds two Sony HDC-F950 HD cameras together for one incredible stereoscopic 3D image.
Even better, this camera yields a respectable amount of depth and detail (and very little motion blur), particularly for an HD camera, which isn't always the best method for shooting a big budget feature (I still love the depth, imagery and overall look of film).
The icing on the cake, so to speak, is that the transfer consumes an extraordinary 41.8 gigs of disc space on the Blu-ray, a nearly unprecedented amount of space consumed for just one movie. In short -- the transfer is positively stunning. Which brings me to the point of this article -- if this is just one of two, maybe even three Blu-ray releases, will future releases look better? And how?
Director James Cameron is a notorious innovator -- I think we all know that. Between "Aliens," "The Abyss," "Terminator 1-2," "Titanic" and now "Avatar," we know that Cameron is a man who loves to play around with new and exciting cinematic techniques. It's what he's known for.
And while "Titanic" never really got a fully decked-out DVD release (there was a special edition release in 2005 and 2007, but it garnered very little hype), it only seems natural that Cameron would want to pioneer this new series into the era of high-def and 3D television. "Avatar" was, essentially, made for Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray -- Cameron's even touted this a few times in interviews.
So, I'm wondering, how will Fox pull this off? The first release slams the encode right against the 50 gig wall of dual-layered Blu-ray discs. Will the inevitable double-dip compress the image to half the size to make way for commentaries and PiP behind-the-scenes tracks like an animatic track, a storyboard track, a green-screen track and more? Not to mention the hours of featurettes, documentaries, outtakes, deleted scenes fans inevitably want. Or the extended cut and the 3D cut of the film. Where will it all go?
Obviously, some of these goodies could be placed on a second, or even third disc, but won't the 3D version of the film fall prey to some serious compression? A 3D image is, after all, two 1080p images stacked on top of each other. Wouldn't that make the disc 83 gigs? Obviously, with the MVC codec (the codec used for 3D), the image won't be quite as big as that, but it will still overflow a 50 gig Blu-ray.
The point I'm getting to is this -- when that inevitable double or triple-dip of "Avatar" comes out, Fox will likely do one of about four things:
1. Compress the image and yield a less than stellar transfer for future releases (think: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on Blu-ray)
2. Create some elaborate 4-5 disc set that won't feature any innovate goodies like PiP tracks. After all, they won't fit.
3. Roll out two special editions -- an extended cut and a 3D cut, though either way would require spreading the film over multiple discs.
4. Begin implementation of quad-layered 100 gig Blu-ray discs.
Obviously, the only real solution that will yield the finest quality special edition is to introduce quad-layered, or better, BD technology.
No one wants a weaker, compressed image, and people will inevitably want more than just a documentary or featurette when it comes to this movie. They want an immersive in-movie experience to complement the film. And we all hate flipping and changing discs, so that option's out.
Even better, we already know that quad-layered technology is just a firmware update away. It was designed more than four years ago, meaning most players made today would likely handle it with a quick update.
Blu-ray technology was designed to handle more than just two layers. This was a format built for upgrading -- to continually evolve as technological innovations come to the surface. That's why we're seeing BD-3D hitting the market. In other words, a special edition release of "Avatar" could very well represent the next big step for Blu-ray, which in turn, could mean more uncompressed, higher quality high-def transfers in the near future.
The movie will certainly be a gold mine of Fox for years to come. Why not make "Avatar" the official film of Blu-ray? Seems fitting given the blue-toned creatures in the movie, and the high-def 3D innovations of the film itself.
Sadly, no one official (that's talking) really seems to know what the future holds for "Avatar." It's possible the release will be botched, just like "Titanic" was ten years ago. Fans will eagerly wait, and wait, for a better, bigger special edition, but nothing will come (we never did get that extended edition of "Titanic" as promised). And when the special edition (still sans the extended cut) does arrive (eight years after the release), no one really cares all that much.
That's not the future I hope for "Avatar." And it seems like that's not the future Cameron wants, either. He's been pretty vocal about future editions, in particular a 3D version of the film, though he's also mentioned an extended cut, which is set to arrive in theaters late this summer (allegedly August or September).
This no frills first Blu-ray release does boast a terrific A/V presentation, but it won't hold me over. And it surely won't hold over the throngs of hungry fans. And it most certainly won't hold over the crazed uber-fans/nerds who paint themselves blue.
They want more. And they deserve more. Hell, the film, one of the finest visual effects achievements in years, deserves more. This is the sort of the film that literally inspires young minds to become filmmakers, writers, animators, software engineers, designers and more -- it demands to be dissected and explored.
I hope James Cameron and Fox see that, and don't take the easy route with the next Blu-ray release. Hopefully we'll never see a weaker, compressed transfer on Blu-ray. The fact that they packed this release to the brim with a gorgeous uncompressed image is a decent sign that both Fox and Cameron mean business with this franchise.
"Avatar" is an innovate film, and soon, it will be time for an innovative Blu-ray. And I say, bring it on.
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----R. L. Shaffer