Columbia TriStar's Superbit DVD Series

On October 9, 2001, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released a new series of DVDs that promises the best in picture and sound quality, dubbed as the Superbit™ DVD series. These are DVDs that devote the entire data capacity to accommodate higher video bit rates and two surround sound options, the highly regarded DTS 5.1 and de facto standard Dolby Digital 5.1. By omitting bonus materials, running audio commentaries, other audio (Dolby Digital 2.0) and language (e.g., French or Spanish) soundtracks, extra data capacity is freed up for the higher video bit rate, DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound tracks.

A comparison of disc space allocation and video bit
rate between a standard DVD and a Superbit DVD
(chart courtesy of Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment)

To ensure the best possible picture quality, Columbia TriStar starts with a new high-definition video transfer process, using the best possible source and encoding the picture using an MPEG-2 compression method that takes advantage of higher bit rates to maximize the resulting picture quality. The video bit rate almost always vary as a function of the complexity of the picture encoded and how much of it changes from frame-to-frame. Usually, video bit rates of typical DVD movies average about 4-5 Megabits per second (Mbps), but the Superbit DVD series' bit rates average about 6-7 Mbps. (Incidentally, the DVD format allows for video bit rates up to 10 Mbps.) Basically, this means that the picture is less compressed. And because MPEG-2, the video compression algorithm for DVDs, is a lossy compression algorithm, the extra data bits in the higher video bit rate allow picture details, colors, and subtle tonal gradations to be preserved and encoded. As a direct result, the Superbit DVD picture promises to be more detailed, with more vibrant colors and finer tonal gradations.

Then for the best possible surround sound experience, Superbit DVDs offer the choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 (which is nothing new or novel), and more importantly DTS 5.1. The real high performance option here is the availability of the DTS 5.1 surround sound format. While both soundtracks are 5.1-channel, DTS uses a higher bit rate (or less lossy compression) for potentially better sonic performance and increased channel separation. And in our experience, the DTS soundtrack unequivocally always sounds better. For more information on surround formats, read our Surround Sound Tutorial.

As part of the Superbit DVD series debut on October 9, 2001, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released five DVD titles: The Fifth Element, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Air Force One, Johnny Mnemonic, and Desperado. Each title comes in a keep case and a paper cardboard sleeve that looks like a brushed aluminum cover. Here are the cover art of the sleeves on the initial Superbit DVD releases:

Superbit DVD releases include (clockwise from top left):
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Air Force One",
"The Fifth Element", "Johnny Mnemonic" and "Desperado"

Two additional Superbit titles were released on December 11, 2001: Gattaca and Bram Stoker's Dracula. These were then followed by Vertical Limit and The Big Hit on March 19, 2002. Given the positive responses by the media on these initial releases, Columbia TriStar plan to release additional Superbit titles each quarter. They plan to focus primarily on action and science fiction movies, targeting those titles that serious DVD enthusiasts are more likely to collect.

Staying with their plan, Columbia-TriStar added A Knight's Tale and Anaconda to its list of Superbit releases for August 27, 2002. On September 17, 2002, Columbia TriStar released its first feature film directly to the Superbit format, Panic Room. This is a notable change from its previous strategy of only issuing Superbit DVDs as re-releases of movies previously released to DVD as standard or special editions. Rounding out 2002, Resident Evil and Tommy were released as Superbits on December 17.

So what do we think of the Superbit DVD series? We got our hands on three Superbit titles (namely "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Air Force One", and "The Fifth Element") for our evaluation. And here's what we think:

The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Superbit DVD is the only title of the three that we have a standard DVD release for comparison. The picture quality improvements are more much more subtle than we would have expected, but then much of the movie takes place in darkness or dim lighting conditions. In the many night-time fight sequences, shadow details are slightly better, making it a little easier to see what's going on. (To see this, you'll have to make sure your TV is properly calibrated, especially for contrast and brightness.) In the more brighter scenes, differences were still hard to discern between the regular DVD and the Superbit DVD.

The DTS 5.1 soundtrack sounds considerably better than that of the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. As can be expected, where we notice the most difference are during the fight sequences and scenes rich with musical scores. For example, the vibrations of the Green Destiny sword seems more clear and pronounced. Listen to the fight sequence in Chapter 7. The music doesn't drown out some of the more subtle on-screen sound effects. These differences are consistent with the differences we hear between DTS and Dolby Digital soundtracks of any DVD movie with both soundtrack options. And this is what we had expected. There's nothing new or novel here. But don't get us wrong, the sonic improvement is significant and much welcomed. Read our full review of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The Air Force One Superbit DVD looks superb, though we do not have its original DVD release for comparison. But compared to any DVD, the picture seems more detailed than usual and the colors seem much more vibrant and more life-like. All scenes during the entire movie seems consistently well composed with increased detail and higher color fidelity, which is the direct result of the video bit rate consistently running at least 4.5 Mbps. The DTS 5.1 soundtrack sounds terrific, as good as any DTS soundtrack we've seen on other non-Superbit DVD releases. "Air Force One" as a movie is already quite a thrill ride, and this Superbit DVD version takes it to the limit. I was completely spell-binded by the movie and the quality of its Superbit release. Read our full review of Air Force One.

The Fifth Element Superbit DVD looks exceptionally good. The colors are very rich, doing justice for the cinematography style. The picture clarity and brightness were stunning. For example, look at the opening scenes (Chapter 2 starting at time counter 2:57) as it shows the aliens coming down to remove the five elements. The brightness of the reflected natural light and later the spaceship's light, the rich and vibrant colors, and the contrast and shadow details with the alien's dark outer shell are remarkable. Like "Air Force One", the picture detail is consistently good throughout the film, thanks to the consistent use of at least 4.5 Mbps. As can be expected, the DTS 5.1 soundtrack is sensational. Our comments above from the "Air Force One" DTS discussion mostly applies. Of the three Superbit titles reviewed here, "The Fifth Element" is by far my favorite Superbit. I like all three movies, but "The Fifth Element" presented as a Superbit DVD is like candy for the eyes and ears. How should I put it... Hmmmm, I know, it's "perfect!" (borrowing the description of The Supreme Being in The Fifth Element). Read our full review of The Fifth Element.

One thing we noticed is that the Superbit DVDs are optimized for widescreen displays. When watching on a large 4:3 aspect ratio TV, we noticed some down-conversion artifacts during the opening credits of all three films. The words and letters of the opening credits seems to be unsteady and undulates slightly. More troubling are the same down-conversion artifacts observed during the movie itself. One clear example is in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", chapter 3 (time counter 6:23 to 6:31), look at the door with the lite panes in the background on the left side of the screen. The lite panes seem to wiggle against the white background as the camera pans upward. On the standard DVD edition, we did not see these same down-conversion artifacts. Usually, the widescreen to full frame down-conversion is handled very nicely and elegantly by our reference DVD player (Sony DVP-S7700), but perhaps the higher video bit rate is pushing our DVD player to its limits. On a widescreen display, none of the down-conversion artifacts we mention here are a problem. And since the Superbit DVDs are optimized for high-performance home theaters, usually equipped with widescreen TVs, we would not characterize this as a problem. Rather, these Superbits will serve as reference DVDs for evaluating DVD player performance. But if you have a large 4:3 aspect ratio TV, it's something worth noting.

Overall, these three Superbit DVD samples seem to indicate that Columbia TriStar Superbit's picture quality is a welcomed improvement for serious and discriminating home theater enthusiasts, videophiles, and DTS surround sound fans. In fact, if you consider yourself a DTS fan, like us, you may find that particular feature of the Superbit series most appealing.

So what do others think? Check out quotes and opinions from the editors of popular home theater print magazines, from the likes of The Perfect Vision and Stereophile to Home Theater, in this press release.

Will you be able to see the improved picture quality and hear the improved sound treatments? That really depends on three things: the quality of your home theater system, your skill at differentiating subtle picture quality differences, and whether you can discern the sonic differences between Dolby Digital and DTS.

At one extreme, if you have a 27" analog TV and listen to the soundtrack through the speakers of your TV, it is unlikely that your TV is capable of rendering enough of a difference for you to tell. And you will need a true 5.1-channel surround sound system to hear what DTS has to offer. The Superbit DVD series was conceived for home theater systems with larger screens and high-performance surround sound systems.

So if you have a calibrated, state-of-the-art home theater system with a rear-projection or front-projection digital TV (HDTV-ready) and DTS-capable 5.1-channel surround sound system and have the skill to recognize a high quality picture, you may and should be able to see the increased detail, color fidelity, and subtle tonal gradations. This is true even if you have a large-screen (40-inch or larger) analog TV and are using either component video or S-video interconnects from the DVD player. Make sure that your TV is calibrated, and converged if it's a RGB-based display.

What about your skills for differentiating picture quality and sonic quality variations? Well, ask yourself this question: can you tell the difference among the picture qualities of various DVD movies? The picture quality among DVDs do vary somewhat, though DVD releases of current-year theatrical releases in the past couple of years have been consistently good. The picture quality varied more for DVDs released in the 1997-1999 timeframe. If your answer is "yes" you can see subtle picture quality differences, then most likely you'll be able to see some improvement with these Superbit DVD releases.

In terms of sonic improvements in surround sound, as long as you have a DTS-capable 5.1-channel surround sound system, you'll be able to enjoy a DTS-quality soundtrack. If you're one of those who can hear the quality differences between a Dolby Digital 5.1 and a DTS 5.1 soundtrack, then you'll be able to reap the sonic advantages of the Superbit DVD series.

The Superbit DVD series' focus on pure picture and audio quality is a refreshing and radical approach. It actually departs from the general trend, as of late, for more and more bonus materials. Many studios have been releasing 2-disc special editions that are jam packed with bonus materials. Some of these 2-disc sets, incidentally, do offer the DTS 5.1 surround sound option. But Columbia TriStar is the only studio to release these high-performance DVDs. They are betting that there is enough of a market to make the Superbit series worthwhile. And if Columbia TriStar is right, who knows? Other studios may follow suit with their own high performance DVD versions.

While the Superbit DVD series is about optimum picture and audio performance, it is also about having a choice. As a consumer, you can buy the standard edition DVD, with its share of bonus features. Or you could buy the Superbit DVD, with its promise of supercharged visual and sonic performance.

But in all seriousness, for consumers to really have a choice, Columbia TriStar would have to release its Superbit DVDs to coincide with their regular DVD releases. Preferably, the Superbit DVD releases would be "day and date" with the regular DVD edition of the same movie, but staggering the releases one or two months either way would still be acceptable, if both releases were known ahead of time. The idea is that when a movie comes out on DVD, the consumer should know early enough to decide between the regular DVD releases or a streamlined, high-performance Superbit DVD release. Otherwise, if the Superbit release trails six months to several years after the first regular DVD edition release, it would be a duplicate follow-up purchase decision for the consumer which is far less desirable.

If it were up to us, we would like to see a premium line that consists of a Superbit DVD and a 2nd disc of bonus features. What we're saying is that we'd like to have our Superbit and bonus features too.

Drop us a note and tell us what movies you would like to see released as Superbit DVDs from Columbia TriStar. To jog your memory, here are some past Columbia TriStar DVD releases: In the Line of Fire, The 6th Day, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, The One, Starship Troopers, The Net, and Black Hawk Down. Who knows, if certain titles are popular among our readers, we will pass your requests to Columbia TriStar and they may add your favorite movies to their slate for future Superbit releases. As we noted above, Columbia TriStar is focusing on action and science fiction movies for its Superbit releases. And remember, it has to be a Columbia TriStar release, not another studios'. So let us know.

What do you think of the Superbit DVD series? Let us know your thoughts, send an e-mail to us at Feedback@TimeForDVD.com.

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