All forums / General Balto Discussion
Anyone got the region 2 dvd?
What do you think of it?
Started by Absinthe on 21 May 2004, 18:42 UTC · 24 preserved posts
65-108446680921 May 2004, 18:42 UTC
Well, I haven't watched Balto in years so when I saw it on offer at Play.com, I decided to order it. The cover art on the DVD and the menus is different to the Region 1 (American) version, and I wondered if anyone else had seen both and what they thought of them? Personally, I thought the R2 cover was going to be like the original video cover, but it's really mundane! And the clip art of Jenna at the back & on the main menus is just...awful. I wonder why the covers and menus are different for different regions? And why they can never hire proper illustrators?
I hope I don't sound like a snob...I just thought that for a high profile DVD they could employ better graphic designers? Wolf Quest's cover is much better. hmm.
sorry if I rambled on there...just a thought.
65-107815589721 May 2004, 22:43 UTC
Hmmm...that's interesting. Do you have a pic of the one you have? I'd like to have a look-see. 
I'll check out play.com, too. 65-108446680922 May 2004, 20:43 UTC
The R2 DVD seems to be a rarity; the cover shown on Play.com is the movie poster or the original NTSC VHS cover...anyway, I scanned the cover for you.
(sorry for the low quality yet huge size, I still need to figure out my new scanner and I got these done quickly):
http://www.lionking.org/~ljtaylor/baltocoverr2.jpg
http://www.lionking.org/~ljtaylor/baltodiscr2.jpg 65-106196054223 May 2004, 06:50 UTC
That's the disc I have, except that it's the German version. �The movie can be viewed in four different languages, as can the documentary. �The film itself is in anamorphic widescreen too, so in my mind it beats the American version by ten miles 
. I think the front cover kicks the American one's butt, the back cover is good except for Jenna's appearance. Why are her eyes yellow? 
65-107815589723 May 2004, 15:06 UTC
Wow, that is odd. Mine's different. I have the American version, though. Hey! Your's is in widescreen! That is not fair! Why won't it come out in wide here in the U.S.!? 
I think the difference is both the format and the region. It's in wide, not full, and it's a different region. That's probably why it looks different. But, I see the same thing as Aniu: Jenna's eyes. That is strange. I hate to say this, but maybe the place you got it from was one of those cheap places. I don't really know, for sure. I aslo like that one better than the American version, though. I wish they'd have that here. Maybe I'll get the VCD and get it in wide... 80-108034711823 May 2004, 15:19 UTC
I currently have American verison, and right now i am trying to get all other those version, *crys and sniffs* where i can find it!
65-106196054223 May 2004, 16:47 UTC
Heh, I was lucky in that the only reason I have the R2 disc is because my brother is there currently as part of his college education, and he sent me the disc for Christmas. �This is the official German version, so it's not a 'cheap' fake. �For some reason, whoever did the art for that must not have watched the movie, since Jenna's eyes are wrong.
You should try Ebay Aneiryu, if you have access to it. �Sometimes R2 discs show up there. �Also, if you're curious to know what it looks like in widescreen(it rocks, BTW)my website has a whole section dedicated to it, with a couple comparison screengrabs. 
116-106196084623 May 2004, 17:32 UTC
Or you could pick up the Brazillian version which is still R1 but widescreen. (You need a non-regional player to play R2 DVD's if you live in the USA.) A few other members have done that and like it. ^^
70-106196059223 May 2004, 22:54 UTC
I have the UK PAL region 2 disc. I love it, the artwork IMO is better than the US one as Balto actually looks like Balto. Also it is in widescreen and as far as I know PAL format is a superior resolution as well but I may be wrong about that part.
83-106196071624 May 2004, 06:35 UTC
I actually have two versions of the movie. �The region 1 for when it first came out, then I later got the Brazilian version (which is actually regions 1, 3, and 4). �I personally like the artwork for the region 2 DVD cover better. �While it's not the original artwork from 1996, it's still better than what they did on the American version. �And I find it odd that we don't have widescreen avaliable to us, when every other country does. ^_^;
http://www.theicecave.org/balto/brazildvd.shtml If you're curious about that Brazilian version. 65-106196054224 May 2004, 10:04 UTC
The definition of the two resolutions is described in PowerDVD's help section as follows: "Supports full resolution video playback at 720 x 480 for NTSC and 720 x 576 for PAL".
So, there is a difference, and I think I do see a slightly higher resolution in the German DVD than the American, but at the same time, my laptop's screen is already high res, so it's hard to tell. �When I compare screenshots from both DVDs, it's difficult to discern a major difference. �
On the other hand, when I changed my custom WW avatars to screencaps from "Ein Hund mit dem Herzen eines Helden", I could see they were higher quality, even if only slightly. When I go to Germany this summer, I might buy WQ for this reason.
65-108446680924 May 2004, 16:05 UTC
I do think that the Balto on the front cover of the R2 disc looks more like (or is in fact a recoloured version of) the Balto head on the original VHS cover than the Balto on the R1 disc, but still...Jenna's eyes are indeed the wrong colour, and I just thought that the cover was a bit...bare, really, in comparison to the R1 version. *nitpick*
Is it widescreen? I play it on my 1240x780 (or something like that) resolution laptop and it fills the entire screen...although if I played it on the main DVD player it would probably be widescreen *never noticed that*.
65-106196054225 May 2004, 13:16 UTC
1240x780? Sounds like you have a widescreen laptop, therefore the image would fill the screen. Cool, I just have a fullscreen laptop, so widescreen DVDs show black bars at the top and bottom. Black bars don't bother me one bit, though.
115-108568278527 May 2004, 19:42 UTC
I have the french DVD which is Region 2, it has four languages: english, french, german and netherland. And it is in widescreen �
I think Universal saw they made an error to release it in 4/3 in the Usa so they decided to make it in 16/9 for all other countries, and it's a shame as the Usa is the biggest selling country.
I also like the zone 2 cover more than the zone 1 one, but they are pretty cheap compared to the movie or vhs cover...and that's a shame too, considering so many people buy DVDs judging only from the cover. 83-106196071603 Jun 2004, 15:07 UTC
I think the old clich� about judging book covers should also apply to DVD covers. 83-108302525603 Jun 2004, 18:07 UTC
| Quote (Silver Huskey @ June 03 2004,10:07, am) |
| I think the old clich� about judging book covers should also apply to DVD covers. |
You're right Silver Huskey People should at least read the back of a DVD if They are looking to buy one 115-108568278503 Jun 2004, 20:00 UTC
It is the same thing with the video games, many people buy only with the cover, and that's a shame.
I think the back of the Balto dvd is worse thant the front, or at least in the zone 2 version...
83-106196071605 Jun 2004, 05:56 UTC
I admit a video game's cover might catch my eye, but I'd certainly read what it's about before buying it. � 65-108501507206 Jun 2004, 05:35 UTC
Ack, there's a Balto video game?!?! WHERE?! WHAT SYSTEMM???!!
*Ahem* Sorry...^_^ I just got Balto in the mail a few days ago after ordering it off Ebay. I was foolish enough to get a VHS instead of DVD, but...well I'll get over it ^_^
115-108568278507 Jun 2004, 08:11 UTC
At least, the VHS is in widescreen!
Thinking about that, what would you think of a Balto video game? I think it would not be impossible, since there were Land before time games...Of course that was crap, but I would really like if Universal decided to make one! Every Disney has their own game, why not? And it would make the serie more popular...
| Quote |
| I think the old clich� about judging book covers should also apply to DVD covers. |
Hum, clich� is a french word Anyway, what I wanted to say is that customers often buy books, games or DVD without knowing them. Well, it's not always a bad thing... 83-106196071607 Jun 2004, 08:22 UTC
I don't know about that one, seeing how I never got my hands on an official tape. �It'd be interesting to see a Balto game, but I'd also be fearful. �It's rare that a game based on an animated movie is worth playing. �There's usually something that's not quite right with the game play, or the story isn't up to par. �However, I doubt Balto would suffer such a fate, seeing how wasn't popular enough for a game release.
I didn't know that, but I'm not surprised. �There are a lot of french words used in English. �XD �
True it's not neccessarily a bad thing, but you also deserve what you get. �Wether that's good or bad depends on the person. ;)
65-108446680908 Jun 2004, 16:22 UTC
@Aniu1983 ---> Well, that would explain why my mac has this widescreen shaped screen. *slaps self for stupidity* But black bars don't bother me much either...and if I recall correctly, as a matter of fact, I don't think the bars were THAT big when I played it on an actual DVD player (and we don't have a widescreen TV). But it definitely says that it's a widescreen DVD on the cover.
I don't know much about these things, so, 'scuse my ignorance.
People do indeed judge books by their covers; so that's why if you want to sell something, you should at least make an effort in the graphic design department. Even with a movie, game or book that I KNOW is good, if the cover is rubbish I'm somehow deterred from buying it. (Myself, I admit to being put off by books that don't have wax paper covers...heh).
98-108879604702 Jul 2004, 22:37 UTC
I have a thing to say why does my DVD say A True Story of a Hero and the American ones say A True Story of An American Hero. Does that mean mine is Canadian.
83-106196071604 Jul 2004, 02:13 UTC
No. The Canadian DVD cover is the same as the American version.