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Pixar talks about what it took to upgrade Toy Story to 3D

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 6th 2009 at 5:54PM


And some people didn't know it is possible to make an old movie look good in HD, and here Pixar is going back and making 15 year old movies 3D. Evidently Pixar has always thought about how its movies would look in 3D and decided to go back and make it happen with the first two Toy Story movies. The timing is due to the fact that Toy Story 3 is right around the corner, but while fans wait to see it, they can go to the theater and relive the first two like never before. What's interesting is that the original data took about 4 months to convert just to make it compatible with Pixar's current technology, and after that was done, it took another 6 months to convert each movie to 3D. The other interesting nuget is about how the distance between the two cameras help determine how "3D" an image will look -- an interesting read even if you're not interested in 3D.


[Via TVSnob.com]

Up director discusses Blu-ray extras with Cinematical

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 1st 2009 at 4:26PM


If you hit the theaters for Disney / Pixar's Up this weekend, you're probably more than ready to watch at home, and our friends at Cinematical recently talked to director Pete Docter about what to expect on the Blu-ray release. Beyond just commentary, there's also a documentary on their South American mountain research trip and Cine Explore powered look at all the artwork and animation tests behind the making of the flick. Considering how many of you consider other Pixar Blu-ray discs reference quality, there's little doubt this will be another great to add to the collection, check out the rest of the interview at the read link.

NEC upgrades DLP projectors for higher res 3D in time for the premiere of Up

by Richard Lawler posted May 30th 2009 at 10:03AM


If you roll out this weekend to check out Disney Pixar's latest addition to the 3D film movement Up, you might be seeing it broadcast by one of NEC's new NC2500S-A projectors or an older model that has been upgraded, sending out 3D in 2K res courtesy of Texas Instruments' DLP chips. The kids might not notice a 33% improvement in resolution and brightness over previous generations that let it put the show on bigger screens than ever before, but we're sure you will. Word is Clearview's Ziegfeld Theatre is one of the first with the upgrade, so if you're close by, we all know how important choosing a theater carefully can be these days.

Wall-E Blu-ray details seep out, it's unsurprisingly getting the royal treatment

by Darren Murph posted Aug 25th 2008 at 3:39PM


To say that Wall-E was a hit for Disney would be grossly understating it, and that's evidenced by the robust Blu-ray release that's being primed for a November 18th release. Unsurprisingly, Disney and Buena Vista Home Entertainment will be releasing this one just before the holiday shopping season really gets going, and we have a hunch it'll probably do some record smashing of its own. The 3-disc BD package will include Digital Copy, Burn-E with Boards (PiP), Cine-Explor with director Andrew Stanton, Axoim Arcade: retro suite of video games with a twist and a few Blu-ray exclusive features including at least one that taps into BD-Live. So, are you going to hand over $40.99 (MSRP) to hear that sweetheart utter "EEEEEVVVAAAAAA!" once more?

Pixar hops on bandwagon, also commits to 3D productions

by Darren Murph posted Apr 14th 2008 at 10:25AM


Okay, so this 3D thing is really getting serious. Nearly a month after DreamWorks Animation made known that all of its future films would be produced in 3D, Pixar has hit back with an eerily similar announcement. Reportedly, Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter proclaimed that beginning with Up in May of 2009, each Pixar production will be released in 3D alongside the traditional 2D version. We're also given a look at what to expect from the studio in the next four years, with titles such as Bolt, Rapunzel, King of the Elves and of course, Toy Story 3 all on deck. Furthermore, the first two Toy Story pictures will likely be re-released in 3D, but sadly, no timeline was given. Better get used to rockin' those face-engulfing specs, it seems.

[Via WidescreenReview, image courtesy of Moldova]

Disney's Cars & Pirates of the Caribbean miss Blu-ray until '07

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 10th 2006 at 12:35AM

Our fears have been confirmed, Disney will not release their two biggest summer movies, Cars & Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on Blu-ray until next year. In contrast to the statements made by a Warner exec about a big HD fourth quarter, they predict a slower adoption for the high definition formats than DVD enjoyed. That isn't to say they're entirely pessimistic about the situation, but CEO Bob Iger just thinks it's too early to predict anything...of course if his company supported HD DVD also and had been already shipping high definition discs for several months at this point maybe he would feel like they have a better handle on things. Still, we should remember that despite a strong summer, Disney is in the middle of restructuring to cut costs, spend less on marketing, and may not want to undergo the expense of shipping such high profile titles to a small, unproven market, instead opting for a low-profile release schedule to start.

Disney's Cars DVD dated, no Blu-ray release in sight?

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 4th 2006 at 9:19AM

It only took one line from VideoBusiness' note about the DVD details of Pixar's latest hit film Cars to dampen our spirits. The Blu-ray supporting Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment (Disney) didn't mention any plans for a high-def release of the movie yet. The DVD isn't hitting until November 7, well after Disney's first Blu-ray releases featuring Paul Walker in Eight Below on September 19, but we are looking forward to other summer movies getting day-and-date releases, why not one from the friendly budget HDTV calibrators at Pixar?

The end of the year and the launch of the Playstation 3 is far enough away however that we still hold out hope for plenty of Blu-ray content to become available, and maybe with codec and dual-layer issues straightened out as well. We're looking forward to some great 1080p CG this winter, and we don't mean from Killzone.

[Corrected Cars release date]

Disney buys Pixar: TV films in 720p until Blu-Ray?

by Kevin C. Tofel posted Jan 25th 2006 at 8:27AM

Disney logoSo now Steve Jobs has to wear Mickey Mouse ears since Disney bought Pixar for $7.4 billion or more depending on who you ask; that'll get you a ton of "Nemo" for your fish tank. Aside from the new head gear for Stevie, does this mean that we'll only see Pixar movies at home in 720p now? Since Disney owns ABC who broadcasts in 720p, that's what we're thinking. It's not a major issue by any means; the Pixar movies previously shown on ABC have looked truly outstanding. Besides, the Pixar films on next gen DVDs (last we heard, the Mouse was in the Blu-Ray camp) should make this a moot point once consumers adopt the new technologies.

Last minute holiday shopping?

by Richard Lawler posted Dec 24th 2005 at 1:42PM


There's always DVD's, CD's and videogames. So what might you pick up today that would look great on the screen of the HDTV owner in your life? I've got a few ideas.

DVD's -

  • The Island - I know I know, nobody went to see it at the theaters, let me tell you, I think they made a mistake. It was a great summer action flick and will make for a great winter action flick to watch inside while it snows. The sets and the special effects had me thinking this may be my first Blu-ray/HD-DVD purchase when I originally saw it in the theater, since neither of them made it this year I'll have to settle for regular DVD quality upconverted. Oh yeah, and Scarlett Johansen? Incredibly easy on the eyes.

Continue reading Last minute holiday shopping?





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