Writings > DVD Image Comparisons > Non Ho Sonno/Sleepless

Non Ho Sonno/Sleepless

Region 0 special collector's edition (UK) - Missing In Action
vs. Region 2 (Italy) - Medusa

WARNING! The final image of this comparison is a major spoiler.
Special thanks to Nick Dawe (Inferno) for contributing the UK DVD.

Details

Bit Rate

R0 UK

R2 Italy

Screen Captures

Examples of differing text close-ups in English and Italian versions

R0 UK

R2 Italy

Example 1

Mouse over to switch between versions:
R0 UK | R2 Italy

Example 2

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R0 UK | R2 Italy

Example 3

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R0 UK | R2 Italy

Example 4

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R0 UK | R2 Italy

Example 5

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R0 UK | R2 Italy

Example 6

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R0 UK | R2 Italy

Comments

Neither transfer really meets my standards, but the Italian version is definitely better than the UK one. Both differ quite a bit in terms of vertical framing (Italian almost always has more image at the bottom and less at the top), but the real difference is in the resolution. The UK transfer has heavy blockiness throughout that is probably not very visible in these screenshots, but is very apparent during playback. The best way to describe this is the effect that you get when you do a poor quality pixel resize in a graphics editing program. The UK transfer seems darker most of the time but has slightly richer colours (or is that a slight yellow tinting?).

Soundwise, the Italian DVD wins for not only including Dolby and DTS 5.1 versions of the superior Italian mix, but for having much higher audio bit rates. The UK disc includes only the poor English mix, and the bit rate is a low 224 Kbps. This is a 5.1 track, and the minimum recommended rate for one of those is 384 Kbps! As a result, the audio on the UK DVD sounds like a poorly encoded RealPlayer file.

The UK disc wins for extras, not only because it includes the insightful Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror documentary on a second disc (although it is available separately), but also for providing English subtitles for the brief making-of featurette. Overall, however, the superiority of the Italian audio and video cancels this out, in my opinion.

Summary