The Batman is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman . Developed by Michael Goguen and Duane Capizzi , and produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics for seasons 3–5, the series first aired on Kids' WB on September 11, 2004, then Cartoon Network on April 2, 2005. The show would become exclusive to the former network for its third, fourth, and fifth seasons in early 2006. The Batman won six Daytime Emmy Awards over the course of its run. Many elements from previous Batman storylines were borrowed and adapted, such as those from the comic books , film series and the animated shows like Batman: The Animated Series from the DC Animated Universe , but it remained strictly within its own distinct continuity. Jackie Chan Adventures artist Jeff Matsuda served as art director and provided the character designs. The production team altered the appearances of many of the comic books' supervillains for the show, such as the Joker , the Penguin , Mr. Freeze , Bane , and the Riddler .
115-399: All five seasons are available on DVD and Blu-ray . In 2005, a direct-to-DVD film titled The Batman vs. Dracula was released. The Batman also received a spin-off comic book series, The Batman Strikes! , published by DC Comics; it was set in the same continuity as the show and featured the same art style. Billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (voiced by Rino Romano ) is secretly The Batman,
230-511: A Superman series set in the same universe of The Batman , a possibility supported by Superman's revealed existence during the show's fifth season. Despite this, the expansion was never realized, and Capizzi never again mentioned the spin-off. DVD-Video DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVDs . DVD-Video was the dominant consumer home video format in Asia , North America , Europe , and Australia in
345-400: A bit depth of 8 bits per color, encoded as YCbCr with 4:2:0 chroma subsampling . The following formats are allowed for H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2 video: The following formats are allowed for MPEG-1 video: The MPEG-1 Part 2 format does not support interlaced video. The H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2 format supports both interlaced and progressive-scan content, and can handle different frame rates from
460-504: A 4:3 fullscreen aspect ratio . However, the entire series is available in its original 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio on Amazon Video , Blu-ray, Google Play , Max , Netflix , and the Xbox Video Store. The first two seasons and The Batman vs. Dracula film are available on iTunes in 16:9. On March 1, 2022, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released the whole series on Blu-ray for the first time. The Batman vs. Dracula film
575-553: A DVD movie can be Dolby Digital (AC-3), DTS , PCM , or MPEG-1 Audio Layer II (MP2) format. In countries using the PAL system standard DVD-Video releases must contain at least one audio track using the PCM, MP2, or AC-3 format, and all standard PAL players must support all three of these formats. A similar standard exists in countries using the NTSC system, though with no requirement mandating
690-562: A DVD-Video disc in the VOB container format ( V ideo Ob ject). VOB is based on the MPEG program stream format, but with additional limitations and specifications in the private streams. The MPEG program stream has provisions for non-standard data (as AC-3 , DTS , LPCM or subtitles used in VOB files) in the form of so-called private streams. VOB files are a very strict subset of
805-475: A Floodlight was built on top of the G.C.P.D building, referencing that the future Bat-Signal was used by police before it was a calling card for Batman, also stating that the series introduced the early uses of the Bat-Signal. After the third-season finale, " Heroes Rise: Heavydirtysoul ", Bruce Wayne is seen standing on a ledge overlooking the city as a searchlight gradually rises and picks out an area of
920-410: A Rose ", also from Batman Forever , features singer Seal performing the song while standing near the Bat-Signal. In Schumacher's 1997 film Batman & Robin , Poison Ivy alters the Bat-Signal by changing it to a "Robin-Signal" to lure Robin into a trap. In Christopher Nolan 's 2005 film Batman Begins , then-lieutenant James "Jim" Gordon finds the mobster Carmine Falcone strapped onto
1035-723: A Television Production in 2006. The Batman was nominated for 12 Daytime Emmy Awards during its five-year run, with a total of six wins. In 2005, it was nominated for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program, an Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program ( Kevin Michael Richardson as the Joker), Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition, and Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Live Action and Animation (for which it won). In 2006, it
1150-559: A camping trip), whenever Batman needed to be summoned from the field. Its first appearance was in the pilot episode, " Hi Diddle Riddle ". The animated background for the closing credits of the TV series depicted the Bat-signal in the night sky over Gotham City. A promotion website for the 2014 Gotham TV series on Fox .com called "Gotham Chronicle", which is an online newspaper following recent events from Gotham , one of them stated that
1265-440: A computer. Extra features require additional storage space, which often means encoding the main title with lower than possible data rate to fit both the main title and the extras on one disc. Lower data rate may decrease visual and sound quality, which manifests itself in various compression artifacts . To maintain quality the main title and the extras may be released on several discs, or the extras may be omitted completely like in
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#17327837404011380-511: A criminal. In the season finale, Police Chief Rojas finally uncovers Yin's involvement with Batman, forcing her to go on the run. Around this time, Commissioner James Gordon (voiced by Mitch Pileggi ), the main law enforcement figure in most of the Batman mythos, rejects Rojas' belief that Batman is a criminal. Commissioner Gordon instead believes Batman to be an ally of the Gotham police force and
1495-540: A different version of Gearhead (voiced by Will Friedle ), Maxie Zeus (voiced by Phil LaMarr ), the Toymaker (voiced by Patton Oswalt ), Prank (voiced by Michael Reisz ), Temblor (voiced by Jim Cummings ), and D.A.V.E. (voiced Jeff Bennett ). Hugo Strange becomes a villain this season, having orchestrated the events of " A Fistful of Felt " and " Gotham's Ultimate Criminal Mastermind ". The season finale concludes with his incarceration at Arkham Asylum . With
1610-494: A direct line to the Batcave and is not as cooperative with the original Batman and his successor as her father was. The one appearance of the signal is in "Ascension", where Paxton Powers, the son of Derek Powers (Blight) , has a small replica of it built to summon the new Batman, Terry McGinnis . Terry destroys it upon arrival, advising Paxton to "try e-mail", indicating his dislike of the device as being obsolete to his time. In
1725-502: A disc to be copied to hard disk unscrambled. Some DeCSS applications also remove Macrovision , region codes , and disabled user operations (UOPs). After DeCSS ripping software became available, companies developed techniques to introduce errors in DVD-Video discs that do not normally affect playback and navigation of a disc, but can cause problems in software that attempts to copy the entire disc. These approaches, which are not part of
1840-488: A fee of $ 5,000. The specification is not publicly available and every subscriber must sign a non-disclosure agreement . Certain information in the DVD Book is proprietary and confidential. To record digital video, DVD-Video uses either H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2 compression at up to 9.8 Mbit/s (9,800 kbit/s ) or MPEG-1 Part 2 compression at up to 1.856 Mbit/s (1,856 kbit/s). DVD-Video supports video with
1955-458: A huge choice of discs. Contrary to popular belief, this practice is not illegal and in some countries that strongly support free trade it is encouraged. A normal DVD player can only play region-coded discs designated for the player's own particular region. However, a code-free or region-free DVD player is capable of playing DVDs from any of the six regions around the world. The CSS license prohibits manufacturing of DVD players that are not set to
2070-423: A logical format for DVD-Video compliant recording on optical discs and is commonly used on DVD+R/RW media. DVD-Video may also include up to 32 subtitle or subpicture tracks. Subtitles are usually offered as a visual aid for deaf and hearing impaired viewers, for displaying translated dialogue into other languages, or for displaying karaoke lyrics. They are sometimes used to present additional information about
2185-626: A makeshift signal was used earlier in " Joker's Favor ". In 2004's The Batman , Gordon invents it to summon Batman in "Night in the City", although the signal is also alluded to in an earlier episode. The Bat-Signal made its first on-screen appearance in the Batman and Robin serial by Columbia. In its first incarnation, it was simply a high-powered projector that was kept in Commissioner Gordon's office. When needed, he would simply wheel
2300-475: A max bitrate of 8 Mbit/s per angle to compensate for additional seek time. This limit is not cumulative, so each additional angle can still have up to 8 Mbit/s of bitrate available. Professionally encoded videos average a bitrate of 4–5 Mbit/s with a maximum of 7–8 Mbit/s in high-action scenes. Encoding at less than the max bitrate (like this) is typically done to allow greater compatibility among players, and to help prevent buffer underruns in
2415-458: A more public means of contacting him. After Batman departs, Gordon looks out at the city and considers the exceptional view from his current position, hinting at the future creation of the Signal. In the 1989 Batman film , Batman gives the signal to the Gotham police force, enabling them to call him when the city was in danger. In 2005's Batman Begins , then-lieutenant James Gordon installs
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#17327837404012530-518: A player must only play discs that contain its region code. In theory, this allows the motion picture studios to control the various aspects of a release (including content, date and price) on a region-by-region basis, or ensure the success of "staggered" or delayed cinema releases from country to country. For example, the British movie 28 Days Later was released on DVD in Europe several months prior to
2645-416: A raw bitrate of 11.08 Mbit/s, with a 1.0 Mbit/s overhead, leaving a payload bitrate of 10.08 Mbit/s. Of this, up to 3.36 Mbit/s can be used for subtitles, a maximum of 10.08 Mbit/s can be split amongst audio and video, and a maximum of 9.80 Mbit/s can be used for video alone. In the case of multiple angles the data is stored interleaved, and so there is a bitrate penalty leading to
2760-599: A renewed effort of the Joining to invade Earth. Most of the villains featured in the season are reinterpretations of those that fought against the DC heroes who teamed-up with Batman. These villains include Lex Luthor (voiced by Clancy Brown , reprising his role from the DC Animated Universe ), Mercy Graves (voiced by Gwendoline Yeo ), Metallo (voiced by Lex Lang ), Count Vertigo (voiced by Greg Ellis ),
2875-770: A result of a moderately flexible programming interface, DVD players can be used to play games, such as the DVD re-release of Dragon's Lair , along with more sophisticated and advanced games such as Scene It? , all of which can be run on standard DVD players. Modern DVD recorders often support additional disc and file formats, including DVD+/-R/RW, CD-R/RW, MP3 , WMA , SVCD , JPEG , PNG , SVG , KAR and MPEG-4 ( DivX / Xvid ). Some also include USB ports or flash memory readers. Player prices range from as low as US$ 20 ( £ 10) to as high as US$ 2,700 (£1,350). DVD drives for computers usually come with one of two kinds of Regional Playback Control (RPC), either RPC-1 or RPC-2. This
2990-469: A searchlight in the docks of Gotham City, for the Gotham Police force to arrest him, left by Batman. Lieutenant Gordon then notices that Falcone's shadow is projected into the clouds of the night sky, similar to the silhouette of a bat. At the end of the film, the Bat-signal appears, as a searchlight that projects the shape of a bat, installed atop police headquarters as a means to contact Batman. In
3105-540: A single region by default. While the same license prohibits manufacturers from including prominent interfaces to change the region setting it does not clearly prevent them from including "hidden" menus that enable the player's region to be changed; as such, many high-end models in the U.S. include password-protected or otherwise hidden methods to enable multi-region playback. Conversely in the UK and Ireland many cheap DVD players are multi-region while more expensive systems, including
3220-509: A successful effort has been made to write a decoder by reverse engineering , resulting in DeCSS . This has led to long-running legal battles and the arrest of some of those involved in creating or distributing the DeCSS code, through the use of the controversial U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), on the grounds that such software could also be used to facilitate unauthorized copying of
3335-447: A television set with a decoder. DVD-Video may contain chapters for easy navigation, and continuation of a partially watched film. If space permits, it is also possible to include several versions of certain scenes, called "angles". Today, the multi-angle feature is mostly used for internationalization. For example, it can be used to supply different language versions of images containing written text when subtitles would not do (e. g.,
3450-713: A wheelchair and having become the Oracle (voiced by Kellie Martin ). The episode also features elements from Frank Miller 's The Dark Knight Returns , including the designs of both the Batman costume and the Batmobile. In the season finale, an alien invasion by entities called " The Joining " causes Batman to work alongside another superhero from the DC Universe and an original member of the Justice League , Martian Manhunter (voiced by Dorian Harewood ), to thwart
3565-451: A work, but CSS does restrict the playback software that may be used. CSS has caused major problems for the inclusion of DVD players in any open source operating systems, since open source player implementations are not officially given access to the decryption keys or license to the patents involved in CSS. Proprietary software players were also difficult to find on some platforms. However,
The Batman (TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-444: A worldwide perspective regional coding may be seen as a failure. A huge percentage of players outside of North America can be easily modified (and are even sold pre-modified by e-commerce websites) to ignore the regional codes on a disc. This, coupled with the fact that almost all televisions in Europe and Australasia are capable of displaying NTSC video (at the very least, in black and white), means that consumers in these regions have
3795-646: Is 99 and the maximum titles allowed per DVD is 99. Almost all DVD-Video discs use the UDF bridge format, which is a combination of the DVD MicroUDF (a subset of UDF 1.02) and ISO 9660 file systems. The UDF bridge format provides backwards compatibility for operating systems that support only ISO 9660. Most DVD players read the UDF filesystem from a DVD-Video disc and ignore the ISO9660 filesystem. A DVD volume for
3910-642: Is a Macromedia Flash Toonami game released on cartoonnetwork.com in 2005. The video game featured a series of levels involving a kidnapped scientist, with gameplay resembling that of the Jakks Pacific 's The Batman Plug and Play Video Game released in 2004, with a level in CobbleBot Manor being almost an exact replica of a similar level in the TV Game. The CobbleBot Caper features The Batman tracking down and fighting two notable villains from
4025-571: Is a distress signal device appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics , as a means to summon the superhero , Batman . It is a specially modified searchlight with a stylized emblem of a bat affixed to the light, allowing it to project a large bat symbol onto cloudy night skies over Gotham City . The signal is used by the Gotham City Police Department as a method of contacting and summoning Batman in
4140-430: Is compatible with the DVD standard. Some hardware players will also play DVD-ROMs or CD-ROMs containing "raw" MPEG video files; these are "unauthored" and lack the file and header structure that defines DVD-Video. Standard DVD-Video files contain extra information (such as the number of video tracks, chapters and links to extra features) that DVD players use to navigate the disc. The maximum chapters allowed per title
4255-628: Is introduced as a new tool after Batman's first encounter with the Joker in the 2005 series Batman: The Man Who Laughs , and also during the 1990 " Prey " storyline in Legends of the Dark Knight . In the 2006 series Batman and the Mad Monk , Commissioner James Gordon initially uses a pager to contact Batman, but during a meeting with the superhero, Gordon throws it away, saying he prefers
4370-526: Is no pollution in the skies of Metropolis for the Bat-Signal to shine against. In the Harley Quinn episode "You're a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon", an overworked and depressed Commissioner Gordon starts excessively using the Bat-Signal to contact Batman for petty things like having someone to talk to about his failing marriage. Batman gets so annoyed that he confiscates the Bat Signal. By the end of
4485-619: Is not a beeper ". Later, the Riddler alters the Bat-Signal by projecting a question mark into the sky with the Bat-symbol forming the dot at the base. (The Riddler in the comics uses a similar tactic in Batman: Dark Victory ; after brokering a tentative alliance with Batman, the Riddler changes the signal, projecting a question mark into the sky to let Batman know that he has an answer for him). A music video for " Kiss from
4600-435: Is not included in the complete series Blu-ray release. The Batman Plug and Play TV Video Game (a.k.a. Plug 'n Play) was released in 2004 by Jakks Pacific . It features The Batman tracking down notable villains from the show, including The Joker , Firefly , Mr. Freeze , Bane , and Penguin . The game comes with a custom The Batman controller which connects to a TV via RCA connectors. The Batman : The CobbleBot Caper
4715-493: Is otherwise engaged and can not attend their meeting. However, having noticed the searchlight that illuminates the sky, the Dark Knight then appears on a building from across the street, watching Gordon, Bullock, and Alfred. In the CW series The Flash , a 'Flash signal' is created by Cisco , who claimed to have gotten the idea from "some comic book", which implies Batman does not exist in on Arrowverse Earth One. However, Earth 38,
The Batman (TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-770: Is particularly impressed when Batman and Yin capture the Joker, Penguin, and Riddler. He is revealed to be Batman's secret ally off-screen and develops a signaling searchlight, the Bat-Signal , allowing Batman to know that the police are firmly on his side. This season introduces more villains, including Rag Doll (voiced by Jeff Bennett ), the Riddler (voiced by Robert Englund ), Killer Croc (voiced by Ron Perlman ), Spellbinder (voiced by Michael Massee ), and Solomon Grundy (voiced by Kevin Grevioux ). Another new villain, Hugo Strange (initially voiced by Frank Gorshin ,
4945-411: Is rare on a DVD. The official allowed formats for the audio tracks on a DVD-Video are: DVDs can contain more than one channel of audio to go together with the video content, supporting a maximum of eight simultaneous audio tracks per video. This is most commonly used for different audio formats—DTS 5.1, AC-3 2.0 etc.—as well as for commentary and audio tracks in different languages. DVD-Video discs have
5060-524: Is reserved, and region 8, which is used exclusively for passenger transport such as airlines and cruise ships. A virtual machine implemented by the DVD player runs bytecode contained on the DVD. This is used to control playback and display special effects on the menus. The instruction set is called the Virtual Machine (VM) DVD command set. There are 16 general parameter registers (GPRM) to hold temporary values and 24 system parameters (SPRM). As
5175-638: Is used to enforce the publisher's restrictions on what regions of the world the DVD can be played. (See Regional lockout and DVD region codes .) While open-source software DVD players allow everything, commercial ones (both standalone models and software players) come further encumbered with restrictions forbidding the viewer from skipping (or in some cases fast-forwarding) certain content such as copyright warnings or advertisements. (See User operation prohibition .) When DVD drives first became commercially available in 1997, they often came with special encoder/decoder cards, which were designed to pass through either
5290-485: Is used when Commissioner Gordon needs Batman's help when the Red Triangle Circus Gang attack Max Shreck during Christmas and appears again at the end of the film as a surviving Catwoman looks on. In Joel Schumacher 's 1995 sequel Batman Forever , the criminal psychologist Dr. Chase Meridian uses the Bat-Signal to call Batman, to seduce him. Batman is slightly peeved at this: "The Bat-Signal
5405-625: The MPEG program stream standard. While all VOB files are MPEG program streams, not all MPEG program streams comply with the definition for a VOB file. DVD recorders can use DVD-VR or DVD+VR format instead of DVD-Video. DVD-VR format store multiplexed audiovisual content in VRO containers. VRO file is an equivalent to a collection of DVD-Video VOB files. Fragmented VRO files are not widely supported by hardware or software players and video editing software. DVD+VR standard defines
5520-605: The Teen Titans animated series, which aired on Cartoon Network and due to the Bat-embargo (a restriction in place regarding usage Batman's allies and enemies in multiple animated shows based on the comics). This season also sees the destruction of Batman's original Batmobile , which is replaced by an updated version for the remainder of the series. Several more new villains from the Batman mythos are introduced this season, including Poison Ivy (voiced by Piera Coppola ),
5635-463: The Everywhere Man (voiced by Brandon Routh ), Harley Quinn (voiced by Hynden Walch ), and Francis Grey (voiced by Dave Foley ). The season also brought an end to Ethan Bennett's version of Clayface, including a storyline that redeemed Bennett by curing him of his condition. This gave writers the opportunity to introduce Basil Karlo 's version of the villain (voiced by Wallace Langham in
5750-568: The Joker (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson ), the Penguin (voiced by Tom Kenny ), Catwoman (voiced by Gina Gershon ), Mr. Freeze (voiced by Clancy Brown ), Firefly (voiced by Jason Marsden ), the Ventriloquist and Scarface (voiced by Dan Castellaneta ), Man-Bat (voiced by Peter MacNicol ), Cluemaster (voiced by Glenn Shadix ), and Bane (voiced by Joaquim de Almeida in
5865-489: The Phantasm ), and Bullock, under orders from Councilman Arthur Reeves, tries to use the Bat-Signal to lure him in. Batman, knowing that it is a trap, does not respond. It is also used at the end of the film to call Batman to action once again (after Batman was cleared of the murder charges). The Bat-Signal is not used in the 1999 series Batman Beyond , save for one appearance, as Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon both has
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#17327837404015980-686: The Queen 's spell book in Snow White , and the scrolling text in the openings of the Star Wars films). Multiple angles have found a niche in markets such as yoga , erotica , animation (e. g. for storyboards ), and live performances. A significant selling point of DVD-Video is that the storage capacity allows for a wide variety of extra, or bonus, features in addition to the feature film. These extra features can include Extra features often provide entertainment or add depth and understanding to
6095-689: The Toyman (voiced by Richard Green ), the Shadow Thief (voiced by Diedrich Bader ), Sinestro (voiced by Miguel Ferrer ), and the Mirror Master (voiced by John Larroquette ). Only the Terrible Trio (voiced by David Faustino , Grey DeLisle , and Googy Gress), the Wrath (voiced by Christopher Gorham ), and Phosphorus are reinterpretations of Batman villains. Phosphorus differs in
6210-462: The fifth season , Gordon continues using the signal as a symbol of hope for the good people left in Gotham and later meets with Bruce at the Floodlight in " Year Zero ". In the series finale " The Beginning... ", Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock re-ignite the searchlight to celebrate Bruce Wayne's return to Gotham after ten years. Alfred Pennyworth then arrives and informs them that Bruce
6325-425: The " Superbit " line of DVDs. DVD-Video has four complementary systems designed to restrict the DVD user in various ways: Macrovision , Content Scramble System (CSS), region codes , and disabled user operations (UOPs). There are also anti-ripping techniques intended to foil ripping software . Many DVD-Video titles use Content Scramble System (CSS) encryption, which is intended to discourage people from copying
6440-503: The 2000s until it was supplanted by the high-definition Blu-ray Disc; both receive competition as delivery methods by streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ . Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and an MPEG-2 decoder (e.g., a DVD player, or a computer DVD drive with a software DVD player). Commercial DVD movies are encoded using a combination of MPEG-2 compressed video and audio of varying formats (often multi-channel formats as described below). Typically,
6555-522: The 2002 web series Gotham Girls , Batgirl appears to push her father Commissioner Gordon onto the Bat-Signal, crushing it. It is revealed that he is merely a robotic replacement. In the episode "The Cat, the Bat, and the Ugly" of the animated TV series The Batman , Batman has just foiled a plot that The Penguin tried to pull on top of a lighthouse. After talking to Detective Yin, Batman is standing in front of
6670-533: The 2008 sequel The Dark Knight , as in Frank Miller 's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns , Gordon uses the Bat-Signal to remind Gotham of Batman's presence. The signal proves to be very effective, with drug dealers and criminals becoming apprehensive at its very appearance. At the end of the film, after reluctantly agreeing to let Batman take the blame for the murders committed by Harvey Dent to preserve Dent's image as Gotham's hero, Gordon hesitantly destroys
6785-412: The Bat-Signal forever due to Batman's disappearance. The Bat-Signal was later destroyed by Alice in the episode "Down Down Down". A new Bat-Signal was made in "Who Are You?" by Luke Fox. The Bat-Signal appears in the season finale of Titans , titled "Dick Grayson", in a dream world created by Trigon . A spin-off series to the 2022 film The Batman , the 2024 finale of The Penguin ends with
6900-519: The Bat-Signal over to his office window and shine it directly to the sky. Though small, it was powerful enough to cast an image of the Bat symbol against the clouds. The Bat-Signal seldom appeared in the 1960s TV series , Commissioner Gordon generally contacting Batman using a dedicated phone line (the Batphone ). However, the Bat-Signal was occasionally used (for instance, in the episode "The Sandman Cometh" when Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are away on
7015-412: The Bat-Signal shining in the sky over Gotham. In Tim Burton 's 1989 film Batman , Batman gives the signal to the police as a gift so that they can summon him when he is needed after he defeats The Joker . In Burton's 1992 sequel Batman Returns , Batman has mirrors stationed atop Wayne Manor that reflect the Bat-Signal through his window, alerting him to its presence in the night sky. The signal
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#17327837404017130-465: The Bat-Signal to make different versions of the symbol for Robin, Barbara, Alfred, and many of Batman's allies summoning them to team up and defeat the Joker. In Batman: Gotham by Gaslight , when Selina Kyle is being pursued by Jack the Ripper in an empty fair, she uses her blood and a spotlight to create a makeshift Bat-Signal to attract Batman's attention, sketching a bat on the light and aiming it at
7245-432: The Bat-signal on the roof of the police department himself. The film suggests Gordon was inspired to create the signal after Batman left mobster Carmine Falcone chained across a spotlight after a confrontation at the docks, Falcone's silhouette on the spotlight vaguely resembling a bat. On the 1992 television show Batman: The Animated Series , the signal is introduced in the episode "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy", though
7360-536: The Batman logo in the sky until a figure appears out of nowhere in its place. A close-up of the figure reveals it is Superman glaring down at Batman readying his heat vision, as Batman stares back at the Man of Steel. In the actual film, the Bat-Signal is first referenced when Superman lands in front of the Batmobile , causing it to crash into an empty warehouse, Superman tears the car open to inform Batman not to respond
7475-563: The DVD-Video format has the following structure of directories and files: IFO files store control and playback information – e. g. information about chapters, subtitles and audio tracks. They do not store any video or audio data or subtitles. BUP files are only backups of the IFO files. Data structures recorded on a DVD-compliant disc are components of one of the four data groups called domains: Video, audio, subtitle and navigation streams are multiplexed and stored on
7590-666: The Joker), and won Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Live Action and Animation, and Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Live Action and Animation. The Batman was also nominated for Motion Picture Sound Editors "Golden Reel Awards" for Sound Effects Editing in 2005, 2008, and 2009, winning in 2008. IGN wrote that the series failed to win over diehard Batman fans the way Batman: The Animated Series did, but noted that it remained popular enough to last for five seasons. In June 2006, during an interview about Superman: Brainiac Attacks , writer Duane Capizzi mentioned
7705-525: The aliens' plans. This is when Batman becomes part of the Justice League of America , the Hall of Justice reminiscent of the version seen in the Super Friends cartoon. Albeit, the base is in space and not on Earth. The third episode of the season titled "Clayfaces" features a nod to Superman II 's diner scene. Two patrons, in the episode, are seen dressed and looking like Clark Kent and Lois Lane from
7820-456: The assistance of high-tech gadgets and a supercomputer. At the start of the first season, crime in Gotham is in decline, but Gotham Chief of Police Angel Rojas (voiced in the pilot by Edward James Olmos and later by Jesse Corti ), orders his officers to hunt down Batman. This marks the first acknowledgement of Batman's existence in the series. Despite the chief's orders, one of his detectives, Ethan Bennett (voiced by Steven Harris ), believes
7935-546: The battle, the Bat-Signal is destroyed when Superman throws Batman into it. The Bat-Signal appears again in Justice League and its director's cut , with Gordon using it to call Batman along with Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Cyborg. It also appears again at the end. The Bat-Signal is a major plot point in the 2022 film The Batman , directed by Matt Reeves who co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig . Unknown to anyone, Gotham Police Lieutenant James Gordon flashes
8050-473: The beginning of a disc). However, grey market players ignore UOPs and some DVD "re-authoring" software packages allow the user to produce a copy without these restrictions. The legality of these activities varies by jurisdiction and is the subject of debate. (See fair use .) Each DVD-Video disc contains one or more region codes, denoting the area(s) of the world in which distribution and playback are intended. The commercial DVD player specification dictates that
8165-466: The case of dirty or scratched discs. In October 2001, aiming to improve picture quality over standard editions, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment offered " Superbit "—a premium line of DVD-Video titles having average bitrates closer to 6 Mbit/s. Audio quality was also improved by the mandatory inclusion of both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround audio tracks. Multiple languages, angles, and extra audio tracks were eliminated to free up more space for
8280-453: The city needs Batman. At the start of the series, Bennett is assisted by a new partner from Metropolis, Ellen Yin (voiced by Ming-Na Wen ), who slowly becomes torn between her commitment to law and order and her personal feelings toward Batman. Throughout season 1, both Bennett and Yin are tasked with capturing Batman. During this first season, Bruce Wayne finds himself torn between his responsibilities as Batman and his regular life, though
8395-428: The conclusion of Teen Titans in 2006, the fourth season introduces Dick Grayson (voiced by Evan Sabara ). The opening episode of the season focuses on Dick Grayson's origins as Robin. Through the loss of Grayson's parents in a murder made to look like a circus accident, he is adopted by Bruce Wayne, who assists Grayson in bringing down the mafia boss Tony Zucco responsible for his parents' deaths. The second episode in
8510-609: The content can be encoded on the disc itself at one of several alternative frame rates, and use flags that identify scanning type, field order and field repeating pattern. Such flags can be added in video stream by the H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2 encoder. A DVD player uses these flags to convert progressive content into interlaced video in real time during playback, producing a signal suitable for interlaced TV sets. These flags also allow reproducing progressive content at their original, non-interlaced format when used with compatible DVD players and progressive-scan television sets. The audio data on
8625-562: The costumed protector of Gotham City . The series focuses on Batman's earlier years of his crime-fighting career, as he began fighting crime three years prior to the start of the series, and the Gotham City police do not publicly acknowledge the vigilante's existence. Operating out of a secret lair underneath Bruce Wayne's mansion—known as the Batcave—Batman and his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Alastair Duncan ), stop crime with
8740-455: The course of a two-part story, she secretly becomes Batgirl . The show's opening title sequence changes this season, and the opening theme music (performed by U2 guitarist The Edge ) is substituted with a lighter, '60s theme performed by Andy Sturmer . Throughout season 3, Barbara tries to become Batman's sidekick and be as good of an ally as her father. However, Batman frequently refuses to accept her help, although she proves herself to him by
8855-411: The dark cloud that, when illuminated, looks like a bat. In the finale of the fourth season , " A Dark Knight: No Man's Land ", James Gordon has Lucius Fox activate the Floodlight on top of the G.C.P.D building. After the episode, Gordon tells Bruce Wayne that the signal is meant to be a symbol of hope, while both are looking up at the clouds illuminated by the Floodlight. During No Man's Land in
8970-512: The data on the discs. The Videolan team, however, went on to make the libdvdcss library. Unlike DeCSS, libdvdcss can access a CSS-encrypted DVD without the need of a cracked key, thus enabling playback of such discs on opensource players without legal restraints (although DVD rippers using this library may still be subject to restrictions). The DMCA currently affects only the United States , however many other countries are signatories to
9085-570: The data rate for DVD movies ranges from 3 to 9.5 Mbit/s , and the bit rate is usually adaptive. DVD-Video was first available in Japan on November 1, 1996 (with major releases beginning December 20, 1996), followed by a release on March 26, 1997, in the United States—to line up with the 69th Academy Awards that same day. The DVD-Video specification was created by DVD Forum and can be obtained from DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation for
9200-438: The disc to specify whether or not the user may perform any operation, such as selecting a menu, skipping chapters, forwarding or rewinding – essentially any function on the remote control. This is known as User Operation Prohibitions, or Prohibited User Operations (UOPs or PUOs). Most DVD players respect these commands (e. g., by preventing skipping or fast-forwarding through a copyright message or an advertisement at
9315-468: The disc. Usually, users need to install software provided on the DVD or downloaded from the Internet such as MPlayer , TotalMedia Theatre , PowerDVD , VLC or WinDVD to be able to view the disc in a computer system. CSS does not make it difficult (any more) to copy the digital content now that a decoder ( DeCSS ) has been released, nor is it possible to distinguish between legal and illegal copies of
9430-464: The end of the season. This Batman-Batgirl storyline differs from the comic books. In previous incarnations of the story, Batman's first partner is Dick Grayson , who becomes Robin and joins Batman as his apprentice, later leaving to become Nightwing . The decision for Batgirl to be Batman's first sidekick in The Batman was due to Robin not permitted to be used in the show due to him being used in
9545-804: The event his help is needed, but also as a weapon of psychological intimidation to the numerous criminals of Gotham City. It doubles as the primary logo for the Batman series of comic books, TV shows, and films. To celebrate Batman's 80th anniversary, DC Comics and Warner Bros. lit the Bat-Signal in thirteen cities on September 21, 2019, starting in Melbourne and ending in Los Angeles . The Bat-Signal first appeared in Detective Comics #60 (February 1942). The signal has several different origins in comics featuring post- Crisis continuity. It
9660-554: The film's release in North American movie theaters. Regional coding kept the European DVD unplayable for most North American consumers, thereby ensuring that ticket sales would be relatively unaffected. In practice, many DVD players allow playback of any disc, or can be modified to do so. Entirely independent of encryption, region coding pertains to regional lockout , which originated in the video game industry. From
9775-474: The film, although they are not a couple and not sitting together. The diner is also similarly constructed, and the waitress in the episode is dressed similar to the one in the 1980 film. More villains with new interpretations are once again introduced, including Tony Zucco (voiced by Mark Hamill , who voiced the Joker in the DC Animated Universe ), Killer Moth (voiced by Jeff Bennett ), Black Mask (voiced by James Remar ), Rumor (voiced by Ron Perlman ),
9890-575: The film. Games, bloopers , and galleries provide entertainment. Deleted scenes and alternative endings allow the audience to view additional content which was not included in a theatrical release. Directors cuts allow the audience to see how the director envisioned the main title without the constraints which are placed on a theatrical release. Other extras that can be included on DVDs are motion menus, still pictures, up to 32 selectable subtitles, seamless branching for multiple storylines, up to 9 camera angles, and DVD-ROM / data files that can be accessed on
10005-411: The first appearance, Ron Perlman in the second, and Clancy Brown in the third). Throughout the second season, Batman continues to act outside of the law even though he has Detective Yin as an ally. Batman begins making a name for himself as a force for good when he saves a group of policemen from certain doom. In this season, his heroic act prompts the officers to support him rather than pursue him as
10120-537: The first appearance, and Lex Lang in the second appearance). Season 4 also featured a redesign of Bruce Wayne, with a more square facial and chin structure, making him reminiscent of the DC Animated Universe Batman design. This was the final season worked on by Jeff Matsuda and Michael Jelenic , both of whom departed from the show after the season finale. The final season on The Batman , season 5, focused primarily on Batman and Robin, with
10235-416: The integrated video on the computer motherboard or the video card . The cards were necessary since most computers did not have sufficient processing power to handle the decoding on the discs. As CPU speeds and video card memory drastically increased in the late 1990s, in addition to software alternatives such as PowerDVD becoming readily available, the decoder cards quickly became obsolete; however, before
10350-612: The introduction of GPU video encoding technology (such as Intel Quick Sync Video ), a proprietary MPEG2 / MPEG4 encoder card may be used. Video game systems with DVD-Video playback functionality include: Panasonic Q (a variation of the GameCube sold exclusively in Japan), PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Wii (with an unsupported hack), Xbox (additional remote required), Xbox 360 , Xbox One , and Xbox Series X . Bat-Signal The Bat-Signal
10465-430: The latter is supported by Gotham's mayor, Marion Grange (voiced by Adam West who played Batman in the 1960s Batman TV series). By the end of the season, Bennett is tortured and mutated by the Joker, transforming Bennett into Clayface . As Clayface, he is forced into hiding, while his partner Yin finally realizes she was wrong about Batman and forms an alliance with him. Among the villains introduced this season are
10580-458: The lighthouse light when the Bat Signal appears in the sky. In the second-season finale, "Night in the City" after newly inducted Commissioner Gordon finally agrees to ally with Batman; he begins using the Bat-Signal. After that, his "Batwave" alarm was rarely used. At the beginning of The Lego Batman Movie , Commissioner Gordon attempted to use the Bat-Signal to alert Batman only for it to be egged by Egghead thus disabling it. Later Batman uses
10695-481: The main title and thereby to ensure the highest data rate possible. In January 2007 the Superbit line was discontinued. Some DVD hardware or software players may play discs whose MPEG files do not conform to the above standards; commonly this is used to support discs authored with formats such as VCD and SVCD . While VCD and CVD video is supported by the DVD standard, neither SVCD video nor VCD, CVD, or SVCD audio
10810-484: The majority of home cinema systems, are preset to play only region 2 discs. In China, DVDs for television series are usually released in MPEG-1 video, with MP2 audio. By forgoing Dolby standards, manufacturers cut costs considerably; encoding in lower bit-rates also allows a TV series to be squeezed onto fewer discs. There is no region coding in such cases. There are also two additional region codes, region 7, which
10925-408: The next time they shine his light in the sky. Later, believing Superman responsible for the bombing of Congress, Batman activates the Bat-Signal himself to draw Superman to Gotham to confront him, unaware that Lex Luthor is manipulating them both into combat so that Superman will either be killed by Batman's kryptonite spear or forever compromise his image by killing Batman to save his mother . During
11040-457: The official DVD-Video specification, include Sony ARccOS Protection , Macrovision RipGuard , X-protect, ProtectDisc SecureBurn, Anaho, Fortium, and others. All of these methods have been circumvented (as might have been expected, since all standard DVD players naturally circumvent them to play and navigate the discs normally). Riplock is a feature that reduces drive noise during playback but inadvertently reduces ripping speed. DVD-Video allows
11155-431: The ones mentioned above by using pulldown . This is most commonly used to encode 23.976 frame/s content for playback at 29.97 frame/s. Pulldown can be implemented directly while the disc is mastered, by actually encoding the data on the disc at 29.97 frames/s; however, this practice is uncommon for most commercial film releases, which provide content optimized for display on progressive-scan television sets. Alternatively,
11270-454: The only live-action film about Batman where this occurs.) During 2014's SDCC , a teaser for Zack Snyder 's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was shown to the audience in Hall H. The teaser showed Batman in his armored Batsuit atop a building one rainy night in Gotham. Batman removes a sheet to reveal the Bat Signal and proceeds to turn it on. Their audience is shown the projected image of
11385-436: The original Riddler from the 1960s Batman TV series, who is later replaced by Richard Green after Gorshin's death), is portrayed as a secondary character in the season. The characters Yin and Police Chief Rojas make their final appearances at the end of the season. In the third season, the show introduces a younger incarnation of Barbara Gordon (voiced by Danielle Judovits), who is the police commissioner's daughter. Over
11500-811: The pair teaming up with some of the DC Universe's characters to battle different villains. These team-ups included Martian Manhunter, Superman (voiced by George Newbern , reprising his role from Justice League and Justice League Unlimited ), Green Arrow (voiced by Chris Hardwick ), the Flash (voiced by Charlie Schlatter , who previously voiced the Wally West version of Flash in Superman: The Animated Series ), Green Lantern (voiced by Dermot Mulroney ), and Hawkman (voiced by Robert Patrick ). Producer Alan Burnett described
11615-532: The season as the show's " The Brave and the Bold season". Both Batgirl and Commissioner Gordon were relegated to either guest or cameo appearances during the season, where Barbara Gordon, having graduated from high school, now attends college. The two-part series finale, "Lost Heroes", features all the members of the Justice League who made an appearance in the series, along with Batgirl, as they fight against
11730-523: The season leads to Batgirl officially becoming part of the team, with each member divulging his or her secret identity to the others. This reveal eventually leads to Batgirl and Robin forming a sibling-like rivalry. One of the highlights of season 4 is the episode " Artifacts ", which described a possible future in the year 3027. Featuring flashforward scenes to 2027, the audience gets a glimpse of an older Batman, Dick Grayson operating as Nightwing (voiced by Jerry O'Connell ), and Barbara Gordon, now reliant on
11845-653: The show from the comic version, in that Firefly mutates into him, giving him the same radioactive skills and incorporating Phosphorus's insanity, while the Terrible Trio mutated themselves and others into animal hybrids using a mutagen created by Kirk Langstrom . All of the DVD releases of The Batman are released by Warner Home Video (via DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment ) and presented in its original broadcast version and in story continuity order. The DVD releases of The Batman are also presented in
11960-593: The show, Penguin and the Kabuki Girls. The game is no longer available on cartoonnetwork.com . The Batman Strikes! is a DC comic book series featuring Batman and is a spin-off comic book series of The Batman . Part of DC's line for young readers, the series lasted 50 issues in total, with the last issue shipping in October 2008. The Batman received Annie Award nominations for Best Animated Television Production in 2005 and 2006, and for Best Music in
12075-450: The signal as they think Batman's nearby and abandon their plans, fleeing the scene, which as Batman puts it, is an effective way of using fear as a tool, since he cannot be everywhere. In 1992's Batman: The Animated Series , the signal was built by Commissioner Gordon in "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy". Barbara Gordon uses it to contact Batman in "Heart of Steel" when she believes that an impostor has replaced her father. At this meeting,
12190-414: The signal in the sky from one of the old Gotham Renewal Project buildings as a mode of contacting and meeting with Batman. Batman and Gordon use the signal to call each other to the location to meet and discuss. Batman in his opening monologue states that the signal also creates another purpose of spreading fear among Gotham's criminal element, as a warning. Criminals and thugs often are scared when looking at
12305-409: The signal is partially destroyed when Batman is attacked by a Harvey Bullock duplicate, and Barbara uses Batman's grapple gun to pull the robot into the signal, electrocuting it. Likewise, the real Bullock uses the signal for the first time when reluctantly asking for Batman's help in discovering who is trying to kill him in "A Bullet for Bullock". The first use of a Bat-Signal of any kind in the series
12420-421: The signal using an axe in front of various members of the police force and the press. In the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises , the rusted remains of the destroyed Bat-Signal are still atop police headquarters. However, at the end of the film, with Batman declared dead, Gordon sees a restored Bat-Signal, providing hope that Batman has survived. (The signal itself is never used once in the film, however, making it
12535-550: The similar WIPO Treaty . In some countries it is not illegal to use de-scrambling software to bypass the DVD restrictions. A number of software programs have since appeared on the Web to view DVDs on a number of different platforms. Other measures such as anti-ripping, as well as U.S. and non-U.S. copyright law, may be used to prevent making unauthorized copies of DVDs. CSS decrypting software, or ripping software, such as DVD Decrypter , AnyDVD , MacTheRipper , and DVD Shrink allows
12650-474: The sky. In the DC Super Hero Girls animated short "#BatCatcher", Batgirl mistakenly believes she is summoned by the Bat-Signal when in reality the shadow is cast from a real bat inside her bedroom. In the episode "#FromBatToWorse", Batgirl tries to use a Bat-Signal flashlight to call Batman for help against Poison Ivy, but it doesn't work and Poison Ivy points out that, unlike Gotham City, there
12765-478: The universe Supergirl takes place in makes several references to him, solely as "Clark's (kind of) friend", and Oliver later refers to Bruce Wayne on Earth One. In the second part of the Elseworlds crossover, the Bat-Signal is shown, though it seems to have been inactive for some time during Batman's disappearance. In the pilot episode of Batwoman , Gotham City Mayor Michael Akins was planning to turn off
12880-495: The use of or support for the MP2 format. DTS audio is optional for all players, as DTS was not part of the initial draft standard and was added later; thus, many early players are unable to play DTS audio tracks. Only PCM and DTS support 96 kHz sampling rate. Because PCM, being uncompressed, requires a lot of bandwidth and DTS is not universally supported by players, AC-3 is the most common digital audio format for DVDs, and 96 kHz
12995-487: The video being played. Subtitles are stored as bitmap images and therefore can contain any arbitrary text or simple image. They are restricted to a 16-color palette, but are usually implemented with a limit of 4 colors. 16 levels of transparency are also supported to allow blending, but this is also not always implemented. The subtitle tracks are contained within the VOB file of the DVD. DVD-Video may also contain closed captioning material which can only be viewed on
13110-456: Was in "Joker's Favor", where a man, forced to do a favor for the Joker at a dinner honoring Commissioner Gordon, uses a large bat model hanging from a crane, swinging it back and forth in front of a window to try to contact Batman. In the 1993 film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm , Batman is being hunted by the police as a suspect in the recent murder of several gang lords (a crime committed by
13225-444: Was nominated and won Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Live Action and Animation. In 2007, it was nominated for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and won Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Live Action and Animation. In 2008, it was nominated for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program (Kevin Michael Richardson as
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