Disappointing DVD releases

[tomswift2002]

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but how about the Babylon 5 DVD releases? Those have got to be the worst quality releases ever!

I was just watching the Season 3 episode the other day (the one where Sheridan declares independence) and besides the SFX cropping, the stuff that was supposedly retransferred from the original film looked like it had been transferred to SVHS and then scanned in! I'm sitting there looking at Deleen's blue costume and I'm seeing artifacts of what looks like VHS or even SVHS playback, since parts of the blue have red streaks, and not from stuff sewn into the costume, but from crosstalk between colors---and this is in sequences that were apparently transferred from the original film for the "New" Digital transfers! Some Digital transfer!

 

[Random_Spock]

Three words: The Twilight Zone. $60 a season O_O; along with any of the Star Trek series... at around $90 or so a season. Both series are just way too expensive to even think about getting full price.

If I want either of them, I'll do my best to get them on sale online somehow.

 

[Starbreaker]

My Season 1 DVD set of Farscape had a disc that didn't work. I never got around to swapping it out, but I have the complete series now, so it's okay.

 

[beamMe]

^ I always assumed that there wouldn't have to be *that* much done to TMP to qualify it for Blu-Ray release. The effects would have to be 're-rendered'. What exactly does this involve? Not doing them all over again from scratch, I take it. Re-rendering, isn't that a bit like re-compiling a computer program?

Yes, but you have to meet several criteria for it to be applicable:

1) You need to have the original source files. (With the death of Foundation Imaging, they may have been lost.)

They aren't lost. Daren Dochterman said, that he still has the files and keeps them ready for an HD-release of the Director's Cut.

2) You need to have the version of the software used to create the files, or they need to open trouble-free in newer versions of it.

Lightwave can still open files from years ago without problems.

3) The source models need to have enough detail in them to be suitable for HD resolutions.

http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/1701-tmp-directors-cut/

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

THE AVENGERS Blu-ray has of course much more special features than standard DVD. I expected that. Standard has Joss Whedon's commentary. But without Blu-Ray, you cannot see the Captain America deleted scenes. I call that penalizing the cheap. But I suspect the PROMETHEUS DVD will exclude even more good stuff from the standard disc.

I want HILL STREET BLUES: THE COMPLETE SERIES as well, and with no original musical deletions or substitutions. God willing Shout Factory will pick up the ball Fox dropped. ST.
ELSEWHERE also deserves a completed set.

 

[Worf2DS9]

I'm disappointed there were no audio commentaries on the FRINGE Season 4 DVD set. They never had very many to begin with (only 2 or 3 last season, I think), but not even one this time? Jeeze.

 

[TemporalFlux]

I'm still sad that Starchaser: The Legend of Orin was released with the film out of alignment on the letterbox (like the problem Back to the Future II suffered on its first DVD release). I hold out some hope that we may see a Starchaser 3D release on Bluray (after all, the film was originally released to theaters as 3D only), but I unfortunately do not believe Starchaser has enough interest to revisit a home video release (or that they would make the effort to fix the print if they did release it again).

 

[Gary Mitchell]

The dvd release of Due South is really bad. I guess that the company that put them out tried to save money by putting too many episodes on one disc. The picture quality is sub VHS on most episodes. I agree with the poster who complained about different packaging for different seasons of the same show. I have all 5 seasons of Alias and the box for each season is smaller than the last. No two are alike.

 

[Captain Craig]

I just recently finished all 7 seasons of MacGyver and that set had no outtakes, gag reels, deleted scenes, commentaries, featurettes...bare bones.

In fairness I suspected from the lack of mention in the write up it didn't contain anything extra a part of me hoped maybe it was a lazy write up and there would be something additional.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

This DVD release is disappointing, because (in Region 1, anyway) it DOESN'T EXIST:

Charlie Jade.

^ I always assumed that there wouldn't have to be *that* much done to TMP to qualify it for Blu-Ray release. The effects would have to be 're-rendered'. What exactly does this involve? Not doing them all over again from scratch, I take it. Re-rendering, isn't that a bit like re-compiling a computer program?

Yes, but you have to meet several criteria for it to be applicable:

1) You need to have the original source files. (With the death of Foundation Imaging, they may have been lost.)

They aren't lost. Daren Dochterman said, that he still has the files and keeps them ready for an HD-release of the Director's Cut.

Has he ever gave an indication of how likely it will be that such a release will ever happen? Is there any progress on that front?

 

[tomswift2002]

The dvd release of Due South is really bad. I guess that the company that put them out tried to save money by putting too many episodes on one disc. The picture quality is sub VHS on most episodes. I agree with the poster who complained about different packaging for different seasons of the same show. I have all 5 seasons of Alias and the box for each season is smaller than the last. No two are alike.

You mean Platinum Disc (now Echo Bridge in the US and Alliance in Canada)? I still remember when I ran across my first DVD from them, I was quite shocked at the quality plus the fact that no one apparently bothered too let the DVD artist know the correct title of the show (the DVD case said USA's Dumbest Crooks, but the actual show was called 'America's Dumbest Crooks').

But with the STTMP Director's Edition, I was talking to someone from the design team about two years ago, and while the files most likely still exist, the models would have too be rebuilt from scratch, since the models were designed at 480i, and as such they would not be able to be up converted too HD.

 

[Harvey]

Has he ever gave an indication of how likely it will be that such a release will ever happen? Is there any progress on that front?

A release like that is most likely to coincide with either (a) the theatrical release of Star Trek Into Darkness or (b) the home video release of the film. The last wave of Blu-Rays (the original series and the features) came out to coincide with the theatrical release of the 2009 film, and I would expect the same here.

 

[Tulin]

I remember pre-ordering Zack and Miri make a porno from Amazon and being really disappointed that Kevin Smith hadn't put any commentaries on it.

Which is VERY odd considering how much the ignorant blowhard loves hearing the sound of his own voice!

 

[Mr. Adventure]

This thread reminds me I need to pick up TMP on Blu-Ray while it's still my preferred theatrical cut.

I wish the classic Doctor Who DVDs were more affordable. I mean ~$20 for a story doesn't seem too bad for an odd one or two but there's like 150 stories (I know some are missing but...) which would be like ~$3000 for the whole she-bang.

The non-release of Blake's 7 in Region 1.

I might be in the minority here but I thought the "remastered" Transformers was a complete and total disaster. Nasty turn up the colors till they bleed, jaggies, new sounds, animation errors. I'd have preferred to have them just look and sound like they do when you watch them in re-runs.

 

[Brikar99]

I wish the classic Doctor Who DVDs were more affordable. I mean ~$20 for a story doesn't seem too bad for an odd one or two but there's like 150 stories (I know some are missing but...) which would be like ~$3000 for the whole she-bang.

BBC dvds in general seem pretty pricey.

 

[ATimson]

Has he ever gave an indication of how likely it will be that such a release will ever happen? Is there any progress on that front?

A release like that is most likely to coincide with either (a) the theatrical release of Star Trek Into Darkness or (b) the home video release of the film. The last wave of Blu-Rays (the original series and the features) came out to coincide with the theatrical release of the 2009 film, and I would expect the same here.

If it were going to tie into the theatrical release, I'd have expected word to leak by now.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I do agree that the Babylon 5 DVDs do, in a word, suck.

Unfortunately the iTunes versions aren't much better. I remember the space battle in "Severed Dreams" having effects that are very stop-start-stop "Jerky".

 

[the G-man]

Originally, the DVD sets of "Twin Peaks" didn't have the two hour pilot, due to some sort of rights issue. I had to make due with my crappy off the air VHS tapes until 2007 when the 'gold box' set finally came out and included the pilot.

 

[Ian Keldon]

I am becoming more and more disappointed with DVD releases in general. There's too much "tier-ing" going on. Used to be the basic DVD came with a good range of extras. Now we're lucky to get a Director's Commentary track. To get some decent extras, you have to buy the "deluxe" version. Then there's Blu Ray on top of that, with even MORE exclusive content.

They were making plenty of money off of full-featured DVDs so all this regular/deluxe/Blu Ray rationing of extras is nothing more than a scumbag attempt at upselling and price gouging.

 

[the G-man]

For the most part, I don't care about extras. I'd usually only buy a DVD when:

• It's something I love to watch over and over
• I find something I wanted to see in a discount bin cheaper than renting it