Farscape on Blu-ray?

[LitmusDragon]

Didn't see a thread for this ...

It's being rumored that Farscape will release on Blu-ray this year, November 15.

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Farscape-The-Complete-Series/15676

Amazon has a listing for it but it has not been formally announced yet.

Details .... I need details! How did they fix the F/X? Will there be any new extras? Will the earlier seasons still be full screen not widescreen?? /foams at the mouth

I thought this was never supposed to happen due to the number of F/X shots. Farscape apparently had more F/X shots per episode than any other series in history and they were all mastered to video.

I for one would almost certainly buy it at the price they're listing it at. $140 for all 4 seasons is a really great deal, if true.

 

[Harvey]

I might be interested, but I assume the visual effects will be upconverted standard def rather than true high def, similar to the acceptable, but hardly outstanding Firefly Blu-Ray release?

If that's the case, then I can only imagine buying this on sale. I already have the Starburst sets, which look terrific and have a ton of special features.

 

[LitmusDragon]

Ah, that makes a lot of sense but would be very disappointing.

 

[Harvey]

I'd be very happy to be proven wrong, though. Especially if it meant replacing the double sided season one Starburst DVDs.

 

[timothy]

that would be great if farscape comes out on blu ray. it gives hope that babylon 5 will all so come out on blu ray.

 

[Lindley]

it gives hope that babylon 5 will all so come out on blu ray.

Not really.

 

[Harvey]

Yeah, Babylon 5 doesn't even stand to muster in standard definition widescreen. There's no way it could be converted to high definition widescreen without a major investment from Warner Bros. for upgrading the visual effects.

 

[Trubinator]

Are they going to bundle it with the PKW miniseries also on blu-ray?

 

[23skidoo]

I thought this was never supposed to happen due to the number of F/X shots. Farscape apparently had more F/X shots per episode than any other series in history and they were all mastered to video.

The presence of F/X shots doesn't and shouldn't disqualify a series from release. Nor should the originals always have to be altered and redone (in which case, frankly, keep it on DVD. I'm sick of that s*it). Maybe they didn't edit them on video.

It's ironic that what was considered a real innovation of the day is now coming back to bite people in the ass. (The whole edit on video thing). Makes me wonder what "innovations" of today (*cough*3-D*cough*) will have people cursing and swearing in 10-15 years...

Are they going to bundle it with the PKW miniseries also on blu-ray?

Very doubtful. Different production company and distributor. That's why it isn't in the DVD box set. And given PKW had a lower budget and shorter production schedule, if the SFX for the original series is considered unacceptable for Blu-ray, the mini's SFX won't cut the mustard.

It's ironic, though, that Space: 1999 got a Blu-ray release and no one had to touch a thing (SFX-wise).

Alex

 

[Harvey]

I don't see why The Peacekeeper Wars shouldn't be ready for Blu-Ray right now. IMDB indicates that it was filmed and mastered in HD. It probably won't be included with this set, although it was briefly bundled with the DVD version of it in some stores, right?

 

[Professor Zoom]

I don't see why The Peacekeeper Wars shouldn't be ready for Blu-Ray right now. IMDB indicates that it was filmed and mastered in HD. It probably won't be included with this set, although it was briefly bundled with the DVD version of it in some stores, right?

It was bundled with mine.

Personally, I have it on DVD. I don't see why I should get it on Blu Ray.

 

[Harvey]

It really depends on how nice it looks in HD (and if the visual effects are just upconverted, it's not going to look that great). Either way, I'll probably buy it at some point, but I might find myself waiting for Amazon to put it on one of their one-day sales if the picture quality is just so-so before buying it.

 

[Trubinator]

Uhm, PKW had a $20 million budget. That's WAY more than a standard episode of the series ...

 

[Starbreaker]

This has come out of nowhere. I'll believe it when I see it... and I'll probably buy it one day if it looks substantially better.

 

[Cap.T]

"The Peacekeeper Wars" are available on Blu-Ray in Germany for a few weeks now. A friend of mine has it. I won't buy it though. The picture quality leaves a lot to be desired. I'm still not sure if the picture quality was killed because of excessive application of Digital Noise Reduction or if it is just an upscaled SD-Version.

I'm definitly waiting to find out, what kind of picture quality these releases are going to have. If it's just going to be a complete upscale like the DS9-Tribbles episodes Paramount released on one of the TOS Blu-Ray-Sets I'm going to stick with my DVDs.

 

[Brikar99]

Here's what Digital Bits has to say about Farscape on BD:

And here's a surprise - I've confirmed with sources that A&E and New Video are going to be releasing Farscape on Blu-ray Disc on 11/15! The Complete Series will be available that day (SRP $199.95), along with Seasons 1-4 individually (SRP $69.95 each). All the extras from A&E's previous DVD version will apparently carry over, and there's a new Farscape: A Look Back retrospective documentary as well. All are up on Amazon.com for pre-order now. I've asked for information on specifically what this means - did they re-scan the negatives or just upconvert the original standard definition masters? If I'm not mistaken, only the last season was produced in full HD. I love the idea of Farscape on Blu-ray... I just hope the quality lives up to expectation.

There's also cover art and a pre-order link to Amazon.

http://www.digitalbits.com/#mytwocents

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I'd be interested if subtitles were included. However, I think it highly unlikely that the first three seasons will be anything other than upscaled versions of the existing SD release.

 

[coolghoul]

I'm in the middle of a series rewatch of Farscape (via Netflix) and based on what I can tell, the series seemed to get an update to their production quality around the time of Beware of Dog. From around that time they might have started using HD-equivalent to film? Does anybody know for certain?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I'd be very happy to be proven wrong, though. Especially if it meant replacing the double sided season one Starburst DVDs.

When I was assembling my Starburst set, I had gotten a couple 1st season sets as double sided.

When I heard of the troubles they had, I found the single sided sets (at great cost) and re-sold the unopened double sided sets.

This was when they were all out of print.

 

[Harvey]

I'd buy the single-sided sets (I did so when I managed to find them for season 2), but haven't been able to find them for the first season.

As far as filming equipment goes, the series was shot on 35mm from the very beginning. So if there's any change in the quality of video on Netflix, it's either a problem with Netflix or something to do with how the series was mastered in post-production.