Andy Griffith Show: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[David Deeb]

I'm probably splitting hairs but I wouldn't say that their review is mixed when that "this is a borderline revelation". It sounds like the positives far outweigh the negatives.

That's the way I read it too. Sounds positive to me. If a reviewer isn't careful, his choice of words can be easily turned into ammo against a perfectly good release.

Hopefully someone at Paramount is trolling these forums. The price on this set (and I Love Lucy) is difficult to justify. With a list price of $129.99, the eventual eight seasons would be over $1,000. Now, come on! I know it's "on sale" for right at $80, but the DVD set of the ENTIRE series is on sale for $60-$70. Are these BDs holographic?

 

[Carabimero]

Was hoping someone might post about the clarity of the set...dying to know (but not enough to kick out $70 for episodes I already have).

 

[smithbrad]

I received all three of the new CBS Blue-ray release, and did a quick viewing this evening. Just a quick note that I do have a front projection system, so while my screen is not huge based on the standards of most front projection systems today, it is plenty large enough to still judge improvements.

Since TAGS is my favorite I spent the most time there watching the complete Danny Thomas pilot episode, as well as one of my first season favorites "The Guitar Player" (I like James Best). With the Honeymooners and ILL I only had time to watch about 10 minutes of the first episode of each. Now in the case of TAGS and ILL I still have the SD versions that I was able to use for comparison. For the Honeymooners I had to go some what off of memory from a quick scan I did a week ago since i already sold it.

With TAGS and ILL there was some increased detail and clarity. I think part of it was the fact that an HD image can resolve the grain much better. I think Honeymooners may have shown a bit more improvement then the others. Was the amount of improvement worth the cost of the upgrade? No, not for me. Am I happy with the purchase, absolutely because I did it as much for the extra's and the as on broadcast night viewing experience. My original plan was just to upgrade the one season of ILL because of the extra's and various versions of the episodes. And that hasn't changed at all, the video upgrade isn't enough for me to take it any further. With TAGS I'm glad they included the pilot, Return to Mayberry, and included the sponsor tags within the episodes. I would have liked it better if the sponsor tags had been remastered to match the quality of the episodes, but this is good enough. If they release more TAGS, I might continue to upgrade through season five but only at a much reduced price, but I could stop with this one season as well.

Here is the problem CBS is going to have with these type of releases where the SD DVD's were based on (most likely) the same masters, the amount of improvement for probably most isn't going to be a good enough justification for the price. Now CBS is trying to sweeten the pot by throwing in more extra's but, for me at least, that isn't enough when the cost is so high going across multiple seasons.

I have no problem paying $60+ for Star Trek TNG in HD because the improvements are so much greater over their SD counterparts. With LHOTP I would gladly pay close to $50 a season based on the amount of improvements (but no extras), luckily I don't have to. However, for these CBS releases of titles where the SD's were based on the same masters, I'm only inclined to go up to maybe $30 to upgrafe a season.

 

[LeoA]

Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but I remain confident that a significant price reduction for these has been planned since the beginning once they've been out for a few weeks. You paid the early adapter price but I'm sure that they expect the bulk of their sales to occur when it reaches the $30 or so threshold.

They can't seriously be so ignorant of this marketplace that they think that they can make this $130 MSRP marked down to $75 or so model actually work in 2014. If these aren't reasonably priced after a short while, they're greatly limiting their potential sales and it's difficult to see how they propose to continue with these series on Blu-Ray past season 1.

Especially when the original DVD's were so satisfactory for a series like this one, they need to drop this quickly once they gouge the people that don't care what the price tag is.

$20-$30 is the magic mark to get the average customer that's willing to double dip interested in the upgrade.

 

[Carabimero]

Thanks smithbrad for your comments...your observations are exactly what I was expecting, and confirm my decision not to buy TAGS HD until the first five seasons are out and on a deep discount sale, and then I might not even bother. I'm very happy with my DVDs except for the missing laugh tracks and tiny bits of footage here and there.

 

[Radioman970]

Right on the money. I was floored by how good Andy looked on DVD. With that...I've not seen the blu but I'll bet it's amazing.

 

[David Deeb]

Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but I remain confident that a significant price reduction for these has been planned since the beginning once they've been out for a few weeks. You paid the early adapter price but I'm sure that they expect the bulk of their sales to occur when it reaches the $30 or so threshold.

They can't seriously be so ignorant of this marketplace that they think that they can make this $130 MSRP marked down to $75 or so model actually work in 2014. If these aren't reasonably priced after a short while, they're greatly limiting their potential sales and it's difficult to see how they propose to continue with these series on Blu-Ray past season 1.

Especially when the original DVD's were so satisfactory for a series like this one, they need to drop this quickly once they gouge the people that don't care what the price tag is.

$20-$30 is the magic mark to get the average customer that's willing to double dip interested in the upgrade.

Not yet that low, but the price has dropped @ a couple of retailers - around $59.99 @ Target and Amazon. I wonder if that will be enough of a reduction to get the masses picking it up.

 

[albert_m2]

I highly doubt there will be "masses" for any of these shows at any price point close to these prices.

 

[Tooncy]

I, for one, will probably never know how great it looks on bluray. Simply too expensive.

 

[Guy Foulard]

Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but I remain confident that a significant price reduction for these has been planned since the beginning once they've been out for a few weeks. You paid the early adapter price but I'm sure that they expect the bulk of their sales to occur when it reaches the $30 or so threshold.

These prices will definitely drop, eventually. I got Star Trek: the Next Generation recently on sale at Amazon for $31.49. Checking TVShowsonDVD's news archives, it was initially $124.99, but on Amazon the current suggested retail price is only $76.99 (and the actual price today is $43.99). I was tempted by the TAGS current price of $59.99, but now I'm thinking I'll hold off and wait to strike when the inevitable price drop (+ sale) happens, since it's not a top priority for me.

 

[LeoA]

I'm sure it will, but the key is in the timing. Two years from now if it reaches reasonable prices, that's a killer and merely will be places like Amazon clearing out unsold inventory. Also, not only will many interested buyers have forgotten about it, but series like this will have long since stalled since they waited too long to go after their average customers.

It needs to reach ~$30 or so before summer is over I believe when these releases are still somewhat fresh in people's minds. And the next wave, especially for the repeats, should be priced at a somewhat lower introductory price because I'm sure a lot of people paying the $75 bucks or so off Amazon for this first wave of releases are like Smithbrad.

Willing to pay that price for a one off for curiosities sake, but highly unlikely to make a habit out of it for a long running series.

 

[smithbrad]

My guess is that these will follow the Star Trek model, in that for the first year the price will fluctuate between $60 and $75. And from 12 months to 18 months it will fluctuate down to around $45. Then after 18 months it could reach as low as the $32 during brief sales. The question is what's their motivation. From a consumer perspective we would obviously recommend selling in quantity cheaply, but that isn't always their viewpoint. I think they would rather maintain an artificial pricing model that they can control with releases of new seasons once or twice a year.

Take DVD sales for CBS's Gunsmoke and Perry Mason. They traditionally released for around $80 a season ($40 a volume). People complained about the high price, some bought and some waited. After a year they would go on sale for $20 a volume, some bought and some waited, Finally, three years later on sale for as low as $13 a volume. I'm sure many bought at that price. Why should this be any different, other than they want Blu-rays to be a price step above the associated DVD's to prevent completely devaluing the DVD's all together.

While I don't think sales of these will be great, I don't think CBS will panic either and slash the prices to get down to $30 or stop all together. I think we will see them follow the model for a few years and see where it takes them. If sales are real bad on something it seems like they just move until to something else for a while and revisit it later when demand is stronger than the need for a cheap price.

 

[LeoA]

I hope not since Star Trek is an oddity rather than a typical classic show. I just can't imagine sales at this price point justifying continuing when the internal discussion and work shifts to the next round of releases.

Ideally, the price would continue to drop at places like Amazon every few weeks. $60 now, maybe hitting $45 next month, etc. They get the benefit of premium prices and it relatively quickly will be reaching reasonable territory where I bet 80% of their sales would happen without dropping overnight and annoying the launch customers.

At $60-$75, outside of a bump around November, I suspect they've sold the bulk of the copies they likely ever will at this price. Everyone else will be waiting on deals.

No sense making them wait for a year or two, especially right now when all the sales data they can glean with this experiment is critical in determining their future course of action.

 

[bretmaverick2]

Does this set include the 'pilot' from THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW?

I scrolled the thread but didn't see it mentioned either way and was just wondering....

 

[smithbrad]

Does this set include the 'pilot' from THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW?

I scrolled the thread but didn't see it mentioned either way and was just wondering....

Yes, it does, and it looks great. That, Return to Mayberry, and the inclusion of the character-based sponsor ads within the episodes sealed the deal for me. At least for this partcular release. I'm not sure what they could include in the remaining seasons.

 

[Matt Hough]

Does this set include the 'pilot' from THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW?

I scrolled the thread but didn't see it mentioned either way and was just wondering....

My review which you can find here details that the pilot episode is indeed a part of the package.

 

[David Deeb]

Well, I picked up a copy of this set, and I'm very pleased. I've never seen the show look better. The detail in clothing and faces is remarkable. The opening and closing credits are not as sharp, and may always be this way. I don't know enough about them to comment further. But detail in the episodes is there. I am very happy.

The menus are creative, very well designed and easy to navigate.

The sponsor "segments" in each episode is a revelation. I don't remember ever hearing about them & never even knew they existed. The option to play the episode with, or without, is very nice. The other bonus material is outstanding.

But I will say that the MSRP ($129.99) on this set is still just way out of line. I picked up a used copy at a fraction of the price. Sadly, they lost a new sale on me, because I almost always buy new. I would have gladly paid for a new copy on release day at a reasonable price. This series definitely deserves all 8 seasons on BD, so I'm hopeful there is some middle ground on future sets. It really does look great on BD.

 

[Kipp Teague]

The complete Dick Van Dyke Show on Blu-ray is currently only $63 at Amazon (it listed at $350), even cheaper than the DVD set of the series ($79). By comparison, The Andy Griffith Show is currently $75 for Season One alone. I was awaiting this release, but this seems an extremely high price to pay. I also don't want to get burned if CBS decides not to release any additional seasons, and with that price tag, they may be shooting themselves in the foot in this regard. What are others' opinions? Has anyone seen the Andy Griffith set cheaper?

 

[moviebuff75]

People need to send tweets and emails to them, letting them know why they aren't purchasing these shows. That way, they will know exactly why sales have been so low.

 

[smithbrad]

I also don't want to get burned if CBS decides not to release any additional seasons, and with that price tag, they may be shooting themselves in the foot in this regard.

I've never understood the "all or nothing" mentality. Personal, if they never do release any more seasons on blu-ray because of low sales, I won't have any regrets having bought this one season to go along with my other DVD seasons.