Macross TV Series Boxset (1 Viewer)

[Donnie Eldridge]

Just curious how many people here have preordered there copies or intend to purchase the set? At $250 a pop their not cheap. http://www.animeigo.com/products/macross.t#1
[Edited last by Donnie Eldridge on September 17, 2001 at 03:11 PM]

 

[Chris Beveridge]

Anime is rarely cheap. Part of the package when something has to be licensed, translated, subtitled and dubbed as opposed to just putting it on a disc.
And yes, I've been signed up since 1999 for this set.
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Chris Beveridge
Webmaster, www.animeondvd.com
Animation and stories for those who like to think outside of the Disney box

 

[Jeff Kleist]

For those who haven't read their email, deadline for updating your profile with your credit card info is November first. Replication has been pushed to December with delivery "hopefully before Christmas"
Of course I ordered it, I think both Chris and I are in the top 25

When you break it down, you are paying a $6.95 per episode, which is definately on-par with a regular release (4 eps/$29.99). And this is for a SuperRestored Television series done from 16mm prints. Never before has this kind of project been done. I've seen it, worth EVERY penny
Jeff Kleist

 

[Matt_Stevens]

It will be worth the price. Thankfully, enough pre-orders were made to get the price down as low as possible. Aniemeigo has spent a boatload of money restoring the original 16mm elements and will be giving us the highest quality DVD presentation possible. No shortcuts are being taken.
They even stopped their restoration process 1/4 of the way through, because a newer and better method was developed and they used that from episode #1 and on. Now THAT is what I call doing it right.

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www.deceptions.net/superman

 

[James Nguyen]

Now if they could only hurry up and finish production of all their Urusei Yatsura DVDs too!!
I dumped my old vhs tapes at a garage sale a bit back and am eager to replace them all on disc.
I'm a bit bummed about my Macross set being delayed a bit, but it's more than worth the wait!! Wow, has it been nearly two years since I pre-ordered these things? Good lord.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

I'm hoping they can work out a deal with the Japanese studio that owns the BABY CART series (Lone Wolf & Cub). They are apparently close to a deal, but we all know how these things go. Fingers and toes are crossed.
I can only imagine how awesome it would be to experience those films from new anamorphic transfers on my 47" HDTV.
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www.deceptions.net/superman

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I'm happy this has been bumped since at this time there is no way I can afford it, and even December is iffy. I applaud Animiego for taking the time to do this right, even if it means delaying the title.
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[Jose Q]

Here is an piece of the email that was sent out today:
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Dear Macross Preorderer,
I'm emailing today to update you on the progress of the Macross Box Set
(or, as we refer to it around here, "SuperRestored Television Series
Macross"). This email contains a lot of information, including directions
about what you have to do confirm your order.
As many of you know, we were hoping to be shipping Macross early in
October. Unfortunately, this isn't going to be possible. Our best estimate
for the release is early to mid December.
Several factors conspired to create the additional delay. The major one
was that the restoration of the original footage has taken considerably
longer than we expected. This restoration is a multistep process of color
correction, image enhancement and defect removal; the final results are
spectacular. The delay was compounded when, about 1/4 of the way
through the restoration, a new restoration sequence (the order in which
the various possible restoration procedures are applied) was discovered
that further improved the final quality. We were then faced with a decision:
use the new procedure only on the last 3/4 of the series (you'd see the
difference); not use it (you'd never know, but WE would); or start from
scratch, accept the delay (and extra cost), and deliver a better final
product.
We chose to take the schedule hit and start from scratch.
The current status of preproduction is as follows:
The packaging, box, and liner notes are all at the printers.
The translation, subtitles, dvd menus and other ancilliary materials have
all been completed.
Most of the episodes have been restored. The rest will be completed by
the end of September, well before they are needed for authoring.
The first DVDs are about to be authored. Since all the components have
been created (in particular, the tricky part of DVD authoring, the menus),
it's mostly an assemble-test-and-tweak job.
Assuming nothing goes wrong (and we've factored in some time for
authoring problems, though we don't expect many given the high quality of
the source materials), we expect to release the box set for replication
around November 1st. It will take 30-40 days to actually make the sets
and get them to us, so we expect to be shipping sometime in the first half
of December.
At that point we will be running multiple shifts around the clock to get the
box sets out the door as fast as possible. We should be able to ship
1000-2000 sets a day. We're going to do everything possible to give you a
wonderful Xmas present. However, it is always possible that we'll get hit
with another delay that is beyond our control, in which case the set might
not ship until after Xmas. The recent tragic events in the USA have added
a note of uncertainty. If that does happen, we'll email you an update.
What we need you to do:
Well over 10,000 of you have indicated that you want the box set, and now
we need to get a good count of how many sets we really need to make.
We have to finalize this count when we release the DVDs for replication,
which we expect to happen around November 1st.
In order for you to be allocated a box set, you need to access the
AnimEigo Preorder Command Center and insure that your record in our
database is complete and up to date BEFORE the November 1st
deadline. Instructions on how to do that (and your current status) are at
the end of this email.
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The information that I didnt post (way too much info already) refers to confirming your information through the animeigo website and make sure they got your payment/info covered. Just a heads up.

 

[Donnie Eldridge]

Do we know what the total number of discs is going to be?
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My DVD Collection

 

[Kong Chang]

9 SS-SL discs.
4 episodes per disc
36 episodes in total.
Given that there is only Japanese as audio on this disc, and subtitle, video bitrate should be relatively high per episode.
K.C.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Actually, that's not entirely true.
Each disc features Japanese audio and a music&effects(no dialogue) track (perfect for fan parodies , as well as English and Zentradi subtitles
Before anyone gets worried (Kong) about bitrate. Shin is AMAZINGLY anal about quality. They would have cut the M&E track if space was an issue. That's why they didn't release details until later, because they wanted to be sure they could deliever.
Jeff Kleist
[Edited last by Jeff Kleist on September 17, 2001 at 09:19 PM]

 

[cafink]

What exactly is the situation here? Are they only pressing enough sets to cover pre-orders? If I don't order this right away, have I missed the boat completely?
I've never seen the series, but I've heard such good things about it. I'd like to check it out, but that's a lot of money for a poor unemployed college student like me to spend on a series he hasn't seen. Of course, if I decide sometime in the future that I want to own it but it's no longer available, I'll be kicking myself.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

They will be releasing the discs individually 6-9 months later, as they are doing with Urusei Yatsura. You won't get the box, and you'll also be stuck with a fairly slow release schedule-they have 15 UY discs out now in box sets, and only 4 individual.
I'm really hoping I can afford the box, as my curiosity is piqued having just completed the Macross portion of Robotech, which does not look very good at all due to the unrestored source, and I don't really like the English VAs either. Minmay IS a psychological weapon!
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[cafink]

I'd love the box, but I can certainly live without it. Glad to hear that this isn't the only opportunity to own the series on DVD. I think I'll rent the first volume when it comes out to see what I think.
Thanks for the info!

 

[Jeff Kleist]

The individual discs will also cost you a lot more money.
Jeff, you're in for a treat when you hear Minmay's original much better (and varied) music. Mari Iijima (Minmay's Japanese VA) lives in the US now, and does the con circuit. Let me tell you, a REAL Minmay concert (despite the fact she only does Do You Remember Love) is a treat
Jeff Kleist

 

[JasonRH]

Just wondering if you could comment on how much of a difference the restoration really makes and if that makes it worth the fairly steep price? To me, cleaning up the scratches and making colors more vibrant can only accomplish so much, since at its core it is the artwork and animation that is outdated. Personally, I loved robotech and would love to see what the original Macross storyline is like, but I'm not sure paying for both is worth it and robotech is much more affordable. Is the story itself in the original macross enough to reccommend its purchase? I concur that the robotech dub leaves a bit to be desired but that is tolerable to me so that isn't part of the issue. Thanks for any opinions you can give me because I'm trying to decide whether or not to preorder.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

There is a side by side comparison on their website of the before and after. The before is pretty wretched. Just look at the recently released "Robotech" DVDs (the dubbed ones) to see what I mean. They are just nasty looking. The same zoomboxed, blurry, grainy, dirty transfers used for the laserdiscs and VHS tapes.
The restored MACROSS will be a revelation. I just wish I could be one of the folks to view test discs!

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www.deceptions.net/superman

 

[James Nguyen]

so Matt,
is this boxed set the holy grail of original language old skool classic mecha combat action?

 

[Matt_Stevens]

Nah, that would have to be subtitled, restored DVD's of the entire GALAXY EXPRESS 999 TV series!

That's never been released for the U.S. market. Just the two films, which are not on DVD for some reason. I hate having to watch them on VHS.

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www.deceptions.net/superman

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

I have been wondering about this whole series as well, unfortunately they do not ship outside the US and Canada...
Just as well really, $250 is a little much to pay sight unseen...
I'll probably see what pops up on eBay, and if I don't like them, eBay is probably a good way to get rid of them as well.
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