Here are my findings after having watched all the episodes in the new Rifleman Season 2 release by LGL
BACKGROUND
Providing some background information, LGL as the owners of the Rifleman decided to produce their own releases instead of going with a more experienced distributor. This approach can have positives and negatives. A positive being in the personal interest of wanting to do it right. A negative in the potential for making mistakes from lack of experience. With the season 1 release, there were plenty of positives and a few negatives. The negatives being video issues most likely due to over compression, syndicated intro's instead of those from the original broadcast, and price. Many of these issues were communicated to LGL after the season 1 release.
SUMMARY
For those that may not want to read all the details, here is my summary: LGL listened to the complaints and made significant improvements for season 2. The video is much improved, it would appear that the correct season 2 intro's with preceding episode setup are now in place, and the price was reduced slightly (by $10). In addition, a deal with Walmart produced a significantly discounted re-release of season 1. As a result, I would say the LGL release is now the definitive version over the much earlier, and OOP, MPI releases where the episodes were out of order, and in best of volumes. I believe the year delay between the season 1 and 2 releases was well spent in improving the final product. In an email I received from LGL, there was a reference that season 3 may not be far behind (possibly Spring 2015).
VIDEO
The "jagged" edges that plagued season 1 were most likely caused by over compression. Based on the level detail I've found in LGL's overall approach to these releases, I can only guess that it was the result of going overboard in trying to improve upon the quality of subtitles by "burning" in the text within a duplicate episode. Even though they reduced the number of episodes per disk, maintaining two copies of each episode caused a major reduction in the average bitrate of each episode.
Doing a sampling across releases, it is easy to see why the new season 2 release by LGL has improved the video results.
Average bitrate from a Season 1 LGL episode: 3250 kpbs
Average bitrate from a Season 2 MPI episode: 4000 kpbs
Average bitrate from a season 2 LGL episode: 5900 kpbs
In a time when more releases are going from a standard of eight half-hour episodes per disk to ten episodes, it is nice to see a release actually go the other way and only put six episodes per disk.
I've included two comparisons using the same episode captured from both the older MPI release and the new LGL release. One is a comparison of two complete frames side by side, and the other is a zoomed in shot of a section from the same frames. What I believe is readily evident is a slight improvement in detail within the LGL capture (see the jagged edges on the brim of the hat in the zoomed MPI capture). In addition, a slight green push is in the MPI captures, while a straight greyscale adjustment was performed for the LGL release. How noticeable these improvements will be is dependent on the size screen viewed from. The main thing is that the MPI video was superior to the LGL season 1 release, while the LGL season 2 release is superior to MPI.
Now both the MPI and LGL releases are based on 16mm prints. These aren't going to live up to the standards (level of detail) of the CBS releases scanned from 35mm prints (e.g., Gunsmoke). However, after viewing all the episodes, I can say the quality is consistent and well maintained across all episodes.
Another interesting item is that while the video is presented in the correct aspect ratio the disks are formatted for widescreen. What this means is that there is no fiddling with the TV controls to turn off the stretch mode, it assumes your device will be set to fill a widescreen TV. I've only seen this previously on blu-ray disks that contain standard aspect ratio content. However, this approach could cause issues for those that still watch on a standard aspect ratio TV because they will get bars left and right, as well as top and bottom.
PACKAGING
The packaging for season 2 is consistent with season 1. I don't know the specific name for it, but it is a medium weight box with a slide out section that unfolds to reveal multiple overlapping disks within plastic trays. The trays are bound to the cardboard foldout. It is a fairly common design and is about 28mm wide. There is no way to please everyone when it comes to packaging. Some would prefer the standard plastic case that is 14mm wide with a cover and an insert to save space. While wider this approach provides for the inclusion of more artwork, a nice program guide, and a clearly visible list of episodes per disk.
DESIGN
The overall design of the artwork within the packaging, on the disks, and menus is very consistent in color scheme and presentation. Obviously not as important as the video, but very detailed and well thought out, to the point of ensuring that the image on each disk represents an episode on that disk. the option to turn on subtitles is presented once an episode is selected.
EXTRAS
Extras are always hard to quantify since we all have our own ideas of what we would like to have included. Some variations consist of cards/pictures, booklets, interviews, pilot episodes, photo galleries, subtitles, deleted scenes, documentaries, sponsor ads, and so on. In this case, we have a few Chuck Connors intro's (as with season 1), photo galleries, subtitles, and a booklet. LGL confirmed they tried to work a deal for sponsor ads, but were unable to do so.
PRICING
The pricing is still a bit higher than normal. One can hope Walmart picks up season 2 at some point and sells for the reduced pricing. Otherwise, in my case, I do all the bargain shopping I can so that I can put a little extra towards releases like this that I really want. I will be picking up further seasons.
CONCLUSION
I am very excited about this release and the improvements made, and I look forward to picking up more seasons as they are released.
BACKGROUND
Providing some background information, LGL as the owners of the Rifleman decided to produce their own releases instead of going with a more experienced distributor. This approach can have positives and negatives. A positive being in the personal interest of wanting to do it right. A negative in the potential for making mistakes from lack of experience. With the season 1 release, there were plenty of positives and a few negatives. The negatives being video issues most likely due to over compression, syndicated intro's instead of those from the original broadcast, and price. Many of these issues were communicated to LGL after the season 1 release.
SUMMARY
For those that may not want to read all the details, here is my summary: LGL listened to the complaints and made significant improvements for season 2. The video is much improved, it would appear that the correct season 2 intro's with preceding episode setup are now in place, and the price was reduced slightly (by $10). In addition, a deal with Walmart produced a significantly discounted re-release of season 1. As a result, I would say the LGL release is now the definitive version over the much earlier, and OOP, MPI releases where the episodes were out of order, and in best of volumes. I believe the year delay between the season 1 and 2 releases was well spent in improving the final product. In an email I received from LGL, there was a reference that season 3 may not be far behind (possibly Spring 2015).
VIDEO
The "jagged" edges that plagued season 1 were most likely caused by over compression. Based on the level detail I've found in LGL's overall approach to these releases, I can only guess that it was the result of going overboard in trying to improve upon the quality of subtitles by "burning" in the text within a duplicate episode. Even though they reduced the number of episodes per disk, maintaining two copies of each episode caused a major reduction in the average bitrate of each episode.
Doing a sampling across releases, it is easy to see why the new season 2 release by LGL has improved the video results.
Average bitrate from a Season 1 LGL episode: 3250 kpbs
Average bitrate from a Season 2 MPI episode: 4000 kpbs
Average bitrate from a season 2 LGL episode: 5900 kpbs
In a time when more releases are going from a standard of eight half-hour episodes per disk to ten episodes, it is nice to see a release actually go the other way and only put six episodes per disk.
I've included two comparisons using the same episode captured from both the older MPI release and the new LGL release. One is a comparison of two complete frames side by side, and the other is a zoomed in shot of a section from the same frames. What I believe is readily evident is a slight improvement in detail within the LGL capture (see the jagged edges on the brim of the hat in the zoomed MPI capture). In addition, a slight green push is in the MPI captures, while a straight greyscale adjustment was performed for the LGL release. How noticeable these improvements will be is dependent on the size screen viewed from. The main thing is that the MPI video was superior to the LGL season 1 release, while the LGL season 2 release is superior to MPI.
Now both the MPI and LGL releases are based on 16mm prints. These aren't going to live up to the standards (level of detail) of the CBS releases scanned from 35mm prints (e.g., Gunsmoke). However, after viewing all the episodes, I can say the quality is consistent and well maintained across all episodes.
Another interesting item is that while the video is presented in the correct aspect ratio the disks are formatted for widescreen. What this means is that there is no fiddling with the TV controls to turn off the stretch mode, it assumes your device will be set to fill a widescreen TV. I've only seen this previously on blu-ray disks that contain standard aspect ratio content. However, this approach could cause issues for those that still watch on a standard aspect ratio TV because they will get bars left and right, as well as top and bottom.
PACKAGING
The packaging for season 2 is consistent with season 1. I don't know the specific name for it, but it is a medium weight box with a slide out section that unfolds to reveal multiple overlapping disks within plastic trays. The trays are bound to the cardboard foldout. It is a fairly common design and is about 28mm wide. There is no way to please everyone when it comes to packaging. Some would prefer the standard plastic case that is 14mm wide with a cover and an insert to save space. While wider this approach provides for the inclusion of more artwork, a nice program guide, and a clearly visible list of episodes per disk.
DESIGN
The overall design of the artwork within the packaging, on the disks, and menus is very consistent in color scheme and presentation. Obviously not as important as the video, but very detailed and well thought out, to the point of ensuring that the image on each disk represents an episode on that disk. the option to turn on subtitles is presented once an episode is selected.
EXTRAS
Extras are always hard to quantify since we all have our own ideas of what we would like to have included. Some variations consist of cards/pictures, booklets, interviews, pilot episodes, photo galleries, subtitles, deleted scenes, documentaries, sponsor ads, and so on. In this case, we have a few Chuck Connors intro's (as with season 1), photo galleries, subtitles, and a booklet. LGL confirmed they tried to work a deal for sponsor ads, but were unable to do so.
PRICING
The pricing is still a bit higher than normal. One can hope Walmart picks up season 2 at some point and sells for the reduced pricing. Otherwise, in my case, I do all the bargain shopping I can so that I can put a little extra towards releases like this that I really want. I will be picking up further seasons.
CONCLUSION
I am very excited about this release and the improvements made, and I look forward to picking up more seasons as they are released.
