Farscape The Complete Series Coming Soon From A&E Home Entertainment - Page 2

Sorry to bump an old thread but I just saw that Farscape the Complete Series is only $58 on Amazon. Has anyone purchased the new set any seen any differences between this and the Starburst Edition?

www.amazon.com/dp/B002GP7ZWI

thedigitalbits did a quickie review of it comparing the new bits and missing bits.  That review can be found here:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/spinsheet112309.html

I picked it up -- a couple of my Starburst editions of the second season have had some pretty major problems since I got them.

I'm disappointed at losing some of the special features, but to be frank, most of them I wouldn't have missed -- only really the text commentary stuff.  There is a bit of image degradation that I've noticed, but to be perfectly honest, with the way that the show was filmed the first three years it's very minor.

The thing I'm happiest about?  I sold my Starburst set, bought this, and came out ~$40 ahead.  I also came out almost 18" of shelf space richer.

 After reading TheDigitalBits review I also decided to keep my Starburst Editions.  I don't mind trading a little shelf space for better A/V quality and more supplements.  

But with the Complete Series set now on sale at Amazon for $58 I'm going to go ahead and purchase that set and use it as a backup for my Starburst Editions.  I paid about $20/set (or $60/season) for the Starburst Editions, and the first two seasons are on DVD-18s to boot!  So at that price I almost can't afford *not* to purchase the set!  

I had to get this as well.  Already owning the first season in the Starburst edition and the first two Starburst editions of season 2.  I bought the original season 2 set at a price i couldn't turn down.  So I do have some repeated episodes as far as season 2 goes.  But now the complete set is here and the price is a no brainer for someone that doesn't have all the episodes.
I was a late comer to the Farscape universe and it was very confusing how to, and what to purchase as far as which edition. 
I like the extras on any DVD I get and these are no exception. So it's too bad they couldn't have somehow found a way to include all extras that had been on the Starburst editions.
I don't think I'll be able to tell much difference in video quality (or hope I don't).  but at least I will now be able to watch the whole story. 
I have had the Peacekeeper Wars movie for sometime now, and am glad I will be able to see it as well.  Even though I could have watched it at any time I didn't want to ruin the sequence.

 I am sticking with the first A&E set. The PQ looks pretty good on those, even on my 52 " LCD.

Well, you're gonna love this... I got the BB Set.. TWICE... BOTH copies, on the Archives volume... TWO disc 2's, no disc 1. Returned both, got a raincheck for when they come back in stock..

but here's the good part... I thought I could get in contact with A&E and get a disc 1, since it was obviously a packing error. Guess again, they ABSOLUTELY DO NOT deal with any problems with their product unless you buy it DIRECTLY from them... everyone else, tough luck.

Headed to Amazon, that's 15 bucks cheaper than the raincheck I got... and I already have the Peacekeeper Wars discs.

I don't know Mark, you are putting a lot of faith into one review. Especially for a series you seem to want, don't have anymore, and this will probably be all you will be able to get. And don't count on a Blu-ray release. Henson has already commented about the cost to redo all the CGI for HD and it didn't come across positive.

So far I have seen the Digital Bits review saying the video is not as good, another review saying it is the same as the ADV, and another person saying they thought the new one's looked better. The video was never great in the beginning but more then acceptable. I cranked up the first episode to check it out and off of memory it still looks more then acceptable to me. I no longer have my Starburst disks to do a direct comparison but a friend does so I may try at some point. So if there are differences it didn't look to me like anything to make a fuss about. And I watch on a 92" screen, in case you are interested as a reference point.

As for the comment about the episodes being crammed into less disks. It makes me wonder if they were using this to justify some of their opinion about the video. What I don't understand it why it took 48 disks for 88 episodes in the first place. The current 26 disks are dual layer with four episodes a disk. This is plenty of space to store these episodes with a few commentaries and is typical for most TV shows. When I get a chance I am going to compare file sizes between these and the Starburst editions.

As for the extras, yes the Starburst editions did have more and this is an individual call for people to make to determine how much they value them in dollars.

For me, I sold off my Starburst editions for $190 and bought the new complete series for $60. With that other $130 I got the complete Homicide and Dr. Quinn series. For me that more then justifies the loss of some extras. But again, that is a persoanl preference.

As for the packaging, I much prefer it to the previous release but then again I like to save space. I already ditched the box and prefer to just put the 5 standard sized DVD cases on my shelf. I think A&E did a great job with the packaging of all three of these recent released. They are functional, protect the disks, small foot print, and still can look good on the shelf (more so the homicide and Dr. Quinn then Farscape).

Considering this comes out to less then 0.70 cents for each hour long episode and you still get a fair amount of extras, I would consider it a steal compared to many other TV show releases. Not only would I say it is not crap, but an excellent release by A&E, and I can say this as someone that actually owns it.

Well...we all have different prioities I suppose, which must be some aspect of driving studios crazy. While I've had issues with floaters and scratched disks in the past, I did not have a single issue with any of the three A&E sets in this regard, and that's a fair number of disks when you think about it. The main reasons disk come dislodged is a result of the hub design and whether they use that stiff brittle clear plastic in my experience where the hubs break or crack. None of these sets fall in that category. Also, I've had issues in the past with how the trays connect. No issues with these sets in that regard either. So you can't always lump all standard looking cases together when it comes to how disks are stored, there are minor but important design differences at times.

As for packaging, again I like it. I guess I prefer a minimalist design that saves space, has nice cover art, and protects the contents. I have no problem with thinpaks, I like them when it comes to saving space, but in this case it wouldn't have done that. I have only seen thinpaks hold up to two disks at a time. These cases hold up to six. The double wide cases used in Homicide and Dr Quinn hold up to 8.

So for me, this is exactly the type of storage I look for. Quality is in the eye of the beholder. So maybe it isn't that they are being cheap but just that they are focused on more essentials in DVD storage design that some of us prefer. So I would rate this superior to the ADV releases in all ways except for the amount of extras.

I would ask how you can call this overpriced? The Starburst collection generally went for around $192 to get the collection (average of $16 a release on sale). This went for $60 on sale. I also have purchased my share of TV show releases over the past few years and if this is considered overpriced then 90% of all sets are overpriced.

It's good you kept a backup set because I wouldn't count on anything else for quite sometime.

 

None of those on my copies in this set.  The inserts with the discs had no burrs, not sticky bits, nothing.  Nobody I've talked to or read about has had any issues with the sets either (other than getting disc 2 twice and no disc one in the archives bits, but that also seems to be limited to the Best Buy exclusive set).

Oh, and the "complete series" isn't just the 4 season sets.  It's also the 5th set of "archives" (the extra bonus material).  I do agree, the little cardboard box?  Kinda crap.  The size?  Awesome. :)

I understand what you are talking about. I only attribute those types of defects to the case when there is a flaw in the case design that causes them, and the only time in my experience that happens is when the disk becomes dislodged and is allowed to bounce around loosely in the case.

Other times that I see these type of defects appear I blame it on the processing of the disks not the case design itself (e.g., how disks are moved around, sorted, and put into the cases). As for how the disks are inserted into the case, I've seen the same issue appear at times with all case designs (even thinpaks), not just these. The worst offender being the foldout cardboard sleeve design where you can see the marks from how the disk is inserted into the sleeve.

So we just disagree. While I prefer disks to come in either the thinpak, standard size or double wide cases more then anything else. It also depends on the material used (the more pliable plastic is preferred), the hub design (for holding the disks securely but not overly tight and without pieces easily breaking off), and the hinge mechanism with the trays (again pliable without adding stress when flipped). Any in my opinion the A&E cases are almost perfect in these regards (the hubs can be a little to tight).

As evidence, I did not receive one loose disk or any scratches or scuff marks on any of the disks received in either the Farscape, Homicide, or Dr. Quinn sets I received from A&E. As I said before, that is a fair number of disks to receive through shipping from DD (who doesn't package as well as Amazon) without a single issue. So not all cases are created equal, even if they do share the same basic design principle in look.

I went through every single disc in my set for a review.  Not a single problem with any of them.  None.  Nothing was dislodged, no scuffs or marks.  I personally like the keepcase width cases.  Much much less room. 

At this point I'm glad I chose to hold onto my Starburst edition sets.  Mine are *all* the DVD-9 editions, which was a major factor, and when I heard there was no CC *or* sub-titles on the A&E release it cinched it.  While I don't *need" either I frequently watch with them on so my wife will not complain about the volume when she's trying to sleep.  I turn down the volume, turn on the sub-titles, she sleeps, and I don't get nagged.  :)  From what I've read about the updated audio mix I'm glad I kept the Starburst set as it sounds as if you might need the sub-titles on occasion to hear dialog that is now buried in the mix.  It also doesn't hurt price wise in that I paid ~$140 for the entire set... new... by very careful shopping around.

That said... I'd be all over this at the price currently offered by amazon if I did not already own a copy... in spite of the reported "negatives" of this release.

I know it's a year later but Amazon once again has it on sale for $50 this time. Has there been any consensus whether the video quality is better or worse than the Starburst editions? A few user reviews I read said it looks fantastic and also some said the audio sounds like it was remastered.

From my cheap, quick, and certainly uneducated comparison, they appear to be pretty much the same in terms of video quality.  Not having the Starburst collection anymore, I cannot compare the audio (different audio systems and environment now).