The Bionic Woman: Season 2 audio defect

Matt,

Thanks for the heads up on this issue.  My BWS2 set was shipped today.

I noticed the same issue with the T/L 6M$M Bigfoot Pt 2 episode as well.   Regrettable for this to have been issued with the defect.

Thanks for the warning.

Is the audio problem on the "RoB2" on the BW set too, so only on the 6MDM Time-Life set?

Matt, there's actually a worse example of this during "Kill Oscar, pt 1" in the teaser, which I mentioned at length in my review of the 6MDM set.  Since the same transfer has been used for both sets, it's clear that this isn't a new problem.

I seriously doubt that Universal will be doing a recall of the title, but it's worth letting people know about the issue.  I'll flag it in my review.

BTW I also noticed that "Kill Oscar pt 2" is apparently the only time that Joe Harnell's music is used on the Main Titles.  Am I missing something there?

Is this only on the region 1 set?  I have the region 2 set already and if ti has no defect I will watch the episodes on that set.

I believe all the sets are the same.  Or are we talking about the earlier Universal Playback R2 sets?  I've seen those in stores but never actually watched them.

      Quote:

Originally Posted by cajunhillbilly 

Is this only on the region 1 set?  I have the region 2 set already and if ti has no defect I will watch the episodes on that set.

I have the R2 (Uni Playback) version and I checked it in my PC DVD Drive a moment ago.  I listened to Don Porter's voice beginning at 09:00 elapsed time and thru the 10:00 point and I noticed a very slight change (improvement) at 09:33 as Matt described but I haven't received the R1 BWS2 set so I can't do an A/B comparison.

From Matt's description, I'm guessing that the R1 version is considerably more pronounced (audio defect) vs the R2 version.
 

Note that my point in the episode 09:33 is probably different than the R1 set due to the PAL time difference.   However, I listened to a few minutes of the episode at the beginning and compared it to later in the ep, and I wasn't able to detect a clear defect issue in the R2 version.

     Quote:

Originally Posted by MattHR 

Jeff,

 

There is no problem with the audio on the R2 sets (I have them all). It's just the new R1 set that is flawed. The best way I could describe how it sounds is the way your own voice sounds when you cup both hands over your ears, or what it sounds like when you're under water. It's really that bad—except for the occasional foley FX (footsteps, door slams, etc.) that would have come from an isolated FX track.

 

 

Matt,

Thanks, makes sense I couldn't hear the defect in the R2 disc.   I'm glad I held onto the R2 sets.

Ironic, that we wait years for an R1 and we get flaws.  Thanks for trying :),  It is appreciated even though Uni didn't heed the input.

Any guess on a release timetable for BW S3?

There's flaws on "Road to Nashville" as well.  The opening credits sequence is muffled, as is Hoyt Axton's first song.  Sadly, Linday's song is NOT. LOL.  Also found the trouble on "Kill Oscar I" as noted above.  It goes in and out on that ep.  During the sequence with Jaime and Rudy it actually sounds like there is some slight high end distortion, although that is much better than the mufled sound at the beginning.  Only watched through "KO3", so I'll spin "Black Magic" and the next few tonight and see if there are any others (aside from the afore-mentioned "Deadly Ringer I."  I'm not sorry I bought the set, but I do hope they fix the major flaws.  It is very noticeable and distracting when it happens.  

As somebody who does audio/video work professionally, I'll be fixing this for my own purposes if Universal does not. This will cost me quite a bit of time, which brings to mind the old freelance adage: "I can't afford me" (no it will not be for sale, sorry, so no recouping).

I just want to ask Universal for some mercy here, because this will cost me a lot more than $50, in opportunity costs at the very least.

     Quote:

Originally Posted by MattHR 

Haven't heard a date for S3. But after what Uni has done with S1 & S2, I almost don't care at this point. I may just be content with my German S3 set.

 

I might wind up getting that German set as well.  It's a little pricey due to exchange rates but I'm glad it's out there as an alternative.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Willis 

     Quote:

I might wind up getting that German set as well.  It's a little pricey due to exchange rates but I'm glad it's out there as an alternative.
 

 

That's a very good advice. I do own the european sets of The Bionic Woman and they are exceptionnal.  The quality is perfect... compared to the US set.  I must say that I was shocked this evening when a surfed on a few episodes from the season 2, region 1 set. The bad sound quality isn't just for Deadly Ringer I episode but for The Night Demon, Once a Thief, Doomsday is Tomorrow I, Kill Oscar I .. to name a few.  All these episodes have severe sound problems for variable duration of the episode.  The region 2 sets were not exposed to this problem. 

Universal has made a terrible mistake to sell such a bad product. It's a shame.  Now what? We'll be offered to send the entire box set back to them?  Geesh...
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBrousseau 

 

. The bad sound quality isn't just for Deadly Ringer I episode but for The Night Demon, Once a Thief, Doomsday is Tomorrow I, Kill Oscar I .. to name a few.  All these episodes have severe sound problems for variable duration of the episode.  The region 2 sets were not exposed to this problem. 

 

Good grief!!  They SERIOUSLY need to re-do this release then and offer replacement discs.  If it was just a couple eps, or if it was the shape of the existing materials, it would be one thing.  But to have it be nearly half the eps, and to have unaffected discs issued in other regions is inexcusable.

This was indeed a disappointing release. We received ours today and we checked at least 2 of the episodes in question after reading the comments here.

The sound quality on "The Return of Bigfoot, Part 2" was enough to warrant returning this set for a refund. The dialogue was clear but the music sounded as though it was recorded under Bigfoot's fur.

I always enjoyed this episode because OF the music. Loved how they combined Steve's theme with Jaime's and then Bigfoot's.

Same problems with the audio as already mentioned regarding the "Deadly Ringer, Part 1" episode.

This set is going right back to Amazon for a refund. We have the region 2 discs, sans the Bigfoot episodes, but double dipped just to get the Bigfoot episodes on this region 1 set.

If anyone else sends their sets back to their origin of purchase, be sure to be specific as to why you are returning it. "Defective audio" probably isn't going to suffice. I would suggest pinpointing the exact episodes and the audio issues that you have with them.

Universal needs to know that consumers who have waited YEARS for these releases aren't going to say "Well, at least we finally have them on DVD so we'll take what we can get."

Universal's quality control should have picked up on these defects before these DVDs were even pressed.

I am grateful to have these eps on Region 1 discs, but money is scarce right now and we are picking and choosing which DVD releases to buy and we are not willing to pay for junk releases. We can wait a bit longer for the mistakes to be corrected. If they're not, then that is Universal's loss $ wise.

I guess I'm really in an annoyed mood as we just received a rather large order of DVDs from Amazon's sale and finally got "Roots (Four-Disc 30th Anniversary Edition) and we could not get the annoying/distracting subtitles to shut off on the first installment.

That set is going back for a refund as well. (Which is a shame as WB used a beautiful print of the mini-series.)

This has not been a good day for DVD releases for us!  

Here's the link to complain at the Universal website.  Maybe if enough of us let them know, they might do something.

http://www.universalstudiosentertainment.com/contact-us.php

Maxx 42

Guys, I strongly doubt that Universal will be doing a recall for this one.  But I will note the audio issue in my review, to be fair and accurate. 

Keep in mind that on the other hand, they have provided some good extras, especially the commentary tracks by Kenneth Johnson for "Doomsday is Tomorrow"

The DVD Talk reviewer I noticed didn't even say a word about the audio.    

Matt, I'd really like to believe that Universal would do the recall procedure here.  But we've been talking about this since the Time-Life SMDM set where the same problems existed, particularly for me on the "Kill Oscar pt 1" teaser.

I'd like to believe that there would be a large groundswell to have the sound corrected, but my instincts tell me that there aren't enough fans invested enough in this issue to exert enough pressure. 

I could well be wrong on this, and if I am, you'll see me announce that loud and clear within the forum.

But it's just not that likely for a 35 year old TV series set to be recalled.

I would be interested if Universal were to be able to explain what happened. 

I just finished watching Doomsday is Tomorrow Part 2. When Jaime gets gets her leg damaged, she goes to the auxiliary computer to fix it. At this point, the voices become muffled and impossible to hear without cranking the volume significantly. I bought 2 sets. One for me and one for my nieces. I will be returning both if they don't address this problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin EK 

Matt, I'd really like to believe that Universal would do the recall procedure here.  But we've been talking about this since the Time-Life SMDM set where the same problems existed, particularly for me on the "Kill Oscar pt 1" teaser.

 

I'd like to believe that there would be a large groundswell to have the sound corrected, but my instincts tell me that there aren't enough fans invested enough in this issue to exert enough pressure. 

 

I could well be wrong on this, and if I am, you'll see me announce that loud and clear within the forum.

 

But it's just not that likely for a 35 year old TV series set to be recalled.

 

I would be interested if Universal were to be able to explain what happened. 

Kevin being a reviewer of This set, do you have any way to contact Universal?  At least let them know that You review product on this site, and noticed a glaring problem in certain audio tracks?

This has been my most anticipated release for this year, and as of now I'm on the fence to wait and see what happens before I purchase it.

I'm extremely disappointed.

Let's not project pessimism, eh? Universal is looking into it, and I hope they are able to provide some relief.

The picture quality is excellent and there is available audio for these episodes from various sources to fix these problems: the PAL releases do not have this issue (they do have the 4% speedup which would need to be reversed), and countless air tapes are in the hands of fans if the PAL conversion is unacceptable. 

It really comes down to a business decision that only they can make. I will put the good thought on it and not predispose the matter.

Matt,

Wow, I just received my R1 set and you called this one, I can't even hear the dialog in "Deadly Ringer Pt 1" prior to the 9:33 point.  Very bad.  Now, I have a hearing impairement but when I plug in the R2 disc, the same episode is crystal clear audio.

I'm glad I have the S2 R2 set and the 6M$M T/L set with the crossovers included.

I guess for me, it will have to be Bionic Woman disc swap exercise when I want to watch the series completely through.

I never thought I'd say this about a series that's on my all-time favorite list and one where we've waited this long to see R1 releases, but I'd advise those out there that are on the fence after reading this thread, to pass on this set, unless the Extras are a significant reason for the purchase.  I realize that if the sale #'s don't reach Uni's target, we may not see an R1 S3 release.  It's up to the individual to make their call.  I'll get the German S3 (English language track is included) set if we don't get an S3 R1 release.

Best scenario imo, is to get the R2/4 sets of this series.  Fortunately there are plenty of region-free DVD player alternatives available to hack your existing player or to obtain R-free software for your PC drives.  I have both and they're an important part of my TV/DVD hobby.

Everyone has a different take on this PAL speedup, but it doesn't bother me as much as it does with other ppl.  I own many PAL TV/DVD sets and I can't tell the difference other than during the opening or closing themes.  I've also played PAL dics for friends and asked them afterward "Did you notice anything different with this disc?"  To date, I've had no one that has said "Yes, I heard a speedup issue, etc."   Just my take on this though.  It will vary with the individual.

Bottom line imo, is this set is defective and should be handled like other defective sets that have been done in the past with other studios.  At a minimum, Uni should arrange a disc #4 exchange program in the near future.

I haven't checked the other episodes in this set as some have done.