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Birds of Prey: The Complete Series Announced! (1 Viewer)

Rick P

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 18, 2003
Messages
690

That's what I'm trying to determine. And again, I seriously, SERIOUSLY doubt that it was 'filmed matted'.. for television.. thats.. thats... INCONCEIVABLE (ob Princess Bride quote).
 

Rick P

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 18, 2003
Messages
690

Liz... with respect, what part of that list of shows, both those that predated and were contemporary with BoP eluded you? And as someone pointed out Smallville, same network, contemporary, was shot wide since the beginning...
 

LizH

Second Unit
Joined
May 2, 2004
Messages
343
We can't change the past.

We can't change what happened six years ago.



Let's be grateful that the thing is out there PERIOD.
 

Rick P

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 18, 2003
Messages
690

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - Santayana

Sorry, I don't accept "we can't change the past..." until we know what the past is.
 

troy evans

Screenwriter
Joined
Jul 2, 2005
Messages
1,294
Rick P, it's one thing to raise hell about something and take a stand. Then, going and trying to change it with contact to the studio and such. Not, going back and forth on this forum about how there may be widescreen masters out there because other shows have them. If you've been into tv on dvd for a long enough time you'd know how flawed that argument is. I intend you no ill will or offense. However, since you've stated that you're buying these anyway, one has to wonder what your point is. It just comes off like whinin and bitchin after that statement. If you buy them and can "fix them" as you say, regardless of whether or not you should have to, just deal with it. Or take a stand and don't buy it. You have a right to state your opinion just like everyone else here. However, you act like you know this problem can be fixed by them. If Gord reports info about a show I know his credibility and trust his info. I can't say the same for you, I'm sorry. If you do have info that proves that the 16:9 master is out there then I'd love to here it. Otherwise......please calm down. We're all friends here. :)
 

Daryl L

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 1999
Messages
766
I agree completely. People, this dissatisfaction over the release format has absolutely nothing to do with how many darn people still have and use fullscreen (4:3) televisions or how many darn people still have and use widescreen (16:9) televisions. Quit using that as an excuse to justify the format it's being released in. The fact is their releasing it in a 1:75.1 letterboxed format. That alone dismisses the fact that it's 1:33.1 matted. It's freakin LETTERBOXED! Making it anamorphic would show no visible difference on a fullscreen tv and showed noticeable difference for the better on a widescreen tv. This will cause many people to refuse buying it and I believe will cost them a profit lose higher than it would have cost to produce an anamorphic transfer. Don't you dare think the few here refusing to buy it due to it's format is the majority. There will be far, far more than you might think. And to sit idly by without voicing dissatisfaction at this will lead companies, studio's or whatever to continue thinking it's ok to continue providing shoddy, thoughtless, incompetent consumer products in this way.
 

TravisR

Senior HTF Member
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The basement of the FBI building
But are you going to contact Warners and tell them or are you just going to complain about it on message boards? I'm not singling you or anyone else out but if you're unhappy about this, contact Warners and let them know. If it doesn't sell well, they may feel that people just weren't interested in it but if it doesn't sell well and they get consumer feedback saying that the lack of 16x9 enhancement was the deal breaker for them, this may not happen on future releases from Warners.
 

LizH

Second Unit
Joined
May 2, 2004
Messages
343
If it doesn't sell well, they won't bother putting out an anamorphic WS edition.



WS is but one small segment of the TV-buying market.

Do you really think that the people of the world are going to one day pitch their 4:3 TVs and convert to WS en masse? I don't see that happening -- at least, not while most people see TV as little more than something to watch CNN and Seinfeld reruns on.
 

LizH

Second Unit
Joined
May 2, 2004
Messages
343
Do not most DVD players have a "Zoom" feature that allows you to increase the aspect ratio?


Mine does.
 

Rick P

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 18, 2003
Messages
690

Liz... come'on now, please... you honestly think they will ever revisit this again? I agree with the other comments, either they get it right with this or the only version ever available will be shoddy and incompatible. And if if they were to make a BluRay version of this, I'll eat my DVD-R copies of all the broadcasts I have of this, with hot mustard and sprinkled with bird seed.

You're sig says you could get a good number of people to contact Warners and express displeasure, maybe enough to make a difference. Are you? Or are you just gonna take what they throw together? The gauntlet is thrown, to ALL BoP fans and people that want to see other shows done RIGHT, up to you to pick it up.
 

Rick P

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 18, 2003
Messages
690

Not when connected to HDMI, non-functional, as most are. And when it can, the picture sucks, looks like 2nd gen VHS-SLP.
 

TravisR

Senior HTF Member
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The basement of the FBI building
Despite that I couldn't care less about the title, yes. I'll write a polite letter stating my concern (for lack of a better word) that Birds Of Prey isn't 16x9 enhanced.

If you're wondering why I'm posting in this thread when I don't care about the title, it's because I do care about companies putting out their widescreen TV shows and movies properly. Hopefully, they'll get a loud and clear message from the consumers and it won't happen on more titles. I think it's too late for Birds Of Prey but the quicker and louder they hear it, they may be able to make a change.
 

LizH

Second Unit
Joined
May 2, 2004
Messages
343



I am not going to storm The Bastille over aspect ratios.



I'm spent. I've waited six years for this.

Let me enjoy my DVD ... 4:3 aspect ratio and all.
 

cart99

Grip
Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
16
Real Name
Jeff

If you've been waiting that long for a 4:3 dvd release of this show then I hope you enjoy it. If you have been campaigning for it then you deserve to.

It has been my experience that many of those interested in genre type shows also tend to be interested in current and emerging tech. I truly believe that a 4:3 release of this show will hurt sales and that the majority of the fan base is not unaware of the difference between matted ws and anamorphic at all. If this was a vhs release (about the year 1995) then I would applaud a letterbox release of any kind but it's not.

Those of us on the 16:9 side here are not trying to stop a release and deprive anyone of this show we are only stating our preference of releasing it in a superior manner if at all possible. We do this, I believe, not only for us but for the benefit of yourself and others in the future.

I have no doubt Gord was told that the masters were matted ws. I doubt that he was given the correct information for whatever reason. This doesn't mean I am right, but I may be.

Either way, this title will be released and all of the 4:3 viewers/lovers (and from reading here 16:9 haters) out there will not notice the difference. Those with 16:9 tv's will notice a huge quality difference if they attempt to magnify the image to fit the screen.

It just seems discouraging to see a group of people that claim to love a tv show divide themselves based on the width of their tv sets and not join together for the best possible release they could hope for so that everyone could enjoy it equally now and in the future.

Don't mind me .... I am off to watch my 4:3 retail copies of Enterprise.

If anyone reading this isn't sure what anamorphic widescreen is I encourage you to read this guide on the digital bits site
The Ultimate Guide to Anamorphic Widescreen DVD for Everyone!
 

troy evans

Screenwriter
Joined
Jul 2, 2005
Messages
1,294
Well, there are more than a few ways to look at this. Everyone here has simular and very different priorities. This show took a long time to get released. For years I had to read crap-ass April fools day and other internet claims that it was coming. It got to a point where I lost hope to ever see this released. Now, we finally get it, but, for some that's not good enough. This whole, "we do what we do not for ourselves but for everyone so they can enjoy the show as intended," is a bunch of bullshit. No one, I repeat, no one has offered up any kind of fact that the 16:9 non-matted print even exsists. It just smacks of being ungrateful to me. Except for Liz, who else here campaigned for this shows release? If you did, do you think the effort is best summed up by a "thanks, but, it just ain't good enough" attitude? If someone cooked you a steak dinner w/mashed potatoes and you said, "I'll eat it but it would be better with mac and cheese" How would that make them feel? It seems to me all the effort that has gotten us this release is being over shadowed by nit picking over the OAR. Liz should be thanked for her efforts, as should all who campaigned to get this show out to the masses. Thank You Liz. We need to get back to how great it is to finally have this coming. I count the days till this spins in my system. I loved this show and thought it never got a fair chance. The last 2 episodes of this series kicks ass. I still can't believe it's finally coming. :D Man, this is too cool.
 

Daryl L

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 1999
Messages
766
Sure, I'll do both. ;)

LizH, are the addresses on the site your signature links to the addresses I should use?
 

FrankPitt

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Feb 4, 2006
Messages
89
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Real Name
Frank
I just wanted to chime in with this bit of info.

Dark Shadows (1991) was broadcast in full screen. For some reason, MGM/Sony matted the DVD release, cropping off the top and bottom of the image to create a "widescreen" image. When I got the set, I watched it on a standard, old-school TV. The image was letterboxed, with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.

Since then, I got an lcd/hi-def/flatscreen TV, and I just popped in a Dark Shadows disc to see how it looks. Turns out that after the full-screen opening credits, the show itself is anamorphic. It fills the whole screen and looks great.

I'm hoping the same will hold true for Birds of Prey.
 

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