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Rawhide Season 4, V. 1 coming in May (1 Viewer)

smithb

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My copy of "Rawhide" should arrive today, so I am interested to check it out this evening and provide my own opinion to the mix.


In addition, since references were made regarding similarities between the "Wagon Train" Timeless release vs. Encore broadcast, I can take a look at that as well since I own TMG's Wagon Train Season 3 and I'm recording the last episode of the same season from Encore today.
 

Guy Foulard

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Originally Posted by Dave Scarpa

We'll see what Season 4 looks like on Encore and revisit this later
Isn't Encore Westerns still just in Standard Definition? I haven't seen any SD channels that look up to basic DVD quality on my 42" screen.
 

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Shall be interesting to see what the fourth season of Rawhide looks like when it's released on Region 2. Been waiting for Season 1 to come down in price a bit.
 

Gary OS

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Scarpa

Well let me preface this as I'm Watching on a 65" Screen, might be different if I was on Smaller


That is a very large screen to watch a non-remastered b/w series on. No doubt about that, Dave. I'm watching on a 54" myself. And let me say again, for the record, that I too am bummed CBS/Paramount has decided not to continue remastering this show (among others) before releasing more sets. And the video is soft and a tad blurry. But I just don't see how they can be described as unwatchable. That's my only contention with what you've said. I guess it's a matter of degrees and personal tolerance. In comparison to high definition TV it does look poor. But so do several of my dvd sets, but I can still watch and enjoy them. I put this Rawhide set at about the same place as the earlier HGWT volumes. Not great, but certainly watchable.



Gary "remastered is a-l-w-a-y-s preferred, but not utterly essential for me to watch a dvd" O.
 

smithb

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Originally Posted by Guy Foulard

Isn't Encore Westerns still just in Standard Definition? I haven't seen any SD channels that look up to basic DVD quality on my 42" screen.

Dave's point is that he thinks the Encore prints being used for broadcast are actually in better shape then the one's used for the DVD's. So it is all about the source used in each case.
 

Gary OS

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Originally Posted by smithb

Dave's point is that he thinks the Encore prints being used for broadcast are actually in better shape then the one's used for the DVD's. So it is all about the source used in each case.


Agreed. Like Dave, I'm going to be interested in how the Encore prints will look.



Gary "seems like someone here should be able to tell us how the R4 sets look" O.
 

smithb

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Originally Posted by Gary OS

Quote:


That is a very large screen to watch a non-remastered b/w series on. No doubt about that, Dave. I'm watching on a 54" myself. And let me say again, for the record, that I too am bummed CBS/Paramount has decided not to continue remastering this show (among others) before releasing more sets. And the video is soft and a tad blurry. But I just don't see how they can be described as unwatchable. That's my only contention with what you've said. I guess it's a matter of degrees and personal tolerance. In comparison to high definition TV it does look poor. But so do several of my dvd sets, but I can still watch and enjoy them. I put this Rawhide set at about the same place as the earlier HGWT volumes. Not great, but certainly watchable.



Gary "remastered is a-l-w-a-y-s preferred, but not utterly essential for me to watch a dvd" O.

Well, considering I have similar releases as you Gary and I watch on a 92" screen, I'd say personal tolerances and how each chooses to subjectively describe what they are seeing is most likely the biggest reason for the vastly different opinions here.
 

smithb

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Originally Posted by Gary OS

Quote:



Agreed. Like Dave, I'm going to be interested in how the Encore prints will look.



Gary "seems like someone here should be able to tell us how the R4 sets look" O.

There was a long discussion on Amazon for the S4V1 release (70 some replies) where it came up. My recollection is that someone that has owned both said that the R1 releases were better due to the obvious remastering, but that the R4 prints were acceptable. Since someone referenced that the R4 prints were received from the studio, I will make the assumption (for now) that R4 will look the same.
 

smithb

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Well I did a quick analysis of the S4V1 Rawhide release, and I agree with Gary that these are about the same quality as the season 1 release. I took an episode from each of these seasons and they both suffered from the same issues. Lack of detail in grass and trees, as well as people when at a distant. I think for this show the issues are more magnified then some shows because of all the real outdoor shots. For instance Wagon Train and other similar shows that mixed in a lot of studio shots have a tendency I think to look a bit better due to the controlled environment. That said, Rawhide S4V1 is more then adequate for my viewing and future purchases. I suspect the Encore ones when broadcast in 2012 stand a good chance of being of similar quality. The difference maker for me to go with the formal release over Encore captures will be having pressed disks, no TV icon, higher bit rates, less disks (I don't currently do dual layer burning), and not having to take the time to capture and burn disks. But I can understand if others have different priorities.


I also matched up an episode of S3 Wagon Train broadcast on Encore today with it's counterpart on the recent Timeless release. Interestingly, they were similar in quality but different. The Encore episode had what appeared to be boosted contrast and/or sharpness. In some ways there appeared to be more detail but in an artificial way. The TMG version had a smoother but what might be considered a flatter look. So one accentuated the black and white with extremes, while the other in the middle grays. It was easy to see the difference when flipping back and forth. However, I still considered them basically equal because the overall detail was comparable when you got past the different approaches, and after watching each for a few minutes I became equally accustom to the look of each. Again, for the benefits listed above for Rawhide, I would still take the TMG release over captures. However, if either stalled I would be more then happy to have the Encore captures as replacements.


Just to state how the comparisons were done. I was able to have each episode loaded into a separate player or off the DVR, I located the same or comparable scene's, and was able to flip back and forth at a flip of a button. So there was no delay swapping out disks.
 

Neil Brock

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Yet another reason why I'm perfectly happy with my tube sets. If non-remastered pre-recorded DVDs look bad, I'd hate to think what some of my 3rd generation PAL dubs would look like.
 

smithb

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Originally Posted by Neil Brock
Yet another reason why I'm perfectly happy with my tube sets. If non-remastered pre-recorded DVDs look bad, I'd hate to think what some of my 3rd generation PAL dubs would look like.

The things I mentioned are in the source, so even on your CRT sets they would be visible. It just depends on how close you sit and what your tolerances are. I put a lot more value on the content then the quality of the video. So for example, M-Squad, public domain releases of old 1930's John Wayne movies, samples of The Defenders are just a few titles some would question that I have watched and enjoyed on my projection system. Now if the video is really suspect even in my terms, I can always view them on a smaller screen.


As for this Rawhide release, I suspect most will be more then happy enough with the quality.
 

Jeff Willis

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Quote:

Originally Posted by smithb
The things I mentioned are in the source, so even on your CRT sets they would be visible. It just depends on how close you sit and what your tolerances are. I put a lot more value on the content then the quality of the video. So for example, M-Squad, public domain releases of old 1930's John Wayne movies, samples of The Defenders are just a few titles some would question that I have watched and enjoyed on my projection system. Now if the video is really suspect even in my terms, I can always view them on a smaller screen.


As for this Rawhide release, I suspect most will be more then happy enough with the quality.

Brad, good points here. I made the switch from CRT to HD/flat screen viewing in '08 and have never looked back. I'd never want to go back to watching anything on a CRT TV but it's an individual choice. I understand some that may be hesitant to switch to HD. I was very cautious back in '08 and made several trips up to my local store with my own TV/DVD sets and sampled them on some various HD sets, simulating my viewing distance and checking to see if watching std DVD's (mainly older 4:3 shows) on these HD sets would diminish my overall viewing experience and/or over-amplify std DVD transfer defects or imperfections. What I discovered, for me, was that my concerns were groundless. I found the opposite experience; watching some of my all-time favorites, "Combat!", "The Fugitive", etc, were significantly enhanced as a result of the flat-screen display's and the increase in screen size.

It's OT here, but another big payoff for me, with the HD WS set, is that I can watch WS anamorphic-transfer DVD movies without 4:3 cropping and it's a world of difference to me, being able to watch these films on the WS HD set vs a 4:3 CRT TV. I guess the way to go with some, would be to have the best of both worlds; watch some of the PD-quality TV/DVD sets on a CRT TV and everything else on the HD display.


Having said that, we all know that we each have our own "lines in the sand" regarding what's acceptable DVD/transfer Q. For me, I found that, for example, "Room 222" print Q is below my acceptance line, even with a smaller-screen CRT display. The amount of film noise and defects in prints that are similar to that set, as well as most PD or Alpha release sets, isn't acceptable for me. I think that some of that reason is due that I have many more un-viewed sets on the shelf that are of significantly-improved video Q, from the major studio's releases. The other reason is that, when the earlier-mentioned sets have that amount of film noise in the prints, it detracts from my viewing's with those shows.


I received my RH S4 V1 set yesterday and I checked a few episodes for video Q.


I compared some of my other B/W Western sets to the RH S4 set.


My viewing stat info:


Panny 50" Plasma 1080p set, sitting about 8.5 ft from the set. I watch all of my DVD's in OAR formats; for all TV/DVD's that aren't shot in 16:9, I watch in 4:3 mode. I'm watching DVD's with a region-free std upconvert player via HDMI set to 1080p.


First, I checked my RH S1 sets since according to CBS, the S1 sets weren't remastered. The S1 episodes had the edge in closeup focus/sharpness vs the S4V1 set but the S1 sets contained more general video noise, ie, graininess as well as a small amount of film noise. I'd rate the S4V1 set a little higher than the S1 sets.


Rifleman MPI sets: I'd rate RH S4V1 slightly better overall in this comparison. I thought that overall, the RH prints were a little sharper in the close-up scenes.


Wanted Dead or Alive S2 set: I'd rate this about even overall with the "Wanted" set a slight edge with the focus in the close-up scenes.


Cheyenne S1: RH S4V1 won this comparison fairly easily, mostly due to the amount of film defects/dirt vs the RH S4V1 set.


For non-Western B/W comparisons, from memory:


RHS4 set vs Combat! set: RH wins.


Dick Van Dyke set: RH wins.


Route 66 S1: RH wins.


Some of my other B/W sets, are better than the RH set, ie, "Hazel", LITB, Bewitched S1-2, I Dream of Jeannnie S1, all of the CBS/P remastered sets, as they should be better, "The Untouchables", "The Fugitive", etc.


However, even when I compared these sets to the RH S4V1 set, imo, the video Q is considerably better than compared to PD-quality, Alpha sets, or other sets that contain numerous film defects.


Overall, RH S4 V1 is in my "watchable" category by a comfortable margin.
 

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Great posts from both Brad and Jeff.

Brad, we are in agreement about watching things like M SQUAD and the p.d. John Wayne pics and finding both at least tolerable. In fact, one of the all time best DVD buys for me was a two disc set of John Wayne B Westerns from Lone Star Productions that came out on Mill Creek and sold at Target last winter for $2.00! I am just about done watching the entire set and outside of music substitution on one film, I have had no trouble with any of the transfers, such as they are. I'm watching on a 62 inch DLP and I thought the PQ was quite watchable.


I tend to be very lenient and always take into account the rarity of the material and the potential opportunity of ever seeing it in a better version. I respect Jeff's standards, even when we might not agree on what is acceptable and what isn't. But the point he brings up about experiencing some of these vintage series on a big screen is exactly right. I can also respect Neil's apparent purist view, after all these old shows were indeed meant to be seen on CRTs, but at the same time, some of these shows, e.g. THE OUTER LIMITS, THE FUGITIVE, were shot with the skill and artistry of a feature film and can be quite the revelation when viewed that way on a nice HD set in a superb transfer.
 

Jeff Willis

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Glen,


Thanks for your post. I definitely hear you guys on the issue of rare and otherwise unavailable shows/films, ie, a less than stellar release is better than none at all. It's all a matter of personal choice as you mentioned earlier.


One thing I agree with, is that there's a trade-off for some WS TV viewers of older TV shows, with regards to what's commonly referred to as the "black bars" on the HD sets when viewing in OAR mode. I have my Panny TV set up to "light gray" pillar box mode, so the bars don't bother me.


Fortunately, for me, all of my TV/DVD sets look better to me on the WS TV as compared to my old CRT TV. Be that as it may, as you said, these old shows were made to be viewed on a 4:3 TV.


I like the "best of both worlds" mode for me, since I can enjoy several TV/DVD sets in their OAR that were shot in 16:9 (ie 1.78:1) and look great on the WS set, whereas they are cropped on a 4:3 CRT TV.


Jeff "Watched a RH S3 V1 ep at lunch today, 'Incident on the Road to Yesterday', Good episode" W.
 

Neil Brock

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Jeff, the one thing I didn't see mentioned in your post is how DVD transfers from VHS or Beta look. For many of us, at least in my circles, the vast majority of our collection consists of material recorded off-air and transferred from 16mm film. While we may have hundreds of shows that have been released commercially, it still only makes up a small percentage of our collections with the majority not being from pristine sources but from half inch recordings. How are those 3rd generation Adventures in Paradise episodes going to look on one of those 100 inch, HD sets? I'm not knocking it by any means as I'm sure that if all its used for is watching current TV and pre-recorded DVDs, then it must be fine. I'm just saying that for many of us, the SF Room 222 releases which you find unacceptable, are far from the worst quality as far as what we watch.
 

smithb

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Originally Posted by Neil Brock

Jeff, the one thing I didn't see mentioned in your post is how DVD transfers from VHS or Beta look. For many of us, at least in my circles, the vast majority of our collection consists of material recorded off-air and transferred from 16mm film. While we may have hundreds of shows that have been released commercially, it still only makes up a small percentage of our collections with the majority not being from pristine sources but from half inch recordings. How are those 3rd generation Adventures in Paradise episodes going to look on one of those 100 inch, HD sets? I'm not knocking it by any means as I'm sure that if all its used for is watching current TV and pre-recorded DVDs, then it must be fine. I'm just saying that for many of us, the SF Room 222 releases which you find unacceptable, are far from the worst quality as far as what we watch.

Good question. I don't have a VCR connected to my projection system so I haven't tried viewing as such, but I think I can still provide some feedback from other experiences. The basic issue is not with the source material (off-air, 16mm film) since each is at a minimum still satisfactory with today's technology. Unfortunately, the issue is with the storage media of the day, Beta and VHS are going to limit you to around 250 lines of resolution.


My last analog TV was a 40" CRT for Mits that I had from 1995 through 2002. I watched plenty of VHS on it. The only problem was being able to actually see the lines on the screen. The closer you sat the more noticeable. Sitting at 18' away was not an issue, but sitting and closer then 10' and the lines became a bit of a distraction.


Jump to 2002 to today, I have had 4x3 digital flat CRT's with HD capabilities. These sets upscale everything to 1080i. So while I haven't viewed a VHS I still know what standard definition 480 looks like upconverted. There are no visible lines but you will see some noise around objects and some blockiness (especially in motion) as the signal is upconverted. Sitting a few feet away on a 36" set and the noise is cleary visible but at our normal seating distance of 10', no problem. I see digital as digital so LCD/Plasma flat screen are similar enough to my older digital CRT's


So can VHS material be viewed on a large projected screen? I'd say this would be too much to upconvert 250 lines to 1080 because distance is the biggest issue. You need to sit back far enough to minimize the lines or artifacts/noise from distracting from the image. Is one technology better then another for VHS? Each has their weakness, digital with its upconverting artifacts and noise vs. visible line structure of analog. For some material I have come across that looks like it could be VHS dupes (The Rebel, wish they would air it again so I could get a better copy), I watch on a small 20" flat screen during workouts viewing from about 4' away. It is acceptable enough.

Personally, If I had to choose, I would probably say I would rather watch older VHS on older analog CRT's. I think the lines are less a distraction then the blockiness and artifacts. But even with digital, sit back far enough and it should still be acceptable. Regarding any material with a higher lines of resolution (480+) such as DVD's and over air broadcasts I'll take the large screen possible with digital.


Obviously, you can't take old VHS tapes and improve their resolution. Where possible one can hope that 16mm prints and shows re-aired can be transferred again at a higher resolution to replace the older copies. Unfortunately, not likely in all scenario's.
 

Gary OS

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Quote:

Originally Posted by smithb

Well I did a quick analysis of the S4V1 Rawhide release, and I agree with Gary that these are about the same quality as the season 1 release. I took an episode from each of these seasons and they both suffered from the same issues. Lack of detail in grass and trees, as well as people when at a distant. I think for this show the issues are more magnified then some shows because of all the real outdoor shots. For instance Wagon Train and other similar shows that mixed in a lot of studio shots have a tendency I think to look a bit better due to the controlled environment. That said, Rawhide S4V1 is more then adequate for my viewing and future purchases.

Thanks for the response, Brad. I agree wholeheartedly with you that the reason a non-remastered Rawhide might appear a tad worse than a non-remastered Wagon Train is the use of outdoor location shooting vs back lot/studio shooting. The thing that made Rawhide so great was its on-location shots. Such vast countryside and beautiful scenery in most of the episodes. Same with HGWT. I believe that's a huge reason I prefer the CBS Westerns to the WB ones.



Originally Posted by Jeff Willis

How are those 3rd generation Adventures in Paradise episodes going to look on one of those 100 inch, HD sets? I'm not knocking it by any means as I'm sure that if all its used for is watching current TV and pre-recorded DVDs, then it must be fine. I'm just saying that for many of us, the SF Room 222 releases which you find unacceptable, are far from the worst quality as far as what we watch.

While I agree with your general premise, Neil, I think you might be engaging in a little hyperbole with that part about 100" screens. I'm pretty sure most of us are viewing on screens that are half that size, give or take a little. But I agree that there are plenty of "alt" sets that make Room 222 look remastered. The key is how badly do you want to see said series? If it's a Holy Grail then an individual will undoubtedly put up with more than another who's interest is only casual. The sad thing is that in the case of a blind buy someone might be turned off immediately if the print quality is really low. They might miss out on a great show or episode because they couldn't tolerate the poor A/V. That's the real shame when a series is released cut and/or in bad shape.


And I think that's the real issue when it comes to quality: how important is said series to a person? If it's highly valued for its content then most people will put up with more. I know I really don't care for the A/V quality on my alt Christmas episode from Dr. Kildare Season One. I want to replace that with an uncut, clean print in the worst way possible. But because I love that episode so much I'm certainly not going to part with my homemade copy. Someone else might see it once and then decide to chuck it if the storyline doesn't hit them like it does me because the video quality is definitely worse than Room 222. But I'm not letting go of my copy until (fingers crossed) Warners puts out the uncut version they have sitting in their vault.


Gary "the tolerance level for each of us has to be affected by the value we place on each individual show" O.
 

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Well said, Gary, and an interesting discussion on the whole.


I have to admit that a part of me does feel like Neil, though because I do have a high tolerance level for what others may deem unacceptable quality and because my big DLP is actually pretty forgiving when compared to a Plasma or LCD, my retro-view is more nostalgic than anything else. I often wish I had an old 25 inch BLACK & WHITE CRT for watching some shows. Not because I think it will necessarily offer a more pleasing and commensurately appropriate viewing experience, but because I would love to just watch a set like that again. If I had the room for it, I would probably try to find one.


I do actually own a 1948 Hallicrafter's TV with a CIRCULAR (!) screen set in a beautiful wooden cabinet and, rumor has it, designed by Raymond Loewy, but it has never worked from the day I bought it back in the late 80's. I did look into getting it fixed at one point, but it seemed pretty expensive, so I never have. It's on display in my living room, but as Ralph Kramden once said, "It's for showin', not blowin.'"
 

Jeff Willis

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil Brock
Jeff, the one thing I didn't see mentioned in your post is how DVD transfers from VHS or Beta look. For many of us, at least in my circles, the vast majority of our collection consists of material recorded off-air and transferred from 16mm film. While we may have hundreds of shows that have been released commercially, it still only makes up a small percentage of our collections with the majority not being from pristine sources but from half inch recordings. How are those 3rd generation Adventures in Paradise episodes going to look on one of those 100 inch, HD sets? I'm not knocking it by any means as I'm sure that if all its used for is watching current TV and pre-recorded DVDs, then it must be fine. I'm just saying that for many of us, the SF Room 222 releases which you find unacceptable, are far from the worst quality as far as what we watch.

I think you lost me on the "100" TV" remark. I have a 50" TV as I provided my viewing stats in a previous post. Perhaps that was directed at someone else? I've seen no mention in this thread of a member that is viewing TV shows on a 100" set.


Second, just an fyi, I have several VHS off-air tapes that I watch on my Plasma 50" set which look fine to me. The difference in the tapes that I have in my collection, is that they don't contain the amount of film defects that I consider below my viewing choice, such as in the Room 222 set.


I also own several TV series' on DVD-R's that are 2nd or 3rd generation quality. They all look good on my 50" Plasma set.


I'm curious as to who you refer to, as in "us"? Are you saying that the majority of the TV series collections most of the members at this forum consist of multi-generation VHS tapes? If so, I'm certainly in a minority at this board.


I've known for years, on this board, that you are far above me on the "collectors" scale. This is said sincerely. I think that's great that you have the extensive TV series library that you have compiled over the years. However, I'd guess that you don't represent the majority of the members on this board in that regard. Perhaps that's not the case. I'd be interested in a poll about some of these differences of opinions, ie, what constitutes one's minimum viewing acceptance (PD or near-PD quality vs most studio pressed releases) and what percentage of members on this board are watching their TV shows on HD sets vs CRT sets.


To summarize, I view VHS tapes on my 50" set without any distracting issues.
 

Neil Brock

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To summarize, I view VHS tapes on my 50" set without any distracting issues.

That's good to know because eventually my tube sets are going to die and have to be replaced. I would hate to think that all of the DVD transfers would look horrible. Now with the golden era coming to an end, I don't expect to be upgrading many of the shows I have from old cable airings and network runs.


An interesting question regarding picture quality that I'm curious about how others feel. One of my favorite failed series is The Immortal. SciFi ran it in the 90s beautifully remastered and great quality. However, it was cut to 45:30. I have 11 of the 15 episodes from old AFN airings off beat up 16mm prints. However, those were complete and come in at around 51;50. And no, its impossible to edit in the missing footage to the remastered versions as they didn't cut out scenes but rather snipped a few seconds here and there. I thought of that but I couldn't do it. Personally, I find cut episodes to be far more annoying than lesser picture quality. What would you chose, quality or completeness?
 

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