Defective "Derelict" on Lost In Space 1st Season DVD Set (1 Viewer)

After eagerly awaiting release of the original "Lost In Space" on DVD, I was disappointed to discover a video transfer defect on the 2nd episode on Disc 1.

"The Derelict" seems to have transferred using a misaligned video pickup (camera) or was distorted at some stage of it's digital processing.

In this episode, there is a vertical black stripe running along the right hand side of the picture. There is also a thin grey-white vertical line of distortion near the right edge of the picture that is visible in dark scenes. The black stripe takes up about 10% of video frame's right side.

On lower-end CRT type TV's this may not be fully visible because most sets of this type have some video "overscan" which runs content off the screen.

However, on Flat Panel TV's , Plasma Screens, or computer screen displays this distortion sticks out like a sore thumb. The overall detail (resolution) of this episode seems to have suffered somewhat as well.

Before posting here, I searched the Internet for any other information about this defect. I also checked 20th Century Fox Home Video's website for any customer service assistance link. In both cases I found nothing.

As with past defective products that are part of a box set, I am assuming that Fox Home Video will offer a mail-in return service where a corrected replacement can be obtain by returning just the single defective disc in question. This is how Fox handled the 12 seconds of missing content on the CAV format Star Wars Trilogy box set Laser Disc of about 10 years ago. More recently, Universal Studios offered a replacement-by-mail exchange service for improperly framed letterboxed transfers of their "Back To The Future II and III" DVD's from the Trilogy set.

The problem is Fox needs to hear enough consumer feedback before they are apt to respond to this problem. If anyone knows if Fox Video still has a consumer contact office, posting that information here will be a good first step.



Image from "Derelict" -- dark scene


Image from "Derelict" -- lighter scene
(Black stripe is clearly visible at right edge of frame)


Image from "Island In The Sky" -- properly framed, shown for reference.

Posted with permission of owner

I'd be interested in seeing framegrabs of this problem.

But this box set is STILL better than anything I've seen before on broadcast television, both in video quality and completeness. I taped every episode off USA in 1989, and the new DVD set is MUCH preferable. I really think the nitpicking is troubling and counter-productive; especially if it somehow deters Fox from going through with Seasons Two and Three. I mean, how many times in your lifetime are you going to watch each episode over and over anyway? Surely the box set is more than adequate to watch each episode once every few years. I'm a stickler for great V/A quality too (especially with feature films), but this just seems too picky for LIS, IMO.

Joe, I'm inclined to agree with you on some points. I also recorded Lost In Space when the SCI-FI channel started broadcasting. The DVD set is indeed a significant improvement over those broadcasts.

However, I can't see the logic in wanting to ignore an admittedly minor but still very visible flaw just because the overall quality is an improvement over what we previously had off broadcast.

The nature of the flaw is significant too. It's not a short duration or difficult to spot problem such as a single missing line of dialog or a few seconds of missing footage.

The problem, minor that it may be is clearly visible. Remember this is digital video we're talking about. Film to video technicians no longer use over-scanned CRT monitors these days. They use 100% full resolution computer screens. The larger the screen, the easier it is to see. On my 42" plasma, that right side black stripe is about 3" wide.

There is no way I can believe the DVD encoding team could not have noticed the frame image was off center when they were giving the mastering process the usual watchful eye for compression artifacts.

It leads me to question whether a conscious choice was made to consider the flaw trivial as opposed to taking a little extra time to correct it before final manufacturing.

Finally, you indicated my complaint may be "counter-productive; especially if it somehow deters Fox from going through with Seasons Two and Three". Think of what you are saying . Are we now to fear a copyright holder's retribution when posting content quality concerns here?

Honestly, it's more likely that Fox will just take a little more care with future releases. Because of the nature of DVD production, the cost difference between doing the job vs. and doing the job *right* is perhaps more trivial then the flaw I came here to complain about.

In the mean time I hope 20th Century Fox will at least offer an exchange-by-mail replacement of Disc #1 to correct this flaw. I'd even would be willing pay a reasonable "handling" fee, if necessary, to make my set right.

Interesting. That stripe is a bit much.

The images look fuzzy to me as well, which makes sense, the film sources being dupes. A shame.

Believe me, I understand the gripes with the stripe. I don't mean to come off as someone who isn't concerned about quality, because I often drive people insane by always pointing out: "Look at that mark!" and "Did you see that spot??!"

I don't know, I guess I'm just letting less things like this get to me as I grow older. Of course we don't have to like this type of irritant, but I suppose what I'm trying to say is that Fox isn't very likely to recall these sets or do anything about them because only a relatively minority of buyers (and when you get right down to it, that's all this amounts to) are upset with some aspect of one episode of a 29-episode set.

Bottom line is, I don't think it will change anything regarding Set One as it now exists. Perhaps Fox will be more careful in the future for Set Two, but since it's pretty well known that the studio has opted to take the cheapest route and spend the least amount of money for this TV Series DVD, I'm concerned they may think the complaints aren't worth investing in Seasons Two and Three.

But I hope I'm wrong!

P.S. - My picture isn't fuzzy like the screen image above suggests. These images are not always the most reliable to go by (though the stripe is evident).

One of the characters in L.I.S. is called Officer Bollix!. :-D

Just completed watching the boxset- anyone notice the last episode "Follow the Leader" has a strange cut? SPOILERProfesser & Will walk back from the abyss. Next scene has the family in the spacecraft, a earthquake occurs.


No epilogue to the "Follow.." episode.