- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,311
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
The Sopranos, which first appeared on HBO in 1999, and under the continuous eye of David Chase, continued into 2007, is one of the great series devised for broadcast.
As far as I can tell, it was shot with Panavision gear in 35mm, with the first two seasons being broadcast in NTSC, and later available in HD.
Possibly this is the problem.
But when dealing with one of the most awaited releases on Blu-ray, there should not be any -- problems.
There must be adequate funding behind this project, so technical details should have been handled to the hit the highest quality.
Having sampled all seven seasons, I've come away with the following:
While Seasons 1 - 3 have lovely color, densities, grain structure, etc., they also have been sharpened, and I presume unnecessarily, yielding an image with a decidedly electronic look.
One of the reasons to purchase broadcast and especially high-end cable programming, such as HBO and Showtime on Blu-ray is for the huge extra quality that one will receive in the format over the way that programming was seen in broadcast. The series has already been out in SD, and the final season on Blu-ray, which means that many people will be double dipping to own The Sopranos.
The bottom line is that The Sopranos on Blu a very mixed bag.
Seasons 4 and 5 pick up nicely in quality, and the final two Seasons are state of the art.
The problem that I'm having, is that all seven seasons should be absolutely pristine, and of highest possible quality.
Audio is never a problem. It's crystal clear, and big with thumping bass where applicable.
HBO needs to do right by consumers, and bring the quality up to 2014 standards, even if they must return to film.
No great technical work here. Just the necessity to spend a few dollars to make things correct.
While I'll not suggest that the set be recalled, I would suggest that new masters be created for the first three seasons, so that anyone who feels that they would prefer a modern quality Blu-ray can request them.
One final note.
I've not viewed this series on a smaller flat panel, but am presuming that the problems will not be as apparent.
For anyone wishing to view the series in projection, the problems remain.
As far as ratings, the below are a range for the 7 seasons.
Image - 3-5
Audio - 5
Pass / Fail - Fail
Not Recommended at this time.
RAH