Babylon 5 coming to blu-ray? (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

I will take B5 in HD any way I can get it.
Has anyone on Twitter asked JMS about what was said on the Warner Archive podcast? I wouldn’t believe any of this until Joe says so.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I will take B5 in HD any way I can get it.
Has anyone on Twitter asked JMS about what was said on the Warner Archive podcast? I wouldn’t believe any of this until Joe says so.

Joe only answers questions if you support his Patreon.

 

[tigereyes]

Babylon 5 on Blu Ray with restored effects has been a long time dream. But I really hope they are not going to do this 1.33:1 if anything both aspect ratios should be included. It was originally aired 1.33:1 because that was the standard tv of the day but the show was shot protected for Widescreen anticipating widescreen TV's. The show is an epic tale and looks far more epic in widescreen and includes more picture on the sides while loosing nothing significant on top and bottom. I would definitely pass if it is 1.33:1 only.

As it was shot Widescreen,I think Randy,it will be released in that format.But you never know V The Final Battle was Widescreen on DVD but 4.3 on Bluray.And that was from Warners too.

 

[jayembee]

The problem has always been that all of the live-action footage was shot in a way that was protected for both 4x3 and 16x9. The CGI, however, was rendered only in 4x3, since doing them in 16x9 as well made no fiscal sense as they had no immediate plans for any 16x9 presentations of the show. Then the original datafiles were discarded, so they cannot be re-rendered in 16x9.

That's why the extant widescreen versions look so bad, because the 4x3 SD CGI has been cropped to the wider ratio to be composited with the 16x9 live-action footage.

What JMS had said in those old tweets was that the production company transferred all of the shot material, live-action and CGI, to 35mm film at the insistence of Warner, and that those elements still exist (or did at the time he made those tweets). And, he says, the best possible version of the show on Blu-ray would be scanning these film elements to create 4x3 masters. Since the CGI was originally rendered in SD, those shots would have to be up-rezzed. But then, what's what Fox did with Firefly, which didn't turn out too badly. One can certainly argue that such a version would be compromised, but I don't think it would be as compromised as the 16x9 versions are.

While 16x9 might seem more fitting for this show, the 16x9 versions (which were created in collaboration with the Sci Fi Channel, and only secondarily for the DVDs) are seriously compromised. Given that (a) the show was originally framed to be broadcast in 4x3, and (b) that a 4x3 Blu-ray would achieve better results than a 16x9 one would, I think a 4x3 version is the better choice.

And since I watched the show as it originally aired, taped all of the episodes on SuperVHS tapes, bought (and still have) the laserdiscs -- including the Japanese LD of the original version of the pilot -- I always felt that 4x3 was the right composition for the series. The widescreen DVDs (which I also have) were an interesting variant to me, but I still feel that the original 4x3 is the "correct" ratio.

 

[Randy Korstick]

As it was shot Widescreen,I think Randy,it will be released in that format.But you never know V The Final Battle was Widescreen on DVD but 4.3 on Bluray.And that was from Warners too.

I hope your right. I just recently finished rewatching the show for the 1st time on a 70" screen and the widescreen masters looked better than I remember I think the upconversion to 1080P must have made a difference because I thought they looked pretty good much better than what I remembered from when they 1st came out. The space battles were awesome on a larger screen and in widescreen. When I watched Crusade in 1.33:1 right after it was a huge let down and took me out of the show even though this show was not protected for widescreen like Babylon 5 was. Crusade should be 1.33:1 Babylon 5 looks much better widescreen but providing both options would be the way to go. I will stick with the DVDs if a Blu Ray is not widescreen.

 

[Sam Favate]

Ok, I asked Joe on Twitter. He said “No idea offhand what they're referring to.”

 

[Sam Favate]

So, I tagged Warner Archive in the thread on JMS’ Twitter, and they said they can’t talk about it, to which Joe replied

 

[Lord Dalek]

Survey says: fake news.

 

[Jimmyr1960]

We have to remember that Warner Brothers owns Babylon 5. Asking Mr. Straczynski to be part of a new release would be a courtesy. Not a necessity.

 

[jayembee]

We have to remember that Warner Brothers owns Babylon 5. Asking Mr. Straczynski to be part of a new release would be a courtesy. Not a necessity.

It would also be a no-brainer, if Warner had any desire to make it a worthwhile product.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Yeah this story is starting to sound suspect.

 

[jcroy]

It would also be a no-brainer, if Warner had any desire to make it a worthwhile product.

On the other side of the coin, one can ask what effect would the absence of Straczynski have for such a restoration project?

If Straczynski was vocal about such absence, would it sink the project ? (ie. No re-releases on dvd, bluray, etc ...).

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I doubt that the people on the Warner Archive are being untruthful. I just think what they said may be being misinterpreted. To me, it just sounds like HBO Max is doing due diligence on what it would cost to bring the show to HD as it could have some value to their platform depending on what it would take.

 

[Jimmyr1960]

This just posted today at thedigitalbits.com:

Also, we’re starting to hear rumors that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is cooking up a Blu-ray release of the classic Babylon 5 TV series, which would presumably involve some kind of upsampling and remastering. But a number of European retailers have set a Babylon 5: Complete Collection for tentative Blu-ray release in March. We’ll keep our eyes on this and post as we learn more.

 

[Sam Favate]

I would love that, and it gives credence to the bit from the Warner Archive story above. I hope they alerted JMS.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I don't get it. Why would B5 need an upscale if they have filmouts of everything?

...unless Joe was blowing smoke out of his ass in that tweet series last year.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Joe doesn't know anything about it.

 

[BobO'Link]

From what I recall, one of the issues is the files used to create the digital effects were lost due to a drive crash. That means either creating them from scratch to recomposite or upscaling what's already there. And, like with the DVDs, if they upscale they'd have to zoom in the image if making it WS as those visual effects shots were only done in 4:3. That's one of the biggest issues I have with the DVDs as most of those zoomed in effects shots look pretty bad.

 

[Lord Dalek]

The latest rumor is the blu-ray is the "remastered" version currently on iTunes.

...the one that's not actually remastered at all but just a regraded upscale from the original 480i D2s. Worse than worthless actually.

 

[GlennC]

If this is true I think it would seriously backfire. I would buy a proper BluRay in a second but not bother if it is just a BluRay version of what is on Prime or iTunes.