Colt .45 - The Complete Series - Coming to Blu-Ray on March 12th '24 (Warner Archive) (1 Viewer)

[smithbrad]

Well, I don't have a blu ray player or an HDTV so I guess I'm SOL with this series. Hopefully it eventually shows up somewhere that I can record it since its not coming to DVD. Oh well.

At some point you may want to join the 21st century and get a blu-ray player and HDTV, if within means. Not only are you going to miss out on this series and possibly some others that skip DVD and go straight to HD, but also all the series that have been upgraded to HD for streaming and blu-ray. Some of these series look amazing in HD in comparison to their SD counterparts. Just a thought.

 

[Neil Brock]

At some point you may want to join the 21st century and get a blu-ray player and HDTV, if within means. Not only are you going to miss out on this series and possibly some others that skip DVD and go straight to HD, but also all the series that have been upgraded to HD for streaming and blu-ray. Some of these series look amazing in HD in comparison to their SD counterparts. Just a thought.

Are they in proper 4x3 aspect ratio or are they stretched or the tops and bottoms of the screen cut off?

 

[smithbrad]

Are they in proper 4x3 aspect ratio or are they stretched or the tops and bottoms of the screen cut off?

Sometimes in streaming they will use the full negative giving a bit more on the sides while truncating some top and bottom to create a faux widescreen image, but that is more of an anomaly then true for most 4:3 content streaming in HD. At least that has been my experience. Blu-ray releases are typically faithful to the original aspect ratio. Given that these are coming from WAC, I would expect these to respect the original aspect ratio.

DVD internally structures the video as 4:3, while blu-ray internally structures the video as 16:9. To maintain the proper aspect ratio of 4:3 for a blu-ray they will add black bars to the sides of the image to maintain both the internal frame of 16:9 with the output appearing 4:3 on a widescreen TV.

For a DVD to show widescreen, it actually compresses the video horizontally for storage and then stretches it back out for display. That is what an anamorphic DVD does. However, sometimes you have a DVD that adds black bars to the sides of 4:3 content and treats it as anamorphic. It looks fine on a widescreen TV, but on a 4:3 TV you have the embedded black bars on the sides with bars added to the top and bottom by the player to support the 16:9 content on a 4:3 display. O&H did this.

 

[SuperClark]

I cant wait for Colt 45 on blu ray.I will buy it day 1 of release.And next year maybe Maverick or Lawman.

 

[Neil Brock]

Sometimes in streaming they will use the full negative giving a bit more on the sides while truncating some top and bottom to create a faux widescreen image, but that is more of an anomaly then true for most 4:3 content streaming in HD. At least that has been my experience. Blu-ray releases are typically faithful to the original aspect ratio. Given that these are coming from WAC, I would expect these to respect the original aspect ratio.

DVD internally structures the video as 4:3, while blu-ray internally structures the video as 16:9. To maintain the proper aspect ratio of 4:3 for a blu-ray they will add black bars to the sides of the image to maintain both the internal frame of 16:9 with the output appearing 4:3 on a widescreen TV.

For a DVD to show widescreen, it actually compresses the video horizontally for storage and then stretches it back out for display. That is what an anamorphic DVD does. However, sometimes you have a DVD that adds black bars to the sides of 4:3 content and treats it as anamorphic. It looks fine on a widescreen TV, but on a 4:3 TV you have the embedded black bars on the sides with bars added to the top and bottom by the player to support the 16:9 content on a 4:3 display. O&H did this.

I think what I had to do in order to watch Ozzie and Harriet normally was to hit the zoom button on my DVD player.

As for getting modern equipment, I don't see the point since 99% of what I watch is meant for 4x3 standard TV, not 16x9 high def on a 100 inch screen. Not to mention the fact that I have tens of thousands of shows that were recorded off air to VHS or Beta which look fine on a CRT but like hell on a modern TV.

 

[smithbrad]

I think what I had to do in order to watch Ozzie and Harriet normally was to hit the zoom button on my DVD player.

As for getting modern equipment, I don't see the point since 99% of what I watch is meant for 4x3 standard TV, not 16x9 high def on a 100 inch screen. Not to mention the fact that I have tens of thousands of shows that were recorded off air to VHS or Beta which look fine on a CRT but like hell on a modern TV.

I get it, to a point, but it doesn't match my experiences. I've had a 92" projection system since 2004, before blu-ray was ever available. Yes, I watched live TV/Sports in HD but everything else was SD/DVD for several years. Yes, my screen is 16:9, but 4:3 content has always been viewed in the correct aspect ratio with black bars on the sides. I've watched many Timeless DVD releases using this setup (and we know the quality of some of those), as well as captured cable shows, with no difficulty in viewing. Now I have become spoiled to a degree with all the HD content now, I will admit. The majority of people on this forum are happily watching SD content on modern TV's with no complaint. One option is to have two setups, but if that doesn't work, maintaining the same screen size to seating distance ratio should be no problem, and you can have the best of both worlds. Sit too close to a digital screen and you will see motion artifacts. Sit to close to an analog CRT and you will see scan lines. Sit the appropriate distance away and you should be fine either way. There really is little reason that you can't enjoy your recorded content, commercially DVDs. and streamed/blu-ray HD content at the same time, other than maybe that some once seeing HD quality have a hard time going back. There is nothing wrong with something like a 42" screen, if that works best for your viewing distance.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I watch VHS tapes on a 4K TV for whatever that’s worth - I agree with Brad, as long as one sits at an appropriate seating distance it’s no better or worse than watching VHS on any other kind of display.

 

[smithbrad]

I watch VHS tapes on a 4K TV for whatever that’s worth - I agree with Brad, as long as one sits at an appropriate seating distance it’s no better or worse than watching VHS on any other kind of display.

I can add that I have 1000+ sports games I watch that were recorded from the late 70's through 90's that originated from tape recordings of the original broadcasts. Evolving technology hasn't prevented me from still enjoying them today.

 

[cadavra]

You are limiting your streaming possibilities if you only rely on a streaming service like Paramount +. The Star Trek franchise is frequently on sale as digital copies. I know I bought the Star Trek TOS and TNG complete series for a really low price like $30 or $40 dollars and several of the movies for $4.99 each. They are not always so cheap, but they do go on sale and people on the HTF often alert the members when this happens. That's how I knew about the Star Trek complete season deals.

If I am in the mood for a random Star Trek episode I'd as well stream my digital copy as pull out the complete series Blu-ray set and find the disc.

I wish Warner Archive still had their streaming service. I don't really need to own shows like 77 Sunset Strip, but I enjoyed being able to watch an occasional episode as a nostalgia trip. I'll probably buy the Colt .45 series (even though I have never seen it) because Warner Archive went to a lot of trouble to provide it for the fans.

77SS and HAWAIIAN EYE still air Sundays (albeit cut for time) on MeTV+.

 

[Neil Brock]

Watching a show with black bars on both sides of the screen isn't enjoyable for me. If it doesn't bother you, then more power to you. I can't watch that way nor can I watch a show that's window boxed.

 

[Lecagr]

I think what I had to do in order to watch Ozzie and Harriet normally was to hit the zoom button on my DVD player.

As for getting modern equipment, I don't see the point since 99% of what I watch is meant for 4x3 standard TV, not 16x9 high def on a 100 inch screen. Not to mention the fact that I have tens of thousands of shows that were recorded off air to VHS or Beta which look fine on a CRT but like hell on a modern TV.

I tried to do the same thing with the Ozzie & Harriet's from MPI, I hit the zoom button on the remote for my DVD player but it enlarges the picture too much so I just set it back to the regular setting and watch episodes with black bars on all sides of the screen. I don't like it but I'm getting adjusted to it, it is what it is.

 

[Lecagr]

Well, I don't have a blu ray player or an HDTV so I guess I'm SOL with this series. Hopefully it eventually shows up somewhere that I can record it since its not coming to DVD. Oh well.

No blu ray player for me either but for me personally I'm not interested in Colt .45 and wouldn't buy the series anyway even if it was on DVD.

There really isn't that much on my want list currently as far as classic TV goes, but the way things seem to be trending, if something does get released that I would be interested in, my concern is that it might go straight to blu ray and not DVD, in which case I would miss out. Will just have to wait and see what happens down the line I suppose.

 

[smithbrad]

Watching a show with black bars on both sides of the screen isn't enjoyable for me. If it doesn't bother you, then more power to you. I can't watch that way nor can I watch a show that's window boxed.

I wouldn't want to watch window-boxed either. Having watched 4:3 content on a widescreen TV since 2004, I can say I never pay any attention to the bars. Especially, given it means I can watch at the original aspect ratio, which appears to be a concern for you as well. Given that you've indicated you've likely never had a widescreen TV, how can you say for certain the bar would be an issue for you once you've become accustomed to their existence? Have you even seen any of these in HD to see the quality difference?

If having bars on the side is a requirement to watch shows from the 50's and 60's and movies from the 20's through 50's in HD on a large screen showing all the detail capable of 4:3 content derived from film, what can I say, I can't pass that up. However, if you can be content watching 4:3 SD content on a small screen, ignoring a higher quality option then more power to you. My intent was only to clear up what appeared to be some misconceptions on your part related to the positive impacts of technological advancements and how they have improved upon our ability to watch 4:3 TV shows/movies from the past. Given that you appear to be a historian type with respect to older TV shows, I thought you might find it interesting.

 

[Lecagr]

LOL, yep I am old school like Neil Brock and I'm happy watching 4:3 SD content on a CRT screen. I have four CRT TV's and hopefully they'll continue working for several years more but at some point I might have to get one of these modern TV's.

 

[The 1960's]

Watching a show with black bars on both sides of the screen isn't enjoyable for me. If it doesn't bother you, then more power to you. I can't watch that way nor can I watch a show that's window boxed.

No blu ray player for me either but for me personally I'm not interested in Colt .45 and wouldn't buy the series anyway even if it was on DVD.

There really isn't that much on my want list currently as far as classic TV goes, but the way things seem to be trending, if something does get released that I would be interested in, my concern is that it might go straight to blu ray and not DVD, in which case I would miss out. Will just have to wait and see what happens down the line I suppose.

LOL, yep I am old school like Neil Brock and I'm happy watching 4:3 SD content on a CRT screen. I have four CRT TV's and hopefully they'll continue working for several years more but at some point I might have to get one of these modern TV's.

 

[smithbrad]

LOL, yep I am old school like Neil Brock and I'm happy watching 4:3 SD content on a CRT screen. I have four CRT TV's and hopefully they'll continue working for several years more but at some point I might have to get one of these modern TV's.

And when that time comes, you will leap past standard blu-ray and HD TV's and move from SD/DVD straight to UHD/4K TV's. Just curious, what is the fascination with watching 4:3 SD content on a CRT screen? Is it just about not wanting to upgrade until forced to by having your equipment stop working, being on a budget and not wanting to spend the money until needed, or do you believe there is some benefit to watching from a CRT screen?

 

[Lecagr]

And when that time comes, you will leap past standard blu-ray and HD TV's and move from SD/DVD straight to UHD/4K TV's. Just curious, what is the fascination with watching 4:3 SD content on a CRT screen? Is it just about not wanting to upgrade until forced to by having your equipment stop working, being on a budget and not wanting to spend the money until needed, or do you believe there is some benefit to watching from a CRT screen?

For me it's about being happy with the setup I have, I'm used to it but understand that at some point I might have to make some changes. A few years ago my Sony Trinitron TV with 20 inch screen quit on me, the picture tube went bad, but luckily I was able to replace it, found the exact same set on ebay, used but it's in perfect working condition.

On the subject of old technology, I have a DOS computer that still works, bought it in 1990 and it still runs perfectly, I have some sports games installed on it that I like to play.

 

[smithbrad]

For me it's about being happy with the setup I have, I'm used to it but understand that at some point I might have to make some changes. A few years ago my Sony Trinitron TV with 20 inch screen quit on me, the picture tube went bad, but luckily I was able to replace it, found the exact same set on ebay, used but it's in perfect working condition.

I can understand being happy with a setup. Especially, if there are no benefits to upgrading. I always wanted to be able to watch from a big screen since I recall seeing a Jetson episode as a kid with a TV screen fill a wall. I built my HT room back in 2004. Except for buying a blu-ray player in 2010, everything else has stayed the same technology for almost 20 years now. I've been happy with the setup, but the upgrade back in 2004 was definitely worth it. I still watch plenty of SD content, especially regarding TV. However, what I can watch in HD I find more than justifies having that ability.

On the subject of old technology, I have a DOS computer that still works, bought it in 1990 and it still runs perfectly, I have some sports games installed on it that I like to play.

My interest in computer goes back to a Superboy comic of my brothers I read when I was around 10 years old. Unfortunately, the computer generation hadn't hit the home market yet. I grew up in the "pong" on the TV (2 bars and a dot for a ball) era. I did end up as a computer programmer in the end, spending my first six years working in DOS.

I don't feel the need to have the latest and greatest in any technology. In fact, I am usually considered behind the curve by most standards, but when I see a genuine benefit, I will upgrade.

 

[LouA]

That's a shame that music issues have to always be involved. It gets so complicated sometimes. I wonder exactly how much the costs would be. I think if they knew that a lot of people would buy these shows and they could make some type of profit that outweighs the expense of music clearance, they would release them in a heartbeat.

Agree!

 

[Randy Korstick]

Strange that Amazon doesn't have this up for preorder yet.