Cosmos (Carl Sagan) 9/24! (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Larkin]

Hi -- Just read the the Cosmos 7 disc set is being rereleased.
Anyone have the old set that can comment on quality, packaging, etc? I'm led to believe the new set is basically the same thing.

 

[David Lambert]

It should be the same thing.

Quite simply, the existing package is the best you can possibly get. Any softness or graininess that you could possibly complain about is a result of A) the age of the video materials, and B) those materials not being able to live up to current DVD resolutions.

Like All In The Family or The Jeffersons, the material could not possibly look better than it does on this DVD set.

Since Cosmos represents accessible science at its best, I recommend it for everybody interested.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

The old set has good 5.1 sound and mediocre video - what else would you expect? It's an old series that I believe was shot on video, not film. The package is one of those fold-out things like From The Earth To The Moon only more extreme to hold the 7 disks.

 

[Paul McElligott]

I have it too, and the pleasure I've gotten out of it is well worth the extra $40 bucks I paid to have it last year. The new price is a bargain.

 

[Enrique B Chamorro]

The old set has a nice music only track feature,
very nice for Vangelis fans.
I never did get the soundtrack CD, too bad.
The picture is ok, sound is very nice.
The fold out for 7 discs has to be handled with
a lot of care.
I have only had a chance to jump around a few episodes,
but the old set claimed to have "updates" added to the
end of some segments to cover developments in science
since the series was made.

What happened to the company that first offered it?
Weren't they going to develop other projects?

I wish I had the cash for the DVD collection of
James Burke's Connections!
Comments are that the picture is subpar, just what
you would expect for a lukewarm transfer of video,
but the show made history GREAT fun!

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Yeah I coughed up the $150 for Connections last year when it was "on sale" and am glad I did. I wonder if it will ever come out at a reasonable price.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Just imagine: the picture quality is sub-par AFTER they did a restoration! Can you imagine what the original materials must have looked like? Practically falling apart.

Oh, the isolated sound effects foley tracks are interesting. You too can watch as Carl Sagan walks across a pebble-strewn beach, the stones crunching under his feet as a distant ocean crashes, all while silently mouthing the words for some scientific stuff.

 

[Ben Motley]

Uhhhh, from what I've read, the set was never out of print. It used to only be offered by Cosmos Studios, then it was available through online retailers; I see CD Universe, Amazon and DVD Planet all still carry it (Amazon ships in 24 hrs., Planet is out of stock, and Universe has a release date of 9/24/02??). But it was never out of print, nor was the cd (lucky for you Enrique ). It can all still be had, incuding the exclusive cd, on CarlSagan.com in the Cosmos Store.
http://www.carlsagan.com/revamp/cosmosstore/index.html

Now, if there is a new version coming out at a reduced price, or if the current set is getting a price reduction, that would be something. Have you got a link to where you read about this Patrick?
p.s., just scrutinized the CD Universe listing again, and they list this as a Koch International release? Isn't Koch one of those Off-Madacy studios? Maybe they got a distribution deal from Cosmos Studios, and the 9/24 date is they release theirs.

 

[Mike_G]

If you're a fan of the series, you shouldn't even ask about it, you should have it preordered by now .
Cosmos was that one show that was inspiring, especially to a jr. high kid like I was then. I had the book,the album (on vinyl!), and I scoured the Earth as best I could then to get the series on VHS as soon as I got a player in '86.
The edited TBS versions were an atrocity. Yes, they were 'updated', but they were chopped - by 15 minutes EACH SHOW!
The video quality isn't top notch because of the source material, but as stated before, it's the best transfer we'll probably ever get. Audio is great.
Mike

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Ben --
DVDFile.com had the blurb today:

Just announced from Koch Releasing is a 9/24 street date for Carl Sagan's highly acclaimed and influential masterwork Cosmos. This 7-disc set will include the entire miniseries plus extras, with full specs still to be announced. Retail is $129.95, and stay tuned for more...

The existing box is impossible to find unless you are willing to pay the $169 list. I don't do list. This new set has a $40 list price reduction - thus the CDUniverse listing.

 

[Ben Motley]

Cool, thanks for the link Patrick. I actually didn't do list either. I went with DVDEmpire, I think it was, for around 120 I think. Still, the new Koch price beats that.
But I tell ya, I don't regret spendin' that much, it's a damn good set.

 

[David Lambert]

We got ours for exactly 127.46 for the set thru Amazon, and it arrived March 20, 2001. That's $18.21 a disc for 7 discs, for 1¼ years enjoyment so far. Fair enough for me. I'm glad the price is coming down and it will be distributed wider (perhaps in stores?). More accessable.
I have a coworker who's gonna hate this, though. He *just* broke down and got it from Amazon a month ago, convinced that it would be his "last chance before the set disappeared forever" (somthing I couldn't agrue with at the time). He said their price had gone up to $150 since I'd bought it. I just looked, and it says $169.95! He paid too much, that's for sure.
Ah, well...perhaps the new lower priced set will have different packaging, and we'll all have collector's items as a result! :wink:

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I'm not familiar with Koch International for DVD releases, but I have run across them as a purveyor of high quality classical music CD releases. I'd hope that they maintain the same high quality standards, but I guess we'll see. Or maybe they're just acting as distributor?

 

[Will_B]

What happened to the company that first offered it?
Weren't they going to develop other projects?

Cosmos Studios still exists, but Joe Firmage is the one who got the DVD release rolling, in partnership with one of Sagan's widows. You may recall Firmage as the young tech millionaire who was invited to leave his own very succesful company when he refused to recant a public statement he made that his passion for education and for improving the human future was inspired by a visit from a "luminous being" (some kind of alien intelligence, he says) when he was a child. That didn't go down so well with the more conservative folks there, so he walked, and has been doing great things ever since....and staying true to his beliefs.

His latest venture is an information portal that is intended to compete with AOL -- unlike AOL, instead of highlighting fluffy stuff, the portal will deliver science information - and they use a really intuitive, organic interface. The link is

Link Removed

and here's the main blurb:

ManyOne.net is an entirely new type of internet portal being built by a network of world-class partners, designed with one central purpose in mind – to support the growing network of people, communities, organizations, and businesses that are working for environmentally sustainable and socially just solutions for education, economic and social well-being, and the needs of Earth as a whole. The growing millions of people around the world who want to make the world a better place deserve the best possible technology that the Internet can provide, deployed in a way that financially benefits everyone who takes part. ManyOne is designed from the ground up to fulfill this role. In short, ManyOne.net will be the first international portal run by and for the sake of the people of Earth, enhancing the social values of unity, trust, participation, inspiration, learning, and creativity. Ultimately, ManyOne can help catalyze a deepened global consciousness – while providing a beautiful, enjoyable, and effective internet information service to people everywhere.

 

[Joel Vardy]

Was anyone aware that this set is available at Costco for $79.99? I grabbed a set last week when I saw a copy in the box set section. I know it has shown up from time to time but wasn't aware what a 'bargain' I was getting. This is one of my favorite PBS series, the other one being Connections. Does anyone know if Connections can still be gotten at a 'reasonable' price rather than at list? If so at what pricepoint?

Joel

 

[BrianP]

I was able to get the Cosmos set through Digital Eyes for $67.98 shipped with a $5 coupon for new customers.

 

[Jim*F]

Regarding Connections, I did a Yahoo search and ended up at the www.documentary-video.com homepage. All 3 Connections sets are available on DVD. Each set has 5 discs and costs $149.99.
FYI -- The original Connections costs the same on VHS and DVD ($149.99). Connections 2 & 3 each cost $99.99 on VHS and $149.99 on DVD. All things considered, and assuming these sets will never have a widespread DVD release, the prices are not that unreasonable.
I'm so tempted to get at least the first one -- I remember this series from college, and it is probably the best series I've ever seen (such a masterful blending of science, technology, and history). Since this post originates from over a year ago, may I ask if anyone has any updated information about the DVDs or has more to say about the quality of the episodes?

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Jim*F,

You may want to hold off a short while. Check out my thread here about "The Living Planet". Those Ambrose "educational" DVDs are quite expensive, and they may be re-released at more reasonable prices. "The Living Planet" was originally available for $400 from Ambrose but it's being released this month for street of $33.....

 

[Jim*F]

Thanks Dennis. The Connections series definitely were not immediate purchases -- I do have bills to pay! Is there any reason to think that the Connections series would have a widespread release in the near future? Is Living Planet getting a widespread release due to demand/requests (and would making a request about Connections somewhere help)?

 

[Joel Vardy]

FYI -- The original Connections costs the same on VHS and DVD ($149.99). Connections 2 & 3 each cost $99.99 on VHS and $149.99 on DVD. All things considered, and assuming these sets will never have a widespread DVD release, the prices are not that unreasonable.

At a series price of $400 this is excessively pricey for me and I will either have to endure the copies of tapes I made of the various shows or do without until a more reasonable priced offering is available, as has been suggested here by Dennis.

Joel