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Older TV Shows in HD!!! It's time... (1 Viewer)

Ethan Riley

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I was looking at the CBS/Paramount syndication site and it lists old shows and their HD status (whether they've been transferred to HD yet). It seems like a growing percentage of (mostly very popular) shows have been transferred thus far. Here's a short list:

Andy Griffith Show
Becker (episodes 24 and up)
Beverly Hillbillies (seasons 2 & 3 only)
Bonanza (only a few episodes so far)
Cheers
Diagnosis Murder (seasons 7-9 only)
Dynasty (seasons 2 & 3 so far)
Enterprise
Frasier (only season 10 & 11)
Girlfriends (seasons 3 and up)
Gomer Pyle
Gunsmoke (partial)
Happy Days (partial)
Hawaii 5-0 (about half the series so far)
Hogan's Heroes
I Love Lucy
Jag (seasons 5 up)
Laverne & Shirley
Love, American Style (season one only)
The Love Boat (seasons 1-5)
Mannix (seasons 1-6)
Mission Impossible
Mork & Mindy (after half the series)
The Odd Couple
Perry Mason (partial)
Petticoat Junction (partial)
Rawhide (seasons 1-3)
Twin Peaks
The Untouchables (seasons 1-2)
Wild, Wild West (seasons 2-4)


The list above of shows that have been transferred to HD for broadcast purposes is growing every time I log onto that site. So...don't you think it's about time that all their hard work went into producing these shows on BluRay?
 

Scott Merryfield

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Universal HD has been broadcasting Hogan's Heroes in HD. However, the image is zoomed and cropped to eliminate the side pillarbox bars. Does anyone know if this is how the show was transferred to HD video, or if this cropping is just being done by the network? If it's inherent in the transfer, I would have zero interest in purchasing such a product.

That is my fear with any old TV show -- that it will not be presented in its OAR.
 

Jason Seaver

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As much as I'd like to see some, I doubt that the market is close to mature enough at this point, and probably won't be for a year or two.
 

WillG

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I'm all for the TV on BD industy growing quickly, but I just finshed acquiring that series on DVD
htf_images_smilies_smile.gif
 

Ethan Riley

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Here's what the Paramount site says about the Hogan's transfers:

"This series has been transferred into HD and has the following masters:

Network 4x3 HD

Network 16x9 HD

Syndication 4x3 HD

Syndication 16x9 HD"

In other words, there are both cropped versions and OAR versions of Hogan's. (I think that network vs. syndication versions refer to shorter, edited versions vs. original longer edited versions).

Anyway, so far in the world of tv-on-dvd, very few series releases have suffered from cropped versions on the dvds. So...I do hope that the OARs will make it to BR in all cases. At any rate, we can see from this chart that Hogan's is available in a HD/OAR version.
 

Dale MA

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Oh, man. I'm with you there Ethan. There's a ton of classic TV shows that I'd love to see get a BD release. Off of that list I'd pick-up: Cheers, Enterprise, Diagnosis Murder and Twin Peaks.
 

MatthewA

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If they're just going to do the same thing to the music and closing logos as they did to the shows on DVD, count me out.

However, I will definitely repurchase many shows if the sins committed on DVD are rectified on BD (Editing, suspect transfer quality)
 

MarkHastings

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re: CheersMe too, but the seasons I might be interested in would be 10 and 11.

Season 10: As long as they got the rights to put back the music they replaced (or just plain cut).

Season 11: As long as they cleaned up the final (3 part) episode. The transfer on some of the scenes was pretty bad and blurry.
 

Cees Alons

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It's not just the OAR, it's also the actual original resolution.

If the show wasn't shot on film but on NTSC format video media (e.g. tape), there's no logic whatsoever to transfer it to BD. It would only make it more expensive to buy, because your BD player can do the same job of upconverting for free.


Cees
 

Brian Borst

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But it was shot on 35mm, so it should look better than the dvds already out. Of course they'd have to maintain the proper aspect ratio, but I trust Paramount with that.
 

Cees Alons

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Brian,

You're referring to Twins Peaks?

BTW, my post was not meant in direct reply to yours immediately above it, but a remark about older TV shows in general and the wisdom of wanting those on BD.


Cees
 

Brian Borst

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Oh, yes, I was referring to Twin Peaks. Sorry for the confusion
htf_images_smilies_smile.gif
.
But you're right, older shows shot on video wouldn't benefit from a BD release. Or maybe they'd take advantage of the fact that more episodes could fit on one disc? Otherwise it wouldn't make sense to me.
 

Charlie O.

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There's a Walt Disney Presents TV episode in HD on the Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray if anyone is interesting in seeing how classic TV shows will look.

I always wondered, were TV shows shot on film shot at 24fps or 30fps?
 

ATimson

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24 FPS. Or at least Babylon 5 and Battlestar Galactica (the original) were.
 

Brandon Conway

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I don't see studios doing that for quite a while, if ever, because it would be confusing to market to the average consumer.

J6P: "Hey, look - Perfect Strangers on Blu-ray High Definition!"

Best Buy employee: "Yep - the whole first season on one disc!"

Overhearing HTF enthusiast: "That's because they're in SD."

J6P: "But it's on Blu-ray."

HTF: "The disc is Blu-ray, but it's on there in standard definition."

BBE: "It is?"

HTF: "Look at the specs on the back."

J6P: ".....but it's on Blu-ray."

BBE: "Only $29.95."

J6P: "I'll take it! Can't wait to see how good it looks."

HTF: "It won't look better than DVD."

BBE: "Dude, it's Blu-ray."

J6P: "Yeah. Blu-ray. That means High Def. Mind your own business."

HTF: *sigh* "Whatever."
 

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