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The Great Tragedy of the Buffy HD Remaster (1 Viewer)

ChristopherG

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It’s always about preserving OAR. Pan and Scan in the VHS and early DVD days was bad. Window Boxing and stretching in the widescreen days is just as bad.

The From the HTF Mission Statement:

(https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/help/Mission_Statement/)
We the members of the forum are interested in the film product to be recorded and reproduced as closely as possible to the way the original creator(s) of that particular film intended.
Dave,
I understand that. Your answering a question I didn't ask. My question was more along the lines of what issues they have from a viewing perspective.
Regards,
Chris
 

mattCR

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A few years ago, at a comicon, we had the opportunity to talk to some of the people who did direction work on Season 5-7. and David Solomon said that they knew in Season 5,6,7 that it could be displayed in 16:9, and he tried to be very aware of that frame. In fact, he pointed out that in two episodes, one being "The Weight of the World" the 16:9 was absolutely used. He pointed out that with the crews floating between "Angel" and "Buffy" that directors didn't simply turn off how they looked at things.

The only episode specifically framed framed for 16:9 is "Once More With Feeling" but many episodes were done by directors who worked that medium primarily.

So, I value the 4:3 as recommended, but Seasons 5-7? I have very mixed thoughts on, except for episodes directed by Whedon, because I know that was his intent.. but his intent doesn't speak for every director who was part of that show.

Still, the remaster sucks mostly for over HDR and softening of images. Not only that, but in several episodes that WERE framed in a way that is 16:9, they instead just zoomed it in; so you lose even detail they worked on.

It's terrible this has happened to ne of my faorite shows.
 
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Malcolm R

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This is why I am still seeking out and buying 3D Blu rays.
I'm a fan of 3D and seek it out whenever possible, but I think it's a fuzzy area to say that 3D is the intended format by the creators for a lot of present day films. 3D is presented as an alternate option in theaters, but it's not the only option as films are presented theatrically in 2D and 3D. And most directors are not shooting in 3D, it's just a post-production conversion.

For any film that is actually filmed with 3D cameras, I'd say that's the intended format. But post conversions I view as an alternate option, not necessarily the intended format (though I still buy the 3D option if it's available).

Back to Buffy ....

I guess I'll just keep my DVD sets until the HD issues are resolved (if ever).
 

Blimpoy06

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I have the season 6 PAL DVD of Buffy. They are 16:9 and look good to me. I didn't see any change in the video other than the aspect ratio.

NTSC DVD Season 6 "Life Serial"
vlcsnap-2019-03-27-14h56m05s940.png

Pal DVD
vlcsnap-2019-03-27-14h55m26s630.png
 

TravisR

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I have the season 6 PAL DVD of Buffy. They are 16:9 and look good to me. I didn't see any change in the video other than the aspect ratio.

NTSC DVD Season 6 "Life Serial"
View attachment 56888

Pal DVD
View attachment 56889
The 16:9 version has a bunch of empty space on the sides that's clearly not meant to be seen. It may not be cropping important information off but it also doesn't add anything to the image and depending on your POV, detracts from what they framed.
 

Blimpoy06

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It may not be cropping important information off but it also doesn't add anything to the image and depending on your POV, detracts from what they framed.
I agree. I was only making a comment on color grading and black levels not being changed as it has with the HD versions. It's an alternate presentation if someone prefers the 16:9 look of the show and is willing to put up with PAL speed up due to the difference in the frame rates.
 

Josh Steinberg

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I agree. I was only making a comment on color grading and black levels not being changed as it has with the HD versions. It's an alternate presentation if someone prefers the 16:9 look of the show and is willing to put up with PAL speed up due to the difference in the frame rates.

It's just a shame that we no longer have access to the NTSC SD 16x9 version through Netflix.
 

JohnMor

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Does anyone know if these are the syndicated versions? I know when I was looking into Friends, the Blu-Rays were made from the shorter syndicated versions, which had 2-4 minutes cut from each episode. They often cut a punchline that the entire episode had been leading up to. Plus, the extended episodes, which Buffy also had, were short versions to fit into a 30 minute slot.

Actually, the Friends blu-rays are the original NBC network versions, not syndicated ones. The dvds were extended versions with extra footage that didn’t fit within the run time for the original NBC airings as a bonus.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/friends-blu-ray-deleted-footage-kevin-bright-1056579/
 

JohnRice

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Actually, the Friends blu-rays are the original NBC network versions, not syndicated ones. The dvds were extended versions with extra footage that didn’t fit within the run time for the original NBC airings as a bonus.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/friends-blu-ray-deleted-footage-kevin-bright-1056579/
I must have remembered that wrong. The result is still kind of the same. I had seen the show on broadcast, but later saw the DVD versions, which had some really good stuff that didn't fit in the original time limits. So, I decided not to go with the BR set, since it didn't have that.
 

JohnRice

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I swear, every time I see altering aspect ratio and the composition of an image after the fact referred to simply as "information"...

...I throw up a little bit.
 

JohnMor

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I must have remembered that wrong. The result is still kind of the same. I had seen the show on broadcast, but later saw the DVD versions, which had some really good stuff that didn't fit in the original time limits. So, I decided not to go with the BR set, since it didn't have that.

Yeah, i opted to keep the dvds and not upgrade as well for that same reason.
 

TravisR

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I swear, every time I see altering aspect ratio and the composition of an image after the fact referred to simply as "information"...

...I throw up a little bit.
I need a different word to use than "image" or "frame". :) Also, it is nothing more than information because it's not really part of the intended image so I have no problem using a dismissive word like information.
 

Josh Steinberg

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For what it’s worth, one of my wife’s friends just showed her a video or stills comparing old Buffy masters to the new HD, and while she’s usually not that sensitive to remastering variations, this time, she was horrified.

“We saved the DVDs, right?”
 

DavidJ

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Wow. Just WOW. I've never watched this show but what they've done with the remaster is horrendous.

I would like to watch the show someday. This version is clearly not the way.
 

DaveF

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Dave,
I understand that. Your answering a question I didn't ask. My question was more along the lines of what issues they have from a viewing perspective.
Regards,
Chris
Thanks for the clarification, Chris. From the subsequent comments I misunderstood the intent of your question.
 

Ethan Riley

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Watching that video, I'd say the situation was worse than I thought. I can't imagine how/why they'd put so many years and so much effort into effing something up that badly. Who approved this mess?
 

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