The Rockford Files: The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[bmasters9]

Mill Creek Entertainment also usually puts too many one hour episodes onto a single disc.

And too many half-hour episodes on a comedy release, as in Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie.

 

[morasp]

Going by Quantum Leap and other Uni TV releases, the packaging will be two discs stacked on each other on either side of the case. So not as bad as paper envelopes.

And the average disc will have 6 episodes per disc, which is more than acceptable with Blu.

So, it's your choice, but as far as their Blu releases go, your criticisms and fears are generally unfounded.

For the Quantum Leap Blu-rays I put the top stacked discs for each season in a separate Verbatim DVD case that cost about a nickel.

 

[TonyD]

$56.27 seems like a good enough price for me to order. So I did.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Going by Quantum Leap and other Uni TV releases, the packaging will be two discs stacked on each other on either side of the case. So not as bad as paper envelopes.

And the average disc will have 6 episodes per disc, which is more than acceptable with Blu.

So, it's your choice, but as far as their Blu releases go, your criticisms and fears are generally unfounded.

Your surmise is correct on all counts.

There are no paper envelopes. Two discs are stacked on each side of the cases, except for the shortened Season Six, which has one disc on each side. The discs are held securely in place, so the danger of scratching is minimal. There are 6 episodes per disc which is, as you say, more than acceptable.

I watched Backlash of the Hunter all the way through and the picture quality is a significant upgrade over the DVD.

There are no extras, which comes as no surprise. There are no subtitles, which will be a deal breaker for some.

I will watch a few more complete episodes and then spot check the rest of the set before writing my review, but from what I've seen so far I will happily retire my DVD set and free up shelf space.

 

[Blimpoy06]

I will happily retire my DVD set and free up shelf space.

I'd like to do that too. But from what I hear on the boards, the movie sets are out of print. I'll have to keep my complete series set to have those two volumes.

 

[morasp]

Your surmise is correct on all counts.

There are no paper envelopes. Two discs are stacked on each side of the cases, except for the shortened Season Six, which has one disc on each side. The discs are held securely in place, so the danger of scratching is minimal. There are 6 episodes per disc which is, as you say, more than acceptable.

I watched Backlash of the Hunter all the way through and the picture quality is a significant upgrade over the DVD.

There are no extras, which comes as no surprise. There are no subtitles, which will be a deal breaker for some.

I will watch a few more complete episodes and then spot check the rest of the set before writing my review, but from what I've seen so far I will happily retire my DVD set and free up shelf space.

If you've watched the Airwolf and/or Quantum Leap Blu-ray sets how would you say this one compares picture and sound wise?

 

[David Weicker]

I'd like to do that too. But from what I hear on the boards, the movie sets are out of print. I'll have to keep my complete series set to have those two volumes.

Both Volumes 1 & 2 are currently available on Amazon
$18.12 for V1
$16.16 for V2

 

[Richard Gallagher]

If you've watched the Airwolf and/or Quantum Leap Blu-ray sets how would you say this one compares picture and sound wise?

I haven't seen either of those, so I can't say. I have looked at the first six episodes of Rockford and they look great.

 

[Flashgear]

Thanks for the early encouragement about this set, Richard! I look forward to your formal review of the complete Rockford Files Blu set!

 

[morasp]

I haven't seen either of those, so I can't say. I have looked at the first six episodes of Rockford and they look great.

Thanks.

 

[revgen]

The "other site" posted their review. The screencaps confirm what I suspected. This is the same soft transfer used for the Netflix episodes utilizing heavy handed DNR. A UK poster on that forum says that the HD episodes airing on BBC2 in the UK aren't DNR'ed.

I believe it's still an upgrade over the DVD's, and for $56, it's still worth it. Hopefully, a Region B distributor (Fabulous Films?) considers releasing the non-DNR'ed episodes, if they do exist.

 

[MarkA]

The "other site" posted their review. The screencaps confirm what I suspected. This is the same soft transfer used for the Netflix episodes utilizing heavy handed DNR. A UK poster on that forum says that the HD episodes airing on BBC2 in the UK aren't DNR'ed.

I believe it's still an upgrade over the DVD's, and for $56, it's still worth it. Hopefully, a Region B distributor (Fabulous Films?) considers releasing the non-DNR'ed episodes, if they do exist.

I have the series on DVD. I had a pre-order for the Blu's until I read a review online that basically said the picture quality was poor.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I have the series on DVD. I had a pre-order for the Blu's until I read a review online that basically said the picture quality was poor.

You're basically going by a few screencaps that mean nothing in motion and an AV snob's opinion where they say "don't expect perfection... THIS ISN'T PERFECT SO IT'S WORTHLESS!".

It's going to be much better than the DVDs. Now, if you don't want to upgrade now, that's cool, but never trust just one reviewer.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

You're basically going by a few screencaps that mean nothing in motion and an AV snob's opinion where they say "don't expect perfection... THIS ISN'T PERFECT SO IT'S WORTHLESS!".

It's going to be much better than the DVDs. Now, if you don't want to upgrade now, that's cool, but never trust just one reviewer.

The picture is not soft. It is very sharp and highly detailed. You can freeze-frame and easily read road signs, etc. if, like me, you occasionally use Google Street View to see what locations look like now.

Excessive DNR? I'm not seeing it. What are they comparing it to? I watched The Rockford Files faithfully during its original TV run, and I guarantee that it never looked this good on a 25-inch CRT in the 1970s.

 

[classictvfan40]

The picture is not soft. It is very sharp and highly detailed. You can freeze-frame and easily read road signs, etc. if, like me, you occasionally use Google Street View to see what locations look like now.

Excessive DNR? I'm not seeing it. What are they comparing it to? I watched The Rockford Files faithfully during its original TV run, and I guarantee that it never looked this good on a 25-inch CRT in the 1970s.

I saw the screen caps and thought they looked rather good. Those pics look better than the Miami Vice, Knight Rider and Quantum Leap which I have on blu ray.

I read where some complained on another board on not enough grain in the pictures. Who wants grain? That's why I didn't get the ILL Season 2 release because it had too much grain and nothing like the TDVD show released on DVD which is perfection!

 

[ChrisALM]

On my Universal Season 1 set I have at least 1 episode, "In Pursuit of Carol Thorne", that locks up/freezes and won't continue playing. If nothing else, I will be able to retire those DVD 18s from Season 1.

If Universal wasn't so disinterested in releasing their own properties, we wouldn't have to rely on Mill Creek, a "B" Team player of sorts, to release this series. But at least we are getting a release that has to be an improvement over what we already have.

 

[MarkA]

I didn't see screencaps and I trust your opinion, so I am going to place my order again, Thanks!

 

[Ron1973]

The "other site" posted their review. The screencaps confirm what I suspected. This is the same soft transfer used for the Netflix episodes utilizing heavy handed DNR. A UK poster on that forum says that the HD episodes airing on BBC2 in the UK aren't DNR'ed.

I believe it's still an upgrade over the DVD's, and for $56, it's still worth it. Hopefully, a Region B distributor (Fabulous Films?) considers releasing the non-DNR'ed episodes, if they do exist.

Soft? I watched it faithfully on Netflix and it was far from soft. Very sharp and very detailed.

 

[revgen]

Soft? I watched it faithfully on Netflix and it was far from soft. Very sharp and very detailed.

To each his own.

If you already watched the show on Netflix, then you have nothing to worry about.

 

[ParadiseCove67]

Thanks for the early encouragement about this set, Richard! I look forward to your formal review of the complete Rockford Files Blu set!

Hi, Richard. Brand-new to the board but glad I finally got around to signing up. No big surprise it was THE ROCKFORD FILES that got me to do so.

As a newbie, it's probably rude to ask a favour. Here goes: Would you mind letting us know in your review if all the episodes are presented in their original airdate configurations? That is, if it aired as a double-length episode on one night, is it preserved as such on Mill Creek's Blu-ray set? And if they aired either as two separate episodes on one night or as two episodes spread across two weeks, are they preserved as such on Mill Creek's set? To the best of my knowledge, my Universal DVDs preserve the episodes as originally aired. I hope Mill Creek follows suit.

Also, one assumes the Garner interview on either season 1 or 2 (memory fails me which one) is not present on the Mill Creek set. It's not a long interview, but has a particularly lovely story about how Garner encouraged Stuart Margolin to ask for more money when they wanted him back, after having been so lackadaisical about hiring him in the first place.

Cheers!

Michael