Wagon Train on DVD (1 Viewer)

[jdee28]

Could someone clear up the Wagon Train DVD releases? Is it true that these sets were released before HD transfers were made, so they mostly have poor audio and visual quality?

Also, it looks like some seasons are out of print, in particular Season 5. I assume the poor transfers would make it not worth tracking down a copy and playing the high price?

Wagon Train looks pretty good on Me TV. If these HD transfers are not what's available on DVD, it would be great if someone would re-release the series with the HD transfers. I won't hold my breath though...

I do remember that the DVD releases of The Virginian Season 1-8 uses the HD-ish masters they struck for Encore Westerns channel, is that right? A shame the same probably isn't true for Wagon Train?

Is Wagon Train streaming anywhere in HD?

 

[Bryan^H]

The DVD sets are antiquated. Watchable, but that is it. I have them all, and at the time felt pretty good about it...until I saw the HD remastered seasons on either Amazon Prime or Starz streaming (sorry I can't recall right now). Another classic western now in HD that is available on streaming services ( not available to buy digitally either).

Laramie
Death Valley Days
The Virginian
Wagon Train

All need BD release

 

[The 1960's]

Could someone clear up the Wagon Train DVD releases? Is it true that these sets were released before HD transfers were made, so they mostly have poor audio and visual quality?

Also, it looks like some seasons are out of print, in particular Season 5. If one were to track down this season and pay the high price, I assume the transfers would make it not worth the price, as they are VHS quality, not in HD?

Wagon Train looks pretty good on Me TV. If these HD transfers are not what's available on DVD, it would be great if someone would re-release the series with the HD transfers. I won't hold my breath though...

I do remember that the DVD releases of The Virginian Season 1-8 uses the HD-ish masters they struck for Encore Westerns channel, is that right? A shame the same probably isn't true for Wagon Train?

Is Wagon Train streaming anywhere in HD?

John, Wagon Train was first remastered back in 2015 for Stars Encore Westerns. Looks even better currently airing on HD Network on Dish called INSP (with commercials) but superior to EncoreWesterns. See my post here. Stay clear of the Shout!Factory release if you are picky. What you see on METV is a fake Widescreen which in essence degrades the image as it's zoomed in. Note smithbrad comments here. All episodes except the complete Season 8 are still streaming on STARZ.

 

[The 1960's]

John, Wagon Train was first remastered back in 2015 for Stars Encore Westerns. Looks even better currently airing on HD Network on Dish called INSP (with commercials) but superior to EncoreWesterns. See my post here. Stay clear of the Shout!Factory release if you are picky. What you see on METV is a fake Widescreen which in essence degrades the image as it's zoomed in. Note smithbrad comments here. All episodes except the complete Season 8 are still streaming on STARZ.

Correction: Only 114 EPISODES currently streaming. I know years ago almost all aired on the Encore Westerns cable network because I recorded every one except the missing Final Season Eight episodes. There are 284 total episodes.

 

[smithbrad]

Since I've recently been checking them out on Amazon Prime:

Laramie (all seasons) are streaming in 1080p 24fps with a subscription to STARZ
Death Valley Days (seasons 7-11) are streaming in 1080p 24fps with a subscription to STARZ
Tales of Wells Fargo (all seasons) are streaming in 1080p 24fps with a subscription to STARZ
The Virginian (season 1 on STARZ, seasons 1-8 on IMDB free but with commercials) are streaming in 1080p 24fps
Wagon Train (seasons 1-3) is a bit of an anomaly since it is streaming in 576p 24fps (still based on newer transfers)

 

[Dave Scarpa]

yeah it's going to be an issue now that most of the dvd's will not have newer transfers and the streaming stuff will look better. that being said I just dropped a few $$ picking up the Virginian on dvd, and am thinking of finishing Wagon train. I doubt we will see new physical releases on these, on TV they will be sped up, cropped , or on channels that get heavily compressed, so I would still rather have them on my Plex server.

 

[The 1960's]

yeah it's going to be an issue now that most of the dvd's will not have newer transfers and the streaming stuff will look better. that being said I just dropped a few $$ picking up the Virginian on dvd, and am thinking of finishing Wagon train. I doubt we will see new physical releases on these, on TV they will be sped up, cropped , or on channels that get heavily compressed, so I would still rather have them on my Plex server.

The Virginian on DVD is far better than Wagon Train. There are some audio issues though on The Virginian.

 

[jdee28]

Thanks! I was thinking about trying to collect Wagon Train on DVD, but I think now I'll pass.

I checked out the Starz app, and Wagon Train looks great! I also watched the first episode of Laramie, in color, and it looks absolutely gorgeous!!

It's too bad both were brought out on DVD too early; the company should have waited for HD masters to become available before releasing them. Also, it's too bad that, now that HD masters are available, another company doesn't try to release the shows, if only as MOD. The discs will come in handy for the inevitable time when both shows disappear from streaming.

Does the Starz app cycle through shows and seasons? Do some disappear and then come back later? I seem to remember they used to have the complete run of Death Valley Days up on their app; will that ever come back? Is what's on their app also currently what's running on the Starz Western tv channel?

I'm going to try and go through the Laramie shows. Hopefully they won't disappear before I get to the end!!

 

[The 1960's]

I’ll answer one of your questions but won’t say a thing about “the company” that released those shows too early lest I take some heat here. I recently DVR’ed Laramie from Jul 5, 2021 through Dec 26, 2021. I decided to check if my recordings had come full circle. They did. I then realized that 23 episodes were skipped on the Encore Westerns cable network from Season Three Episode 13 The Lawless Seven through Season Four Episode 7 The Sunday Shoot.

Members Bryan^H and smithbrad confirmed all 23 are available on Starz Encore Westerns via streaming. I tried to reach STARZ to ask why but couldn’t find any phone contact. Here's a copy and paste of those skipped from epguides.

77.	3-13	26 Dec 61	The Lawless Seven
78.	3-14	02 Jan 62	The Perfect Gift
79.	3-15	09 Jan 62	The Barefoot Kid
80.	3-16	16 Jan 62	Shadows In The Dust
81.	3-17	23 Jan 62	The Runaway
82.	3-18	30 Jan 62	The Confederate Express
83.	3-19	06 Feb 62	The High Country
84.	3-20	13 Feb 62	A Grave For Cully Brown
85.	3-21	20 Feb 62	The Runt
86.	3-22	06 Mar 62	The Dynamiters
87.	3-23	13 Mar 62	Day Of The Savage
88.	3-24	20 Mar 62	Justice In A Hurry
89.	3-25	27 Mar 62	The Replacement
90.	3-26	03 Apr 62	The Turn Of The Wheel
91.	3-27	10 Apr 62	Trial By Fire
92.	3-28	17 Apr 62	Fall Into Darkness
Season 4
93.	4-1	25 Sep 62	Among The Missing
94.	4-2	02 Oct 62	War Hero
95.	4-3	09 Oct 62	The Fortune Hunter
96.	4-4	16 Oct 62	Shadow Of The Past
97.	4-5	23 Oct 62	The Long Road Home
98.	4-6	30 Oct 62	Lost Allegiance
99.	4-7	13 Nov 62	The Sunday Shoot

 

[smithbrad]

Thanks! I was thinking about trying to collect Wagon Train on DVD, but I think now I'll pass.

I checked out the Starz app, and Wagon Train looks great! I also watched the first episode of Laramie, in color, and it looks absolutely gorgeous!!

Take a look at "Tales of Wells Fargo" on STARZ, it looks as good if not even better than Laramie.

 

[smithbrad]

Also, The Virginian season 1 is currently on STARZ in HD and all seasons on IMDB free with ads. Since the DVDs were likely from the same remastered source the improvements aren't as great as some of these other titles, but it is still an improvement going from SD to HD.

 

[SuperClark]

Actually all episodes of the Virginian are available on Starz westerns,For some reason its listed as season 1 but there are a total of 225 plus Men of Shiloh- 24 eps. Clark

 

[The 1960's]

Also, The Virginian season 1 is currently on STARZ in HD and all seasons on IMDB free with ads. Since the DVDs were likely from the same remastered source the improvements aren't as great as some of these other titles, but it is still an improvement going from SD to HD.

So on STZWS The Cable Network The Virginian can only be seen in Standard Defintion because despite much discussion in the past the service has still not gone HD. So you're saying that viewing it on the STZWS streaming platform it is in HD? They certainly contain the same audio dropouts in the exact same locations as on the DVD's.

 

[smithbrad]

So on STZWS The Cable Network The Virginian can only be seen in Standard Defintion because despite much discussion in the past the service has still not gone HD. So you're saying that viewing it on the STZWS streaming platform it is in HD? They certainly contain the same audio dropouts in the exact same locations as on the DVD's.

Yes, the streaming platform is HD. I'm finding that the IMDB stream is slightly different then the STARZ stream. Do you recall an episode with the audio dropouts? They are likely all from the same source so it would makes sense they all have the same issue, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

 

[The 1960's]

Yes, the streaming platform is HD. I'm finding that the IMDB stream is slightly different then the STARZ stream. Do you recall an episode with the audio dropouts? They are likely all from the same source so it would makes sense they all have the same issue, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

Yes. I actually wrote a review on The Virginian. Not sure if I ever posted it on Amazon or anywhere. I didn't even note when I wrote it but it was many years ago.

Here's one example. Season 6 Episode 5 Johnny Moon (Oct.11.1967)

From 00:00 to 08:03. The remainder of the episode is perfect.

Here's my review. Very honestly I got so disgusted I didn't log any other examples.

A True Masterpiece, but …

The Virginian is plagued with audio issues throughout the entire series. It took me many years to figure this out after calling my local cable company and then the various networks airing this wonderful classic series. The issue occurs on just about every single episode. The audio will drop out to a very low level and as well becomes extremely muffled, so much so you’ll need to substantially jack up the volume to make out the dialogue. Then all of a sudden it becomes crystal clear with the volume jumping back up. Then you’ll need to grab your remote to lower the volume back down particularly during late night viewing. This lasts anywhere from a minute to as much as 10 or more minutes. I first noticed the issue many many years ago when listening to and recording each episode from Encore Westerns. After purchasing all the seasons on DVD I was able to confirm the same issue during the very same passages within each episode. Certainly not a deal breaker when considering a purchase but quite unfortunate considering the otherwise superb content and picture quality. If ever there was a series that cried out for a Blu Ray release and the repair of the audio, it’s The Virginian.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Take a look at "Tales of Wells Fargo" on STARZ, it looks as good if not even better than Laramie.

When the DVD's for season 1-2 and season 6 came out I remember they told us the tapes for Season 3-5 were lost in the fire and it would require making new masters which was deemed too expensive. So one of these TV stations must have sprang for new masters for all 6 seasons.

 

[smithbrad]

Yes. I actually wrote a review on The Virginian. Not sure if I ever posted it on Amazon or anywhere. I didn't even note when I wrote it but it was many years ago.

Here's one example. Season 6 Episode 5 Johnny Moon (Oct.11.1967)

From 00:00 to 08:03. The remainder of the episode is perfect.

I listened to the first 12 minutes on IMDB in HD and didn't hear anything unusual. I don't know, while unlikely, maybe something happened in the downconvert to SD.

 

[smithbrad]

When the DVD's for season 1-2 and season 6 came out I remember they told us the tapes for Season 3-5 were lost in the fire and it would require making new masters which was deemed too expensive. So one of these TV stations must have sprang for new masters for all 6 seasons.

Since these are now in HD and could have only come from new masters, someone must have. I would assume Encore.

 

[Kevin Antonio (Kev)]

Is there any remote chance wagon train ever gets re-released? Even if they don't update the quality if dvd from the earlier set? The only season I'm missing is season 5 and the last time I found it someone was selling it on ebay for around 275. My first 4 seasons of the virginain (the only ones I care for) were beautiful on my 4k TV. Nearly as good as the streaming version on Starz. However I borrowed season 5-7 from a friend (back when it first came out) and it wasn't as good as the quality from the first few season's. Seemed like the color was a little darker

 

[The 1960's]

I listened to the first 12 minutes on IMDB in HD and didn't hear anything unusual. I don't know, while unlikely, maybe something happened in the downconvert to SD.

That would be great. Perhaps the HD prints are sourced elsewhere? I wonder how I could somehow get my paws on these?