WISEGUY release from VEI (1 Viewer)

[jcroy]

Probably not on the songs, and if Wiseguy was filmed odds are it'll look better on Blu than the usual VEI cramjob DVDs anyway.

I may wind up being the guinea pig for this one when it comes out. I was going to buy the DVDs anyway, and the extra $20 for Blu is worth it to me.

Possibly the same here too. I was too lazy to order the vei dvd set when it was first released a few months ago.

Even if the blurays were just a lazy dumb static 480i -> hd upscaling, the primary reason I would pay an extra 10 or 20 bucks to get the bluray version is that VEI's disc quality for their blurays is somewhat more consistent and less problematic.

In contrast, VEI's dvd disc quality is wildly inconsistent and problematic for many years.

 

[tsodcollector]

vei's release is perfect,all of the songs are included.

 

[David Weicker]

vei's release is perfect,all of the songs are included.

No, its not.
There are at least three song omissions on their DVD set

No One Gets Out Of Here Alive (S1E9)
Good Lovin' - music portion of scene removed
Nights In White Satin - music replaced

Stairway To Heaven (S1E11)
Hit The Road, Jack - music replaced


Possibly more.

 

[Jeff*H]

No, its not.
There are at least three song omissions on their DVD set

No One Gets Out Of Here Alive (S1E9)
Good Lovin' - music portion of scene removed
Nights In White Satin - music replaced

Stairway To Heaven (S1E11)
Hit The Road, Jack - music replaced


Possibly more.

In addition to these songs, there are at least 2 more instances of music replacement including Depeche Mode and Walk the Moon. The only thing the VEI set has going for it is the inclusion of the Dead Dog Records episodes.

 

[Jeff*H]

Any brave souls have early reviews or thoughts about the new Blu-ray set, and how it compares to prior DVD releases and transfers?

I’ll probably take the plunge if I see enough recommendations saying it’s worth the upgrade.

 

[Neil Brock]

I have all of the episodes recorded from CBS network airings so if anyone has any questions regarding songs, running times, etc., let me know and I can check them.

 

[tsodcollector]

Most of the music has been removed and is pretty slim but the Dead Dog Records are included.in this tsod release.

 

[David Weicker]

I put together custom covers of the four seasons in the Custom Covers thread

#1,066 of 1,066

 

[Jeff*H]

I put together custom covers of the four seasons in the Custom Covers thread

#1,066 of 1,066

Nice job on the covers!
How is the quality of the blu-ray transfers? Are they merely upconverts of the same SD transfers from the DVDs, or do they look much better? Trying to decide if I want this on my Christmas list, or if I should just stick with the recent DVD set.

 

[tsodcollector]

I got to put this on my tsod list for Christmas list next year.but i have it on my tsod list.planning to buy it next year.

 

[David Weicker]

Nice job on the covers!
How is the quality of the blu-ray transfers? Are they merely upconverts of the same SD transfers from the DVDs, or do they look much better? Trying to decide if I want this on my Christmas list, or if I should just stick with the recent DVD set.

I spot checked, and I see an improvement. Not huge, but some.

They don't appear to be SD up converts (although I'm not sure I'd be able to tell). Unfortunately, I had just finished bingeing the DVD set before purchasing the Blu set, so I haven't felt like spending a lot of time comparing.

 

[Jeff*H]

After letting 6 months pass since my purchase of VEI’S WISEGUY DVD set, I finally broke down and bought their Blu-ray release, and after having sampled a number of the episodes and compared them to their DVD counterparts, I can comfortably say that this set is worth the upgrade for die-hard fans like myself, provided you buy it on sale like I did.

Your mileage may vary, but when viewing them on a 4K TV with a Sonos sound bar, I found both the video and audio to be noticeably better on most episodes, possibly due to less compression compared to the DVDs. When I scanned the episode files on my disc drive, each one was around 10 GB, which is on the high end for a 48-minute episode in HD. It doesn’t seem like a cheapo upscale either, so perhaps Filmrise, which licensed the show to VEI, had properly-scanned 1080i transfers available.

The caveat is that VEI is still using those same flawed Filmrise transfers from Cannell Studios, with the various music substitutions and incorrect Season 3 and 4 intros that have been discussed here. However, I feel reasonably confident in saying that these transfers will never look or sound any better than they do here on this release. Plus, you get all of the episodes from the series, compared to the earlier non-VEI releases from years past.

I will hold out slim hope that perhaps, someday, Cannell Studios will go back to the vaults and do a proper digital HD remastering from the original 35mm film elements, with all of the original episode intros and all music intact, along with the remastered 1996 reunion movie and the Studioworks DVD bonus features/interviews from 20 years ago. One can dream, right? Until then, this VEI blu-ray set is the best there is, and is recommended, despite VEI’s shameless double-dip on blu-ray a mere 6 weeks after their DVD set was originally released.

 

[Jeff*H]

I have all of the episodes recorded from CBS network airings so if anyone has any questions regarding songs, running times, etc., let me know and I can check them.

Can you please check and see what the missing song in Season 1, Episode 10 is (“No One Gets Out of Here Alive”), during the scene around the 7:30 mark when Aldo is driving the van and singing along to a song? I vaguely remember it in the network and syndicated versions, but it’s been MIA on all the DVD releases. Thanks!

 

[Neil Brock]

Can you please check and see what the missing song in Season 1, Episode 10 is (“No One Gets Out of Here Alive”), during the scene around the 7:30 mark when Aldo is driving the van and singing along to a song? I vaguely remember it in the network and syndicated versions, but it’s been MIA on all the DVD releases. Thanks!

Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding

 

[Jeff*H]

Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding

Thanks, I’d forgotten about that one. There’s also a Season 3 B.B. King song that went missing, “The Thrill is Gone”, in the episode “Hello, Buckwheat”.