Is series tv on blu-ray being downgraded? - Blu-ray Forum

seafiant · 03-02-2020, 12:41 AM

Even with streaming as an option I buy everything on disc when it's released because I like owning the best possible video quality for futureproofing. Yet TV shows released by one ultra big company on blu-ray are really starting to feel like a scam. Or to put it a better way, they look like cost cutting for profit and nobody seems to notice.

I won't say which company because I don't want to put a bullseye on me. But one of the major ones for US sci-fi TV today used to put about five episodes per disc on UK blu-rays, but the last few years it's gone up to seven episodes on a single disc plus extras - sometimes eight episodes! The number of discs for a regular season down from five to only three to fit the same amount of episodes.

When watching the live stats on a PS3 (yep, still the greatest blu-player) I checked out an earlier release season for a show and the video bitrate was bouncing around 14-16mbps constantly and jumping higher up to 20mbps for occasional pieces. Then I swapped over to a new season presented on fewer discs. Most of the time the video was sticking to between 4.5mbps and 9mbps! At it's peak just hitting double digits. I know variable bit rate but it wouldn't explain away such a huge constant drop for the same show (all bright daytime scenes with action) only a different season.

With most films on blu-ray being around 35mbps for video quality, there are some companies that still keep the episodes around an amazing 30mbps (Agents of SHIELD) but there is one company that is really looking to cut costs by producing fewer discs.

So I've got to ask, is it just me feeling cheated that blu-ray doesn't mean what it used to...at least for series television? Or am I missing something technical which means they've just got better without losing quality even though the bitrate is massively lower?

03-02-2020, 12:41 AM	#1
seafiant Junior Member Member since:Mar 2020	Is series tv on blu-ray being downgraded? Even with streaming as an option I buy everything on disc when it's released because I like owning the best possible video quality for futureproofing. Yet TV shows released by one ultra big company on blu-ray are really starting to feel like a scam. Or to put it a better way, they look like cost cutting for profit and nobody seems to notice. I won't say which company because I don't want to put a bullseye on me. But one of the major ones for US sci-fi TV today used to put about five episodes per disc on UK blu-rays, but the last few years it's gone up to seven episodes on a single disc plus extras - sometimes eight episodes! The number of discs for a regular season down from five to only three to fit the same amount of episodes. When watching the live stats on a PS3 (yep, still the greatest blu-player) I checked out an earlier release season for a show and the video bitrate was bouncing around 14-16mbps constantly and jumping higher up to 20mbps for occasional pieces. Then I swapped over to a new season presented on fewer discs. Most of the time the video was sticking to between 4.5mbps and 9mbps! At it's peak just hitting double digits. I know variable bit rate but it wouldn't explain away such a huge constant drop for the same show (all bright daytime scenes with action) only a different season. With most films on blu-ray being around 35mbps for video quality, there are some companies that still keep the episodes around an amazing 30mbps (Agents of SHIELD) but there is one company that is really looking to cut costs by producing fewer discs. So I've got to ask, is it just me feeling cheated that blu-ray doesn't mean what it used to...at least for series television? Or am I missing something technical which means they've just got better without losing quality even though the bitrate is massively lower?

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