Hornblower - The Complete Series - Blu-ray Forum

Jimmy Bro · 11-06-2014, 01:26 PM

I see this was released recently. Anyone here got it yet? How is it?

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hornb...Blu-ray/32887/

Indiana Jones · 11-11-2014, 07:09 PM

Very tempted, just wish I knew they were definitely HD and not upscales.

Jimmy Bro · 11-19-2014, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indiana Jones

Very tempted, just wish I knew they were definitely HD and not upscales.

Indeed. The reviews on Amazon seem to be positive though.

blokhed · 11-30-2014, 05:49 AM

I'm also really interested in picking this up. Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits imported it and said on Facebook that the picture quality is pretty good, and he's a source I trust. He'd say if it looked like upscaled 480p.

iaf6 · 12-04-2014, 01:56 PM

Anyone know if this is region locked?

malcy30 · 12-05-2014, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iaf6

Anyone know if this is region locked?

Not bought as needs a price drop for me first.
Given they have licenced the rights from ITV for the BD, it will probably be RB locked, as ITV tend to insist their titles are region locked.

digs5446 · 12-05-2014, 01:42 PM

Bought this but haven't opened, as it is a gift for the missus. Will report back in a few weeks. The packaging is niiiice.

tezster · 12-05-2014, 02:44 PM

I'm definitely interested in this one as well... hoping it's region free.

HomerJay · 12-07-2014, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blokhed

I'm also really interested in picking this up. Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits imported it and said on Facebook that the picture quality is pretty good, and he's a source I trust. He'd say if it looked like upscaled 480p.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere this was originally shot on film not video. So there's no reason for it to be upscaled 480p.

harpolini · 12-11-2014, 11:11 PM

I would be grateful if someone who bought this could confirm the region coding and a general idea of the quality.

They A&E region 1 DVD's a horribly bad, problematic transfers.

Monroville · 12-20-2014, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harpolini

I would be grateful if someone who bought this could confirm the region coding and a general idea of the quality.

They A&E region 1 DVD's a horribly bad, problematic transfers.

I went ahead and purchased this a couple of days ago. When it gets in (which will probably be some time in mid January), I will let you guys know what it looks like and see if I can post some screen caps.

harpolini · 12-21-2014, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monroville

I will let you guys know what it looks like and see if I can post some screen caps.

That would so appreciated! If your able to get some screencaps in, let me know some timecodes and I'll post the dvd quality screencaps for comparison.

HomerJay · 12-28-2014, 12:53 AM

I used Google Translate to view a recent user review of the German Hornblower blu-ray box set on Amazon.de:

"The HD picture quality is magnificent" - big Tick!

My main concern now is this set has only English as stereo (it does have German DTS-HDMA 5.1). Should I wait for a possible UK blu-ray release with English 5.1?

Indiana Jones · 12-31-2014, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomerJay

I used Google Translate to view a recent user review of the German Hornblower blu-ray box set on Amazon.de:

"The HD picture quality is magnificent" - big Tick!

My main concern now is this set has only English as stereo (it does have German DTS-HDMA 5.1). Should I wait for a possible UK blu-ray release with English 5.1?

You could be waiting a very long time as ITV seemed to have given up on catalogue releases in the UK.

HomerJay · 01-02-2015, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indiana Jones

You could be waiting a very long time as ITV seemed to have given up on catalogue releases in the UK.

Thanks for the feedback (even though it's not good news).

I've got this title on price watch and will pull the trigger if picture quality is confirmed better than the DVD and price drops another 20%.

Great series. I loaned my DVD set to my father in law over Christmas and he can't stop raving about the series! Pretty good PQ for DVD too.

iaf6 · 01-05-2015, 08:11 PM

Anyone had time to verify the region coding yet?

HomerJay · 01-07-2015, 08:55 AM

I read a comment somewhere that the special effects/CGI was done for TV (PAL 720x576), so that could be the reason there seems to be conflicting reviews on Picture Quality. The 'normal' shots on film look good and the CGI doesn't. This is just a theory at this stage...

I guess not much CGI, maybe only the shots of multiple sailing ships? Although much of the on board deck scenes were apparently done in harbour so backgrounds may be 'green screened' and hence standard def.

Monroville · 01-09-2015, 01:02 AM

Well I got my amazon.de order today... and the HORNBLOWER box was the dvd version. I've contacted amazon.de customer service to see what I need to do to return and replace it with the blu-ray box.

harpolini · 02-11-2015, 11:32 PM

That's a bummer, they ever get you the Blu-ray set?

harpolini · 05-14-2015, 06:17 PM

Still no word on region compatibility or PQ/AQ, but some snooping has revealed:

Several reviewers say there is noise in darker scenes. It was translated from German so I'm curious if they don't mean grain.

"In some places some of the 8 episodes there are places where dark scenes have snow noise, be it night or just black garments."

"Here Hornblower is again a good example of bad digital processing. For the noise in the digital editing (Blu-ray), there are 2 star deduction."

"The quality of the Blu-ray is 1080p okay and definitely. In twilight and night scenes, however, a more or less noisy image is perceived. In the very first part, I thought it's snowing in the cabin of Kaptains and was a little disappointed that you this was not spirited away with today's technology."

If it's grain they are actually talking about, that's good news.

Also, it looks like in a month it's being re-released in a fancy wooden crate sort of similar to the Sharpe's crate.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hornb...lu-ray/124572/

11-06-2014, 01:26 PM	#1
Jimmy Bro Expert Member Top contributor Member since:Jan 2011 Location:Australia 4K collection:43 Blu-ray collection:458 DVD collection:63 Blu-ray reviews:15	Hornblower - The Complete Series I see this was released recently. Anyone here got it yet? How is it? https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hornb...Blu-ray/32887/

01-07-2015, 08:55 AM	#17
HomerJay Active Member Member since:Nov 2010 Location:Melbourne, AU Blu-ray collection:585 Blu-ray reviews:3	I read a comment somewhere that the special effects/CGI was done for TV (PAL 720x576), so that could be the reason there seems to be conflicting reviews on Picture Quality. The 'normal' shots on film look good and the CGI doesn't. This is just a theory at this stage... I guess not much CGI, maybe only the shots of multiple sailing ships? Although much of the on board deck scenes were apparently done in harbour so backgrounds may be 'green screened' and hence standard def. Last edited by HomerJay; 01-07-2015 at 09:00 AM.

11-11-2014, 07:09 PM	#2
Indiana Jones Blu-ray Champion Top contributor Member since:Aug 2009 Location:Bristol, England 4K collection:7 Blu-ray collection:17 Trading Score:42	Very tempted, just wish I knew they were definitely HD and not upscales.

11-30-2014, 05:49 AM	#4
blokhed Member Member since:Oct 2008 4K collection:413 Blu-ray collection:708 DVD collection:59 MA collection:15 Digital collection:19 iTunes collection:832 Prime collection:27 Blu-ray reviews: 2	I'm also really interested in picking this up. Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits imported it and said on Facebook that the picture quality is pretty good, and he's a source I trust. He'd say if it looked like upscaled 480p.

12-04-2014, 01:56 PM	#5
iaf6 Member Top contributor Member since:Nov 2014 Location:Canada 4K collection:5 Blu-ray collection:1989 DVD collection:110	Anyone know if this is region locked?

12-05-2014, 01:42 PM	#7
digs5446 Senior Member Member since:Nov 2008 Location:Worcester, MA, USA	Bought this but haven't opened, as it is a gift for the missus. Will report back in a few weeks. The packaging is niiiice.

12-05-2014, 02:44 PM	#8
tezster Expert Member Member since:Dec 2013 Location:Canada Home Theater Gallery:9 4K collection:135 Blu-ray collection:593 DVD collection:19	I'm definitely interested in this one as well... hoping it's region free.

12-11-2014, 11:11 PM	#10
harpolini Expert Member Member since:Nov 2012 Location:WA, USA 4K collection:18 Blu-ray collection:237 DVD collection:92 Blu-ray reviews: 3 Trading Score:1	I would be grateful if someone who bought this could confirm the region coding and a general idea of the quality. They A&E region 1 DVD's a horribly bad, problematic transfers.

12-28-2014, 12:53 AM	#13
HomerJay Active Member Member since:Nov 2010 Location:Melbourne, AU Blu-ray collection:585 Blu-ray reviews:3	I used Google Translate to view a recent user review of the German Hornblower blu-ray box set on Amazon.de: "The HD picture quality is magnificent" - big Tick! My main concern now is this set has only English as stereo (it does have German DTS-HDMA 5.1). Should I wait for a possible UK blu-ray release with English 5.1?

01-05-2015, 08:11 PM	#16
iaf6 Member Top contributor Member since:Nov 2014 Location:Canada 4K collection:5 Blu-ray collection:1989 DVD collection:110	Anyone had time to verify the region coding yet?

01-09-2015, 01:02 AM	#18
Monroville Blu-ray Guru Member since:Oct 2009 Location:Louisville, KY Blu-ray reviews: 20 Trading Score:30	Well I got my amazon.de order today... and the HORNBLOWER box was the dvd version. I've contacted amazon.de customer service to see what I need to do to return and replace it with the blu-ray box.

02-11-2015, 11:32 PM	#19
harpolini Expert Member Member since:Nov 2012 Location:WA, USA 4K collection:18 Blu-ray collection:237 DVD collection:92 Blu-ray reviews: 3 Trading Score:1	That's a bummer, they ever get you the Blu-ray set?

05-14-2015, 06:17 PM	#20
harpolini Expert Member Member since:Nov 2012 Location:WA, USA 4K collection:18 Blu-ray collection:237 DVD collection:92 Blu-ray reviews: 3 Trading Score:1	Still no word on region compatibility or PQ/AQ, but some snooping has revealed: Several reviewers say there is noise in darker scenes. It was translated from German so I'm curious if they don't mean grain. "In some places some of the 8 episodes there are places where dark scenes have snow noise, be it night or just black garments." "Here Hornblower is again a good example of bad digital processing. For the noise in the digital editing (Blu-ray), there are 2 star deduction." "The quality of the Blu-ray is 1080p okay and definitely. In twilight and night scenes, however, a more or less noisy image is perceived. In the very first part, I thought it's snowing in the cabin of Kaptains and was a little disappointed that you this was not spirited away with today's technology." If it's grain they are actually talking about, that's good news. Also, it looks like in a month it's being re-released in a fancy wooden crate sort of similar to the Sharpe's crate. https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hornb...lu-ray/124572/

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