TV shows on Blu-ray

[Gremal]

Originally Posted by coolmilo

I am hoping the HBO series ROME makes it to Blu-ray. I currently enjoy watching this series in 1080i/THX 5.1 (DirecTV) each week and it looks/sounds amazing. A proper Blu-ray treatment would put this series over the top.

I have heard great things about Rome--not just the sets and technical production but the writing and acting too. It seems like a natural candidate for Blu-ray and I hope HBO produces it. The Sopranos 6 BD box is great.

[Knight-Errant]

Then we have the Star Trek remastered series which should be out on BD.

[Electrox3d]

So... 2 questions come to mind with this topic:

1) If DVD's are to phase out does that mean that every 4:3 show will have to be remastered for Blu-ray?

2) Will 4:3 shows ever come to blu-ray, and if so what format will they be in, will they still be 1080p but with black bars on the right and left?

or will DVD's be kept around for all 4:3 content for as long as blu-ray's are around?

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by Sinner

Deci, thanks for the input... is it fair to assume that sitcoms shot in the 90's were done on videotape? Friends, Seinfeld, Frasier, etc.... ?

Depends on what you mean by "done".

Friends, Seinfeld and Frasier are all shot on film and edited on tape for NTSC.


fuad

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by Electrox3d

So... 2 questions come to mind with this topic:

1) If DVD's are to phase out does that mean that every 4:3 show will have to be remastered for Blu-ray?

I guess they would. unless people were fine with having the old NTSC/PAL masters ported over to Blu-ray, like some of the movie supplements are being done now.

Originally Posted by Electrox3d

2) Will 4:3 shows ever come to blu-ray, and if so what format will they be in, will they still be 1080p but with black bars on the right and left?

or will DVD's be kept around for all 4:3 content for as long as blu-ray's are around?

well it'll be some years while Blu-ray supplants DVD. probably DVDs might not be phased out completely (see. they play on BD players. Laserdiscs and VHS didn't play on DVD players because they weren't 5 inches round. All the format media being 5" discs makes for a little different situation.)

If a 1.33 TV show shot on film or a Silent movie (1.33) or a pre-mid fifties Sound movie (1.375) is scanned for Blu-ray, it should be 1080p with black bars on the sides, 1080 x 1440 for 1.33 film and 1080 x 1485 for 1.375 film. Maybe some TV shows could be made into 1.45 (like the BBC does) or even 1.50, as TV films were shot with a TV overscan safe area so some vertical cropping of this area might be possible in some cases.

But remember, if you have a 16:9 display, even your 4:3 TV DVDs will have black bars on the sides if you are to display them properly. Black bars on the sides aren't too objectionable as they don't shrink the height of the image so they'll probably bother people less.

What comes out or doesn't come out on Blu will depend on market forces and other voo doo

Not evertything will go BD as not every LP went CD, etc

Things shot on videotape are served well on DVD, they almost in the native format. And anyway film on DVD is around 16mm prints quality.

Lots of good stuff went from VHS or showed up on DVD (Seasons box sets by the gazillions. We'll see what happens with High Def media!

[Electrox3d]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

I guess they would. unless people were fine with having the old NTSC/PAL masters ported over to Blu-ray, like some of the movie supplements are being done now.



well it'll be some years while Blu-ray supplants DVD. probably DVDs might not be phased out completely (see. they play on BD players. Laserdiscs and VHS didn't play on DVD players because they weren't 5 inches round. All the format media being 5" discs makes for a little different situation.)

If a 1.33 TV show shot on film or a Silent movie (1.33) or a pre-mid fifties Sound movie (1.375) is scanned for Blu-ray, it should be 1080p with black bars on the sides, 1080 x 1440 for 1.33 film and 1080 x 1485 for 1.375 film. Maybe some TV shows could be made into 1.45 (like the BBC does) or even 1.50, as TV films were shot with a TV overscan safe area so some vertical cropping of this area might be possible in some cases.

But remember, if you have a 16:9 display, even your 4:3 TV DVDs will have black bars on the sides if you are to display them properly. Black bars on the sides aren't too objectionable as they don't shrink the height of the image so they'll probably bother people less.

What comes out or doesn't come out on Blu will depend on market forces and other voo doo

Not evertything will go BD as not every LP went CD, etc

Things shot on videotape are served well on DVD, they almost in the native format. And anyway film on DVD is around 16mm prints quality.

Lots of good stuff went from VHS or showed up on DVD (Seasons box sets by the gazillions. We'll see what happens with High Def media!

What you say makes sense... I just dislike "upscaling" so much! I know it would be a ton of work, but it seems that old shows or movies should be re-digitized to high def, even if there are black bars on the right and left. Of course, who knows how many shows would look so awful, and the old special effects would be so shoddy that they wouldn't be enjoyable anymore...

I thought I'd share what BV Entertainment had to say on re-releasing all their titles in Blu-ray Disc format:
"While it would not be practical to re-release every single title BVHE has already released on DVD, you can expect many day and date new releases of Blu-ray Disc and DVD titles, combined with many Blu-ray Disc catalog titles."

So there I have it, companies are not planning on doing a full conversion of every DVD title to next gen.

I DO think, however, that animated shows should go this route if possible.

[DaveFi]

I don't think we'll have to worry about the 4:3 issue right away anyways, as we'll be seeing 16:9 programming first anyways. 24, Lost, Smallville, etc.

[Sinner]

does anyone know if the first couple seasons of CSI (Las Vegas) were shot in 16:9? my first season DVD is in 4:3...

[Polyh3dron]

Working in post for a new NBC Universal show I can say that all current Universal-produced TV shows have 1080p D5 master tapes for their episodes that are in the vault on the lot.

[Zinn]

Do you know if it is 24p or 30p???

[ckelly79]

I would love to have Heroes, House, Firefly and Law and Order SVU on Blu-ray, but I think everyone of them are Universal. But didn't I just read that Universal/NBC was up for sale?

[Ascended_Saiyan]

I heard LOST was coming to Blu-ray soon.

[KenThompson]

Lost and 24 are good for me. What I'd really like is Two and A Half Men. Charlie Sheen is hilarilous.

[Guinness7]

Originally Posted by KenThompson

What I'd really like is Two and A Half Men. Charlie Sheen is hilarilous.

That isnt even out on dvd so i think it would be some time before you hear anything about that.

[J_UNTITLED]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Buffy first two seasons: 16mm edited on videotape

If this is the case, does that mean the first two seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" cannot be transfered and put onto Blu-ray?

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by J_UNTITLED

If this is the case, does that mean the first two seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" cannot be transfered and put onto Blu-ray?

No. Blu-ray Disc is basically a storage device designed for the High-Def age. You can certainly put Buffy on BD as is, but it won't look HD.

If Buffy is to look HD, it means that all of the 16 mm footage has to be telecined again for HD and maybe some cropping needed to fit the 16x9 screen. Also all of the CGI effects will also have to be redone.


fuad

[Crazyfoo]

I also would like Deadwood to come out on BD, that and Rome (as others have said) I would rebuy them on BD (if and when they come out)

Regards

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

If Buffy is to look HD, it means that all of the 16 mm footage has to be telecined again for HD and maybe some cropping needed to fit the 16x9 screen. Also all of the CGI effects will also have to be redone.

16mm aspect ratio being 1.37 too, I'd hope they wouldn't crop 16mm Buffy. Might also get more grainy

I have the NTSC DVDs of the first 2 seasons. Insurance.

[Sinner]

are there syndicated episodes of Seinfeld in HD in the US?

[Knight-Errant]

I guess when DVD is history and everyone has HD sets all these old shows will need to be optimized for HD; basically up-converted.