Vincent Price’s Legendary TV Cookery Show: Cooking Price-Wise (BFI Flipside)

[the13thman]

If this is standard definition then it belongs more on DVD than on Blu-ray.

[yukito]

Yes and no. Bluray has more storage space which means less discs. The compression and colours usually are a bit more managed even if it's just SD.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by Eidolon

Because in order to upscale it has to have all it's interlacing altered, which means that it's not as broadcast, upscaling is always a compromise, especially on TV material that's shot on old tech.
Secondly, it stops it from being playable on old tech. There's a much bigger retro community out there than a lot of people realise, and if it's put on disc in it's original SD 4:3 25fps, then it will still playable on old 4:3 CRT sets, of which I have two. The second you upscale it has to be pillarboxed in a 16:9 frame which stops this from being possible.

There's literally nothing to gain from upscaling. BD comes with the advantage of the extra space so SD content doesn't have to be as compressed, but once it's upscaled, it's altered and limited. There's plenty of bad upscales of old TV shows out there already, such as Fawlty Towers, where the dvds are still the better options.

Upscaling done right doesn’t ruin the interlacing and even in 4K when you have to drop interlaced support, you convert to 50p and can preserve the original smooth motion.

There is benefit too, especially for those on low to mid tier AV gear where a professional upscale may easily be superior. It’s not about inventing details, it’s about avoid scaling nasties.

ALL current TVs do a form of that progressive conversion since they cannot do native interlaced.

The gist is, you want something you can play on your old TVs. Fair enough, but don’t talk silliness to justify that as your clear passion for CRTs is far enough in itself.

When upscales have lost the video motion, that’s because they’ve either intentionally or ignorantly been done wrong.

I’m fine regardless if these are SD on BD or upscales done right. What I care about is better compression than DVD.

[El_Fez]

By the way, for the Yanks not wanting to drop as much on shipping as the actual disc from BFI, Diabolikdvd has copies for 25 bucks. I got my order in last night.

[darrellmaclaine]

This should probably be on DVD in a saner world but it'll sell more on Blu-ray so that's that. I don't think the BFI have put out any DVDs since the At Last The 1948 Show/Do Not Adjust Your Set releases in 2019, and I bet if they were doing them now they wouldn't be on DVD.

[Eidolon]

Originally Posted by oddbox83

The gist is, you want something you can play on your old TVs. Fair enough, but don’t talk silliness to justify that as your clear passion for CRTs is far enough in itself.

.

Im not talking any silliness, thanks. There's literally no need to compromise something when it can be left intact as is.
As this is appreciated going to be inSD after all, it's a matter of how they deal with the frame ratio now that will determine if it's viable or not.

Overall this would still seem much more suited to a dvd release, and it's inclusion as part of Flipside is a strange one.

[oddbox83]

Sorry but you are regarding interlacing and upscaling.

I can respect a desire for true SD if you like to watch vintage material on vintage CRTs. But you are also saying stuff that simply isn’t correct. What are you basing this on?

[RossyG]

Mystic Rossy predicts that of those who buy this, most won’t get past episode three.

[Deadend45]

Upscaling SD is just polishing a turd, you will still get turd pq at the end of it.

[RossyG]

It’ll look like a 1970s daytime cookery show shot on 2” 625 line PAL videotape.

[MifuneFan]

I wouldn't be surprised if BFI chose BD over DVD so that the new extras could at least be in HD. It's a perk of having it on BD in any event.

[yukito]

Originally Posted by Eidolon

Im not talking any silliness, thanks. There's literally no need to compromise something when it can be left intact as is.
As this is appreciated going to be inSD after all, it's a matter of how they deal with the frame ratio now that will determine if it's viable or not.

Overall this would still seem much more suited to a dvd release, and it's inclusion as part of Flipside is a strange one.

Well, in any way you look at it, the Flipside is as strange series. Makes a lot of sense to me.
From the BFI site: "If it's weird, and forgotten, then it's Flipside."

[Guernica78]

Originally Posted by Eidolon

it's inclusion as part of Flipside is a strange one.

What do you mean? This is a perfect Flipside release. This is what Flipside should be about. I just hope more TV shows feature

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by RossyG

Mystic Rossy predicts that of those who buy this, most won’t get past episode three.

I dunno... I was hooked on this which was aired around the same time as this show. Just to hear Vincent belly laugh was great in itself. Wonderfully dated too.

British cuisine | 1970s British cooking | Vincent Price | Claire Rayner | Part 1 | Today | 1972 - YouTube

The state of British cooking | 1970s British cooking | Vincent Price | Claire Rayner |Part 2 |1972 - YouTube

If Vincent Price is Vincent Price, I'll get through them all.

[Eidolon]

Originally Posted by Guernica78

What do you mean? This is a perfect Flipside release. This is what Flipside should be about. I just hope more TV shows feature

It's a generic cooking show that just happens to have Vincent Price as a host.
No different to releasing something like The Good Old Days, That's Life or Come Dancing as part of Flipside.

[oddbox83]

It’s a Vincent Price cookery show, if that’s not even slightly offbeat I don’t know what is. It’s apparently as camp as hell too.

[GaryCouzens]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

I don't think the BFI have put out any DVDs since the At Last The 1948 Show/Do Not Adjust Your Set releases in 2019

There have been some since then. I've been reviewing for Cine Outsider since 2021 and in that time I've reviewed the following DVD-only releases:

British Transport Films Volume 15: Life on the Line
The Camera is Ours: Britain's Women Documentary Makers
Children's Film Foundation Bumper Box Vols 3, 4 and 5
Great Noises That Fill the Air
The Molly Dineen Collection Volume 4
An Unflinching Eye: The Films of Richard Woolley

They also still do BD/DVD dual-format releases from time to time, such as the forthcoming Starve Acre.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Guernica78

What do you mean? This is a perfect Flipside release. This is what Flipside should be about. I just hope more TV shows feature

The series is supposed to be about film NOT TV.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

The series is supposed to be about film NOT TV.

It’s not the first TV show in the range either.

The range has diverged from its original inception and releases a wider range. Not all appeal to me now, so I just buy the ones I want.

[Number 28]

Originally Posted by Guernica78

What do you mean? This is a perfect Flipside release. This is what Flipside should be about. I just hope more TV shows feature

I would love to see Badger by Owl Light and Thirty-Minute Theatre get a release.