Bewitched - The Complete Series Blu-ray (1964-1971) - In 1.78

[cupboy]

Could check the Imprint when it ships

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by cupboy

Could check the Imprint when it ships

Yes, thanks. That would be great. I would be curious to know what the Imprint set looks like.

[Tboneator64]

Originally Posted by MrHT

I’m hoping that maybe the reason is, the original negatives were lost for those 7 mins.

Could be a possibility. I wonder whether or not those same 7 minutes are in SD on the Imprint set? That would tell the tale.

CHEERS!

[bmasters1981]

Originally Posted by MrHT

I’m hoping that maybe the reason is, the original negatives were lost for those 7 mins.

If that indeed is, then that would be a different story, but if they were just carelessly discarded and replaced with SD, then we'd have some issues.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by bmasters1981

If that indeed is, then that would be a different story, but if they were just carelessly discarded and replaced with SD, then we'd have some issues.

Maybe it’s just my copy and it’s defective. After all, this set has been out for over a month already and I seemed to have been the only one who noticed it.

[Tboneator64]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Maybe it’s just my copy and it’s defective. After all, this set has been out for over a month already and I seemed to have been the only one who noticed it.

I can't imagine what kind of defect could cause HD to SD shift, though? That said, have you tried replaying the episode on a different player or device?

I hope you get a definitive answer, soon!

CHEERS!

[Jaymole]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Oof, just watched “Mary The Good Fairy” and the last 7 mins of the episode is all in SD!! What the heck?!

Endora strikes again! What did you do to piss her off?

[yosef]

I just looked at "Mary the Good Fairy" (Part 1) on Hulu, and I don't think that section is in SD, but is just sourced from a later generation lab element, maybe 16mm. I recall that on the original Sony DVD set, the whole episode looked like that. I suspect the end of the episode must have some damage or other issue that was too hard to overcome on the negative, so they opted to use this poorer source for those scenes.

[bmasters1981]

Originally Posted by yosef

I just looked at "Mary the Good Fairy" (Part 1) on Hulu, and I don't think that section is in SD, but is just sourced from a later generation lab element, maybe 16mm. I recall that on the original Sony DVD set, the whole episode looked like that. I suspect the end of the episode must have some damage or other issue that was too hard to overcome on the negative, so they opted to use this poorer source for those scenes.

Kind of like "Sins of the Father" on the TNG: The Next Level Blu demo disc, where 13 seconds of it could not be located, and SD had to be used for that?

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by yosef

I just looked at "Mary the Good Fairy" (Part 1) on Hulu, and I don't think that section is in SD, but is just sourced from a later generation lab element, maybe 16mm. I recall that on the original Sony DVD set, the whole episode looked like that. I suspect the end of the episode must have some damage or other issue that was too hard to overcome on the negative, so they opted to use this poorer source for those scenes.

Interesting, let me check my DVD copy….

[Ohmystars]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Interesting, let me check my DVD copy….

It might be that the negatives for some scenes are missing. The online versions for this episode alternate between HD and SD. This clip shows it quite well from about 2.41

The Good Fairy Refuses To Get Her Job Back | Bewitched - YouTube

[cupboy]

All I see is an annoying huge blue banner.

[Ohmystars]

Originally Posted by cupboy

All I see is an annoying huge blue banner.

You can’t see the video behind it. Oh dear.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by Ohmystars

It might be that the negatives for some scenes are missing. The online versions for this episode alternate between HD and SD. This clip shows it quite well from about 2.41

[Show spoiler]The Good Fairy Refuses To Get Her Job Back | Bewitched - YouTube

Oh my stars! You're right!!

I even checked my DVD copy as well and yes, the whole episode looks very soft. Funny, it's been so long since I watched my DVDs that I completely didn't know about this episode being inferior in picture quality.

[50strat54]

Opened my Bewitched Bluray Box to check if all 22 discs were inside and they were.

Watched the Pilot, the first episode with Serena, Tabatha being born and the first time Tabitha used her powers.

They all looked fine to me.

As for the stacked discs, it's two per stack. I learned from a YouTube video on the best way to take out stacked discs when I watched how to get the discs out of the Ultraman steelbook packages. Two stacks of discs.

Fortunately Blurays are very strong these days, much stronger than 4K but I'm not sure if Bluray is stronger than DVD.

I waited about 40 years to see the Bewitched Pilot where Samantha reveals she's a witch to Darren. I'd seen little clips over the years and some on YouTube but when Sony released the First Season I immediately bought it just to watch that first episode which was great.

I eventually bought alll of the Sony released DVD individual seasons and the colorized seasons 1 and 2.

It's amazing how fast this package dropped in price, but like I Love Lucy complete on bluray $50 was my price.

I always regret waiting too long on the Bluray of the complete Dick Van Dyke show. Going for crazy money now. I did get the digital on itunes cheap.

Mill Creek if you are listening, Dick Van Dyke re-release!

I'm not overly critical over the picture quality and overall I have been happy with Mill Creek. They are generally cheap and have put out titles we really want. Like Quantum Leap, maybe all the music isn't there but I was still happy with the release.

I don't nit pik over small things and I know there are costs involved and for small companies everything can't be perfect.

I'll never watch every episode of this box, just don't have the time. I generally jump around to episodes I remember. I love the Serena episodes.

[DaViD Boulet]

I don't nit pik over small things and I know there are costs involved and for small companies everything can't be perfect.

everyone is free to buy and enjoy anything they like. But it's also important to characterize faults correctly when companies fall short. The cropped 16x9 image on the Millcreek set isn't a small thing: the preservation of a program's original aspect ratio is a very basic principle for any properly mastered/presented product, and it would not have cost Millcreek any more to have merely used the OAR master.

[50strat54]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

everyone is free to buy and enjoy anything they like. But it's also important to characterize faults correctly when companies fall short. The cropped 16x9 image on the Millcreek set isn't a small thing: the preservation of a program's original aspect ratio is a very basic principle for any properly mastered/presented product, and it would not have cost Millcreek any more to have merely used the OAR master.

Is it possible Mill Creek had to use the master supplied by Sony?

I would be more critical if Sony had made this mistake as they own the master and it looks like Sony has felt it was not profitable or cost effective to release the complete series on bluray.

To be honest I did not even know the shows were cropped, I do like it when errors are pointed out on this forum and I do agree when a product is released it should be as original as possible.

I also make allowances based on how much I paid for an item as well, fair or not. So I know I Love Lucy had issues but for $50 I was willing to overlook those issues same for Bewitched. We can put more heat on I Love Lucy though as it was released with issues by Paramount the owner of the property.

But I totally understand why these kinds of errors or sloppiness is not acceptable to many on here.

With Mill Creek we have to take the good with the bad. I'm sure there are a whole lot of issues with the Ultraman releases, but at least they are putting them out. I've read that the Mill Creek Freshman bluray is really bad so I keep looking at the price. Somewhere around $6 I may buy it.

[Ohmystars]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

everyone is free to buy and enjoy anything they like. But it's also important to characterize faults correctly when companies fall short. The cropped 16x9 image on the Millcreek set isn't a small thing: the preservation of a program's original aspect ratio is a very basic principle for any properly mastered/presented product, and it would not have cost Millcreek any more to have merely used the OAR master.

Bewitched is remastered in two formats 16x9 and 4x3. It's a 4k scan, so I guess the benefit of the 16x9 is that the proportion of the frame seen is very detailed, as it's scaled down less than the 4x3 is into a 1080p frame.

I don't think the original negatives were used for either master. "Bewitched" and a lot of shows from that time often used processed zooms to crop into scenes when they needed a tighter shot. They'd zoom in using a process shot, which was a common practice in Screen Gems shows. Because of this, the image could change colour and lose quality since those were the parts sent off to create the process shots.

Both the imprint and MC sets have these processed zooms, which suggests the original negatives weren’t used. The zoomed parts wouldn’t be on the original negatives; they’d be processed separately and added to the distribution print.

Also, you’d expect to find the original music, break bumpers, and "back in a moment" elements in the negatives, but a lot of this is missing in the remaster, as are some shots and parts of scenes. So perhaps the show is mastered from a release or archival print?

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by 50strat54

I'll never watch every episode of this box, just don't have the time. I generally jump around to episodes I remember. I love the Serena episodes.

Yeah, agreed. Pandora Spocks was a great actress.... much better than Elizabeth Montgomery.

[50strat54]

Originally Posted by Ohmystars

Bewitched is remastered in two formats 16x9 and 4x3. It's a 4k scan, so I guess the benefit of the 16x9 is that the proportion of the frame seen is very detailed, as it's scaled down less than the 4x3 is into a 1080p frame.

I don't think the original negatives were used for either master. "Bewitched" and a lot of shows from that time often used processed zooms to crop into scenes when they needed a tighter shot. They'd zoom in using a process shot, which was a common practice in Screen Gems shows. Because of this, the image could change colour and lose quality since those were the parts sent off to create the process shots.

Both the imprint and MC sets have these processed zooms, which suggests the original negatives weren’t used. The zoomed parts wouldn’t be on the original negatives; they’d be processed separately and added to the distribution print.

Also, you’d expect to find the original music, break bumpers, and "back in a moment" elements in the negatives, but a lot of this is missing in the remaster, as are some shots and parts of scenes. So perhaps the show is mastered from a release or archival print?

See? This is great stuff, very detailed and a lot of it is over my head but the people who put these packages together understand this post.

Mill Creek is a budget boutique, they are not Shout Factory, Arrow etc. I accept they will try to squeeze as many episodes per disc. Also stacking discs which is the cheapest way to package the discs. Mill Creek cuts corners but I have many of their complete TV packages and for the most part I’m satisfied with what I am getting and what I am paying.