Friends: The Complete Series (1994-2004)

[Veronica Mars]

Originally Posted by horizonline

It's a rumor since October 2009.

Huh? Didn't the information (survey) about Friends coming soon and for $199.99 in a complete set just happen? So how is this rumor nearly 2 years old?

[Rantlers]

Originally Posted by Veronica Mars

Huh? Didn't the information (survey) about Friends coming soon and for $199.99 in a complete set just happen? So how is this rumor nearly 2 years old?

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/rumormill.html#121809

[Remmus]

But back in the day when the rumours started, we didn't even know it was shot in widescreen and HD, now it's a fact.

[JamesKurtovich]

Wow, that screenshot comparison is awesome. I had no idea Friends was filmed in widescreen! I hate how my favorite sitcoms are low quality 4:3.

[bboisvert]

Originally Posted by horizonline

It's a rumor since October 2009.

And, before that, it was listed as "coming soon" from Warner on the HD-DVD "look and sound of perfect" site back in 2006. I'm sure this is coming... someday. But I wouldn't expect it tomorrow.

[Veronica Mars]

Originally Posted by bboisvert

And, before that, it was listed as "coming soon" from Warner on the HD-DVD "look and sound of perfect" site back in 2006. I'm sure this is coming... someday. But I wouldn't expect it tomorrow.

Within a year most likely? I mean the season sets are worth almost nothing now, many are new for $10 at Amazon and someone I know wants to buy mine and is willing to pay a decent price. Would you feel comfortable getting rid of your SD sets based on this new information? The show is on my local cable channels like 4 times a day, so I'm sure I can live without them for 12 months, but if we're talking 2, 4, or 5 more years, then I would probably just keep them and give them away because they'll have almost no value by then.

Thanks.

[Adrock]

Originally Posted by Veronica Mars

Within a year most likely? I mean the season sets are worth almost nothing now, many are new for $10 at Amazon and someone I know wants to buy mine and is willing to pay a decent price. Would you feel comfortable getting rid of your SD sets based on this new information? The show is on my local cable channels like 4 times a day, so I'm sure I can live without them for 12 months, but if we're talking 2, 4, or 5 more years, then I would probably just keep them and give them away because they'll have almost no value by then.

Thanks.

Ultimately, that is up to you. I bought my fiancee the complete series boxset (SD) a few years back, and she adores it. There is no way that she would ever get rid of it despite the rumors (factual or otherwise), until we can replace it on BD.

[MTRodaba2468]

I'm not a Friends fan, but I do think that if this comes out (especially with a Complete Series set right off the bat) and does well, that can mean only good things for future TV on DVD releases.

Originally Posted by fitprod

Buffy was never designed for widescreen, and and I believe most of the effects were done in SD, just like ST: TNG. X-File is similar, even though the later seasons were shot widescreen. Amazingly Paramount is more apt to milk, and improve their cash cow, but I doubt Fox has much interest.

fitprod

While I'm sure Fox doesn't have much interest in going back and redoing effects, I'm sure they would have no problem doing an upconvert and releasing it that way. See: Firefly, Simpsons Season 13, half of Simpsons Season 20...

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

But I'm just saying why not release ALL the individual seasons up front as well? They're obviously all completed, since theyre in the complete series set. And people who dont want the entire series can pick and choose which seasons they want.
But like you said, by waiting to release some they run the risk of people losing interest over time and making further releases unjustifiable.

It's becoming the new norm for non-current releases. It's actually a pretty good thing, because true fans can get the whole series at once and not worry about them stopping in the middle (as has happened to so many of us with many of our favorite series). So big plus for us - and more sales for them, as first of all they make more money off of one big set than many little ones (once you factor in packaging, promotion of each individual release, etc.) as well as entices people who are fans but don't want to get "burned" by a half-released series and normally wait until later to start collecting them once it's clear that more than one or two sets are coming out.

Now, the reason they still do the singles is because of traditional promotion. And the reason they stagger them. Each "new" release is then repromoted, which is really the only way to get store space for titles, among a myriad of other reasons.

It seemed odd to me at first as well, but it seems to be helping the industry (see the success Shout Factory has had with shows on DVD lately, specifically animation), the big fans get what they want, and the bean counters/marketing people get what they want. It's an odd situation, but somehow it does work.

Originally Posted by nametag

Because they haven't been cropped so much as re-framed. Virtually no information has been cropped away, just added to the sides. I actually would much prefer a 4:3 presentation because it's the way it was intended to be framed - everyone is always standing in the middle of the frame in a way they don't in widescreen-filmed shows. Still, it's better than cropping and I'm sure I'd get used to them. I have HD versions of Friends and the first 2 seasons of the West Wing and they both do this. ER does as well. Seinfeld does a mixture of cropping and adding to the sides for the newer HD versions.

I'd much prefer they released two versions like they used to for 'widescreen'/'fullscreen' DVDs...

This is going to be a big debate coming up when TV on Blu (and HD) finally starts to hit it's stride (between this "news" and the strongly hinted rumor that Trek TNG will be announced at ComicCon, it looks like we are going in the right direction).

Now, as film fans, we have been trained since the days of Laserdisc - OAR! OAR! OAR!! So that's the knee-jerk reaction.

But film is much different than TV.

People may argue it, and it's not to say their points aren't valid, but TV shows don't have all day to set up one shot, and the visual language is just different. Because of the quicker cuts of TV, and the less nuanced cutting (especially on a multi-camera live filmed show like Friends), the actual composition of the shot is usually a bit more flexible.

So I think we will see a lot of reframing happening (though with the Friends example in particular, it seems we just get more image all around - yay on NBC for being so forward thinking way back in '94). It's what I think is going to happen with TNG - we have to remember, that Blu releases (especially for TV shows, but catalog films as well) are often a by-product of HD mastering for syndication and not as the primary goal/reason. And syndicators want 1.78 - evidenced by the fact they will even stretch sitcoms if necessary to get to a full 1.78 image. And it's going to be controversial for some. But when you have a scene where there is mostly just empty set on the top and bottom, if done with care it can be quite effective.

Personally, I can't stand when I walk into someone's house and they want me to watch something that is in 1.33 and it's blown up or, worse, stretched, yet I've seen some amazing reframe jobs (see the Wonder Woman TV pilot on the WW animated film DVD). If done with care (and attention - not every shot needs to be reframed in the same way), in most cases it can be very pleasing.

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by wikipedia

Areas on an Academy-width 35 mm spherical film print:
1. Camera aperture 0.630" x 0.866" 1.37:1
2. Projector Aperture Academy ratio 0.600" x 0.825" 1.37:1
3. Projector Aperture 1.85:1 ratio 0.446" x 0.825"
4. Projector Aperture 1.66:1 ratio 0.497" x 0.825"
5. Television scanned area 0.594" x 0.792" 1.33:1
6. Television "action safe" area 0.535" x 0.717"(10% TV overscan)
7. Television "title safe" area 0.475" x 0.630" (20% TV overscan)

0.866" full camera aperture width/0.535" safe action area height = 1.62

0.866" full camera aperture width/0.475" safe title area height = 1.82

1.78 crops would be something around that.

It might be easier for some shows if they did ~1.6 AR (like computer monitors) framings

[MD-Blu]

Hopefully it'll be fully annouced soon with a release date.

[BluRyan]

Originally Posted by EclipseSSD

If they can bring out Friends, then they certainly can do the same with ER. They filmed at roughly the same time in 1994, ER started a few days earlier, I think. This is good news.

Well the ER DVDs were released at 16:9 with a widened frame so it must be possible. Fingers crossed, maybe not in the next year or two, but I'm sure by 2015 a Blu-ray would be a potential profit for WB due to a much larger adoption in households!

Originally Posted by Wyndam

This is amazing news. Not just because its a great show, but because this is all around great for TV on Blu. Hopefully, if successful, we'll see more 90s TV on Blu, like Seinfeld, X-Files, Buffy, etc.

Plus it is great to see the studio showing faith and putting out the complete series. If only more studios thought the same.

Amen to that! Like I said, over the next few years DVD-enthusiasts will start to see the light, and remastering shows like Seinfeld, Buffy and X Files would be worth it in the eyes of their respective companies. They were all shot on 16mm/35mm film.

[Lnds500]

Originally Posted by The Mad Kiwi

Friends is my all-time favorite series, but despite that fact, I was on the fence about upgrading the series to HD (even though the early seasons look horrible on DVD). I think maybe it's because it took me so long to buy each season on DVD to begin with. Now that I know they'e releasing an entire collection at once rather than making us buy one season at a time again, I've decided to take the plunge, especially with the new 16x9 masters and additional supplements. Bravo, WB for not milking this series any more than you need to on this format. You've earned my money.

I haven't bought the DVDs because I waited for this set. I will get it when the price drops a little. Great news though.

[BluRyan]

I recently downloaded all of Season 1 in 720p HD from the German TNT HD channel, and the quality was outstanding, and the widescreen was something I had been hoping for forever! This is definitely worth the upgrade seeing as all the DVDs look like a video transfer. The difference is huge and it looks like it was filmed yesterday, and that only means the Blu-ray will be even better! This will definitely be a day one purchase for me!

Thank God NBC filmed this on 35mm, and at 3 perf too! Perfect for widescreen HD transfer (if it was shot at 4 perf that would have meant the 4:3 image would have been all there is, however Friends was shot at 3 perf in order to reduce the amount of film used and therefore is in widescreen, it's just they cropped it for the TV broadcasts!)

Fingers crossed Friends Complete Collection on Blu-ray by this Christmas!

[flyinmunky99]

Id grab the complete box set straight away. Awesome series that can be watched over and over.

[BluRyan]

Actually the last time I re-watched all of Friends was October 2009, been putting it off in hope of this Blu-ray release. This'll definitely be my most anticipated, and soon to be most watched, Blu-ray set ever! I aint kidding! I'm just ecstatic they're in 16:9!

[bookcase]

So this is still rumor as of now, correct? I don't want to get my hopes up.

[bboisvert]

Originally Posted by bookcase

So this is still rumor as of now, correct? I don't want to get my hopes up.

Yes, it is. Albiet one with a bit of traction this time around... so we can afford a *little* more hope than usual.

[BluRyan]

It's not official yet although from what that survey was saying I think it's safe to assume an announcement at this year's Comic Con (in about three weeks) on the Warner Home Video panel. Someone's bound to ask about it and they may even give an estimated release frame (I'm hope Fourth Quarter 2011, or First Quarter 2012 at least)

I'd love to have been part of that survey myself!

[Victor Wright]

I'd buy a complete series set of Friends in a second, not only because of the quality of the show, but also to send a message that I'd buy others (The West Wing) as well...