Little House on the Prairie: Seasons 1-9 (1974-1983)

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

Well if it's true about no more bds, I can't say I'm surprised, but yeah it is pretty sad. At least we got 6 seasons on bd, which is actually more then I thought would make it out.
It's really hard to get excited about these bd series when this kind of thing happens over and over.
I have no idea why people think the upcoming "super" bd will last more than about 2 days the way things are looking with the major and mid-major studios.

What's really sad is they've remastered all 9 seasons in HD yet they'll stop distributing the seasons on the HD format in favor of the SD one.

This is the kind of thing that has trained consumers to wait for the whole series before picking up the releases.

[moviebuff75]

I just pre-ordered Season 7 on Amazon.

Little House on the Prairie: Season Seven Blu-ray

[Arkadin]

well if Lionsgate is indeed not releasing season 7 on bd people need to let them know via Fakebook that they WANT season 7 on blu-ray. Everyone that cares about this great series needs to just pummel their Fakebook and Twitter pages with messages and posts telling them that they need to finish what they started, and don't do this to the fans of this great show.

[FruityOatyBar]

Originally Posted by JMK

I thought fans might want to know: the latest PR release states that Season Seven is on DVD only, and that the complete series will be released on DVD at the same time. My hunch is this does not augur well for any more Blu-ray releases, but if I receive any follow up info, I'll post it here.

Ouch! That really sucks if they stop releasing BDs now that they're so far into the series. I must say though, that I'm doubly glad I went for the HD digital purchase from iTunes at this point. I'm halfway through season 8 and can honestly not discern any difference in the digital version from the BDs. Hopefully the three TV movies will be released in a digital download format.

Fans (and me in particular) have been burned by this type of thing way too many times. I only buy complete series (except for rare exceptions) now. So sad.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by t2smith

I have noticed that the Little House Blu-rays normally rank higher than the DVDs on the Amazon Best Sellers Rank during the pre-release and new release periods, but then over time the DVDs end up with a higher rank.

Again, we can thank the Wal-marts and Targets to some degree. DVDs are what they carry in store, so that's what people buy. Many casual fans don't even know it's on blu-ray if they just see it on DVD in stores. Those of us in the forums who follow release dates pre-order the blu-rays, but the average fan just sees them in store shelves on DVD and that's what they buy. How can buyers make a choice between DVD and blu-ray when all the stores carry is DVD?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by FruityOatyBar

Ouch! That really sucks if they stop releasing BDs now that they're so far into the series. I must say though, that I'm doubly glad I went for the HD digital purchase from iTunes at this point. I'm halfway through season 8 and can honestly not discern any difference in the digital version from the BDs. Hopefully the three TV movies will be released in a digital download format.

Fans (and me in particular) have been burned by this type of thing way too many times. I only buy complete series (except for rare exceptions) now. So sad.

Given Lionsgate mentions DVD and Digital but not BD, I'd say a BD release is as dead as a doornail.

[Show spoiler]

LIONSGATE

BRING THE INGALLS FAMILY HOME

Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Series

DELUXE REMASTERED EDITION

The Entire Beloved TV Series With Fully Restored Picture And Sound Arrives In A Limited Edition “Little House” DVD Gift Set On October 6

Remastered Season Seven Also Debuts October 6 On DVD

SANTA MONICA, CA (July 27, 2015) – Relive every touching moment of the family-favorite series with Laura, Pa and the entire Ingalls family when Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Series Deluxe Remastered Edition Gift Set arrives on DVD October 6th from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The 48-disc set features all nine fully restored and remastered seasons, including the original broadcast-length episodes and eight hours of bonus material. A wonderful holiday gift for both new and returning fans of the timeless show, the collection is presented in an iconic “Little House” package, featuring a recreation of the Ingalls family home. In addition, Little House on the Prairie: Season Seven Deluxe Remastered Edition makes its debut on DVD (plus Digital) on October 6.

Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Series Deluxe Remastered Edition Gift Set
Fall in love again with the classic TV series that celebrates family, faith and the human spirit, and enjoy the nine-season saga with vividly restored picture and sound. Completely uncut and remastered, this 48-disc set features all nine seasons and is packed with eight hours of bonus material, including the 96-minute original pilot movie, a cast screen test with Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, the six-part “The ‘Little House’ Phenomenon” documentary that takes a historical look back at the acclaimed series and three movie specials. Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Series Gift Set will be available on DVD for the suggested retail price of $149.98

Little House on the Prairie: Season Seven Deluxe Remastered Edition
In season seven of this timeless series, change is in the air! It's wedding bells and a baby on the way for Laura and Almanzo. Adam's sight returns and he and Mary open a law practice. Laura begins teaching in Walnut Grove; Nellie's pregnancy ignites a family disagreement and Albert's love for Sylvia stirs rumors. The townswomen fight for equal property rights and the Ingalls consider adoption. Captured with restored picture and sound, season seven's 22 uncut, remastered episodes are a collection to cherish. Little House on the Prairie: Season Seven Deluxe Remastered Edition will be available on DVD for the suggested retail price of $21.98.

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE: THE COMPLETE SERIES DVD SPECIAL FEATURES*

• Pilot Movie
• Original Screen Test featuring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert
• Six-Part “The ‘Little House’ Phenomenon” Documentary
  • “The ‘Little House’ Phenomenon: Part One – A Place in Television History”
  • “The ‘Little House’ Phenomenon: Part Two – In the Beginning…”
  • “The ‘Little House’ Phenomenon: Part Three – Casting Walnut Grove”
  • “The ‘Little House’ Phenomenon: Part Four – A Day in the Life of ‘Little House’”
  • “The ‘Little House’ Phenomenon: Part Five – Stories to Remember”
  • “The ‘Little House’ Phenomenon: Part Six – A Lasting Legacy”
• “Look Back to Yesterday” Movie Special
• “Bless All the Dear Children” Movie Special
• “The Last Farewell” Movie Special

*Subject to change

PROGRAM INFORMATION
Series Year of Production: 1974-1983
Season 7 Year of Production: 1980-1981
Title Copyright: Little House on the Prairie, Cover Art and Design © 2015 NBC Studios, Inc. NBC and the Peacock design are Registered Trademarks of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE® and associated character names and trademarks are owned and licensed by Friendly Family Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.
Type: TV on DVD
Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family, History
Closed Captioned: NA
Subtitles: English SDH
Complete Collection Feature Run Time: 170 Hours
Season 7 Feature Run Time: 18 Hours
DVD Format: 4x3 Full Screen (1.33:1)
DVD Audio Status: English, Spanish and French 2.0 Dolby Digital

[Member-222782]

Well, the staggered documentary series apparently ends with the 6th part, which coincides with the ending of the Blu-ray release of the series at season 6. Maybe it's a contractual thing? The producers of the documentary probably demanded it be shown in HD, and since the doc ends with the 6th part, Lionsgate didn't see a need to continue the series in HD. I don't know, just throwing a "what if" out there

[moviebuff75]

I said it is up for pre-order. I locked mine in.

[t2smith]

I also pre-ordered the Season Seven Blu-ray from Amazon. I have no idea why the Blu-ray wasn't mentioned in the press release, but there has to be a reason that both Amazon and Best Buy have it listed for pre-order. The more pre-orders there are, the more it helps our case. If Lionsgate tries to back out of providing a Blu-ray for Season Seven, I'm sure Amazon won't be happy about all the pre-orders it has to cancel and they will probably give Lionsgate plenty of heat.

[tikigod]

I have to admit, I stopped buying the blu ray seasons when they released the digital series in HD. I like having the option of watching them from several devices. I'm also one of those who can't see a huge difference in streaming the HD episodes from watching them on disc. I think it was a mistake for them to release the HD series so soon and this may have hurt the blu ray sales. I do hope they finally get around to releasing the movies at least for HD digital purchase.

[mar3o]

Well I pre-ordered season 7 on blu-ray on Amazon. I'm still hoping the whole thing is just a mix-up. Why is Amazon and Best Buy taking pre-orders for season 7 on blu-ray if it isn't going to be available? On the other hand, why does the press release mention nothing about blu-ray for either the full series or season 7? It doesn't make sense.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by tikigod

I have to admit, I stopped buying the blu ray seasons when they released the digital series in HD. I like having the option of watching them from several devices. I'm also one of those who can't see a huge difference in streaming the HD episodes from watching them on disc. I think it was a mistake for them to release the HD series so soon and this may have hurt the blu ray sales. I do hope they finally get around to releasing the movies at least for HD digital purchase.

If you're streaming them in HD, then you don't own them. Years from now when you want to revisit the series, it won't be there for streaming. I want to own the series on my own shelf to watch years from now.

[t2smith]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Well I pre-ordered season 7 on blu-ray on Amazon. I'm still hoping the whole thing is just a mix-up. Why is Amazon and Best Buy taking pre-orders for season 7 on blu-ray if it isn't going to be available? On the other hand, why does the press release mention nothing about blu-ray for either the full series or season 7? It doesn't make sense.

The only reason I can think of that the Blu-ray wasn't mentioned was that the press release was mainly about the complete series gift set. If the complete series gift set isn't being released on Blu-ray, they may have thought mentioning Blu-ray in the season seven portion of the press release might cause confusion. Last year before Christmas, they released A Merry Ingalls Christmas on DVD only.

Hopefully another press release is soon to follow. I'm assuming there will be a Blu-ray release until I get an email from Amazon saying my pre-order has been cancelled. The movies are considered special features on the gift set, so if the Blu-ray releases are continued I wonder if the movies will be special features on the season nine release of if they will be released separately.

Originally Posted by tikigod

I have to admit, I stopped buying the blu ray seasons when they released the digital series in HD. I like having the option of watching them from several devices. I'm also one of those who can't see a huge difference in streaming the HD episodes from watching them on disc. I think it was a mistake for them to release the HD series so soon and this may have hurt the blu ray sales. I do hope they finally get around to releasing the movies at least for HD digital purchase.

I bought the Digital HD on Vudu when it was $39 because me and my daughter were getting through the seasons faster than they were being released and I figured I could sell future season UV codes in the UV forum as the seasons came out and recoup my cost. Vudu HDX looks better than any previous release of the series, so I can see how the good quality may have caused some people to quit buying the series on Blu-ray or DVD. To maximize sales, they should have released every season individually before releasing the complete series on disc or Digital HD.

There is more detail on Blu-ray than Vudu HDX if you look at the following screenshot.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/121996

These were taken from a TV screen with a digital camera, but you can still tell the difference. It looks like some of the grain has been scrubbed in the HDX shot causing detail to be lost. If you look closely at the clothing, faces, and bat, you will see more detail in the Blu-ray shot.

[DMRI2006]

I emailed the PR rep who handles Lionsgate titles (and specifically Little House) -- he confirmed to me there is no Blu-Ray coming of Season 7, just the DVD. Also, Lionsgate is going to inform Amazon and have the listing taken down.

So, I hate to be the bearer of bad news -- but it's over. Or if it isn't, it's news to all of them.

[Starchild]

I preordered my bluray on Tuesday 7/28 from Amazon. No one has changed my order as of yet.

[Drewbee87]

My aunt will be pissed, she's bought every season so far. And I just checked the Lionsgate press site, they only have the DVD cover displayed and the press release only mentions a DVD release. So it looks like they really are stopping the BD releases. If anyone wants to see it, just google search "Lionsgate Publicity", it'll show up right at the top of the search, and it's open to anyone. Go to the "At Home" section.

[t2smith]

Smart move Lionsgate. If this is true, then Lionsgate doesn't want anymore of my money that I am more than willing to spend to get the rest of the seasons and movies on Blu-ray. I will probably take the money Amazon refunds to my gift card and use it towards the Anne of Green Gables Blu-ray.

Here are the current Amazon Best Seller Rankings for seasons six and seven.

Season 7 Blu-ray #1,035 in Movies & TV, #96 in Movies & TV > Blu-ray > Drama
Season 7 DVD #15,930 in Movies & TV, #4778 in Movies & TV > DVD > Drama

Season 6 Blu-ray #2,330 in Movies & TV, #173 in Movies & TV > Blu-ray > Kids & Family
Season 6 DVD #2,719 in Movies & TV, #770 in Movies & TV > DVD > Kids & Family

The DVDs are now outselling the Blu-rays in the first five seasons, but the Blu-rays were higher during the pre-order and new release periods. It looks like the Blu-ray pre-order sales are much better on Blu-ray and then it looks like it takes three or four weeks after the release date for the DVDs to start outselling the Blu-rays. To put the above numbers in perspective, the season two Blu-ray of I Love Lucy is #6,574 in Movies & TV after being released the same day as season six of Little House.

Edit: I double checked and the season four Blu-ray is ranked higher than DVD, but DVD is higher on seasons 1-3 and 5.

Would it kill them to make a reasonable prediction of how many Blu-rays they are going to sell by using data from the previous six seasons and then make enough Blu-rays to meet that demand? It seems like they are leaving a bunch of money on the table since most people buying on Blu-ray aren't going to happily switch over to buying the rest of the seasons on DVD.

[chrislong2]

I'm not a fan of S7 - it's my least favorite actually (I like S8 and 9 much more than 7) but I was going to buy S7 anyway. It really makes me mad that Lionsgate would go 6 seasons in and then stop. So they don't want to release 7,8,9 on bluray individually, fine! But if they're going to release the full series on DVD, then they should at least do the same for blu-ray! If they had demand for S1-6 on blu, then they ought to be able to justify the complete set on blu! Actually, they SHOULD have already released the complete collection up-front, ESPECIALLY with a show that had 9 seasons if they thought they might not commit to releasing all 9 seasons. It's REALLY AWKWARD to watch this show partway in HD and then switch to SD - especially the old DVD's. If they think I'm going to just switch and buy their DVD's now for the remaining seasons, they are wrong! Lionsgate has been really awesome to this point, but they are royally uncool in my book at the moment. This is the kind of stuff that just pisses people off. There ought to be some way that they can make the numbers work with a show that's as popular as this one - especially one where people have specifically been praising the excellent blu-ray releases and where they've ALREADY got all the remastering work done for the rest of the episodes. From a purely monetary perspective, I just don't understand why they would purposefully cut out a segment of their profits! The shows have already been out on DVD before (granted in much worse quality, but still...). They've NOT been out on Blu-ray before. And it seems silly to stop when they are so close to finishing the series out.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

I emailed the PR rep who handles Lionsgate titles (and specifically Little House) -- he confirmed to me there is no Blu-Ray coming of Season 7, just the DVD. Also, Lionsgate is going to inform Amazon and have the listing taken down.

So, I hate to be the bearer of bad news -- but it's over. Or if it isn't, it's news to all of them.

Season 7 may not have been the best season but there are some excellent episodes mixed in. Lionsgate has lost my business for life in regards to TV shows on blu-ray, or any future format. Never, ever again will I trust buying their tv releases, because they have proven that they will not follow through with future seasons.

They did that with That 70's show on blu-ray and now Little House on the prairie. Screw Lionsgate.

BTW, here's a post I made back in August of last year in the season 3 thread:

"I will be P-I-S-S-E-D if they don't release all 9 seasons on blu-ray. That would be a pretty nasty thing to do to those of us who have supported it this far. I don't want lousy low-bitrate digital files with DRM or streaming. I want the series on my shelf.

What's the point of the "meticulous" restoration if they're just going to dump it onto a low-bitrate file anyways? I wouldn't even know how to purchase digital and I don't want to know. I don't have itunes, Hulu, or anything else. I want discs.

This has me very worried. Same thing happened with that 70's show. If they do this with Little House I will never buy another classic series again on blu-ray unless it's a complete box set up front."

I'm keeping my promise. No more Lionsgate tv releases for me.

Also, I was in Target tonight. Just for giggles I looked for Little House. They had a few random seasons available on DVD only (on sale), but not one season on blu-ray! Gee, I wonder why the DVDs are outselling blu-ray?

[rdodolak]

What's awkward is that these seasons have already been remastered in HD yet Lionsgate won't be releasing the last third of the series on an HD format (Blu-ray). Instead they'll stick with the old, and inferior, SD format (DVD).

This was my biggest pet peeve with Fox who would commonly release partial seasons on Blu-ray and then stop. Hence the reason why I and many others stopped picking up the season sets right away as they've educated us that they'll never follow through with the entire series.

Can't wait for the inferior format to die off so we don't have to be concerned about these kind of things.