Future Man Season 1 and 2 - Blu-Ray

[Rick Grimes]

I caught an episode of this show on the Comedy Channel on Foxtel (SD only channel), and I quite enjoyed it. The show is akin to an Ash vs. Evil Dead style comedy (half-hour eps), but instead of Horror-Comedy, the genre mix is Sci-Fi and Comedy. The original source for the show is Hulu (US streaming audio platform). Thanks to Sony and ViaVision (Madman), we have it here in Australia on BD, exclusively AND NOW Season 2 is on it’s way to BD Early August 2019.

With Seth Rogen as producer/co-creator, there are quite a few laughs. With some great casting of comedy greats including Ed Begley Jr. Definitely worth the $30 for the BD.

I do have one beef with the transfer however. While the PQ is great, the Dolby True HD 5.1 sounds fantastic, the Blu-Ray is 1.78:1, while the OAR is 2.35:1.

After having a quick look through Disc 1 at various scenes, it appears the show was created with a lot of safe space (future proofing for 21:9 TV’s perhaps), since the show can be squeezed onto a 16:9 AKA 1.78:1 palette. Only problem is, the show does look a little cramped at times, especially when you can just barely see the backs of characters heads in the frame during some conversations.

Ideally, the show should have been transferred as it is streamed (2.35:1), but at the same time, it is evident that they shot the show taking into consideration that it may be aired at 1.78:1. Pretty sure they simply crop info on the left and right of frame, while keeping top and bottom info intact. However, I would like to see some comparisons before confirming for a fact that that is what Sony did for the BD.

[Mobe1969]

That is odd on the oar.

I wish there was some way you could say add a subtitle stream for masking. I recall Anchor Bay did that on the Reanimator DVD.

[Rick Grimes]

Future Man Season 2 has the same issue as Season 1 regarding OAR (is in 1.78:1 aspect ratio on the BD and the OAR is 2:35:1). I checked a few eps again and for the most part, it isn’t too bad, but there was one scene where part of a face is partially obscured and when a young girl runs on screen, half of her is out of frame.

Biggest disappointment is the audio. For Season 2 we get a 5.1 lossy (DD 5.1 448Kbps and uncompressed PCM 5.1). The lossy is a shame since there is a fair amount of sound spread across the soundscape in many of the action sequences. I compared one sequence and I preferred the lossy, purely because having multichannel audio enhanced the action visuals on screen.
Why they didn’t do a Dolby TrueHD track like last time is beyond me. Would be really pissed if it was to fit the 2.0 LPCM (1.5Mbps).

Until another distributor on planet Earth decides to release Future Man on BD, the Aussie BD release will have to do.

Note: Aussie cable broadcasts Future Man in SD only (on The Comedy Channel), and downloads to my STU in 1.78:1 (broadcast is also 1.78:1).

[Dynamo of Eternia]

I imported the Blu-Ray set of season 1, which was region free (or at least works in region A in addition to B).

This listing here on Blu-Ray.com for season 2 states that it is region B locked. Can anyone confirm if that is in fact the case?

[Rick Grimes]

Just checked my copy of Future Man Season 2 on my US model Sony Blu-Ray player and it definitely doesn't play on a Region A player.

Message reads: This Blu-Ray Disc is playable on REGION B PLAYERS ONLY. Africa, Europe, Oceania, Middle East, Kingdom of the Netherlands, British Overseas Territories, French Territories, Greenland

[leethompson]

Love the show but the OAR change is a deal breaker.

It's bad enough when studios crop 1.85 to 1.78 but 2.35 to 1.78 is the old pan & scan nightmare all over again.

[Mobe1969]

If open matte I wouldn't mind so much, but if it is pan and scan, that is pretty nasty.

I've not seen any comparisons, but givne that I have seen in some scenes artifacts of it being shot using anamorphic lenses in some scenes (eg vertically elliptical distant out of focus lights), I'd tend to think it must be being cropped. Unless there is some other way those artifacts occur

[SillyG]

Originally Posted by leethompson

It's bad enough when studios crop 1.85 to 1.78 but 2.35 to 1.78 is the old pan & scan nightmare all over again.

I have a camera that can film at 4096x2160, so, if blank UHDs are eventually released, I will have to crop everything to 3840x2160 as retaining the OAR will likely result in scaling artefacts and harm the integrity of the image much more so than cropping a bit of it (unfortunately, it's an either-or situation, and some form of compromise needs to be made due to the limitations of home media). I remember being really excited when I first found out about "4K" TVs as I immediately thought that it meant that TVs were going to become even wider so that most theatrical films can finally be seen in their native resolution in the home. Needless to say that I was quite disappointed.

I generally don't crop 4096x2160 content when burning them to Blu-ray though as downscaling to 1920x1080 doesn't result in any particularly discernible scaling arefacts due to the substantial difference in resolution.

Likewise, when uploading 4096x2160 content to YouTube, I crop them to 3840x2160 as the overwhelming majority of monitors are 16:9, and even though YouTube supports variable aspect ratios and resolutions, I don't like the idea of 4096x2160 content being letterboxed to 3840x2160 after YouTube's compression algorithms have worked their magic (in addition to the other visual imperfections that it introduces) merely to appease the extreme minority who may have a 4096x2160 monitor (in which case, I would be more inclined to upload both cropped and uncropped versions, but, again, I see little point in appeasing a negligible minority).

As an enthusiast, I understand the struggle of presenting my work in the best possible fashion, so perhaps the studios may have their reasons for cropping from, say, 1.85 to 1.78 due to the limitations of the master that is available to them and adhering to the constraints of home media. Of course, I am not excusing the cropping of Future Man, and more extreme examples such as cropping from 2.35 to 1.78 are inexcusable in my eyes, but I hope my experience provides a little bit of insight as to why cropping is sometimes an unavoidable necessity.

[Auss1e]

Season 3 will hit Blu-Ray on September 16th. Have added it to the database below. Nowhere to pre-order just yet.

[Rick Grimes]

The 2.35:1 to 1.78:1 was not a deal breaker for me, since it was broadcast in Australia on cable in SD (The Comedy Channel) in 1.78:1. At least I can watch the show in 1080/24p on BD.

[Rick Grimes]

Bought Season 3. It states 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio on the back, I popped it in and it is the correct aspect ratio. Pity they couldn’t get it right for the first two seasons.

Sadly, only has a lossy, like S2 did (DD 5.1 448 Kbps), although it does have an LPCM 2.0 (48khz, 24 bit). Would have liked a 5.1 lossless track, but at least they finally got the aspect ratio right.

[mkc]

https://ascmag.com/podcasts/future-m...rdo-may%C3%A9n

I've only read the article (I haven't listened to the podcast), but it seems the whole show was framed for both 1.78:1 and 2.35:1. So technically 1.78:1 is correct.

I have only seen half of season 1, and the aspect ratio looks "correct" to me. For those who have seen season 3, does it necessitate 2.35:1 where 1.78:1 wouldn't have worked? If not, I honestly would (probably) have preferred a consistent aspect ratio across all seasons.

[GE Cafe]

The aspect ratio problem is incredibly frustrating. As is the region locking. I suppose I should sooner expect to see Dogma re-released on Blu before ever seeing a US release of Future Man.

[stevo4264]

Originally Posted by GE Cafe

The aspect ratio problem is incredibly frustrating. As is the region locking. I suppose I should sooner expect to see Dogma re-released on Blu before ever seeing a US release of Future Man.

I'd love to see Dogma get a release along with future man seasons 1 and 2 in it's original AR

[willbfree]

If anyone buys the complete series set, please let us know if the season 1 missing episode is fixed and what regions each season is. Thanks!

[mkc]

Originally Posted by willbfree

If anyone buys the complete series set, please let us know if the season 1 missing episode is fixed and what regions each season is. Thanks!

I bought the complete Blu-ray set. Season 1 is not missing any episodes.

Successful playback confirmed for all discs of all three seasons for Region A (and obviously) Region B. I have not tested Region C.

[willbfree]

Originally Posted by mkc

I bought the complete Blu-ray set. Season 1 is not missing any episodes.

Successful playback confirmed for all discs of all three seasons for Region A (and obviously) Region B. I have not tested Region C.

Thank you that is amazing and I am grateful to you for your thorough checking!

[UnionJackMix]

I just discovered this while looking at the stunning and hilarious Eliza Coupe roles, and I'd love to buy the Complete Series BD box set but VV's site has it as out of stock (which I've heard means it's gone) and I've only found it on jbhifi but they won't ship to europe. Amazon and ebay don't have it, not even resellers. I can buy the single seasons but I'd rather not. Any hints?

[Lenny Nero]

I've also only came across this great series last year, was at first excited it's available on Blu-ray - I like getting something like this, available only in one particular country on Earth. But was concerned about the aspect ratio right away, because Amazon stream and BDs both had 1.78, and Hulu had it in 2.35.
Since the OAR is also available in UHD with HDR10+, it's hard to justify paying $100 for the BD box.

Here are a couple screenshots from the first season, definitively showing it is cut on the sides - not 'a little more on top and bottom', not open matte, just blatantly cut off:

https://imagecurl.com/viewer.php?fil...5102031171.png

https://imagecurl.com/viewer.php?fil...2327421647.png