Dragon Ball Z on Blu-ray

[Harvey Plissken]

My apologies if this isn't the forum to bring up, but has anyone done Blu-Ray covers for the Boo Arc of Dragon Ball Kai that matches up with the Kai seasons 1-4 sets? Having TFC parts line up with seasons 1-4 of Kai is making my OCD kick in.

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Funi had earlier tape masters for the first uncut 13 eps and Movie 1 using Digibeta tapes (created for editing into the 1995 dubs, distributed by Kidmark on video) and these were reused for the 2001 dub, hence why they're higher quality than the later eps. On a side note, Funi made edited versions of these first 13 eps with the 2001 dub which only aired on Toonami, and the uncut versions (which first did get an Australian DVD release) were not released on home video in the US until Kidmark/Lionsgate's rights expired in 2008.

When Funi were going full swing with their new DB dub, they needed to get the 16mm IPs on loan from Toei for the rest of the episodes, but had to return them after transferring to tapes (it was confirmed they also did the same for DB GT). These were transferred quick and dirty on composite masters full of rainbowing, and look far worse than the 13 done on Digibetas in 1995.

The Blue Bricks have the first 13 eps mostly untouched from the 1995 Digibeta masters, while ep 14 on up are heavily DNR'd versions of the later composite masters with tons of rainbowing and dot crawl artifacts still visible. The same was done for the GT Green bricks, and they too look like utter garbage.

Granted DB and GT were kept OAR, but overall the bricks collections look far, FAR worse than the Z Orange Bricks and BD sets ever had (and at least those, being widescreen cropped, were proper film transfers!)

[GeoffOliver]

Originally Posted by SpaceBlackKnight

Funi had earlier tape masters masters for the first uncut 13 eps and Movie 1 using Digibeta tapes (created for editing into the 1995 dubs, distributed by Kidmark on video) and these were reused for the 2001 dub, hence why they're higher quality than the later eps. On a side note, Funi made edited versions of these first 13 eps with the 2001 dub which only aired on Toonami, and the uncut versions (which first did get an Australian DVD release) were not released on home video in the US until Kidmark/Lionsgate's rights expired in 2008.

When Funi were going full swing with their new DB dub, they needed to get the 16mm IPs on loan from Toei for the rest of the episodes, but had to return them after transferring to tapes (it was confirmed they also did the same for DB GT). These were transferred quick and dirty on composite masters full of rainbowing, and look far worse than the 13 done on Digibetas in 1995.

The Blue Bricks have the first 13 eps mostly untouched from the 1995 Digibeta masters, while ep 14 on up are heavily DNR'd versions of the later composite masters with tons of rainbowing and dot crawl artifacts still visible. The same was done for the GT Yellow bricks, and they too look like utter garbage.

Granted DB and GT were kept OAR, but overall the bricks collections look far, FAR worse than the Z Orange Bricks and BD sets ever had (and at least those, being widescreen cropped, were proper film transfers!)

Yeah I remember watching a BTS featurette on DBGT that mentioned that the film was transferred to tape.

Behind the scenes oF DBGT - YouTube

[mikezilla2]

Originally Posted by SpaceBlackKnight

Funi had earlier tape masters masters for the first uncut 13 eps and Movie 1 using Digibeta tapes (created for editing into the 1995 dubs, distributed by Kidmark on video) and these were reused for the 2001 dub, hence why they're higher quality than the later eps. On a side note, Funi made edited versions of these first 13 eps with the 2001 dub which only aired on Toonami, and the uncut versions (which first did get an Australian DVD release) were not released on home video in the US until Kidmark/Lionsgate's rights expired in 2008.

When Funi were going full swing with their new DB dub, they needed to get the 16mm IPs on loan from Toei for the rest of the episodes, but had to return them after transferring to tapes (it was confirmed they also did the same for DB GT). These were transferred quick and dirty on composite masters full of rainbowing, and look far worse than the 13 done on Digibetas in 1995.

The Blue Bricks have the first 13 eps mostly untouched from the 1995 Digibeta masters, while ep 14 on up are heavily DNR'd versions of the later composite masters with tons of rainbowing and dot crawl artifacts still visible. The same was done for the GT Yellow bricks, and they too look like utter garbage.

Granted DB and GT were kept OAR, but overall the bricks collections look far, FAR worse than the Z Orange Bricks and BD sets ever had (and at least those, being widescreen cropped, were proper film transfers!)

are you referring to the UK market ? because the GT bricks in the US and AUS were erm ... green ....

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Originally Posted by mikezilla2

are you referring to the UK market ? because the GT bricks in the US and AUS were erm ... green ....

Derp, they were Green. I swore they were Yellow, but I just double checked and it turns out those were the UK Manga ones as you said.

[Gowho]

Different shades of green and technically, it's yellow green so you're not exactly wrong.

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by mikezilla2

are you referring to the UK market ? because the GT bricks in the US and AUS were erm ... green ....

Lime green, technically.

Australia - green
U.S. - green
U.K. - green

I thought the Australian release was yellow because that's how it looks like on Madman's website, but looking on eBay, it's actually closer to the American/British releases.

Physical sets:

Digital preview from Madman:

[gloomranger]

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

Lime green, technically.

More of a chartreuse, if we’re going to be technical about it.

[Kriztoffer Swank]

I haven't watched my Funi DB Saga DVDs in a while, but I remember doing a quick test and preferring those to the blue bricks. It's good to know the info about the first 13 eps on the blue brick, though. The alternative is the NTSC-to-PAL (and for my viewing, converted back to NTSC with ghosting galore) Australian Madman Saga DVD, which doesn't look too hot.

Is it known if the new DBGT DVD is just a repackage of the old discs?

[BigOnAnime]

The new Dragon Ball GT DVDs if the Dragon Ball Super SteelBook set is anything to go by will be mostly the same, but every single reference to FUNimation on the discs outside of the ending credits will be scrubbed away in favor of the Crunchyroll logo. Won't surprise me if they actually do change the credits this time to say "English Version by Crunchyroll, LLC" because yes, Crunchyroll existed when FUNimation licensed Dragon Ball GT.

[Show spoiler]

[Kriztoffer Swank]

Broke out the different DB DVDs I have and came to the same conclusion I had before: the FUNimation Saga sets are the best option, and it's a shame the Kidmark mess prevented them from releasing the Saga of Goku (first 13 episodes) while they were releasing these Saga sets.

FUNi Sagas have the most grain (though not the most well-compressed), little to no color banding, and retain the Japanese title cards and textless ending, as opposed to the blue bricks which have English title cards and English credits on the ending even when Japanese is selected.

Madman released the same masters in Australia but converted to PAL. They DID get to release Saga of Goku but again, converted to PAL so it's not optimal. It shows healthy grain, Japanese title cards/textless ED, and is much preferable to the blue brick release of those 13 eps. My only issue is I'm watching them on a PAL-to-NTSC DVD player so you get blended frames ever so often, so I wonder if I have a 50Hz compatible monitor somewhere to run the DVDs raw without converting, or if some software like VLC can mitigate the frame blending.

The blue bricks are just ugly all around. Grain reduction, awful compression, banding, macroblocking, English-only title cards and ED. I bought the first volume to have an NTSC copy of the first 13 eps but I've never actually watched it aside from comparing to the Madman release, which is my preference. If FUNi had been allowed to release the Saga of Goku alongside the other Saga sets, that would have been ideal. Sure, they don't have all the OP and ED footage, but they're overall a good way to watch the show...if you can find them for a decent price.

[TravisTylerBlack]

Originally Posted by Kriztoffer Swank

The blue bricks are just ugly all around. Grain reduction, awful compression, banding, macroblocking, English-only title cards and ED. I bought the first volume to have an NTSC copy of the first 13 eps but I've never actually watched it aside from comparing to the Madman release, which is my preference. If FUNi had been allowed to release the Saga of Goku alongside the other Saga sets, that would have been ideal. Sure, they don't have all the OP and ED footage, but they're overall a good way to watch the show...if you can find them for a decent price.

Let's be honest. There's really no good way to watch the original Dragon Ball via any of the releases that Funimation has issued over the years - especially now that the original broadcast audio is out in the world.

The AB blu-rays are the very first physical DB release to have both great video and sound. Anyone looking to view the show (via physical media) at this point should either import via amazon France or simply wait and see if a more English friendly release materializes.

[Glorian]

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

The AB blu-rays are the very first physical DB release to have both great video and sound. Anyone looking to view the show (via physical media) at this point should either import via amazon France or simply wait and see if a more English friendly release materializes.

I don't really feel like the French release is a viable option for the vast majority of people; I'm glad they got such a high grade release, but without English support, it's the same as no release at all for me.

While it would be nice if that version were to get an English friendly release, I think it's almost certain that if we get anything at all, it'll be based on the German release, which I believe is based on the Spanish BD? Not sure what the consensus on that was, beyond it not being as good as the French release.

[Kriztoffer Swank]

The Saga sets aren't exactly viable because they're OOP and ancient, but as far as English-friendly releases go, they're probably the best at this time and I'm glad to have 'em. Having the French upscales with English subs and dub would be great, but you'd have to add those yourself if you got the French discs.

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

Let's be honest. There's really no good way to watch the original Dragon Ball via any of the releases that Funimation has issued over the years - especially now that the original broadcast audio is out in the world.

The AB blu-rays are the very first physical DB release to have both great video and sound. Anyone looking to view the show (via physical media) at this point should either import via amazon France or simply wait and see if a more English friendly release materializes.

I quite liked the Saga Sets of Dragon Ball though I have to admit it's a flawed and incomplete release. It's missing content that the Dbox have.

[eledoremassis02]

With Crunchyroll re-releasing the Saga GT Sets, perhaps Dragon Ball will follow.

[TravisTylerBlack]

Originally Posted by eledoremassis02

With Crunchyroll re-releasing the Saga GT Sets, perhaps Dragon Ball will follow.

Are the saga GT sets different from the yellow/green bricks? Niether of them use the Dragon Box masters, correct?

[eledoremassis02]

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

Are the saga GT sets different from the yellow/green bricks? Niether of them use the Dragon Box masters, correct?

The Season sets are the yellow/green bricks. They use the same scan the Dragon Box uses (but not cleaned up + DNR - Next Episode Previews)

The singles had no DNR and Next Episode Previews but poor encoding/compression

[Gowho]

Originally Posted by eledoremassis02

The Season sets are the yellow/green bricks. They use the same scan the Dragon Box uses (but not cleaned up + DNR - Next Episode Previews)

The singles had no DNR and Next Episode Previews but poor encoding/compression

Also to add, the original single for A Hero's Legacy had the show's opening missing and while it is somewhat restored on the bricks, it's missing the "Dragon Ball GT Special" short intro that plays before it. If you watch with the Japanese audio it's more noticeable since it's why there's sound effects at the start.

[eledoremassis02]

Originally Posted by Gowho

Also to add, the original single for A Hero's Legacy had the show's opening missing and while it is somewhat restored on the bricks, it's missing the "Dragon Ball GT Special" short intro that plays before it. If you watch with the Japanese audio it's more noticeable since it's why there's sound effects at the start.

Oh wow, I never knew that!