Any rumors about Buffy the Vampire Slayer show coming out on Blu-ray?

[Trentaferd]

I just read through this thread, and I wish I had something better to contribute than, "I'd really like this," but I haven't. Would buy.

[d514]

Originally Posted by theprestige85

As I understand it, Buffy being restored on blu ray would a costly one as the special effects were done in standard definition and there are 144 episodes to go through if they were to restore it to hi def PROPERLY. What they could do is what they did for Firefly (another show in which the effects were standard def) and restore the 16mm (seasons 1-2) and 35mm (seasons 3-7) prints and then leave the effects untouched. This would be less costly and the effects would appear more jarring BUT everything else will be a significantly upgrade.

There aren't that many optical effects on Buffy. Not as much as you think. A few vampires turning to dust every episode, that's about it. The transitions from normal face to vampire face often happen off screen, even the turning to dust often happens off screen. CGI is only used in a few episodes. So upscaled effects wouldn't be that bad on Buffy, I think.

[theprestige85]

Originally Posted by d514

There aren't that many optical effects on Buffy. Not as much as you think. A few vampires turning to dust every episode, that's about it. The transitions from normal face to vampire face often happen off screen, even the turning to dust often happens off screen. CGI is only used in a few episodes. So upscaled effects wouldn't be that bad on Buffy, I think.

I sure hope you are right. In any event, if we DO get Buffy on blu ray then I believe this is the most likely course they will take. And honestly, that's fine, because I think Firefly looks fine on blu ray from the screenshots i've seen. I just want this masterpiece of a show on blu ray already along with The Wire and Angel.

[iank]

I hope so too. I've said it before but there's just a handful of shows I'd re-buy on Blu - X Files, That 70s Show, Seinfeld... and Buffy.

[Dickieduvet]

http://www.quadruplez.com/2010/06/es...-never-be-blu/

[Geoff D]

That's a fairly old article Mr duvet sir, and a lot has changed since then. TNG's been rebuilt from scratch and X-Files has had a sort of hybrid approach to the visuals (some upscaling here, some new but low-rez VFX there), so there's no reason why Buffy can't get similar treatment.

They might as well stick with upscaling the dusting VFX, 'cause that could get complicated pretty quick if they redid it, and if they do go with widescreen (spit!) then at least the VFX was finished in 16:9 from S4 onwards.

[TylerDurden]

I've been watching some of the reruns on Netflix. I wonder how good a BD presentation would be. Also would they use 50gb discs? How many episodes would fit on one?

[Dickieduvet]

I didn't read the article Geoff I just found it whilst nosing around. Personally have no interest in this show and have never seen it lol

[blergedandlawyered]

Originally Posted by theprestige85

I sure hope you are right. In any event, if we DO get Buffy on blu ray then I believe this is the most likely course they will take. And honestly, that's fine, because I think Firefly looks fine on blu ray from the screenshots i've seen. I just want this masterpiece of a show on blu ray already along with The Wire and Angel.

Is that what they did for Firefly? Upscaled effects? Because I own the Firefly blu, and honestly it looks pretty great in my opinion. That being the case, if they took enough care upscaling said effects, Buffy'd probably fare well.

[theprestige85]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

That's a fairly old article Mr duvet sir, and a lot has changed since then. TNG's been rebuilt from scratch and X-Files has had a sort of hybrid approach to the visuals (some upscaling here, some new but low-rez VFX there), so there's no reason why Buffy can't get similar treatment.

They might as well stick with upscaling the dusting VFX, 'cause that could get complicated pretty quick if they redid it, and if they do go with widescreen (spit!) then at least the VFX was finished in 16:9 from S4 onwards.

Exactly. Especially given the fact that a lot of catelog television titles are being and on the road to be restored. X-Files, Little House On A Prarie, The Sopranos, various Star Trek series, etc.

Every 6 months that goes by the chances of Buffy being on blu ray go up. At this point it's a question of when rather than if. I'm more unsure on whether Angel will get the blu ray treatment since that show appealed to a much smaller demographic than Buffy did, despite being almost as good quality wise.

The widescreen thing is controversial much like the X-files one On one hand, i'm a purist and would prefer that they used the correct aspect ratio (even though the latter seasons were protected for widescreen, Whedon has been very vocal about preferring 4:3 for the show as that was the main intent throughout 7 seasons with the exception of the musical episode), on the other hand, I personally think that Buffy responds very well to the widescreen format from season 4-7. It's quite a cinematic show and the widescreen format only serves to support that.

I've been watching some of the reruns on Netflix. I wonder how good a BD presentation would be. Also would they use 50gb discs? How many episodes would fit on one?

A blu ray presentation for Buffy would, i'm sure, make Buffy a revelation to not just people who have seen the show, but to all the fans who have appreciated it for years. The earlier seasons will only look so good as I believe they were 16mm and show on inexpensive film stock, but they'll still be night and day compared to DVD releases. By season 3/4, the show's production values increased significantly so you'll see the full benefits of 1080p by then.

I reckon 4 episodes per 50g disc should be decent. The show is 45 mins per ep which should be fine for a 50g disc. At least that's how I would go about it.

Is that what they did for Firefly? Upscaled effects? Because I own the Firefly blu, and honestly it looks pretty great in my opinion. That being the case, if they took enough care upscaling said effects, Buffy'd probably fare well.

Yeah they did. I agree, it looks decent and I wouldn't have thought the upscaled bits would look good but they do. Nowhere as jarring as I would have thought.

I didn't read the article Geoff I just found it whilst nosing around. Personally have no interest in this show and have never seen it lol

Huh?

[KenHurd]

Personally, I hope they stick with the 4:3 aspect ratio, since that's Joss Whedon's preference. Angel Seasons 2 - 5 should be in widescreen, though. I know season 5 of Angel has an HD master, since it's available on Amazon in HD, but I'm not sure if any of the other seasons have been mastered in HD yet. And it is only a matter of time before the entire series of both Buffy and Angel get remastered in HD, simply because of HD syndication.

I think the 16mm footage for the first 3 seasons of Buffy would look great, it would just be more grainy. Judging by movies that have been released on blu-ray that were shot on 16mm (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, etc.), there is definitely room for improvement over the DVD. I've watched Firefly, and if going the upscaling route is the only way to get this series on blu-ray, then I'm fine with that. I had no issues with Firefly.

Whether they release the series in a complete box set or do each season individually, like what they've done with all of the Star Treks, this would be a day one purchase!

[Geoff D]

Yeah, they shot on 16mm (as did a fair amount of other shows at that time) because it was cheaper than 35mm, but that doesn't mean the stock itself was cheap. Give those first few seasons a good honest 2K transfer and they'd look really nice IMO.

[iank]

I'm afraid I would be very unimpressed with a Blu that was 4:3. I've had the widescreen DVDs for more than a decade and that's how Buffy looks now, regardless of Whedon's weird preference.
I'm afraid if we only got a 4:3 Blu I'd probably stick with the DVDs.

[Geoff D]

I've had the 4:3 R1 DVDs for more than a decade, and that's how Buffy has always looked, in keeping with Whedon's preferred ratio.

I'd buy a 4:3 Blu-ray version in a heartbeat. But if 16:9 was all we were ever gonna get (I have a funny feeling that X-Files will go the same way) then I'd still buy it.

[theprestige85]

Originally Posted by iank

I'm afraid I would be very unimpressed with a Blu that was 4:3. I've had the widescreen DVDs for more than a decade and that's how Buffy looks now, regardless of Whedon's weird preference.
I'm afraid if we only got a 4:3 Blu I'd probably stick with the DVDs.

Seasons 4-7 are the only ones you can see on widescreen. The show was always intended for 4:3 though. 4:3 with, as Geoff D says, 'good honest 2k transfers' will still look awesome. There are tons of 4:3 films transferred to blu ray that look great. I'm a purist at heart so if given the choice i'd go for 4:3, but I certainly wouldn't cry if the widescreen versions were released instead as it DOES look good, regardless of Whedon's intent. I can't believe you wouldn't buy the blu ray if they didn't show it on widescreen though?? The DVDs are seriously awful, trust me, when you see the show restored, 4:3 or not, you'll want to upgrade.

[theprestige85]

Originally Posted by KenHurd

Personally, I hope they stick with the 4:3 aspect ratio, since that's Joss Whedon's preference. Angel Seasons 2 - 5 should be in widescreen, though. I know season 5 of Angel has an HD master, since it's available on Amazon in HD, but I'm not sure if any of the other seasons have been mastered in HD yet. And it is only a matter of time before the entire series of both Buffy and Angel get remastered in HD, simply because of HD syndication.

I think the 16mm footage for the first 3 seasons of Buffy would look great, it would just be more grainy. Judging by movies that have been released on blu-ray that were shot on 16mm (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, etc.), there is definitely room for improvement over the DVD. I've watched Firefly, and if going the upscaling route is the only way to get this series on blu-ray, then I'm fine with that. I had no issues with Firefly.

Whether they release the series in a complete box set or do each season individually, like what they've done with all of the Star Treks, this would be a day one purchase!

I believe it's just seasons 1 and 2 that were shot on 16mm, mate. They shot on 35mm from season 3 onwards. Season 4 is when it was shot to be protected for widescreen. But I agree completely, the 16mm images from the first couple of seasons would see a huge improvement if scanned at 2k and boosted to 1080p. Imagine Buffy with all that fine grain structure, strong colour and contrast. Would be stunning. Theres a scene in the season 1 episode Angel where both Buffy and Angel are hiding out at Buffy's house. The natural lighting that comes through the blinds of her window really gives it an authentic and beautiful look, even on the weak arse DVDs. I'm excited.

[Doctor Jack]

I hope so very much we get this one day...in 4:3. That is how it was meant to be seen. Not 16:9 with issues on some shots with the extra information. We Juarez need the slayer on blu already.

[iank]

With all these shows like Seinfeld, X Files, Friends, That 70s Show etc being rendered widescreen for HD TV and Blu-ray (and extremely impressively too from what I've seen) I just think releasing something that has already been released in widescreen for the last decade or so in 4:3 would be a massive retrograde step.

[kngtmat]

In 4:3 or 16:9. I would be glad if it finally comes to Blu-Ray as my player can take the 4:3 image box and display it on the whole tv screen.


Looking at that link. The scene with Xander with the Initiative behind him and those stage lights wouldn't bother me. Especially when it's a dream and since the Initiative was an underground facility that it makes sense that there would be some seen in parts of it.

[theprestige85]

Originally Posted by kngtmat

Looking at that link. The scene with Xander with the Initiative behind him and those stage lights wouldn't bother me. Especially when it's a dream and since the Initiative was an underground facility that it makes sense that there would be some seen in parts of it.

Yeah, I actually don't really notice stuff like that when watching the latter seasons on widescreen, which, I must say, isn't by choice as the UK DVDs are actually in widescreen without the option of seeing them on 4:3, at least seasons 4-7 are.

I think when people notice stuff like the Xander/Intiative scene on the widescreen versions it reflects how much they are immersed into the actual story.

Like I said, I would ideally prefer the intended 4:3 ratio, but I certainly wouldn't be distressed if some of those seasons were released widescreen. Either way these blu rays will be a day one buy because the Buffy series is the single most definitive blu ray I have ever wanted, and yes, even more than the G word