The West Wing...?

[Vegtramer]

I tried searching the forums for anything related to The West Wing and a possible future blu-ray release but found nothing. Does anyone know or has anyone heard or read anything about a release date for the series?

It's a brilliant show but with multiple viewings I have begun to notice the lacking picture quality and it's beginning to irritate me slightly.

Thank you in advance...

[Deathzorz]

I've been looking for information on this as well and have come up with nothing. There were rumors a couple years back that Season 7 may come out in HD DVD but those were quickly denied, and obviously the denial has held up to the test of time.

I can't imagine what's holding Warner up... this was an award winning series with a devout following (even today) and releasing it would net some serious profits... maybe they're waiting for the Holiday Season?

[Vegtramer]

I thought that I would bring this thread back as I am still looking for this title on blu-ray and still have found nothing. It has been a couple of months now and just maybe someone knows something new?
Now that band of brothers is being released all I really need on blu - as TV-series goes - is the West Wing.

Anyone?

[bg_nyc]

I never watched one episode of West Wing. But my wife and I are considering buying the complete set on Amazon for $150 (used). But I'm not looking forward to watching the 480p on my 52" HDTV. Shows like Mad Men and Lost have spoiled me. I'd gladly much more if i can get West Wing in 1080p.

[KamiAmaya]

Originally Posted by bg_nyc

I never watched one episode of West Wing. But my wife and I are considering buying the complete set on Amazon for $150 (used). But I'm not looking forward to watching the 480p on my 52" HDTV. Shows like Mad Men and Lost have spoiled me. I'd gladly much more if i can get West Wing in 1080p.

It's a great show, I watched all 7 seasons back in June in one week

I thought about buying the set too, amazon had it as a Gold Box deal of the day recently. But I'm trying to hold out, hopefully it will be on Blu-ray soon enough.

[Deathzorz]

Originally Posted by bg_nyc

I never watched one episode of West Wing. But my wife and I are considering buying the complete set on Amazon for $150 (used). But I'm not looking forward to watching the 480p on my 52" HDTV. Shows like Mad Men and Lost have spoiled me. I'd gladly much more if i can get West Wing in 1080p.

If you haven't seen a single episode, I would at least try to rent it from Blockbuster or something (maybe Season 1 if you can) before you commit so much money to a series you may not enjoy.

So far, I've looked around and no news yet on a Blu-Ray release for the West Wing. Band of Brothers comes out in 4 days - maybe we can hope for a West Wing for the holidays?

- DZ

[Deathzorz]

The holidays have come and gone and there are no release dates to be seen for The West Wing.

What could Warner Bros be waiting for I wonder... maybe it's a technical issue? The early seasons are in 4:3 ratio, maybe that's a problem? At least that's the case in the DVD set.

/sigh - Maybe I can contact someone at Warner Bros...

[Vegtramer]

Once again reviving this thread. It's been another two months since the last post and the waiting has yet again fueled a faint hope that someone might know something new.

Deathzorz - did you ever lunge out at someone at Warner Brothers? And if so, any luck?

It's been eight months since I've watched my West Wing box set and I'm beginning to feel the urge again... Would be great if it could be in HD this time...

Anyone?

[cbcmariners77]

Originally Posted by Deathzorz

If you haven't seen a single episode, I would at least try to rent it from Blockbuster or something (maybe Season 1 if you can) before you commit so much money to a series you may not enjoy.

- DZ

If they don't enjoy the series, spending the money on the first season is the least of their problems .

[Deathzorz]

Well we've made it to Christmas of '09, and we're still without our BluRay West Wing. I find it pretty amusing that a Google search of "The West Wing Blu Ray" shows this thread as the first result. Ha!

Any bets on when they'll finally release it? I've got my money on Christmas 2011.

EDIT: Wow, found this little nugget of information on blu-ray.com: https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3814

VERY interesting... it mentions West Wing was shot on film, not video. Can someone tell me what that means? I assume it has something to do with how difficult it is to release in a blu-ray format. Anyway, perhaps my 2011 prediction will be a year too far!

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by Deathzorz

VERY interesting... it mentions West Wing was shot on film, not video. Can someone tell me what that means? I assume it has something to do with how difficult it is to release in a blu-ray format. Anyway, perhaps my 2011 prediction will be a year too far!

If it was shot on film it can be put onto Blu-ray in a better quality in the first place. It just depends on whether they edited on video or not. Otherwise they'd need to re-edit everything, and I just don't see that happening.

[BriMercer]

Six out of the seven West Wing seasons were originally broadcast in HD; you think it wouldn't take that much work to releasing this series in Blu-ray. I've been watching the series again on my 63" plasma and, while it holds up nicely on a 40" TV, on a 63" (even with up-scaling) it looks pretty bad. It's like VHS, especially the darker scenes. I can't help but imagine how good it might look in Blu-ray.

A search of The Net for clues for when this might happen bears no fruit.

[Hooch504]

Does anyone know if The West Wing will come out on BD? I have the whole series on DVD but watching on my new Sony 40" Bravia really shows the limitation of standard definition. It's watchable but I'm wondering if a Blu-version is in the future. This show premiered in 1999 so I'm not sure what a Blu-treatment would do to it, but I'd probably buy it without even waiting for the reviews.

Thanks!

[ducdebrabant]

They can make a Blu-ray out of anything shot on film, and out of anything shot in hi-def video. When a show is shot on lower-def video, is there anything they can really do that would justify a Blu-ray?

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by ducdebrabant

They can make a Blu-ray out of anything shot on film, and out of anything shot in hi-def video. When a show is shot on lower-def video, is there anything they can really do that would justify a Blu-ray?

Out of interest, can you (or anyone else) tell me when shooting in hi-def video rather than standard-def video became more or less the standard approach. My impression is that the switchover happened in the early 2000's but I could well be wrong.

I'm interested partly because, in addition to films and TV series, I'm also collecting classical music concerts and opera performances on Blu-ray now, and I'd like to know from how far back I can expect such performances to re-appear on Blu-ray.

[Hooch504]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

Out of interest, can you (or anyone else) tell me when shooting in hi-def video rather than standard-def video became more or less the standard approach. My impression is that the switchover happened in the early 2000's but I could well be wrong.

I'm interested partly because, in addition to films and TV series, I'm also collecting classical music concerts and opera performances on Blu-ray now, and I'd like to know from how far back I can expect such performances to re-appear on Blu-ray.

I agree with all that was said here, however my original question of if TWW will ever come out on Blu is still unanswered. I haven't anything so that was why I was asking.

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by Hooch504

I agree with all that was said here, however my original question of if TWW will ever come out on Blu is still unanswered. I haven't anything so that was why I was asking.

The West Wing was shot on film as far as I know (most US TV shows are), so there's probably a fair chance that it will be remastered for Blu-ray at some point - just when is anyone's guess.

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

Out of interest, can you (or anyone else) tell me when shooting in hi-def video rather than standard-def video became more or less the standard approach. My impression is that the switchover happened in the early 2000's but I could well be wrong.

I'm interested partly because, in addition to films and TV series, I'm also collecting classical music concerts and opera performances on Blu-ray now, and I'd like to know from how far back I can expect such performances to re-appear on Blu-ray.

It depends on each respective television show or production. There is no one answer, unfortunately.

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

It depends on each respective television show or production. There is no one answer, unfortunately.

I've done a quick survey of performances of my favourite operas that have been released on Blu-ray, and the earliest ones date from 2002. So it may be that 2002 was when shooting in HD digital video became pretty much the standard for the major production companies.

I suppose earlier concerts and opera performances could benefit from being re-released on Blu-ray with remastered lossless audio. However, the Blu-ray format has always been marketed as being primarily about HD video, so somehow I don't see that happening.

[knifethrower]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

Out of interest, can you (or anyone else) tell me when shooting in hi-def video rather than standard-def video became more or less the standard approach. My impression is that the switchover happened in the early 2000's but I could well be wrong.

I'm interested partly because, in addition to films and TV series, I'm also collecting classical music concerts and opera performances on Blu-ray now, and I'd like to know from how far back I can expect such performances to re-appear on Blu-ray.

As long as it was shot originally on film you could theoretically see an HD transfer. The issue gets complicated by editing and other weird things. Some content was originally shot on film but edited on tape (ST:TNG comes to mind, most if not all of the editing/vfx work was done on tape, Life on Mars is another) so an HD transfer would mean having to go back and entirely reworking the edits. Some content technically exists on film but is actually just a recording off a special tv screen (go look up Kinescope), it's tricky. I doubt it will happen but if the rights holders wanted to you could see HD transfers of shows as old as "I Love Lucy" or "The Honeymooners" (both were shot directly on 35mm) but I can't see that happening any time soon.