Question:
Which boxset should I buy ?
The R1 or R2 Babylon 5 ?
R2 is cheaper!! £33.99 delivered at www.dvd.co.uk:smokin:
R2 even cheaper (by a £1) at Splash (http://www.splashdvd.com/splash/search.cfm?item_id=D022855&act=detail)
Money isn't really the problem here.
What I want to know is which is the better set with regards to quality/extras/package etc...?
extras are the same. Somewhere on the web (don't have the link, sorry) there's a page about the R2 being better for the FX and R1 better for the live action. (something to do with the conversion).
Personally, I think no one (except maybe people with huuuuge screens) will notice the difference. Go R2 if it's cheaper.
Based on the way The Next Gen boxsets turned out, my advice would be to wait until it is released and then read the reviews of the picture quality on both Regions.
You can never trust a an R2 conversion of a tv show. It may be better of it's native unconverted region, ie NTSC
This is definately the case for Dune mini-series and Next Gen.
Cheers People :)
Originally posted by The Karate Kid
Based on the way The Next Gen boxsets turned out, my advice would be to wait until it is released and then read the reviews of the picture quality on both Regions.
You can never trust a an R2 conversion of a tv show. It may be better of it's native unconverted region, ie NTSC
This is definately the case for Dune mini-series and Next Gen. On TNG the consesus seemed to be that R1 colours were a bit more vibrant but R2 was a bit more natural(less aliasing etc.).
On B5 the cg shots have to be upscaled in both R1 and R2 due to the anamorphic 16:9, so R1 has no built in advantage for those shots.
I was just talking about the NTSC-PAL conversion. Not sure what machine they will be using for the job.
I'm going for R2 myself as you said £34 is a bargain for ths series....
I've got them all on VHS (shuddder) and the pic quality is ok so can't imagine the DVD image being worse....
It might be worth looking at the German version. It's VERY cheap, with PAL video and the same extras. The only thing I'm not sure about is the menu language and whether the extras will have any Germanification to them. Have a look at amazon.de, it's 36.44 EU including shipping! Surely worth a go for £24.
Anyone any experience with German disks?
Originally posted by Snorky
It might be worth looking at the German version. It's VERY cheap, with PAL video and the same extras. The only thing I'm not sure about is the menu language and whether the extras will have any Germanification to them. Have a look at amazon.de, it's 36.44 EU including shipping! Surely worth a go for £24.
Anyone any experience with German disks?
All German Warner Discs (not counting New Line Releases which this is not) have full support for English language. No need to worry!
I'd rather pay £6 more and get the UK rather than German version, to be honest.
If I want to sell it off, nobody (but a German) would want to buy it.
Besides, I don't want German writing all over my Babylon 5 DVDs.
Think I'll pay the extra £6. Rather than be annoyed that it will probably always default to German every time I put a disc in.:nono:
Originally posted by The Karate Kid
I'd rather pay £6 more and get the UK rather than German version, to be honest.
If I want to sell it off, nobody (but a German) would want to buy it.
Besides, I don't want German writing all over my Babylon 5 DVDs.
Think I'll pay the extra £6. Rather than be annoyed that it will probably always default to German every time I put a disc in.:nono:
Just a little info:
Probably the only part that will be in German only is the cover. Warner's DVD labels don't contain much information anyway and the series has the same name here. The DVD itself will NOT default to German. Almost all DVDs of the major studios are authored so that the language stored in the player is selected. I have my player set to English because I don't like dubs and this makes it easier to select the English language track.
Besides, at least one epidode of B5 (I think in Season 3) has been cut by the BBFC! So, if you really love the series you have to buy one foreign box anyway!
::
Yeah, but I'm the kind of person that gets annoyed with a canadian bi-lingual cover. So I'll get the R2, and if a season is cut, I'll order the R1 from amazon.
Theres no point in making a saving if your not going to be satisfied with what you end up with.
Originally posted by Graf Zahl
Besides, at least one epidode of B5 (I think in Season 3) has been cut by the BBFC. Well, the episodes have to be resubmitted anyway due to different aspect ratio, so theres no guarantee it won't pass uncut this time if Warner is prepared to accept a higher cert(I'm assuming it was cut to get a PG, yes?).
The R1 version of In the Beginning/The Gathering is definitely much better in it's native NTSC than the R2 transcoded versions. The CGI is similar in perceived quality on both but the live action scenes are noticeably grainier on the R2 version. If the same mastering process is used for the boxsets then the R1 will be the one to get if picture quality is paramount.
Still havn't found a decent price on the R1 though. R2 has a big price advantage currently.
If the same mastering process is used for the boxsets then the R1 will be the one to get if picture quality is paramount.
That's what I thought.
found this somewhere:
I'd personally opt for the R1 releases because the sequences finshed on 30fps video (ie. anything involving special effects) can't be DEFT converted to PAL and end up looking significantly poorer for it. It'll be the same for Babylon 5 when that gets released, since all the effects sequences have to come from the existing NTSC video masters (and also have to be cropped and stretched into 16:9, so the PAL versions might look quite nasty).
It's actually about TNG but the same applies to B5 apparently.
F. it! I'm going for the region 1. Sod the cost. Too good a show to suffer an inferior version.
Got my region 1 this morning. Some bad scratches on Disk 3 & 5 in transit (came off their spindles in the box) so back it'll go. :(
Somebody said something a while back in here about one of the disks being accidently a duplicate pressing in a batch of the region 1 sets. Which one is supposed to be the offender so that I can check this tonight?
Disk 4 was apparently a second disc 2 for some people.
Ie the disc that says 'disc 4' on the top actually is a repeat of disc 2 content wise.
James
Just had a quick scout through the six discs on the region 1 boxset. I checked a few of the scenes on a couple of episodes on each disc just to get a feel for what the general quality is like and I have to see it's like meeting an old friend. :) Very satisfying. Two negative comments. 1) The actual scene selection descriptions seem initially to be a bit "out". When you pick any scene, invariably, the action does not start where the picture in the menu suggests. I realised after a few selections that the picture in the menu relates to the key point in the scene as opposed to the start of the scene but initially I found this a little confusing. 2) The picture quality in some of the early episodes is a bit hit and miss. Normal space CGI and live action indoor sequences are fine apart from some intermittent scratches and flecks but some of the corridor gunfights in full CGI are quite obviously not live action. The picture quality apearing to be noticeably lower in resolution than the live action before and after the CGI scene. It's perfectly watchable but I do feel they could've taken a bit more care with the picture.
Jamesking420: Thanks. My set doesn't seem to suffer this.
Originally posted by Ron Hill
Somebody said something a while back in here about one of the disks being accidently a duplicate pressing in a batch of the region 1 sets. Which one is supposed to be the offender so that I can check this tonight?
That somebody was probably me. jamesking420 got it kind of wrong in his reply (in my case anyway). My Disc 2 is actually a copy of Disc 4. Disc 4 is fine.
Not heard from anyone else, so I assume it's just me. :(
The R1 or R2 Babylon 5 ?
Answers:
R2 is cheaper!! £33.99 delivered at www.dvd.co.uk:smokin:
Answers:
R2 even cheaper (by a £1) at Splash (http://www.splashdvd.com/splash/search.cfm?item_id=D022855&act=detail)
Answers:
Money isn't really the problem here.
What I want to know is which is the better set with regards to quality/extras/package etc...?
Answers:
extras are the same. Somewhere on the web (don't have the link, sorry) there's a page about the R2 being better for the FX and R1 better for the live action. (something to do with the conversion).
Personally, I think no one (except maybe people with huuuuge screens) will notice the difference. Go R2 if it's cheaper.
Answers:
Based on the way The Next Gen boxsets turned out, my advice would be to wait until it is released and then read the reviews of the picture quality on both Regions.
You can never trust a an R2 conversion of a tv show. It may be better of it's native unconverted region, ie NTSC
This is definately the case for Dune mini-series and Next Gen.
Answers:
Cheers People :)
Answers:
Originally posted by The Karate Kid
Based on the way The Next Gen boxsets turned out, my advice would be to wait until it is released and then read the reviews of the picture quality on both Regions.
You can never trust a an R2 conversion of a tv show. It may be better of it's native unconverted region, ie NTSC
This is definately the case for Dune mini-series and Next Gen. On TNG the consesus seemed to be that R1 colours were a bit more vibrant but R2 was a bit more natural(less aliasing etc.).
On B5 the cg shots have to be upscaled in both R1 and R2 due to the anamorphic 16:9, so R1 has no built in advantage for those shots.
Answers:
I was just talking about the NTSC-PAL conversion. Not sure what machine they will be using for the job.
Answers:
I'm going for R2 myself as you said £34 is a bargain for ths series....
I've got them all on VHS (shuddder) and the pic quality is ok so can't imagine the DVD image being worse....
Answers:
It might be worth looking at the German version. It's VERY cheap, with PAL video and the same extras. The only thing I'm not sure about is the menu language and whether the extras will have any Germanification to them. Have a look at amazon.de, it's 36.44 EU including shipping! Surely worth a go for £24.
Anyone any experience with German disks?
Answers:
Originally posted by Snorky
It might be worth looking at the German version. It's VERY cheap, with PAL video and the same extras. The only thing I'm not sure about is the menu language and whether the extras will have any Germanification to them. Have a look at amazon.de, it's 36.44 EU including shipping! Surely worth a go for £24.
Anyone any experience with German disks?
All German Warner Discs (not counting New Line Releases which this is not) have full support for English language. No need to worry!
Answers:
I'd rather pay £6 more and get the UK rather than German version, to be honest.
If I want to sell it off, nobody (but a German) would want to buy it.
Besides, I don't want German writing all over my Babylon 5 DVDs.
Think I'll pay the extra £6. Rather than be annoyed that it will probably always default to German every time I put a disc in.:nono:
Answers:
Originally posted by The Karate Kid
I'd rather pay £6 more and get the UK rather than German version, to be honest.
If I want to sell it off, nobody (but a German) would want to buy it.
Besides, I don't want German writing all over my Babylon 5 DVDs.
Think I'll pay the extra £6. Rather than be annoyed that it will probably always default to German every time I put a disc in.:nono:
Just a little info:
Probably the only part that will be in German only is the cover. Warner's DVD labels don't contain much information anyway and the series has the same name here. The DVD itself will NOT default to German. Almost all DVDs of the major studios are authored so that the language stored in the player is selected. I have my player set to English because I don't like dubs and this makes it easier to select the English language track.
Besides, at least one epidode of B5 (I think in Season 3) has been cut by the BBFC! So, if you really love the series you have to buy one foreign box anyway!
Answers:
::
Yeah, but I'm the kind of person that gets annoyed with a canadian bi-lingual cover. So I'll get the R2, and if a season is cut, I'll order the R1 from amazon.
Theres no point in making a saving if your not going to be satisfied with what you end up with.
Answers:
Originally posted by Graf Zahl
Besides, at least one epidode of B5 (I think in Season 3) has been cut by the BBFC. Well, the episodes have to be resubmitted anyway due to different aspect ratio, so theres no guarantee it won't pass uncut this time if Warner is prepared to accept a higher cert(I'm assuming it was cut to get a PG, yes?).
Answers:
The R1 version of In the Beginning/The Gathering is definitely much better in it's native NTSC than the R2 transcoded versions. The CGI is similar in perceived quality on both but the live action scenes are noticeably grainier on the R2 version. If the same mastering process is used for the boxsets then the R1 will be the one to get if picture quality is paramount.
Still havn't found a decent price on the R1 though. R2 has a big price advantage currently.
Answers:
If the same mastering process is used for the boxsets then the R1 will be the one to get if picture quality is paramount.
That's what I thought.
Answers:
found this somewhere:
I'd personally opt for the R1 releases because the sequences finshed on 30fps video (ie. anything involving special effects) can't be DEFT converted to PAL and end up looking significantly poorer for it. It'll be the same for Babylon 5 when that gets released, since all the effects sequences have to come from the existing NTSC video masters (and also have to be cropped and stretched into 16:9, so the PAL versions might look quite nasty).
It's actually about TNG but the same applies to B5 apparently.
Answers:
F. it! I'm going for the region 1. Sod the cost. Too good a show to suffer an inferior version.
Answers:
Got my region 1 this morning. Some bad scratches on Disk 3 & 5 in transit (came off their spindles in the box) so back it'll go. :(
Somebody said something a while back in here about one of the disks being accidently a duplicate pressing in a batch of the region 1 sets. Which one is supposed to be the offender so that I can check this tonight?
Answers:
Disk 4 was apparently a second disc 2 for some people.
Ie the disc that says 'disc 4' on the top actually is a repeat of disc 2 content wise.
James
Answers:
Just had a quick scout through the six discs on the region 1 boxset. I checked a few of the scenes on a couple of episodes on each disc just to get a feel for what the general quality is like and I have to see it's like meeting an old friend. :) Very satisfying. Two negative comments. 1) The actual scene selection descriptions seem initially to be a bit "out". When you pick any scene, invariably, the action does not start where the picture in the menu suggests. I realised after a few selections that the picture in the menu relates to the key point in the scene as opposed to the start of the scene but initially I found this a little confusing. 2) The picture quality in some of the early episodes is a bit hit and miss. Normal space CGI and live action indoor sequences are fine apart from some intermittent scratches and flecks but some of the corridor gunfights in full CGI are quite obviously not live action. The picture quality apearing to be noticeably lower in resolution than the live action before and after the CGI scene. It's perfectly watchable but I do feel they could've taken a bit more care with the picture.
Jamesking420: Thanks. My set doesn't seem to suffer this.
Answers:
Originally posted by Ron Hill
Somebody said something a while back in here about one of the disks being accidently a duplicate pressing in a batch of the region 1 sets. Which one is supposed to be the offender so that I can check this tonight?
That somebody was probably me. jamesking420 got it kind of wrong in his reply (in my case anyway). My Disc 2 is actually a copy of Disc 4. Disc 4 is fine.
Not heard from anyone else, so I assume it's just me. :(
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