TV Series - 'Expensive' Blu-Ray vs. Cheaper DVD

gilubilu · 22-10-2009, 1:36 PM

I am slowly building up my blu ray collection. Nothing colossal yet but easy does it...

In movie titles (or at least most of them) blu-ray is clearly superior and it is worth every extra penny.

However I was wondering if the same would hold when considering TV series. The difference can sometimes be really huge, and I wonder if quality wise TV series on blu-rays are really that much enhanced?

What do you think??

Cheers

V6CMG · 22-10-2009, 2:04 PM

Some one said not sure if it was this forum or not Band Of Brothers is Quality on Blu-ray Video & Sound is brill & only £22.99 on Blu-ray...

Carl

Starburst · 22-10-2009, 3:19 PM

I think we've seen over the last few years a real effort into embracing HD in the television world and that has paid off with some beautiful looking programmes and it may be said that with tighter restrictions on a director in TV there less room for them to indulge themselves

Given the choice I would choose Blu over DVD every day time but there is a lot of TV (some only from last season) that are not on Blu so that leaves buying them on DVD but like movies those extra couple of quid they slap on to the "premium" format makes me sit back and wait a few months.
Not a single pre-order for a Blu-ray TV series out around now unlike last year and the year before that.

nwgarratt · 22-10-2009, 4:23 PM

Depends on how the series have been filmed/edited. Shows like Friends wouldn't be any better than DVD due to I believe being edited on NTSC video. Star Trek TNG, Voyager and DS9 are the same.

Shows like Battestar Galactica show a improvement on Blu. As shows made recently will have HD in mind.

However, I have so many TV on DVD that I wouldn't even start replacing them with Blu anyway. On the other hand, I may get CSI Season 9 on Blu as I haven't got it yet along with any other seasons for shows I get in the future.

**Greg** · 22-10-2009, 7:45 PM

As has been discussed on other threads, if only they thought of releasing entire TV series on blu-ray at DVD quality but really cheap, I'm sure they would be a big seller.

For example, take Friends. The quality is ok on DVD and I'm guessing, wasn't filmed in a way that it would be any better on blu-ray. But on a blu-ray disc you could probably fit one entire season. Meaning the entire series of Friends would only cover a few discs. That would make it quite cheap, but also for those that don't want huge boxsets on their shelves. I would definitely buy something like that.

My Stargate boxsets take up a huge amout of shelf space, if that could be compressed to one small boxset that would be superb.

nwgarratt · 22-10-2009, 7:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

As has been discussed on other threads, if only they thought of releasing entire TV series on blu-ray at DVD quality but really cheap, I'm sure they would be a big seller.

For example, take Friends. The quality is ok on DVD and I'm guessing, wasn't filmed in a way that it would be any better on blu-ray. But on a blu-ray disc you could probably fit one entire season. Meaning the entire series of Friends would only cover a few discs. That would make it quite cheap, but also for those that don't want huge boxsets on their shelves. I would definitely buy something like that.

My Stargate boxsets take up a huge amout of shelf space, if that could be compressed to one small boxset that would be superb.

The whole point of Blu Ray is HD though. I will never want the whole season of something on one disc. I bet the price of one disc on BD with 24 odd episodes on it will be just as much as they would be on DVD. They won't sell them cheap with that much data on them.

I see them doing the usual thing of matching same number of discs on BD (or close to) as they are on DVD for quite some time yet.

gilubilu · 22-10-2009, 8:42 PM

Thanks guys, seems like I am not the only one having this dilemma.

I think that overall it depends on the specific series, and how much you adore it.

Personally I think that for some of them (old, non-action, comedy, etc) I wouldnt mind having them on DVD, while others, the more action, sci-fi oriented maybe worth forking a couple extra bucks.

Starburst · 22-10-2009, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

My Stargate boxsets take up a huge amout of shelf space, if that could be compressed to one small boxset that would be superb.

Or dumped to a media server

The problem of course is pricing, over-production of DVD or reliance on people buying series boxsets over season boxsets is not a long term business model now streaming is making it's presence felt.

Goooner · 23-10-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilubilu

I think that overall it depends on the specific series, and how much you adore it.

Personally I think that for some of them (old, non-action, comedy, etc) I wouldnt mind having them on DVD, while others, the more action, sci-fi oriented maybe worth forking a couple extra bucks.

That pretty much sums it up for me too.

The only DVD I've bought in the last year is Series 1 & 2 of The Inbetweeners don't think it's available on Blu anyway, but even if it was, it's not the sort of thing that is going to benefit from HD.

Older TV stuff that was filmed in SD on video I'm not bothered about, but I've held off buying more than the first 2 seasons of Lost (which I already owned before going HD) because having watched it in HD on SKy, I don't think I'd want to go back to watching it in SD on DVD. Having said that, I won't pay silly money, I'm quite happy to wait for a decent price drop or a BOGOF for HD TV shows.

nwgarratt · 25-10-2009, 8:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starburst

Or dumped to a media server

The problem of course is pricing, over-production of DVD or reliance on people buying series boxsets over season boxsets is not a long term business model now streaming is making it's presence felt.

Most of my TV series have been moved in to 6 or 8 disc cases. My SG1+movies now takes 11" of shelf space.

I got into the habit of buying seasons as they come out or when they come down to the price I want. It means packaging has got smaller and smaller over the years and I was left with big wide packaging which I have also paid more money.

Friends has been reissued in single amaray cases with a season per case (4 DVD's) and also the bargain price of just £50. I paid up to £40 per season when they came out, plus they were double sided discs and not double layered like they are now.

Starburst · 25-10-2009, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nwgarratt

Most of my TV series have been moved in to 6 or 8 disc cases. My SG1+movies now takes 11" of shelf space.

I'm at about 3 feet but no Atlantis s5 and the 3 movies are on a different shelf

I just bought the Frasier boxset and it's about 4" wide!

nwgarratt · 25-10-2009, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starburst

I'm at about 3 feet but no Atlantis s5 and the 3 movies are on a different shelf

I just bought the Frasier boxset and it's about 4" wide!

I bought S5 not that long ago when it was just £14 at Amazon.

Starburst · 25-10-2009, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nwgarratt

I bought S5 not that long ago when it was just £14 at Amazon.

Hoping for Blu season or a full series set but it's looking less likely.

nwgarratt · 25-10-2009, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starburst

Hoping for Blu season or a full series set but it's looking less likely.

I am waiting for Universe on BD to start watching Stargate in HD.

Rasczak · 26-10-2009, 6:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nwgarratt

Shows like Friends wouldn't be any better than DVD due to I believe being edited on NTSC video. Star Trek TNG, Voyager and DS9 are the same.

Surely there would be some benefit? After all the DVD MPEG2 bitrate ceiling is hit very quickly and I'm sure the episodes could look nicer if given more headroom on Blu-ray. I suspect the Star Trek franchises will be given a dust off and refresh for Blu-ray anyway.

Goooner · 26-10-2009, 11:15 AM

They probably could, but you just know that all they'll do is transfer them directly onto the BD from the DVD and charge a silly price just because it's BD

Todd Tomorrow · 26-10-2009, 12:46 PM

Mad Men looks fantastic on Blu and I wouldn't want to see it any other way now.

nwgarratt · 26-10-2009, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rasczak

Surely there would be some benefit? After all the DVD MPEG2 bitrate ceiling is hit very quickly and I'm sure the episodes could look nicer if given more headroom on Blu-ray. I suspect the Star Trek franchises will be given a dust off and refresh for Blu-ray anyway.

Sure more bitrate will help but it will only do so much. The DS9 episode on the TOS BD Season 2 still looks awful.

I wouldn't be surprised that they start preupscaling shows and put them on BD. All the effects in the different Trek series would need to be redone if it had any chance of a decent PQ.

LanceR · 26-10-2009, 8:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

Mad Men looks fantastic on Blu and I wouldn't want to see it any other way now.

Agreed! brilliant show brilliant transfer.

LJx · 27-10-2009, 2:32 PM

I think now is the time to be buying DVDs, you can get so much more for your cash

*thearrowmaker* · 27-10-2009, 5:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

My Stargate boxsets take up a huge amout of shelf space, if that could be compressed to one small boxset that would be superb.

The reason people buy blu-ray is for better PQ. So the number of discs would roughly be the same whether it be DVD or blu-ray. Star Trek Season 1 has 8 to 7 discs respectively, whilst Battlestar Galactica Complete Series has 25 to 20 discs. So ok blu-ray has slightly fewer discs but you will find that the the packaging usually occupies the same amount of space.

What you seem to be wishing for is that they would cram a whole season of SG-1 onto a couple of blu-ray discs. They of course could do this, but it sure wouldn't be in HD which kind of defeats the purpose of buying blu-rays in the first place.

yatesDELTA · 27-10-2009, 5:55 PM

Slightly off topic, but is it just me that prefered the larger boxsets of a few years ago?
For example Lost season 1 and 2 had each disc in its own slim disc thing in the box. 3,4 and 5 however have two discs in each thing, so they take up less room. I find them less impressive, especially next to the bigger cases of previous series.
Ofcourse if the older ones where done in the same way as the newer ones that would be nice.
And shelf space isnt an issue for me as all i own in boxsets is Lost, Heroes, Skins and the Inbetweeners. I suppose as i accumulate more it might be a problem.

As for DVD vs BluRay, im not that big on owning films and dont actually have a bluray player yet. So sticking with DVD for now, however if i had more money i might be inclined to buy the BluRay versions instead.

**Greg** · 27-10-2009, 6:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thearrowmaker

What you seem to be wishing for is that they would cram a whole season of SG-1 onto a couple of blu-ray discs. They of course could do this, but it sure wouldn't be in HD which kind of defeats the purpose of buying blu-rays in the first place.

That's it exactly. Perhaps marketing it differently so it's some kind of value range and keeping away from the HD angle.

For example, Friends as broadcast won't improve on blu-ray as it wasn't filmed with HD in mind. Same goes for a lot of older TV shows such as Buffy and others. Cramming it onto as few blu-ray discs as possible would make a whole series dirt cheap. Ignoring completely any HD sound/picture but trying to get it as cheap as possible.

But clearly I can see this isn't a popular idea.

nwgarratt · 27-10-2009, 6:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yatesDELTA

Slightly off topic, but is it just me that prefered the larger boxsets of a few years ago?
For example Lost season 1 and 2 had each disc in its own slim disc thing in the box. 3,4 and 5 however have two discs in each thing, so they take up less room. I find them less impressive, especially next to the bigger cases of previous series.
Ofcourse if the older ones where done in the same way as the newer ones that would be nice.
And shelf space isnt an issue for me as all i own in boxsets is Lost, Heroes, Skins and the Inbetweeners. I suppose as i accumulate more it might be a problem.

I hated the digipack packaging that made us fold out the entire packaging so it was like half a metres wide just to get the last disc out. The X Files were originally like that. Over time they would fall apart as the glue dried out.

I like the six/eight disc cases that are 1" thick. There are some single amaray cases now which hold six discs. That is just to cramped for my liking. I also like these thinpack cases but they tend to have poor artwork covers compared to thicker cases.

I still think there is no point in buying TV on BD unless it is proper HD. I think the CSI's at 3 BD's instead of 6/7 DVD's is a good compromise and still fantastic PQ.

*thearrowmaker* · 27-10-2009, 8:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nwgarratt

I hated the digipack packaging that made us fold out the entire packaging so it was like half a metres wide just to get the last disc out. The X Files were originally like that. Over time they would fall apart as the glue dried out.

Have you seen the latest packaging for the Lois & Clark sets? I recently picked up three seasons on ebay and was suprised to find that each season (on six discs) was contained in a DVD case only a few mm wider than a standard amaray case (15mm to be exact). They are an incredible space saver. I don't know if they have been used for any other releases yet.

nwgarratt · 27-10-2009, 8:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thearrowmaker

Have you seen the latest packaging for the Lois & Clark sets? I recently picked up three seasons on ebay and was suprised to find that each season was contained in a DVD case only a few mm wider than a standard amaray case (15mm to be exact). They are an incredible space saver. I don't know if they have been used for any other releases yet.

I have R4 Stargate Atantis in standard amaray (14mm spine). Just so they matched with my other seasons, I had to put it them in 1" cases.

Sonic67 · 29-10-2009, 6:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

As has been discussed on other threads, if only they thought of releasing entire TV series on blu-ray at DVD quality but really cheap, I'm sure they would be a big seller.

I don't think so yet. DVD players are in consoles, laptops, PCs and ubiquitous. Blu-ray is still in the living rooms of a select few only. What if you want to watch ‘Friends’ in the bedroom, or a laptop or in the car, or on a portable?

I recently bought The Big Bang Theory S1 on DVD. It came on three DVDs and the case was as thick as a normal DVD box. I think some boxsets are large to make the release look a bit ‘special’.

24 P · 14-11-2009, 10:49 AM

I know I am late in posting, but if you want to see something really stellar, and if you have seen it before or not, get, The Prisoner.
Shot on 35 mm film, is over 40 years old, and apparently is the bees knees of what a TV series should look like..
I am still waiting, funds needed, to get this, and it is a corker of a show..
Makes Lost seem simple..

HugoFJH · 14-11-2009, 1:54 PM

Personally like new series on BD - Damages S1 I bought on BR and really enjoyed it and thought it worth while, also bought Terminator Chronicles, Fringe and Robin Hood S1 and really liked them all a great deal and glad I payed extra for HD

However I wont start buying a BD like 24 until they release the first few series on the format, Im boycotting all the latter series until they start at the beginning, and that goes for all other series

I really like the idea of Freinds in SD on a very few BR's - however I dont think it will ever happen. S 1 - 5 in one box set and 6 - 10 in another would suit me perfectly (they should be doable on 4 or 5 BR's), and I dont think it would cost the production company any more than producing it on DVD, but if it ever were to happen it would still be released at a premium price (and risk factor of a damaged disc wrecking alot more episodes is a possible factor too)

Would love to see Babylon 5 and X Files in HD but I know neither is very likely at all