NEWS: Britbox UK adds Thunderbirds among classic kids TV shows

I know BritBox is popular in the US - and it makes sense there as there's virtually no other source of British Television programming (BBC America is very 'American' and they make edits when showing British programmes for content and timing reasons).

But I don't really see the need for BritBox here. BBC iPlayer and Channel 4 have a wealth of boxsets available, and 'Dave' shows most of the classic stuff on a fairly frequent basis. Although, things like 'Thunderbirds', 'Doctor Who' and 'Blakes 7' could be a big draw - but I suspect many people already own these on DVD/Blu-ray.

It'll be interesting to see how this subscription service does. It's good timing with the lockdown...

Regards,
James.
 
Wonder if UFO, and Space 1999 will be available
 
Britbox launched early on YouView. It was meant to be in testing for a number of weeks but then they launched it with no warning mid-trial. Its a bit buggy, to say the least.
 
They need Joe 90, Stingray, Super Car, Fireball XL5,Captain Scarlet, UFO, Space 1999 , Terror Hawks and Space Precint.

Young children love the strings puppets, thats the special effects to them.
 
We're lucky that Gerry Anderson ran an independent company and chose to film all of his most influential serials on high-grade 35" film. If he had worked directly for the BBC or one of the ITV companies, then he would probably have used 16mm film and/or video.

I'm sure his connections with ITC and Lew Grade (who also ran the ATV franchise) were influential in the 35" film choice. Lew Grade understood the American market and knew things had to look good to sell.

The 'Space 1999' Blu-rays box-sets released by 'Network' a few years ago look absolutely superb (and these are in the correct 4:3 aspect ratio).

Regards,
James.
 
We're lucky that Gerry Anderson ran an independent company and chose to film all of his most influential serials on high-grade 35" film. If he had worked directly for the BBC or one of the ITV companies, then he would probably have used 16mm film and/or video.

I'm sure his connections with ITC and Lew Grade (who also ran the ATV franchise) were influential in the 35" film choice. Lew Grade understood the American market and knew things had to look good to sell.

The 'Space 1999' Blu-rays box-sets released by 'Network' a few years ago look absolutely superb (and these are in the correct 4:3 aspect ratio).

Regards,
James.
Agreed @THX1138UK, the Network Blu-rays are superb. I just wish they could get their hands on "Thunderbirds."
 
It's back on Youview.
 
Space 1999 and UFO have recently been added - and Space 1999 is in HD.

Blake's 7 and Sapphire & Steel have just been added too!

That’s good to hear. All of Jerry Anderson’s classic productions were shot on 35” film - I would hope they would use the same master as the Network restored Blu-rays, so they should look great in HD.

Blake’s 7 (like all BBC series of the time) was shot on studio grade video in 576i, except for the location shoots and some miniature effects shots, which were shot on 16mm film, but then transferred to video.

The Blake’s 7 DVD’s released a few years ago looked surprisingly good most of the time, so should look good on BritBox too.


Regards,
James.
 
That’s good to hear. All of Jerry Anderson’s classic productions were shot on 35” film - I would hope they would use the same master as the Network restored Blu-rays, so they should look great in HD.

Blake’s 7 (like all BBC series of the time) was shot on studio grade video in 576i, except for the location shoots and some miniature effects shots, which were shot on 16mm film, but then transferred to video.

The Blake’s 7 DVD’s released a few years ago looked surprisingly good most of the time, so should look good on BritBox too.


Regards,
James.

Unfortunately, they don't seem to use the Network remasters for all shows - UFO seems to be SD only, as is the case for Randall & Hopkirk. The HD version of The Prisoner is there though.

I had been holding off joining Britbox until Blake's 7 was added - Space 1999 and Sapphire & Steel too have sealed the deal. I will be signing up for my trial this weekend and will likely keep it thereafter.
 
Unfortunately, they don't seem to use the Network remasters for all shows - UFO seems to be SD only, as is the case for Randall & Hopkirk. The HD version of The Prisoner is there though.

I had been holding off joining Britbox until Blake's 7 was added - Space 1999 and Sapphire & Steel too have sealed the deal. I will be signing up for my trial this weekend and will likely keep it thereafter.

It’s a shame about the varying quality masters used for streaming - usually with physical disc releases you can research the product before purchase and know what you’re getting, but with streaming services it’s like the Wild West.

It’s the same with NetFlix with some fairly modern TV shows that are available... Some look great and others look like a multi-generational VHS copy was used as the source and look terrible, even though far better versions exist on physical media.

Regards,
James.
 
It’s a shame about the varying quality masters used for streaming - usually with physical disc releases you can research the product before purchase and know what you’re getting, but with streaming services it’s like the Wild West.

It’s the same with NetFlix with some fairly modern TV shows that are available... Some look great and others look like a multi-generational VHS copy was used as the source and look terrible, even though far better versions exist on physical media.

Regards,
James.

What I liked about the old BBC Store VOD service is that you would get better quality 576i streams. When you watch the same shows on US-based streaming services, you usually get 480i versions - Doctor Who was a classic example.

Hopefully Britbox UK uses the original BBC masters instead of copies made for the US and other markets.
 
Thunderbirds will be in 4:3 aspect ratio and HD.

Finally🙂 But has anyone else noticed that brightness levels on the BritBox app seem a bit off? Black bars are grey on my iPhone and OLED via Apple TV. It’s definately the app as other Apple TV stuff plays perfectly. I have to knock brightness down quite a bit when watching BritBox.
 
Finally🙂 But has anyone else noticed that brightness levels on the BritBox app seem a bit off? Black bars are grey on my iPhone and OLED via Apple TV. It’s definately the app as other Apple TV stuff plays perfectly. I have to knock brightness down quite a bit when watching BritBox.

I watched the first episode last night and no grey bars here - I'm using the Fire TV Britbox app on my plasma.

The attention to detail with the sets and models are even more impressive in HD - amazing to think the show was made 57yrs ago!
 
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Agreed @THX1138UK, the Network Blu-rays are superb. I just wish they could get their hands on "Thunderbirds."

Absolutely. Still no Region 2 Blu-ray release in 4:3 aspect ratio. It's disgraceful :-(

Regards,
James.
 
Just had a look on Britbox, and yes finally it is in HD in 4:3 ratio.

As THX said above, I hope this will be the format for blu ray too very soon.

Also, i noticed Stingray is still in SD even on Britbox, this has to be rectified surely.
 

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