Pete & Pete comes in its original full-screen format, which wouldn't be a problem if this transfer wasn't so ugly. This disc could literally work as a catalogue of video flaws. The compression is so awful that details in clothing and facial features are lost. Grain fills the screen, and artifacts pop up regularly. The colors are faded, too, making the footage look years older than it is. And, if that's not enough, interlacing shows up in every shot with a lot of fast movement, a Pete & Pete regular.
Worst of all, this transfer has analogue tape tracking errors. There are literally times when you can see the errors in transferring from video tape. Don't believe me? I didn't either at first; I thought it must be something wrong with my television. So I tried it on a few more sets and took a screen capture:
http://dvdmedia.ign.com/dvd/image/article/609/609692/the-adventures-of-pete-pete-season-one-20050503084641526-000.jpg
Ouch. Just ouch. This transfer isn't bad, it's simply unacceptable.
Score: 1 out of 10
MasterCXtreme
05-04-05, 08:49 PM
I didn't realize this was coming out so soon, that's good news! :up:
I'll wait for other reviews to hear how bad the video really is. IGN isn't always the best site for DVD's. Besides, they still gave it a 7/10 for a final score... with an unacceptable transfer, that's pretty damn good.
redrum
05-04-05, 08:51 PM
that's horrible if true
YourOlympicHero
05-04-05, 08:52 PM
Besides, they still gave it a 7/10 for a final score... with an unacceptable transfer, that's pretty damn good.
They gave it 6/10 overall.
And yes, I agree IGN's DVD reviews have went to hell in the past few years.
paulringodaman
05-04-05, 10:57 PM
I'm disappointed...but it doesn't matter....It's Pete and Pete.
The transfer of MacGuyver to DVD was reviewed as horrible as well. When I play it, it looks fine...I'm in awe that we even have it on DVD.
RyoHazuki
05-04-05, 11:46 PM
IGN sometimes gets early not really finished copies. Although its unlikley that faulty video would be changed later on, theres still an outside chance.
Matthew Chmiel
05-05-05, 12:47 AM
It's a low-budget early '90s television show, what were they expecting?
Christ, they could've smeared shit on the negative and put that on DVD and I still would've bought it. And hey, it's better than the bootleg copies circulating out there.
Cameron
05-05-05, 12:50 AM
http://www.cannit.com/peteandpete/petuniatattoo.jpg is displeased
YourOlympicHero
05-05-05, 12:53 AM
It's a low-budget early '90s television show, what were they expecting?
Christ, they could've smeared shit on the negative and put that on DVD and I still would've bought it. And hey, it's better than the bootleg copies circulating out there.
But the show aired on Digital Cable for several years - I'm positive that it looked better than those screencaps.
And the bootleg sets contain all the shorts - this set only has 2 of them.
GizmoDVD
05-05-05, 09:53 PM
Any other DVD reviewer get these yet? I find it hard to beleive IGN was the only one to get these early.
SWR 1
05-05-05, 10:15 PM
Maybe the dvd reviewers dvd player just blows or didn't have the latest firmware.
Lastdaysofrain
05-06-05, 11:44 AM
My assumption is they would use the same masters they were playing on digital cable and those looked great.
smirnoffski
05-06-05, 01:05 PM
Well we now know why it's called the "rewind collection", because it's looking like its being rewinded. :(
ignition
05-06-05, 01:48 PM
I think we all need to wait until the final DVDs are released. IGN enjoys trashing transfers that I find very decent or excellent. Maybe they get pre-release review copies, maybe they that some uber setup that makes every grain appear like a fist on the screen, I don't know. What I do know is that they reviewed many films to say they have a bad transfer and I don't notice anythign wrong on my 52" HDTV.
SideShow
05-06-05, 07:17 PM
Nothing will keep me from buying this show on DVD, but if the IGN review *is* accurate than Nickleoden's being very disrespectful by just throwing out what they had and not trying to improve the visuals. If Artie was around they would NOT be pulling this crap! But I don't even bother giving 2 cents to an ign review, either.
This thread totally freaked me out though, do you think you could maybe change the thread title to something more like "Review of Pete & Pete says blah blah" or something? Because it looks definitive and panicky ("IS messed up!" Nobody buy it, just run!!!) the way it is now, when the info is from just 1 review.
jrsl76
05-18-05, 04:14 PM
For anyone who has bought this, is there further verification of image problems? I really want to get it, but just imagine a problem like Dream On S1/2 which looked fairly poor. Any update is appreciated.
Adam Tyner
05-18-05, 04:27 PM
Any other DVD reviewer get these yet? I find it hard to beleive IGN was the only one to get these early.DVD Talk got Clarissa Explains It All, but not Pete and Pete. Go figure.
GizmoDVD
05-18-05, 09:36 PM
For anyone who has bought this, is there further verification of image problems? I really want to get it, but just imagine a problem like Dream On S1/2 which looked fairly poor. Any update is appreciated.
In the Clarissa thread, someone mentioned it was VHS quality with a noticable defect in one of the episodes. Bummer.
cerial442
05-18-05, 11:33 PM
In the Clarissa thread, someone mentioned it was VHS quality with a noticable defect in one of the episodes. Bummer.
Yeah it's on the second episode. For about a minute there is a yellow line across the screen, then there is a big tracking type line across the screen. It is annoying, but wouldn't keep my from buying the set.
Other than that the video quality isn't all that bad.
robsul82
05-19-05, 03:34 PM
Yeah, in "Day of the Dot," the episode that Big Pete and Ellen finally hit it, there's a big red line through the top half of the screen for about five minutes. And yeah, they look done from VHS, but it's The Adventures of Pete & Pete! Doesn't bother me.
critterdvd
05-19-05, 07:31 PM
I Bought Clarissa and the video is exceptable. Im not that picky, I just wanted to watch the episodes again. I netflixed pete&pete and yes the video is worse than clarissa, but again its the episodes...
bballing
05-19-05, 09:16 PM
Crap shows sometimes get crap transfers.
Chaza
05-19-05, 09:29 PM
Crap shows sometimes get crap transfers.
Nice thread crap.
Cameron
05-19-05, 11:03 PM
can't believe no one has got up in arms enough to contact the maker and scream about it
Matthew Chmiel
05-20-05, 12:25 AM
So when Pete and Pete aired on The N on digital cable, were the transfers pristine or did they look similar to what is presented on the DVD? Like does anybody have solid proof?
I bought Pete and Pete and Clarissa on DVD the other day, but I still haven't gotten around to watching them yet.
And Cameron, nobody is getting up in arms because we're thankful that we actually got a DVD release of these two shows. ;)
Lastdaysofrain
05-20-05, 09:00 AM
Crap shows sometimes get crap transfers.
Not much going in Minnisota is there?
Dead
05-20-05, 09:06 AM
Crap shows sometimes get crap transfers.
bballing, threadcrapping is against forum rules. If you aren't interested in the topic, then please don't post in the thread.
WafflePower
05-20-05, 10:25 AM
I can't speak for these looking better or worse than when these were on The N, but last summer Nick aired at least one Pete and Pete episode that is also on the DVD during their 25 anniversary special. I taped that show and just went back to compare it to the DVD. The quality looks pretty much the same. As has been said before, I am just happy to have this show out on DVD.
I saw that the other day it cracked Amazon's DVD top 20, so I hope that is some small sign that the Rewind Collection has enough of a following to validate more seasons and series.
GizmoDVD
05-20-05, 11:04 AM
Waffle, I beleive the last 2 seasons of Pete and Pete were confirmed...there was a thread here last week
Skoobooz
05-20-05, 06:37 PM
Confirmations mean nothing without good sales.
GizmoDVD
05-21-05, 02:12 AM
Confirmations mean nothing without good sales.
Uhh, ok. Thanks for that awesome piece of news!
Cornelius1047
05-21-05, 02:18 PM
bballing, threadcrapping is against forum rules. If you aren't interested in the topic, then please don't post in the thread.
To be fair though, Clarissa Explains It All is a pretty crap show.
K
The Monkees
05-22-05, 12:06 AM
It's not that bad, I'm not sure why people are getting upset. I'm not saying anything about anybody here. I understand that they should have put some time into it, but's really not that bad
sracer
05-22-05, 08:31 AM
It's not that bad, I'm not sure why people are getting upset. I'm not saying anything about anybody here. I understand that they should have put some time into it, but's really not that bad
I know that it is difficult to quantify video quality, but can you offer comparisons to other stuff that you own?
When NIGHT GALLERY SEASON 1 was released there was a lot of complaints about the quality. So much so that I held off buying it. I eventually bought it a few months ago and I was extremely pleased with the set.
With the PETE AND PETE set I heard that there is a "wrinkle" in the picture that appears for a few moments in one episode (the same type of wrinkle that one would see on a stretched VHS tape). One or two noticeable imperfections are one thing... but visual defects throughout the set is another. Where does this set fall? thanks.
duckhouse
05-24-05, 12:00 AM
Unfortunately, the video quality is awful. Yet it's still watchable, if only because the show itself is so fun.
Video Problems:
-Obviously sourced from old tapes (VHS?)
-Compression artifacts despite a fairly high bitrate
-Rainbow/Dot Crawl artifacts
-Soft and undetailed picture
-The horrible tracking line in "Day of the Dot"
-A horrible spatial/temporal filter used to hide the low quality source that only results in an even worse picture. Nasty ghosting artifact as well as a very muddy/floaty picture.
I noticed many of these problems watching on my 20" through S-Video and they only became more apparent when I played the show on my PC monitor. It looks as though no time or thought was put into the quality of the transfer to DVD. I seriously think I could've done a better job myself. It's really just embarrasing for Paramount/Nickelodeon. I wasn't expecting a "reference" disc and I know it's only a kid's show, but this is nearly sub-VHS. The sad thing is nothing will be done because the companies just don't care. I'm certainly not holding out hope for the other seasons.
sracer
05-24-05, 12:09 AM
Thank you duckhouse for a detailed (but disappointing) description of the video quality. :(
coladar
05-24-05, 12:32 AM
I watched Pete and Pete when it was reairing on "The N" a little over a year ago and the quality was very good, better than the DVD sets... I was planning on recording the episodes then, but didn't get around to it and then the show was taken off the air. Hopefully it get's put back on eventually. Sad that they released the DVD's and I still feel the need to record them off TV, but such is life.
Judremy
05-24-05, 09:58 AM
Maybe they should have got the copies from the digital archive project (dapcentral.org).
Geist
05-24-05, 12:30 PM
Damn, this sucks. I was really looking forward to this set, but I don't think I can support this kind of neglect from the studio. As much as I want it, I think if I bought it despite the horrendus quality there would be no incentive for them to devote more time and money into doing it the right way for future releases. "Who cares if it's shit? They bought it in droves, anyway."
No thanks. But if someone can provide an 1-800#, I will gladly call in and voice my complaint. It's unlikely, but maybe they don't even know how bad it is -- or at the very least, how upset people are -- and a re-release could be made to happen.
YourOlympicHero
05-24-05, 02:23 PM
But if someone can provide an 1-800#, I will gladly call in and voice my complaint. It's unlikely, but maybe they don't even know how bad it is -- or at the very least, how upset people are -- and a re-release could be made to happen.
Paramount Studios
5555 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90038
1-323-956-5000
1-323-956-8070 or 1-323-956-8830 or 1-323-956-8509
The Monkees
05-24-05, 02:29 PM
I have seen nothing wrong with any of the episodes except for Day of the Dot, the rest look fine. I have no complaints!
Lastdaysofrain
05-24-05, 04:34 PM
Yeah the other episodes which by no means were digitally remastered from original 16mm negatives or anything, didn't look bad.
The shows are uncut, you're getting all the content, if you're not going to buy it because there is a line on the screen on one episode for a minute or so, or because you can't read every line in a newspaper on the screen on your home theatre you're missing the point.
YourOlympicHero
05-24-05, 06:20 PM
Here's screenshots from "Day Of The Dot" when it aired on the digital cable channel The N:
I'm downloading a recording of the episode tonight - I'll be sure to report if it has the yellow line or not.
YourOlympicHero
05-24-05, 06:24 PM
Actually - you can see in this screenshot that the tape distortion line was present in the The N airings as well:
http://no-topic.net/images/id100/57/11.jpg
Here's a screenshot from the DVD set:
http://dvdmedia.ign.com/dvd/image/article/609/609692/the-adventures-of-pete-pete-season-one-20050503084641526-000.jpg
I'll still download the episode later and see if it wasn't as bad as it was on the DVD set.
Chaza
05-24-05, 06:32 PM
Maybe they should have got the copies from the digital archive project (dapcentral.org).
Yeah, I would have given my encodes over no problem. I guess they didn't filter the video properly and the source was poor quality to begin with.
Skoobooz
05-24-05, 06:38 PM
Uhh, ok. Thanks for that awesome piece of news!
Meaning that the show's creators can say that more seasons are coming, but if, for example, only a hundred people buy the set, then it may not happen. That's all I meant. Thanks for the sarcasm.
In any event, does anyone have any idea of how well these sold? Any industry numbers to be had?
surfingelectrod
05-24-05, 06:45 PM
I went to go pick this up today from Best Buy, but they were sold out.
Cameron
05-24-05, 07:13 PM
seems like everyone has been having trouble finding them...so I would assume they are selling well.
jrsl76
05-24-05, 07:23 PM
If your in Los Angeles near Hollywood, I bought this today at Amoeba Records for 16.99 + tax. They still had 5 or 6 copies. This is the only place I've seen it so far.
GizmoDVD
05-24-05, 10:10 PM
I went to go pick this up today from Best Buy, but they were sold out.
Numerous Best Buy's did not carry this title. I called a few, and even randomly checked Zip codes online and only 1/8 stores carried this. However, Wal-Mart seemed to get a ton in (I spotted 8 on Sunday).
Geist
05-25-05, 03:52 AM
The shows are uncut, you're getting all the content, if you're not going to buy it because there is a line on the screen on one episode for a minute or so, or because you can't read every line in a newspaper on the screen on your home theatre you're missing the point.
No, I think you are.
As a consumer, you will always be sold what you are willing to put up with. If I wanted the series in VHS quality, I'd buy them on VHS. Or even better, tape it off Noggin for free.
I have a DVD player. I want the disks I purchase to have a DVD quality image. If that can't be provided, there are plenty of other ways I can spend my money.
They can shit on a plate and tell me it's black forest cake all they want, but even if thousands of people are happy with a fork full of crap, I'd rather starve.
Lastdaysofrain
05-25-05, 09:13 AM
The important thing about the show is content is what I'm saying. With all the controversy of people getting shows with replaced music, cut scenes, syndication edits etc we are lucky to get the uncut versions of the shows, with some great extras.
If the image looks like it looked when it airs on TV big deal.
I think that one of the drawbacks of DVD is that you get complete image nerds who obsess about being able to show off how great things look on their HDTV. THAT is missing the point.
Great show, all the content is there, the show looks no worse than it ever has on TV. You buy the DVDs to have the show, access to the episodes, some great commentaries etc. Not so that you can see the threads on Artie's PJs.
GizmoDVD
05-25-05, 11:08 AM
No, I think you are.
As a consumer, you will always be sold what you are willing to put up with. If I wanted the series in VHS quality, I'd buy them on VHS. Or even better, tape it off Noggin for free.
I have a DVD player. I want the disks I purchase to have a DVD quality image. If that can't be provided, there are plenty of other ways I can spend my money.
They can shit on a plate and tell me it's black forest cake all they want, but even if thousands of people are happy with a fork full of crap, I'd rather starve.
So as I understand, you'd rather this not be on DVD (Because I doubt Nick is going to spend a crapload of $ on a 10-13 year old show that not too many people remember) at all because of the picture quality? Wow. Good luck finding an official VHS copy without the stupid 'Noggin' icon on the bottom of the screen.
YourOlympicHero
05-25-05, 12:01 PM
As a consumer, you will always be sold what you are willing to put up with. If I wanted the series in VHS quality, I'd buy them on VHS. Or even better, tape it off Noggin for free.
When the episodes aired on Noggin, they looked exactly the same (see Page 2 of this thread).
We should be lucky they released this at all - and now you're calling for the picture to be remastered.
It'll never happen - get over it.
Tarantino
05-25-05, 01:35 PM
Just accept that it's going to be just like it was on TV and buy the damn set. If people don't buy it, Nick won't release other classic shows.
= J
sracer
05-25-05, 02:21 PM
The important thing about the show is content is what I'm saying. With all the controversy of people getting shows with replaced music, cut scenes, syndication edits etc we are lucky to get the uncut versions of the shows, with some great extras.
I agree, content is paramount. However, do we know for certain that the discs are uncut?
If the image looks like it looked when it airs on TV big deal.
Ummm, it wouldn't be a big deal if they charged public domain prices for public domain quality. The typical PD discs are a $1 a piece. Consider this:
But unless the sales of Clarissa and Pete and Pete are good, they'll be reluctant to try others, so make sure you show your support.
...
I got advance copies of both (Clarissa and Pete)and can tell you they're WELL worth the money.
Nick slaps together any old junk, expending minimal effort, and then "threatens" fans by saying, "you better buy any old swill we release if you ever have hopes of getting your favorite shows on DVD."
It is this cynical approach that gets many of us upset about the quality of Pete-n-Pete.
YourOlympicHero
05-25-05, 02:37 PM
Nick slaps together any old junk, expending minimal effort
The DVD video is straight from the masters. They've been damaged - oh well.
I don't think the inclusion of various commentary tracks and special features reflects "minimum effort".
and then "threatens" fans by saying, "you better buy any old swill we release if you ever have hopes of getting your favorite shows on DVD."
It's not cost-effective for them to release more Rewind Collection sets if the initial releases don't sell well.
LBPound
05-25-05, 03:13 PM
I agree, content is paramount. However, do we know for certain that the discs are uncut?
Well it's certainly nitpicking, but the last few seconds of the two shorts have been replaced by the new Nickelodeon logo. Where there would have been a last shot or shots, there is now just a logo. Not a huge deal, but it's a little disappointing when you can download a full version from someone who had an old tape.
Geist
05-25-05, 03:18 PM
When the episodes aired on Noggin, they looked exactly the same (see Page 2 of this thread).
We should be lucky they released this at all - and now you're calling for the picture to be remastered.
It'll never happen - get over it.
I'm not calling for anything. I'm saying if they don't know we're displeased, there is no incentive to put their best effort into their releases in the future. If Viacom sells the same number of copies whether they give a project a budget of $100,000 or $10 million, which do you think they're going to choose? I know this is something of a cult release and many people feel fortunate just to have them, but that doesn't mean it isn't sending a bad message.
So whatever. If some people don't care about image quality and are just grateful to have the show on DVD, even if it's the exact way it looked on Noggin (as shown on Page 2 of this thread), good on them. For me there are too many great releases coming out that I can spend the money on instead, especially if I can set the DVR to record the episodes off Noggin and burn them to disk without missing much, apparently.
And even if you own the set and are perfectly happy with it, what harm does it do letting the Nick people know you are unsatisfied with the video quality? It's a popular cable TV show, not some obscure '60s wuxia flick.
sracer
05-25-05, 03:18 PM
I don't think the inclusion of various commentary tracks and special features reflects "minimum effort".
Minimum effort is subjective. For some DVDTalk members all that is required is packing the DVD in a tyvek sleeve, anything else is just gravy. So technically, they didn't make the absolute minimum effort. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that making the special features is less costly and less time consuming than tracking down better quality masters and transferring them.
It's not cost-effective for them to release more Rewind Collection sets if the initial releases don't sell well.
True. But even you can see the difference between putting together a quality set and slapping together any old stuff laying around.
How will they be able to determine the CAUSE for poor sales? Is it because there is no interest in the title? Or, is it because of the poor quality of the release? We've seen this before.
The release of Pete-n-Pete smacks of some corporate beancounter saying "let's put out a set as cheaply as possible to gauge demand. THEN, if it sells well, we can invest money in a proper release of later seasons."
The lack of fanfare and review copies strengthens the notion of an "on the cheap" release.
YourOlympicHero
05-25-05, 03:23 PM
especially if I can set the DVR to record the episodes off Noggin and burn them to disk without missing much, apparently
Noggin hasn't aired "The Adventures Of Pete And Pete" in over a year.
AcidBurnz1107
05-26-05, 06:08 PM
ok some1 on page 2 of this thread asked what are the sales numbers like....I would like to know offical numbers from nick,but i have been doing it this way. amazon.com has a best sellers list of dvds and such. well on the dvd bestsellers list earlier today around 3pm Pete and Pete was at # 36 and Clarissa was at #598?(sry i cant read what i wrote down lol). tHIS LIST HAS MOVIES AND TVS SHOWS THAT ARE ON DVD.sry for the caps. so i think so far pete and pete is doing well
sracer
05-26-05, 07:15 PM
Thanks for the comparison. Looks like that's simply the way the source material is now. :( Oh well, looks like I WILL be buying it after all. :scratch2:
Lastdaysofrain
05-26-05, 09:14 PM
Looking at those two screen caps it looks like the DVD HAS been cleaned up over the TV airings, but as previously said it looks like the source materials are damaged.
sureAV421
05-26-05, 09:49 PM
keep in mind that was a VCD rip that i took the screen from.
Buy: