Will definately be picking up the gift set, after having read all the information.

Thanks for the post!

"You ask me to have lunch, tell me you slept with Elaine, and then say you're not in the mood for details. Now you listen to me: I want details and I want them right now. I don't have a job, I have no place to go. You're not in the mood? Well you get in the mood!"

<----- marks Nov. 23 on calender.

Can Somebody explain the High Definition aspect? I assume the shows will still be in 4:3 but they have simply remastered the video. However, is it too much to hope that they really have gone back to the elements and cretated a completely new 16:9 transfer that is downconverted from high definition? That fact alone would mean more to me than any special feature. Glorious Seinfeld in widescreen? Frasier was widescreen the last few years of its run. Anyone have any info?

Just because something is mastered in HD doesn't mean it has to be widescreen. The show will be shown in 4:3 format. It would be stupid to release it in widescreen.

"I'm disturbed, I'm depressed, I'm inadequate, I've got it all!"

I don't think it would be stupid to release it in widescreen. I just want it in the best available format. If Larry David and Seinfeld say 4:3 then I am all for it. But most currently produced primetime comedies are in widescreen, and hence ALL OF THOSE should be released in widescreen on dvd. I imagine it was shot with a camera that is 16:9. If that is available then lets use it if they want to. Stupid has nothing to do with it.

The 2nd line of my post was "I assume the shows will still be in 4:3 but they have simply remastered the video."
I was way in front of you. I realize that is probably what they are doing, but in the press releases I saw no mention of format or aspect ratio. High Definition by definition is a widescreen image. There is every reason to suspect that Seinfeld was shot in the the 1990s on with a camera that is 16:9 or compatible with that format (as most shows are). Not meaning to start anything, but it appeared you didn't understand my question.

i was going to pass on these sets since i see the show 4 times a day and practically have them memorized but the extras have changed my mind. i will be getting these.

We've posted the artwork here if you're interested...

Interesting choice of covers. If they keep up this pattern, season 9 should look something like this:

Does it bother anyone else that the covers both seasons 1/2 and 3 were both obviously taken from the same photograph session?

Not me.

Me neither. Couldn't care less, actually.

Here is some more information, posted today, by tvshowsondvd.com:

Seinfeld - Seasons 1 & 2
$49.95 SRP
$39.95 M.A.P. (Minimum Advertised Price: lowest price allowed in any ad)
4 DVDs, 437 minutes
18 Episodes (Seinfeld Chronicles Pilot version, Seinfeld Pilot version, 4 episodes First Season , 12 episodes Second Season)
Around 12 Hours of Extras:
Inside Looks: Interviews with the cast and creators about what was happening behind the scenes as the episodes were created and filmed during Seasons 1 and 2.
Yada Yada Yada: Audio commentaries from the cast remembering the making of the Season 1 and 2 episodes.
In the Vault: Saved from the cutting room floor... deleted scenes from the first two seasons - never seen!
Not That There's Anything Wrong With That: Never-before-seen-outtakes and bloopers from the 1st and 2nd seasons.
Master of His Domain: See Jerry in exclusive stand-up comedy footage, shot for the show's 1st and 2nd seasons, but never used.
Sponsored by Vandelay Industries: Original NBC promotional ads and trailers during the first two years.
Notes About Nothing: Behind-the-scenes scoop and production notes from Season 1 and Season 2.
How It Began: An hour-long look at how Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David first came up with the idea for the show, how it almost didn't get made and how they emerged with the show that changed the face of television forever.
Tonight Show Footage

Seinfeld - Season 3
$49.95 SRP
$39.95 M.A.P. (Minimum Advertised Price: lowest price allowed in any ad)
4 DVDs, 505 minutes
22 Episodes (from the Third Season, including the double-length episode "The Boyfriend", for 23 total half-hours)
Around 12 Hours of Extras:
Inside Looks: Interviews with the cast and creators about what was happening behind the scenes as the episodes were created and filmed during Season 3.
Yada Yada Yada: Audio commentaries from the cast remembering the making of the Season 3 episodes.
In the Vault: Saved from the cutting room floor... deleted scenes from the third season - never seen!
Not That There's Anything Wrong With That: Never-before-seen-outtakes and bloopers from the 3rd season.
Master of His Domain: See Jerry in exclusive stand-up comedy footage, shot for the show's 3rd season, but never used.
Sponsored by Vandelay Industries: Original NBC promotional ads and trailers during the third year.
Notes About Nothing: Behind-the-scenes scoop and production notes from Season 3.
Kramer vs. Kramer: Kenny to Cosmo: If you thought Cosmo Kramer was hilarious, wait until you meet the real Kramer, Kenny Kramer!

Seinfeld - Gift Set
Both the Seinfeld - Seasons 1 & 2 and the Seinfeld - Season 3 volumes together in one package
$119.95 SRP
$89.95 M.A.P. (Minimum Advertised Price: lowest price allowed in any ad)
8 DVDs, 942 minutes
40 Episodes (From the first three seasons)
Approximately 24 Hours of Extras, including everything listed above for the individual sets
Gift Items Available Exclusively With This Package:
Limited Edition Script with handwritten notes from Larry David
"Monk's Diner" Salt & Pepper Shakers (shaped like mustard and catsup bottles)
Collectible Seinfeld Playing Cards with character images on the face cards
According to Columbia's press release, the people behind these releases "returned to the original film elements and spent many months digitally remastering every episode in high definition; the original analog audio tracks went through a similar process". Also, they "feature the original NBC network versions, 1-2 minutes longer than the syndicated versions and not seen since their original broadcast runs."

I will definately be getting the gift set. Looking forward to it!

does it have subtitles (spanis, french)?

Wonder if they do commentaries for all episodes?

How much would that rock. I doubt they will tho.

no insert = no sale!

BEST SHOW EVER! There is no other show that deals with the everyday humor of life that so many people can relate to, especially if you are a New Yorker!

Great list for extras! Can't wait for the following releases that should keep me deeper in DVD debt for the next 3 or 4 years.

Only gripe is those covers. Oy! It looks like some 16 year olds first attempt at Photoshop.

But it isn't what's on the outside but what's on the inside that counts...

Seinfeld was shot and composed for 4:3. Athough "high-definition" is natively 16:9, content mastered in HD can be any aspect ratio, just like standard-def. On the high-definition master, the 4:3 image will be pillarboxed in the center of the 16:9 frame. When they extract this for DVD, they will use just the 4:3 portion and it will fill a 4:3 TV like any other 4:3 program.

http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?r=0&s=1&c=4545

Wow! Is that the giftset box near the bottom? That looks great! If it ends up coming with all three of those items, hell, looks like i'm emptying out my wallet November 23rd.

photos on covers were taken well beyond seasons one, two, and three. Oh well.

I think it's far weirder that the spine picture for season 3 is from that same session, but the spine from 1/2 looks to be different.

According to the press release, all three items will be included.

I will be purchasing the gift set. No brainer for me.

These are up for pre-order on Amazon.ca

$41.97 cdn for each of the season sets
$123.17 cdn for the gift set

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASI...030320-9002737

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASI...030320-9002737

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASI...030320-9002737

Amazon.com's prices seem to be slightly less for each of the individual sets after the Share the Love discounts, but quite a bit lower for the gift set (using the currency converter at www.xe.com to convert Amazon.ca's prices to USD):

Seasons 1&2 - $32.47
Season 3 - $32.47
Gift Set - $77.97

All prices are pre-STL discount.

I think Amazon's prices could sway me to buying the gift set, about which I had been on the fence. At those prices, it's only ~$12 more for the gift set (after STL).