My Other Self

I don't think Nick at Nite speeds up airings. They do fill in more commercials but they're on that irregular time schedule so there ends up being an extra 30 minutes of commercials in a block.

Say they're airing it for 3 hours. Instead of 6, you'll see 5 episodes because they squeeze more commercials in and shows end up starting at off-times.

They've been doing this for years. TV Land as well.

TBS doesn't air the syndicated HD versions yet. They were given that option I believe last year but haven't switched over yet.

MTRodaba2468

Well, at least two of the shows you listed (Buffy and Angel; I don't know if The X-Files would have this issue), while shot on film stock, had their post-production done in video. Unlike Paramount, which has been spending a fuck-ton of money to redo Star Trek: The Next Generation in HD, if the opportunity of a Blu-Ray release came about, Fox would probably just upscale the shows, not unlike what they did with The Simpsons Seasons 13 and 14, or Firefly.

LPMA

So basically buying these shows, you're just paying for a "fancy" version of what any decent blu-ray players can do? Or do their process have any added quality?

Matthew Chmiel

All of the shows mentioned were shot in 35mm. If a show was remastered from these elements than their video elements, then yes, the process will have significantly better quality than a 480P upconvert.

For most shows, it costs anywhere from $5K to $50K to upgrade from the original 35MM elements to HD. I remember reading online that each episode of That '70s Show cost $15K for the HD conversion, but any interetestial during the show along with some moments were upconverted from the video source as no 35MM element existed. I'm revisiting the series on Netflix as we speak (I'm currently on the sixth season) and while for the most part it looks great, some moments have looked absolutely like shit.

Paramount went back to the original 35mm elements for Star Trek: The Next Generation and re-did all the SFX/VFX in HD as previously as all post-production work was done on video. Obviously, this is the ideal way to go. However, the costs came close to six-figures per episode to have this work done.

When Fox released Firefly on Blu-ray, they used the original 35MM elements, but any SFX/VFX shots were upconverted from 480P to 1080P.

Buffy will never see a 16:9 release on video in the US as Whedon isn't adamant the show was framed for 4:3. However, Angel could as the last season already has 1080P masters that exist and are easily available through iTunes, Playstation Network, etc.

LPMA

Thanks for the info. I don't know lots about these things, and somehow I couldn't envision just the SFX being upscaled and assumed the whole frames would need to be, basically equaling an upscaling player's work.

bluetoast

The one thing I'm wondering is how they go through all the footage and edit? Do they have to go through the timestamps and re-edit each episode as well, matching the cuts on film to the video versions, because if so that seems like even more of a monumental task.

DJariya

According to an update from tvshowsondvd.com, the episodes featured in this BD set are the broadcast versions.

The DVD sets (I don't own them) apparently have extended cuts of some episodes. So, if your interested in this set and own the DVDs, you probably want to hang on to them. It says the extended cuts were specially created for the DVDs and don't exist in a form that can be used for the BDs.

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Friends...answered/17124

bluetoast

If that's the case, they should at least include them in SD for the sake of completion.

yoshimi

Does this include the episode where Rachel is snobby, Ross is neurotic, Monica is anal retentive, Joey dumb, Phoebe ditzy and Chandler a smart ass?

Darth Maher

Yes, I believe that episode is called "The One Where Rachel is Snobby, Ross is Neurotic, Monica is Anal Retentive, Joey Dumb, Phoebe Ditzy and Chandler a Smart Ass". I think it was a two-parter.

Jcheckel

I know they have the weird time slots, but it sure sounds like they're speeding it up to me, seems most noticeable with Chandler's voice.

Josh Z

That is exactly what's being done for Star Trek: The Next Generation. CBS has rescanned the original camera negatives and has been re-editing the episodes from scratch using the original editing logs.

I'm not sure about Friends. It depends on whether the show was edited originally on film or on video.

davidh777

Or maybe a 200-parter

Shannon Nutt

One of the extras listed on the specs is:

"The Ones With More Friends: The Original Extended Broadcast Episodes"

So it sounds like they're including the extended episodes (most likely in SD) in addition to the HD Broadcast Versions

dolphinboy

If a studio will go to that expense, why are shows ike New Girl not being released on blu-ray? It was already broadcast in HD, so they have the master and just need to make the discs.

I'm sure at least part of your answer is that Star Trek shows sell well to a certain group of people, but they're also spending a lot just to make it available. It doesn't even seem like New Girl would have to sell a ton to make a decent profit and the strongest demo of the show seems like it's people who own HDTVs and blu-ray players.

bluetoast

Plus, since Cheers was done on film (and is even available in HD), why is that not available on Blu-ray? I would pay good money for that right fucking now.

davidh777

TV on BD discussed here:

Why aren't there more TV series released on Blu-ray?

Touch -- 2 Hour Season Finale -- "Gyre" -- 5/31/12

New Girl specifically here, briefly:

What renewed 1st year show that you missed will you try to re-visit this summer?

dolphinboy

You probably have a much better chance of getting it than I do of thinking Fox might change their mind after season 2 and releasing New Girl. If tv on dvd/blu is really not doing well, why even release the dvd set of New Girl? I really believe most of its audience watched it in HD, which will suppress the sales of the dvds, only making Fox less likely to release other things on either format. But for the wrong reasons in my humble opinion.

I've already pre-ordered Friends and I'm totally fine with $195 even if that's the release date price. Sony really needs to do this with Seinfeld next year. Having Seinfeld will make up for some of the disappointments.

Wezzo

Some of the original episodes were extended when originally broadcast, and those will be included here. What won't be included here are the extended cuts of episodes that *weren't* originally broadcast that way - i.e. DVD-exclusive material. And there's a lot of it.

Shannon Nutt

Source? I'm assuming the HD epsidoes will be as originally broadcast, whether they were extended or not. I think the bonus I mentioned is for those OTHER episodes that were updated for the DVD release. I mean if they were extended when originally broadcast, then that's the "original broadcast version" as far as I'm concerned.

Michael Corvin

I remember seeing an article with comparison pics of an episode that was getting the HD treatment. Maybe it was a test episode just to see the difference? I dunno, it was a couple years ago and google isn't helping me out right now.

Wezzo

I agree with you, except that the extra you refer to specifically describes them as "original extended broadcast episodes" - that couldn't describe the DVD-only material, could it?

Or am I getting a bit lost..

Shannon Nutt

I see the way you read that...who knows...I guess we'll just have to wait for a review (or more info).

My Other Self

Paramount re-mastered the series in HD. It aired on HDNet and is available on Amazon streaming in HD.

They never came out with a complete series box of Cheers or Frasier. My guess is the individual season sets didn't sell that well.

davidh777

Paramount abandoned a number of series a few years ago and it was a surprise when they resumed releasing stuff like Cheers and Taxi. Family Ties is one that is still unfinished.