Columbo Complete Blue ray set

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by [email protected], Feb 6, 2012.

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  1. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    They were all scanned from the original 35mm negatives by Universal Digital Video Services (DVS) on a 4K scanner, though the color-correction was all done in HD -- which to me is fine for anything done before the 1980s, especially a TV show. I think they look and sound terrific.

    I'd like to see Universal put out a boxed set of all of Steven Spielberg's Universal TV episodes, which include the famous "Murder by the Book" pilot.
     
  2. I take it you're referring to the Japanese Blu-ray box set and not the new Australian Blu-ray releases of Series 1 & 2? I can tell fully well that the 1970s episodes are genuine HD transfers and not SD up-samples.

    Also, on the Japanese Blu-ray box set the later episodes that were produced in stereo appear in stereo on these discs, but only when listening in English. The Japanese soundtrack to the episodes produced in stereo is in mono. Not that this matters much to me, considering I have no interest in listening to it in Japanese. It may annoy certain Japanese customers though who think they're getting the best with this box set.

    Also, they show Columbo in HD on TV here in the UK. I can't help but notice that the HD transfers they show on TV are different from the Blu-rays. There is less picture grain (noise) when show in HD on TV. Then I thought that maybe they are the same transfers but with a little more restoration applied.
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2015
  3. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Wasn't that anamazing episode? All thise great camera angles, and if you ask me, he squeezed better performances from the actors in that episode. I just saw Jurassic World and you really notice when Steve's fairy dust is missing. I didn't give a hoot about any of the characters in that movie, though the film itself was a fun ride. But had Steven directed it it would have been much better. I would never watch it again because there isn't any connection to the story or characters for me. Steve would have made that happen. In that Columbo episode you sited, and the best one in the series imo, you hated the villan in that episode and felt bad for the victims!
     
  4. PNeski@aol.com

    [email protected] Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York
    well that would be OK ,but I want all the episodes on BR Universal seems to release stuff all around the world first on BR Like House MD which is available everywhere but here on BR (All the seasons)
     
  5. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dixie
    Has LA 2017 ever been on home video?
     
  6. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I don't think so. In fact, I don't think any of the Name of the Game episodes have been released, to my knowledge. Universal has transferred most of their library to HD -- even their old 1950s and 1960s shows -- but many of them are just sitting in a vault.
     
    longdist01 likes this.
  7. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Yes, that kind of thing happens with foreign-language dubs. The original American English mix is fantastic, and then the foreign dubs are horrible. I've done projects where the English track is 5.1 surround, and the French or Spanish track is mono and from optical tracks, sounding like bacon frying.

    It's very possible that somebody subjected the files to more grain reduction somewhere along the way. I know of cases where shows or movies got shipped out, and the overseas distributors decided to do more changes on their own without telling anybody, like filtering the audio or heavily noise-reducing the picture. It happens with CD masters, too: the artist approves the mix and mastering, it gets shipped to the CD pressing plant, and the plant decides to clip and compress the signal right before the discs are made. :eek:
     
    longdist01 and Defanged like this.
  8. Thanks Vidiot, great news, I'm glad to be proved wrong. Here's hoping a U.S. release follows soon and I hope that Madman's sales figures are strong enough to justify further seasons on BD here in Oz.
    Below are links to Australian Home Entertainment retailer JB Hifi. The current exclusive retailer for these releases. Both sets are 3 disc releases. The description for season one is taken from the back of the DVD release, thus the mention of 5 rather than the correct 3 discs.

    https://www.jbhifi.com.au/movies-tv-shows/movies-tv-shows-on-sale/tv-crime/columbo-season-1/697667/

    https://www.jbhifi.com.au/movies-tv-shows/movies-tv-shows-on-sale/tv-crime/columbo-season-2/697671/
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2015
  9. spanky1

    spanky1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    I love watching old shows, and trying to see current actors early in their career. I watched an old ~'72-'74 episode of Columbo a few days ago, and when the closing credits rolled, I noticed KATEY SAGAL. I had to skip back to the scene that her character appeared. Sure enough, it was her, but she was no Peg Bundy yet. ;)
     
  10. Yeah her dad was the director Boris Sagal. He directed that episode, "Candidate For Crime."
    He was a prolific TV director who contributed to shows such as The Naked City, 77 Sunset Strip, The Twilight Zone, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and many others.
    He also directed Elvis in "Girl Happy" (1965), Charles Bronson in "Guns Of Diablo" that same year and Charlton Heston in a personal favourite, 1971's "The Omega Man". The second screen adaptation of the late great Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend" (1954). He tragically died in an accident in 1981 during early production work on the telemovie "World War III" (1982).
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2015
    longdist01 likes this.
  11. spanky1

    spanky1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Very interesting. Thanks for the trivia.
     
  12. Trashman

    Trashman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Having been patiently waiting for series to come out on Blu Ray in the US, I finally gave up and bit the bullet for the Japanese set. I had hoped that Madman would release more season sets, but it appears they only released subsequent seasons on DVD. The Blu Ray sets for Seasons 1 and 2 don't even show up on their website any longer... not boding well for any more seasons showing up on BR. I nearly bought the Season 1 and 2 sets, since I have a region-free Blu Ray player, but I didn't like the idea of not being able to finish the series (the 70s episodes, at least).

    The Japanese price has dropped a bit on Amazon Japan (and/or the exchange rate is now more favorable for US customers), so I was able to order the Japanese box for $290, which includes shipping to the US. Even though I mostly only want the original series from the 70s, having the entire series in one box will be nice.

    So if anyone else has been holding out for a (slight) price drop, this might be a good time to pick this up... especially since hopes for a US Blu Ray release are fading fast.
     
    SteveM likes this.
  13. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Love and hate that you posted! I think you may have cost me $300! It's my favorite show and I know what's going to happen as soon as I order one...it will show up domestically! But, I watch it all the time and I don't watch too many other shows, so I would get my $300 worth. I also like the newer seasons as well, so that really isn't too bad of a price considering they are near movie length. I wish I enjoyed more of the episodes from the middle era though...I seem to prefer the earlier episodes and then the ABC one's for the most part, except for the last three. I got to attend a seminar Peter Falk hosted on Columbo a few years before he passed away and he signed my laserdisc copy of one of the seasons. What a fun evening! He asked if any of us even knew that ABC had shown one of the last episodes and most were not even aware of it. He didn't seem too happy, but the last two episodes really stunk imo! Thanks for the post...I think it's time to pull the trigger. Let us know how you like it!

    Edit: hmm, it's almost $400 right now. More than I'm going to spend.
     
  14. Trashman

    Trashman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Odd, it's still showing as 29,376 yen for me, which is roughly $290. It was about $280 yesterday, when checking the conversion. Amazon adds on another $10 for shipping.

    Are you looking at the Japanese website: www.amazon.co.jp

    If you order from them, you will need to open a new account, since your American account doesn't work. Here's the link to the Japanese page with the box set.

    I did enjoy some of the ABC specials when they aired, but didn't see some of the later ones... perhaps that's a good thing. I will definitely give them another chance when I get the box set.
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2016
  15. Trashman

    Trashman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Received the box set from Amazon Japan after only 5 days waiting...not bad for the $10 shipping charge.

    So far I have only previewed the episodes on the first couple of discs. One thing I noticed is that it appears to be presented in 1080i. When I ripped a couple of the episodes to my hard drive and played them, the interlacing artifacts were clearly visible on my computer monitor (i.e. the "comb" effect you get on objects moving horizontally). Using the deinterlace option on the VMC media player removed those artifacts. Not a huge issue, but I would have preferred a 1080p format instead, considering these were scanned from 35mm prints. Perhaps they thought that 1080i gave more of broadcast TV appearance.

    Overall, I think the picture looks quite nice, with detail clearly visible that the old DVDs didn't show. The color isn't quite as vivid as I had hoped for, but it seems many of these early 70s television shows weren't very colorful to begin with. I suspect the colors on the Blu Ray discs are just as good, if not better, than what was originally broadcast back in the day.

    The booklet that comes with the box set is really nice, providing good detail about each episode... if you can read Japanese, that is. But fortunately, the episodes titles are also printed in English on the disc case and discs, so it's easy to find the right disc to play your favorite episodes.

    I balked at paying the $400 price tag for this set, but feel it was worth it for the $290 that I eventually ended up paying... assuming, of course, that the remaining episodes I have yet to view are of similar quality to the first few discs I've previewed.
     
  16. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Did anybody catch the broadcast a few days ago of Prescription: Murder on one of the Hallmark HD channels? It was presented (properly) in 4x3, and looked absolutely stunning (IMO) for a 1968 made-for-tv movie. Fantastic quality.
     
  17. That doesn't make any sense to present it in 1080i vs. 1080p.
     
  18. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Indidn't see you post until tonight as I didn't get an alert. I got lucky and just found a used set, but it was still about what you paid. I'm glad you are enjoying yours. Looks like they are about out of them in Japan. Might be hard to get after. I saw some broke down by volume that were recently issued, but wrong region. Makes me think maybe they will get around to releasing them here but I don't want to chance it as physical media seems to be phasing out. Thank you for the Amazon Japan link. I almost get one until the used one here in the US popped up.
     
  19. Blimpboy

    Blimpboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    I have the first two seasons on Blu ray from Australia (Madman) and I am pleased with the presentation. Nice extras such as the Mystery Movie credits with the Henry Mancini theme and alternate edit of an episode. Some text less end credits like they did for the Buck Rogers set too.
     
    Jrr likes this.
  20. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    What region are they? Do you know if only the two seasons were released?
     
  21. pocofan

    pocofan Senior Member

    Location:
    Alabama
    Loved that show. You now he had it figured out when he was about to leave and he would stop and say something was bothering him and he had just one more question.
     
  22. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    I think region 2. They are on ebay. And I only saw season two listed but one would assume season one is available. This would be the way to go as far as cost if one knew if all the seasons are coming out, and that you can play that region.
     
  23. Blimpboy

    Blimpboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    It's a region B release from Australia. Just those two seasons. They are no longer listed on the Madman website. Doesn't look like they are planning tho continue. Same thing happened to Quantum Leap and Seaquest on blu from there too. I purchased mine thru Amazon USA. Still listed theer last I checked.
     
  24. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    That;s why I grabbed the set on ebay. I'm afraid one they run out that's going to be it. Seems like people simply aren't buying enough physical media now. They only had two of these left in Japan.
     
  25. Very, very true! I think I must have read your same comments (reviews?) elsewhere which finally tipped me into buying this set from Amazon.co.jp even though I already have the Complete DVD set from 2009. Incidentally I saw an episode from the early 90's (the one with Ian McShane) called Goodbye Mrs Columbo on the weekend on ITV (UK). It started off okay and looked almost HD but as the episode progressed the picture got weaker and weaker until it finally looked like a poor VHS. I wonder what was going on there? I haven't yet played the same episode on my BD set to compare.

    On the contrary: the 70's episodes look the best (they were shot on 35mm film) and the leap to BD is worth every penny /cent for hardcore Columbo fans!

    Well here we are at the tail end of 2017 and there is no news of a forthcoming UK or US release. The BD set is stunning. I convinced myself I didn't need it as I have the very good DVD set already but I eventually caved in. It's a stunning set and AFAIK the Japanese HD copies used for the BD set are exclusive to the company which licensed them from Universal. If Universal wanted to release this they would have to strike a new set of transfers at great cost so it doesn't look like an inevitability at this stage of the game. Maybe they will jump straight to 4K but I doubt that would present a physical release as 4K media will probably be dead long before then?
     
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