Is there any reason Frasier didn't get an HD remaster like Cheers?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by OldSoul, Jul 24, 2017.

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  1. PianoMangler

    PianoMangler Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    This is so stupid. At the CES an 8K TV had already been presented while there are so many older shows that haven't been released even on Blu-ray. Insanity ...
     
  2. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    And we don't even have pristine 780p on cable or satellite as even that gets downrezzed and compressed. Let's work on getting pristine 780p and 1080i, on cable and satellite first, and then focus on better.
     
  3. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I think the answer to the first question is a two-parter: 1) the Viacom/CBS people are cheap bastids and 2) they don't care a heckuva lot about a 15-year old show.

    The second question is, it's possible the syndication versions were made from the original broadcast air videotapes (which I believe were standard-def 525 Digital Betacam), and the streaming versions may be made from a later remastered version in HD. Whether they're streaming HD, I dunno. Either way, the transfers would be done from the original 35mm camera negatives, so it should look pretty good. Frasier was always a pretty good looking show; in the last few years, colorist Craig Budrick did the show over at Sunset Post and did an excellent job.
     
  4. dirwuf

    dirwuf Misplaced Chicagoan

    Location:
    Fairfield, CT
    Rather than start a new thread, I’m going to pose the same question here regarding M*A*S*H... considering how many cable channels are running it these days, it’s unfathomonable that it has yet to be transferred in HD.
     
  5. And V The Mini Series and The Final Battle, I'd love those on HD.
     
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  6. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I mastered both those for broadcast TV (actually for Warner Bros.), and producer Kenneth Johnson was... interesting. Let's just say he was a very passionate producer who cared a lot about what he did.

    I would betcha that once the Disney+Fox deal is finished this summer, since a huge part of it revolves around Disney getting access to Fox's entire library, there's a good chance they'll want to use the opportunity to remaster everything in 4K or HD. I would be fine with the TV shows in HD, but there's not a huge cost difference between the two these days. (Note that Sony went back and remastered Breaking Bad in 4K as a way to promote their 4K TV sets, and the new transfers actually look a lot better than the original AMC show.)
     
  7. Were both the mini series and The Final Battle actually shot on widescreen as seen on the DVDs or they were shot to 4:3 and they cropped the picture for 16:9 DVDs?
     
  8. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    All shot in 1.33 35mm 4-perf film. We only used low-con print for the broadcast air version, but did use mag tracks (3-track mono was pretty normal). I would bet later 1990s home video versions may have used some negative. Note this was an era where all the VFX were still done on film, but I think they hold up OK for a 35-year-old show.

    If they did later versions in 16x9, then you're losing about 20% of the frame at the bottom, but seeing a little more on the left and right.
     
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  9. The DVD versions of The Mini Series and The Final Battle are 16:9 and I always thought that the framing is a bit weird, not as bad as 16:9 BDs of the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica, but weird. The Mini Series was remixed to matrixed Dolby Surround, an strange decision for a DVD released in 2001 when 5.1 Dolby Digital was the standard, and The Final Battle is plain mono on DVD. If the original sound elements exist 5.1 mixes could be done for those episodes. I don't think Warner is interested on releasing a 35 years old T.V. series, even if it sold quite well on DVD.
     
  10. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Guaranteed, by that era everybody was mixing to 24-track 2" analog, so it'd be relatively easy to pull the masters and redo everything for stereo if not 5.1 discrete surround. There is a tendency when an Lt/Rt (Dolby Matrix) mix exists to just extract a 5.1 from that, aka an "upmix." Those can sound good if you have a good engineer with good taste, making the right decisions.
     
    Kiko1974 likes this.
  11. Thank you for your answer Vidiot. I've always suspected that studios were doing this with some movies from the Dolby Stereo era, upmixing a 4.0 mix to 5.1 but never thought they'd take an already matrixed encoded Dolby Stereo/Surround and make a 5.1 mix from that.
     
  12. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Yeah, you can derive 5.1 from regular stereo, Dolby Stereo (Dolby Matrix), or the old CinemaScope 4.0 format. But you do have to use some taste and good judgement. They also have to be careful that the mix will still fold back to mono and stereo with the fewest possible artifacts. Dialogue intelligibility is the #1 goal.
     
    Kiko1974 likes this.
  13. I am a fan of your work. :righton:
     
  14. It's always a pleasure to "talk" and get real answers from a pro.
     
  15. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I make all this crap up. :laugh: Actually, in the case of sound mixing, I have close experience with people who do this every day, so my knowledge there comes from them. For picture editing and color, that I can do, along with final mastering for delivery. Some stuff -- VFX and disc authoring -- we have to "hire a guy." This stuff gets very specialized, very quickly.
     
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