Seinfeld TV series - now available in HD for streaming/digital purchase via iTunes/VUDU

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by SamS, Nov 13, 2017.

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  1. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Changing aspect ratios within the same show feels a bit gimmicky to me (I don't watch American Gods), but I guess it can work. I have seen shows (though I can't remember which right now) which are 'normal' 1.78 for the most part, but have flashback to say the 70s/80s and they show that in 1.3333 (did Mr Robot do that?).

    The very first time I remember seeing a tv show with a wider than normal aspect ratio (2.39) was the cult Brit series Utopia, back in 2013.
     
  2. budwhite

    budwhite Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

    Location:
    Götaland, Sverige
    Aspect ratio change within a movie or a show sucks for us with a 2.35 screen
     
  3. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Mr. Robot did that weird thing with odd framing, putting people's heads in the lower right or having two people in conversation at the very bottom of the frame. But the show has always been 1.78 as far as I know. The first major successful American TV series I can think of that went widescreen was House of Cards, and that was back in 2013 (the Netflix version, not the UK original). American Gods really took it a step further, altering the aspect ratio and generally going to 2.39 for flashback sequences and then 1.78 for present-day scenes. Mr. Robot did do an absolutely bizarre fantasy episode where they were momentarily stuck in an early-1990s sitcom, and that was 1.33 and looked very analog-ish, complete with bad lighting and a laugh track (complete with a very "Full House" theme song).

    It's becoming kind of a standard "premium show" thing, where the lines blur between TV shows and features. I can see why some filmmakers want to push the envelope and shoot in widescreen, simply because they can. A guy like Fincher really, really knows how to compose the picture just "so."

    BTW, there are also shows like Fear the Walking Dead where they're shooting on anamorphic widescreen Panavision lenses, but all we see at home is a normal 1.78 HD image. The trick there is we get the subtle distortion and vignetting that you get from anamorphic glass, particularly the distinctive lens flares with highlights. I was very surprised they would go to that much trouble for a TV show, but it's an interesting look.
     
  4. OldSoul

    OldSoul Don't you hear the wind blowin'?

    Location:
    NYC
    @Vidiot 3rd Rock was actually in 16x9 on either Netflix or Hulu not too long ago (one of them had it in SD, the other in HD).
     
  5. budwhite

    budwhite Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

    Location:
    Götaland, Sverige
    I'm the glad the new Star Trek series is in 2.00
     
  6. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I'm an OAR purist. If people don't wanna watch something because it's OAR, that's their problem.

    It's a slippery slope. Let's go colorize B&W TV shows, crop 'em to 1.78:1 and give 'em 5.1 remixes!!! :sigh:
     
  7. stereoptic

    stereoptic Anaglyphic GORT Staff

    Location:
    NY
    Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel changed aspect ratios 2 or 3 times during the film.
     
  8. Claude

    Claude Senior Member

    Location:
    Luxembourg
    That's a great little documentary.

    I prefer the original aspect ratio. On the examples shown in the video, despite the effort taken on finding the best 16:9 frame off the full aspect 35mm film (not just cropping the 4:3 picture), a lot of information is lost on top (Kramer's hair !!) and bottom (Jerry's sneakers), while not many interesting new things can be seen on the sides (obviously, as it wasn't meant to be seen originally).
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2017
  9. JAuz

    JAuz Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    Doing this in a movie has a longer history. Movies like Woodstock or Elvis On Tour has it because of the use of multiple images on the screen at the same time.

    More American Grafitti is an example of non-concert film which alternates aspect ratios. George Lucas wanted each of the story lines to have a different one and shot with different film types as well.
     
    stereoptic likes this.
  10. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I agree, it is a slippery slope. The kee to me is that they have to use good taste and experience, and the moment it's done badly, it all goes to hell. I'm on record as hating the 5.1 remixes on the old Star Trek show because the dialogue is buried compared to the music and effects -- the balance is for crap. Any contemporary TV series sounds absolutely fine, so this was a case of bad creative choices.

    Pure B&W can look beautiful, particularly for films shot before the 1970s. In general, I'm opposed to colorizing any feature films because you're changing the director and cinematographer's work. TV shows... I think I can let that slide provided the colorization is done absolutely perfectly. The problem is, they're never gonna do that because it would cost too much. I don't think the recent I Love Lucy shows are being done very well, and I object even more to them cutting the living crap out of the content for commercial time. Run 2 shows in a 75-minute timeslot, then run a 15-minute documentary on the show to fill out the time.

    For collectors, I would have absolutely no problem with Sony putting out a boxed Blu-ray set that presented both the 4x3 and the 16x9 versions of Seinfeld and allowed the viewer to choose whichever version they prefer. BTW, note that Sony is now going back and doing 4K versions of some of their recent 35mm film shows, including Breaking Bad. But those were always shot in 3-perf 16x9, so there is no change in sizing per se.
     
    budwhite likes this.
  11. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    They can do whatever they want as long as we can get the original in equivalent quality. They can remix/recolor/crop "Seinfeld" all they want - as long as the set also includes the original 4X3 with the audio from the shows...
     
  12. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Unfortunately, it looks like Sony has no interest in releasing the show at all on Blu-ray, which is baffling to me.
     
  13. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    So, what's the deal with that? :)
     
    The Hud likes this.
  14. Dave Garrett

    Dave Garrett Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    So there's some shrinkage?

     
  15. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Do women know about shrinkage?
     
  16. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    It's always a sad thing when uncaring people are in a position of power where they can make bad decisions.

    [​IMG]
     
    budwhite likes this.
  17. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Yeah, it seems like a no-brainer to me, especially given that they already remastered the shows - it's not like they need to invest in new HD transfers.

    One assumes the Sony beancounters figured out that it wouldn't be worth it... :shrug:
     
  18. stereoptic

    stereoptic Anaglyphic GORT Staff

    Location:
    NY
    I haven't watched my DVDs in quite a while (I did go through each season box set twice over the years), but from what I recall the video and audio quality was fine. For me, upgrading all of those seasons to BluRay is not cost beneficial since I don't watch them that often. I am GUESSING that others who invested in the box sets may be thinking the same thing.
     
  19. SamS

    SamS Forum Legend Thread Starter

    Location:
    Texas
    So I started re-watching the show (from the beginning) via Apple TV. It is soooo nice to have these digitally. No fooling around with discs, remember where/which episode you left off on, etc.

    Season 1: Ep 1 - has real picture quality issues. Some of the medium-range shots appear to be sourced from SD. It's only a few camera angles though. So you go from very clear, to very blurry, from shot to shot.

    The cropping started to bother me sometimes. It seems worse on some episodes vs. another. I'm starting to think I would actually prefer 4:3, but that is not going to stop me from enjoying the show in HD, today. Yes Jerry, I will give you even more money - if you release these on Blu-ray with OAR :D
     
  20. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    I think it'd be easiest/best to just include 4x3. Anyone shelling out the money for the show on BD is likely going to want the OAR. It should also be a one-and-done series box set, and not a season-by-season release like the ill-fated I Love Lucy BDs (that were cancelled after two seasons), for example.
     
  21. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    If they put out the Blu-ray set at the same price as the DVDs, I don't think they'd lose any money. This stuff is dirt-cheap these days. Heck, the box and the packaging is probably more expensive than the disks themselves these days.
     
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  22. guy incognito

    guy incognito Senior Member

    Location:
    Mee-chigan
    The new black-and-white.
     
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  23. JohnO

    JohnO Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    To me, the 16x9 version is "too close". It looks like "they" did almost the best they could in cropping it, but all the shots are too close compared to other 16x9 TV shows. You want to be further back from those people! It looks magnified, because in a way it is. It's just not right. I have the DVDs, and I'll stick with those, and I have no particular desire for Blu-Ray for this.
     
  24. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Exactly.

    It does lose 20% of the image at the bottom of the frame but headroom is unchanged and you're actually seeing a little bit more on the sides. For years, I've called this the "chopping the actors off at the knees" technique, since that's basically what's happening. It's not exactly a blow-up per se. It is very definitely a visual compromise.
     
    budwhite likes this.
  25. JohnO

    JohnO Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    Yes, not exactly a blow-up, but that's what I see or feel or recognize watching the HD version now.

    (I understand there is the tiniest bit extra on the left and right of HD versions that I do not have here)
    (I carefully cropped each shot best, not just cut off the bottoms all the same way)

    I have tried to simulate it, this is roughly what I see now, DVD vs TBS or whatever HD versions which I don't watch. The HD versions look chopped off and enlarged. That's what I see, and I don't like it and here's what I'm doing with it

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2017
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