X-Files remastered for HD and Blu-Ray

...and from season 1, episode 3:

 

...




I feel the composition of the wide shots is better in 16:9, but I'm not sure about the close-ups. But I did not notice something was amiss when watching the episode.

(Thanks to the guys at the blu-ray.com forum for the screencaps)

 

I don't understand how they can claim the show was always protected for 16x9 when every screen shot I've seen shows cropping on the bottom of the frame. I'm not complaining, because to me it's not a deal breaker and I really appreciate the huge jump in clarity, but yeah.

 

Also, have they switched more seasons to HD on Netflix streaming yet? Last I checked it was only the first season.

 

"Protected" means they made sure no shooting equipment or personnel was in the frame.

 

Wouldn't that imply that they could simply open up the frame to 16x9 then, with no cropping at all?

 

With Super 35 film, which -if I understand correctly- they used, you'll still have to lose a bit of top and bottom:

 

Thanks for the illustration, it makes sense now. I've always incorrectly assumed that the different frames were centered (both horizontally and vertically) on the film frame.

 

They both look good. I wish they'd do a boxset which came with both versions.

 

That would be only for seasons 1 and 2.

Depending on the film formats used, (according to the specialists on the blu-ray.com forum) starting with season 3, the picture will not be cropped in 16:9, we'll just gain image on the sides, up until season 5 when everything was filmed in 1.78.

 

Fox, get over yourself and just give us the bloody blu-Rays. You've mucked up enough in your home video division in the last decade.

 

Agreed, but I am kind of afraid of what the price would be for a blu-ray box set of a nine-season, ~24-episodes-per-season, hour-long show would be, though.

Plus they'd need to include the two feature films in their chronological place in the box for it to be definitive.

 

I'd be fine with them selling them separately.

 

I would guess that while individual staggered season releases would make it much easier for a lot of people to afford the series over time on BD, we'd be more easily guaranteed the full series on BD if they released it all at once. I could see them giving up after a season or two if they sets don't sell well.

That they're just dumping the HD transfers onto Netflix instead of hyping up a big blu-ray release doesn't bode well for BD sets (that's not to say something has never appeared in HD on Netflix before being sold on BD of course).

 

That's my feeling as well. I don't see staggered, single-season releases working well for 99% of old TV shows on BD for the reasons you outlined. Better for the studios and the consumer to manufacture a limited number of complete series boxes for the hardcore fans willing to plunk down the cash.

(Again though, how many discs would an X-Files complete TV series plus two movies set be? I'm thinking at least 50 discs.)

The lone exception to all this is stuff like Star Trek where there is a rabid, devoted fanbase that is willing to buy lots of merchandise, whether it be action figures or single-season BD box sets.

 

All the screenshots appear to be of non-visual effects shots. Aren't those still being upscaled?

 

I doubt that the first 5-6 years of the show was shot in 3-perf, but at some point they did switch over. 3-perf is inherently 16x9, but my experience is that the cameramen get pretty sloppy about protecting the frame for 16x9 when it's (mostly) being aired in 4x3.

That sounds about right to me.

 

I'd preorder it today

 

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/X-Files-seasons-coming-to-bd/21590

ahhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhhh

 

Fantastic news, one which I've been waiting for since Blu-ray was first released. I can finally retire the DVD season sets I paid over $100 per season.

The pricing looks very reasonable as well for so much content.

 

I hope it's true but:

 

I would imagine all of the SKUs and specs may change or be clarified. But given everything we've seen (listings on both Amazon Canada and Germany), I would be surprised if the whole things fall through and never happens at all.

I do think it's a bit weird to release all individual seasons at the same time on the same day; studios seem to spread out individual releases even when a "complete series" set is already out there.

But I definitely like that the whole series is likely to be released at once, in either or both forms, as that negates the possibility of Fox putting one season out at a time and giving up after a few seasons.

 

That's not entirely accurate, I have to say. The X-Files was in a limp and sorry state by the time it ended in 2002, it's ratings had cratered and indifference to it largely prevailed, it was seen as irrelevant and long past it's best, and when it did end, I heard NOTHING more about that show until the second movie got going in 2007, and up to it's release in 2008... and even then it disappeared pretty quickly. For pity's sakes, I didn't even SEE repeats of the show on television (I believe there was a legal tussle about telly rights to it around that time that weren't resolved until several years later) until around 2011. For all intents and purposes, the show had disappeared off the popular culture radar as surely and as quickly as The Matrix after the two sequels. Only when it started re-airing on television and on Netflix a few years ago, did a whole new generation discover it and the ball started rolling again online, leading to the new series (which I'm totally psyched about, it has to be said).

24, on the other hand, even after it's final season in 2010 - which was, I contend, a VERY good and underrated season - still continued, albeit on a more tangential basis, to be on the popular culture radar, not just because of constant rumours and articles about the possible movie, but it also continued to be discussed in political debates. There was only a mere three years between the end of the series and the announcement of the Live Another Day limited series, so it never had a chance to fully disappear from public view in the way The X-Files had over about a decade.

I couldn't say which show is bigger, but I don't really think that matters, does it? It will be interesting to see the numbers for the upcoming new series though...

 

I would say "X Files" has always had a more ardent, hardcore, intense fan base than "24" ever has.

"24" seemed trendy and mainstream for a little while there, but then again, more people actually watched "X Files." Looking at the ratings of each show, they both seem to show a not terribly dissimilar up-and-down trajectory. "X Files" had three seasons in the Top 20, "24" had one (plus one of the miniseries). The peak X Files seasons saw it ranked #11 with an average of nearly 20 million viewers. The peak "24" season saw it ranked #20 with an average of 12.62 million viewers.

I would also say that least *part* of the decline in interest in the show had to do with the limited appearances (and in some cases no appearance) of both Duchovny and Anderson near the end.

Rewatching the entire series relatively recently, I actually warmed a bit more than I thought I would to the two new agents (Robert Patrick and the other one). I actually thought it was interesting when the two original stars interacted with them.

 

Part of me thinks the old rules for DVD/BR releases are being reconsidered in the age of streaming. Also, if there is a new surge in interest in the program (due to the new series being produced), they will be better served by having the full series available at once (both as a complete set and as individual seasons) than trying to stretch it out over many months or years. Otherwise, they risk losing momentum by the time they release the later, less popular seasons...resulting in the scenario you mention, with them giving up before releasing the final seasons. It is also advantageous to get the discs out before Xmas, as physical releases, because physical product still makes for a nicer gift option.

Pricing also has to be more competitive these days, as incentive for people to buy the physical product. While DVDs/BRs have a greater cost to prepare for release than streaming, selling the discs likely nets a greater profit per user than streaming. I also think they will try to limit costs by only producing as many sets as they think they have reasonable assurance of selling in a specified time frame, then let product go OOP instead of trying to support a small trickle of sales over many years to come. That way there is less chance they will end up with a warehouse full of unsold product.