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What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home video?
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Author:  signofzeta [ 05 Jul 2022, 22:07 ]
Post subject:  What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home video?
OK, I'm constantly thinking about this and its time to make a thread for it.

Lets say there is something you want to watch, a film, a TV show, a concert, sports, whatever and you don't really care if its on LD or not, you just want to know the best way(s) to watch it at home. Maybe you're not sure if it ever came out, maybe it came out so many times you don't know what version to get, maybe it came out in three other countries and you want to know which version to import. THIS IS THE THREAD FOR THAT! Please contribute what you know.

OK, so I'm looking for the best way to watch:

Dangermouse

Count Duckula

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Happy Days

I Dream of Jeannie


This thread may live for many years and the status of home video changes all the time so check the date on anything you read here.
Author:  teddanson [ 06 Jul 2022, 05:38 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
I use dvdcompare.net for Blu Ray, 4K and DVD comparisons though it's not exhaustive so you need to DYOR sometimes. Where possible I like my media 'au naturel'. Unfiltered. Uncensored. So use different sources like Media Censorship, Melon Farmers (NSFW!) and the BBFC website or other censorship bodies to find out more information.

For Dangermouse you can get a complete list of episodes here:

https://epguides.com/DangerMouse/

Your best bet is probably to get the complete DVD set from the UK. I've no concrete evidence on if any episodes were tampered with for international release as the cartoon was, to my memory at least, very British.

There are two ultimate collections. A standard 10 disc DVD set, and a 25th Anniversary 12 disc set. Both have all 89 episodes on them. Not sure what else is on the other 2 discs in the 25th set, but I'd take that box out of the two if it was me buying it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dangermouse-25 ... B000HA46K8

Count Duckula has a complete DVD set too but I think it's OOP so not cheap:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/COUNT-DUCKULA- ... B001870VTE

Again, go British rather than International in case anything was changed for those markets.

Side note, if you want the reboot Dangermouse episodes those are on BBC iPlayer via a decent VPN (or probably Britbox perhaps).

I'm so old I remember watching both Dangermouse and Duckula when they first aired! Personal taste, I wasn't enamoured with either show that much. Superted and Bananaman though were great! And then the Albert Barille cartoons from France. Il Etait Une Fois... , my favourites were Life and Space. Man was alright too.

All of thise are on Blu Ray from France. I got Il Etait Une Fois... La Vie about a year ago. Amazing restoration done on those too from the original negatives.

Then there's the brilliant Around The World With Willy Fogg, and the sequel series. Any of those pan-Europe/ Europe Asia produced cartoons were great. Willy Fogg, Dogtanian, Ulysees 31, Mysterious Cities of Gold and so on. All of those have complete DVD box sets, again available in the UK but may be out of print now.

Good memories. :thumbup:
Author:  jd213 [ 08 Jul 2022, 02:22 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
I liked Duckula as a kid, and got the UK DVDs when they first came out, but yeah, not that entertaining of a show as an adult, other than the wacky characters and theme song.

I forget the details but GITS SAC's US BDs are by Manga (Mangle) and have major issues (missing/blended frames due to 1080i to 1080p24 conversion, dubtitles, and JP audio during the dub or something). Best release if you need subtitles is the long OOP and rare Korean BDs. Best release if you're fine with just the JP audio and EN dub is the JP BDs.
Author:  gypsy [ 09 Jul 2022, 03:21 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
First of all I love this thread. The idea that we can help each other as a community by pooling knowledge is great.

Funny enough, I have a set of Dangermouse coming. It's a US set.

jd213 wrote:
I forget the details but GITS SAC's US BDs are by Manga (Mangle) and have major issues (missing/blended frames due to 1080i to 1080p24 conversion, dubtitles, and JP audio during the dub or something). Best release if you need subtitles is the long OOP and rare Korean BDs. Best release if you're fine with just the JP audio and EN dub is the JP BDs.


GITS SAC is a very unfortunate mess that still hasn't been fixed yeah.

The US BD should under no circumstances be bought. I have the US DVDs still since there isn't really a great BD option.

From what I've seen, even the Japanese blus are not great which probably has to do with the source material. I have no problem paying well for good BD releases, but those are not worth the cost to me.
Author:  courtlyhades296 [ 24 Jul 2022, 17:08 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
The best way to watch Singin' in the Rain on home video is the Ultra HD Blu-Ray, which has incredibly vivid HDR and a lossless version of the original mono mix. If you want all the supplements, you need the CAV Criterion Laserdisc and the 2002 DVD.
Author:  signofzeta [ 14 Nov 2023, 00:54 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
Ok, I have some new ones. What is the best way to watch:

Rocky and Bullwinkle (OG)

The Three Stooges (shorts)

SCTV
Author:  matspettersson [ 17 Nov 2023, 12:23 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
When it comes to watching classics like "Dangermouse," "Count Duckula," "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex," "Happy Days," and "I Dream of Jeannie" at home, your best bet is to check popular streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, Crunchyroll, or Funimation. These services often have a variety of versions and regions covered.
Author:  signofzeta [ 17 Nov 2023, 18:33 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
That’s some insane AI there…
Author:  rein-o [ 17 Nov 2023, 19:57 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
signofzeta wrote:
That’s some insane AI there…

I'm not too sure, its not as friendly and excited about the topic as the AI I've been using on some other sites.
Could be a budget AI :think:
Author:  tombstone13 [ 09 Apr 2024, 06:01 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
I'm not sure if this is the right thread for my comments as it applies to a lot of laserdiscs in general.

I gave my friend a spare player (karoake model) so that we could have movie nights at either her place or mine. She has a great widescreen television. I have an old but great 4:3 CRT.

I generally prefer pan & scan movies since it makes a bigger picture but a lot of my movies are widescreen, like Star Wars. She hates pan & scan but then, her television can actually change the picture size to best fit. I have to admit that Star Wars looks great in widescreen on her set. But it looks kinda small on mine in comparison because it doesn't use the full screen. I have never actually seen Star Wars in pan & scan, though. What is your opinion of Star Wars pan & scan or movies like this in general? I do have Wrath of Khan in both and prefer the pan & scan for my television but again, it's great in widescreen on hers.

Also, she practically throws a fit when a movie is on more than one disc. She thinks all movies should be on one disc only. For example, I happen to have Blade Runner and Tron both in the single disc and double disc editions. What do you think?
Author:  signofzeta [ 12 Apr 2024, 15:25 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
Pan and Scan is always bad. Full frame can be good. Original aspect ratio is correct in all cases.

If a movie is on two discs usually that means it’s CAV. You take the crunchy with the smooth.

The point of this thread was more about which home video version of a a film is the most complete and correct.

For example, if you like the early Marx Bros movies with all four of them the best versions are the compiled Blu-ray. I say this because they are the most restored version of the films that will likely ever exist. Stuff from early home video is likely to be not only burier but also be suffering from cuts censors made in the 40s.

It’s rare that an LD will be the best way to see something due to the super low resolution, scarcity, expanse. There are some though like Star Wars and THX1138.
Author:  spooky [ 18 Apr 2024, 12:34 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
signofzeta wrote:
Ok, I have some new ones. What is the best way to watch:

Rocky and Bullwinkle (OG)

The Three Stooges (shorts)

SCTV


I honestly believe the most complete and correct way to rewatch the shows was to have had access to a TOTL video deck and a strong signal when you originally saw them when they aired on TV and recorded them live. Complete with commercials. I'm assuming you first saw these shows on TV growing up like I did (save for SCTV which was never aired in Ausrtralia). If you're trying to relive nostalgia why would you want to alter the delivery mechanism?

Youtube has uploads of a lot of stuff that was recorded live off TV. You could form a trading club where you could trade dubs of actual tapes if you want to take out the digital compressed upload stage of Youtube? OR check eBay for people selling off their family VHS collections?
Author:  signofzeta [ 18 Apr 2024, 17:51 ]
Post subject:  Re: What is the best way to watch [insert title] on home vid
I do enjoy watching shows taped off TV but quality is almost always horrible. The original analog broadcasts/cable was variable in reception. Then there is the quality of the VHS recording…how good the deck was, the tape, the speed of the tape, then there is the quality of the capture device, and also what YouTube allows for quality.

The resulting video may have VHF noise, tape tracking errors, AND macroblocking…and also cut to wide screen.

BTW, Bullwinkle is like 1000 episodes. It started in 1959. How old do you think I am?

I was into SCTV as a kid but most of it I’ve seen on YouTube in the last decade. Truly timeless.
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