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ChAnOoD
DC-L4
 
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2763
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  Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 11:33 am |
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| Sean_001 : | | For our review, we asked for both Blu-Ray and DVD releases, but only sent us the Blu-Ray. I think they must've figured we wanted the Steven Seagal movie with it, because they sent that instead of the DVD. |
In my case they asked for an address, but I doubt they´ll want to send this one outside the US. I doubt they´d even send the Seagal one 
| Sean_001 : | | But from what I've heard, the DVD has the original 4:3 aspect ratio. I would probably suggest that one if I knew 100% that it was. |
I´ll have to wait for a confirmation as well. There are different informations on forums. I think I read somewhere the DVD edition has a 16:9 aspect with the 4:3 image and added black bars on both sides. It´d be weird to do that instead of rendering the whole thing on the original aspect in the first place, but who knows...
| Sean_001 : | | I know everyone has been waiting. Let me assure you, the review is coming. VERY soon. We have to research this Blu-Ray, and get that part of the review shot and edited into the already long-running review. |
Great news. The stuff you showed on social media looked pretty good. Spot on graphics as well!
By the way, there´s another review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7UkUstdYz8&ab_channel=CerealAtMidnight
And it seems there´s only 2 videos on the featurettes, the electronic press kit (the one the Archive had on Youtube) and the toy spots (which is on Youtube as well). The rest are TEXT ones and a picture gallery. Too bad 
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Archive
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Joined: 17 Nov 2001
Post Count: 6538
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| Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 5:23 pm |
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| ChAnOoD : | | And it seems there´s only 2 videos on the featurettes, the electronic press kit (the one the Archive had on Youtube) and the toy spots (which is on Youtube as well). The rest are TEXT ones and a picture gallery. Too bad |
Yeah, and it is apparently the actual archive videos that they simply ripped from youtube. The archive logo is there and everything. (which is nice i suppose..)
Much like the German release it's too bad they didn't contact me so they could have gotten better resolution copies instead of using the youtube versions.
Overall this release seems rushed and poorly done in every aspect.
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ChAnOoD
DC-L4
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2763
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| Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 6:43 pm |
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| Archive : | | Overall this release seems rushed and poorly done in every aspect. |
Yup.
Too bad they "stole" the press kit/ad. Plus, as more reviews appears, it seems the whole thing was a lie. I mean, since they had access to the "vault elements" as they claimed, I would assume they had some behind the scenes featurettes to be included in the set. Other reviews said there isn´t a 1080 resolution, which debunks the "for the first time in HD". I understand they couldn´t do a proper conversion since they didn´t have access to the 35 mm film (and they´d have to re-do the FX) but when someone in his house can upgrade the quality of a SD product to make it "crispy" and more lively, you´d expect something else. It´s a shame this set looks worse.
Then, the back cover claimed there are several "featurettes", which is not true (the videos last for 6 or 7 minutes in total), and then plain text. Which is unacceptable in the HD, Blu Ray world we´re living.
I think they should have released it only in DVD, which I understand would take off some people, but we´re not talking about something every people in this planet would buy. They´re releasing something for us, RoboNerds.
I wonder if this release was only done to try to stop the thousands of editions made in Germany. Something more to capitalize The Series or if has to do with some legal stuff. If they wanted to do it just to preserve the TV show they should have spent more bucks and time to get it right. Sadly, I assume this release means no one would like to do a proper job with it, so that´d be it.
I´ll have to see more reviews to make my mind. It´s a nice looking package, but I already own another release with a subpar video quality.
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RoboPimp
PIMPY SUPREME
Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Post Count: 3124
Comment: "You dead wrong if ya think that pimpin' gon' die" - Snoop Dogg, P.I.M.P. (Remix)
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| Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 1:28 am |
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| Archive : | | ChAnOoD : | | And it seems there´s only 2 videos on the featurettes, the electronic press kit (the one the Archive had on Youtube) and the toy spots (which is on Youtube as well). The rest are TEXT ones and a picture gallery. Too bad |
Yeah, and it is apparently the actual archive videos that they simply ripped from youtube. The archive logo is there and everything. (which is nice i suppose..)
Much like the German release it's too bad they didn't contact me so they could have gotten better resolution copies instead of using the youtube versions.
Overall this release seems rushed and poorly done in every aspect. |
That's a real shady move to slap our beloved Archive originals on their retail release. I'm not surprised about the cropped HD versions, and if I wanted to watch those they are free on Tubi and also on Peacock and probably elsewhere. I was thinking of grabbing the regular DVD version just to have the Series in a nice package, but after hearing how low they've stooped for this collection I'm not sure I want to support that kind product.
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ChAnOoD
DC-L4
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2763
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| Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 8:24 am |
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| RoboPimp : | | I was thinking of grabbing the regular DVD version just to have the Series in a nice package, but after hearing how low they've stooped for this collection I'm not sure I want to support that kind product. |
I feel the same. I guess RoboDoc is our only hope to see something new about The Series.
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ChAnOoD
DC-L4
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2763
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| Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 6:15 pm |
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I just saw this on another forum, from one of the reviewers (Cereal At Midnight):
| Quote: | I believe the source files are PAL, interlaced, and tape-sourced. I believe the Blu-rays have a more proper scan and conversion than the DVDs, hence all the noise on the DVDs and what appear to be either dropped frames or evidence of an improper PAL to NTSC conversion. The more episodes I watch, I can say that some episodes on DVD look better than others, so there may be more than one source, or some episodes may have been converted at a higher quality than others, but to go further would be to speculate, which isn't really a good idea in a review.
tl;dr: neither transfer looks good, but the DVDs bear multiple signs of tinkering in the frame rate and interlacing. The Blu-rays are smooth, but don't look HD and are compromised by the zooming issue. Someone in my comments suggested the Blu-ray source was a 576i PAL master from Germany, and I suspect that's very likely. |
Reading "that some episodes on DVD look better than others" and "the Blu-ray source was a 576i PAL master from Germany" make me feel it´s the same thing from the DigiDreams release in Germany. Which adds more insults (and lies) to the whole thing. If there´s exactly the same thing I think I don´t need it, unless I can find it really cheap (because I dig the package).
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Archive
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Joined: 17 Nov 2001
Post Count: 6538
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| Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 10:53 am |
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It's back to the DVD days of special features. Just page after page of text taken from wikipedia and the archive.
Fair game though as most of the info is taken from movie magazines anyway. I take no ownership of it.
The tone of the text is sometimes official sounding, while in others its a wiki/fan site wording, like the old man part in the image. Sentences like that should not be on a official product.
The image gallery is probably the only nice thing. Some good images. But a lot of them are mirrored.
(Text is wrong and Robos vent is on the wrong side.) Lots of hair and dust on the images. They mostly likely just scanned the slides and were done with it.
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ChAnOoD
DC-L4
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2763
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| Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 11:16 am |
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| Archive : | | It's back to the DVD days of special features. Just page of page of text taken from wikipedia and the archive. The tone of the text is sometimes official sounding, while in others its a wiki/fan site wording, like the old man part in the image. Sentences like that should not be on a official product. |
It´s funny, because I think they could translate the text into videos without any big trouble. I meant, I could understand having the crew and cast back for new interviews would be tricky (because money, logistics and legal stuff), but they could hire a voice over guy and read the texts while using The Series footage over it. Add a few fancy compositions and images and done. Shouldn´t be too expensive to make.
| Archive : | | The image gallery is probably the only nice thing. Some good images. But a lot of them are mirrored. |
Sadly it happens over and over. Little effort to do a proper job. It happened on DVD covers and such as well.
I wonder if John Laing had the chance to access to some master tapes as he claimed in the past. It seems Kevin Gillis had some stuff from The Series, and it´s a crime they didn´t include something new in this release. If fans had access to the videoclip to "A Future To This Life" (or even a clip of Eden goofing around while signing it), they should have something somewhere. Couldn´t they get an agreement to include the videoclip rights to put in there?
I don´t know. The package looks fancy, even with mistakes, but I´m not sure if I wanna get it if the new stuff would be a few pictures and new menus. Makes me think about transfering the episodes I already own and a few stuff found on the net and make my own edition 
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Archive
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Joined: 17 Nov 2001
Post Count: 6538
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| Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 11:28 am |
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Listing a page of text as a featurette is pretty bold i'll give them that. Hard to tell if it's a lie or if they just don't understand the concept.
This would have been a great opportunity to collaborate with the RoboDoc team and get, if not the full Series doc, then some interviews or something. But from what i understand no contact was made.
The whole thing is just incredibly lame as an official product. I can only shake my head at how this was done and the thought process around it.
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ChAnOoD
DC-L4
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2763
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| Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 11:48 am |
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| Archive : | | Listing a page of text as a featurette is pretty bold i'll give them that. Hard to tell if it's a lie or if they just don't understand the concept. |
Well, according to some reviews, almost everything is a lie. No HD (even an enhance, but I read a review or two in which they claimed it looked pretty good  ), no real featurettes except two short vids, and even the "vault elements" aspect doesn´t sound legit. And it seems the DVD edition is in widescreen with the image on the center (and black bars on each side)! Plus, they borrowed the extras from YouTube...
| Archive : | | The whole thing is just incredibly lame as an official product. I can only shake my head at how this was done and the thought process around it. |
I´ve been thinking about this for a while, and I think the RoboFandom is one of the most beaten fandoms alive. We´ve been treated to subpar releases for a long time, then other stuff will be lost forever (no official release of Alpha Commando, for example) and when they announce something, the end result isn´t that great in most cases. I read that with the HD restoration of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" the studio lost money, which it´s kind of brave. Hell, I think I wouldn´t have a big trouble with a HD/SD hybrid on The Series. Have access to the 35 mm, upgrade it to HD, and leave the Visual FX as they´re (or try to tweak them to look pseudo-HD). We had "extended cuts" where you can spot the added scenes in the past, I think we could pass the Robovision and such in a lesser HD quality if the rest was done properly. But they had to care for the product. This feels like a cash-grab, and kinda hurts, as a big bunch of RoboNerds here (and out there) really were interested on having the 94 show on a good release.
| Archive : | | This would have been a great opportunity to collaborate with the RoboDoc team and get, if not the full Series doc, then some interviews or something. But from what i understand no contact was made. |
I hope RoboDoc had some juicy behind the scenes footage from the show. If that happens, there´s no excuse to avoid these in this release.
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Archive
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Joined: 17 Nov 2001
Post Count: 6538
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| Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 12:41 pm |
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| ChAnOoD : | | I hope RoboDoc had some juicy behind the scenes footage from the show. If that happens, there´s no excuse to avoid these in this release. |
Sadly, from what i understand most/all behind the scenes footage or images are from me. I sent them everything i had from the series, slides, scripts etc and that is basically what they are working with.
It's the same youtube content but in better quality and edited/mixed expertly by the Robodoc team.
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ChAnOoD
DC-L4
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2763
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| Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 12:53 pm |
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| Archive : | | It's the same youtube content but in better quality and edited/mixed expertly by the Robodoc team. |
So, they did something, unlike the official release...
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RoboPimp
PIMPY SUPREME
Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Post Count: 3124
Comment: "You dead wrong if ya think that pimpin' gon' die" - Snoop Dogg, P.I.M.P. (Remix)
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| Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 3:35 am |
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| ChAnOoD : | | I´ve been thinking about this for a while, and I think the RoboFandom is one of the most beaten fandoms alive. We´ve been treated to subpar releases for a long time, then other stuff will be lost forever (no official release of Alpha Commando, for example) and when they announce something, the end result isn´t that great in most cases. |
I feel where you are coming from on this, and mostly agree. RoboCop is in a weird place where he is fairly well known but not known well. Most people have heard of RoboCop, even the younger people I speak to recognize the name. But hardly any of them have even seen one of the movies. They just put RoboCop in Fortnite... but he's just kind of there, not something to promote a new movie or anything. RoboCop has just barely snuck into pop culture, but is stuck at the bottom of the barrel.
But the question then is if that is fair or not. And as much as I love RoboCop, I kind of think it is. You mentioned the Star Trek HD remasters, but RoboCop isn't anywhere near the level of Star Trek. If the Next Generation lost money there was no way RoboCop: The Series was never gonna get the same treatment. I love the Series for what it is, and would pay good money to see it remastered. But from an objective point of view it's a goofy spinoff with off brand characters that never quite captures everything that made the original RoboCop so great. I also love Deep Space 9 and Voyager, and I think they are much more deserving of remasters even if I'd personally prefer the Series. So the way this Bluray and "HD" version has played out really comes as no surprise.
This product could have been handled better, they could have given more effort, or at least more honesty. But it was never going to be much more than this. I hope we do get to see that Series documentary, but even then I'm not expecting anything too mindblowing. The door has been closed on the Series for a while, we have the episodes, there's not a whole lot more to get out of the Series at this point. RoboCop could have been just a single movie, and would be a respected cult classic to this day. But RoboCop grew into a a bigger franchise that earned a foothold in a more mainstream sense. While not every spinoff along the way has gotten the treatment we feel they might deserve, the important thing to me is that RoboCop is not just a cult classic, and the door is still open. Appearances in Mortal Kombat and Fortnite might not be what we dream of as fans, but it does keep Robo's face in the public's eye. I still have faith that RoboCop as a character and a franchise still has bigger things to come in the future, but until that time we are still "the most beaten fandom" for better or worse.
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ChAnOoD
DC-L4
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2763
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| Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 7:17 am |
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| RoboPimp : | | You mentioned the Star Trek HD remasters, but RoboCop isn't anywhere near the level of Star Trek. |
I know, and specially after the first film no distributor cares, but why bothering then? Why promote The Series as "well regarded", "really popular" and such stuff we read on articles while praising this "new HD remaster" when you throw a few text articles, borrowed YouTube stuff and butchering the transfers both in DVD and Blu Ray?
The worst part is that there are people outside here interested on it. Now I´m searching on the net and most of them are cancelling the preorders. That won´t sell pretty well. Reviews aren´t too kind. And that means we´d have less chances to get other RoboProducts outside the first one in the future.
| RoboPimp : | | This product could have been handled better, they could have given more effort, or at least more honesty. |
While I understand a decent restoration would need a bunch of money, I think everything looks strange. If feels like they had the rights back, and tries to take a profit with it. Which is legit. But then you approach a music label to release it, and little effort was done to make it (except the package itself. It´s cute). I think a indie movie label would try something more (there are a bunch in the market), and if restoration would be really expensive, they would try a crowdfunding to test if there´s an interest. If I´m not mistaken, a French Darkman release on HD was made this way back then, and got enough bucks to get old featurettes and generate some new.
When you make an official, and sell it as the "good one" or "definitive", you should give something more. If they didn´t have a way to make it pass like HD, they should have put it on DVD only. And not like they did this time:
| Heard on Blu-Ray.com : | | Encoding 4:3 material on a DVD with a 16:9 flag means that the image has less horizontal resolution than if it had been encoded using the whole image. The black bars on the sides are being unnecessarily squeezed into those 720 pixels. |
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RoboCop: The Series on HD
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