Thunderbirds to be released on Blu-Ray in UK

Hi all,

I see that Gerry Anderson's "Thunderbirds" is scheduled to
be released on Blu-Ray disc in the UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001C4QLA6

I'm rather surprised to see this released on Blu-Ray so
soon, although it's known that Thunderbirds, UFO, and
Space:1999 have been remastered in high-definition.

If these releases are going to be missing the tops/bottoms
of the image to make them widescreen, I think some purists
may pass on these releases, and stick with the full-frame
DVD releases. Those UFO DVDs look pretty good upscaled on
my new HDTV...

Marc

I wonder if the Blu-Ray version will be without the disastrous
"improvements" to the sound effects on the DVD release.
After years of watching Thunderbirds on near-worn out VHS (and before that,
repeats on B&W TV) the DVD image quality was glorious, but the sabotaged
sound effects made the episodes nearly unwatchable for me.

JasonH.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Jason Hellwege wrote:
> I wonder if the Blu-Ray version will be without the disastrous
> "improvements" to the sound effects on the DVD release.
> After years of watching Thunderbirds on near-worn out VHS (and before that,
> repeats on B&W TV) the DVD image quality was glorious, but the sabotaged
> sound effects made the episodes nearly unwatchable for me.

I'm not hopeful. Both UFO and Thunderbirds were shown in high definition
on "Family Room HD" in the USA, and they both had a distracting pseudo 5.1
soundtrack that was not nearly as good as the original mono soundtrack
(in my opinion). They were also both cropped top & bottom.

Marc

To: [hidden email]
From: [hidden email]
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:44:47 -0700
Subject: [SHADO] Thunderbirds to be released on Blu-Ray in UK



















   
Those UFO DVDs look pretty good upscaled on

my new HDTV...



Marc


I said so a long time ago, but it seemed nobody believed me : )
It is almost as good as HD...
All the best,
Branko
 

   
   
       
       
       
       


       


       
       
       
       
       


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> Those UFO DVDs look pretty good upscaled on
> my new HDTV...
>
> I said so a long time ago, but it seemed nobody believed me : )
> It is almost as good as HD...

Yes, and in some ways the DVDs are better than the HDTV
broadcasts I've seen:

-- the DVD's feature the whole frame, so there is nothing
important cropped off on extreme closeups, nor is the
frame squished vertically during credit sequences.

-- the DVD's are in mono, so you don't have sound effects
jumping from one speaker to the other, like someone is
playing with the balance knob.

-- the DVD's have more consistently excellent picture quality.
Some of the episodes in HDTV are excellent quality, while
others are merely mediocre and some are downright terrible.
(hopefully if these are ever released on Blu-Ray, the
mediocre and terrible ones will be redone).

When watching the HDTV versions, you definitely do see
minor things jump out at you that you've never noticed
before. Usually these things aren't that important, but
it's always surprising to notice something new in an
episode that you've previously seen dozens of times.

Marc

Isn't there a 40th Anniversary set of Thunderbirds out now from A&E in a slim
pack? Do these have the option of the original mono (not 5.1 travesty)
soundtracks? I'm in complete agreement about the audio being ruined on the
recent releases.
I actually enjoy watching my old Bandai Laserdisc versions more than the DVD
releases....

best,
KK


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[hidden email] wrote:
> Isn't there a 40th Anniversary set of Thunderbirds out now from A&E in a slim
> pack? Do these have the option of the original mono (not 5.1 travesty)
> soundtracks?

I think that when A&E reissues something, they just use the same discs as
before, and change the packaging. That's what happened with the Space:1999
anniversary edition.

By the way, here is the artwork for the upcoming Thunderbirds Blu-Ray disc:

http://www.play.com/DVD/Blu-ray/4-/5984963/-/Product.html?searchstring=thunderbirds

Marc

CONTENTS DELETED

Hi all,

On BritishInvaders.com, there are 2 podcasts (mp3 files)
devoted to UFO!

http://www.britishinvaders.com/

(see the entries dated June 30 and July 13)

Marc

On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:44:47 -0700
"Marc Martin" <[hidden email]> wrote:

>
> If these releases are going to be missing the tops/bottoms
> of the image to make them widescreen, I think some purists
> may pass on these releases, and stick with the full-frame
> DVD releases. Those UFO DVDs look pretty good upscaled on
> my new HDTV...
>

Yes. Thunderbirds is a '60s TV series, after all. I do think
that any benefit gained from an HD release is going to be
outweighed by the loss of image incurred by cropping.

I've been watching episodes of Stingray on my video iPod this
last week, while travelling abroad. I really don't think that
a high-definition transfer of a puppet show with cheap sets
is particularly desirable, quite honestly!

Oink,
James