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Old December 25th, 2003, 09:58 AM   #1
GreggAllinson
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Thumbs down Offended by the DVD Set

So I'm all excited this morning when my dad gives me the Complete Epic Series DVD set. I pop in Saga of a Star World...and man, is it grainy and fuzzy. I look at the back to make sure the DVDs have been remastered, and supposedly they have, but as I continue watching, the picture quality doesn't improve. Finally, I just gave up and watched the extras. I guess I shouldn't be complaining as I didn't pay a thing for the set, but really, if I'd known how bad the picture quality was going to be on this set, I'd've just taped the "remastered" episodes off Skiffy on SP tapes earlier this year (you know...the ones that actually DO look clean, crisp, and clear?).

Good old Universal. They never miss an opportunity to give us the shaft, do they?
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Old December 25th, 2003, 10:13 AM   #2
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I was disappointed with the set when viewing the premiere, too, but the remaining episodes seem to all be of much better video quality. I'm not overly impressed with the sound, though--but am EXTREMELY happy to have the collection, I might add.

Hope you find the BG DVD set more enjoyable the more you get into it; I found the missing/deleted scenes to be much more interesting in latter episodes, btw.
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Old December 25th, 2003, 04:03 PM   #3
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Quit griping. All I got for Christmas was shirts and ties.
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Old December 25th, 2003, 07:58 PM   #4
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I found the video quality of the DVD set to be quite good in fact. I know that the footage that had been cut out of "Saga" was not restored - merely cut back in. Another factor is that quality may vary from player to player. One thing that should be remembered is that the source material was produced in a non-digital age - there are bound to be flaws in the film quality that may not show up on video tape that just don't stand up to the scrutiny of a digital transfer to DVD.

As for the sound quality - I had our surround sound system going while viewing the DVDs and I found that after lowering the center levels a bit, that the music, sound EFX and voice tracks sounded very good and it made for a great viewing (and listening) experience. Out of all the epsiodes, "Saga" sounded the best - it was the only episode that was mixed for a theatrical release anway. The other episodes had good sound quality, but not as good as the first 3 hours of the series.

Try and enjoy the DVDs as best you can - its a lot better having them uncut and with no commercials IMHO.

I just bought a set for a friend's upcoming birthday - I can't wait to see the look on his face!

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Old December 25th, 2003, 11:09 PM   #5
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Default More Offended by the Company

Before you look for better restorations, you've got to consider the problems Universal's DVD division is facing. Last year, every widescreen copy of the Back to the Future trilogy was defective (matted improperly). Universal did replacements through the mail. This year, every copy of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life was defective (encoding errors). Mail replacement was also done. And, many new DVDs from Universal this Holiday season have been arriving with loads of scratches and split discs due to substandard manufacturing. I personally went through 4 messed up copies of the Battlestar Galactica collection, 3 or 4 of The Incredible Hulk collection, and 2 of the new The Hulk DVD.

Like the parent company itself, Universal's DVD division is in shambles. And the people in charge of QC could care less. TPTB just want to make a few more dollars and buy a little more time for their sinking ship. Thorough restorations can be expensive and they can't see spending additional money on a short-lived series, despite its fan following. To them, Battlestar Galactica is purely a way to make some extra cash while promoting the new (ugh) mini.

Personally, I'm just grateful it was released without any encoding errors to force replacement through the mail.
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Old December 26th, 2003, 05:11 AM   #6
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When I opened my set I was baffled by the way the DVD's looked. In the insert on the back of the main box it shows a picture of the DVD's. The DVD's have pictures on them and are clearly marked. The DVD's I recieved were all silver with writting on a black circle around the center which simply listed Disc 1 Side 1 and Disc 1 Side 2 and so on. And the episode "War Of The Gods" has a few parts that stop and start, after awhile it became clearer. I would say about four minutes of the episode was unwatchable. I guess I should return it for a different copy but I wanted to watch the entire collection first.
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Old December 26th, 2003, 05:26 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bijou88
Quit griping. All I got for Christmas was shirts and ties.


A slight bit on the "naughty" side??
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Old December 27th, 2003, 02:48 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally posted by Domiano
When I opened my set I was baffled by the way the DVD's looked. In the insert on the back of the main box it shows a picture of the DVD's. The DVD's have pictures on them and are clearly marked. The DVD's I recieved were all silver with writting on a black circle around the center which simply listed Disc 1 Side 1 and Disc 1 Side 2 and so on. And the episode "War Of The Gods" has a few parts that stop and start, after awhile it became clearer. I would say about four minutes of the episode was unwatchable. I guess I should return it for a different copy but I wanted to watch the entire collection first.
A more damning complaint is the poor paper indexing. It might be nice to have a clue on these damn double-sided dvds which episode is where. And some level of indexing of the bonus features so I know which disc to put on. It makes me insane.

Of course, I agree with you on the discs themselves. The packaging suggests the sane use of single sided DVDs. Instead we get double-sided ones which will beg and plead for scratches. Hello, Universal? Some stores are charging $119 for this set: do you *REALLY* need to use $5 bargain bin dvd style double side discs? Grrr.
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Old December 27th, 2003, 03:30 AM   #9
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I'm just happy to not see the damn scifi logo anymore when I watch the show.

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Old December 27th, 2003, 08:02 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally posted by dru
A more damning complaint is the poor paper indexing. It might be nice to have a clue on these damn double-sided dvds which episode is where. And some level of indexing of the bonus features so I know which disc to put on. It makes me insane.
Dru -

I'm kind of confused by your statement - The booklet that comes with the DVD set has a listing of which episodes are on what disk and which side as well. The index listing also shows where the extras are also. I never had any problem locating what I wanted to see and when. The only prob I had was reading the really tiny writing on the disk to tell which side of the disk I was using....(I'm getting old!).

You might want to sit down with the booklet and check it out so you can watch the DVDs and keep your sanity...

Have fun!
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Old December 29th, 2003, 01:17 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally posted by Gemini1999
You might want to sit down with the booklet and check it out so you can watch the DVDs and keep your sanity...
Yikes! :light:

I've been using the back of the DVD holder. I never noticed that page in the booklet, where you'd normally have a TOC, only the episode descriptions! I've tried not to touch it to keep the booklet in pristine condition.

I agree with you, though, it's damn hard to read that tiny disc/side text.
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Old December 29th, 2003, 08:21 AM   #12
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Well I'm on Disc 4 and so far I'm happy except for the mini getting it's 2 cents in there but it's pretty quick and it makes the original look even better. lol

Now I'm off to disc 5 and I think I might know where to try for an easter egg. he he he

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Old December 29th, 2003, 11:09 PM   #13
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Quote:
do you *REALLY* need to use $5 bargain bin dvd style double side discs?
Actually, these are different than the ordinary "bargain bin" types of double sided discs. With exception to discs 4 & 5 (single sided), they are DVD-14 discs--both double-sided and dual-layered. These types of discs have been used with such DVDs as T2 - Ultimate Edition(first release), Superman - The Movie, and Doctor Zhivago. If Universal had put them on single sided DVDs, it would have probably taken around 10 discs for this set.

Don't get me wrong, for the price this single season set carries it should have been on single-sided discs. And they should have been in individual cases (SlimPaks) instead of a lousy fold-out DigiPak. But that's our Universal, the reigning champion of DVD disappointments.
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Old January 1st, 2004, 03:56 AM   #14
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Stargate Confused...

Okay - dumb question.

I have the DVD set, and I really love it, but I've apparently lost something. On the back of the set it refers to a 45 minute documentary on the making of the Galactica. Now, I've so far located the snippets on Muffit, the Cylons, and the Score... I even found a Mini promo that I hadn't expected. But where is the documentary? I can't find it listed in the book, either.

If anyone has found it... please let me know.

Thanks muchly
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Old January 1st, 2004, 06:50 AM   #15
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You mean "Remembering Battlestar Galactica?" It's located on disc #6, side 2 in the "Bonus" section.
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Old January 2nd, 2004, 01:27 PM   #16
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Default Thanks

I found it - and absolutely loved it. I can't believe they got so many of the original team back together. Lorette Spang doesn't look like she's aged at all! Anyway, thanks for helping me find it. If there is one thing I dislike about the DVD's it's the labeling - very hard to find stuff (even with the itty-bitty printing in the book).

-Crys-
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Old January 2nd, 2004, 05:23 PM   #17
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Yes and we should consider ourselves lucky. The Cylon Head will be a collectors edition since they have already announced a new edition do out soon. Check out my post in the BG news section.
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Old January 3rd, 2004, 06:19 PM   #18
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I had problems with my dvd's also. But I notice that
these problems aren't limited to BSG or even disney
ones. It seems that the people putting out these
things need to SPLURGE a little for the cd that they'll
be recording on and that will solve the problem.

My hubby is making copies to use and keeping the
masters as backups. I notice the copies that he
makes with the MORE expensive cd's are better then
the original.

Gives us all pause to think huh?
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Old January 4th, 2004, 05:59 AM   #19
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So true. The manufactures obtain the disks for recording at wholesale and add a huge markup. I wished they had used singlesided disks. Doublesided are a joke IMHO.
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Old January 4th, 2004, 12:04 PM   #20
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They sure are Kingfish ......I wanted to strangle the
manufacturers when I saw that my disc were DOUBLE
sided! WHAT A PAAAAAAAAAAINNNNN!!!!!!!
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