DVD Re-issue of "The Shield"

[species5618]

I'm not sure if anyone has heard about this, so if it's already been discussed, my apologies.

So the license for distribution of "The Shield" on DVD has shifted from 20th Century Fox to Sony...which means season 6 is a Sony release, including all new copies of seasons 1-5. The thing is, the old Fox discs (which I have) were 4:3 aspect ratio releases--these new Sony discs are apparently all 16:9 aspect ratio. Can anyone confirm this? Is there a noticeable difference in terms of the framing, or is it sort of clear that while the presentation is 16:9, the action is framed for 4:3?

If it looks a lot better (and obviously it will on a widescreen, as the old discs have vertical bars on a ws tv)it's sort of a burn on those of us who bought the original releases.

Arrrgh that's such a burn if I decide to replace the old ones it's a bit of an investment...over 100 dollars at least.

 

[Aragorn]

Were these shows originally in widescreen to begin with? Or are they being cropped into widescreen like the From the Earth to the Moon reissue?

 

[Harvey]

IMDB says The Shield is 1.33:1, suggesting that the widescreen versions have been cropped from the original versions.

 

[Aragorn]

Looking into this further, someone on another board said this show was shot in widescreen, shown in widescreen overseas, but cropped for 4:3 in the US.

 

[Brikar99]

Looking into this further, someone on another board said this show was shot in widescreen, shown in widescreen overseas, but cropped for 4:3 in the US.

This is more likely the case rather than cropping the 4:3 image for widescreen. I recall seeing one episode that was presented in widescreen. For the life of me, I can't remember which one it was, though. But I remember thinking how different it seemed to be watching it like that.

 

[Aragorn]

Doing a search on DVD back covers, the season 4 box says FULL SCREEN, but below that it says one episode is shown in widescreen.

 

[Brikar99]

I looked around tvshowsondvd.com and amazon.com and indeed, the Sony reissues are labeled as 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, and the customer review of Season 1 makes a point to mention that it looks great on his HDTV.

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Shield-Complete-1st-Season-Sony/7444

It also looks like the reissues have better prices... I might finally have to get this show. I never saw season six...

 

[Harvey]

Looking into this further, someone on another board said this show was shot in widescreen, shown in widescreen overseas, but cropped for 4:3 in the US.

That's weird, but I hope it's true. I've been meaning to get into this show, but haven't gotten around to it. I'd prefer it to be in widescreen, so if it turns out that was the intention...

 

[Brikar99]

Looking into this further, someone on another board said this show was shot in widescreen, shown in widescreen overseas, but cropped for 4:3 in the US.

That's weird, but I hope it's true. I've been meaning to get into this show, but haven't gotten around to it. I'd prefer it to be in widescreen, so if it turns out that was the intention...

It's not without precedent. Many shows have been shot in widescreen and aired 4:3, though it's increasingly rare. "Buffy", "Alias", "X-Files", "24", "Lost", just to name a few.

 

[Harvey]

It's not without precedent. Many shows have been shot in widescreen and aired 4:3, though it's increasingly rare. "Buffy", "Alias", "X-Files", "24", "Lost", just to name a few.

That's true, but since The Shield began in 2002, I figured it had moved past the curve. "24" broadcasts in widescreen in the HD version now. The X-Files didn't begin filming in widescreen until the fifth season. And you didn't mention Babylon 5, which has had many problems on DVD due to being filmed in widescreen (but originally mastered in 4:3 full screen)--probably the most notorious offender.

Of course, I was surprised when I began to watch the Wire earlier this summer to find that it was also made in full screen. It just looked very... weird to me. My eyes have adjusted to the widescreen image for television at this point.

 

[Brikar99]

That's true, but since The Shield began in 2002, I figured it had moved past the curve. "24" broadcasts in widescreen in the HD version now. The X-Files didn't begin filming in widescreen until the fifth season. And you didn't mention Babylon 5, which has had many problems on DVD due to being filmed in widescreen (but originally mastered in 4:3 full screen)--probably the most notorious offender.

I didn't know "24" broadcast that way now. I haven't watched it regularly in years since it became so sucktacular halfway through season 3. I knew "X-Files" didn't start widescreen until season 5; the same with "Buffy". I thought the problems with "Babylon 5" had more to do with the CG effects which were rendered in 4:3. Were they cropped to 1.78 for the DVDs? I don't own them.

"Stargate SG-1" was shot wide and aired fullscreen for the first five or six seasons, but they rendered all their effects out to the edge of the 16:9 frame.

 

[Harvey]

All shots with visual effects are cropped on the Babylon 5 DVDs. As a result, they look terrible, except for shots that do not include visual effects--those look great.

 

[Mike Farley]

While BUFFY was presented on DVD in widescreen from season 4 on outside the USA, it was never intended be seen that way. This is from interviews with Joss Whedon who I assume would know the correct aspect ratio of his own show. "Once More With Feeling" is the only episode of BUFFY that is supposed to be seen in widescreen.

 

[Phillip Culley]

While BUFFY was presented on DVD in widescreen from season 4 on outside the USA, it was never intended be seen that way. This is from interviews with Joss Whedon who I assume would know the correct aspect ratio of his own show. "Once More With Feeling" is the only episode of BUFFY that is supposed to be seen in widescreen.

Indeed - apparently it occasionally shows cameras and other filming equipment right on the edge of the frame...

 

[Lonemagpie]

Looking into this further, someone on another board said this show was shot in widescreen, shown in widescreen overseas, but cropped for 4:3 in the US.

That's correct - and the R2 DVDs (I know, I was watching some of season 2 this morning!) are in 1.78:1

 

[species5618]

Looking into this further, someone on another board said this show was shot in widescreen, shown in widescreen overseas, but cropped for 4:3 in the US.

That's correct - and the R2 DVDs (I know, I was watching some of season 2 this morning!) are in 1.78:1

If the case was that the Sony reissues were simply the 4:3 image matted for 1.78:1 (cropping the top and bottom) I wouldn't care. Since this doesn't seem to be the case, I guess I'll have to look into repurchasing seasons 1-5.

Now I'm sort of pissed that Fox didn't release the discs in a widescreen format originally.

 

[PsychoPere]

Instead of purchasing seasons one through five again, I'll wait and see if there'll be a complete series release.

 

[doubleohfive]

I think I'll pass on this re-release. I've got seasons 1-5 already, and I've never had any problem with them before. This whole thing about Sony re-issuing the show now is just an outright display of corporate greed. Fuck that.