US Blu-Ray - Series 5 release

[timlamb]

I have made the decision to get a region free mod kit for $60 for my Oppo 103. You can hook them up externally now so it won't void the warranty. Region B Avengers will be mine. I want a set that is properly done. Think it is any coincidence that the specs were never fully detailed before the US release? It wasn't! Five 52 minute episodes per disc max and 20 mbps average video at a minimum. Plus The Persuaders!

[Prendergast]

I have made the decision to get a region free mod kit for $60 for my Oppo 103. You can hook them up externally now so it won't void the warranty. Region B Avengers will be mine. I want a set that is properly done. Think it is any coincidence that the specs were never fully detailed before the US release? It wasn't! Five 52 minute episodes per disc max and 20 mbps average video at a minimum. Plus The Persuaders!

I did the same thing for my 103. You won't regret it.

[timlamb]

I have read some complaints of the white levels or contrast being too high. I don't have the optimum discs to compare, but it does seem like the gamma is set too high. I lowered the gamma to 2.4 from 2.2 on my set and this doesn't crush blacks in the slightest or make the picture too dark and dims down the overly bright whites.

I have only watched the 1st three episodes. I have to say the 5.1 track which is new and wasn't on the optimum discs I am very impressed with. The remastering job is commendable especially being 5 years old now and the set is only hampered by compression. 5gb's for 52 minutes is absurd. 12 gbs for second for video negates any of the fine work done on the remastering of the series. The iTunes version of "From Venus with Love" in 1080p is 1.7gb and looks like a good dvd. At 5 GB this episode actually looks HD but sharpness and fine detail is lacking due to the compression. At 10 gbs per episode that should resolve the issue. I am not asking for 30 mbps for video as some do, but 20 mbps isn't too much to ask. 448 kbps for the DD track? This is a bluray right? Lossless please. Also these discs do hold the record for the most HD content crammed onto a bluray disc in the US since the inception of the format.

Last apparently "Mission Highly Improbable" is out of sync according to many with words and mouths not matching up. That alone is reason for a recall!

[anti-clockwise]

I have read some complaints of the white levels or contrast being too high. I don't have the optimum discs to compare, but it does seem like the gamma is set too high. I lowered the gamma to 2.4 from 2.2 on my set and this doesn't crush blacks in the slightest or make the picture too dark and dims down the overly bright whites.

I have only watched the 1st three episodes. I have to say the 5.1 track which is new and wasn't on the optimum discs I am very impressed with. The remastering job is commendable especially being 5 years old now and the set is only hampered by compression. 5gb's for 52 minutes is absurd. 12 gbs for second for video negates any of the fine work done on the remastering of the series. The iTunes version of "From Venus with Love" in 1080p is 1.7gb and looks like a good dvd. At 5 GB this episode actually looks HD but sharpness and fine detail is lacking due to the compression. At 10 gbs per episode that should resolve the issue. I am not asking for 30 mbps for video as some do, but 20 mbps isn't too much to ask. 448 kbps for the DD track? This is a bluray right? Lossless please. Also these discs do hold the record for the most HD content crammed onto a bluray disc in the US since the inception of the format.

Last apparently "Mission Highly Improbable" is out of sync according to many with words and mouths not matching up. That alone is reason for a recall!

Pathetic. Just pathetic. Just curious, how did you get the Persuaders? Did it come separately? And how does it compare?

[timlamb]

The Persuaders was in reference to getting a region free mod kit for my Region A Oppo 103 and getting The Persuaders from the UK.

[Alan]

Also these discs do hold the record for the most HD content crammed onto a bluray disc in the US since the inception of the format.

Nope. The Invisible Man, as I said so before. I have the release myself. 13 HD 50-minute episodes on one disc.

[timlamb]

I thought that was a Region B release. My mistake, as I did state record for a stateside release.

[Alan]

No, Region A (though Region Free), Tim.

[Brisco]

So the clear market for American Avengers Blu-rays is the collector crowd, not the casual WalMart shopper. And the collector crowd would have paid more for a better release specifically catered to them. The only thing I can figure is that Lionsgate is just hoping to cash in on Marvel's popularity and hoping WalMart customers confuse the title and confused grandmothers give their Thor-loving grandkids Steed and Peel Blu-rays for Christmas.

I can't imagine that's the strategy. After all, once those grandkids realise that Steed and Emma wear their underwear on the inside of their clothing, the discs would be returned for a refund.

Obviously I was being a big glib, Alan, but I'd still place good money on the new interest in The Avengers (going back to the reissued Peel DVDs) after so many years of dormancy having something to do with the popularity of their namesake. There actually is an odd cottage industry here of producing content specifically to trick WalMart buyers. A friend of mine makes movies for a company called The Asylum with titles like Transmorphers or American Battleship that come out around the time of real studio movies with similar names attempting to capitalize on their marketing. (They actually cite the confused grandma example in their strategy meetings when titles are generated based on upcoming releases long before the script or even the poster, as Corman used to do.) American Battleship actually resulted in a lawsuit from Universal, and the title had to be changed to American Warship. It's hard not to get a little cynical when such things go on. And it's also discussed by legit studio home vid marketing teams when coming up with strategies. It is no coincidence that older Sherlock Holmes titles ended up repackaged with bluish covers and title treatments strikingly similar to those of the Guy Ritchie Holmes movies around the same time those movies came out. Of course real market analysis of past releases plays a huge part in strategy. But so does namesake. (And those grannies almost never make returns.)

[Brisco]

I have read some complaints of the white levels or contrast being too high. I don't have the optimum discs to compare, but it does seem like the gamma is set too high. I lowered the gamma to 2.4 from 2.2 on my set and this doesn't crush blacks in the slightest or make the picture too dark and dims down the overly bright whites.

I have only watched the 1st three episodes. I have to say the 5.1 track which is new and wasn't on the optimum discs I am very impressed with. The remastering job is commendable especially being 5 years old now and the set is only hampered by compression. 5gb's for 52 minutes is absurd. 12 gbs for second for video negates any of the fine work done on the remastering of the series. The iTunes version of "From Venus with Love" in 1080p is 1.7gb and looks like a good dvd. At 5 GB this episode actually looks HD but sharpness and fine detail is lacking due to the compression. At 10 gbs per episode that should resolve the issue. I am not asking for 30 mbps for video as some do, but 20 mbps isn't too much to ask. 448 kbps for the DD track? This is a bluray right? Lossless please.

Thanks for the figures, Tim! Sound data and, as you say, no excuse for that kind of compression. I'll be awfully surprised if we ever see a recall for audio out sync on one episode though. After all, A&E kept their Persuaders! sets with multiple episodes out of sync on the market for a long time, and even reissued the same faulty set under a new cover at one point. People complained about the problems with Optimum's releases, but that company spoiled us with their dedication to correcting them!