Official: Babylon 5 coming to Blu-ray in December

[KoshN]

The BluRays will be the same remastering as has been on Prime and all the rest - the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Those were released over a year ago but the BluRay was just recently announced.

So, same as the Laserdiscs, which were 4:3? Not the same as the DVDs?

I haven't watched anything B5 or Crusade since my last rewatch of the DVDs, and I'm not even sure what year that was ?, probably 7-10 years ago. I have Prime but haven't watched B5 there because I have all of the DVDs.

 

[KoshN]

The BluRays will be the same remastering as has been on Prime and all the rest - the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Those were released over a year ago but the BluRay was just recently announced.

Was this released as a new DVD set and I just missed it because I've been over in the Salad Bar and not paying attention?

 

[KoshN]

So, same as the Laserdiscs, which were 4:3? Not the same as the DVDs?

I haven't watched anything B5 or Crusade since my last rewatch of the DVDs, and I'm not even sure what year that was ?, probably 7-10 years ago. I have Prime but haven't watched B5 there because I have all of the DVDs.

Just dug out my DVDs. My last rewatch was in May of 2014. Time flies.

 

[Springer]

Was this released as a new DVD set and I just missed it because I've been over in the Salad Bar and not paying attention?

No, this version hasn't been released on DVD before, and it's not exactly the same as the Laserdiscs as I don't believe they were taken from the original masters (though someone might correct me on that). This remaster was made around 2021, I think, it's only been made available on streaming until now. They went back to the original masters, cleaned up the image for HD streaming, and opted for 4:3 so that the fx shots didn't have to be cropped and the composite live-action/fx scenes, such as in the Sanctuary, no longer look fuzzy. The image is much brighter and cleaner, the colours are stronger and overall it is far superior to the DVDs. You lose some of the picture by it not being widescreen, but I don't think anything important ever happened off to the sides anyway. While the remaster is not perfect – it's not the hi-def presentation that Star Trek TNG received – it's the best we're going to get. Plus, on Blu-ray it should look a little better than on streaming just because of the higher bit-rate of a Blu-ray disk.

 

[KoshN]

No, this version hasn't been released on DVD before, and it's not exactly the same as the Laserdiscs as I don't believe they were taken from the original masters (though someone might correct me on that). This remaster was made around 2021, I think, it's only been made available on streaming until now. They went back to the original masters, cleaned up the image for HD streaming, and opted for 4:3 so that the fx shots didn't have to be cropped and the composite live-action/fx scenes, such as in the Sanctuary, no longer look fuzzy. The image is much brighter and cleaner, the colours are stronger and overall it is far superior to the DVDs. You lose some of the picture by it not being widescreen, but I don't think anything important ever happened off to the sides anyway. While the remaster is not perfect – it's not the hi-def presentation that Star Trek TNG received – it's the best we're going to get. Plus, on Blu-ray it should look a little better than on streaming just because of the higher bit-rate of a Blu-ray disk.

Thanks. That's great news. I was perfectly happy with the Laserdisc 4:3 presentation of the fx shots not being cropped. After all, that's essentially what I was used to seeing on TV all those years.
??

 

[LateArrival]

Sort of off topic but semi-related. The free no-requirements streaming version of Roku appears to have 109 episodes of B5's six seasons. The Gathering (TNT Version) is listed as Season 1993, and at a glance looks like S1E1 Midnight on the Firing Line is missing.

...had to attach the image as pasting = Oops We Ran Into Some Problems.

 

[Looney]

Yeah just checked myself. What a weird glitch. Oh I can't wait to get my sets. I think I am going to order a third while they are still around $100. ?

 

[Springer]

Have any reviews of this box set dropped yet? I saw that TrekCore have their review copy

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Would be interested in what the presentation values of the box set are like, and whether the various errors in some of the remastered episodes made available for streaming (i.e. missing scenes] have been fixed. They'd better be.

That cover art is awful, amateur work. I can't even imagine what made them think to use it. Fancy not having a picture of the station (though to be fair, the season 1 dvd boxset didn't have the station on the cover, and that was my favourite cover art for the boxsets).

 

[Looney]

I was hoping for a shipment notification by now. Maybe tomorrow. Ahhh I wish there was a store near me where I could pick my own. And it is quite strange that the station isn’t featured once again, but “action and explosions sell” is what they are hoping for…. I assume.

 

[Springer]

A thread on reddit suggests that the episodes with missing scenes on streaming are all complete on the blu-rays. Hurrah! No word yet about other errors like the wrong opening sequence on the first two eps of season 2, or the missing special fx in the ISN broadcast from Endgame. Also apparently The Gathering is a cropped widescreen version - yuck. Glad I've got both the original and SE on DVD.

Bizarrely, The Gathering is on a disk all on its own. JMS had said WB's excuse for not including any extras was that there wasn't any room on the disks. Well it seems like there's a lot of room right there on The Gathering's disk that could have been used for a few extras at least. Oh well. Can't complain too much, we never thought we'd see the day that B5 was on Blu-ray. Just annoying I have to hang on to the DVDs to keep the extras.

Getting mine at Christmas, only 25 days to go before I can watch it in all its blu-ray glory!

 

[Jan]

Bizarrely, The Gathering is on a disk all on its own. JMS had said WB's excuse for not including any extras was that there wasn't any room on the disks. Well it seems like there's a lot of room right there on The Gathering's disk that could have been used for a few extras at least. Oh well. Can't complain too much, we never thought we'd see the day that B5 was on Blu-ray. Just annoying I have to hang on to the DVDs to keep the extras.

Yeah...I'll admit that I found this:

WB wanted to include the commentaries but with everything else involved with this, it apparently wasn't feasible (that's the extent of what I was told, so I've no idea what that entails). {/Quote]

...kind of carefully phrased. It actually doesn't say anything. Sorta sounds like 'no room' but doesn't actually say that. What, me a cynic?!?! ;-)

 

[LateArrival]

Not sure how the Magic of disc-making works, but perhaps they did not have access to the DVD extras and were limited to only the source materials of the 2021 re-release. Isn't a commentary track equivalent to adding an alternate language track? Although NOT encoding a commentary track saves time and $$$ as well as space.

 

[Looney]

Well like LateArrival suggested in according to my guess is, unfortunately, they likely squeezed as many episodes as possible on each disc, which would limit space for extras.

 

[Jan]

Well like LateArrival suggested in according to my guess is, unfortunately, they likely squeezed as many episodes as possible on each disc, which would limit space for extras.

Being a cynic and remembering Harlan's diatribe on the subject Once Upon A Time:

harlan ellison pay the writer - Yahoo Video Search Results

The search engine that helps you find exactly what you're looking for. Find the most relevant information, video, images, and answers from all across the Web.

video.search.yahoo.com

...I'm slightly skeptical...

 

[LateArrival]

Also apparently The Gathering is a cropped widescreen version - yuck. Glad I've got both the original and SE on DVD.

Bizarrely, The Gathering is on a disk all on its own. JMS had said WB's excuse for not including any extras was that there wasn't any room on the disks. Well it seems like there's a lot of room right there on The Gathering's disk that could have been used for a few extras at least.

Making this up while typing... If there is some (?) limitation to only using the 2021 materials, then The Gathering could end up on it's own disc if it was being processed differently from everything else. Would be plenty of room on a Blu Ray disc for Extras since DVD releases of TG appeared to be 4 gigs / single-sided. Then again, could always include TG on a separate "bonus" DVD?

Unrelated DVD Trivia from Foggy Memories: The TNT revised/cropped 16:9 version with Christopher Franke's soundtrack popped up in The Movies collection, as well as by itself and double-sided with In The Beginning. The 1993/original 4:3 version with Stewart Copeland's soundtrack appears (?) to have popped up in a mythical UK complete set, along with some (?) versions of the German Die Zusammenkunft and the Turkish Toplanti. Although the Turkish version looks to be the German release with a different title since both have English/German audio and ten different language subtitles. Might be a 50/50 shot as to whether a given disc is TNT or 1993, but perhaps when The Gathering was being released in certain Region 2 countries, The Powers That Be had two choices: create an updated TNT version with subtitles for Turkish, Polish, etc, OR keep using the original Die Zusammenkunft version to save $$$.

 

[Springer]

The 1993/original 4:3 version with Stewart Copeland's soundtrack appears (?) to have popped up in a mythical UK complete set, along with some (?) versions of the German Die Zusammenkunft and the Turkish Toplanti. Although the Turkish version looks to be the German release with a different title since both have English/German audio and ten different language subtitles.

I don't know about the complete boxset or the Turkish edition, but the original version of The Gathering was also released on Region 2 DVD by D'Agostini. It formed the first issue of a part-work publication called Babylon 5: The Official Fact Files, I believe only four issues were ever produced and tested in one area of the UK. Each issue came with a DVD (The Gathering and the first 12 episodes of season 1, with four episodes to a disc just like the boxsets) and a magazine. Apparently it didn't sell well enough to go into full production, and the series was cancelled after the initial four-issue sampler. They can still be found on eBay for little money.

I suppose it would have been nice if they could have included both versions of The Gathering in the blu-ray boxset, but I guess the TNT special edition is considered the more definitive version.

Here's my copy of the D'Agostini DVD of The Gathering. They used the wrong artwork for some reason. but nice they recognise its Emmy win on the cover.

 

[LateArrival]

I don't know about the complete boxset or the Turkish edition, but the original version of The Gathering was also released on Region 2 DVD by D'Agostini. It formed the first issue of a part-work publication called Babylon 5: The Official Fact Files, I believe only four issues were ever produced and tested in one area of the UK. Each issue came with a DVD (The Gathering and the first 12 episodes of season 1, with four episodes to a disc just like the boxsets) and a magazine. Apparently it didn't sell well enough to go into full production, and the series was cancelled after the initial four-issue sampler. They can still be found on eBay for little money.

I suppose it would have been nice if they could have included both versions of The Gathering in the blu-ray boxset, but I guess the TNT special edition is considered the more definitive version.

Here's my copy of the D'Agostini DVD of The Gathering. They used the wrong artwork for some reason. but nice they recognise its Emmy win on the cover.

View attachment 327

Never knew that version existed. And appears there to be one on Ebay (155817513575), but May Not Post to the United States. Guess possible search terms for those looking for 1993 on DVD would be: Agostini, Zusammenkunft, and Toplanti, although seems like the one guaranteed to be 1993 would be the D'Agostini version.

Does yours have any "extras"? German version has a single cast/crew credit page. German (and Turkish) versions both have the same cover artwork as yours. Similar discs except for titling.

 

[Looney]

Side note- I should have my Complete Series Box Set around 11am tomorrow. ????????

 

[Springer]

Never knew that version existed. And appears there to be one on Ebay (155817513575), but May Not Post to the United States. Guess possible search terms for those looking for 1993 on DVD would be: Agostini, Zusammenkunft, and Toplanti, although seems like the one guaranteed to be 1993 would be the D'Agostini version.

Does yours have any "extras"? German version has a single cast/crew credit page. German (and Turkish) versions both have the same cover artwork as yours. Similar discs except for titling.
View attachment 328

The D'Agostini version sounds like it's the same as the German version, and in fact the menu screen is exactly the same as the regular UK version of the TNT edition.

Would you like me to get one off eBay for you and ship it over?

 

[Looney]

As I just texted Jan, $200 worth of Complete Series BluRay sets and Amazon didn’t even use a padded envelope, just an envelope. Scared to look.