Dallas To Get Remastered In HD

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Youtube video ... Wow !

Well at least Matthew Blaisdel knows what he's talking about.

I'm still concerned for the Dallas HD remastering because even thought @Garry might like to poke fun at me, I still have a valid point.

The HD remastering of Dallas is being done at a budget and quality is not as good as what it should be. Corner's are being cut and it's quite clearly evident that the show itself is being treated shoddily in order to maximize a quick buck!

I thought Warner's would have more respect for a show like Dallas, clearly I was wrong. All they're interested in is a financial return on a minimum investment in remastering the show.

Will I still buy a Blu-ray release though? At the moment I'm not sure about that after seeing how they've recreated the closing credits on season ten with minimal attempt to make it look acceptable.

I will wait and see if any more mistakes have been made on the final four seasons before I decide if I want to purchase any prospective Blu-ray release.

At the moment I'm not interested in buying a Blu-ray release simply because of the amount of mistakes inherent in the remastering.

A shame. Warners had a great opportunity to make the HD remastering really complement the original material but instead have ruined that with their cost cutting and inane visual errors which have detracted from enjoying the show as originally presented by Lorimar.

 

[southfork88]

Today all music compilations are constantly subject to changes and adjustments. So why not take into account the criticisms from Dallas experts and fans to be able to present the entire box set properly revised and corrected for the opening and credits? Nothing would be definitive and everything could be improved before the official publication.

 

[Garry]

I'm still concerned for the Dallas HD remastering because even thought @Garry might like to poke fun at me, I still have a valid point.

I WAS making a valid point too. Anyway all this talk about credits shouldn't detract from the good work that been done to all these episodes which many thought they'd never see. That being said it's best not to tell you about the missing footage from an episode from Season 8 that's been cut from the remaster.

 

[Garry]

Bad J.R.

 

[Rove]

from the good work that been done to all these episodes which many thought they'd never see.

Agreed.

 

[DarkVader]

The new remastering has brought out great details I had never noticed before, with the improved picture clarity I can now really tell which scenes were filmed on the Southfork set in Los Angeles versus those that were filmed on Southfork itself.

 

[Seaviewer]

episodes which many thought they'd never see.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. All the episodes have been freely available for years. What we're arguing about is whether the new release will be an improvement.

 

[Knots4ever]

I really wish people would appreciate the huge amount of work that has gone into this rather than criticise minute things. Some things are simply not possible.

It’s not like old SD copies will disappear so if a slightly different font or one shot that hasn’t been replaced is such a big deal, easy solution: keep watching SD copies.

 

[Yesterday from the Beatles]

Will I still buy a Blu-ray release though? At the moment I'm not sure about that after seeing how they've recreated the closing credits on season ten with minimal attempt to make it look acceptable.

You prefer to watch episodes in bad quality because remastered episodes won't have the same closing credits? Just don't buy it. I think we all should not buy it so they can make a new remaster for WB's 200th anniversary.

Anyway all this talk about credits shouldn't detract from the good work that been done to all these episodes which many thought they'd never see.

Agreed.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. All the episodes have been freely available for years. What we're arguing about is whether the new release will be an improvement.

I'm not sure what you mean. You read the whole sentence from Gary? Here it is:

Anyway all this talk about credits shouldn't detract from the good work that been done to all these episodes which many thought they'd never see.

Episodes in good quality were available for years? Remastered episodes?

What we're arguing about is whether the new release will be an improvement.

What you're arguing about is whether the closing credits will remain the same.

 

[captainarcher]

You prefer to watch episodes in bad quality because remastered episodes won't have the same closing credits? Just don't buy it. I think we all should not buy it so they can make a new remaster for WB's 200th anniversary.


Agreed.


I'm not sure what you mean. You read the whole sentence from Gary? Here it is:


Episodes in good quality were available for years? Remastered episodes?


What you're arguing about is whether the closing credits will remain the same.

Sorry if I don't understand or maybe I'm not fan enough ! but what is the most important ? the quality of the episodes or the credits ???

 

[Yesterday from the Beatles]

Sorry if I don't understand or maybe I'm not fan enough ! but what is the most important ? the quality of the episodes or the credits ???

From what I've read here, more than once, it feels like the closing credits are the real essence of the show. Imagine some new kids fell in love with Dallas, watch the whole thing, and then someone says to them: no, no, but you haven't seen the real thing yet, they changed the fonts of the closing credits! It's a totally different show when you watch it with the real closing credits! (What???)

Yes, it would be nice if they did the whole thing properly, BUT the quality of the episodes is the most important thing, at least for me, and they did justice to that.
And now almost no one here is happy about it anymore. WHY? That feels sad. From what I've read here lately, it feels like we are always more happy in pointing mistakes and making dramatic statments than just feeling happy to finally have those episodes in beautiful quality. Anyway, I'm happy! And yes, I'll gladly buy it!

 

[TJP]

The issues with the mix-up of the background picture on the end credit cards in later seasons and some negligent typos or alignment issues here and there are problematic, indeed, from the standpoint of quality purists. I think, however, that having the episodes themselves in the best possible quality is the most important thing.

What is still bothering me, however, are the upscaled main titles from the Ediflex years since — unlike the closing credits — Lorimar's main titles were artistically elaborate and oftentimes ahead of the time. Most other TV shows simply featured a series of short clips from various scenes with superimposed credits. Lorimar, in contrast, combined many pictures and graphic elements for each title card, so this form of art definitely should have been honored more in the remastering. In the upscaling process, they even cropped the picture a bit, obviously to eliminate the typical video flickering on the borders, which resulted in a loss of visible picture frame, which is sad.

Also, it's irritating that the teasers (depending on the season featuring a recap and a sneak preview) were apparently not remastered — or at least not provided for the streaming versions. These segments are oftentimes from different takes in contrast to the actual scenes (like long shots vs. close-ups), and it's a shame if they are lost.
I can't remember if "Dallas" ever had a cold opening before the main titles, but if so, it would be a shame if such a unique scene was lost in the remastering because they didn't care about the teasers. I still hope the teasers will be included in a Blu-ray release whenever it is put on the market.

 

[TJP]

Also, what's a bit of a missed opportunity in the remastering is that they didn't digitize the full frame of the original picture negative. I know, had they done this, it would probably lead to a big discussion with quality purists, but we could have gotten so much more visible picture.

Lorimar shot on 35 mm film, which has an aspect ratio of 1.37 : 1. The standard aspect ratio of TVs back then was 4 : 3 (= 1.33 : 1), meaning the picture was significantly cropped for distribution prints, particularly on the sides. Basically, I respect that they preserved the original aspect ratio, but we could have gotten more picture if they had digitized it in a non-standard aspect ratio, using the full available frame from the original picture negative.

We have examples of the OPN vs. what's usually lost in the "Making of" section of falconcrest.org, which — in that respect — is completely the same with "Dallas": https://falconcrest.org/english/master.php?path=show/productionoffice/making — scroll down to almost the end of the "Post-Production" paragraph for pictures and a detailed explanation.

 

[Laurie Marr]

The previews kindly shared by Garry have demonstrated a miraculous transformation in clarity and sharpness. I genuinely never thought such a project would ever be undertaken. I am so delighted that it was.

 

[the-lost-son]

+/- 20 years ago I was over the moon when the first season was released on DVD by WB.
It was the first possibility for me to watch that series at all because since then I only watched a few episodes here and there during a rerun.

I remember on the old forum there were also many discussions about possible extras included in the next box etc. But the biggest fear was always if sales numbers were sufficient so that the next season would be released. It was quite a relief for me when season 9 (DVD10) was out, because back then I knew my collection was complete. As frequently discussed the picture quality starting that season was very bad and I 'm really happy that they put some work in a 40 year old product giving us such clarity. Thanks @Garry for keeping us updated.
We're a lucky group. Falcon Crest and Knots landing fans are still waiting both for DVDs and an HD treatment.

Today I've read that they are releasing a "new" Beatles' song (AI supported).
I can't help fantasizing what the future has in store for us Dallas' fans.

 

[Seaviewer]

Episodes in good quality were available for years? Remastered episodes?

So the subject of the sentence was "good quality", not "episodes". Uh, okay.

 

[Rove]

make a new remaster for WB's 200th anniversary.

Well I was thinking of cryogenics so if WB's have thoughts of remastering Dallas in time to celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2178, I'm all for it. I'd imagine in 155 years time they will be projecting Dallas into an environment where we can walk amongst scenes or potentially having conversations with the characters. I could join the Ewing family for pre-dinner drinks at Southfork...how cool.

 

[captainarcher]

Well I was thinking of cryogenics so if WB's have thoughts of remastering Dallas in time to celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2178, I'm all for it. I'd imagine in 155 years time they will be projecting Dallas into an environment where we can walk amongst scenes or potentially having conversations with the characters. I could join the Ewing family for pre-dinner drinks at Southfork...how cool.

yes I guess Knots Landing will be available in 2180 , can't wait !

 

[Billy Wall]

They have done a phenomenal job on the HD on Freevee.

 

[Garry]

Good remastering done on this scene.