So FOX FUBAR'd the Buffy HD remastering by changing the AR from 4:3 to 16:9

[Bateluer]

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/15/7397395/buffy-widescreen-Fox-hd-ruined-slayer-terrible

Buffy was shot 4x3 cuz TVs were shaped that way. Widescreen Buffy is nonsense. (Firefly was shot wide - Fox cropped it.) #apsectratiowoes
— Joss Whedon (@josswhedon) December 13, 2014

Fortunately, I have all 7 seasons on DVD in their original cuts.

 

[zerocool84]

That's what happened when they redid The Simpsons on FXX, they cropped it and they made it wide-screen and of course you lost a ton of into from above and below.

But I don't see any loss of anything in the picture you posted. I just see it wider.

 

[lamedude]

While cropping can literally fuck up scenes beyond recognition seeing more will give you a lol boom mic sometimes. I get having more dead space is "not optimal", but its easier to fill the screen than give a lesson on photography.

 

[Bateluer]

But I don't see any loss of anything in the picture you posted. I just see it wider.

The film crew man on the left.

 

[zerocool84]

The film crew man on the left.

Oh I couldn't tell if it was a film crew guy, just though it was another actor. That then is obviously a huuuuuuuge problem.

 

[Bateluer]

Oh I couldn't tell if it was a film crew guy, just though it was another actor. That then is obviously a huuuuuuuge problem.

In this picture, they removed the 'night' filter, so you have direct sunlight on Angel's face.

 

[DesiPower]

I dont get it, which one is the original, left or right? one on the right looks HD and much better, dont get the outrage...

 

[KeithTalent]

They are doing the same thing with The Wire right now.

KT

 

[DesiPower]

In this picture, they removed the 'night' filter, so you have direct sunlight on Angel's face.

Teen romance Vampire show with logic, aren't you doing it wrong?

 

[bbhaag]

/firstworldproblem

 

[EvilYoda]

Huh, interesting...KeithTalent mentioned that they're doing the same thing to "The Wire" but David Simon has a hand behind it: http://www.slashfilm.com/the-wire-hd-remasters/

 

[Bateluer]

I dont get it, which one is the original, left or right? one on the right looks HD and much better, dont get the outrage...

The 4:3 left is the original.

Teen romance Vampire show with logic, aren't you doing it wrong?

Well, seeing as how Whedon has the sense to use a night filter on the scene with the vampire, and FOX removed it, someone had a ounce of it.

 

[Bateluer]

Huh, interesting...KeithTalent mentioned that they're doing the same thing to "The Wire" but David Simon has a hand behind it: http://www.slashfilm.com/the-wire-hd-remasters/

Verge article mentioned that too, but I've never watched The Wire.

FOX and Whedon don't have the best relationship though. FOX has dicked him over multiple times.

 

[EvilYoda]

Yeah, that's for sure.

 

[tential]

I dont get it, which one is the original, left or right? one on the right looks HD and much better, dont get the outrage...

It does look better, the issue is that they can keep the 4:3 aspect ratio, and make it look good, and just have black bars instead.

The problem becomes when they extend the picture, and they do things like include crew people in the shot because the original intention of the show was tha tit was cropped.

Or there ends up being a TON of dead space because the camera men never intended for it to be used in widescreen.

You get lots of scenes that look awkward.

It's something you have to see to really understand but it can make certain scenes look utterly ridiculous.
The Wire's comparison pictures make it look ridiculous where you have ultra close ups that weren't intended to be that way.

In this picture, they removed the 'night' filter, so you have direct sunlight on Angel's face.

I mean, that's just ineptitude to forget that.

 

[mikeford]

Meh, wait for the directors cut or something?

With Buffy people are either rabid fans and have had the series for years, or grandma buys it for them when it hits the bargain bin.

 

[Childs]

I used to be a stickler for original aspect ratio, and I couldn't stand it in the early days of HD TV when when they cropped 1.78:1 or 2.39:1 to 4x3, but I don't mind the reverse. I watch a lot of old westerns and scifi tv shows, and I usually watch them in zoom mode, or use the media center stretch mode. I actually wish they'd crop all 4x3 to 16x9 when they release old shows on blu-ray, or develop a centered 16x9 crop playback option that could be toggled on and off.

 

[Eug]

Meh, wait for the directors cut or something?

With Buffy people are either rabid fans and have had the series for years, or grandma buys it for them when it hits the bargain bin.

Heh. I just binge watched it on Netflix for the first time in the last few months. Pretty good show overall. Luckily it was the original AR. Stupid things like having the crew at the edge of the set would have been so damn annoying. Also, some scenes just end up looking odd if the original plan wasn't for 16:9.

BTW, this Fox screw up guarantees I won't be buying the remastered (aka more expensive) set. Also, I suspect there won't be a remastered director's cut anytime soon, if ever.

So, if I do get it eventually (say as a gift for my daughter or something), it will be the original DVD if I can find it cheap somewhere.

Teen romance Vampire show with logic, aren't you doing it wrong?

The best show about death I have seen on any TV show, ever, is The Body, BTVS season 5 episode 16.

I was shocked actually, by just how frickin' amazing this episode was, esp. given the genre and the fact it is usually comedic. None of the bazillion dramas on TV could touch this episode's dramatic portrayal of death.

 

[soulcougher73]

Heh. I just binge watched it on Netflix for the first time in the last few months. Pretty good show overall. Luckily it was the original AR. Stupid things like having the crew at the edge of the set would have been so damn annoying. Also, some scenes just end up looking odd if the original plan wasn't for 16:9.

BTW, this Fox screw up guarantees I won't be buying the remastered (aka more expensive) set. Also, I suspect there won't be a remastered director's cut anytime soon, if ever.

So, if I do get it eventually (say as a gift for my daughter or something), it will be the original DVD if I can find it cheap somewhere.


The best show about death I have seen on any TV show, ever, is The Body, BTVS season 5 episode 16.

I was shocked actually, by just how frickin' amazing this episode was, esp. given the genre and the fact it is usually comedic. None of the bazillion dramas on TV could touch this episode's dramatic portrayal of death.

Yeah great episode. One of my all time fav series. Only thing i found a bit weak was the finale really. I miss me some Anya..she was hot

Hush was another great episode. Very creepy.

 

[SamQuint]

The cropped 16x9 looks really bad. Most of the scenes chop off the top of people's heads. Worst at the bottom of the screen a couple of shots chop off Buffy's cleavage. :'(

NOT GOOD

 

[SunnyD]

The fact that you're making a fuss over Buffy The Vampire Slayer is the real horror here.

 

[LikeLinus]

Who the hell was the genius with the idea to shoot in widescreen and not ensure the whole frame is usable, regardless if it was being shown in 4:3?? You would have to know for future use that the entire frame could be used. Complete amateur hour for such a simple thing that could have been done right easily during production. It's not an added expense to make sure some grip isn't in the shot?? They knew WS TV was on the horizon and they were being sold well before Buffy ended.

 

[inachu]

I am ok with them doing this with lighting and screen manipulation.

I am just tired of armchair directors editing a movie or tv show thats done and they think they have the right to reedit the film to put in CGI stuff like better furniture or a good example is the original star trek on netflix and they edited out the bad low rez planets with higher rez real life looking planets thus destroying the nostalgia connected to these tv shows.

It is a real pain.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I usually watch them in zoom mode, or use the media center stretch mode.

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

I MUCH prefer 4:3 to ruined 16:9, but I would rather dig a ditch than watch a movie at someone's house when they have the "stretch everything, everyone is now fat!" modes enabled. Sad part is no one really notices, because stretch mode on a 1980's movie and it just makes everyone looks "modern" (readbese).

 

[Eug]

Who the hell was the genius with the idea to shoot in widescreen and not ensure the whole frame is usable, regardless if it was being shown in 4:3?? You would have to know for future use that the entire frame could be used. Complete amateur hour for such a simple thing that could have been done right easily during production. It's not an added expense to make sure some grip isn't in the shot?? They knew WS TV was on the horizon and they were being sold well before Buffy ended.

WTF are you talking about? I'm not an expert myself by any means, but you sound totally clueless. Stuff is often shot in a different AR, but with the framing set up for the desired end result. For example, widescreen shows were often shot on 4:3, but with the top and bottom to be edited out later.

For example, they don't care if a boom mic is at the top of a 4:3 shot, if they know in advance that the final print is going to be a 16:9 widescreen with the top cut out.

Important to note here, almost none of these issues exist in the original TV show AR. They only crop up now because the idiots at Fox have decided to switch it to an AR it wasn't originally intended for.

I used to be a stickler for original aspect ratio, and I couldn't stand it in the early days of HD TV when when they cropped 1.78:1 or 2.39:1 to 4x3, but I don't mind the reverse. I watch a lot of old westerns and scifi tv shows, and I usually watch them in zoom mode, or use the media center stretch mode. I actually wish they'd crop all 4x3 to 16x9 when they release old shows on blu-ray, or develop a centered 16x9 crop playback option that could be toggled on and off.

That's horrible.