Miami Vice TV series on Blu-ray

[ViceFanMan]

4 hours ago, Tom said:

It´s all ok if you dislike it, but don´t write reviews with false claims about products you don´t even have . That´s all.

It’s not false claims...as I said I’ve seen clips & pictures of scenes, and I’ve talked to several who do/did have the Koch set. It’s perfectly fine if you love the set , I just want fans to understand what the product truly is, and the truth behind marketing ploys.

However, if this Plaion/Koch site can’t even ship to the U.S. (which I don’t remember being stated before & seems strange, as I’ve purchased a couple other TV show products off of a German site in the past, and they had no problems shipping it anywhere—as technically it was purchased in Germany), it doesn’t really matter. We already have the same episodes with the original Universal DVD sets & the Mill Creek Blu-ray set...the only difference being the U.S. sets restored/remastered the colors to be like they originally were. 

[Tom]

vor einer Stunde schrieb RedDragon86:

This is the one I have.

In the Koch boxset have the echoed sounds been fixed in Heart of Darkness? that would be a good sign overall.

These types of audio error spoil the experience for me and I love Heart of Darkness. Sick of hearing "Can't Turn Back" starting from the beginning for a second time in Tale of the Goat as well, ruins the moment. 

I have no echoed sounds on any episode of the Koch set. They only thing they could not correct of course are some built-in problems with songs on the original episodes, e.g. the speed changes in "I wanna know what love is" in Rites of passage that was transferred to 35mm from a faulty record player.

[Tom]

vor 56 Minuten schrieb airtommy:

Can you tell me more about this?  Has it been discussed in another thread?

Of course, but @SwissTubbsknows more details what else they have corrected in certain episodes as he was involved in providing some audio to Koch himself and was asked to review the audio. I am not sure if this was discussed in detail here in a thread.

Koch even corrected small glitches in audio and video on the original Universal HD masters. One of the audio I specifically remember is Zito´s missing sentence in the teaser of Sons and Lovers. SWAT wants to open the door from outside and Crockett yells "Zito. Don´t open the door or we all will blow up." He could not know that there was Zito outside as John Diehl´s prior sentence  ("Crockett, Tubbs, all ok?") was missing. Koch added it (not sure if that problem was originally on both German and English language version)

Another glitch (video) they corrected are dropped frames in El Viejo in the cemetery scenes when the limo pulls up. They added some frames to fill the gap. Swiss Tubbs once showed me the difference and they really made the glitch disappear for the human eye.  

So, Koch deserves huge credit for doing a labor of love on so many details for real MV fans that no other vendor did before. They even corrected some late error reports by Swiss Tubbs last minute just weeks before release. Thus, the price of 179 Euro is more than justified in my opinion if you factor in the human effort invested into it.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Tom

[Dadrian]

5 minutes ago, Tom said:

"Zito. Don´t open the door or we all will blow up."

On my DVDs and (Mill Creek) discs Crockett yells “DON’T TOUCH THE DOOR ZITO! IT’S WIRED!!” 

Is that a whole different line?

[Tom]

Gerade eben schrieb Dadrian:

On my DVDs and (Mill Creek) discs Crockett yells “DON’T TOUCH THE DOOR ZITO! IT’S WIRED!!” 

Is that a whole different line?

NO, I quoted that from memory Dadrian!  Don´t worry, all is good 

[guerrero]

On 11/17/2022 at 4:56 PM, Tom said:

I know, member SwissTubbs has eloborated on this already before in detail as Koch made a fully new scan of the original masters

Please, don't diffuse fake news. All four releases contain the same scan of the original masters done by Universal back in 2012.

The only differences result from the mastering: 
Fabulous Films encoded the black level incorrectly. Koch Films enhanced the contrast and colours and episodes have a bit higher average bitrate. That's all.

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by guerrero

[Tom]

vor 11 Minuten schrieb guerrero:

What a bullsh*it! Please, don't diffuse fake news. All four releases contain the same masters scanned by Universal back in 2012.

The only differences result from the mastering: 
Fabulous Films encoded the black level incorrectly and Koch Films enhanced the contrast and colours and episodes have a bit higher average bitrate. That's all.

 

Watch your language pal! You are a new forum member and that tone is not tolerated here. Our admins @Ferrarimanor @timm525can explain the ground rules if you need it.

And maybe you need a reading course instead of an unpolite rant. I wrote that Koch did a new scan (meaning an encoding) from the original Universal masters everybody had to use and that is correct. You described the better result on Koch yourself and going tourette on a wording is completely out of line here!

 

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Tom

[ViceFanMan]

25 minutes ago, guerrero said:

What a bullsh*it! Please, don't diffuse fake news. All four releases contain the same scan of the original masters done by Universal back in 2012.

The only differences result from the mastering: 
Fabulous Films encoded the black level incorrectly. Koch Films enhanced the contrast and colours and episodes have a bit higher average bitrate. That's all.

 

Actually the versions Universal used for the original DVD sets was back around 2005...as that’s when they started releasing the show, finishing in summer of 2007. Other countries may have had later releases. 

You are correct though, every company/country has used the same episodes...no one set is any more complete than another—if they have used the U.S. episodes. The only difference between the U.S. sets & Koch/Plaion is Koch altered the colors to make them more harsh-neon & vibrant instead of the softer pastels of the original show. 

[RedDragon86]

35 minutes ago, guerrero said:

What a bullsh*it! Please, don't diffuse fake news. All four releases contain the same scan of the original masters done by Universal back in 2012.

The only differences result from the mastering: 
Fabulous Films encoded the black level incorrectly. Koch Films enhanced the contrast and colours and episodes have a bit higher average bitrate. That's all.

 

This comes off a bit strong 

[guerrero]

10 minutes ago, ViceFanMan said:

Actually the versions Universal used for the original DVD sets was back around 2005...as that’s when they started releasing the show, finishing in summer of 2007. Other countries may have had later releases. 

You are correct for the DVDs but Universal used different masters for blu-ray release and scanned them back in 2012.

Edited November 18, 2022 by guerrero

[ViceFanMan]

3 hours ago, guerrero said:

You're right but Universal used different masters for blu-ray release and scanned them back in 2012.

Interesting...I wonder what masters they used? One theory out there is the original uncut/unedited NBC airings/masters possibly no longer exist...as there was a Universal vaults fire in 2008. Even if this is true, Universal released the show between 2005-2007, and would have still had access to use original uncut airings before this fire...however, I’m pretty sure they chose to use TVLand’s syndicated reruns for the episodes.

But, I’m sure it was cheaper, and they were already spending a ton renewing music licenses to use all the original songs. But, from then on any company or release after that used the same versions—as they had to probably “lease” them from Universal. If Koch/Plaion is trying to claim they used original uncut masters, that is false & not true. They would have used the same copies that all the home video sets/companies have used—aka what Universal used themselves & has made available to use.

Sadly, the only way to see the show truly uncut/unedited is if you recorded episodes back when it originally aired, or know someone who did. 

Edited November 18, 2022 by ViceFanMan

[Vincent Hanna]

What are the chances of Crime Story coming to blu-ray? I tried watching that show a long time ago but the DVD quality was almost unwatchable and I guess they didn't have all the licenced music.

Crime Story is on my blu-ray wish list, (along with The Keep and The Abyss).

[ViceFanMan]

2 minutes ago, Vincent Hanna said:

What are the chances of Crime Story coming to blu-ray? I tried watching that show a long time ago but the DVD quality was almost unwatchable and I guess they didn't have all the licenced music.

Crime Story is on my blu-ray wish list, (along with The Keep and The Abyss).

I’ve wanted to get Crime Story on DVD before...but then I heard all the original music was changed out. Sadly, that will be enough for me right there to not want it or spend the money on the sets—as with the time period the show is set, the music was just as important to that show as MV’s songs were to it!  

Although I watched it some when it was originally on, I was not a diehard fan at the time. So, I have never seen the whole thing. I’ve heard the show ends kind of strange and even sort of leaves you hanging, as it most likely got canceled before they could continue storylines on. 

It would be awesome to have a new Blu-ray release, though, especially if all the original songs were re-integrated into the episodes. Another show I love & grew up with that needs a remastered Blu-ray release is Dukes of Hazzard, lol! But, with the whole ridiculous drama the woke/cancel culture people caused over the rebel flag being on top of the General Lee, I’m sure Warner Bros. will never do it.  So, I have to be grateful for the DVDs. 

[ViceFanMan]

2 hours ago, Dadrian said:

On my DVDs and (Mill Creek) discs Crockett yells “DON’T TOUCH THE DOOR ZITO! IT’S WIRED!!” 

Is that a whole different line?

That’s the correct line, and it as well as Zito’s line to Crockett through the door before hand, is present on both the original Universal DVD set, and the Mill Creek Blu-ray set. I also have an original uncut NBC airing of this episode, and all the lines are present on it, too.

[Robbie C.]

1 hour ago, Vincent Hanna said:

What are the chances of Crime Story coming to blu-ray? I tried watching that show a long time ago but the DVD quality was almost unwatchable and I guess they didn't have all the licenced music.

Crime Story is on my blu-ray wish list, (along with The Keep and The Abyss).

The most disappointing one for me is Tour of Duty. My understanding is they switched out almost all of the music.

Not a huge fan of The Abyss, but I would like to get The Keep on blu-ray.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Robbie C.

[Miami Beau]

12 hours ago, Tom said:

If you already have the Koch set, then it makes of course no sense to buy it another time just for the new outside artwork. (my opinion), as this was the only thing they have changed. 

Yeah you’re right, it does make no sense. It’s just im a sucker for boxsets. The Koch boxset I use from time to time where as, if I was rich, maybe I could have purchased this new one and kept it sealed for years to come. 
The UK is now in recession, gotta save those pennies 

[Miami Beau]

5 hours ago, Vincent Hanna said:

What are the chances of Crime Story coming to blu-ray? I tried watching that show a long time ago but the DVD quality was almost unwatchable and I guess they didn't have all the licenced music.

Crime Story is on my blu-ray wish list, (along with The Keep and The Abyss).

Yeah, ever since I purchased the boxsets last year, I always wondered about a proper HD restoration of this show. Even for DVD quality, it’s very low grade standard definition at best and I can see how this show hasn’t caught on as much with new fans, given the poor quality available. It is bewildering to me that a show of this quality with the high profile guest stars, is yet to be upgraded in HD. 

Some have mentioned here about the music rights. I can say that the uk region 2 releases of the show do contain all the music. Like for example “Stand By Me” in the pilot or “Put Your Hand On My Shoulder” in the penultimate episode, it’s all there. The same goes for season two. Anyways let’s hope one day it gets its high def treatment. 

[ViceFanMan]

43 minutes ago, Miami Beau said:

Yeah, ever since I purchased the boxsets last year, I always wondered about a proper HD restoration of this show. Even for DVD quality, it’s very low grade standard definition at best and I can see how this show hasn’t caught on as much with new fans, given the poor quality available. It is bewildering to me that a show of this quality with the high profile guest stars, is yet to be upgraded in HD. 

Some have mentioned here about the music rights. I can say that the uk region 2 releases of the show do contain all the music. Like for example “Stand By Me” in the pilot or “Put Your Hand On My Shoulder” in the penultimate episode, it’s all there. The same goes for season two. Anyways let’s hope one day it gets its high def treatment. 

Interesting about the UK region 2 releases having the original music...there was kind of the same situation with the 80s cop show Hunter. The U.S. DVD sets switched out the original songs used in the first 1-2 seasons, for unknowns because of music rights prices. But, the German complete series set still had all the original music. 

[bodie]

On 10/13/2021 at 1:12 AM, bodie said:

Cool. And not to contradict, but just for the interest of reading the other side of that same coin, see the quote below. But as the man says, whatever works

  

and on the business of the Koch art, which is completely subjective, but I didn't say whilst it was still available as I'm not here to discourage people, but as it's now a done deal; The lid always looks like it is on wrong because no sides of it match the art below it;

and the art style reminds me of that you get on the side of fairground rides, it's all based on photographs, but captured in a garish style. A much better take on the same thing can be seen in this officially licenced t-shirt graphic (second of the two images below), which is doing the same thing, but without rendering it in a clumpy way and done by someone who clearly got the memo about use of colour in the show. It's 100% a matter of taste, but no contest, for me;

But again, whatever works, just my view. There is no right or wrong and if people enjoy what they enjoy, I am not here to criticise that - I'm just sharing my view on a pet subject

Having said all of that ^ I must say that I very much prefer the new revised box design, I think it's much more elegant and in keeping with the series imho. Also cool they're doing it again to spike the ridiculous eBay prices. I guess that's why they've not gone for standard packaging to save some space, as they don't want it to be less than the previous in any way - so not the standard reissue I was looking for, but a whole lot better than the discs being unavailable. And that new box is niiiiiice

[bodie]

12 hours ago, ViceFanMan said:

Interesting about the UK region 2 releases having the original music...there was kind of the same situation with the 80s cop show Hunter. The U.S. DVD sets switched out the original songs used in the first 1-2 seasons, for unknowns because of music rights prices. But, the German complete series set still had all the original music. 

Is the Image Entertainment version in the US definitely different to the UK version? I know @Miami Beauwas saying the UK ones have got the music, but that's not the same as saying the Image ones in the US don't... just want to be clear

[ViceFanMan]

3 hours ago, bodie said:

Is the Image Entertainment version in the US definitely different to the UK version? I know @Miami Beauwas saying the UK ones have got the music, but that's not the same as saying the Image ones in the US don't... just want to be clear

As for the Crime Story DVDs, I’m not positive...but from what I understand the U.S. ones don’t have the original music, but the U.K. ones do.

[bodie]

1 hour ago, ViceFanMan said:

As for the Crime Story DVDs, I’m not positive...but from what I understand the U.S. ones don’t have the original music, but the U.K. ones do.

Thanks, would love clarification on that if anyone knows for sure? @Miami Beau??

[Miami Beau]

1 hour ago, bodie said:

Thanks, would love clarification on that if anyone knows for sure? @Miami Beau??

Hey @bodie, yeah the UK releases have the original music intact. As mentioned, all the key songs from the pilot and beyond are included. This includes season 2 for example, the song “Unforgettable” by Nate King Cole is prominently used in one of the episodes. Well known tracks are featured throughout both seasons. 

You can watch the whole series for free on YouTube with the music intact at this link: 

 

[bodie]

19 hours ago, Miami Beau said:

Hey @bodie, yeah the UK releases have the original music intact. As mentioned, all the key songs from the pilot and beyond are included. This includes season 2 for example, the song “Unforgettable” by Nate King Cole is prominently used in one of the episodes. Well known tracks are featured throughout both seasons. 

You can watch the whole series for free on YouTube with the music intact at this link: 

 

Thanks for that. So the Image Entertainment versions definitely don't have that audio? I mean, did you grab the UK ones because of that, or are you just saying you know the UK ones because you have them, but can't say for certain about the US?

[Miami Beau]

1 hour ago, bodie said:

Thanks for that. So the Image Entertainment versions definitely don't have that audio? I mean, did you grab the UK ones because of that, or are you just saying you know the UK ones because you have them, but can't say for certain about the US?

No worries buddy. Yes the later. The editions put out by Image Entertainment were all on region 1 (not playable in the UK). The UK editions I have were put out by anchor bay entertainment and those are the ones I’m familiar with. There very well could have been a rights issue with the distribution in North America but until I purchase the one from Image, I would just be guessing. 

I know the crime series “Wise Guy” had song issues with there dvd releases in North America. Ultimately opting to remove large chunks of songs in the process, so the same may have happened with Crime Story.