They say Dynasty season 6 DVD doesn't look as good as the previous seasons. And yes - it's true. But does it really matter if the release of the entire series remains up in the air?
CBS Home Video released the collection in region 2 (Europe) late last year (in the UK in late January 2011).
Those who have bought the set should have noticed the video quality is nowhere near the impeccable digitally remastered first 5 seasons.
Allegedly, unlike the previous seasons, these transfers were made from tape, not from film and CBS is supposed to stick to that policy with future releases (if any, I might add). The decision is somewhat unfortunate as this is the season when the look of the series deteriorated when it originally aired on TV in the 1980s.
However, as a hardcore Dynasty fan who doesn't have any other option to watch season 6 other than that poor set of SoapNet prints available on torrent sites, I'm grateful for the DVDs regardless of the quality (which varies from episode to episode, many of them do appear very decent).
Also, it seems Dynasty has not been a great seller on DVD (at least not in the US where the fans have had to endure split seasons and are still waiting for season 5 release date), so I do appreciate that Paramount has continued to release the series in Europe at all (and in complete seasons, too).
A decision whether a show will be released on DVD or not is in essence made by buyers for the major retailers who order them upon sales expectations - the delay on the US market (as well as the decision to cease digital remastering) most certainly indicates the weak sales rumors must have been true.
I therefore believe one should not ponder the quality of the releases too much as they appear to be the only feasible option at this point. And I would rather own the entire series on DVD than remain stuck with those SoapNet files for seasons 7-9.
i got season 6 when it was released in january and the dvd quality isn't any different to the other seasons its still good quality given the age of the show xx Gina
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ReplyDeleteI second that i to got season 6 the day it was released in the uk and the quality looks the same to me
Some time around season 7 (or 8?) the producers of DYNASTY switched from film to video - quality (to reduce costs). I think it's a fatal mistake made by Paramount/CBS to release further volumes of DYNASTY without a digital remastering of these episodes ("Dallas" switched from film to video- quality the same year as Dynasty!).
ReplyDeleteOver here in Germany we had the luck to get the DYNASTY (or "Denver-Clan" as it's called here) in complete-season box-sets.
Paramount Home Entertainment Germany answered me some time ago, that they can only release the episodes WITHOUT any "specials" (like cast-interviews from older shows like "Entertainment Tonight" etc.) because they don't own the copyright. They can only release the episodes themselfs. ...and at the moment, there is NO DVD-release planned of DYNASTY II - THE COLBYS or DYNASTY - THE REUNION...
...and I'm a huge fan of both shows (especially COLBYS -Sable & Miles are my favorite Dynasty- characters!-).
LB, you're doing a great job! Love your blog / website. Regards from Berlin! Mike
They didn't switch to video, just a different type of film. Most shows did at that time period. Dallas, Knots landing, Falcon Crest, all the same. It did look less cinematic. I think the frame rate was different. Cinematic film uses 23 fps, and TV film uses 29.97 for US. The earlier seasons, which had a cinematic look, were filmed at 24fps. I inspected the video specs. Things shot in video are daytime soaps, talk shows, most reality shows, news, and some sitcoms. Look at The Young & The Restless or Days of Our Lives, and you'll see there's a big difference between those & the last 2 seasons of Dynasty.
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