It's been a few months now since I updated this article, but the recent release of the PAL
version of the latest Simpsons box set concerned me quite a lot. Although I haven't seen it myself,
there is supposedly no DVNR on the American release of this set, so it's fairly safe to assume that
it was done at the standards conversion stage, especially when you consider that this affects all
of the video on the set - even the deleted scenes have the problem.
It is some of the ugliest DVNR I've ever seen, and it's pretty shocking to see it on video material
that is at most a decade old. The Simpsons never was a looker so this isn't quite as annoying as the likes of Ren & Stimpy going through the DVNR mangling machine, but that's not my point - my point is that there was no need to DVNR these episodes at all.
They have been released on VHS and aired on many television stations without these faults.
With all the DVNR hardware studios must buy, they could probably wipe out the debt of a small country. One DVNR unit is for sale on a web site for $45,000 US, SECOND HAND. This is misuse and abuse of expensive equipment at its best. Perhaps Fox just feel they want to get their money's worth?
The Simpsons may be far from the prettiest show to ever hit the air, but it doesn't deserve this
treatment.
Update: I've just seen more proof that the DVNR problems here have been introduced
at the NTSC->PAL standards conversion stage. I just watched a brand new episode of The Simpsons on
Channel 4 here in the UK, and despite the fact that the episode was entirely digital, it had been DVNR'd.
So, whoever's in charge of the standards conversion either doesn't know what video noise is (or why you should just leave it alone), or isn't aware that there's expensive DVNR equipment turned on somewhere along the chain.
LiveJournal user DJ Diesel wasn't too happy when he saw what was done to the PAL version of
this set and wrote some comments which you should read.
Next Page: Asterix box set >>
Site Design © by David Mackenzie. Unless stated, the opinions contained herein are entirely my own. I make no claim to any other properties or trademarks mentioned. NOT AFFILIATED with Lyris Technologies, an e-mail marketing software provider. This site uses a cookie to store your preferred visual style. Some Javascript functions are the work of other programmers (used with permission).
|
