Bardock/Trunks TV Specials 4:3 Options

[i'mfuckingevil]

So in my opinion, Bardock and History of Trunks are the 2 best DBZ movies, even though they aren't technically movies. I bought the Bluray combo pack and I noticed that is in 16:9, and that a whole lot of footage is lost at the top and bottom of the screen. Is this just way the footage is on the disc or is there any other for me to view it? Is there an option to make it 4:3?

[RocktheDragon]

So in my opinion, Bardock and History of Trunks are the 2 best DBZ movies, even though they aren't technically movies. I bought the Bluray combo pack and I noticed that is in 16:9, and that a whole lot of footage is lost at the top and bottom of the screen. Is this just way the footage is on the disc or is there any other for me to view it? Is there an option to make it 4:3?

I believe the only way for you to view either in the original 4:3 (at least in an American release) is to go and search for the DVD singles that Funimation released back in 2001.

Here is the Bardock one on DVD on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Ball-Bardo ... er+of+goku

Seems pricey, but it is also available on VHS there too. :p

Edit: For the record, the VHS one's start at $1.98 versus 64.99...but yeah. If you look around on Ebay you could probably find the DVD for far cheaper.

Double Edit: I might as well add that the History of Trunks is far cheaper, starting at $15.00 on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Ball-The-H ... +of+trunks

And that was released in 2000, a whole year before the Bardock special! Which makes me wonder why the Bardock special is so expensive...

[i'mfuckingevil]

WHAT?! That is the ONLY way to watch these films in their true form? That is super fucking lame. Not even worth it if they'r not out on Bluray.

[Ajay]

Actually, they're on the Japanese Dragon Box Z sets and look fantastic. Far better than their Blu-Ray counterparts. Resolution doesn't always equate to quality. The colours and contrast are great and the grain is in tact as well as maintaining the 4:3 aspect. It's very nice.

[RocktheDragon]

Actually, they're on the Japanese Dragon Box Z sets and look fantastic. Far better than their Blu-Ray counterparts. Resolution doesn't always equate to quality. The colours and contrast are great and the grain is in tact as well as maintaining the 4:3 aspect. It's very nice.

If you want to spend a pretty penny I guess that's fine. But not everyone can afford to put down that kind of money down, no matter how much quality the Japanese Dragon Box release may be. And then there is the problem of subtitles, which can be overcome but for someone that just wants to pop a disc in and watch it can be a very inconvenient and expensive hurdle.

[RocktheDragon]

WHAT?! That is the ONLY way to watch these films in their true form? That is super fucking lame. Not even worth it if they'r not out on Bluray.

I would disagree with that statement. Does that mean that the Japanese or U.S. Dragon Boxes aren't worth it because they aren't on BD? Saying something like that seems a bit silly, even with the marked improvement in Blu-ray.

I can see how the price of the Bardock special would be a deterrent, but if it was a more reasonable price I don't see a problem with trying to acquire it. But at 64 dollars it is outrageous, if that's what you were trying to get at.

[Luso Saiyan]

So in my opinion, Bardock and History of Trunks are the 2 best DBZ movies, even though they aren't technically movies. I bought the Bluray combo pack and I noticed that is in 16:9, and that a whole lot of footage is lost at the top and bottom of the screen.

But you do gain footage on the sides:



It would be nice if there was a 4:3 release without any loss though. Right now it's a "pick your poison" type of situation, and the BD has the advantage of better contrast and the expected higher resolution and bitrate.

[Ajay]

Actually, they're on the Japanese Dragon Box Z sets and look fantastic. Far better than their Blu-Ray counterparts. Resolution doesn't always equate to quality. The colours and contrast are great and the grain is in tact as well as maintaining the 4:3 aspect. It's very nice.

If you want to spend a pretty penny I guess that's fine. But not everyone can afford to put down that kind of money down, no matter how much quality the Japanese Dragon Box release may be. And then there is the problem of subtitles, which can be overcome but for someone that just wants to pop a disc in and watch it can be a very inconvenient and expensive hurdle.

Oh yeah, for sure. I just wanted to offer up some sort of retort to him implying the Blu-Rays were the only way to see them in their 'original' form.

[RocktheDragon]

So in my opinion, Bardock and History of Trunks are the 2 best DBZ movies, even though they aren't technically movies. I bought the Bluray combo pack and I noticed that is in 16:9, and that a whole lot of footage is lost at the top and bottom of the screen.

But you do gain footage on the sides:

Spoiler:

It would be nice if there was a 4:3 release without any loss though. Right now it's a "pick your poison" type of situation, and the BD has the advantage of better contrast and the expected higher resolution and bitrate.

Yeah. As someone who owns all of the NA releases of Bardock I have to say that I keep coming back to the original 4:3 presentation. At times the BD can be very nice, and it provides a different experience, but nothing takes me back like having the Japanese title credits on there.

[dbboxkaifan]

So in my opinion, Bardock and History of Trunks are the 2 best DBZ movies, even though they aren't technically movies. I bought the Bluray combo pack and I noticed that is in 16:9, and that a whole lot of footage is lost at the top and bottom of the screen. Is this just way the footage is on the disc or is there any other for me to view it? Is there an option to make it 4:3?

1) It'd be more accurate to say "Tomatoes are the best vegetables even though they aren't technically vegetables" 'cause those two DBZ videos are nothing more than TV-Specials which fit under Freeza's arc and Artificlal Humans arc. I really hate when people call these TV-Specials as "movies".

2) No there's no dual angle if there were everyone would know about it.

You can however buy the old US DBZ Singles which are 4x3 AR or the 2011 release of the "Heroes" DVD. Screenshots below.

Spoiler:

English subtitles not included originally.

But you do gain footage on the sides

You lose more on the top and bottom than what you gain on the sides. I don't care much about the footage on the sides, it's more important to me on top and bottom.

[TheAldella]

Oh yeah, for sure. I just wanted to offer up some sort of retort to him implying the Blu-Rays were the only way to see them in their 'original' form.

Can you imagine if the level sets actually went on to complete throughout the movies and specials as well? We got More footage than on the Dragon Boxes on top and bottom, and with the sides! That was Crazy~

[dbboxkaifan]

Can you imagine if the level sets actually went on to complete throughout the movies and specials as well? We got More footage than on the Dragon Boxes on top and bottom, and with the sides! That was Crazy~

People keep forgetting that the Level BDs had detail loss and that wasn't a good thing.

[TheAldella]

Can you imagine if the level sets actually went on to complete throughout the movies and specials as well? We got More footage than on the Dragon Boxes on top and bottom, and with the sides! That was Crazy~

People keep forgetting that the Level BDs had detail loss and that wasn't a good thing.

They did have detail loss, yes, but I'm speaking of the overall area of the image shown being superior to all of what we've gotten before. That's not really what I cared about when making that post.

[Luso Saiyan]

You lose more on the top and bottom than what you gain on the sides. I don't care much about the footage on the sides, it's more important to me on top and bottom.

You lose both ways, and if you want to get more specific about it, the actually relevant information is not lost on any of them.

[dbboxkaifan]

The Level BDs were also lacking the original Japanese credits, NEPs, correct OP animation and probably something else that I've not mentioned. I'd have been satisfied with the Level BDs had they had at least the Japanese credits which sadly they didn't.

Seems like FUNimation is English only nowadays.

You lose both ways, and if you want to get more specific about it, the actually relevant information is not lost on any of them.

That's what they always say to defend the cropped releases. For purists the way to go for is fullscreen (except when the video aspect ratio is widescreen originally -- Battle of Gods).

[TheAldella]

The Level BDs were also lacking the original Japanese credits, NEPs, correct OP animation and probably something else that I've not mentioned. I'd have been satisfied with the Level BDs had they had at least the Japanese credits which sadly they didn't.

Seems like FUNimation is English only nowadays.

Th-They've been doing that stuff since like 2006 or 2007, dude. Remember the Brick sets? YuYu Hakusho? Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood? All these have lacked japanese credits and alternate angles.

[Luso Saiyan]

That's what they always say to defend the cropped releases.

I'm not defending anything. All I'm saying is that neither the 4:3 nor the 16:9 release are uncropped, and that the BD still has overall better quality despite the wider aspect ratio when compared to the DVD.

[Puto]

The Level BDs were also lacking the original Japanese credits, NEPs, correct OP animation and probably something else that I've not mentioned. I'd have been satisfied with the Level BDs had they had at least the Japanese credits which sadly they didn't.

Just a little correction -- though they lacked the Japanese credits and episode previews, they did in fact have the correct OP animations.

[GarrettCRW]

Th-They've been doing that stuff since like 2006 or 2007, dude. Remember the Brick sets? YuYu Hakusho? Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood? All these have lacked japanese credits and alternate angles.

Wasn't the change in policy announced after Funimation said something to the effect that adding extra angles was too difficult? Granted, their branching worked pretty badly IIRC (perhaps even worse than the branching on the Blu-rays for the original Star Trek, which is even more embarrassing since that's a major studio), but it is a standard feature of the format.