Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

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Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Deli295 » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:18 pm

Hi everyone, I would like you to help me know which releases of Dragon Ball are the best for:
-Dragon Ball: The Season Sets vs. Madman Fatpacks.
-Dragon Ball Z cut: Pioneer vs. Rock the Dragon vs. Madman.
-Dragon Ball Z uncut: Funimation singles vs. Madman (almost sure there is no difference between these but I want to know for sure).
-Dragon Ball GT: Funimation vs Madman.
If you can tell me all the cons and pros of these releases (low/high bitrate, cropping, bad PAL conversion, low quality audio, NEPs, etc). Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Deli295 on Tue Jan 23, 2018 2:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Puto » Sun Jan 21, 2018 6:49 am

Madman releases are PAL, early DBZ Madman singles are dub-only, and I think Pioneer's releases of the Saban DBZ episodes are missing the recaps and previews.
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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Deli295 » Mon Jan 22, 2018 1:06 am

Puto wrote:Madman releases are PAL, early DBZ Madman singles are dub-only, and I think Pioneer's releases of the Saban DBZ episodes are missing the recaps and previews.
Thanks, so basically the Madman releases are the best when it comes to the Ocean Dub since they are the most complete ones out there, what about the Madman uncut DVDs, do these also have more NEPs?

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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by TheGreatness25 » Mon Jan 22, 2018 1:29 am

Deli295 wrote:
Puto wrote:Madman releases are PAL, early DBZ Madman singles are dub-only, and I think Pioneer's releases of the Saban DBZ episodes are missing the recaps and previews.
Thanks, so basically the Madman releases are the best when it comes to the Ocean Dub since they are the most complete ones out there, what about the Madman uncut DVDs, do these also have more NEPs?
The Rock the Dragon set has the recaps and previews and are even less censored (there are a few instances when death is referred to instead of the "other dimension").

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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Robo4900 » Mon Jan 22, 2018 6:29 pm

TheGreatness25 wrote:The Rock the Dragon set has the recaps and previews and are even less censored (there are a few instances when death is referred to instead of the "other dimension").
That only affects the first two episodes.
Plus, Madman's picture quality is a lot better.
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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Ringworm128 » Mon Jan 22, 2018 8:26 pm

Probably worth nothing since it's the Orange Bricks; but the Madman release of the season sets uses plastic VHS case style packaging instead of flimsy cardboard. Much better IMO.
Robo4900 wrote:
TheGreatness25 wrote:The Rock the Dragon set has the recaps and previews and are even less censored (there are a few instances when death is referred to instead of the "other dimension").
That only affects the first two episodes.
Plus, Madman's picture quality is a lot better.
Huh, I've always heard the opposite. I do know MM's DVD's run in PAL which is a higher resolution than NTSC, 576i/p instead of 480. But it runs at a slower refresh rate. But for some reason Funimation apparently does their 480p better than Madman's 576p.

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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Weejus » Mon Jan 22, 2018 8:29 pm

In terms of television, while PAL is 50Hz, that actually makes PAL television run at a faster frame rate. PAL is 25FPS, NTSC is 24. As such, depending on how well Madman optimised the NTSC masters for PAL use, their DB home media could run faster and at a higher audio pitch than FUNi's.

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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by DrBriefsCat » Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:01 pm

Madman's PAL version of the first Dragon Ball series is converted from NTSC without speed change. I heard their DVDs of Z may have speed up, because they were converted from Funimation's orange bricks which were progressive to begin with.

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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Robo4900 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 6:42 am

ringworm128 wrote:Huh, I've always heard the opposite. I do know MM's DVD's run in PAL which is a higher resolution than NTSC, 576i/p instead of 480. But it runs at a slower refresh rate. But for some reason Funimation apparently does their 480p better than Madman's 576p.
It goes from NTSC 60Hz to PAL 50Hz by blending some of the interlaced fields together. This process can be reversed for Dragon Ball though, and in playback, you most likely won't notice it.
The higher resolution is nice, but the tapes Madman would've been given would've been NTSC 480 tapes that would've been upscaled to 576.

The reason the Madman release is higher quality is simply down to the video master they were given being better; it had better colours and contrast, a sharper image, and it included all the previews(RTD was actually missing the next episode preview from episode #10). See this comparison to see difference in picture quality for youself.
(And no, the RTD release doesn't have black boarders around it; those were added to show the difference in frame size between RTD and Madman)
Weejus wrote:In terms of television, while PAL is 50Hz, that actually makes PAL television run at a faster frame rate. PAL is 25FPS, NTSC is 24. As such, depending on how well Madman optimised the NTSC masters for PAL use, their DB home media could run faster and at a higher audio pitch than FUNi's.
PAL is 25FPS, NTSC is 30FPS, but for all their movies, they use 24FPS, which necessitates 3:2 pulldown for any DVDs or TV broadcasts, which takes advantage of the way interlacing works to stretch the 24FPS out across 60 interlaced fields. Meanwhile, PAL just speeds the 24FPS movies up to 25FPS. Since this means PAL is progressive, and has a higher resolution(576 height, compared to NTSC's 480), PAL DVDs of movies are often better quality overall, despite the playback being 4% faster(And in fact, this 4% difference isn't usually noticeable unless you know to look for it).
Of course, Blu-Ray does away with a lot of this; the resolutions are the same across both, and PAL Blu-Rays can be 24FPS, though NTSC Blu-Rays can't actually be 25fps, so they end up having to use a weird process to stretch the 25 progressive frames out across 60 interlaced fields in the 60i mode, similar to the 24 progressive frames stretched over 60 fields process used for NTSC DVDs and TV broadcasts...

Anyway, since interlacing is usually involved here, the 25 and 30 frames per second numbers used for PAL and NTSC DVDs and broadcasting often end up being doubled-up to 50 fields per second for PAL, and 60 fields per second for NTSC.
When PAL releases are given interlaced NTSC masters for DVDs, often they can't just speed it up(60 fields > 50 fields), and slowing it down would be far too drastic(-16% instead of the +4% for 24>25), so they blend fields together to reduce it down to 50 fields per second. In the case of Dragon Ball, since the original source was only 24fps anyway, the original 24 progressive frames can be recovered from this.
And honestly, despite how it sounds, the blended PAL 50Hz fields look fine in normal playback.
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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Deli295 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 2:14 pm

Robo4900 wrote:
ringworm128 wrote:Huh, I've always heard the opposite. I do know MM's DVD's run in PAL which is a higher resolution than NTSC, 576i/p instead of 480. But it runs at a slower refresh rate. But for some reason Funimation apparently does their 480p better than Madman's 576p.
It goes from NTSC 60Hz to PAL 50Hz by blending some of the interlaced fields together. This process can be reversed for Dragon Ball though, and in playback, you most likely won't notice it.
The higher resolution is nice, but the tapes Madman would've been given would've been NTSC 480 tapes that would've been upscaled to 576.

The reason the Madman release is higher quality is simply down to the video master they were given being better; it had better colours and contrast, a sharper image, and it included all the previews(RTD was actually missing the next episode preview from episode #10). See this comparison to see difference in picture quality for youself.
(And no, the RTD release doesn't have black boarders around it; those were added to show the difference in frame size between RTD and Madman)
Weejus wrote:In terms of television, while PAL is 50Hz, that actually makes PAL television run at a faster frame rate. PAL is 25FPS, NTSC is 24. As such, depending on how well Madman optimised the NTSC masters for PAL use, their DB home media could run faster and at a higher audio pitch than FUNi's.
PAL is 25FPS, NTSC is 30FPS, but for all their movies, they use 24FPS, which necessitates 3:2 pulldown for any DVDs or TV broadcasts, which takes advantage of the way interlacing works to stretch the 24FPS out across 60 interlaced fields. Meanwhile, PAL just speeds the 24FPS movies up to 25FPS. Since this means PAL is progressive, and has a higher resolution(576 height, compared to NTSC's 480), PAL DVDs of movies are often better quality overall, despite the playback being 4% faster(And in fact, this 4% difference isn't usually noticeable unless you know to look for it).
Of course, Blu-Ray does away with a lot of this; the resolutions are the same across both, and PAL Blu-Rays can be 24FPS, though NTSC Blu-Rays can't actually be 25fps, so they end up having to use a weird process to stretch the 25 progressive frames out across 60 interlaced fields in the 60i mode, similar to the 24 progressive frames stretched over 60 fields process used for NTSC DVDs and TV broadcasts...

Anyway, since interlacing is usually involved here, the 25 and 30 frames per second numbers used for PAL and NTSC DVDs and broadcasting often end up being doubled-up to 50 fields per second for PAL, and 60 fields per second for NTSC.
When PAL releases are given interlaced NTSC masters for DVDs, often they can't just speed it up(60 fields > 50 fields), and slowing it down would be far too drastic(-16% instead of the +4% for 24>25), so they blend fields together to reduce it down to 50 fields per second. In the case of Dragon Ball, since the original source was only 24fps anyway, the original 24 progressive frames can be recovered from this.
And honestly, despite how it sounds, the blended PAL 50Hz fields look fine in normal playback.
So basically there are no problems with the Madman PAL releases of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z 1-53, the only con of the Dragon Ball Madman DVDs are the lack of a 5.1 audio track, but I guess it doesn't sound bad at all. What about the rest of Dragon Ball Z singles, do you have screenshots to compare?

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Re: Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Deli295 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 2:25 pm

I can bearly find any Madman singles on eBay, plus I've noticed that the Japanese audio is not listed on the covers. So, I guess the Funimation DVDs are better for the uncut portion of the series.

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Re: Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by LordCrumb » Wed Jan 24, 2018 1:27 am

Deli295 wrote:I can bearly find any Madman singles on eBay, plus I've noticed that the Japanese audio is not listed on the covers. So, I guess the Funimation DVDs are better for the uncut portion of the series.
Well the Japanese audio is missing, but they are still "uncut" in terms of violence and editing.

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Re: Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Robo4900 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 5:45 am

LordCrumb wrote:
Deli295 wrote:I can bearly find any Madman singles on eBay, plus I've noticed that the Japanese audio is not listed on the covers. So, I guess the Funimation DVDs are better for the uncut portion of the series.
Well the Japanese audio is missing, but they are still "uncut" in terms of violence and editing.
I thought the Japanese audio was only missing on some of the singles?
I believe it's just the Ginyu ones.
Deli295 wrote:So basically there are no problems with the Madman PAL releases of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z 1-53, the only con of the Dragon Ball Madman DVDs are the lack of a 5.1 audio track, but I guess it doesn't sound bad at all. What about the rest of Dragon Ball Z singles, do you have screenshots to compare?
Yep, that's right. If you're an encoder trying to do editing and such, the Madman PAL releases will be a pain to handle, but for standard viewing, yeah, they're fine.
The lack of a 5.1 track won't affect you unless you have a 5.1 system.

I believe the Madman Dragon Ball Z singles after the first 53 episodes are the exact same as the US singles, but with better encoding, and -- as I mentioned earlier -- the Ginyu singles are missing the Japanese track.
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Re: Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Deli295 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 12:37 pm

I don't know, I've seen covers from Gt. Saiyaman saga where only English dialogue is listed. I've heard they put the Japanese audio on the World Tournament saga, but I wouldn't know for sure.

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Re: Dragonn Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Kakacarrottop » Wed Jan 24, 2018 12:49 pm

TheGreatness25 wrote:
Deli295 wrote:
Puto wrote:Madman releases are PAL, early DBZ Madman singles are dub-only, and I think Pioneer's releases of the Saban DBZ episodes are missing the recaps and previews.
Thanks, so basically the Madman releases are the best when it comes to the Ocean Dub since they are the most complete ones out there, what about the Madman uncut DVDs, do these also have more NEPs?
The Rock the Dragon set has the recaps and previews and are even less censored (there are a few instances when death is referred to instead of the "other dimension").
It also has the edited Tree of Might version, so if you were trying to collect the Saban dub via the singles then it would end up being incomplete. The image quality is also much less blocky and contrasted.
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Re: Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by TheGreatness25 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 3:49 pm

Ah, that's right. It has the edited Tree of Might with the same music as the first two seasons and Ian Corlett as Goku. I was very happy about that, actually. Also very surprised.

I don't know about video quality because quite honestly, I don't think the singles nor the Rock the Dragon set have particularly great quality, so I couldn't really tell you which looks better.

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Re: Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Deli295 » Wed Jan 24, 2018 4:07 pm

Well according to this, the Madman singles blow the Pioneer DVDs and the RTD set out of the water.
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/116738

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Re: Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Danfun64 » Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:34 am

My two cents? Before I say anything else, I have to point out that while in many points I recommend the Madman releases, they all have issues with frame blending due to how the NTSC-PAL conversion was handled.

DB: For the most part, the Madman set is the best way to watch the series with English subs and the Funimation dub, as well as the best way to see the BLT dub of Movie 1. The Fortuneteller Baba saga discs have important issues when using the the Japanese video track though (Ep 73 only has dubtitles...an error I don't think was ever fixed. Episode 81 goes from the A portion to the B portion of 83 IIRC, but unlike the Ep 73 dubtitle issue, this has apparently been fixed on replacement discs). If you prefer not watching the Remastered dub mix, the Madman movie singles for Movie 2 and 3 are the best way to watch those films overall. Apparently Madman DB Movie 4 has issues of its own concerning watching in Japanese with English subs, but if you only want the English dub, it's the best way to watch that film without Remastered dub mix. Aside from Movie 1, I don't think Madman ever released any of the BLT dub of DB, so you have to choose between VHS tapes and the R1 singles for it. If you must watch without worrying about frame blending, go with the Blue Bricks and the remastered releases of movies 3 and 4. (The remastered movie 1 is the ONLY uncut release from Funi, but I only recommend that for watching it subbed. IMO the new uncut dub DB Movie 1 got is a mess. As for remastered movie 2... the video transfer cuts the framerate in half. Unless you really hate the BLT opening and closing, even the Funi single would look better)

DBZ:
Concerning the Saban dub, the Madman singles have the best video quality, and ALL the NEPs...but they have the "Never say die" versions of the earliest episodes. The Rock the Dragon collection has the original lines in those early episodes, and seems to be the only way to get Saban DBZ Movie 3 on DVD...but episode 9 ends with the episode 11 NEP... which episode 10 also ends with. In addition, it's slightly zoomed in compared to the Pioneer singles and the Madman singles, and has slightly inferior colors. Either way though, both are far better than the Pioneer singles, which have vastly inferior video encoding.

Concerning the Pioneer dub of Movies 1-3: Laserdiscs provide the best audio quality, hands down. The Madman singles might provide better video quality, but they still have the usual frame blending issues. Either way you're going to get something that looks better than the Funi singles though...that being said, the Rock the Dragon collection has the Toonami edited cuts of Pioneer Movies 1-2. If you don't mind censorship, that release might be the best for you.

Concerning the "Season 3 and onwards" In-House Funimation dub: The Madmen singles are the best for the two Captain Ginyu singles and (apparently) every single starting with "WORLD TOURNAMENT: JUNIOR DIVISION". Unfortunately, things become more complicated for the subtitles in between. All of the Madmen singles of the In-House Funi dub before the aforementioned World Tournament DVD are in a dub-only omnibus format, with only one recap and one NEP per disc (that being said, the English track of the Funi Captain Ginyu singles have no recaps or NEPs whatsoever, which is why I can recommend those two discs over their Funi counterparts unambiguously). All of the Funi singles after Captain Ginyu have proper episode opening and closings, but still only have one NEP per disc. If you're looking for the Funi singles, try to get both versions of the "Mysterious Youth" single. Since they end at different episodes, each has a different NEP. Unfortunately, if you want the edited versions of the episodes, you're stuck with VHS tapes (unless you somehow knew to record the original Cartoon Network broadcasts on DVD or something, then that would be the best way to see the edited episodes. You want to know about the movies and specials? Unlike the series proper, the movies were sold both uncut and edited on DVD (though apparently Toonami had further cuts than the edited release). I don't know if the Madman singles are dub only like a large chunk of their series DVDs were though, but if they aren't, they're the best way to see the movie dub uncut.

Concerning the Ultimate Uncut dub and the remastered "Captain Ginyu" episodes: When Funimation released their short lived UUC line, their DVD encoding has gotten a lot better, but they haven't quite reached the level that they would reach starting with the Season 7 Orange Brick, so the Madman singles (if any exist) are probably the best way to watch them (though if they do exist, the range ended earlier than Funi's did?). After you get all of the Madman singles and the Funi singles Madman didn't cover, your only way to watch the remainder is through one of the "Remastered" releases. For whatever reason, Funi made new audio mixes using the source components of the original dubs...and in the case of "Season 3" and onwards did a partial redub which is fairly conspicuous whenever someone who isn't redubbed is talking. Even ignoring that, the new audio mixes could have removed voice filters, different takes, dialogue added or removed etc, so I prefer the original mix whenever its possible. Unfortunately, since its not possible for the tail end of Season 1 and the entirety of Season 2, the Season Blu-Rays are probably the best option. Yes they are cropped to 16:9, and probably have the most audio alterations, however subtle or conspicuous they might be. However, IIRC they fix some of the audio mix issues introduced with the Orange Bricks, and since they are the most recent set to come out, might have more issues fixed than the Level 1.2 set does (I don't recommend the Funi Dragon Boxes for watching the dub, due to lacking the replacement score which the dub was recorded with).

Concerning watching the Japanese with subtitles: For the series, no contest, the Funimation Dragon Boxes are the way to watch the series with subs. As for the movies and specials, the Pioneer releases of DBZ Movies 1-3 have different subs compared to the Simmons subs which first appeared in the Ultimate Uncut sets and reappear for the Double Features. I'd recommend the Double Feature for Movie 1 and the Ultimate Uncut for Movie 2 and 3. Why do I not recommend the Ultimate Uncut Movie 1 for Japanese viewing? You can in part thank Ocean/Pioneer. Every dub of the DB franchise originating from Ocean (excluding the BLT dub depending on your perspective) has added sound effects. Somehow some of these sound effects appeared on the Japanese track of the Ultimate Uncut release. Anyways, moving on to the specials and the non Pioneer/UUC dubbed films. Since Funi didn't release a "Movies" Dragon Box, much of what I said concerning the dub of the films applies here as well. Movie 6 even has an NEP thing which IIRC the Double Features lacks. Keep in mind that the singles might have minor errors that the subs of the Double Features fixed, as shown here. (Replace the first instance of "Cell" in that with "Mr. Satan")

DBGT: I think Madman singles exist, but not entirely sure. If they do, and assuming they have the same content as the Funi subs... you get Dragon Box quality along with subbed/dubbed NEPs. The Green Bricks have no NEPs whatsoever. The encoding of the Funi singles still sucks though.

Madman's releases have no advantage after the S6 Orange Brick. In fact, the Madman DVDs are now at a disadvantage because while Funi's DVD mastering is now competent, Madman is still stuck with the frame blending issue.
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Re: Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by Deli295 » Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:22 pm

Danfun64 wrote:My two cents? Before I say anything else, I have to point out that while in many points I recommend the Madman releases, they all have issues with frame blending due to how the NTSC-PAL conversion was handled.

DB: For the most part, the Madman set is the best way to watch the series with English subs and the Funimation dub, as well as the best way to see the BLT dub of Movie 1. The Fortuneteller Baba saga discs have important issues when using the the Japanese video track though (Ep 73 only has dubtitles...an error I don't think was ever fixed. Episode 81 goes from the A portion to the B portion of 83 IIRC, but unlike the Ep 73 dubtitle issue, this has apparently been fixed on replacement discs). If you prefer not watching the Remastered dub mix, the Madman movie singles for Movie 2 and 3 are the best way to watch those films overall. Apparently Madman DB Movie 4 has issues of its own concerning watching in Japanese with English subs, but if you only want the English dub, it's the best way to watch that film without Remastered dub mix. Aside from Movie 1, I don't think Madman ever released any of the BLT dub of DB, so you have to choose between VHS tapes and the R1 singles for it. If you must watch without worrying about frame blending, go with the Blue Bricks and the remastered releases of movies 3 and 4. (The remastered movie 1 is the ONLY uncut release from Funi, but I only recommend that for watching it subbed. IMO the new uncut dub DB Movie 1 got is a mess. As for remastered movie 2... the video transfer cuts the framerate in half. Unless you really hate the BLT opening and closing, even the Funi single would look better)

DBZ:
Concerning the Saban dub, the Madman singles have the best video quality, and ALL the NEPs...but they have the "Never say die" versions of the earliest episodes. The Rock the Dragon collection has the original lines in those early episodes, and seems to be the only way to get Saban DBZ Movie 3 on DVD...but episode 9 ends with the episode 11 NEP... which episode 10 also ends with. In addition, it's slightly zoomed in compared to the Pioneer singles and the Madman singles, and has slightly inferior colors. Either way though, both are far better than the Pioneer singles, which have vastly inferior video encoding.

Concerning the Pioneer dub of Movies 1-3: Laserdiscs provide the best audio quality, hands down. The Madman singles might provide better video quality, but they still have the usual frame blending issues. Either way you're going to get something that looks better than the Funi singles though...that being said, the Rock the Dragon collection has the Toonami edited cuts of Pioneer Movies 1-2. If you don't mind censorship, that release might be the best for you.

Concerning the "Season 3 and onwards" In-House Funimation dub: The Madmen singles are the best for the two Captain Ginyu singles and (apparently) every single starting with "WORLD TOURNAMENT: JUNIOR DIVISION". Unfortunately, things become more complicated for the subtitles in between. All of the Madmen singles of the In-House Funi dub before the aforementioned World Tournament DVD are in a dub-only omnibus format, with only one recap and one NEP per disc (that being said, the English track of the Funi Captain Ginyu singles have no recaps or NEPs whatsoever, which is why I can recommend those two discs over their Funi counterparts unambiguously). All of the Funi singles after Captain Ginyu have proper episode opening and closings, but still only have one NEP per disc. If you're looking for the Funi singles, try to get both versions of the "Mysterious Youth" single. Since they end at different episodes, each has a different NEP. Unfortunately, if you want the edited versions of the episodes, you're stuck with VHS tapes (unless you somehow knew to record the original Cartoon Network broadcasts on DVD or something, then that would be the best way to see the edited episodes. You want to know about the movies and specials? Unlike the series proper, the movies were sold both uncut and edited on DVD (though apparently Toonami had further cuts than the edited release). I don't know if the Madman singles are dub only like a large chunk of their series DVDs were though, but if they aren't, they're the best way to see the movie dub uncut.

Concerning the Ultimate Uncut dub and the remastered "Captain Ginyu" episodes: When Funimation released their short lived UUC line, their DVD encoding has gotten a lot better, but they haven't quite reached the level that they would reach starting with the Season 7 Orange Brick, so the Madman singles (if any exist) are probably the best way to watch them (though if they do exist, the range ended earlier than Funi's did?). After you get all of the Madman singles and the Funi singles Madman didn't cover, your only way to watch the remainder is through one of the "Remastered" releases. For whatever reason, Funi made new audio mixes using the source components of the original dubs...and in the case of "Season 3" and onwards did a partial redub which is fairly conspicuous whenever someone who isn't redubbed is talking. Even ignoring that, the new audio mixes could have removed voice filters, different takes, dialogue added or removed etc, so I prefer the original mix whenever its possible. Unfortunately, since its not possible for the tail end of Season 1 and the entirety of Season 2, the Season Blu-Rays are probably the best option. Yes they are cropped to 16:9, and probably have the most audio alterations, however subtle or conspicuous they might be. However, IIRC they fix some of the audio mix issues introduced with the Orange Bricks, and since they are the most recent set to come out, might have more issues fixed than the Level 1.2 set does (I don't recommend the Funi Dragon Boxes for watching the dub, due to lacking the replacement score which the dub was recorded with).

Concerning watching the Japanese with subtitles: For the series, no contest, the Funimation Dragon Boxes are the way to watch the series with subs. As for the movies and specials, the Pioneer releases of DBZ Movies 1-3 have different subs compared to the Simmons subs which first appeared in the Ultimate Uncut sets and reappear for the Double Features. I'd recommend the Double Feature for Movie 1 and the Ultimate Uncut for Movie 2 and 3. Why do I not recommend the Ultimate Uncut Movie 1 for Japanese viewing? You can in part thank Ocean/Pioneer. Every dub of the DB franchise originating from Ocean (excluding the BLT dub depending on your perspective) has added sound effects. Somehow some of these sound effects appeared on the Japanese track of the Ultimate Uncut release. Anyways, moving on to the specials and the non Pioneer/UUC dubbed films. Since Funi didn't release a "Movies" Dragon Box, much of what I said concerning the dub of the films applies here as well. Movie 6 even has an NEP thing which IIRC the Double Features lacks. Keep in mind that the singles might have minor errors that the subs of the Double Features fixed, as shown here. (Replace the first instance of "Cell" in that with "Mr. Satan")

DBGT: I think Madman singles exist, but not entirely sure. If they do, and assuming they have the same content as the Funi subs... you get Dragon Box quality along with subbed/dubbed NEPs. The Green Bricks have no NEPs whatsoever. The encoding of the Funi singles still sucks though.

Madman's releases have no advantage after the S6 Orange Brick. In fact, the Madman DVDs are now at a disadvantage because while Funi's DVD mastering is now competent, Madman is still stuck with the frame blending issue.
That's a lot of information, thanks a lot, I don't think there's anything else to say.

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LordCrumb
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Re: Dragon Ball Home Releases: Funimation vs Madman

Post by LordCrumb » Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:12 pm

Robo4900 wrote:
LordCrumb wrote:
Deli295 wrote:I can bearly find any Madman singles on eBay, plus I've noticed that the Japanese audio is not listed on the covers. So, I guess the Funimation DVDs are better for the uncut portion of the series.
Well the Japanese audio is missing, but they are still "uncut" in terms of violence and editing.
I thought the Japanese audio was only missing on some of the singles?
I believe it's just the Ginyu ones.
Nah, it's missing the Japanese audio much further into the series. Not on hand at the moment, but I think i'm pretty sure its into the Cell saga before they started to include it.

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