Comparison shots from every single DBZ release

[KBABZ]

Agreed, this is one thread I will not complain about getting a necrobump!

[Robo4900]

The Single DVD's make a pretty good budget alternative to the Dragon Boxes IMO

Yeah.

If you ask me, if you want to watch DBZ, you should just buy the singles.

I was referring to Option 3, not 4!

Oh, sorry.

Well this is a nice thread to see come up. This will make for some great late night browsing.

Agreed, this is one thread I will not complain about getting a necrobump!

Yes! I really like seeing this thread active.

[superfan2024]

Well this is a nice thread to see come up. This will make for some great late night browsing.

Agreed! Thank you all for reviving this thread

[ArmenianPepsi]

Alright I decided to throw my hat into the ring and contribute something myself. I chose to do Goku and Vegeta's standoff just before their fight in Episode 30.

Spoiler:

Dragon Box


Kai Episode 13


Level Sets


30th Anniv Set

[superfan2024]

Alright I decided to throw my hat into the ring and contribute something myself. I chose to do Goku and Vegeta's standoff just before their fight in Episode 30.

Spoiler:

Dragon Box


Kai Episode 13


Level Sets


30th Anniv Set

The black bricks have so much contrast, the rocks and mountains even turned pink

[ArmenianPepsi]

Alright I decided to throw my hat into the ring and contribute something myself. I chose to do Goku and Vegeta's standoff just before their fight in Episode 30.

Spoiler:

Dragon Box


Kai Episode 13


Level Sets


30th Anniv Set

The black bricks have so much contrast, the rocks and mountains even turned pink

Yeah the colors are real scuffed here. Maybe it's just my eyes but on the Black Bricks Vegeta's tail is so dark it's almost black. Like he's wearing a giant hair tie around his waist. Also if you want I can supply more comparisons from episode 30. It's the only episode I have a copy of on hand from the Black Bricks and Level Sets. The rest I only have DBox and Kai equivalent footage sadly.

[KBABZ]

To be fair on the Black Bricks, that also shows up on the Level footage too.

[ArmenianPepsi]

To be fair on the Black Bricks, that also shows up on the Level footage too.

Yeah looking at it some more you're right. I'm gonna scan through the episode some more and get another batch of comparisons up.

[ArmenianPepsi]

Alright one more batch from Episode 30. Maybe i'll get around and come back with more, but with some Android/Cell Saga comparisons. Just without the Level Sets of course. Maybe i'll substitute them with the 2014 season sets.

Full album - https://imgur.com/gallery/iKdHlv7

Spoiler:

Dragon Box


Kai Episode 13


Level Sets

30th Anniv. Set

[SuperSayainSnape]

Thank you everyone for posting these very helpful comparison pictures. I currently own just the season sets on Blu Ray and am looking to "upgrade", as despite considering myself a very casual fan who isn't too picky, I actually kind of hate them. The cropping is the thing that bothers me the most. It might be a little bit better than the OB, but the other day I noticed Burter's head completely missing in a Ginyu force battle stance (its when they're all lined up single file, with Guldo in the front and Burter in the very back), and that just did it for me. Ugh.

If anyone owns the 30th Anniversary sets, is there really a red tint that is as bad as some people are claiming it to be? Some people are saying Goku has Lobster skin. From certain photos online (and in these comparisons), that does seem to be the case. But in a bubble is it as noticeable I wonder?

Also is the 4:3 on the 30th Anniversary sets genuine? I've heard that they zoom-crop to the point of being far worse than the DBoxes, but I thought it was only for Episode 1, or maybe Eps 1-4. In some of the comparisons I can see here, there are some pictures that do seem way more cropped, and others that seem just fine.

Regardless, thanks again to everyone who posted these helpful comparison shots. I'm really on the fence with spending a stupid amount of money to get the 30th Anniversary set to replace my blue rays JUST to get 4:3 with the Falconer score (I know its generally considered inferior, but I like to switch to it from time to time on account of having a nostalgic soft spot for it).

[KBABZ]

If anyone owns the 30th Anniversary sets, is there really a red tint that is as bad as some people are claiming it to be? Some people are saying Goku has Lobster skin. From certain photos online (and in these comparisons), that does seem to be the case. But in a bubble is it as noticeable I wonder?

To be perfectly honest, I don't think I've heard of any tinting issues with the Black Bricks (my name for the 30th set), and I've read every post in this thread!

Also is the 4:3 on the 30th Anniversary sets genuine? I've heard that they zoom-crop to the point of being far worse than the DBoxes, but I thought it was only for Episode 1, or maybe Eps 1-4. In some of the comparisons I can see here, there are some pictures that do seem way more cropped, and others that seem just fine.

The 4:3 on this set is indeed genuine. It's perhaps a bit tighter in some places, but it's not like cropping a 16:9 crop to 4:3 at all, which was the initial knee-jerk claim. One could even argue that it's more authentic to the CRT viewing experience of the 90s and early 2000s because tube TVs would have a fair amount of overscan, which effectively crops a bit of the footage (although personally I prefer the opposite and go as wide as possible).

I've also never heard of the DBoxes having a bad crop; I always heard they were superior in almost all cases. In the example below, Goku's hand and arm is cropped out from the bottom of the frame:

[SuperSayainSnape]

Is that "Remastered" frame on the left from the Black Bricks, or from the OB/Blu Rays? Based on the shape, I'm guess (and hoping) its the latter, because that is really bad.

I figured that the Black Bricks wouldn't be as good as the Dragon Boxes - but when it comes to cropping specifically, as long as its pretty close to the Dragon Boxes, then they'll at least solve my biggest and primary hang up with the Blu Rays. Thanks for the comparison!

[KBABZ]

Is that "Remastered" frame on the left from the Black Bricks, or from the OB/Blu Rays? Based on the shape, I'm guess (and hoping) its the latter, because that is really bad.

I figured that the Black Bricks wouldn't be as good as the Dragon Boxes - but when it comes to cropping specifically, as long as its pretty close to the Dragon Boxes, then they'll at least solve my biggest and primary hang up with the Blu Rays. Thanks for the comparison!

The comparison is an old one for many years ago, so the Remastered frame on the left is the Blue Bricks (which have "REMASTERED") on the top, and the Original quality frame on the right is from the Dragon Box (and that name in itself is non-indicative because the Dragon Boxes are known for a fuzzy picture, lack of brightness and over-saturated colours).

To get an idea of the full process, you can scroll through explaining their process. The four images at the very bottom show the final Black Brick footage vs Funimation's master (which is a third-generation scan; it's a copy of the broadcast scan which is a copy of Toei's original master). Here you can see the main issue with the film cels: the rounded corners. It's not standard practice to show these so they're always cropped out, but how much you do this depends on how much of the corners are even visible and, more importantly, how much wobble there is in the footage.

The look of the Black Brick footage regarding DNR and all that is comparable to the Blu-Rays, and while the colour grade is slightly pink, I wouldn't call it extreme and you'll get used to it after like, four episodes.

Check out this post from earlier in this thread to see all the raw film cell images from the blog post compared against every current release of those episodes (barring the Blu-Ray sets as the Black Bricks make them redundant for comparisons outside of the cropping).

[SuperSayainSnape]

Ah, this is a great set of comparisons. So basically, I'm paying (a lot) for just an aspect ratio upgrade, which I'm still considering since the cropping bothers me so much.

On that note, the first 4 images show a high amount of cropping on the Black Bricks compared to the Dragon Box. Can anyone confirm that this is only because it is the first 4 episodes, and they cropped more due to the film damage? Or is this a problem that presents itself inconsistently throughout the series?

All of the images after the first 4, at least in regards to cropping, appear fine to me on the Black Bricks. But obviously these are limited sample sizes, and I don't necessarily think anyone on these forums have seen the entire series on the Black Bricks recently. (And even if they had, if they weren't actively comparing it to the dragon boxes, they may not know one way or the other).

The only other interesting thing I noticed is that, compared to the DBoxes, the Black Bricks seems to have their frames placed ever so slightly to the left (for all frame comparisons after the 4th frame). It is a very tiny deviation though.

[SuperSayainSnape]

OH! And I almost forgot. Isn't the picture quality on the Black Bricks actually worse than the season set Blu Rays, on account of the added artificial grain? (Unless you subjectively prefer that aesthetic)?

The grain probably isn't a big deal as long as it isn't excessive.

[ArmenianPepsi]

OH! And I almost forgot. Isn't the picture quality on the Black Bricks actually worse than the season set Blu Rays, on account of the added artificial grain? (Unless you subjectively prefer that aesthetic)?

The grain probably isn't a big deal as long as it isn't excessive.

From what i've seen it doesnt look much worse, but at the same time, besides presenting the series in the correct aspect ratio, it looks more or less the same from the 2014 season sets. Just now in 4:3 and fake grain. The colors are still over saturated, finer linework on characters is still made muddy looking, and clouds and backgrounds still often devolve into water-color territory, the works.

TLDR, Funi dropped the dragon ball again

Also if anyone cares i'll have a new comparison coming here soon.

[KBABZ]

On that note, the first 4 images show a high amount of cropping on the Black Bricks compared to the Dragon Box. Can anyone confirm that this is only because it is the first 4 episodes, and they cropped more due to the film damage? Or is this a problem that presents itself inconsistently throughout the series?

This one's actually reasonable; apparently there's some damage to Funi's master of Episode 1 that necessitates such a high crop (I imagine it's that blue stripe down the right-hand edge).

[ArmenianPepsi]

Alright I'm back and I got a new comparrison on hand. This time it's Episode 120, right when Trunks gives Frieza the business end of his sword.

Full Gallery --> https://imgur.com/gallery/HuGw6Dp

Spoiler:

Kai Episode 56


Dragon Box


30th Anniversary Set


Old Funi Singles

[SuperSayainSnape]

Awesome, thanks for including the Funi Single. The singles are the biggest competition against the Black Bricks for me, wanting 4:3 with Faulconer score.

The Black Bricks are more cropped here than the DBoxes and Kai (mostly on the bottom), however, they are less cropped than the funi single, so that is encouraging!

Do you actually own the Black Bricks and that is how you are doing your comparison? Not that I'd judge the reliability of the images any less. Just wanted to know if your experience with the Bricks themselves are firsthand or not.

I actually think the Funi Single looks better, despite the significantly lower res. Its those colors on the Black Bricks! Maybe I won't notice it too much watching it in a Bubble.

I've debated trying to collect the all of the dvd singles (I can't think of any other way to get 4:3 with Faulconer), but I feel like that would be even more expensive than getting the price gouged Black Bricks, as there are so many to collect and some of them are rare.

I've also been looking at a lot of YouTube videos of comparison clips between the Black Bricks and the DBoxes, or DvD singles, or anything really with a 4:3. The 4:3 ratio always does seem to be solid enough for the Black Bricks.

I will also say, and this is just my preference, but I think Kai looks really, really good.

[SuperSayainSnape]

Does anyone know if the 2.0 English broadcast on the Black Bricks is identical to the 2.0 English broadcast for the Orange Bricks/Season Blu Rays? So in addition to having the Funi dub/Nate Johnson and Faulconer scores, they also have the same sound effects?

And same thing with the other 2 options? (the 5.1 English with Kikuchi and mono Japanese with Kikuchi)?