Dragon Ball Z 4:3 Steelbooks

[dragonmagico]

Back in January, MangaUK came to me and said Funi were putting out their 30th sets in seasonal packaging for the mass market. They wanted to know if they should do that too or go with the old 16:9 release. I told them 4:3, obviously.

Did they mention if this is going to be a limited release? Or are these going to replace the 2013 Blu Ray sets?

They did not mention that yet, but manga Uk(owned by funi iirc) are putting out a non steel book set to replace the 2013 blurays overthere. so i expect the same to happen here. Crappy as these are, they are the only way outside of the dbox(even though they look worse than that dvd) to get the full series in 4:3, and the only way to get the faulconer & friends + johnson dbz score in 4:3, legally. So I pray they replace the 2013 bluray, they *are* still a step up from that. And at least there is a way to get all 3 og db series in 4:3 once these are complete.

[90sDBZ]

They did not mention that yet, but manga Uk(owned by funi iirc) are putting out a non steel book set to replace the 2013 blurays overthere. so i expect the same to happen here. Crappy as these are, they are the only way outside of the dbox(even though they look worse than that dvd) to get the full series in 4:3, and the only way to get the faulconer & friends + johnson dbz score in 4:3, legally. So I pray they replace the 2013 bluray, they *are* still a step up from that. And at least there is a way to get all 3 og db series in 4:3 once these are complete.

We actually never got the 2013 blu-rays in the UK, so these new non-steelbook sets will be our first non-limited blu-ray of Z.

As the US already has the 2013 sets, there could be less chance of Funi doing a standard release, although never say never.

[Ajay]

Back in January, MangaUK came to me and said Funi were putting out their 30th sets in seasonal packaging for the mass market. They wanted to know if they should do that too or go with the old 16:9 release. I told them 4:3, obviously.

Did they mention if this is going to be a limited release? Or are these going to replace the 2013 Blu Ray sets?

They never released those in the UK, so they were asking me if they should use those or the 30th sets masters. They'd seen all the outrage the 30th sets got so were really apprehensive, so I just assured them that as shitty as these are, they're significantly better than the older 16:9 Blu-rays, and the less video-wise consumers would likely be perfectly fine just knowing they have the right ratio. So yeah, these are their flagship DBZ Blu-rays here in the UK, and to my knowledge are not limited.

[Jhanzie]

What Funimation should have done for the 30th/Steelbook release. (IMO)

Episodes 001 - however many were completed: Level Set episodes.

The remaining episodes: Their color corrected HD scans, with very mild DNR, so... basically what they did for the DBZ movies.

The whole deal with the DNR/widescreen was Funi trying to deliver a pristine widescreen image at the time when HD sets were becoming the standard. I know they began doing a “proper” HD restoration with the level sets, and there are fans who will pay a premium price for this. But are there enough people willing to pay for these to make a profit? $80+ per season? Probably not, so the DNR seemed like the way to go. I just wish they weren’t as heavy handed on the video processing as they were.

I know the 30th image isn’t completely true to the original film elements, but it’s not terrible either. When I originally saw DBZ it was on a SD CRT set, and these new discs look pretty good on those if you still have one. Also they look pretty good through my 720p projector. I would rather have the specks and blemishes that will show up on my 4K TV... like the most recent Funi release of the DBZ movies... but some people wouldn’t. It is a matter of taste. Apparently Funimation wants a consistent, pristine image for the series, and I am not holding my breath for a grindhouse editon.

It is my opinion that the 30th look substantially better than the season BDs, of course because of the cropping, but also the colors, and maybe the processing. Some people have commented about the video processing being better on this latest release, but I am no expert on that and really can’t say for sure. What I really like about the 30th is the 4:3 and the Dolby TrueHD audio tracks which sound pretty sweet through my home theatre. The video quirks aren’t bothering me so much with this release and overall I am enjoying watching through Z again. I am watching with my kids, listening to the US audio, and also reading the subtitles. I will definitely be getting the rest of the steelbooks.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

As the US already has the 2013 sets, there could be less chance of Funi doing a standard release, although never say never.

I fully expect Funimation to do a standard release just to milk Dragon Ball Z yet again, especially if Super isn't back this time next year. It wouldn't be too dissimilar to the orange bricks being reissued recently with exclusive packaging for Walmart. They can easily market it as being a lower price point and barrier of entry for owning the series in 4:3.

[ArmenianPepsi]

I will also say, these steelbooks look really nice in person and the discs use a cool metallic ink. Now, it wouldn't make me feel less safe to not always use them as it would my 30th lol

Oh wow that looks nice, the initial pictures made them look much more flat and lifeless but now I can see that cool metal sheen. Though my favorite DB box art are the 2014 Seaason Sets and how they make a really nice panorama when all put together.

[Kingbrockstar1995]

just in case nobody even mentioned or used a ps4, my ps4 shows the dbz 30th year logo is on the new steelbooks

[eledoremassis02]

just in case nobody even mentioned or used a ps4, my ps4 shows the dbz 30th year logo is on the new steelbooks

I noticed that when I opened Leawo player on my computer. Wouldn't be lying if I said I laughed

[Kingbrockstar1995]

just in case nobody even mentioned or used a ps4, my ps4 shows the dbz 30th year logo is on the new steelbooks

I noticed that when I opened Leawo player on my computer. Wouldn't be lying if I said I laughed

Never saw u say it so i just said it

[Kendamu]

I ha e the first three and I'm almost through the first set. The 4:3 alone is enough to make this worth it for me. This is the best non-Japanese release that'll likely be finished and not cancelled part way through and it's worth every penny I paid for it.

If you're still waiting on something better, that's also cool and I dont blame you because you should only spend your money on a product that you'll be satisfied with. This one just happened to be good enough for me.

[CuppaKofe]

Hmmm, considering the bitrate rumour was false, it might be worth picking up the first set just to to see how it looks in person. I was thinking that watching it on a CRT tv might mitigate the sharpening somewhat. I'm in the process of selling off my 2013 blus anyway, so why not.

Plus I like the paint finish on the steelbook... Stuff like this just appeals to the dumbass collector in me.

[Tylerman29]

Honestly if I hadn't been spoiled by the Level sets and Dragon Boxes I would think these looked amazing. Alas, I can't look past the awful DVNR. To me its far too distracting to enjoy these despite the okay packaging. I have the same problem with the Green Bricks, and to an extent the Blue bricks... I'm liking the singles much better these days.

[Kingbrockstar1995]

I actually like the widescreen blu-rays because i don't mind widescreen but these are GODLY awesome

[eledoremassis02]

Honestly if I hadn't been spoiled by the Level sets and Dragon Boxes I would think these looked amazing. Alas, I can't look past the awful DVNR. To me its far too distracting to enjoy these despite the okay packaging. I have the same problem with the Green Bricks, and to an extent the Blue bricks... I'm liking the singles much better these days.

Totally fair. The levels are the tops for me. I have the Dragon Boxes and the 30th and I keep coming back to the 30ths. I love the singles too and they have Japanese title cards, which is a plus.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Honestly if I hadn't been spoiled by the Level sets and Dragon Boxes I would think these looked amazing. Alas, I can't look past the awful DVNR. To me its far too distracting to enjoy these despite the okay packaging. I have the same problem with the Green Bricks, and to an extent the Blue bricks... I'm liking the singles much better these days.

I'm more the opposite on the Blue Bricks and honestly don't find them too distracting in terms of the video quality, as by that point they'd gotten more competent video tech people who actually knew what they were doing with the noise reduction process unlike the early Orange Bricks particularly Season Two which was so utterly oversaturated and smeared to hell that i just couldn't bear to look at it. I'd have gone with the sagas back when initially collecting OG DB, though alas they're quite pricey these days and of course the first arc can't be acquired in that release uncut and bilingual here (due to the whole convoluted sublicense thing with Lionsgate and before that Kidmark and Trimark for those episodes and the first movie which took FUNi all the way up until 2009 to resolve) unless you import the R2 Season 1 from MangaUK or Madman's R4 Saga of Goku either the individual release or one of the boxed set collections.

They aren't perfect mind you, but still good enough though i am still considering tracking down the saga sets at some point soon though they're not on my priority "must buy" list of Dragon Ball releases right now. I'll eventually circle back around to them in due time.

[ArmenianPepsi]

Honestly if I hadn't been spoiled by the Level sets and Dragon Boxes I would think these looked amazing. Alas, I can't look past the awful DVNR. To me its far too distracting to enjoy these despite the okay packaging. I have the same problem with the Green Bricks, and to an extent the Blue bricks... I'm liking the singles much better these days.

Totally fair. The levels are the tops for me. I have the Dragon Boxes and the 30th and I keep coming back to the 30ths. I love the singles too and they have Japanese title cards, which is a plus.

Looking at the Level Sets just makes me sad. Makes my mind wander off just thinking of what could've been. Imagine if all 291 episodes made it, we would never need to spend a single cent on another release of DBZ again.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

just in case nobody even mentioned or used a ps4, my ps4 shows the dbz 30th year logo is on the new steelbooks

I think that alone should be enough to prove these are the 30th discs repackaged without any edits.

[Codarik]

Has it been explained why episode 1 is so zoomed in? It's very distracting. The rest of the episodes seem fine though.

[Jhanzie]

Has it been explained why episode 1 is so zoomed in? It's very distracting. The rest of the episodes seem fine though.

Episode one had some damage on the lower right hand corner of the frame. Instead of trying to fix the issue digitally they simply cropped it a little tighter.

[TheSeductiveTomato]

we would never need to spend a single cent on another release of DBZ again.

Which is probably part of the reason they were canceled. Too expensive, not enough sales (they did ask a lot for like 17 or so episodes per set plus they were flooding us with releases by that point), and they'd never be able to top that quality to keep milking the series.

This is a major improvement from the 2014 blurays so I'll be upgrading but unless the next release is re-continuing the level sets, this will be the definitive release for me.