AB Video to release original Dragon Ball on Blu-Ray

[ABED]

It’s sad when a fan 4k scan cares more then the actual company that created series.

Unless they're doing the whole thing and distributing it, then I don't see how.

[supersaiyamangod]

It’s sad when a fan 4k scan cares more then the actual company that created series.

Unless they're doing the whole thing and distributing it, then I don't see how.

They are a known fan restorationists don’t know if their doing the whole series but a lot of people know about them already so it really isn’t a secret. it’s only a matter of time of when toei will catch on not if. because it’s not small series they are working on not completely anyway.

[ABED]

My point is that it's not sad. It's much easier to restore a relatively small portion of the show. Not doing that doesn't mean these companies don't care, it's simply an expensive process to restore, produce, advertise, and market this sort of product.

[eledoremassis02]

My point is that it's not sad. It's much easier to restore a relatively small portion of the show. Not doing that doesn't mean these companies don't care, it's simply an expensive process to restore, produce, advertise, and market this sort of product.

Very true, I think its the same reason even fan restorations have never fixed the NEP order issue on the Dragon Boxes. That would require a lot of work.

[jjbgood]

The first french Blu-ray Box will be released november 23rd. As stated by many sites like blu-ray.com they will use a HD-Upscale produced by Toei - not a remaster like with the movies.
The german release got delayed until january 12th and will probably use the same Toei HD-Upscales.

Addition to that:
Germany even got new coverarts, using a different style, but the same pictures as the french versions. So its pretty safe to say its the same release.
Also they will include the german intro and outro as an extra, wich means the episodes will have the japanese openings (for the first time in germany, all releases before used the german produced intro, wich is... terrible )

[sangofe]

The first french Blu-ray Box will be released november 23rd. As stated by many sites like blu-ray.com they will use a HD-Upscale produced by Toei - not a remaster like with the movies.
The german release got delayed until january 12th and will probably use the same Toei HD-Upscales.

Addition to that:
Germany even got new coverarts, using a different style, but the same pictures as the french versions. So its pretty safe to say its the same release.
Also they will include the german intro and outro as an extra, wich means the episodes will have the japanese openings (for the first time in germany, all releases before used the german produced intro, wich is... terrible )

I noticed also the main picture is the same, but I don't think the releases will be the same when it comes to video presentation. Probably will they use the same source but I don't think it will be same 100%.

[jjbgood]

The first french Blu-ray Box will be released november 23rd. As stated by many sites like blu-ray.com they will use a HD-Upscale produced by Toei - not a remaster like with the movies.
The german release got delayed until january 12th and will probably use the same Toei HD-Upscales.

Addition to that:
Germany even got new coverarts, using a different style, but the same pictures as the french versions. So its pretty safe to say its the same release.
Also they will include the german intro and outro as an extra, wich means the episodes will have the japanese openings (for the first time in germany, all releases before used the german produced intro, wich is... terrible )

I noticed also the main picture is the same, but I don't think the releases will be the same when it comes to video presentation. Probably will they use the same source but I don't think it will be same 100%.

Of course it will not the same. The french dics will not have the german intro/outro. I meant they will use the same sorce, the toei masters. So the Video quality will be the same.

[sangofe]

Addition to that:
Germany even got new coverarts, using a different style, but the same pictures as the french versions. So its pretty safe to say its the same release.
Also they will include the german intro and outro as an extra, wich means the episodes will have the japanese openings (for the first time in germany, all releases before used the german produced intro, wich is... terrible )

I noticed also the main picture is the same, but I don't think the releases will be the same when it comes to video presentation. Probably will they use the same source but I don't think it will be same 100%.

Of course it will not the same. The french dics will not have the german intro/outro. I meant they will use the same sorce, the toei masters. So the Video quality will be the same.

No, it's not certain it'll look the same.

[sangofe]

The French set is out.

[Cold Skin]

Casual viewer here, not a picture expert in the slightest!
But after watching episode 1, I must say it's a pleasant experience for my first discovery of the original series.

I can't really compare and say if it's based on this master or that one. But I find it nice to watch.

There doesn't seem to be an overuse of DNR as you can clearly see the grain moving at all times (more than on other DB Blu-ray releases in France, which were based on Toei masters themselves), but not to a point where it's bothering (and I'm not a fan of grain at all, so I would be the first to say "the grain is bothering" if it was the case!).

The colors look very nice (again, casual eye here) as I was afraid it would look either old (with yellowish or washed-out colors) or unnatural (with oversaturated "radioactive" vegetation and eyes that are so white they seem to shine, etc...).

The picture doesn't seem fuzzy to me, nor does it look unnaturally crisps, neither "side" of this question took me out of the experience while I was watching, I actually never found myself saying "wow, this is so crisp" nor "wow, this is a bit blurry and lacks definition". So it's probably in a balance that is an alright in-between for a casual viewer.

Instead, everything colorwise looks like it was just touched up enough to minimize the old aspect (nothing yellow or washed out) but not tuned up to a "it all shines" extent, with the white of the eyes not being totally "100% brightness" white for example.
Trees, water, clothes, the various colors seem to be what they are more or less meant to be, or at least they are not jaring and making me think "oh, the vegetation looks radioactive", "oh, the white of the teeth is yellowish from old footage" or "oh, Goku's dogi is not blue enough". Everything seems to be more or less how you would expect it to be for someone who has never seen the show.

Since I'm no expert, it's totally possible that there are some crushed blacks/whites, but I wouldn't be able to say if there is.

There is no stabilization of the picture - although it doesn't bother me - so if you pay attention, you can see that every shot is slightly, slowly "shaking" as if someone was holding the camera.

Overall, as a casual viewer who isn't really subject to the things that can irritate experts, I can say it is a very nice experience to discover those episodes that way. You can clearly see it's old material that doesn't try to pretend it's all brand new (obvious constant grain, shaky cam), but it's made not only "manageable" but even enjoyable (mostly through colors that seem appropriate).
I'd say it's at least a pretty decent release (from my casual perspective at least).

[Scavenger]

Can the subtitles be disabled?

[eledoremassis02]

Casual viewer here, not a picture expert in the slightest!
But after watching episode 1, I must say it's a pleasant experience for my first discovery of the original series.

I can't really compare and say if it's based on this master or that one. But I find it nice to watch.

There doesn't seem to be an overuse of DNR as you can clearly see the grain moving at all times (more than on other DB Blu-ray releases in France, which were based on Toei masters themselves), but not to a point where it's bothering (and I'm not a fan of grain at all, so I would be the first to say "the grain is bothering" if it was the case!).

The colors look very nice (again, casual eye here) as I was afraid it would look either old (with yellowish or washed-out colors) or unnatural (with oversaturated "radioactive" vegetation and eyes that are so white they seem to shine, etc...).

The picture doesn't seem fuzzy to me, nor does it look unnaturally crisps, neither "side" of this question took me out of the experience while I was watching, I actually never found myself saying "wow, this is so crisp" nor "wow, this is a bit blurry and lacks definition". So it's probably in a balance that is an alright in-between for a casual viewer.

Instead, everything colorwise looks like it was just touched up enough to minimize the old aspect (nothing yellow or washed out) but not tuned up to a "it all shines" extent, with the white of the eyes not being totally "100% brightness" white for example.
Trees, water, clothes, the various colors seem to be what they are more or less meant to be, or at least they are not jaring and making me think "oh, the vegetation looks radioactive", "oh, the white of the teeth is yellowish from old footage" or "oh, Goku's dogi is not blue enough". Everything seems to be more or less how you would expect it to be for someone who has never seen the show.

Since I'm no expert, it's totally possible that there are some crushed blacks/whites, but I wouldn't be able to say if there is.

There is no stabilization of the picture - although it doesn't bother me - so if you pay attention, you can see that every shot is slightly, slowly "shaking" as if someone was holding the camera.

Overall, as a casual viewer who isn't really subject to the things that can irritate experts, I can say it is a very nice experience to discover those episodes that way. You can clearly see it's old material that doesn't try to pretend it's all brand new (obvious constant grain, shaky cam), but it's made not only "manageable" but even enjoyable (mostly through colors that seem appropriate).
I'd say it's at least a pretty decent release (from my casual perspective at least).

That sounds good! Can you see any of the edge of the frames? (mostly the bottom) like the Dragon Box?

[Cold Skin]

^ Still watching as I write this and there seems to be a little bit of the bottom-right corner that sort of ends diagonally on various shots, and not at all on others. It's very small compared to the size of the screen, and I wouldn't have noticed it if you didn't say, but it's there, and it's only for the bottom-right corner specifically so far, and only on some shots. However, even when knowing it now, I don't notice it if I don't look for it, so it shouldn't be a problem given how small it is.

I can also say that the next episode previews don't seem to be always color-corrected, for example the one announcing episode 3 has that very intense yellow tint of old material that I was scared of. Luckily, the episodes themselves have more accurate colors and some other previews as well, strangely enough.

Overall, the quality is by no means perfect or revolutionary, but it's really serviceable. It's sort of strange to describe, it looks kinda old, like you can tell you're watching an old show, but it's enhanced enough to be nice to watch even today.

I can't say if it's a "remaster" that already exists in another country (Japan, Spain, etc...), but it's totally possible.
In any case, I know it does the job for me, it's kind of a nostalgic experience with that feeling of a product from another time, but somehow made watchable when it shouldn't be, with nice colors and grain that is always present but not invasive (you really don't feel like you're watching an old VHS or a simple DVD, but you can see you're not watching a digital show either).

[sangofe]

^ Still watching as I write this and there seems to be a little bit of the bottom-right corner that sort of ends diagonally on various shots, and not at all on others. It's very small compared to the size of the screen, and I wouldn't have noticed it if you didn't say, but it's there, and it's only for the bottom-right corner specifically so far, and only on some shots. However, even when knowing it now, I don't notice it if I don't look for it, so it shouldn't be a problem given how small it is.

I can also say that the next episode previews don't seem to be always color-corrected, for example the one announcing episode 3 has that very intense yellow tint of old material that I was scared of. Luckily, the episodes themselves have more accurate colors and some other previews as well, strangely enough.

Overall, the quality is by no means perfect or revolutionary, but it's really serviceable. It's sort of strange to describe, it looks kinda old, like you can tell you're watching an old show, but it's enhanced enough to be nice to watch even today.

I can't say if it's a "remaster" that already exists in another country (Japan, Spain, etc...), but it's totally possible.
In any case, I know it does the job for me, it's kind of a nostalgic experience with that feeling of a product from another time, but somehow made watchable when it shouldn't be, with nice colors and grain that is always present but not invasive (you really don't feel like you're watching an old VHS or a simple DVD, but you can see you're not watching a digital show either).

How does it look during action scenes?

[Cold Skin]

^ Well, I didn't notice anything wrong during action scenes (just saw the fight against Yamcha for example, after seeing your message and deciding to use that fight to look carefully).
Didn't notice any ghosting or "extra 25th frame" issue.

But honestly, you would need a more expert eye than mine to be sure!

Also, I didn't specify it, but much like all DB French release, the menu doesn't dissociate the audio track from the subtitle, so you can choose either "French version without subtitles" or "Japanese version with subtitles".

And as usual, you can use the "next chapter" function on your controller or remote control to skip the opening credits and ending credits and go straight to the beginning of the episode, the half of the episode (eyecatch) or the next episode preview.

Titles of the episodes appear in their old French version in the disc menu (totally different titles than in Japanese), but it's the Japanese title card and subtitled translation of the Japanese title that appears during the episode itself.

Judging by the first two discs, there are eight episodes per Blu-ray disc, in case it gives a hint about the level of compression of data or something.

[supersaiyamangod]

Here’s the link to the twitter comparison images. https://mobile.twitter.com/EmpireSouven ... 4848043013

[jjgp1112]

Here comes them damn Frenchies and their GOATed DB release

[Ajay]

Can't believe France saved Dragon Ball.

[Luso Saiyan]

Is it me, or is it slightly vertically stretched? Or is it correct and the JP DVD is horizontally stretched?

[Ajay]

Is it me, or is it slightly vertically stretched? Or is it correct and the JP DVD is horizontally stretched?

The person who posted the DBOX shots there didn't capture them in their display aspect ratio, instead he used their storage resolution. They're the same when displayed correctly - https://imgsli.com/MTM1NTEw