Selecta Visión Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray

[Masquerade]

Anyone know when these are coming out?

[sangofe]

Well, there is a LaserDisc release of GT from Aiko Animation in Hong Kong. And in Japan, the LaserDisc of DBZ Movie 3 has a karaoke video of CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA as a bonus feature, which uses the footage from DBZ episode 1. That's the only thing from the TV series ever released on LaserDisc in Japan. I don't understand how Trachta10 got the idea of a possible LaserDisc release having more details than the DBox in the first place though.

How does the laser disc release of Gt compare to dbox and HD TV airings?

[Masquerade]

Looks like we got a street date (February)

https://shop.selecta-vision.com/suscrip ... -4-regalos

[sangofe]

Looks like we got a street date (February)

https://shop.selecta-vision.com/suscrip ... -4-regalos

SV surely has put out much better cover art before, in my opinion.

[sangofe]

Sorry for the double post. SV updated their Twitter :
https://mobile.twitter.com/SelectaVisio ... 9977769984

[Scsigs]

I just found this thread, so sorry for the late replies.

It is beyond embarrassing for FUNimation that this upscale looks better than their actual HD scan.

Indeed so, and if this was the footage that was on the 30th set/steelbooks instead of the smeared, oversaturated to hell Level set based versions i'd actually be interested in getting them. Even with having the Dragon Boxes i wouldn't say no to this being released over here or the OG Dragon Ball set for that matter.

Here the noise filtering process actually appears fairly well done, and not an oily smeared painting mess the way that FUNi's version does.

Agreed. The fact that they've now released aa teaser video showing how their remaster looks compared to the Dragon Box masters just shows how FUNi SHOULD have done theirs 2 years ago. It's really stupid.

According to Blu-ray.com their Dragon Ball Blurays have:
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Catalan: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Euskera: Dolby Digital 5.1
Galician: Dolby Digital 2.0
Note: Catalan: Catalan and Valencian // Euskera and Galician 2.0 DTS-HD MA

So I think the Z set will be similar

Damn. If they had the US English dub, it'd be perfect.

Sorry for the double post. SV updated their Twitter :
https://mobile.twitter.com/SelectaVisio ... 9977769984

From what I've seen, though not perfect, these releases are perfectly ok. Unfortunately, they're not perfect, as some shots people have shared for comparisons have a lack of color correction (mainly for DB), but this being an upscale of DVD masters is just better than anything FUNi's put out. If these had the US English dubs on them, I'd very well consider picking them up. I'd bought other BRs that are just DVD upscales from Viz (Bleach, Naruto, Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, Death Note, etc), so they wouldn't be out of place in my collection. Sadly, though, they don't, not that I'd expect a Spanish company to care about English-speaking audiences. If only FUNi wasn't in the business of making the older shows they have the licenses to look "new" & just wanted to preserve their quality, I'd respect them more.

[PremiumSalt]

Watched the comparison video.

Ya know what? Color me impressed, I'm actually kind of looking forward to this. I was concerned that this wouldn't look as promising in motion as the stills did but, this looks pretty solid. There were like, 1 or 2 shots that had minor issues, but I think this should scratch anyone's "HD DBZ" itch far more than any of Funi's efforts outside the Level Sets.

Just frustrates me that their remaster of the first series didn't look nearly as good.

[Luso Saiyan]

It looks fine, but why don't they stabilize the picture?

[lansing]

They look really good. The lineart look sharp, yet with no halo or noise around them.

[Scsigs]

So, can we assume they have similar masters to FUNi for this remaster as opposed to just upscaling Dragon Box footage?

[kei17]

It's 100% obvious that this is nothing but an AI upscale. Even if this looks superficially "better" than the DBox, there is still absolutely zero point in digitally upscaling something available on film. It's such a waste of resources and an opportunity.

[sangofe]

It's 100% obvious that this is nothing but an AI upscale. Even if this looks superficially "better" than the DBox, there is still absolutely zero point in digitally upscaling something available on film. It's such a waste of resources and an opportunity.

I agree. But who else than Toei has access to those films? I know FUNimation has some film reels but not the same quality as Toei, right? I'm hoping AB has films and is remastering the series from those... It's been radio silent from them for a very long time now. I hope it's not that the project got cancelled but I fear it's that. Let's hope it's because they're taking their time remastering.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I'm pretty sure AB does have film masters. Unfortunately they don't seem to be the best quality, so I have my doubts a Blu-Ray they release will be any better.

[Scsigs]

It's 100% obvious that this is nothing but an AI upscale. Even if this looks superficially "better" than the DBox, there is still absolutely zero point in digitally upscaling something available on film. It's such a waste of resources and an opportunity.

I agree, but I doubt Toei's gonna let anyone else but themselves give the series a good HD remaster & use the first gen film stock they have in Japan. I'm curious as to why FUNi or any other company haven't licensed the uncensored Blu-Ray masters Toei put out several years ago. I'd love to see those released stateside at least.

I agree. But who else than Toei has access to those films? I know FUNimation has some film reels but not the same quality as Toei, right? I'm hoping AB has films and is remastering the series from those... It's been radio silent from them for a very long time now. I hope it's not that the project got cancelled but I fear it's that. Let's hope it's because they're taking their time remastering.

FUNi has 3rd gen duplicate film prints from what we know. Not the best film stock, but not terrible. It's their shit DNR strategy that ruins it, though. The Levels showed some great potential if they'd just kept going with those as opposed to cancelling them & then using the Orange Bricks as a catalyst to reboot the Z BRs as the shitty season sets that no one wanted as they came out. Even when the majority of the people who took part in their survey said they wanted the show in 4:3 as it was intended, they still ignored it because they didn't think it'd sell quite as well as the Orange Bricks. Legit, a budget remastering studio they could subcontract could easily do a better job at remastering the series than their in-house team without even trying. It's so stupid.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

It's 100% obvious that this is nothing but an AI upscale. Even if this looks superficially "better" than the DBox, there is still absolutely zero point in digitally upscaling something available on film. It's such a waste of resources and an opportunity.

I agree, but I doubt Toei's gonna let anyone else but themselves give the series a good HD remaster & use the first gen film stock they have in Japan. I'm curious as to why FUNi or any other company haven't licensed the uncensored Blu-Ray masters Toei put out several years ago. I'd love to see those released stateside at least.

I agree. But who else than Toei has access to those films? I know FUNimation has some film reels but not the same quality as Toei, right? I'm hoping AB has films and is remastering the series from those... It's been radio silent from them for a very long time now. I hope it's not that the project got cancelled but I fear it's that. Let's hope it's because they're taking their time remastering.

FUNi has 3rd gen duplicate film prints from what we know. Not the best film stock, but not terrible. It's their shit DNR strategy that ruins it, though. The Levels showed some great potential if they'd just kept going with those as opposed to cancelling them & then using the Orange Bricks as a catalyst to reboot the Z BRs as the shitty season sets that no one wanted as they came out. Even when the majority of the people who took part in their survey said they wanted the show in 4:3 as it was intended, they still ignored it because they didn't think it'd sell quite as well as the Orange Bricks. Legit, a budget remastering studio they could subcontract could easily do a better job at remastering the series than their in-house team without even trying. It's so stupid.

That's the biggest and by far most ridiculous thing about this all, if only they didn't oversaturate the colors and smear the image to hell it would actually look good. Some of the decisions they've made home release wise over the last decade plus at times make no damn sense at all and it's something that sane people at most other companies putting out shows on home media wouldn't do. Canceling releases partway with radio silence a la the Ultimate Uncut Editions, force cropping a show clearly intended for 4:3 to a fake widescreen format it was never meant to be seen in, doing an automated filtering process to DNR the grain (and thus fine detail gets erased do) into oblivion and using tons of deceptive lingo and marketing speak in advertising their product in trailers like the Orange Bricks and 30th Anniversary BD set. FUNi's done it all, with some very questionable decisions made left and right at every turn that leave fans scratching their heads. They indeed do good things in most areas like the dubbing arm of the company, but the people in charge of the home video department haven't got a freaking clue when it comes to Z. That's the one part of the franchise they can't ever seem to get right but only every great once in a while, whereas the other series and the filma for the most part have gotten releases that are actually good. DBZ is the one area where release wise they continue to drop the ball almost every time.

[tiedyegypsy]

I'm surprised no one has made a fan edit yet using this or the Dragon Box footage with the OG Funimation English audio. Or maybe someone has and I just haven't seen it yet. It would be a lot of work. Regardless this looks miles ahead of what we got with the 30A release and I can only hope we get a comparable US release in the future.

[Scsigs]

That's the biggest and by far most ridiculous thing about this all, if only they didn't oversaturate the colors and smear the image to hell it would actually look good. Some of the decisions they've made home release wise over the last decade plus at times make no damn sense at all and it's something that sane people at most other companies putting out shows on home media wouldn't do. Canceling releases partway with radio silence a la the Ultimate Uncut Editions, force cropping a show clearly intended for 4:3 to a fake widescreen format it was never meant to be seen in, doing an automated filtering process to DNR the grain (and thus fine detail gets erased do) into oblivion and using tons of deceptive lingo and marketing speak in advertising their product in trailers like the Orange Bricks and 30th Anniversary BD set. FUNi's done it all, with some very questionable decisions made left and right at every turn that leave fans scratching their heads. They indeed do good things in most areas like the dubbing arm of the company, but the people in charge of the home video department haven't got a freaking clue when it comes to Z. That's the one part of the franchise they can't ever seem to get right but only every great once in a while, whereas the other series and the films for the most part have gotten releases that are actually good. DBZ is the one area where release wise they continue to drop the ball almost every time.

Yeah. Most studios just do 1 remaster every time a new format is invented & just rerelease those. FUNi have no single master that they can just use & it's really weird that they can't just give the series a decent remaster & just rerelease that one. Like, especially since there's new Dragon Ball material being released ever since Kai came out produced by Toei making them money. It's time DB, Z, & GT are given good, definitive remasters that they can use for the future. But, companies are gonna company.

[Trachta10]

Watched the comparison video.

Ya know what? Color me impressed, I'm actually kind of looking forward to this. I was concerned that this wouldn't look as promising in motion as the stills did but, this looks pretty solid. There were like, 1 or 2 shots that had minor issues, but I think this should scratch anyone's "HD DBZ" itch far more than any of Funi's efforts outside the Level Sets.

Just frustrates me that their remaster of the first series didn't look nearly as good.

They literally didn't change the colors

[linkdude20002001]

It's 100% obvious that this is nothing but an AI upscale. Even if this looks superficially "better" than the DBox, there is still absolutely zero point in digitally upscaling something available on film. It's such a waste of resources and an opportunity.

It's like if you had a poster and wanted to hang it up, but couldn't be bothered to go get it from the back of your closet, so you find a scan of on online and print it out to put on your wall.

How on earth can a company be this lazy? I mean, they scanned the film for Kai. And the movies. All those must've made them money. As did the DVDs. So how can Toei not want to sell DB on BD? Is it cuz they'd have to remove all the nudity? Is that REALLY a problem for a home-video release??

[Scsigs]

It's like if you had a poster and wanted to hang it up, but couldn't be bothered to go get it from the back of your closet, so you find a scan of on online and print it out to put on your wall.

How on earth can a company be this lazy? I mean, they scanned the film for Kai. And the movies. All those must've made them money. As did the DVDs. So how can Toei not want to sell DB on BD? Is it cuz they'd have to remove all the nudity? Is that REALLY a problem for a home-video release??

Kai was produced on the cheap. Though there was color correction, redrawn/traced frames, and cutting out of the majority of the filler materials, it's still a cheap remaster. Certainly not the best it can look. Still the best out of any remastering efforts, though.