When Cartoon Network aired a .RM encode of 'Free the Future'

[Jawdrahb]

This has been bugging me today and I'd thought I'd throw it out there to see if anyone knows what I'm eluding to or if I've reached another level of insanity. This may've already been covered on the boards.

Does anyone remember during Cartoon Network's original dubbed broadcast in the UK when a questionable quality of what I believe was Z episode 180 (perhaps 179) aired? And why? No, there wasn't any pixelation from what I can remember. It almost seemed like an nth generation VHS tape. If I recall correctly there was even a scrolling message at the bottom advising viewers "not to adjust" their "sets."

Unfortunately, I have no screenshots or evidence this actually happened, I'm essentially banking on memory here.

Any takers?

[Sshadow5001]

I think I remember this. I got no proof but I do seem to recall this.

[Jawdrahb]

It was the strangest thing, I don't think anyone could prove it unless they'd taped it that day. I regretfully got rid of any tapes I'd made a long while ago.

[Paradox295]

It was the strangest thing, I don't think anyone could prove it unless they'd taped it that day. I regretfully got rid of any tapes I'd made a long while ago.

It would have been in 2002, and tapes degrade after 10 years.

Still sounds pretty interesting.

[dbboxkaifan]

Still sounds pretty interesting.

If the tapes have been sealed then they might work.

I actually have a couple of tapes sealed (no box) just to someday transfer them to digital format.

[kei17]

I've got a recording of this. I'll take some screen caps later.

[sangofe]

It was the strangest thing, I don't think anyone could prove it unless they'd taped it that day. I regretfully got rid of any tapes I'd made a long while ago.

It would have been in 2002, and tapes degrade after 10 years.

Still sounds pretty interesting.

Do they necessarily degrade after ten years?

[kei17]

It would have been in 2002, and tapes degrade after 10 years.

Still sounds pretty interesting.

Do they necessarily degrade after ten years?

No, they don't if they're not treated roughly. Some of my VHS and Betamax recordings even from the late 1970s still play without any problems.

[kei17]

I captured the VHS recordings that the Tori-bot, a member of this board, gave me few years ago.


Clips from "Free the Future":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5h-pBDxQtQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y22B0K0cD6E

A clip from "Warriors Of The Dead":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYbOOF6ygSw

Then it gets back to normal in the next episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CwBQQpXciA


The footage is cropped like hell, and as Jawdrahb said, there's a scrolling message at the bottom which says "We apologise for the poor picture and sound quality on this programme. Please do not adjust your set."





There's some VHS-like noise on the top that obviously existed from the beginning. The title card is a freeze-frame and the noise is completely still.




Interestingly, two frames of the original Japanese eyecatch are slipped in in the beginning of the latter part of "Free the Future".




The reason why this happened in these two particular episodes is still veiled in mystery, but to me, the footage looks like something they recorded off the US Cartoon Network and cropped for hiding the CN logo.

[Attitudefan]

Wow, they probably lost the actual tape from that episode and had to record it from the US cartoon network.

[Metalwario64]

Wow, they probably lost the actual tape from that episode and had to record it from the US cartoon network.

That may sound plausible, but how would one explain the brief frame of the eyecatch, which was entirely omited from the US broadcast?

[Attitudefan]

You're right. Maybe it was a Japanese TV recording?

But they do have a freeze frame for the title card so what I think is that maybe the tape was damaged somehow when it was shipped to Canada/UK

[Lord Eeyore Haw-Haw]

Huh, wow. I don't ever remember seeing that happen, when I was watching it. "Okashii na" indeed. This was the first time it aired, and not a re-run? Because I seriously don't remember that. Then again, my memory is very shady all those years ago. I used to record the episodes, but I never really went back to watch that one episode.

[kei17]

Wow, they probably lost the actual tape from that episode and had to record it from the US cartoon network.

That may sound plausible, but how would one explain the brief frame of the eyecatch, which was entirely omited from the US broadcast?

Maybe it was also slipped in on the US broadcast. Does anyone have a recording of the same episode aired on the US CN?

[Jawdrahb]

Wow.

I'm absolutely astonished and in awe of the shared screenshots and footage. Thanks and much appreciation as always kei17. The snippet 'Tenchi in Tokyo' advertisement, the dubbing itself and the channel's presence on display are considerably nostalgic! As far as the degradation of VHS cassette tapes are concerned, I personally own a nth generation copy of Movie 12's original release which I'm sure has aged at least 10 years that I've digitised successfully. (The quality isn't anything to brag about but hey, it works!)



In conclusion to the Cartoon Network footage itself, I'd say it was an internal error of misplaced or damaged source footage too that CN obviously didn't feel required a public statement due to the core nature of the situation being 'a couple of kid's cartoon episodes'. Even in this day and age I'd assume it would be tedious to acknowledge or even contact anyone involved being well before the blessed and cursed social network intensive society we currently reside in.

Evidence of the US airing would be fairly intriguing in regards to this situation as far as somehow unveiling an educated apprehension of the situation. I never caught the eye catch frame or cropping either, great stuff.

Update

I believe I've come across a recording of a US airing although I'm unsure if it's sourced from the initial run. There's no sign of an eye catch although without an unedited recording there's no assurance of this. The footage itself was ironically obtained from an .RM file.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixItZWCOr5o

[Pokewhiz7]

Maybe it could have been a later broadcast then? I know for some episodes, the opening theme was different depending on when it was aired. For the original airing, it might just use the Toonami-made intro, and for the reruns, it might use the DVD intro. I know on DB episode 10, it originally aired with the Japanese title card by mistake.

[kei17]

I believe I've come across a recording of a US airing although I'm unsure if it's sourced from the initial run. There's no sign of an eye catch although without an unedited recording there's no assurance of this. The footage itself was ironically obtained from an .RM file.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixItZWCOr5o

Thanks for the video, and now I'm almost certain that they used a TV recording from the US Cartoon Network. They obviously cropped the footage in order to hide the CN logo. Maybe it's from Canadian YTV, though.

[Pokewhiz7]

Did they really need to zoom in that much? They could have done much less.

(I don't know where a possible YTV logo would be.)

[superrayman3]

I believe I've come across a recording of a US airing although I'm unsure if it's sourced from the initial run. There's no sign of an eye catch although without an unedited recording there's no assurance of this. The footage itself was ironically obtained from an .RM file.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixItZWCOr5o

Thanks for the video, and now I'm almost certain that they used a TV recording from the US Cartoon Network. They obviously cropped the footage in order to hide the CN logo. Maybe it's from Canadian YTV, though.

I have a question why would Cartoon Network UK need to hide the logo when the U.S. logo is exactly the same?

[ThunderPX]

Because it's in a different corner, obviously.