All Things Babylon 5

[Blake00]

Yeah I've still got all the lovely big colourful season dvd B5 boxsets from 20+ years ago lol.. but I'm gonna get the blu-ray for sure (once I find an acceptable import option to Australia) as I'd love to see the show looking a little better plus if it sells well then that just ensures more B5 content coming.. whereas if it doesn't sell well then that could be it for B5. Apparently the TNG blu-ray sales didn't meet expectations years ago hence why we didn't get a DS9 (which I'm devo about) or Voyager remastered blu-rays. It's also why I'm getting the B5 anime despite not really being into that stuff as JMS has tweeted that if this stuff sells well then that sends WB a big message and opens the door for new live action stuff ie films and reboot series.

 

[Ajidica]

Yeah, CBS lost a lot of money in the TNG remaster. Which I can totally understand. Outside of the first two seasons with their appalling lighting, the series didn't really need a remaster.
It wasn't like TOS where, let's be honest, it was really ugly to a level that made it hard to watch on a large screen.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

Amazon link finally populated, but instead of the rumored $99.99 it's $134.99. Granted it doesn't release until December, so I suppose I can get it now and hopefully it'll price adjust down like the new animated movie did.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

The blu-ray release is based off the recent remastered B5 streamed version which was made from fresh scans of the film negatives.. yes the CGI had to be upscaled (as we're not getting the expensive TNG treatment) but at least it's not stretched like the dvd version was and all the non-cgi stuff looks better than the broadcast or dvd versions due to the fresh scans.

That article you link to is 5 years old so here's a something a little newer from them on the situation:

‘Babylon 5 Remastered’ now available to buy, or stream on HBO Max

Nearly thirty years after it first aired, and twenty years after its troubled DVD release, Babylon 5 is getting a polish as part of its release on HBO Max.

www.engadget.com

Here's a comparison video showing the differences.. nothing massive but it's noticeable..

Well said. I was kind of hoping that the CG might have been updated as upscaling on the Amazon/Max versions hasn't looked great to me, but the live action is a definite plus with the new scans. Too bad they couldn't have brought Tom Smith on board who has done an amazing job redoing the CG scenes with the show assets he's cobbled together.

I also hope this will lead to the movies and Crusade getting BR releases.

 

[Blake00]

Too bad they couldn't have brought Tom Smith on board who has done an amazing job redoing the CG scenes with the show assets he's cobbled together.

Ah yes, is he the one who did this video I saw the other day? If so it's pretty impressive!!!

 

[Laurana Kanan]

Here is Tom's Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@tomsmith6107/videos

He had to take a bunch down due to Warner's copyright strikes, but he still posts new videos on FB.

 

[Blake00]

Well sure enough they did go on to release the Babylon 5 remastered copy of all 5 seasons & the pilot onto blu-ray thankfully! As expected in this age of the format dying they haven't bothered with any special features (or the movies for that matter) but nevertheless it's great to finally own a boxset copy of the remastered version. Have watched a few of the big old favourite episodes (ie Severed Dreams) and it looks good! Can definitely see the difference! Despite buying the new Road Home blu-ray I haven't got around to watching it yet. Will try to soon!