Your views on "MSCL" DVD picture quality?

Greybird · Post by **Greybird** » Jun 8th 2003, 7:45 am

I resisted the siren call of the "MSCL" DVD full set for many months, but I now have a DVD player, and the set is available for as little as US$52 through Amazon-associated sellers. What hasn't got me past falling back on my three (!) sets of the series on VHS is that many disagree strongly as to the picture quality.

About half of the Amazon.com and other sales-venue reviews I've seen say that the colors are washed out, in relative terms to most other DVDs, and especially so on the earliest three episodes (disc 1). Almost everyone else sees -no- such weakness.

I'd appreciate candid and detailed reactions on this point from those of you who have the DVD set -and have watched them all.- I waited to post this request until more people would, presumably, have had the chance to assess all five discs' quality.

The opinions on the audio quality, by the way, seem to revolve around the Dolby 5.1 Surround output being misbalanced against the dialogue -- and the disks defaulting to this, rather than the standard and apparently well-done stereo tracks. One good audio source is sufficient, but I'd like to have two, especially at this price. I don't have Surround now, but would like to know that it'll work acceptably later.

Again, your thoughts on the audio quality are welcome, though any inadequacy here isn't a deal-breaker for me.

What provokes this concern on my part is not only having a DVD player at long last, but also a matter of release rights. According to the FAQ here, BMG's video/DVD rights "expire[d] in April 2003, followed by a 6 months 'sell-off' period." That presumably means that few or no more new BMG sets will be produced than have already been -- though I doubt such a DVD property as "MSCL" will lie fallow forever. Still, I wouldn't count on its being released again soon.

So please speak more generally, as well. Should I bite? Should I worry that it'll never be sold this way again? With even $52 straining my funds a bit these days, and my already having Operation "Life" Support's "MSCL" bootleg tapes without ads from 1995, is it really worth it to get DVD-ified?

[Edit to also add this postscript: I do sympathize with those who were worked over by Another Universe, as I've posted before. Pioneers do, unfortunately, often get arrows in their backs. I hope all such matters are resolved some day.]

Post by **Natasha (candygirl)** » Jun 8th 2003, 4:38 pm

If you decide to purchase the set, I would recommend DeepDiscountDVD.com - they are selling MSCL for $45.78 (free shipping). I have ordered from them several times and have had no problems with them at all.

Regarding the quality of the discs, there are already a bunch of threads where the quality of the colors, sound, etc. are discussed. Here are a few for starters:

Dolby Issues:

http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1840

Quality Issues:

http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1573
http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1676&start=0
http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1813&start=0

fnordboy · Post by **fnordboy** » Jun 8th 2003, 4:50 pm

Post by **Natasha (candygirl)** » Jun 8th 2003, 5:16 pm

Just wanted to add that one of the common complaints is about the washed out color of the pilot episode - it has been discussed as far back as when Jason viewed the check discs. Even the original box sets have washed out colors in the pilot, so take that as you will. I take it as "the color on the pilot will always look that way."

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Your views on "MSCL" DVD picture quality?

Your views on "MSCL" DVD picture quality?

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