ThunderCats DVD Re-release

[Mummra]

Warner is going to re-release ThunderCats: The Original Series starting July 12, 2011.

-New "lighter" 2 disc set
-Each Volume will contain 12 episodes (5 volumes per season)
-MSRP: 19.95
-"Feel the Magic, Hear the Roar: ThunderCats Fans Speak Out" featurette from the 2005 set is included

Quote:

Springing into action: the first animated adventures of the feline-inspired fantasy! A noble band of survivors from the peaceful world of Thundera bravely faces off against vicious mutants intent on destroying them. Make way for exotic creatures, mystical powers and action-packed battles of good versus evil in the exciting saga of the Thundercats!

In these first-season adventures - 12 Episodes on 2 Discs - from the dynamic animated series, the Thundercats adopt Third Earth as their new home and encounter alien beings galore...some friendly, some looking for a fight! And while they brave their strange surroundings, their young leader Lion-O struggles with his new responsibilities as head of their foundling civilization. Crash with these cats for Over 4 Hours of Classic Cartoon Thrills!

Thundercats - The Original Series: Season 1, Part 1

EPISODES:
• Exodus
• The Unholy Alliance
• Berbils
• The Slaves of Castle Plun-Darr
• Pumm-Ra
• The Terror of Hammerhand
• Trouble with Time
• The Tower of Traps
• The Garden of Delights
• Mandora the Evil Chaser
• The Ghost Warrior
• The Doomgaze




Source: Thundercats DVD news: Announcement for Thundercats - The Original Series: Season 1, Part 1 | TVShowsOnDVD.com

[GK Punk]

Oh that's awesome!

[Joe Moore]

Nice find. Moved to the news forum and frontpaged.

[Joe Moore]

So, anyone taking the plunge on these? I think I'm going to skip due to being the same as the original releases. If they were being remastered in any way, then I'd buy them immediately.

[netkid]

Hey Warner, FINISH SILVERHAWKS!

[irishtygra]

they should release it on blu-ray

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishtygra

they should release it on blu-ray

Unfortunately, they can't. The original film masters for Thundercats weren't used to create the DVD's. They were either missing, destroyed, too damaged, or for another reason. They used the video tape masters that were used on broadcast TV.

Film (35MM, 70MM, 17MM) can hold far more visual information than even blu-ray. Most older titles transferred to blu-ray are actually scanned at 2K or even 4K resolution and then down sampled to 1080P. Video tape has a maximum output resolution of 480i. That means the tape holds 320x240 lines of resolution that is then interlaced to give it a 640x480 resolution, aka broadcast TV quality.

So if they tried to take their current transfers and put them on blu-ray, it would be very poor quality result. Here's a quick comparison.



Click on the attachments to see the full sized versions.

As you can see, the regular Thundercats DVD screen cap is already poor quality due to the source. It sports a lot of artifacting, color banding and video tape noise. Upscaling it to HD, which is all they can do right now, only amplifies those problems.

[Ravenxl7]

Definitely awesome news. Re-mastering them would have been cool, but no biggy. They should look just fine on my TV (20" oldschool flatscreen, as in the screen is flat, but the TV itself is still big).

Though I'm not sure if I'll get them as they come out, or wait for them to do a big boxset (it's what I'm doing with the Ultimate editions of the Harry Potter movies).

[Blade Raider]

Surprised my Hisstank/TFW/Toyark didn't work here...

Anyways, this is a rip-off. It's the same discs in a new box. The original box sets, which are still in print I beleive, go for $20 each (though one is still $50 on Amazon for some reason). These sets aren't hard to find online either (and Walmart still carries S1P1 here). That's 30+ episodes per set for the same price as this new set that only has 12 episodes.

If it had new extras or was remastered (and had chapter breaks. My pet peeve) it would be different, but these are reprints for the original price when the originals don't sell for even that. This here is a rip-off.

[Ravenxl7]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I was thinking about this, and if they stick to the twelve episodes per volume, five volumes per season, what are they going to do with the last ten episodes?

[GK Punk]

Found volume 1 at Target today for 15 bucks.

[Ravenxl7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GK Punk

Found volume 1 at Target today for 15 bucks.

Good to know it's out and about now. Saw the listing for it on Target's website. Will definitely have to pick it up the first chance I get. Although, I might wait and get a figure or two at the same time.

[Joe Moore]

I would say avoid this set at all costs. The original sets aren't all that expensive still. You'll wind up spending more in the long run buying these small volumes.

[Ravenxl7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

I would say avoid this set at all costs. The original sets aren't all that expensive still. You'll wind up spending more in the long run buying these small volumes.

Any idea if any brick-and-mortar stores still carry them? (if I can get something in-person, I will). I saw the first set at Walmart like twice, but haven't seen it there since (sorta regret not getting it when I had the chance).

Part of me wants to wait and see if they eventually release a full series box-set at some point. Would probably be a little pricey, but it'd be nice to get the entire show in one package.

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenxl7

Any idea if any brick-and-mortar stores still carry them? (if I can get something in-person, I will). I saw the first set at Walmart like twice, but haven't seen it there since (sorta regret not getting it when I had the chance).

Part of me wants to wait and see if they eventually release a full series box-set at some point. Would probably be a little pricey, but it'd be nice to get the entire show in one package.

I haven't really looked at the DVD section in stores in a long, long time. But, even looking at Google shopping, the sets are very affordable.

[MannE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by netkid

Hey Warner, FINISH SILVERHAWKS!

Damn right!!

[MannE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GK Punk

Found volume 1 at Target today for 15 bucks.

Any idea if the pilot ep, Exodus, is flawless?? There are quality issues with the picture here and there with the 1st dvd released set. Most notably a scene with young Lion-O and Jaga :S

[LionO84]

Cool. I sadly don't own any of the show other then a vintage VHS tape that is in storage at my parents. I would love to have this or the first release on dvd.

[PANTHRO HOOO]

Tired of space wasters. Either give me a hard drive with every episode or release SD quality on a blueray disk so you can fit like a whole season on 1 or 2 disc. Is love a hd shaped like the eye of thundera the thunder tank or cats lair.

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MannE

Any idea if the pilot ep, Exodus, is flawless?? There are quality issues with the picture here and there with the 1st dvd released set. Most notably a scene with young Lion-O and Jaga :S

It's the exact same release as before. No changes.

[nitewing73]

I'm not sure if it's at every Walmart location but you can get Season 1 Volume 1 for 19.99at Walmart. It has 33 episodes I believe. If the new DVD's aren't any different quality wise might be better to pick that up. Considering the volumes I believe are 15.00 a piece this is more of a bargain.

[nitewing73]

Walmart.com: Search Results for "thundercats"

It's even cheaper on Walmart.com. Plus you get free shipping to your nearest store.

[RichardC]

Anyone know where to get these DVD? Or best places to look?

[Ravenxl7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardC

Anyone know where to get these DVD? Or best places to look?

I would recommend either Walmart or Target. Though I would also recommend trying to find the original DVD releases. The first two volumes are still available at Walmart (at least around here anyways), and are only twenty bucks each.

I'm actually kinda surprised we haven't seen a volume 2 for this re-release yet. You would think that with only twelve episodes per volume they would be cranking them out a bit faster.

[KurtulanSama]

This may be irrelevant but will there be (or are there) any Blu-Ray releases?

[Ravenxl7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KurtulanSama

This may be irrelevant but will there be (or are there) any Blu-Ray releases?

There haven't been any, and it's extremely unlikely that there ever will be any. Joe Moore's post earlier int he thread explains the reasoning perfectly.

Edit: woo hoo, 500th post...