http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prisoner-Complete-Blu-ray-Patrick-McGoohan/dp/B001QXZ84I

Just saw this for all the Prisoner fans out there. Hopefully a US release comes at the same time.

I think it's been remade.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1043714/

James Caviezel is the lead actor.

Real bad idea remaking a classic and setting it in America.

They are currently showing the original every Tuesday morning in the UK.

Thanks for the link. I put in my order.

YES! Finally! Network announced this a LONG time ago (I started a thread on it too), but never had an official date or anything. I emailed them a couple times asking whether or not the set would be all regions, claiming that I knew a few people in Canada who would buy it if that was the case. Please, PLEASE be region free!

Holy cow, I was just about to rewatch my DVD box set when I saw this thread. Not that I can't still do that, but the thought of seeing the series in HD is very exciting. It never occurred to me that it was captured on film and would benefit from an HD transfer.

YES! Finally! Network announced this a LONG time ago (I started a thread on it too), but never had an official date or anything. I emailed them a couple times asking whether or not the set would be all regions, claiming that I knew a few people in Canada who would buy it if that was the case. Please, PLEASE be region free!

I'm in the USA, and hope it's region-free, too. I'll try to avoid ordering until it's confirmed.

Doug

Any news? Amazon.uk changed this to a 2012 release, which I know is just a placeholder.

Doug

Something interesting just showed up on amazon.com USA with an Oct. 27 date:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002C68WOG

:D :cool: :)

Something interesting just showed up on amazon.com USA with an Oct. 27 date:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002C68WOG

:D :cool: :)

I'll be right back...need to change my shorts...

But will A&E be using the new Network (UK) restoration? I certainly hope so. Anyway, encouraging news!

But will A&E be using the new Network (UK) restoration? I certainly hope so. Anyway, encouraging news!
I hope so as well. I already have a complete set of the A&E DVDs (released in 2000 I believe) which are not particularly impressive.

I had to watch an episode of this for a class one time, and I hated it because the dialogue was spoken way too quickly(Like Gilmore Girls multiplied by 3).

Don't flame. But what's so great about this show?

It looks like AMC is doing a remake. All of the episodes are available here...I think. http://www.amctv.com/videos/the-prisoner-1960s-video/

But will A&E be using the new Network (UK) restoration? I certainly hope so. Anyway, encouraging news!

I hope they use the Network restoration. I'm waiting on the UK release from Network. I wrote them an e-mail and they said they're still working on it, and wouldn't provide any other details. I bet they're planning on releasing it around the time of the new series.

BTW, does anyone know when it will air? The official website just says "in 2009."

Doug

I had to watch an episode of this for a class one time, and I hated it because the dialogue was spoken way too quickly(Like Gilmore Girls multiplied by 3).

Don't flame. But what's so great about this show?

Perhaps because it`s one of the most subversive shows ever released to network TV. Topics touched on throughout the series range from individuality vs. conformity, the power of education in thwarting original thought, abuse of the power of authority, revolution against tyranny, and on and on.

Personally, I think it is one of the most thought-provoking, intelligent and allegorical shows in the history of television.

Personally, I think it is one of the most thought-provoking, intelligent and allegorical shows in the history of television.
There is this, but for me it is all about the character of McGoohan's No. 6. In a sense somewhat like Sherlock Holmes or the more modern take of Dr. House. A strong-willed and hard-nosed individualist who is brilliant but plays by his own book and who also happens to be a little bit of an anti-social a$$-hole. If you like the character then it works, otherwise not so much.

There is this, but for me it is all about the character of McGoohan's No. 6. In a sense somewhat like Sherlock Holmes or the more modern take of Dr. House. A strong-willed and hard-nosed individualist who is brilliant but plays by his own book and who also happens to be a little bit of an anti-social a$$-hole. If you like the character then it works, otherwise not so much.

I was a boy when the series was first broadcast and it really zapped my brain. I've seen it many times since and have noticed a curious cultural beat phenomenon along the lines of "everything old is new again":

First: "This is outstanding..."
Five years later: "Oh, well, it was good at the time..."
Five more years: "Ouch, painfully dated..."
Still later: "Hmm, some nostalgia here, a certain mythic quality..."
Later: "This is outstanding..."
Repeat....

In some sense it is very 60s, with the big one-against-many fight scene in every show, but in another it is timeless. The Village has always been around, and always will be. As the finale shows, being an individual doesn't let you escape from that.

In another sense it is Patrick McGoohan's commentary on being the Secret Agent Man. I agree that without his #6 it would be an entirely different project.

Some of the episodes are weak, but my judgment of which ones changes!

I love the landscape shots of the Village, the rare scenes where you get to see it from a new angle.

I thought of a not-too-serious alternative interpretation of the story: that #6 is a mental patient at a resort asylum and the people really are trying to help him, although of course he doesn't see it that way.

-Bill

Yeah, I saw it as a kid and was blown away. PBS at the time had a home study guide that went along with the series. I think I still have it somewhere. I fulfilled an interest of mine when I was able to visit the village in Wales. I really enjoyed that. I have photos somewhere of my trip there.

I also got hooked on this when it was first broadcast. I have the first two episodes on VHS.
If it goes Blu, I'm in.

I'll hold out for at least the first user report or two from the UK (on the assumption they get their BD set first).

I am in all the way...#1 TV program of all time, I liked the fact they wapped it up, should come about On OCT 27,2009 and its cheap on amazon preorder so I went for it, no sales tax and shipping. The new version looks good to with great casting. I salute you #6 and its too bad he passed away in last year to not see his gem on Blu

This was a great show, nice to see it coming to BD! http://www.entertainment-place.info/smile/img/2464/*************************

The Amazon listing w/ release date has been changed back to a placeholder, so it looks like we're celebrating too soon.
Doug

What do you want? INFORMATION.

Amazon UK still has it up:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prisoner-Complete-Blu-ray-Patrick-McGoohan/dp/B001QXZ84I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1249403331&sr=8-1

So long as the region is cool, we're OK here in the states. I want this set so very bad, having just gotten through the set. My son started watching around episode 10, so he wants to watch the whole thing from the start.

Any thoughts or ideas?

I wonder how this is going to differ from the Blu-ray version being released in the U.S. by A&E. Will they indeed be from the same masters?

The standard DVD version released in the UK by Network was remastered and looks excellent. (I own this version.) The standard DVD version in the U.S. released by A&E was lacking even though it was supposedly also remastered. (I got rid of this version.)

As far as being a zone-free Blu-ray, I don't know about Network's other releases, so I couldn't tell you.

Looking at Amazon's US site, it seems the release date has been pushed back from 10/27/09 to "Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available."

I'm getting really anxious about this one, too. Strange that Network still have nothing about it on their website...

Doug

The official fan club, Six of One, have confirmed the Network BD set and cover art here:

http://www.netreach.net/~sixofone/

Now those of us in NoAm need to find out if it's region locked or not. Also, it would be nice if A&E purchased the masters and extras from Network for the NoAm release. It seems to be common knowledge that Network's DVD set was much superior to A&Es.

Doug

^^^

Thanks for the link.

(I'm good to go for the release in any region since I've got a couple of region/zone free Blu-ray players.)

There is this, but for me it is all about the character of McGoohan's No. 6. In a sense somewhat like Sherlock Holmes or the more modern take of Dr. House. A strong-willed and hard-nosed individualist who is brilliant but plays by his own book and who also happens to be a little bit of an anti-social a$$-hole. If you like the character then it works, otherwise not so much.

Forgive me for a really late reply, but McGoohan's Number 6 also could have been Number 1 as crazy as it may sound. In a Columbo episode McGoohan played a CIA agent who dressed exactly like and talked like Number 6 including saying 'Be seeing you'. Except he was very social, manipulative and evil.

I just thought I throw that hand grenade in there.

The US Amazon cover art is different today. It shows a Blu-ray cover. Still no date.

-Bill

I can't imagine a television show shot on 16mm 40 years ago is going to be worth purchasing on an HD format.

I can't imagine a television show shot on 16mm 40 years ago is going to be worth purchasing on an HD format.

The 1995 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE series was 16mm and the Blu-ray is a big step up from the previous DVDs. The DVDs were perhaps particularly pathetic.

-Bill

I can't imagine a television show shot on 16mm 40 years ago is going to be worth purchasing on an HD format.

Then I'd say you should exercise your imagination more. I've seen screenshots of the remastered image compared with what the U.S. DVDs look like, and the difference is nearly unfathomable. A colossal improvement.

The Prisoner was shot in 35mm not 16mm.

Then I'd say you should exercise your imagination more. I've seen screenshots of the remastered image compared with what the U.S. DVDs look like, and the difference is nearly unfathomable. A colossal improvement.

I can't imagine a television show shot on 16mm 40 years ago is going to be worth purchasing on an HD format.

I can't imagine how much better the Blu-ray UK Network version will be over the standard DVD Network version because as it stands now that Network DVD is truly outstanding. They really did a wonderful job* with the remastering.

*except where they screwed up the sound on one episode which can be easily worked through.

The Prisoner was shot in 35mm not 16mm.

I thought I had read that myself, have no source to point too however.

Wasn't Night of the Living Dead shot in 16mm?

Night of the Living Dead (1968) was shot in 35mm as well. www.imdb.com is a good source of this technical info.

The Prisoner was shot in 35mm not 16mm.
Maybe you're right. Maybe ITC didn't mind the expense of 35mm production. The BBC on the other hand shot 16mm exclusively since the early-60's since the extra resolution was a waste. As they convert to HD (still in progress) they're skipping 35mm and going straight to HD video because 35mm production is just too expensive.

IMDB is not very accurate about the production of older television shows. "35mm spherical" is just the default for technical specs. It says that some BBC series from the mid-70s were shot on 35mm when the BBC had already banned the format.

Don't compare 16mm features shot ten years ago from those shot forty years ago. It's not the same stuff. The resolution of film has increased many times over the decades, especially after the development of tabular grain emulsions. That's why Kodak scientists have been releasing a new film stock every year or two for decades.

Even if it was shot on 16mm the release could be a very significant step up in detail. 1080p resolution is about enough to almost completely resolve the resolution of 16mm film - it means that, due to the nature of the filmstock used it'll likely be a grainy release but if done well it shouldn't show any compression artifacts or digital noise that grainy film often causes in regular SD-DVD presentations.

I never upgraded from the A&E original DVDs to the Network set, so it's bound to be loads better than what I have now. Those A&E discs were nice, but had many annoying artifacts. I saw the smearing when I first watched them on my old 32" Toshiba.

If the A&E set uses the same files and extras as Network, I'll get the USA set. If not, and if the Network set is region-free, I'll get it.

Doug

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Prisoner-The-Complete-Series/12480

-Bill

Even if it was shot on 16mm the release could be a very significant step up in detail. 1080p resolution is about enough to almost completely resolve the resolution of 16mm film
Even today's HD productions that shoot on super-16mm look soft. In fact the BBC refuses to shoot HD shows on 16mm.

The 16mm stocks of today are much higher resolution than the stocks from forty years ago. Most American television producers refused to shoot on 16mm because they considered it too soft even for NTSC broadcasts. They only used it reluctantly when they couldn't afford 35mm.

I believe the American series remake begins airing sometime in November, so it makes sense that the HD release of the original series would be around that time. As some may already know, a theatrical feature (unrelated to the new AMC series) has also been in development for a while, possibly for a 2012 release. At one time, Tim Roth was up for the role, though I have no idea of the current status.

Many years ago I saw some stills supposedly taken from the 35mm original film for "The Prisoner" that indicated the show was shot in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio. Any indication whether the restorations for Blu-Ray might reflect this?

Many years ago I saw some stills supposedly taken from the 35mm original film for "The Prisoner" that indicated the show was shot in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio. Any indication whether the restorations for Blu-Ray might reflect this?

Doing a Google search turns up some other references to it being shot on 35mm. But I don't think a (matted) 1.66:1 AR would have made much sense as it was shot for 1960s television. I would guess they shot full 35mm frame (1.37:1) and any HD transfer today would follow that ratio, which is exactly what happened recently with Star Trek: The Original Series.

Not a fan of the U.S. cover art at all; if I wasn't already a fan of the show, that godawful color scheme would really turn me off to it. The UK's is strikingly better.

Not a fan of the U.S. cover art at all; if I wasn't already a fan of the show, that godawful color scheme would really turn me off to it. The UK's is strikingly better.

Indeed. Yet another good reason to go w/ the Network set. The only weird thing about Network's box is the odd size. How will it fit on a regular DVD shelf?

Doug

By the way, this is back up again today as a preorder w/ price and date at amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002C68WOG

Personally, I think I'm going to have to wait until post-release to see how the US vs. UK transfers shake out, but it's wonderful that this is being put out at all and I'll certainly be picking up one or the other.

I am going UK for that boss cover art and for the price

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/dvdmike/prisonerbd3d.jpg

Hmmm. I'm locked into Amazon's old preorder price of $50.99 and also have a preorder at Amazon.uk for $61 for the Network set. Hope we can get some early reviews on this forum so I can cancel the less favorable set. (Cover art is not a big deal to me.)

I just preordered the UK set for GBP40.45 (including shipping to the USA). That's actually cheaper than the US set. Hopefully, I'll find out if it's region-locked or has PAL extras before it's too late to cancel the order.

Doug

Doing a Google search turns up some other references to it being shot on 35mm.
Yes, it looks like ITC shot all of their television series on 35mm like American production companies did, unlike the BBC which switched to 16mm to save money.

I just preordered the UK set for GBP40.45 (including shipping to the USA). That's actually cheaper than the US set. Hopefully, I'll find out if it's region-locked or has PAL extras before it's too late to cancel the order.

Doug

Ditto! :)

Is there any information about optional English subtitle for UK or US release?

I still haven't cancelled my Network order, but today I noticed that the US A&E set is down to $50 USD. I went ahead and preordered it as well.

At some point I'm going to have to decide! Unless I get a multi-region player, I'll need to cancel the Network set, but I sure would rather have it and its extras.

Doug (cross-posting this on blu-ray.com & avs forum)

Doug,

Do you know for a fact that the Network set has more extras than the A&E set or are you just assuming this due to how the older DVD sets were put together?

gonda,

Remains to be seen. The DVD sets did not have subtitles.

Doug,

Do you know for a fact that the Network set has more extras than the A&E set or are you just assuming this due to how the older DVD sets were put together?

Franchot, it's partly based upon the older sets, but also based upon Amazon's info. The Network set is listed as 6 discs, while the A&E set is 5. Of course, without the manufacturers posting any details on their own websites, we don't know if the Amazon info is correct.

Also, based upon the DVD sets, we know the Network transfers look much nicer, so I'm assuming it will be the same w/ the BDs. I hope I'm wrong...

Doug

I can't imagine a television show shot on 16mm 40 years ago is going to be worth purchasing on an HD format.
Worked great for Star Trek TOS. But I guess that was shot on 35mm?

Worked great for Star Trek TOS. But I guess that was shot on 35mm?

Yes.

Network DVD now have it on their website, and they confirm that it's Region B:

http://www.networkdvd.net/product_info.php?products_id=970&osCsid=447e4bf891 6c95575219960ccf63d8df

Network DVD now have it on their website, and they confirm that it's Region B:

Fixed URL:
http://www.networkdvd.net/product_info.php?products_id=970

That kind of sucks if true, since it'd be nice to have the option to import from the UK if the A&E release proves inferior. With that being said, studios/distributor websites are frequently the least reliable sources for their own technical specs and the "back of the box" is often sketchy as well, so there might yet be hope for an unlocked release.

Fixed URL:...

Thanks!
Doug

I went ahead and ordered the UK Network set. It comes out earlier, it has better box art, it may have an extra disc of something (or more space devoted per episode), and I'm pretty sure it won't have a worse transfer than the US set.

I don't really care about region code since I have a region free Oppo. Should be nice!

I thought I had read that myself, have no source to point too however.

Wasn't Night of the Living Dead shot in 16mm?

Available here for the first time is the complete series, digitally restored in High Definition from the original 35mm film elements, presented at a quality level never previously seen.

From the networkdvd listing...

The listing also has:

Exclusive book on the making of the series by Andrew Pixley.
‘Don’t Knock Yourself Out’ - this exclusive, feature-length documentary is the definitive look at the production of ‘The Prisoner’, with contributions from those involved in its creation

If those are really exclusive, they won't be in the A&E set...

I went ahead and ordered the UK Network set. It comes out earlier, it has better box art, it may have an extra disc of something (or more space devoted per episode), and I'm pretty sure it won't have a worse transfer than the US set.

I don't really care about region code since I have a region free Oppo. Should be nice!


If the picture of the UK release is judged better, I'll get the Oppo for Christmas if not sooner.

I'd like confirmation on that region code, myself. And how big the book is...

I decided to cancel my order for the Network set, but it does look much nicer.

I can't afford to buy 2 new BD players right now (because I'd want to watch the episodes on my main system when the wife is away, but in the basement system otherwise), so I'll settle for the A&E set. Unless we find out that the Network set is not Region B locked...

Doug

Unless we find out that the Network set is not Region B locked...

Doug

Unless you find out sooner, I will post my findings here as soon as I receive it. Amazon UK is supposed to ship me my copy on September 21, so I should receive it about a week later.

Unless you find out sooner, I will post my findings here as soon as I receive it. Amazon UK is supposed to ship me my copy on September 21, so I should receive it about a week later.
Thanks, my trigger finger is ready to click-order the UK release but I'd rather not do it if it is Region B locked just from a device flexibility perspective. Seems less like a double-dip as an import from a different distributor... :o

Unless you find out sooner, I will post my findings here as soon as I receive it. Amazon UK is supposed to ship me my copy on September 21, so I should receive it about a week later.

Thanks, Franchot. I'm looking forward to your comments.

Doug

I'm a longtime Prisoner fan and decided to take the plunge on the UK set (and a region mod kit for my Oppo). I've been looking at a lot of UK releases lately, and this one finally convinced me to dive in. Even if the transfer is the same as the US release, I like the extras and nicer packaging UK releases tend to get.

I'll post my impressions once I have it in hand.

Looks like the US version will be the same as the Network UK release, with all the same specials except for the book and the packaging.

Looks like the US version will be the same as the Network UK release, with all the same specials except for the book and the packaging.

Really? Where can I read about this? Did you find an early review?

I certainly don't need some fancy over-sized packaging that won't fit on my shelf. The standard Network DVD (which I own) has a 288 page "Production Guide" included. I wonder if this is just the same book repackaged again? The standard DVD also has the special "Don't Knock Yourself Out." This is probably just recycled, also. And not in high-def.

I'd rather buy the US version if A&E acquired the same Blu-ray masters. But being burned by A&E on past "Prisoner" releases, I'd like to see some proof first.

From the back of the Network Standard DVD release:

SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:

• Limited edition special packaging
• ‘Don’t Knock Yourself Out’ - this exclusive, feature-length documentary is the definitive look at the production of ‘The Prisoner’, with contributions from those involved in its creation
• Newly restored original edit of ‘Arrival’ with an optional music-only soundtrack featuring Wilfred Josephs’ complete and abandoned score
• newly created 5.1 audio soundtracks for each show, plus the original mono soundtrack
• Production crew audio commentaries on seven episodes
• Trailers for all episodes
• Archive textless material, including the title sequence with clean themes by Ron Grainer, Wilfred Josephs and Robert Farnon
• Commercial Break Bumpers
• Behind-the-scenes footage, including much previously unseen
• Script and Production Documentation PDFs
• Image Galleries with Music Suites
• Exclusive book on the making of the series by Andrew Pixley
• And much, much more

The Network Blu-ray version looks to be exactly the same except for the discs being remastered to the Blu-ray standard. I'm two seconds away from canceling my Amazon UK order if A&E comes through...

Really? Where can I read about this? Did you find an early review?

I certainly don't need some fancy over-sized packaging that won't fit on my shelf. The standard Network DVD (which I own) has a 288 page "Production Guide" included. I wonder if this is just the same book repackaged again? The standard DVD also has the special "Don't Knock Yourself Out." This is probably just recycled, also. And not in high-def.

I'd rather buy the US version if A&E acquired the same Blu-ray masters. But being burned by A&E on past "Prisoner" releases, I'd like to see some proof first.

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Prisoner-The-Complete-Series-Blu-ray/12681

Says A&E has partnered with Network DVD to deliver the completely restored series. All the same extras as the UK set (minus the book).

The US set even appears to have one item the UK set doesn't have, a preview of A&E's new Prisoner mini-series.

Cool! Thanks for the link. (And saving me a few bucks/pounds. ;) .)

Taking a second look...

Network release has 6 discs.
A&E release has 5 discs.

Hmmm. Not ready to bail out on my UK pre-order just yet.

Cool! Thanks for the link. (And saving me a few bucks/pounds. ;) .)

Taking a second look...

Network release has 6 discs.
A&E release has 5 discs.

Hmmm. Not ready to bail out on my UK pre-order just yet.

Well, to counter you, the US set says it has a runtime of 884 minutes + extras. The UK sets lists a runtime of 850 minutes + extras.

So the UK set is posting the time with PAL speed up. Hopefully the UK set doesn't turn out to be like the European releases of Basic Instinct that had the 4% speedup problem and made everyone's voice higher pitched!

So conceivably the UK version could be putting the extras on a separate disc while the US version has the extras added to a disc or discs? Seems plausible.

Since this is being released in UK next week, hopefully a few early reviews will trickle in.

So conceivably the UK version could be putting the extras on a separate disc while the US version has the extras added to a disc or discs? Seems plausible.

Since this is being released in UK next week, hopefully a few early reviews will trickle in.

My real concern is with the PAL speedup. The UK DVD's have always had the speedup because they are 50 Hz. What if Network decided on the Blu-ray set, to keep 25 fps because that is what everyone is used to, instead of switching to 24 fps.

I know this was shot on 35mm film, but would that have been at 24fps or 25fps?

If it was the former, I presume it was speeded up for the original UK TV broadcast. If so, was it 'tampered' with (pitch shift, etc) to make it sound 'normal'?

Steve W

I have some more second hand details about both the Network and A&E releases. I am trying to get confirmation from A&E or Network, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Anyway, what I was told was: both versions are the Network transfer. Both are 1080p/24. Both have a runtime of 884 minutes for the episodes (Network's website is in error). The extras on both are nearly identical, and were provided by Network to A&E.

The Network release is 6 BD25 discs and the A&E release is 4 BD25 discs and one BD50 disc. On the UK version, discs 1-4 each have 4 episodes. Disc 5 has one episode + extras. Disc 6 is all extras. Some extras (commentaries, etc.) are spread across all discs.

The first 4 discs of the A&E release have identical content as the Network discs. Disc 5 has one episode, the A&E preview of the new mini-series, and all the extras.

There is a different look to the menu system on each release (A&E did their own menus, but used Networks transfers and audio).

So the only real difference in the releases is that the Network version has an exclusive book. The A&E version has the exclusive mini-series preview. The rest of the content is the same between sets.

No info on region coding.

Wnorris, can you find out if the audio is lossless? The Network website states DD5.1 and mono. It would be nice if the mono at least were lossless (my preference), or even better if both were lossless.

Thanks,
Doug

Wnorris,

Thanks again for some great information. Got the book already so I'll cancel my UK order and wait for the A&E set.

Anyway, what I was told was: both versions are the Network transfer. Both are 1080p/24. Both have a runtime of 884 minutes for the episodes (Network's website is in error). The extras on both are nearly identical, and were provided by Network to A&E.

The Network release is 6 BD25 discs and the A&E release is 4 BD25 discs and one BD50 disc. On the UK version, discs 1-4 each have 4 episodes. Disc 5 has one episode + extras. Disc 6 is all extras. Some extras (commentaries, etc.) are spread across all discs.

Those are brutal numbers if true and does not bode well for the compression encode on the sets. Over 200-minutes of 1080p/24 material each on a BD-25, means extremely low video bitrates on every BD. They really went the cheapest way possible by not using more BD-50 discs. Sadly, this is likely the only release the show will see on Blu-ray.

Those are brutal numbers if true and does not bode well for the compression encode on the sets. Over 200-minutes of 1080p/24 material each on a BD-25, means extremely low video bitrates on every BD. They really went the cheapest way possible by not using more BD-50 discs. Sadly, this is likely the only release the show will see on Blu-ray.

This is just something I was told by a Sony DADC employee, and I would like to confirm it with either A&E or Network, which I am trying to do.

Keep in mind the show is 1.33:1, which won't require as much of a bitrate as other movies. The closest comparison I can think of is the Star Trek TOS. The Blu-ray for ST averaged 16 Mbs for video and 4 Mbs for lossless audio (so 20 Mbs total).

Now, TOS used BD50's and put 4-5 episodes per disc. However, it is more ocmplicated, because each episode has has seamless branching to let you show footage with old or new effects. So much of each episode is actually on the disc twice. And the extras for the set are smattered across all the discs, with some kind of interview features (usually more than one) on each disc, some in HD.

When you consider that every episode is on a disc ~1.5 times, plus features, you could probably get 6-8 episodes of Trek per BD50 without extras or branching. Or somewhere between 6-8 GB per episode.

So if the Prisoner doesn't have lossless audio (I didn't even think to ask, because I don't really care in this case), the space needed could be ~1/5 less than TOS (so 5-7 GB per episode). If all the features other than audio commentaries on on separate discs, you don't have that to deal with. So it is conceivable that you could get 4 episodes on a BD25 disc, at the same quality as the Star Trek TOS episodes. It's in the realm of possibility.

I'd be happy with that.

Again I'd return to the days of HD DVD and films like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

157 minutes - Dolby TruHD lossless audio + 3 DD soundtracks - plenty of extras - Picture-in-Picture material - close to reference PQ & SQ.

All on a 30gb disc.

Steve W

Wnorris, everything you wrote above about the Trek set makes sense, with one small caveat:
The branching parts of each episode were fairly small, and included only the opening credits and a minute or two of effects shots. I'd estimate each episode at about 1.1 times the normal episode, not 1.5.

I'm curious: why aren't you interested in lossless audio on this set? Lossless audio should always be better, depending upon the quality of the source tapes, of course. When I watch the HD-DVD of Casablanca, the audio strikes me as sounding slightly muffled, even compared to other older films (e.g. The Third Man) which do have lossless audio. I know that might not be a fair comparison...

Doug

Wnorris, everything you wrote above about the Trek set makes sense, with one small caveat:
The branching parts of each episode were fairly small, and included only the opening credits and a minute or two of effects shots. I'd estimate each episode at about 1.1 times the normal episode, not 1.5.

I'm curious: why aren't you interested in lossless audio on this set? Lossless audio should always be better, depending upon the quality of the source tapes, of course. When I watch the HD-DVD of Casablanca, the audio strikes me as sounding slightly muffled, even compared to other older films (e.g. The Third Man) which do have lossless audio. I know that might not be a fair comparison...

Doug

Well, I'll diasagree. The entire opening sequence (2-3 minutes in itself) was branched, plus numerouse effects shots. Every return from commercial break has the Captains log narrated while the Enterprise orbits, so 3 breaks per episode. Any phaser fire, many shots where background can be seen through windows, painted backdrops were replaced with CGI backdrops. So often when on a planets surface, the entire segment (15-20 minutes) will have a new background. Then every space shot was redone, viewports, and any scene with a transport, etc. Any scene that that has the bridge's main screen has new effects, even if you don't notice. All around, I think there are about 60 new effects shots per episode. There is much more new effects than you realize, and the branch doesn't just happen immediately when the new effects shots occurs. Most branches occur several seconds before the effects shot, and a few even occur several minutes before at scene transitions.

Maybe it is a little less than 1.5X, but it is definately more than 1.1X.

EDIT: After some poking around, I found that the average size per episode of TOS, including the branching footage, subtitles, lossless audio track, and mono audio track is 8.75 GB per episode.

So if the Prisoner had all of that , you would have to compress more heavily to fit it on a BD25. But I'm not sure it will have the lossless audio (which would save about 1.5 GB there by itself). It also won't have branching material.

So even if TOS is only 10% branching and you remove lossless audio, it makes it 6.5 GB per episode. Close enough that I could easily see the Prisoner having 4 episodes with very high quality transfers on a BD25.

It isn't all doom and gloom.

Yeah, I saw it as a kid and was blown away.

I saw it as a kid when it was first shown in the US and between this and The Avangers, I was convinced that the British were far cooler and far hipper than anyone I knew. I saw it many years later and it seemed like pretentious, pseudo-intellectual tripe. I remember watching some professor-type with a tweed jacket and leather elbow patches going on excitedly about all the metaphors, all the satire and parody and all the references to the government of the time and I thought, this man still lives in his mother's basement, doesn't he?

It reminds me of watching the Blu-Ray discs of the remastered Star Trek: The Original Series, a show that I also watched as a kid when it was originally aired. I went on to watch and enjoy all the other Star Trek series (even Voyager and Enterprise) plus the movies. Then I watched these discs. They looked and sounded incredibly good and I though the re-done special effects really added rather than took away (which they could easily have done). And yet... The writing, direction and the acting are so often just plain awful!

Sometimes, it's best to leave your childhood memories as memories and not try to relive them as an adult. Some things are WAY better as exagerated memories than as disappointing realities.

The writing, direction and the acting are so often just plain awful!

Oh, come now... Shatner a bad actor?? I beg to differ. He's one of the greatest talent this generation has ever seen! :rolleyes:

Well, I'll diasagree...

Maybe it is a little less than 1.5X, but it is definately more than 1.1X.

EDIT: After some poking around, I found that the average size per episode of TOS, including the branching footage, subtitles, lossless audio track, and mono audio track is 8.75 GB per episode.

So if the Prisoner had all of that , you would have to compress more heavily to fit it on a BD25. But I'm not sure it will have the lossless audio (which would save about 1.5 GB there by itself). It also won't have branching material.

So even if TOS is only 10% branching and you remove lossless audio, it makes it 6.5 GB per episode. Close enough that I could easily see the Prisoner having 4 episodes with very high quality transfers on a BD25.

It isn't all doom and gloom.

Would you believe...1.3?

We reach...you're no Herbert.

BCNU,
Doug

We reach...you're no Herbert.

BCNU,
Doug
GREAT quote! Thanks for the laugh. But enough of inside Trek knowledge... this is a Prisoner thread.

I saw it as a kid when it was first shown in the US and between this and The Avangers, I was convinced that the British were far cooler and far hipper than anyone I knew. I saw it many years later and it seemed like pretentious, pseudo-intellectual tripe. I remember watching some professor-type with a tweed jacket and leather elbow patches going on excitedly about all the metaphors, all the satire and parody and all the references to the government of the time and I thought, this man still lives in his mother's basement, doesn't he?

It reminds me of watching the Blu-Ray discs of the remastered Star Trek: The Original Series, a show that I also watched as a kid when it was originally aired. I went on to watch and enjoy all the other Star Trek series (even Voyager and Enterprise) plus the movies. Then I watched these discs. They looked and sounded incredibly good and I though the re-done special effects really added rather than took away (which they could easily have done). And yet... The writing, direction and the acting are so often just plain awful!

Sometimes, it's best to leave your childhood memories as memories and not try to relive them as an adult. Some things are WAY better as exagerated memories than as disappointing realities.

I think "The Prisoner" holds up remarkably well, especially if you watch just the seven episodes that McGoohan envisioned the series to only be comprised of. He originally wanted only seven shows, a mini-series, but was talked into extending the show so that it almost comprised an entire season. (Supposedly the network wanted 26 episodes and McGoohan got it down to 17.) With that many shows and working under deadlines, they had to come up with something to fill the time which may account for some of the less than stellar scripts.

The Essential Seven are:

1. Arrival
2. Free For All
3. Dance of The Dead
4. Checkmate
5. Chimes Of Big Ben
6. Once Upon A Time
7. Fall Out

I still find the show highly entertaining and am not disappointed in how the show was executed each time I watch it.

The US version promotes the BD as a restoration while the UK says it is from a DVD master.

Is the restoration cliam is just marketing BS?

The US version promotes the BD as a restoration while the UK says it is from a DVD master.

Is the restoration cliam is just marketing BS?

Well, the BDs are based upon Network's masters, which are fairly recent (2006?). They were done for DVD, but hopefully were scanned at a high enough resolution to work for HD as well. I have high hopes about the quality we'll get on BD.

Doug

Well, the BDs are based upon Network's masters, which are fairly recent (2006?). They were done for DVD, but hopefully were scanned at a high enough resolution to work for HD as well. I have high hopes about the quality we'll get on BD.

If that is the case I read it as not restorated and was made to look good on DVD, maybe meaning the usual filtering for DVD crap.

Every DVD Master was 'restorated' at one point but for a much lesser standard.

As usual I will wait for screenshots before buying.

As Doug mentioned, Network did do a pretty spiffy restoration for their 2006 re-release. I don't know what resolution they were done at, but the improvement over the original DVDs (the only ones released in the US) is rather drastic.

http://www.networkdvd.co.uk/prisoner/priscomparison.htm

EDIT: I found this article that details the restoration and confirms that the series was scanned at HD (though the exact resolution isn't mentioned).

http://www.its-prof-again.co.uk/The_Prisoner_restored.htm

"Once each episode was transferred to tape, it would then have a number of processes used to 'despot' the visuals to produce a smoother, cleaner image. Video noise reduction was applied (but minimally to retain some grain, keeping the 'film' look) "

Ugh! Sounds like the usual DVD 'improvements' baked into the master, HD does not need such flters as far as I am concerned.

UK version delayed one week from 9/21 to 9/28.

"Once each episode was transferred to tape, it would then have a number of processes used to 'despot' the visuals to produce a smoother, cleaner image. Video noise reduction was applied (but minimally to retain some grain, keeping the 'film' look) "

Ugh! Sounds like the usual DVD 'improvements' baked into the master, HD does not need such flters as far as I am concerned.

My understanding is that every Blu-ray Disc you've ever seen has had some noise reduction applied - I'm sure I've seen some of the people who work in the field post that.

Steve W

Dvdtimes.co.uk's review of UK version (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content/id/71569/the-prisoner-the-complete-series.html) with 1920x1080 jpg screen captures.

Dvdtimes.co.uk's review of UK version (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content/id/71569/the-prisoner-the-complete-series.html) with 1920x1080 jpg screen captures.

Hmm, the issue isn't addressed in the review proper but the spec list on the left-hand side seems to support it being Region B locked. We desperately need someone to definitively confirm this a.s.a.p.

Dvdtimes.co.uk's review of UK version (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content/id/71569/the-prisoner-the-complete-series.html) with 1920x1080 jpg screen captures.

Looking damn good to me :)

Ordered!! :)

Looks good, but that review seems to confirm that the audio is only DD5.1/DD1.0 and not lossless. Too bad about that.

Doug

I don´t think we would benefit from a lossless track on an old british TV show originally recorded and aired in Mono.
It´s not exactly Battlestar Galactica ;)

I don´t think we would benefit from a lossless track on an old british TV show originally recorded and aired in Mono.
It´s not exactly Battlestar Galactica ;)

I really don't understand your argument, Stevie. I'll ignore the BG reference, as it doesn't have anything to do w/ it.

They no doubt have the original mono soundtrack in a lossless analogue format. To give it to us in a lossless compressed format would keep it as close to the original as possible. To reduce the quality by giving us a lossy DD format means it won't sound as good as it could. Understand?

Maybe you can't hear the difference, but I can. There is a difference between lossless and lossy compression.

Doug

Maybe you can't hear the difference, but I can.
Doug

I'd be surprised. Information lost in lossy compression is phase, frequency response and masked sounds. It's unlikely there's any content above 8kHz or so. It may well be less than even that. Phase is important for imaging. There's no imaging in a mono track. And I don't think anyone can hear through masked sounds.

Also, I'm surprised you've heard a lossy and a loss-less Prisoner soundtrack already. Did you A/B them?

I'd be surprised. Information lost in lossy compression is phase, frequency response and masked sounds. It's unlikely there's any content above 8kHz or so. It may well be less than even that. Phase is important for imaging. There's no imaging in a mono track. And I don't think anyone can hear through masked sounds.

Also, I'm surprised you've heard a lossy and a loss-less Prisoner soundtrack already. Did you A/B them?

I'll take that question as sarcasm. Of course, I haven't. We wouldn't be having this discussion it the lossless soundtrack were available.

What I have heard is a lossless mono soundtrack (The Third Man) compared to many years of lossy mono soundtracks (e.g. Charade). They're not the same film, they're not even from the same era (but they were both released by Criterion, FWIW). The lossless soundtrack on The Third Man was much more clear and intelligible than Charade. As I said in a previous post, I'm assuming that the Prisoner's original soundtrack quality is good.

BTW, thanks for the info about phase, frequency response and masked sounds being lost. I learned something new.

Doug

Maybe you can't hear the difference, but I can. There is a difference between lossless and lossy compression.


yeah, I would love to see you spot the difference between an lossy and lossless version of the Prisoner soundtrack without knowing what version is playing when switching between them ;)

I can tell the difference between lossy and lossless, but it has to be something with a more dynamic soundtrack. On a lot of titles it´s hardly ANY difference turning it into placebo ;)

Not going to lose any sleep over this one ;)

What I have heard is a lossless mono soundtrack (The Third Man) compared to many years of lossy mono soundtracks (e.g. Charade). They're not the same film, they're not even from the same era (but they were both released by Criterion, FWIW). The lossless soundtrack on The Third Man was much more clear and intelligible than Charade.

Yes they are released by the same company but they are DIFFERENT movies and soundtracks ;)

You are supposed to compare the lossy and the lossless of the same damn soundtrack :D

A lossless track can also sound much worse than a lossy newly remastered soundtrack of the same movie.
It´s all in the mixing and the quality in the original sound elements.

Dvdtimes.co.uk's review of UK version (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content/id/71569/the-prisoner-the-complete-series.html) with 1920x1080 jpg screen captures.

Well, that clearly contradicts what the SonyDADC guy told me. A&E and Network neither one replied to my customer service inquiry for more details on the release.

My questions are, is it really 850 minutes, indicating PAL speedup or slowdown, depending on how it is approached (I believe it was shot on 35mm at 24 fps).

I also question what is on the A&E set, that it can list the same features (plus a preview of the new mini-series), and have one fewer disc.

Anybody pick up the UK release yet? Is it region locked? I'd like a second source for that before I decide to pass/buy.

Well, that clearly contradicts what the SonyDADC guy told me. A&E and Network neither one replied to my customer service inquiry for more details on the release.

My questions are, is it really 850 minutes, indicating PAL speedup or slowdown, depending on how it is approached (I believe it was shot on 35mm at 24 fps).

I also question what is on the A&E set, that it can list the same features (plus a preview of the new mini-series), and have one fewer disc.Someone posted earlier that the Network set is spread over six BD-25s, while the A&E set essentially has the same first four discs but puts the fifth and sixth ones on a single BD-50 and includes a preview for the new miniseries remake.

Someone posted earlier that the Network set is spread over six BD-25s, while the A&E set essentially has the same first four discs but puts the fifth and sixth ones on a single BD-50 and includes a preview for the new miniseries remake.

That was me because that is what a SonyDADC rep (and SonyDADC handles the Network BD releases) told me. However the linked review says the 6 discs are all BD50's on the UK release, which contradicts what I was told.

So according to the A&E press release, they have the exact same extras (plus a Prisoner mini-series preview), so how is it all fitting on 5 discs instead of 6?

The only thing I can think of is if the UK set actually did something as far fetched as spreading it out needlessly over six discs, because the Prisoner is Number Six.

The only thing I can think of is if the UK set actually did something as far fetched as spreading it out needlessly over six discs, because the Prisoner is Number Six.

This is what someone posted at Amazon.com pertaining to the 5 and 6 disc difference. Take if for what it's worth.

"UK edition has 4 Blu Ray discs, plus two standard definition DVDs for the extras. Because A&E will be needing to do their own region 1 format NTSC discs for the extra features, they may be doing their own decisions on how they are presented."

This is what someone posted at Amazon.com pertaining to the 5 and 6 disc difference. Take if for what it's worth.

"UK edition has 4 Blu Ray discs, plus two standard definition DVDs for the extras. Because A&E will be needing to do their own region 1 format NTSC discs for the extra features, they may be doing their own decisions on how they are presented."

According to the linked DVDTimes review, the UK set is 6 BD50 discs.

According to the linked DVDTimes review, the UK set is 6 BD50 discs.

Which is awesome because it means the encode wasn't bit-starved after all. Plenty of room to breathe for the entire series plus extras.

I received my shipping notification from Amazon UK a few days ago, so I should have the set in my hands sometime next week.

I also have the BSG UK box set on the way ($40 cheaper than Amazon US after shipping!), plus Firefly (US), so I'll be busy for a while :)

Confirmed. Region locked.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews47/the_prisoner_blu-ray.htm

I'm very pleased with those screenshots. Looks to be an outstanding transfer.

Confirmed. Region locked.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews47/the_prisoner_blu-ray.htm

The 6th Disc Mystery Solved!

Disc 6 is a 2.84 Gig single-layered DVD that some players have had issue with because of the inclusion of the imbedded PDF documentation.

DVDBeaver now has up a comparison with the US release. Transfers seem identical. They mention that the 5th disc is a dual layered DVD. Is this the case for the Network set as well?

Discs 5 and 6 of the Network set are DVDs. Their content could fit on 1 dual layer disc, but for obvious marketing reasons they chose to have 6 numbered discs. And it sounds like disc 6 may have an authoring fault relating to how the pdfs have been included.

I am interested in finding out whether the Original Chimes of Big Ben on the A&E set is just an NTSC standards conversion of Network's PAL master or if it is an NTSC recording of the film master (although I am not sure exactly what format the master for that is in). If it is just a standards conversion, I might opt for the UK release, as it will be slightly closer to the original - although still in pretty poor shape. So far the runtimes quoted across various sites have not quite made sense, although they are close enough that it probably is a standards conversion. I am not a fan of oversized packaging and can take or leave the book, so otherwise I lean toward the US release.

Note that the Original Chimes of Big Ben is the one standard definition episode included in the set and appears on the extras DVDs. I don't know exactly what elements they have for that, but it has never been in good shape and it probably wouldn't benefit from being included in HD - if that is even possible from what master they are using, beyond an upconversion.

It sounds like the BDs in each set are equivalent to each other and lossy audio aside are probably about as good as the Prisoner will ever be presented.

I finally got my UK set on Saturday, so I sat down to watch Arrival that night. Put simply, the show has never looked this good, and I didn't know it could look this good. The quality varies from shot to shot, but it's excellent overall, and the interior shots can be downright amazing.

I watched the first episode in the original mono, which sounded about as good as you can reasonably expect from that mix. Even though it's just DD mono, it was easy to tell the difference in quality among different elements in the audio mix, and I thought it sounded fine. After I finished the episode, I went back to the beginning so I could sample the 5.1 track and flip back and forth between that and the mono track. The ambience and depth is definitely improved on the 5.1 track, but it sounded like some elements had some reverb applied or other strange processing. Maybe that's just the original sound coming through in a more revealing mix, but going back and forth, I could hear clear differences in how certain instruments in the background score sounded. Not sure if they mucked with it or simply revealed what was already there. I'll probably stick with mono for future viewing sessions.

A no-brainer for Prisoner fans.

thirdkind-

I think this was confirmed above, but did you need a Region B Blu-ray player to play your UK Prisoner disc(s)? Thanks.

Both UK and US Prisoner releases are region coded. If you are able to see them, the region locked image displayed is in keeping with the series and made me laugh.

Got my set this afternoon and have viewed Arrival and am currently going thru The Chimes of Big Ben. I cannot believe how fantastic this show looks. Restoration appears to be on par with the work on Star Trek:TOS.

Amazing.

Doug

Is there any information about optional English subtitle for UK or US release?

I know this was asked a while back and I'm sure if it was answered, but "Yes" there is an English subtitle option on the U.S. release.

I think this was confirmed above, but did you need a Region B Blu-ray player to play your UK Prisoner disc(s)? Thanks.

I switched my Oppo to Region B without even trying Region A because everyone said it was locked. I'm sure the prior reports are correct about the region locks though.

I've had a weird problem playing the extras DVD (disc 5) from the USA A&E BD set.

It plays fine in my DVD player - Oppo 980H.

However, both of my HD players (Samsung 5000 and LG BH200) spit it out. Samsung tells me it's an "imcompatible format" and LG says it's a "data" disc.

I think my Oppo is set to region-free, but I changed the FW several times and haven't checked it to see if I needed to reset it. The HD players are supposed to play DVD-R and -RW. Is this disc an -R or -RW, or is it possible that A&E just copied Network's Region 2 disc?

Doug

I switched my Oppo to Region B without even trying Region A because everyone said it was locked. I'm sure the prior reports are correct about the region locks though.

Confirmed last night. Region B locked.

I've had a weird problem playing the extras DVD (disc 5) from the USA A&E BD set.

It plays fine in my DVD player - Oppo 980H.

However, both of my HD players (Samsung 5000 and LG BH200) spit it out. Samsung tells me it's an "imcompatible format" and LG says it's a "data" disc.

I think my Oppo is set to region-free, but I changed the FW several times and haven't checked it to see if I needed to reset it. The HD players are supposed to play DVD-R and -RW. Is this disc an -R or -RW, or is it possible that A&E just copied Network's Region 2 disc?

Doug

Here's what I found in the DVDBeaver review:
"NOTE: Disc 6 [= Disc 5 in the USA set - Doug] is a 2.84 Gig single-layered DVD that some players have had issue with because of the inclusion of the imbedded PDF documentation. It played fine though on my Oppo Blu-ray and Malata DVD players but the Momistu treated it as it would when you use the Flash Drive input asking whether content is "Audio" or "Video"."

Both UK and US Prisoner releases are region coded. If you are able to see them, the region locked image displayed is in keeping with the series and made me laugh.

Confirmed last night. Region B locked.
Thank you for the confirmations. I have bought the U.S. disc set, and I am looking forward to watching this great series.

Just took a peek at the US set. It's pretty fine! Great color and blacks.

The subtitling is sometimes rather "approximate".

This is the first BR I've seen where the frame rate is exactly 24hz. It is part of the standard but rare in the US.

-Bill

The UK discs are playable in my region A Panny (usual trick).:)

"The Prisoner", the BBC series that aired on CBS in the 1960's, is out on Blu-ray. Fifteen years ago, I recorded this series on VHS when it played on PBS, and I have suffered with VHS quality since, wondering when and if it would ever get to DVD. Well, it did get to DVD, but I did not buy it then. Recently I got the bug to watch "The Prisoner" again and discovered it was now on Blu-ray. Wow, what an improvement and what a pleasure to watch! But...

Disc 5, the "Extras" disc has problems. This disc is a standard DVD, not BR, and this disc does not play in many DVD players, as reported on Amazon.com and other sites. I have 2 Panasonic BR players, and this disc simply STOPS after the menu loads. My standard Panasonic DVD player ejects the disc. My friend's Samsung BR player does not play the disc. Oddly, the disc plays fine in my inexpensive DVD player that's part of my no-name kitchen TV. It also plays in my son's PS3. Amazon.com states on their page for this set that they are trying to get an answer from A&E Home Video for the many people who purchased the disc from them. I bought mine at BB, and they will give another set, but it does the same thing. I've watched the EXTRAS disc on my kitchen TV, so until A&E offers a new replacement disc, I will keep what I have.

"The Prisoner", the BBC series that aired on CBS in the 1960's, is out on Blu-ray.

No one tells me anything.

Disc 5, the "Extras" disc has problems. This disc is a standard DVD, not BR, and this disc does not play in many DVD players, as reported on Amazon.com and other sites. I have 2 Panasonic BR players, and this disc simply STOPS after the menu loads. My standard Panasonic DVD player ejects the disc. My friend's Samsung BR player does not play the disc. Oddly, the disc plays fine in my inexpensive DVD player that's part of my no-name kitchen TV. It also plays in my son's PS3. Amazon.com states on their page for this set that they are trying to get an answer from A&E Home Video for the many people who purchased the disc from them. I bought mine at BB, and they will give another set, but it does the same thing. I've watched the EXTRAS disc on my kitchen TV, so until A&E offers a new replacement disc, I will keep what I have.

As I recall, the problem with the extras disc is that a collection of supplemental files is included: PDF scripts and such. Some BR players choke on it, even though DVDs have had extra data for many years.

The solution is not a replacement disc from A&E but a firmware update for the problem players.

-Bill

Actually, a number of reports on the UK disc 6 indicate that it affects DVD players that will happily play other DVDs with pdfs on them just fine. I'd hazard to say that Network have done something odd in their authoring, which A&E have duplicated in North America. I am hopeful but not optimistic that the problem will be addressed.

There is something a bit ironic than in their very first blu-ray release, it is the DVD which Network seem to have managed to screw up. Still I'd rather a flaky extras DVD than a messed up Blu-Ray Disc containing actual episodes.

Discs 5 and 6 of the Network set are DVDs. Their content could fit on 1 dual layer disc, but for obvious marketing reasons they chose to have 6 numbered discs.

Here's what I found in the DVDBeaver review:
"NOTE: Disc 6 [= Disc 5 in the USA set - Doug] is a 2.84 Gig single-layered DVD..."

Not true.

UK Disc 5 DVD (regions 1-6): 7.39GB, no pdf
UK Disc 6 DVD (regions 1-6): 3.44GB total, 2.84GB video with 84 pdfs outside the VIDEO_TS folder.
Both are PAL and playable in my Denon 2900.

The solution is not a replacement disc from A&E but a firmware update for the problem players.

Or simply re-burn the DVD minus the pdfs.

Not true.

UK Disc 5 DVD (regions 1-6): 7.39GB, no pdf
UK Disc 6 DVD (regions 1-6): 3.44GB total, 2.84GB video with 84 pdfs outside the VIDEO_TS folder.
Both are PAL and playable in my Denon 2900.



Or simply re-burn the DVD minus the pdfs.

Ah, that's interesting. So what is on the UK extras discs that takes up the extra space (and is either missing or more ruthlessly encoded on the Region A release)?

My apologies, I had been led to believe that both were DVD-5s, not just disc 6.

No one tells me anything.

Yeah, I was like, thanks for letting us know THE PRISONER is now on Blu-ray five pages into a thread about its release! LOL! :D

Yeah, I was like, thanks for letting us know THE PRISONER is now on Blu-ray five pages into a thread about its release! LOL! :D

Actually I think that post was transferred here, so I hope my wit has not too pointed.

-Bill

Actually I think that post was transferred here, so I hope my wit has not too pointed.

-Bill

Yeah, I'm guessing that Dan started a new thread and a mod merged it with the existing one.

Doug

Thanks Doug. That's exactly what happened. I didn't see the existing discussion on The Prisoner when I posted it.

Back to the issue, the bad Disc 5 does not play on many regular DVD players either. It's a hit-and-miss proposition whether it plays on any DVD or BR player.

I upgraded Firmware on both of my Panasonic BR players, and still no luck. I emailed Panasonic Technical Support to ask if they were interested in having this Disc 5 so they could update their Firmware to play the disc. On the other hand, my PS3 plays the disc as does my cheap-o kitchen TV/DVD combo player, so I can at least watch the disc.

Sorry for being dim-witted...and why didn't someone tell me I wore two left shoes today?

Sorry for being dim-witted...and why didn't someone tell me I wore two left shoes today?

Well, I was gonna tell you, but I left my cell phone in my other suit.
;)
Doug

"The Prisoner", the BBC series that aired on CBS in the 1960's, is out on Blu-ray....

snip

<pedantic>It was actually ITC not BBC</pedantic>

:o

Ah, that's interesting. So what is on the UK extras discs that takes up the extra space (and is either missing or more ruthlessly encoded on the Region A release)?

My apologies, I had been led to believe that both were DVD-5s, not just disc 6.

No need to apologise! I don't have the US set. This is what the UK discs 5 and 6 have (info display courtesy of PowerDVD, DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink:)).

UK network Disc 5 DVD (PAL, R1-6)

Main feature (1h34'53, c.4265MB) + the rest (1h28'44, c.3242MB)
Audio: DD 2.0 192kbps

Don't Knock Yourself Out 1h34'53
You Make Sure It Fits! 9'16
The Pink Prisoner 9'21
Exposure Strip Gallery (Mute) 10'30
Ad Bumpers 17"

TEXTLESS TITLES
with Ron Grainer theme 3'07
with Wilfred Josephs theme 3'07
with Robert Farnon theme 3'05

Filing Cabinet footage (mute) 2'29
Rover footage (mute) 26"

McGoohan montage from Arrival (mute) 50"
Behind the scenes footage (mute) 45'43

UK network Disc 6 DVD (PAL, R1-6)

Main feature (50'47, c.2282MB) + the rest (1h04'39, c.595MB)

The Chimes of Big Ben original edit 50'47
Promotional image gallery (mute) 2'18
1967 Press Conference gallery (mute) 2'33

Production Designs gallery (mute) 51"
Lava Lamp footage (mute) 7'43

Television's Greatest Hits Interview 2'56
Audio Interview with Patrick McGoohan 47'47

Kilian, doesn't the UK set have some .pdf files on discs 5 and/or 6? Maybe the DVD apps you used don't show them, but that's what's causing many people's machines problems w/ the USA set, and I thought the content was the same, but condensed onto 5 discs in the USA.

Doug

Edit: NetworkDVD's site confirms the .pdf files.

Doug, the nework DVD site doesn't specifically say pdfs are in disc 5.

As I already mentioned in post 138 above, UK Discs 5 and 6 together have over 10GB of stuff that cannot be contained in one single-sided double-layered disc (DVD-9). You'd need at least a double-sided flipper disc (DVD-14). Unless the US Disc 5 is a DVD-14 it simply can't have the same total content as the UK Discs 5 and 6.

The pdf file names in disc 6 can simply be viewed in Windows Explorer without special software and there isn't any at all in Disc 5.

My player can play disc 6 but it doesn't necessarily mean all players can. I don't have the US disc to test. Maybe at least computer DVD drives can if people want to try.

No need to apologise! I don't have the US set. This is what the UK discs 5 and 6 have (info display courtesy of PowerDVD, DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink:)).

UK network Disc 5 DVD (PAL, R1-6)

Main feature (1h34'53, c.4265MB) + the rest (1h28'44, c.3242MB)
Audio: DD 2.0 192kbps

Don't Knock Yourself Out 1h34'53
You Make Sure It Fits! 9'16
The Pink Prisoner 9'21
Exposure Strip Gallery (Mute) 10'30
Ad Bumpers 17"

TEXTLESS TITLES
with Ron Grainer theme 3'07
with Wilfred Josephs theme 3'07
with Robert Farnon theme 3'05

Filing Cabinet footage (mute) 2'29
Rover footage (mute) 26"

McGoohan montage from Arrival (mute) 50"
Behind the scenes footage (mute) 45'43

UK network Disc 6 DVD (PAL, R1-6)

Main feature (50'47, c.2282MB) + the rest (1h04'39, c.595MB)

The Chimes of Big Ben original edit 50'47
Promotional image gallery (mute) 2'18
1967 Press Conference gallery (mute) 2'33

Production Designs gallery (mute) 51"
Lava Lamp footage (mute) 7'43

Television's Greatest Hits Interview 2'56
Audio Interview with Patrick McGoohan 47'47

Thanks for that. The from DVDShrinking the US release's extras disc (and using your timings to identify everything (some gain a tiny amount and some lose, but they are all easy to work out):

Don't Knock Yourself Out (2087MB)
The Chimes of Big Ben original edit (1193MB)
You Make Sure It Fits! (212MB)
The Pink Prisoner (180MB)
Exposure Strip Gallery (306MB)
Ad Bumpers (6 MB)

TEXTLESS TITLES
with Ron Grainer theme (72MB)
with Wilfred Josephs theme (71MB)
with Robert Farnon theme (71MB)

Filing Cabinet footage (50MB)
Rover footage (8MB)

McGoohan childhood montage (17MB)
Promotional image gallery (47MB)
1967 Press Conference gallery (54MB)
Production Designs gallery (19MB)


Only on US disc (but quite missable):

AMC Prisoner Remake advert (13MB)



Not on US disc 5, or at least I failed to identify them via DVDShrink (and I have not checked whether these have been added as extras to the BD discs):

Behind the scenes footage
Lava Lamp footage
Television's Greatest Hits Interview
Audio Interview with Patrick McGoohan