I just got done experimenting with the set. I have mixed feelings so far, but most of all I'm pretty positive about what I've seen and heard. For starters, I just LOVE this packaging - the smaller size box with those 21 slimcases inside. Nice black and white artwork on every one of these individual sleeves. I'm sure I'd much prefer these to the bigger box and disc cases which were originally released.

I began by checking out some of BLOCK-HEADS, which is a feature movie I'm very familiar with. I just wanted to get a sampling of how the PAL speed came off. I was relieved to find that while I noticed the quicker speed, I did in fact get used to it as some others have said.

First I pulled out random discs just to sample them. I went for one of the Spanish language productions and got a real kick out of hearing Stan and Ollie speaking in another language. If there were English subtitles I could see myself watching these for the fun of it... but I couldn't access any subs.

I decided to watch Disc 2, which has all short subjects on it. Again, the PAL speedup did not really bug me as I watched the first few. But there was one interesting observation. I decided to do the unthinkable, and watch one of my very favorite shorts, TIT FOR TAT, in Color. Unless I was imagining things, it sounded as if the audio quality was the "correct" speed as I saw this colorized version. Afterward, I switched over to the same film in black and white, but immediately I could hear the sudden speed-up in L&H's voices... especially having just screened the color one and having it fresh in my mind. But as I re-watched the short in b&w, I found I did sort of get used to the speed thing. On top of that, the visual quality of the black and white version was AWFUL -- tons and tons of thick, white specks all over the picture. I assumed that the color editions would be the same prints as the black and whites, but this is obviously not the case.

That's something I've noticed... the visual quality varies from film to film, as would be expected in some cases. Some are pretty good, but TIT FOR TAT and also PERFECT DAY were really marked up. I am pretty sure that the prints off TCM were superior to these two.

So it's early yet, but overall I am excited about this set and I think I'll enjoy it.

"Physical Media: Alive and Well, Forever!"



Last Edited By: Joe Karlosi Jan 28 11 4:30 PM. Edited 1 times.