Babylon 5: The Complete Collection Series – Includes Bonus 5 Movie Set and Crusade Collection

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

Had read about the poor transfer to DVD, so quality expectations were low for this show I loved in the 90s. I watched it on a 60″ screen with upscaling, and the results were atrocious in some areas – worse than other DVDs. The transfer was inconsistent, and the CGI shots looked poor (since they were cropped on top and bottom to fit 16:9, resulting in more granularity). On a large screen the quality is between normal DVD standards and VHS that has been burned to disc. Therefore, I suggest watching these on a smaller screen.

As for the format, there no other options unless you have laserdisc to watch it in the original 4:3 format. Still love the show, just wished they spent a bit more to make the visual quality longer lasting for such a fantastic series. Unless you saw it in the original broadcast format, you would wonder what all the fuss was about with the ground-breaking effects.

Most of the discs were stored 2-per flap in an overlapping fashion with thick cases. I suggest using single-layered thin 6-disc cases.

Update: Have watched many more episodes. Definitely stick to a smaller screen or else will suffer quality. In some instances the image is actually stretched to make it widescreen, making everyone and everything “fat.” This may be because the scene was not shot in widescreen.
In at least one case I selected “Play” from the main menu and the first chapter of the first episode was skipped. I had to select the individual episode to play the beginning. In almost every case of switching from a CGI scene to a live-action scene, there are distinctive, momentary horizontal pixiliated scan-lines that break up the new image. Perhaps that has something to do with the transfer. Just a bit distracting each time. Still a great show, just wish they had been able to make the CGI wide screen and that WB had put more effort into the transfer.

– filmnerd

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Rated: PG-13 Parents Strongly Cautioned
Studio: Warner Home Video
ASIN: B00COTLTUA