The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet: Available For The First Time on Digital & DVD 6/21

[stevea]

That was before I saw any episodes, but your point is well taken!

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by stevea

That was before I saw any episodes, but your point is well taken!

The episodes themselves are fine although I'm not fond of the rebroadcast ones.

It's very unfortunate but times appear to be changing, fewer people still have CRT TV's and these other disc formats are slowly taking over, formatting DVD's in 4:3 full screen is gradually going by the wayside, even for classic TV series like Ozzie & Harriet.

I recently bought the Perry Mason DVD's, all 9 seasons, I found a good deal on ebay for the original, half season releases. Thankfully all of those are formatted in 4:3 full screen.

[24/7 reruns]

Hey folks, I'm new to this for posting but have read the boards for years. Some have mentioned issues with the formating on the new Ozzie and Harriet dvds. I didn't notice any problems. I have a Sony HD TV and Sony Blu-ray player. On my TV the image format can he adjusted. In this case I didn't have to do that.
So maybe for those experiencing format issues you may want to check your TV settings.

Also no one has mentioned that the first 2 seasons are available digitally at the Google Play Store. $20 for standard definition and $24 for HD.

[stevea]

Welcome, and thanks for the tips!

[1960'sTVfan]

I don't like DVD's that are not formatted in full screen and will not purchase further seasons of Ozzie & Harriet from MPI. It's an unfortunate situation but it's alright and I can live without this series. Thankfully, these Ozzie & Harriet DVD's are an outlier and all the other classic TV DVD's I have are properly formatted in 4:3 full screen.

However, this Ozzie & Harriet debacle from MPI has made me cautious of future classic TV DVD releases and if something else is released that I would be interested in, I will have to verify first if the discs are full screen formatted before proceeding with any purchase.

[24/7 reruns]

Hi 1960's TV fan. Have you bought either season set yet. For me I didn't see any format issues. All episodes were 4x3. On my Sony HD TV which has a 16x9 screen the only black bars are on the left and right. No bars top and bottom.

I'm thinking some people may have to check their TV's settings. I know there are times when a channel chooses to wreck the formating of a show. Boomerang and Cartoon Network for example chooses to stretch out 4x3 content to fit 16x9. Luckily I'm able to reformat the image via the settings on my TV. I just have to remember to reset things when changing channels. Similar adjustments might be needed when viewing a DVD or Blu-ray disc.

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by 24/7 reruns

Hi 1960's TV fan. Have you bought either season set yet. For me I didn't see any format issues. All episodes were 4x3. On my Sony HD TV which has a 16x9 screen the only black bars are on the left and right. No bars top and bottom.

I'm thinking some people may have to check their TV's settings. I know there are times when a channel chooses to wreck the formating of a show. Boomerang and Cartoon Network for example chooses to stretch out 4x3 content to fit 16x9. Luckily I'm able to reformat the image via the settings on my TV. I just have to remember to reset things when changing channels. Similar adjustments might be needed when viewing a DVD or Blu-ray disc.

Hello, looks like you are new to this forum so welcome aboard. I still use a CRT style type of TV and with these season 1 and 2 Ozzie & Harriet DVD's from MPI I get black bars on all four sides of the screen because the discs are not 4x3 full screen formatted. In my situation with a CRT TV, I don't think there is anything I can do to correct this. I've never owned a widescreen TV but from the way you describe, these sets have options built in where the user can adjust the picture size.

[24/7 reruns]

Oh. I guess there are limitations with older TVs. Does your DVD player have setting options? New TVs are not that expensive yet I'm not sure if that's an option for you. Does you computer have DVD playing capability? The season sets are also available as digital downloads from Google Play Store. Yet your TV couldn't play them. But a computer, tablet or smartphone could. I think I've run out of suggestions. Hope you find something that works for you.

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by 24/7 reruns

Oh. I guess there are limitations with older TVs. Does your DVD player have setting options? New TVs are not that expensive yet I'm not sure if that's an option for you. Does you computer have DVD playing capability? The season sets are also available as digital downloads from Google Play Store. Yet your TV couldn't play them. But a computer, tablet or smartphone could. I think I've run out of suggestions. Hope you find something that works for you.

Thanks for your suggestions but I have decided to forget these Ozzie & Harriet DVD's from MPI and not buy any more seasons since the discs are not full screen formatted. I don't want DVD's that are not formatted in full screen. I have many other DVD's of favorite classic TV shows that I can watch, sitcoms and dramas, all are full screen formatted so I won't miss not having Ozzie & Harriet.

[matt77b]

Loving these discs so far. Notably better than the quality on the old public domain and even the Shout! Factory discs. Kudos to Sam and everyone else who is finally getting this done.

I don't suppose the old DVD releases would fetch much on eBay? Although then again, I want to keep the first SF set because of the commentary on 4 eps by David & Sam (although, typifying what's wrong with that set, one of the eps they commented on was a badly chopped version of the famed "Tutti Frutti Ice Cream" ep!)

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by matt77b

Loving these discs so far. Notably better than the quality on the old public domain and even the Shout! Factory discs. Kudos to Sam and everyone else who is finally getting this done.

The DVD's are junk, episodes are not formatted in full screen. Classic TV is supposed to be full screen but MPI really screwed these up and I'm not buying any more seasons. I'm actually considering to take the season 1 and 2 DVD's that I purchased and toss them in the trash because I'm not watching garbage with black bars on the screen.

[CJ]

Originally Posted by 1960'sTVfan

The DVD's are junk, episodes are not formatted in full screen. Classic TV is supposed to be full screen but MPI really screwed these up and I'm not buying any more seasons. I'm actually considering to take the season 1 and 2 DVD's that I purchased and toss them in the trash because I'm not watching garbage with black bars on the screen.

As the saying goes, "One man's junk is another man's treasure!" In this case woman's treasure.

These season releases of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" are long over due and anything but "junk", as you call them. Especially to a true fan, which I am sure you are not.

In my O&H collection, I have just about every other DVD release of this show including multiple bootleg DVD sets that are out there. Yet this true fan is now the proud owner of the first 4 seasons with the next 2 seasons already on pre-order, and anxiously waiting for the announcement of when the next release will be.

Sure, there are minuscule issues. Primarily from film deterioration, especially from a few episodes I saw that have not seen the light of day in who knows how long. A few repeat episodes, here or there, when the original was lost or deteriorated and was gone forever.

Still using a CRT TV and having a smaller screen with black bars on all 4 sides is your choice, and your own personal limitation. And, while you are most definitely entitled to your own opinion, your set-up really does not make for a fair assessment to this great DVD set.

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by CJ

As the saying goes, "One man's junk is another man's treasure!" In this case woman's treasure.

These season releases of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" are long over due and anything but "junk", as you call them. Especially to a true fan, which I am sure you are not.

In my O&H collection, I have just about every other DVD release of this show including multiple bootleg DVD sets that are out there. Yet this true fan is now the proud owner of the first 4 seasons with the next 2 seasons already on pre-order, and anxiously waiting for the announcement of when the next release will be.

Sure, there are minuscule issues. Primarily from film deterioration, especially from a few episodes I saw that have not seen the light of day in who knows how long. A few repeat episodes, here or there, when the original was lost or deteriorated and was gone forever.

Still using a CRT TV and having a smaller screen with black bars on all 4 sides is your choice, and your own personal limitation. And, while you are most definitely entitled to your own opinion, your set-up really does not make for a fair assessment to this great DVD set.

If I wasn't a true Ozzie & Harriet fan, I wouldn't have bought the first two seasons DVD's. So don't tell me I'm not a true fan. I was really shocked when I found out the episodes are not full screen formatted, it's the last thing I expected from MPI and I figured it was safe to order this from them. I found out differently and I won't buy any more seasons.

I don't want classic TV DVD's that are not formatted in full screen. As I said in a previous post, I have many other DVD's of classic TV shows to watch, sitcoms and dramas, all in full screen so I won't miss not having Ozzie & Harriet. Sure it's a disappointment but I can live without it.

If you enjoy these DVD's despite the fact they're not formatted in full screen, then by all means go ahead and buy more seasons. The other drawback is that some episodes are rebroadcast versions but this probably couldn't be avoided because the originals of some episodes are probably lost.

I am glad that I still have CRT TV's and I hope they continue working otherwise I might have to break down and get one of these modern garbage TV's that are made today. I imagine having a CRT TV repaired is close to impossible now, not easy to find parts anymore.

[stevea]

If ANY TV goes out, buying a new one is the only option, IMO. Try finding a repair shop nowadays. I've been thru having to buy a new one recently when my first HDTV took a nosedive after a power hit (despite the surge protector).

What I don't understand is the MPI rationale to master these episodes in HD (and the letterbox thing, or black bars someplace, is one thing that happens when HD is shown on an SD source, which DVD is). I'm told by a friend that a Blu-Ray player shows black bars on the sides. MPI probably could have found a way to do full screen, since Time-Life did.

The easy thing would have been to issue the episodes on Blu-Ray, but their research may have shown that market is shrinking more than DVD. If that's the case, master the episodes in SD full screen.

But, in my view, nothing is perfect, and seeing all these episodes is enough of a treat to make me forget about the letterbox (yes, that's just me!). And, yes, I know that's inconsistent with my earlier posts.

I just received seasons 3 and 4 the other day--they are really zipping along, with seasons 5 and 6 coming in September.

[CJ]

Originally Posted by stevea

But, in my view, nothing is perfect, and seeing all these episodes is enough of a treat to make me forget about the letterbox (yes, that's just me!). And, yes, I know that's inconsistent with my earlier posts.

I just received seasons 3 and 4 the other day--they are really zipping along, with seasons 5 and 6 coming in September.

So true that nothing is perfect. However, it is really amazing and perfect that this is even happening. Such fun to be able to see so many "new" episodes that I have only read about and now to finally get to see them. They did not disappoint. Yes, they are zipping along and I am especially excited for S5 & S6 which will have several uncirculated episodes and start into Rick's singing years.