Columbia House DVD's VS. Paramount DVD's - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

bluthree · 09-30-2008, 06:43 PM

Hi I been thinking about buying I Love Lucy season 1-5 on DVD again. Yes I have all the episodes but there The Columbia House versions. I just have The Paramount version of season 6. As Columbia House never sent me any DVD's from season 6. I just wondering if The Paramount version looks better then The Columbia House versions? I never had any desire to buy the Paramount ones as I was happy with The Columbia House version. Of course now I wish I did not buy the show from Columbia House as now the season sets can be found now for $19.95 a piece. It was $19.95 a month for the Columbia House single versions. I always did think Columbia House was expensive. But at the time when Columbia House was offering I Love Lucy on DVD years ago it was exclusive. By the time the show did came out in store Columbia House was already sending me season 2 episodes. By the time Paramount released season 3 I already had all of season 3 before it was out in stores.
The thought never crossed my mind to buy the season sets. But now lately I been thinking about getting the box sets. I meen I do have the box set of season 6 and The Lucy Desi Cmedy Hr. I just thought it would be nice to have the other matching box sets. But I would have to think about it. If the episodes look nicer I may just do it. But maybe I should just save my money.

Benno123 · 09-30-2008, 09:31 PM

I read somewhere - maybe it was at Jamestown when Gregg Oppenheimer was there - that said that the prints of the shows used on CH's DVDs were the same as those on Paramount's DVDs. The first season was not remastered on both the store version and the CH version. Paramount also had extra bonus features available for season 4 which were left off of the original release - you had to call or send away for those. (Are the DVD's for that still available if you call?) My understanding is that the first season was finally remastered, and released, on the complete box set to look as sharp as the rest of the series does.

bluthree · 09-30-2008, 10:03 PM

I thought Columbia House did a great job with I Love Lucy on both VHS and DVD. Yeah I admit the quality on the season 1 DVD's that I have from them dont look the greatest on my 32" LCD. But the episodes are uncut so that's the important thing. Also I believe these and other shows that Columbia House did are now collectors items as they stopped doing there own DVD's. I assume they stopped some time after I recived the final volume from season 5? Like I said I never did get season 6 from them. I never even got a letter telling me that I was not going to be receiving any more I Love Lucy DVD's.
I know while I was memeber of there I Love Lucy club they use to send me update letters telling me that more I Love Lucy DVD's was in the works and will soon be showing up in my mail box. And I always got excited when one did show up.

Benno123 · 10-01-2008, 11:53 AM

Same here, I have the CH discs which I bought at the time. Do I wish I would have waited? I don't know, I think I wish the bonus features from the complete series set were available seperate more than anything. But my family has a summer home and slowly and surely, as I save some money to purchase the entire series on DVD, then I will just move those old CH discs to the summer place and keep a complete set of the series at both houses!

bluthree · 10-01-2008, 12:57 PM

I also have The Columbia House version of The complete Honeymooners on DVD. Columbia House did a great job with that show too.
Its nice to know that I have some collector items sitting on my DVD shelf.

Benno123 · 10-01-2008, 08:42 PM

Does the sound on "TV or Not TV" on The Honeymooners discs from CH sound as terrible as on the DVDs available in the stores? If not, then I may have to search out the CH discs on Ebay!

bluthree · 10-02-2008, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benno123

Does the sound on "TV or Not TV" on The Honeymooners discs from CH sound as terrible as on the DVDs available in the stores? If not, then I may have to search out the CH discs on Ebay!

Yeah the sound is terrible. The first episode sounds the worst thoe in my opinion. I have trouble hearing the actors talk. I have my Home Theater receiver crank to max and I still have trouble hearing the actors talk. Picture is pretty good thoe for its age.

Benno123 · 10-02-2008, 12:38 PM

I was curious if the same masters were used for the CH discs as for the ones available from Fox, or CBS or whoever released them in the stores. Right before they became available in the stores, around the 50th anniversary of the sketch (not the Classic 39) there was a special on Larry King with some of the actors and Paul Brownstein who said that all 39 shows has been remastered in HD. These were not the masters used for the DVD releases, they were the same as the VHS releases. Though my VHS copy of "TV or Not TV" sounds fine. Sometimes you have to wonder .....

09-30-2008, 06:43 PM	#1
bluthree Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 23, 2007 Location: New London MO Posts: 362	Columbia House DVD's VS. Paramount DVD's Hi I been thinking about buying I Love Lucy season 1-5 on DVD again. Yes I have all the episodes but there The Columbia House versions. I just have The Paramount version of season 6. As Columbia House never sent me any DVD's from season 6. I just wondering if The Paramount version looks better then The Columbia House versions? I never had any desire to buy the Paramount ones as I was happy with The Columbia House version. Of course now I wish I did not buy the show from Columbia House as now the season sets can be found now for $19.95 a piece. It was $19.95 a month for the Columbia House single versions. I always did think Columbia House was expensive. But at the time when Columbia House was offering I Love Lucy on DVD years ago it was exclusive. By the time the show did came out in store Columbia House was already sending me season 2 episodes. By the time Paramount released season 3 I already had all of season 3 before it was out in stores. The thought never crossed my mind to buy the season sets. But now lately I been thinking about getting the box sets. I meen I do have the box set of season 6 and The Lucy Desi Cmedy Hr. I just thought it would be nice to have the other matching box sets. But I would have to think about it. If the episodes look nicer I may just do it. But maybe I should just save my money.

09-30-2008, 09:31 PM	#2
Benno123 Jenna Fischer Rocks My World!! Senior Member Join Date: Nov 01, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,036	I read somewhere - maybe it was at Jamestown when Gregg Oppenheimer was there - that said that the prints of the shows used on CH's DVDs were the same as those on Paramount's DVDs. The first season was not remastered on both the store version and the CH version. Paramount also had extra bonus features available for season 4 which were left off of the original release - you had to call or send away for those. (Are the DVD's for that still available if you call?) My understanding is that the first season was finally remastered, and released, on the complete box set to look as sharp as the rest of the series does.

09-30-2008, 10:03 PM	#3
bluthree Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 23, 2007 Location: New London MO Posts: 362	I thought Columbia House did a great job with I Love Lucy on both VHS and DVD. Yeah I admit the quality on the season 1 DVD's that I have from them dont look the greatest on my 32" LCD. But the episodes are uncut so that's the important thing. Also I believe these and other shows that Columbia House did are now collectors items as they stopped doing there own DVD's. I assume they stopped some time after I recived the final volume from season 5? Like I said I never did get season 6 from them. I never even got a letter telling me that I was not going to be receiving any more I Love Lucy DVD's. I know while I was memeber of there I Love Lucy club they use to send me update letters telling me that more I Love Lucy DVD's was in the works and will soon be showing up in my mail box. And I always got excited when one did show up.

10-01-2008, 11:53 AM	#4
Benno123 Jenna Fischer Rocks My World!! Senior Member Join Date: Nov 01, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,036	Same here, I have the CH discs which I bought at the time. Do I wish I would have waited? I don't know, I think I wish the bonus features from the complete series set were available seperate more than anything. But my family has a summer home and slowly and surely, as I save some money to purchase the entire series on DVD, then I will just move those old CH discs to the summer place and keep a complete set of the series at both houses!

10-01-2008, 12:57 PM	#5
bluthree Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 23, 2007 Location: New London MO Posts: 362	I also have The Columbia House version of The complete Honeymooners on DVD. Columbia House did a great job with that show too. Its nice to know that I have some collector items sitting on my DVD shelf.

10-01-2008, 08:42 PM	#6
Benno123 Jenna Fischer Rocks My World!! Senior Member Join Date: Nov 01, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,036	Does the sound on "TV or Not TV" on The Honeymooners discs from CH sound as terrible as on the DVDs available in the stores? If not, then I may have to search out the CH discs on Ebay!

10-02-2008, 12:38 PM	#8
Benno123 Jenna Fischer Rocks My World!! Senior Member Join Date: Nov 01, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,036	I was curious if the same masters were used for the CH discs as for the ones available from Fox, or CBS or whoever released them in the stores. Right before they became available in the stores, around the 50th anniversary of the sketch (not the Classic 39) there was a special on Larry King with some of the actors and Paul Brownstein who said that all 39 shows has been remastered in HD. These were not the masters used for the DVD releases, they were the same as the VHS releases. Though my VHS copy of "TV or Not TV" sounds fine. Sometimes you have to wonder .....