DVNR on VCI's Popeye set

[Fredrik]

I recently bought VCI's 2-DVD 75th anniversary Popeye collection, and must say that I am very disappointed in that what otherwise would have been an amazing set is ruined by heavy use of DVNR. Before I bought it I saw reviews that mentioned light DVNR that doesn't affect the picture much, so I figured it would be OK. Well, it's not! Basically anything that moves gets blurred out. It's particularly noticable on the three Technicolor two-reelers, which is a shame since they come from very nice prints and have recreated Paramount title cards. It gets completely ridiculous on the 1934 Popeye Sing-along (included as a hidden bonus) - you can hardly see the bouncing ball because it gets "cleaned" away whenever it bounces!

On the positive side, I enjoyed Jerry's commentary tracks.

I'm very surprised that VCI would put out a set like this, because I know they can do their stuff right, as with the Color Classics set. Maybe Jerry can shed some light on what has happened here? It would be great if VCI would consider producing a corrected version.

[Ray Pointer]

This has only been out for two years. Glad you are catching up there in Finland.:sailor:

[Fredrik]

This has only been out for two years. Glad you are catching up there in Finland.:sailor:

Hmm. Not sure what your point is, but no, I ordered it from amazon, no chance finding it in stores in Finland. In fact, with the new copyright law that was recently passed here, it would be illegal to import it for resale, since it has not been released on the European market. (Crazy but true.) But this is off-topic.

[MarkTheShark]

I recently bought VCI's 2-DVD 75th anniversary Popeye collection, and must say that I am very disappointed in that what otherwise would have been an amazing set is ruined by heavy use of DVNR. Before I bought it I saw reviews that mentioned light DVNR that doesn't affect the picture much, so I figured it would be OK. Well, it's not! Basically anything that moves gets blurred out. It's particularly noticable on the three Technicolor two-reelers, which is a shame since they come from very nice prints and have recreated Paramount title cards. It gets completely ridiculous on the 1934 Popeye Sing-along (included as a hidden bonus) - you can hardly see the bouncing ball because it gets "cleaned" away whenever it bounces!

On the positive side, I enjoyed Jerry's commentary tracks.

I'm very surprised that VCI would put out a set like this, because I know they can do their stuff right, as with the Color Classics set. Maybe Jerry can shed some light on what has happened here? It would be great if VCI would consider producing a corrected version.

This is the second place I have read of the "Let's Sing With Popeye" thing being on there as an "Easter Egg." I know, this doesn't have to do with your complaints about DVNR, but can you give me some clues as to how to find it? I tried looking for it and had no luck. No equivalent of "Mickey's hat changing color," or anything like that.

[Fredrik]

This is the second place I have read of the "Let's Sing With Popeye" thing being on there as an "Easter Egg." I know, this doesn't have to do with your complaints about DVNR, but can you give me some clues as to how to find it? I tried looking for it and had no luck. No equivalent of "Mickey's hat changing color," or anything like that.

It's title number 13. I've no idea how to find it through the menus, I always go through my DVDs title for title on my computer to make sure I don't miss anything. (Sometimes even things that aren't supposed to be easter eggs can be difficult / nonobvious to find otherwise, if the menus are poorly designed.)

[absolutpaul]

That easter egg never worked for me.

[Geezil]

1) in Disc One main menu, click on the down arrow to Commentaries

2) from Commentaries, click on right arrow

3) toot-toot! :D

hope that does it for one and all this round.

Geezil

[Steve Stanch]

For the Thunderbean DVD (now released by Mackianc Media) , we were careful not to DVNR the cartoons. Check out "Popeye Original Classics" also for great copies of the color specials (plus 'sing along with popeye' and lots more bonus stuff (then again, most of you folks already know about this disk!)...

[absolutpaul]

I was told how to find the easter egg before, but it just doesn't work. On either of my DVD players or on my computer. Oh well..

[Patrick McCart]

I got the VCI set by mistake, with the intention of buying the Thunderbean/Mackinac set! It's not bad, but I really don't like the DVNR and non-progressive video. Thankfully, I only paid $9, I think.

[Lee Glover]

I have that very set, and I'm really disappointed with the DVNR-ing of the cartoons. The worse affected is "Fright To The Finish". where the characters tend to "half-disappear" in the fast-moving scenes (they're VERY easy to spot). I know that VCI is a small company with a limited budget, and has used DVNR with the best of intentions, but surely they would have realised that that version (at least) looks far worse than its original state. It does spoil what is otherwise one of the best Popeye DVDs available (Thunderbean's DVD is by far the best).