Search - Robotech Remastered - Volume 4 Extended Edition on DVD

Disappointing Quality after Vols. 1-3

Dr. Sam Beckett | Huntsville, AL USA | 08/03/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

""The Macross Saga," released as Robotech Remastered volumes 1-3, was simply stunning. The restored video, restored and re-recorded audio, additional footage, new credit sequences, and other details made for one perfectly polished product. I was impressed that such quality could come from a 20+ year old series.

With "The Masters" (starting with this, Volume 4), Harmony Gold and ADV Films have dropped the ball. The picture and sound are certainly better than the original airing of 20 years ago. However, the video contains noticeable artifacts, and seems occassionally out of focus. The audio is somewhat flatter than volumes 1-3, and the new sound effects sound redundant. Every so often, the spoken dialog appears out-of-sync with the video. Furthermore, episode titles are *missing* from a random 50% of the episodes.

Not to mention, I totally agree with the previous review, regarding the lack of deleted footage beyond token nudity.

These issues are INEXCUSABLE for a "remastered" edition. Especially given HG's and ADV's apparent ability, from volumes 1-3, to produce a quality DVD product.

If you must have "The Masters" on DVD, then this is unfortunately your best option. Just be prepared for disappointment compared to the previous Remastered volumes.
"

Excellent picture, but not much else going for it

Garrett Aja | North Las Vegas, NV | 09/07/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"With the exception of a certain number of films in the public domain, Robotech is easily the most released DVDs you'll ever see. First, we have the Legacy sets, which include a hit-and-miss set of special features to go along with the episodes in the series. Next came the individual episode discs from the Legacy collections. Then, it was three "complete saga" editions that put the Macross, Masters, and New Generation sagas in complete sets, minus any special features. And now, currently, we have the Robotech Remastered collections, which see the series restored and given a new 5.1 mix. However, since the Robotech edit decision lists have been lost, Harmony Gold decided to throw in some of the stuff that wasn't acceptable for TV in the mid-'80s.

Having been unimpressed with the "restored" video on the first Remastered set (which wasn't sourced from the exhaustive re-masters of Macross since rights to that footage belong to another DVD company), I was a bit wary of this set when purchasing it. However, thankfully, ADV *does* have rights to the restored Southern Cross (and Mospaeda, for that matter) video, so the video is much improved over the previous set I had purchased. However, there are some problems, many of which are very widely known, it would seem (at least based on the Amazon reviews).

Firstly, the 5.1 mix isn't all it's cracked up to be. While similar re-mixing efforts have been largely faithful to the original programs (i.e., merely boosting certain elements of the audio while creating a surround-sound effect), the re-mix on the Robotech Remasters is downright annoying in my mind. Also, title cards (which are new and improved over the original broadcast versions) are oddly missing in some episodes. I'm no fan of the Masters/Southern Cross-specific openings, as they seem more obsessed with hiding the more embarrassing aspects of the extremely dated Southern Cross opening (which also includes a character that never even appeared in the Southern Cross series) than creating the interest in the show that the original opening and the Macross-specific opening managed to excellently convey. Also, there are some artifacting issues, as well as some audio sych issues, implying that this set was hastily mastered to DVD. Finally, the extra footage this time around is nothing more than the restoration of Southern Cross' rather excessive nudity of Dana Sterling (Jeanne Francaix in the Japanese original)-a highly questionable move, truth be told.

While the video *is* excellent, owners of the prior Legacy box sets shouldn't be in a rush to sell off those collections for the Remastered sets. Even worse, with Dana's nude body as the only additional footage, one can't help but feel like a pervert if one expects to cheer for the much-hyped additional footage. Therefore, this set is best purchased by seasoned Robotech fans, with the corresponding Legacy collecion existing as the best choice for everyone else."

Major DVD authoring problems on this relaese

Samuel Benezet | Las Vegas, NV USA | 08/29/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The second half of episode 27 has audio that is a couple seconds out of synch.

Also, there is serious macroblocking taking place throughout episodes 46 and 47.

I've tried two different discs in three different players, with the exact same results. Users of the forums at Robotech.com have also acknowledged the problem.

On top of this, the production is rather shoddy. More than half the episodes on this relaese are missing their title cards.

And for all the effort that went into restoring several "nude" scenes of heroine Dana Sterling (the only new footage you will find in these episodes), couldn't they have also restored the shot of Dana ripping her dress at the end of episode 42? That might have, maybe, like... helped to restore the lame epilogue of that episode into something that at least made (partial) sense?

(as it is, you'll have to by the non-Robotech version Souther Cross series to understand why Marie/Mary and Nova/Lana are smirking in the final shot)"