Search - Robotech Remastered - Volume 1 Extended Edition on DVD

SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM...

E. Kim | South Korea | 06/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With a stroke of success in the 80's, the Robotech: Macross series still has a place for many fans today and shares a strong cult following. Being a fan of the series as a kid, I decided to buy the whole Robotech: Macross series, but I came across the overwelming amount of editions to the series. I didn't know which to buy, so I watched them all. Here are the differences between to different boxsets (all offered through Amazon):Robotech: the Complete Macross Series
One Boxset: 6 discSells for around $60-$65
Nothing special, picture quality is not great, but bearable. Comes in one compact boxset with all the disc in it. Would not reccomend getting this edition unless you just want a copy of the series and want to spend the least possible amount of money.Robotech: The Legacy Collection: Macross Saga (Collections 1-3)
Three Boxsets: with 3 disc in each
Sells for around $40 each boxset, entire set around $120-$130
Same picture quality as the above set, but with addtional features. Comes with the most extras out of any current sets, but even then, they are so-so. I would actually recommend getting the above edition as I was not impressed with the extras, some were interesting, but it definately didn't justify the price. Your paying almost twice the price. Robotech Remastered: The Macross Saga (Volumes 1-3)
Three Boxsets: Two disc each boxset
Sells for around $25 each boxset, entire set around $75-$80
Remastered picture quality superior to both sets above, sound quality much improved. This is the set that I would recommend. The price is affordable and well worth the extra money compared to the first set. Also includes a few bonus footage. Macross: Super Dimensional Fortress (Sets 1-3)
Three Boxsets: Three discs each boxset
Sells for around $60-$70 each boxset, entire series around $180-200
Macross is the original Japanese series of the Robotech: Macross Saga. The storyline is slightly different with different music and sounds. When it was brought to the US, Harmony Gold added the Macross material with two other Japanese series to make Robotech. Macross is more "mature" and includes several scenes taken out of Robotech. Picture quality is even more crisp than the Remastered Series. I would reccomend only to die-hard Robotech fans. It's pretty expensive and lacks really any real extra features."

Robotech Remastered: a little bit better than before

Zagnorch | Terra, Sol System | 01/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Oh, for the love of God-- don't tell me I've become the victim of yet ANOTHER deplorable DVD double-dip ploy (check out my gripe about this annoying phenomenon at [another review])?! It wasn't enough that Harmony Gold & ADV got me to buy the Legacy Collection DVD box sets, now they gotta throw out all-new platters with a souped-up sound mix and "new" footage in an avaricious effort to get me to buy the same thing twice (almost)?! Well, looks like their efforts succeeded, 'cuz I just hadda pick this up to see what the fuss was all about...The main attraction of this "new-&-improved" edition is the inclusion of some "new" footage that was originally edited out of the original Macross show 'cuz it was considered less than appropriate for the American kidvid audience at the time. The extra bits in this particular collection consist primarily of Minmei's keister (both clothed and bare), a scene extension featuring Hikaru Ichi-- er, I mean Rick Hunter's marksmanship with a Zentraedi-sized laser pistol, and a soft-bordered Rick Hunter flashback that pops up during his first flight and combat in a Veritech fighter. Otherwise, not much else in the way of visuals has been thrown back into the mix. Well, except for the redone opening and closing credits, which contains new typeface and more Macross footage to replace the excised Southern Cross and New Generation bits. 'Course, if you've seen the original Macross show that the first act of Robotech is based on (which I highly recommend if you haven't seen it yet--the first set's available for purchase at [Amazon.com]), the added scenes won't be all that new to ya, anyway...My biggest disappointment with this set was the remastered video, which displayed inconsistent picture quality throughout the presentation. While some parts were reasonably sharp and bright, much of the footage was a bit grainy and muddy. In fact, some of the lowest quality video looked worse than what was seen in the previous DVD release! Apparently Harmony Gold was unable to acquire the footage that AnimEigo painstakingly cleaned and restored for the aforementioned Macross DVD sets, and had to go with the best of what they had on hand... which apparently wasn't all that great.This collection's one truly extensive improvement is the sound mix, which has been nicely remastered in 5.1 channel stereo. Most of the sound effects have been totally redone, especially the various explosion and space fold noises. The only downside to the new explosions is that they're not too varied. Most of 'em sound like crumbling rocks and masonry-- noises that a metal spaceship most likely doesn't make when it's gettin' blasted to bits. Other sounds have been "boosted" for better auditory perception. The most noticeable examples of this enhanced audio are the background noises that play during the "battle stations" scenes on the SDF-1's bridge. But the best audio improvement of all is the remastered voice track: they fixed it so that it stands out reasonably well from the background sounds, thus making the dialogue more comprehensible.As for bonus material and special features-- well, aside from trailers for other ADV anime videos and a foil pack of glossy trading cards, there ain't any on either platter. Looks like you'll hafta hang on to those 'Elements of Robotechnology' bonus discs that came with the Legacy Collection box sets if you've a hankerin' for supplemental material...'Late"

Better for Big Screen

Robotek | Alexandria, VA | 06/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well for starters I'm a total Robotech fanatic (as if my alias didn't say it) so I have purchased the Remastered and the Legacy collection DVDs. I must admit at first I was skeptical about getting these as I really had no reason to since I already owned the whole collection. Then I kept reading that the difference wasn't that great. Guess what? Those reviews are one of 2 things. 1) Wrong or 2) those people watch TV on small TVs. The Legacy collection while already complete and having the bonus material looked horrible on my 53" which was rather upseting once I bought the TV. But I just received the Remastered DVDs a few days ago and the difference is absolutely unbelievable. The colors for starters are much sharper and brighter. The quality just looks more like something that should be on DVD while the Legacy looked just like the original airing, which looks like VHS quality(fuzzy). Besides those upgrades it looks fantastic on my 53" Widescreen which the Legacy did not (I had to set it to 4:3 to make it bearable). And to top it off a 5.1 Surround Sound upgrade. Life is good. I would recommend this set to anyone who loves Robotech. And for those who don't care about the extra features or who are trying to decide between the 2, I'd say go Remastered! Especially for those w/ big screens."

Buyer Beware

Ratspit | California, United States | 02/10/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I strongly recommend that you read through some of the positive and negative reviews here before buying this "Remastered Edition" of the Harmony Gold Robotech series. If your thinking this is going to play exactly how your memory of it is when we beat it home from school back in the 80's to catch this great show on tv, FORGET IT. This is a jazzed up version, well intended probably, but unnecessary IMHO. I was very impressed by the show when it came to America, I even went to a Robotech convention back in the day, met Carl Macek, had a Robotech t-shirt, stuff, etc. I wanted the preservation of the show as it played, as I remembered it, with the same opening, etc. That is why I bought all the first issues of Robotech on dvd with the arrival of the "Legacy Collection" box sets. Later, they were re-released without the fancy extra special features discs. That second release is known as "The Complete Collection" series. That is the one to get if you want things as they originally were shown without any tinkering around. I recommend getting it while you still can. This new release is a tinkered around version and another way for the film company to get more cash. Granted, there are pluses and minuses to this new tinkered with the series, but I'd recommend it for the serious collector only. The original series as shown and as released on dvd holds up just fine and is spectacular. Don't be deceived about that. It's great. And, when tinkering around with sound and visuals with a series this old, it can be rather difficult to make the tinkering not stand out. If it works, don't screw around with it. The Harmony Gold vision of Robotech works just fine as originally aired and released to dvd."