In a move that has delighted fans of classic science fiction, Warner Bros. Discovery has begun uploading full episodes of the iconic series Babylon 5 to YouTube, providing free access to the show just as it departs from the ad-supported streaming platform Tubi. The transition comes at a pivotal time for the series, which has […]
It was actually filmed in 16:9, but aired in 4:3. Strazinsky correctly predicted that 16:9 would be the future format. A 16:9 crop OF the 4:3 crop is criminal.
The CGI was done in 4:3 for budget reasons, so CGI and composite shots are only available in 4:3 (which then had to be cropped for 16:9 later on), which is why the CGI looks terrible. At least in the earlier seasons, afaik later on rights were acquired by some network that wanted 16:9 and so from that point forward CGI was also in 16:9
The CGI was supposed to be re-rendered for widescreen release but things went south with all that. A bunch of files were found though and someone has done them in 1080 widescreen and they look amazing. They’re on YouTube. Sadly I think they all got turned over to WB and have never been heard from since I don’t think.
When they were making the original 4:3 CGI, they thought that by the time a 16:9 release was desired, technology would have evolved enough that they’d want to re-render everything anyway.
I have heard that about Stargate, which is why modern remasters of Stargate SG-1 are in an uncropped 16:9, with more content onscreen than the original 4:3 run.
It was actually filmed in 16:9, but aired in 4:3. Strazinsky correctly predicted that 16:9 would be the future format. A 16:9 crop OF the 4:3 crop is criminal.
The CGI was done in 4:3 for budget reasons, so CGI and composite shots are only available in 4:3 (which then had to be cropped for 16:9 later on), which is why the CGI looks terrible. At least in the earlier seasons, afaik later on rights were acquired by some network that wanted 16:9 and so from that point forward CGI was also in 16:9
https://www.modeemi.fi/~leopold/Babylon5/DVD/DVDTransfer.html has lots of info and examples
The CGI was supposed to be re-rendered for widescreen release but things went south with all that. A bunch of files were found though and someone has done them in 1080 widescreen and they look amazing. They’re on YouTube. Sadly I think they all got turned over to WB and have never been heard from since I don’t think.
When they were making the original 4:3 CGI, they thought that by the time a 16:9 release was desired, technology would have evolved enough that they’d want to re-render everything anyway.
Indeed. And they certainly did want to. But as always, money.
That’s an excellent link, thank you!
I have heard that about Stargate, which is why modern remasters of Stargate SG-1 are in an uncropped 16:9, with more content onscreen than the original 4:3 run.
I love Stargate, but I don’t think I knew that. Cool!
Did they release the original 16:9 too?
That I don’t know. I believe the original DVD releases were still 4:3.
I seem to recall that the CGI effects were only rendered at 4:3, and with the original files lost there was no simple way to re-record them.
Ah that’s too bad. Thanks for the info.