For Elvis CD Collectors

I've seen the artwork a while back on this site, but is there an official
release date for these much anticipated DVDs?

Thanking in advance!

Regards,
Buffalo Wings

November 21st.

Tom

What about the UK?!

Haven't heard a thing about Region 2 releases, as of yet.

Tom

Thank you Tom!

Regards,
Buffalo Wings

This is a MUST-BUY -- the Presley item of the year.

Buffalo, let's pick up this topic in a month and hope that we have nothing but joyful comments to make.

I agree wholeheartedly Dr. J!

Regards,
Buffalo Wings

I think its gonna be put back till January.

Sean,
What's your source on this??

Tom

Really hope it gets a UK release. Although I'll pick up the US version if not Can't wait for this one.

here's the press release.


http://www.elvis.com/news/full_story.asp?id=1115

And just to be a completist, there's another one here:

http://www.rerunmedia.tv/elvis.html



-Kevin

Kevin -

The LFVI technology you've brought out is going to revolutionize vintage TV reissues on DVD. I remain totally impressed and greatly excited at future releases using LFVI.

And I cannot WAIT for November 21 -- that's a Tuesday, folks.

Rock on!

What's also great about this release, is we will get a sense of the crowd's anticipation waiting for Elvis, instead of only showing EP being introduced and then performing. The dynamics of these historic shows will be incredible!

so I guess they are going to do what they did with "great performances" and put three hours worth of material on 3 discs which could fit on one disc with bonus features 2 disc, of course "great performances" had NO bonus features which mean all three volumes could have fit on one disc,I guess they want to make as much money as they can...after all "great performances" only cost $60 for content that could have fit on 1 $15 disc......or with bonus features fit on a $30 2 disc set....

Personally, I think $29.95 is a very good price for this collection, when you stop to consider that so many acts in the shows had to have their music re-cleared and re-licensed for the home video release. And that runs into **big** money, really quickly!

Take a look here, if you want to see what I referring to:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/cr ... 1001479708

Also, speaking as the guy who restored what you're going to see, let me say that I'm rather gratified that each show gets its own disc, if only because the presentation will have a much better bit rate than if they tried to cram it onto two discs (or *gasp*, a single disc). Because even when it's done professionally, the less lossy compression you have, the better your end product will be.

And actually, even though I've seen everything, I'm very much looking forward to seeing the packages on the shelves, come November 21st...!



-Kevin

Kevin

Are you hopeful that the remainder of Elvis' 50's and Sinatra TV appearances will also get the same treatment?????????

Lester

Well, I'm generally **hopeful**...

But to be serious, I think that a **lot** of the needed impetus for such a project is going to rest heavily with everyone who likes what they see when they look at the Sullivan discs, and who make their opinions **known**.

This means things like a) encouraging others to buy the set [because after all, no one in the industry ignores a successful project], and b) stating very matter-of-factly on internet message boards and in e-mails and other communications with DVD companies that you expect their classic television releases to come up to the same standard.

And I'm quite serious in my previous quotes about having permanently raised the bar for what classic TV fans can [and should!] expect from future home video releases of kinescoped material-- with the development of LiveFeed, there is now no longer any practical excuse for them to have to feel like they're watching old movies when they buy these releases.

So, that's the end of my naive sermon titled "How Things Should Be... and How I'm Trying to Make Them That Way"

But thanks for asking.

-Kevin

well I am sure omce we see the release there will be much discussion on the boards and elsewhere.

I wonder if the release will get a slot on the news - historical angle thing?? I HOPE that it will do well and that people buy the original.

The NTSC 3 Box set of the Great Performances features some Sullivan footage in STUNNING quality - will this be noticably better than that??

Well, according to everyone I've asked who's seen the shows... the answer is a resounding "yes".

Which would've been **my**answer, too, but I may be just a little biased, y'see...

-Kevin

Its hard to imagine an improvement on that Sullivan footage from that 3 DVD NTSC VERSION BOX SET. I can't wait.

Is there any chance of bringing forward the release to this Monday morning

Indeed. I think presenting these shows in their entirety adds tremendous context. Greil Marcus' astonishing -- as usual -- essay is written in the same vein.

And then there is Kevin's fantastic remastering.

I can't wait!

Hey Kevin - can you describe how these will look with the new process?

Did videotapes of the 1956 shows ever exist? Didn't Ampex bring out the first commercial/network VTR that year?

I understand only kinescopes exist which involves filming an actual TV screen!! What was the condition of the material you had to work with? Did the first generation films survive?

Filming a TV screen exposes scan lines and pixels and intruduces the curved distortion of the TV tube. Is your patented process able to remove all of this and even correct the curved tube distortion?

How long did the restoration process take?

Well, let me see if I can answer these in order:

1. Quite nice-- and they're streets ahead of the previous releases, in terms of both video AND audio... I think even some of the old-timers will be pleasantly surprised at the sound quality-- especially since there are few surprises I've thrown in here and there. The motion is fluid and lifelike and overall the impression is of a much more **involving** viewing experience. It doesn't take too much effort to feel as though you really **are** there, watching these shows as they aired live.

2. I'm told that CBS took delivery of their first Ampex Mark IV machines in early November of 1956 (their first confirmed on-air use was 11/30/56), so there's no chance that the first two Sullivan shows were ever taped by the network. It's **possible** that the 1/57 show might have taped for a delayed West Coast broadcast, but even if it was, the videotape does not appear to have survived. Tape stock was expensive and hard-to-get in the early days of the format, so tapes were almost always re-used immediately.

3. That is indeed how a kinescopes were made, though the film camera was specially synchronized, and the television monitor's tube had an exceptionally bright output. As to the source materials for this project, I worked with transfers of the best exisiting films in the Sullivan archives... and others, as it turned out. But without having seen the actual reels used, I wouldn't want to speculate on what was transferred from true 1st generation prints.

4. Actually, due to a variety of factors, there's a lot less of the line structure evident than you might think, otherwise, you'd see moire patterning in the transfers a lot more often. By and large, however, LiveFeed eliminates this artifacting.

As to curvilinear distortion, surprisingly, that isn't **always** introduced by the kinescoping process-- as it happens, I have a few dubs of vintage tapes that display this effect as the signal comes right off the video camera. Although LiveFeed itself doesn't address the effect, if it's severe enough, there are other methods that can be used to reverse the image distortion.

All told, sessions for the remastering took up varying lengths of time from March until early June.

Hope that answers things satisfactorily!

-Kevin

Kevin

I know that we will find this out soon enough but how does the sound compare to the Golden Box Set featuring Elvis' 50's TV appearances?

Is there anything you can compare the sound with? How much better will it be???