TMNT 1987 returning to digital stores for purchase

[Zulithe]

Season 1 and 2 for sale on Amazon and iTunes and featuring some new splash art. The episodes are still in SD from what I can tell. So as expected, the "HD" episodes we are seeing elsewhere are just upscales.





Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Tracks/dp/B0CBB8CJT8/

iTunes https://tv.apple.com/us/show/teenage...o8tvy4r5yvnobr

VUDU - Has season 1 and 2, the other seasons are also listed but currently can't be purchased.

And here is the current pricing



Personally I've been wanting to add the to my iTunes collection since that is where I have almost everything now. But it is probably best to wait until all 10 seasons are out and they collect them into a 'complete' collection where you will get a better deal.

[IMJ]

If they allowed the ability to download these and have them reside on your own hard drive then that would be pretty cool......

[Roseangelo]

Originally Posted by IMJ

If they allowed the ability to download these and have them reside on your own hard drive then that would be pretty cool......

I really wish they would figure this out. I am over owning physical media in 99% of cases. I have no problem buying MP3s that I own and can put on my hard drive and any device that I own. I will never "buy" a license for digital video.

[Coola Yagami]

-looks over at his TMNT DVD collection- eh, I'm good. Maybe re-release em on BluRay more in order?

[CyberCubed]

Why are they still putting out eps in the same quality as the old Lionsgate releases? They finally have the chance to put out new remasters of these episodes.

[Zulithe]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Why are they still putting out eps in the same quality as the old Lionsgate releases? They finally have the chance to put out new remasters of these episodes.

I'm sure it's as simple as looking at what the potential sales would be, which they can extrapolate fairly accurately I'm sure, and determining if it's worth the costs for them. And apparently it wasn't. That's assuming they have access to some kind of tapes with better quality anyway.

Originally Posted by IMJ

If they allowed the ability to download these and have them reside on your own hard drive then that would be pretty cool......

pretty sure you can depending on the provider. for example with itunes you can download them, but you can only play them in itunes (or possibly quicktime, if you have it installed, but i haven't tried that in a while so not sure if they fixed that work around.) The reason the quicktime trick is nice is because you can still take screenshots in quicktime so it bypasses any DRM that usually blacks out the full video when you press the screenshot button.

Digital lets you very quickly pull up an episode, or a moment in an episode, with no dealing with discs. Plus on a lot of devices that don't have dvd drives. But with, of course, its own trade-offs... everyone can decide which is best for their use case if you ask me.

[oldmanwinters]

Looks like the VUDU listings are reactivated pages of the same versions that had previously been listed (I purchased all 10 seasons there some years ago).

Some of the episode descriptions might have been revised for the Amazon and iTunes listings.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Roseangelo

I really wish they would figure this out. I am over owning physical media in 99% of cases. I have no problem buying MP3s that I own and can put on my hard drive and any device that I own. I will never "buy" a license for digital video.

Yup. Honestly it should be simple - you pay for it, you get to download it and watch it and own it as a video file without keys. Exactly like a DVD, but without the disc.

And just like having a Blu-Ray player is on the consumer, it is also on the consumer to have the storage or Home Media Server to let your files reside on.

But they won't do it.

Originally Posted by Zulithe

pretty sure you can depending on the provider. for example with itunes you can download them, but you can only play them in itunes (or possibly quicktime, if you have it installed, but i haven't tried that in a while so not sure if they fixed that work around.)

Right, but that's not "downloaded and functional" if you are locked into a proprietary system. Basically the conversation as Roseangelo and I were having it above is the only answer as I see it.

In short, make movies the same utility as downloadable music files (mp3, FLAC, etc).

[Sumac]

Stupid question, but there were HD versions of the FW episodes?

[Zulithe]

Originally Posted by Sumac

Stupid question, but there were HD versions of the FW episodes?

On the official TMNT YouTube. I'm not sure if the Paramount+ stream outputs them as HD, but regardless the video quality is not HD, it's not even a proper upscale.

I think it would be interesting if someone took some of the best rips we have available, like from the DVD copies, and run them through something like Topaz and see how good they can get it to look. I wonder how much better it can potentially look than the copies that are currently being streamed and sold in SD quality.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Roseangelo

I am over owning physical media in 99% of cases.

Yeah, most DVD cases are terrible nowadays too. They cut out half the plastic just so they can make a recycle logo and virtue-signal about saving the planet. All it does is just make me want to toss the case that's probably already broken before I open it into the trash!

[teacher fan]

Paramount Plus just recently advertised that Ninja Turtles 1987 Seasons 1+2 will be coming to their streaming service in the middle of next month.

So it looks like they're going to releasing the old seasons slowly. Put them on commercial based services first (like the old days of TV), make them available to buy digitally, and then make them part of the Paramount Plus service (1-2 seasons at a time).

[Sumac]

Originally Posted by Zulithe

On the official TMNT YouTube. I'm not sure if the Paramount+ stream outputs them as HD, but regardless the video quality is not HD, it's not even a proper upscale.

I don't think YouTube HD counts as a proper HD.
I meant something more like "restored and cleaned up" versions.

[Zulithe]

Season 4 is now up on retailers, with some new key art

Strangely... no Season 3 yet? Any theories as to why?



Also, the new theme song is on streaming platforms such as Spotify. They are calling it "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme (Remastered 2023)" So... take that for how you will.

https://open.spotify.com/track/44VMN...5450139b54416f

[CyberCubed]

I don't know how they're so incompetent in uploading a show from like 30 years ago now.

[Zulithe]

Season, uhh, 8? Now up on iTunes. This rollout is so inconsistent.

[oldmanwinters]

I've noticed that most episode descriptions are different now that the show has been been re-released digitally. And usually not for the better, most are a single sentence that sound like somebody watched about a minute or two of the episode and just posted a though. Anybody think the new summaries might have been written by artificial intelligence?

Take Season 2 for example...

Original Descriptions copied from my previously-purchased set on VUDU:

01. Return of the Shredder
Sep 30, 1988
Shredder returns from Dimension X and sets out to frame the turtles with a group of thugs dressed as them while Dr. Baxter Stockman uses the Ultimate Rat Catcher on Master Splinter.

02. The Incredible Shrinking Turtles
Oct 7, 1988
The turtles seek out the fragments of the eye of Sarnoth, a crystal with unimaginable power. After finding the first fragment, Shredder steals it and uses it to shrink the turtles. Now Splinter and April must intervene.

03. It Came From Beneath The Sewers
Oct 14, 1988
After discovering that a mutant plant has had its growth accelerated by the first fragment of the Eye of Sarnoth, Shredder unleashes it on the city to attack the Turtles. Meanwhile, April is lured into a trap by Shredder, and is immediately captured. However, the Turtles disguise themselves as pizza delivery boys and free her, though Shredder escapes, again, with the fragment, while the Turtles must destroy the mutant plant that is wreaking havoc on the city.

04. The Mean Machines
Oct 21, 1988
Upon finding the second fragment of the Eye of Sarnoth, Shredder uses it as a power source for a supercomputer named Omnis, in the hopes of opening a portal to Dimension X. Meanwhile, the Turtles must deal with machines that suddenly go haywire all over the city.

05. Curse of The Evil Eye
Oct 28, 1988
Shredder completes the eye of Sarnoth, attaches it to his helmet, and plans to unleash its power on the world. However, when the Turtles intervene, the helmet falls into other hands.

06. The Case Of The Killer Pizzas
Nov 14, 1988
Shredder & Baxter Stockman switch meatballs on some pizzas, used as prizes in a contest, with some weird alien eggs from Dimension X. The Turtles must battle the Xenomorph-like creatures that hatch from the eggs in order to save the city.

07. Enter the Fly
Nov 11, 1988
Shredder gets Bebop and Rocksteady back as his henchmen in exchange for Baxter. When Krang tries to exterminate him, a freak accident occurs turning him into a mutant fly.

08. Splinter No More
Dec 16, 1988
Donatello devises a cure to make Master Splinter human again. Meanwhile, Shredder plans to open a gate to Dimension X.

09. Teenagers From Dimension X
Dec 23, 1988
The Neutrinos return to Earth after hearing in on the plan of Krang and Shredder to get rid of the turtles via brain-drain. Shredder finds interest in their Starmobile's ability to open dimension portals and tries to get his hands on it, and meanwhile the turtles try to get the Starmobile's main energy source running again.

10. Invasion of the Punk Frogs
Nov 18, 1988
The turtles deal with four mutant frogs who are now under Shredder's command and also deal with a group of anti-mutant enforcers.

11. New York's Shiniest
Dec 9, 1988
A robot cop, Rex-1, helps April and the Turtles defeat an evil army of robot cops under the control of Shredder.


12. The Cat Woman of Channel Six
Dec 25, 1988
A freak accident from a transporter turns April into a cat-woman. Irma meets TMNT in order to rescue her.


13. Return of the Technodrome
Dec 2, 1988
While Splinter goes out on a retreat, the turtles must try to stop the Technodrome from returning to Earth.

New Descriptions copied from Amazon Prime Video:

S2 E1 - Return of the Shredder
September 30, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
Shredder trains students at the Slash-for-Cash Dojo for a Crooked Ninja Turtles Gang.

S2 E2 - The Incredible Shrinking Turtles
October 7, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
The amphibians search for the segments of the powerful crystal Eye of Sarnoth.

S2 E3 - It Came from Beneath the Sewers
October 14, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
The Turtles are attacked by a huge alien plant that is making New York into a jungle.

S2 E4 - The Mean Machines
October 21, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
Shredder hooks up a fragment of the Eye to the computer OMNUS.

S2 E5 - Curse of the Evil Eye
October 28, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
Shredder is in control of the Eye of Sarnoth, enabling him to transmute matter.

S2 E6 - Case of the Killer Pizzas
November 4, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
The Turtles' favorite food, pizza, is the source of their problem.

S2 E7 - Enter: The Fly
November 11, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
Shredder sends April a rare duko plant that renders her unconscious.

S2 E8 - Invasion of the Punk Frogs
November 18, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
Mutagen changes four Florida frogs into half-human creatures four and a half feet tall.

S2 E9 - Splinter No More
November 25, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
Donatello finds a way of changing back Splinter the rat to Yoshi the man.

S2 E10 - New York's Shiniest
December 2, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
Shredder taps into New York's computers to steal plans for robots.


S2 E11 - Teenagers from Dimension X
December 9, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
Neutrino teens alert the Turtles to Shredder's plan to make "mindless zombies" of the Turtles.

S2 E12 - The Catwoman from Channel 6
December 16, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
A matter transporter results in strange happenings including a tiger chasing the Turtles.

S2 E13 - Return of the Technodrome
December 23, 1988
22min
TV-Y7
Shredder is instructed to take over the Niagara Falls hydroelectric station.

[Zulithe]

Yeah they are trying to reduce the number of words... who knows why though. Shouldn't really be necessary these days as the technology we use is very adaptive so there's fewer technical limitations that would require the descriptions to be shortened so drastically.

In the old days of TV guide and early digital cable boxes, the descriptions were often insanely truncated to fit on screen right or on a tiny page of paper. These days though? No need for that.

[Zulithe]

Another update, I've been checking digital storefronts once a week or so and last time I checked there were still some missing seasons.

Well today I checked and now all 10 seasons are available digitally for purchase once again



Now it would be nice if they would do a complete series bundle like they have done for the other turtle toon shows, so you can get it at a much more reasonable price. Or wait for a sale, when you can probably get all 10 seasons in said bundle for maybe around 25 bucks, as that's the price the other shows were at various times

[TigerClaw]

Are the digital versions in better quality then the DVD? Since Paramount got the rights, You would think they would have access to the masters, and clean them up so that they look good on modern TVs.