Channels & viewing

[chlojo1]

Yes, the large catalog probably has something to do with streaming difficulties.  I also think with TCM and Criterion, the limited rotation catalog is about licensing issues.  With Classic Reel, the licensing of product may be a little dubious.  Notice how opening (and often end) logos are almost all chopped off from their movies.  And some movies they show have been sped up and/or heavily edited, while quality/resolution is all over the map.  So their saving grace is really the huge catalog (although they don't have Warner Bros or MGM classic movies at all and those make up the bulk of TCM's catalog) and since they charge such a low subscription fee, I'm happy to overlook the shortcomings, technical or otherwise, and keep watching.

[SouthPawPhlly]

To be perfectly honest with you, I haven't noticed any of the flaws with movies such as edited content or poor resolution, but then I have only been a subscriber for just over a month and have not seen many of the films because of the "loading" issues.  

I am also very ignorant of licensing of movies.  Public Domain I get but the licensing I have no idea how that works.  I guess I don't really care either.  Although, I have wondered how CR pulls it off with such low subscription fees.

I became a fan a Classic Reel because they have other films than what TCM offers.   I've been a fan of TCM since they went on the air in 1994 and have see the movies so many times that I've lost interest in the channel (with the exception of Noir Alley).   It also doesn't seem to be the same with the loss of Robert Osborne.

Well, I'm getting off the subject of the endless buffering except to say I hope CR gets the problem fixed quickly.

[chlojo1]

There is little overlap between TCM and Classic Reel because the bulk of Turner's catalog consists of classic Warner Bros, RKO and MGM movies.  On TV, they show a lot of titles from other studios (probably from short-term licensing) but not as many as Classic Reel, which seems to draw liberally from Universal, Columbia, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, UA and (strangely) Rank, but not the Turner catalog.  And since you're interested in noir, it just happens that Warner and MGM weren't that as big on noir output as the studios that CR relies heavily on.  Video quality on some of the recently added noir/noirish titles have been outstanding. In A Lonely Place and Violent Saturday look better on CR than anywhere else I've watched those titles.

That said, some of the Western and Adventure titles they offer fall short - sometimes literally with run times losing up to 20 minutes out of what are officially listed on IMDB.  Also a lot of pan-and-scan or 1:33 full-screen versions of what used to be widescreen epics.

As for poor quality noir titles, I have tried to watch Phantom Lady half a dozen times but never get past the 10 minute mark because of buffering.

[SouthPawPhlly]

I know what you mean about trying to watch a video.  I've tried to watch "Homicidal" a dozen times and haven't been able too.  Let's hope that this problem is resolved quickly.

I've given a lot of thought to what you have written.  I'm new to CR so I've not seen many of the movies because of the "loading" issue or it's a category that I  don't care for.

I'm not a fan of Westerns but did watch "Mackenna's Gold" which I think was a pan-and scan.  It didn't render full screen or at least not on my TV it didn't.  I had to fiddle with my TV settings to see it well enough to watch it.    It was awful to watch.  It looked edited.  My impression was that it may have been one of the videos that was poorly edited by a TV technician for the late night TV.  I know that movies were edited by technicians for time and content.  They did, afterall, have to make time for the commercials, and would cut out "objectionable" content.

I apologize if I gave the impression that I was critiquing TCM to CR.  That was not my intention.  I only meant to say that I've become bored with the movies on TCM because I have seen them so many times.  I hope to enjoy CR because they have movies not available elsewhere.  

I don't know anything about licensing and can't comment on where or how CR acquires it movies because anything I would say is just a supposition on my part. 

I do know that Ted Turner bought out MGM's library in the mid 80's and those movies became the crux of TCM's library.

 It's been good chatting.

[chlojo1]

Yes, it's been nice chatting.

P.S. I'm a huge fan of TCM as well, in spite of my new love for Classic Reel.

P.P.S. As examples of "damaged" CR product, check out 2 Kirk Douglas westerns, both 15 minutes+ shorter than their original running times - Last Train From Gun Hill (a 50s near-classic) is sped up all the way through and Man Without A Star removes crucial narrative scenes by with wipes/transitions straight out of Buck Rogers serials.  Very bizarre!

[SouthPawPhlly]

For anyone interested enough to follow this thread, "Mackenna's Gold" is currently airing on the Criterion Channel.  I have no idea where CR gets it prints, but Criterion must has a better print of the movie because it renders widescreen like it is supposed too, and doesn't have that pan-and-scan look.  I didn't watch all of it on Criterion so can't comment further.

For the record, this isn't a criticism of CR I'm just sharing my observations for what it is worth.

[atc98092]

---

@SouthPawPhlly wrote:

For anyone interested enough to follow this thread, "Mackenna's Gold" is currently airing on the Criterion Channel.  I have no idea where CR gets it prints, but Criterion must has a better print of the movie because it renders widescreen like it is supposed too, and doesn't have that pan-and-scan look.  I didn't watch all of it on Criterion so can't comment further.

For the record, this isn't a criticism of CR I'm just sharing my observations for what it is worth.

---

Since Criterion has a reputation for cleaning up and restoring movies, I would expect them to offer a quality stream. I believe they abhor pan and scan. 😄

[SouthPawPhlly]

---

---

---

@atc98092 wrote:

Since Criterion has a reputation for cleaning up and restoring movies, I would expect them to offer a quality stream. I believe they abhor pan and scan. 😄

---

Could be, but CR just blew it it with "Mackenna's Gold" and other Westerns according to another poster.  There's one scene where Peck and Sharif are on each side the screen and most of Peck is cut off, which just screams pan-and-scan.

Trailers for "Mackenna's Gold" on YouTube look better than what CR has for the full movie.  

No criticism just an observation.

---

[SouthPawPhlly]

Oh I would just like to add that over the past couple of days there's been a lot less "loading" issues so a pat on-the-back to CR for the quick and dedicated attention to solving the problems for its subscribers.

I just love old movies!

[atc98092]

---

@SouthPawPhlly wrote:

---

---

---

Could be, but CR just blew it it with "Mackenna's Gold" and other Westerns according to another poster.  There's one scene where Peck and Sharif are on each side the screen and most of Peck is cut off, which just screams pan-and-scan.

Trailers for "Mackenna's Gold" on YouTube look better than what CR has for the full movie.  

No criticism just an observation.

---

---

From what I can find, Classic Reel is not owned/operated by Criterion, so you can't blame Criterion if CR is offering a pan and scan version. If I didn't have such an extensive movie collection on my server, CR would likely be a worthwhile subscription for us. We prefer older movies compared to the vast majority of what is now available.