Who gives a "FUNi?"

[Chasm]

Recently I discovered (I know it may be old news to most of you) that FUNimation likes to take away video quality of their DVD titles to pack more episodes onto a disc. Obviously they know about animeondvd.com, and know that a lot of anime fans come here to read reviews about their products. I'm assuming they've read some reviews and noticed that they're getting a lot of B-/C+ grades on most of their titles for video quality. So why aren't they changing the way they release their titles?
How do you feel about them sacrificing video quality to fit more episodes on a disc? Is it good enough just to be able to get the show at all, here in North America?
I guess the fact that they continue to do this is because we let them. If we didn't continue to purchase their mediocre video quality released titles, maybe they'd reevaluate the way they release their titles. I don't know. Just a thought.

I've been questioning whether or not I should buy some of the titles that I want from them. Of course if I don't get it from them, then I don't get the title at all (I absolutely don't believe in pirating), so I'm asking myself, what's more important, throwing my money down on a company who doesn't release anything to the best of their abilities, or paying them money so at least I own the title.

Let me know what you think. I look forward to your response!

[HitokiriShadow]

Recently I discovered (I know it may be old news to most of you) that FUNimation likes to take away video quality of their DVD titles to pack more episodes onto a disc.

Episode count has nothing to do with it. They've had poor video quality for a long time, even on 3-4 episode discs.

[Panko]

i haven't bought any "crammed" sets yet and (assuming there are singles) probably won't since i like singles but the lower vid quality is a concern.

[Chacranajxy]

Okay, first thing: This is the worst title I've ever seen for a thread. I don't mean to be a dick, but it was distracting.

Second, Funi doesn't fix their video quality because they don't need to - people will buy that shit anyway. Their company is so successful not because the hardcore fans like the stuff they bring out over here, but because they get the series that'll sell to the mainstream. And you know what? The mainstream doesn't give a flying fuck about video quality, because most people watch DVDs on their $30 DVD players from Wal-Mart on their 13" roadshow TVs with built-in VCRs. It's a sad truth.

In my case, I still buy their DVDs because I want to watch the show. Would I like for them to do a better job with the DVDs? Of course, but if I want to watch the show, this is really the only option... beats fansub quality, at least.

[Chasm]

Okay, first thing: This is the worst title I've ever seen for a thread. I don't mean to be a dick, but it was distracting.

Second, Funi doesn't fix their video quality because they don't need to - people will buy that shit anyway. Their company is so successful not because the hardcore fans like the stuff they bring out over here, but because they get the series that'll sell to the mainstream. And you know what? The mainstream doesn't give a flying fuck about video quality, because most people watch DVDs on their $30 DVD players from Wal-Mart on their 13" roadshow TVs with built-in VCRs. It's a sad truth.

In my case, I still buy their DVDs because I want to watch the show. Would I like for them to do a better job with the DVDs? Of course, but if I want to watch the show, this is really the only option... beats fansub quality, at least.

. . o O (did i offend this guy or something....)

No need to worry, you are not being a penis. I'm not sure what you mean by distracting, but I can't imagine the title of my thread to be any more "distracting" than your use of profanity.

In any case, it is a sad truth that the mainstream doesn't care (also known as, give a flying fuck) about video quality. You are right about the fact that it "beats fansub quality", which is why I'm leaning more towards purchasing their dvds rather than not.
Thanks to everyone so far who has responded.

[Prede]

Wanna know the reason Funimation is doing so well? Becuase some people don't like the idea of paying $200 for box sets, and $24.00 per single(even though I;ve bought plenty of singles :relief:). Just because some videophiles say Funimation's "video quality" isn't the best, does not mean I am about to boycott the company. What good is an amazing video quality, great DVD cases/box sets, and good extras(sometimes, sometimes nothing at all :anger200:), if you can't afford the DVD's in the first place? Funimation is doing so well becuase they realize box sets (and singles) need to be affordable, have good dubs, and be a good series (sometimes :sd:, or at least a series people want).

[Sensuifu]

Rent the discs and evaluate them yourself before committing to a purchase. Chances are the PQ will remain the same throughout the entire release schedule.

[something]

Episode count has nothing to do with it. They've had poor video quality for a long time, even on 3-4 episode discs.
Since the Funimation video quality debate seems to be heating up again, I really want to make this my sig.

Funimation's subpar video quality is not a function of moving to sets! We heard plenty of complaints when they were doing industry standard 6 disc singles. People really need to realize this. If Funi were doing video right, it wouldn't really matter if it were a 3-5 ep single or a 6-7 ep cour set disc. 6-7 episodes can be done just fine on a DVD.

[godofchaos]

Funimation's subpar video quality is not a function of moving to sets! We heard plenty of complaints when they were doing industry standard 6 disc singles. People really need to realize this. If Funi were doing video right, it wouldn't really matter if it were a 3-5 ep single or a 6-7 ep cour set disc. 6-7 episodes can be done just fine on a DVD.

The thing is though, prior to the sets, their video quality actually got GOOD, relatively consistently (keeping in mind stuff that was done ahead of time and kept consistent with older releases).

It just happened that this time period was only a few months, so few people noticed.

[Chasm]

Wanna know the reason Funimation is doing so well? Becuase some people don't like the idea of paying $200 for box sets, and $24.00 per single(even though I;ve bought plenty of singles :relief:). Just because some videophiles say Funimation's "video quality" isn't the best, does not mean I am about to boycott the company. What good is an amazing video quality, great DVD cases/box sets, and good extras(sometimes, sometimes nothing at all :anger200:), if you can't afford the DVD's in the first place? Funimation is doing so well becuase they realize box sets (and singles) need to be affordable, have good dubs, and be a good series (sometimes :sd:, or at least a series people want).

No one said that you have to boycott the company, I myself was simply asking people if they are boycotting the company currently, or will in the future because of their sub par video quality releases.
In no way am I a "videophile", unless your definition of "videophile" is someone who wants a clear picture. To me a "videophile" is someone who obsesses over video quality.

I would rather pay a little more money on quality than save a few bucks for washed out anime (have you seen Basilisk?). But obviously the majority feels different and that's fine. I figured that most people on here wouldn't mind TV quality animes on their dvds as long as they could save money, I just wanted to know if anybody had a different opinion.

[ZacksAwesome]

I just wanted to know if anybody had a different opinion.
I think you pretty much answered your own question.
"If you don't get the title from them you don't get it at all"

You need to weigh the pros and cons relative to how important video quality is to you. If it's a series you absolutely love then I'm sure you'll get it regardless.

For me, video quality is important but not necessarily tantamount to me purchasing a series. Hope this helps.

[Mank]

You know, as much as better video quality would be nice, to be perfectly honest, I've been watching all my anime through a cheap DVD player attached to a TV I believe I got at some point in the mid-90s that happens to be dying out... so it's not exactly a deciding factor for me. (I do need to get around to buying a new tv sometime...)

[JINROH]

Recently I discovered ....snip...




I think I don't like it,but given their lack of response to the problems,I doubt they'll do much of anything about it.


Recently I discovered (I know it may be old news to most of you) that FUNimation likes to take away video quality of their DVD titles to pack more episodes onto a disc.

Episode count has nothing to do with it. They've had poor video quality for a long time, even on 3-4 episode discs.


It doesn't help,that's for damn sure,and as I have said in the past,it depends on the show sometimes.And as others have stated,most don't give a damn,as most,are far more concerned with rock bottom pricing,then a quality product.

[Chasm]

Well watching anime on my PS3 and 32" LCD is really awesome because the PS3 can upscale DVDs better than most standalone DVD players that say they upscale. But unfortunately not everyone has that type of equipment. FUNimation should put on the back of their titles, "You should watch this on a good upscaling DVD player because we can't handle video very well."

Anyway, I hope their BD release of Samurai 7 looks as good as Tekkon Kinkreet on BD. Or maybe Samurai 7 on BD will look like what it's supposed to look like on DVD. Only time will tell!

[kit-kat]

Personally, I'm one of those people that never notice these issues that people have with video quality. I have a pretty nice dvd player and my TV is not too shabby either, it is just something that I think most people don't notice because they aren't looking for some of the things videophiles are looking for. I don't know, I never notice the difference between a Funi release and a Bandai release or a Geneon release, I mean, obviously some shows have better animation and some shows you can tell their budget wasn't that big, and I notice that, but I see people talking about pixels and rainbows or what not and I never notice them... thankfully. I guess if I had a high def tv, I may notice, I have no idea how that stuff works, but for now I'm fine.

So, long story short, Funi's video issues don't bother me none, and I certainly appreciate the cheaper sets.

[joelgundam01]

You know, as much as better video quality would be nice, to be perfectly honest, I've been watching all my anime through a cheap DVD player attached to a TV I believe I got at some point in the mid-90s that happens to be dying out... so it's not exactly a deciding factor for me.

That's pretty much my set up, except mine is an old Sony DVD player (6 years old and still works great) and a 2003 19" CRT. :sd:

[joelgundam01]

Well watching anime on my PS3 and 32" LCD is really awesome because the PS3 can upscale DVDs better than most standalone DVD players that say they upscale. But unfortunately not everyone has that type of equipment. FUNimation should put on the back of their titles, "You should watch this on a good upscaling DVD player because we can't handle video very well."

Or watch it on a low resolution TV. You won't notice a difference either. :sd:

[cutliquidsnake]

Personally, I'm one of those people that never notice these issues that people have with video quality. I have a pretty nice dvd player and my TV is not too shabby either, it is just something that I think most people don't notice because they aren't looking for some of the things videophiles are looking for. I don't know, I never notice the difference between a Funi release and a Bandai release or a Geneon release, I mean, obviously some shows have better animation and some shows you can tell their budget wasn't that big, and I notice that, but I see people talking about pixels and rainbows or what not and I never notice them... thankfully. I guess if I had a high def tv, I may notice, I have no idea how that stuff works, but for now I'm fine.

So, long story short, Funi's video issues don't bother me none, and I certainly appreciate the cheaper sets.

Agreed. I watch anime on my standard TV, then I have a High def computer monitor for gaming.

However, I think the people on here are talking about video quality on an HDTV. I think if you watch a funi release on an HDTV you would notice the crap video quality. Thankfully, it all looks fine on a standard television.

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

Well watching anime on my PS3 and 32" LCD is really awesome because the PS3 can upscale DVDs better than most standalone DVD players that say they upscale. But unfortunately not everyone has that type of equipment.

Once again, YMMV. I recently watched Moon Phase and Sasami Magical Girls Club (both Funi) on my setup, which is a PS3 connected by HDMI, upscaled to 1080p, to a 42" HD screen (which is THX-calibrated, fwiw). Both looked very soft in the video department, especially Moon Phase. (That's a series I'll upgrade to Blu-ray in an instant if they offer it, assuming a true HD source.)

Upscaling doesn't add resolution, it interpolates what is already there and scales it up. You can have the best video system on the planet, but your display and/or player can't improve the source; it can only post-process what is fed to it. A good source will have good results when upscaled, while one that isn't so good still won't be good after upscaling. GIGO, as the acronym goes. ("Garbage In Garbage Out" in case anyone is unfamiliar.)

[hikaru004]

Well watching anime on my PS3 and 32" LCD is really awesome because the PS3 can upscale DVDs better than most standalone DVD players that say they upscale. But unfortunately not everyone has that type of equipment. FUNimation should put on the back of their titles, "You should watch this on a good upscaling DVD player because we can't handle video very well."

Or watch it on a low resolution TV. You won't notice a difference either. :sd:


Now that's not going to work for too long as the deadline for converting your TV set is next month in R1. There's either going to be loads of people with converter boxes or a huge bump in those with HDTVs. Besides why should someone compromise their setup because a company isn't getting their video act together?

It's not just with TVs. My club projects their DVDs. You can tell when there is a poor video quality title playing.

As others have stated in 1 form or another, it's the almighty dollar that's influencing FUNi. Fans don't care if the quality is shi**y as long as they get their cheap sets and FUNi knows that they can get away with poor video quality.

I'm trying to avoid buying DVDs unless they are singles, sets of super niche titles that needs support (One Piece, Case Closed), or sets where ADV actually did the encoding. Otherwise, I'm waiting for the BD release.

[joelgundam01]

Now that's not going to work for too long as the deadline for converting your TV set is next month in R1. There's either going to be loads of people with converter boxes or a huge bump in those with HDTVs.

You don't need to convert the TV, just the signal to digital. There are a few ways (http://www.timewarnercable.com/Corporate/Products/DigitalCable/dtv/dtvota.html) in doing this, besides converter boxes. Most TVs (including CTRs) already have the digital tuners available in the sets. Mine is a 2003 model and it has it available in the menu setup.

[Sensuifu]

Once again, YMMV. I recently watched Moon Phase and Sasami Magical Girls Club (both Funi) on my setup, which is a PS3 connected by HDMI, upscaled to 1080p, to a 42" HD screen (which is THX-calibrated, fwiw). Both looked very soft in the video department, especially Moon Phase. (That's a series I'll upgrade to Blu-ray in an instant if they offer it, assuming a true HD source.)


I went back to check Moon Phase and I have to take back what I said in the Moribito thread. Moon Phase isn't even deserving of the B/B- I compared Moribito to. It's more of a C/C-, D+ in a few cases. Comparing Moribito was a mistake as it doesn't suffer from a washed out picture nearly as much as Moon Phase, although that was the closest comparison (that I've seen) of the titles in question. Sure some of the softness might have been intentional for the show, but the differences between what's supposed to be soft and what's encoding artifacts are noticeable. Sasami's video was decent enough, and it makes for a better comparison to Moribito in terms of softness.


Upscaling doesn't add resolution, it interpolates what is already there and scales it up. You can have the best video system on the planet, but your display and/or player can't improve the source; it can only post-process what is fed to it. A good source will have good results when upscaled, while one that isn't so good still won't be good after upscaling. GIGO, as the acronym goes. ("Garbage In Garbage Out" in case anyone is unfamiliar.)Good point, and one that I'm afraid affects user reviews in regards to PQ. I balance my video tests across as many setups that I could before giving an overall impression. What looks good on my Oppo983 might look bad on my s-video connected DVD player. Or vice-versa with composite-sourced releases. Still, I question the studios that dump releases using a composite source.

[Buckeye]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. At least as far as Funimation is concerned, this issue with video quality is something not broke. Episode count has nothing to do with their problems as the same authoring quality is found on discs with fewer episodes.

[touma]

So, long story short, Funi's video issues don't bother me none, and I certainly appreciate the cheaper sets.

That is the way that I feel too.
I have never noticed any video problems when watching on my older lower resolution CRT TV or when watching on my newer HDTV.
I am not saying that there are no problems, just that I do not see them for reasons unknown to me.

[Njr Scrawl]

I didn't give any Funi sets to anyone for Christmas!

Its not fussy AoD fans they care about IMO. Its the casual & low income buyers they are trying to attract, those who d/l or buy boots due to the low price, where quality is less important than seeing a show. We are not their market, unless wanting inexpensive sets first, of course. :P

I suppose Funi Blu Ray releases might be considered aimed at collectors as much as PS3 owners wanting to watch a DBZ movie before or after playing the video games.

All the companies are doing cheap their own ways. None are perfect.

I would really like Fruits Basket, Peach Girl & Rumbling Hearts on BD!

[Doom85]

So, long story short, Funi's video issues don't bother me none, and I certainly appreciate the cheaper sets.

That is the way that I feel too.
I have never noticed any video problems when watching on my older lower resolution CRT TV or when watching on my newer HDTV.
I am not saying that there are no problems, just that I do not see them for reasons unknown to me.

I'm in the same boat. I've watched with my friends the following on one of my friend's HD TV: School Rumble, Ghost Hunt, and One Piece. We never noticed any video issues, and there's five of us watching, so it's unlikely we all just were being inattentive.

[dragonrider_cody]

Well watching anime on my PS3 and 32" LCD is really awesome because the PS3 can upscale DVDs better than most standalone DVD players that say they upscale. But unfortunately not everyone has that type of equipment. FUNimation should put on the back of their titles, "You should watch this on a good upscaling DVD player because we can't handle video very well."

Or watch it on a low resolution TV. You won't notice a difference either. :sd:

That was what I had to do with Gunslingler Girl. It was completely unwatchable on my 40" LCD. The problem is then I have to sacrifice the surround sound in that case.

Also, I have a good TV and a good upscaling DVD player and I still notice a lot of problems with Funimation discs. And I've noticed the problems using both my DVD player and my PS3. But like others have noted, I did notice the video quality really start to slide when they went to the half season sets. Hell Girl and Mushishi weren't too bad, but Ghost Hunt and Ouran look HORRIBLE.

[Sorrow's Companion]

So, long story short, Funi's video issues don't bother me none, and I certainly appreciate the cheaper sets.

That is the way that I feel too.
I have never noticed any video problems when watching on my older lower resolution CRT TV or when watching on my newer HDTV.
I am not saying that there are no problems, just that I do not see them for reasons unknown to me.

I'm in the same boat. I've watched with my friends the following on one of my friend's HD TV: School Rumble, Ghost Hunt, and One Piece. We never noticed any video issues, and there's five of us watching, so it's unlikely we all just were being inattentive.

I'm in this crowd as well. I just finished Afro Samurai with my nephew and some buddies for the umptenth time and didn't notice a problem. Same with Basalisk and Trinity Blood. They looked just fine on my HDTV.

[kakugo]

Afro Samurai was FUNi's first watchable DVD. Progressive, 6.9 Mbps... aside from some EE I honestly had no complaints.

Witchblade, Tsubasa, Gunslinger Girl, Fullmetal Alchemist and Tsukuyomi all make me throw up just a little in my mouth whenever I watch them in motion. The official cake-taker, however, was the FMA Movie, which managed to pixelate so blatantly during the opening battle that I literally can't believe the disc ever hit shelves. I even waited longer and paid more for the LE version. What, you had time to perfect the package and include a second disc, but not to compress a watchable transfer?

While I bought Witchblade as singles (mostly for the beautiful packaging), I decided that would be the last FUNi title I bought that way, since while there's plenty of shows they have that I want, I just can't justify paying full price for discs that look worse than the broadcast version I could watch on [adult swim]. Hearing good things about Claymore has me on the fence, but I may just rent the show and see how I feel before deciding to drop $190 MSRP on the show versus waiting another year and getting it for half that.

[Sensuifu]

Afro Samurai was FUNi's first watchable DVD. Progressive, 6.9 Mbps... aside from some EE I honestly had no complaints.


I have the BD release of Afro Samurai, and I'm not sure if it's present on the DVD release, but the PQ occasionally suffers from banding. Here (http://rapidshare.com/files/180636770/afro.zip) is a bunch of screencaps of a few problematic areas I spotted.

The banding hovers in some scenes, so it doesn't just affect/stay static on individual frames, rather spans across a few. fwiw, average bitrate for those particular sequences is about 15mbps, with some portions dropping to 10-12.

[Nana_fan]

I guess I'm the type of customer Funimation loves. I can never tell the difference between a Funi DVD or any other anime company. I can see the difference of a DVD compared to Blu-Ray (Live action, haven't seen any Blu-Ray anime). But I always thought the Funi picture quality was just fine. Sometimes I guess it pays to be a little ignorant, so I can enjoy my DVDs. :P

[Kouji Tamino]

...Why is this still here? I keep thinking I'm in the R1 section. :sweat:

[hikaru004]

I guess I'm the type of customer Funimation loves. I can never tell the difference between a Funi DVD or any other anime company. I can see the difference of a DVD compared to Blu-Ray (Live action, haven't seen any Blu-Ray anime). But I always thought the Funi picture quality was just fine. Sometimes I guess it pays to be a little ignorant, so I can enjoy my DVDs. :P

But when you watch more BD or better quality DVDs, you won't remain ignorant for too long.

FUNi has to improve before mainstream catches on to them.

[MeggieMay]

...Why is this still here? I keep thinking I'm in the R1 section. :sweat:

LOL - I actually did think I was in the R1 folder because I clicked the wrong line in the drop down menu. Took me a minute to figure out what I had done wrong (realized I shouldn't be seeing some of these topics in R1). That said, I haven't found Funi's video quality to be as bad as some go on here at AoD. Now about a three years back it did get bad enough even I noticed (Trinity Blood, Speed Grapher and School Rumble S1 come to mind) but as someone else mentioned earlier the quality issue seems to have cleared up in spite of Funi putting more episodes per disk lately. So whatever was causing the problem with Funi seems to have been fixed for the time being.

[Nana_fan]

But when you watch more BD or better quality DVDs, you won't remain ignorant for too long.

FUNi has to improve before mainstream catches on to them.

I've watched Dark Knight on BD twice already, some of Firefly. I've also seen TONS of anime from all the different R1 companies. I still can't see any problems with Funi's disc compared to Bandai or ADV or any other company. I just don't see the big problem.

[Sensuifu]

But when you watch more BD or better quality DVDs, you won't remain ignorant for too long.

FUNi has to improve before mainstream catches on to them.

I've watched Dark Knight on BD twice already, some of Firefly. I've also seen TONS of anime from all the different R1 companies. I still can't see any problems with Funi's disc compared to Bandai or ADV or any other company. I just don't see the big problem.

They could be hit and miss though. I took this (http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/1378/afrobdpq1.jpg) from the Blu-ray version of Afro Samurai. There's a lot more (worse) where that came from.