Simpsons World getting an update

Ramier Wolfcastle

Ramier Wolfcastle

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As many of you know, whenever FXX airs an episode from Seasons 1-19 (plus the first 9 episodes of Season 20), they crop the episodes so that they appear in a 16:9 format. Well, it appears Simpsons World is *finally* giving you the option of watching older episodes in their original 4:3 aspect ratios. As of right now, Seasons 1-9 have been updated to give you the option of watching in either 4:3 OR 16:9 if you directly log into simpsonsworld.com on a laptop. The FXNOW app on my iPad is still only displaying the 16:9 versions, but I'm guessing an app update will be right around the corner.

Of course, I already have seasons 1-17 on DVD, but if I'm ever away from home and want to watch an episode on the fly, I'm glad to know that EVERY.SIMPSONS.EVER will now be available in its original, unadulterated incarnation.

Somewhere out there, Comic Book Guy must be elated.
 
Nitpicking, but I was a little disappointed that they were in SD. But if this is part of some master plan to make 4:3 HD episodes available exclusively for blu-ray, I can't fault them.
 
Season 10 is now available in 4:3 format on Simpsons World. However, 4:3 episodes are still unavailable on the FXNOW app. My guess is that once all 429 of the pre-HD episodes are uploaded, an update to FXNOW will be pushed to the App Store.

Seeing that it took almost 2 weeks to update a single season, it'll probably be another 3 months until we truly have "Every Simpsons Ever" in original format.
 
anyone notice how the 4:3 versions on simpsons world are SD masters? this makes me think when they remastered and color-corrected the original negatives for the FXX broadcasts they carelessly cropped the image from the negative. i imagine the remastering was a costly procedure for 20th TV, and if they cropped them natively... that's just astounding to me. i was looking forward to watching the beautiful, vibrant HD versions when 4:3 came around (because i was blown away when i first saw them during the marathon). sad to see that won't be the case.

even MORE interesting, these are SD masters separate from what was issued on the DVDs. they're super washed-out looking, worse than DVD quality. they aren't syndication cuts, thankfully (that i've noticed yet), but they do contain the old dolby surround sound logo they were originally broadcast with. it caught me off-guard... i'd been watching the DVDs so long i forgot they even included that back in the day. that's not even a nitpick for me, i was kinda delighted by it.

edit: to illustrate my point, here's some side-by-sides: http://i.imgur.com/TuDvRPE.jpg
 
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Tyler said:
anyone notice how the 4:3 versions on simpsons world are SD masters? this makes me think when they remastered and color-corrected the original negatives for the FXX broadcasts they carelessly cropped the image from the negative. i imagine the remastering was a costly procedure for 20th TV, and if they cropped them natively... that's just astounding to me. i was looking forward to watching the beautiful, vibrant HD versions when 4:3 came around (because i was blown away when i first saw them during the marathon). sad to see that won't be the case.

even MORE interesting, these are SD masters separate from what was issued on the DVDs. they're super washed-out looking, worse than DVD quality. they aren't syndication cuts, thankfully (that i've noticed yet), but they do contain the old dolby surround sound logo they were originally broadcast with. it caught me off-guard... i'd been watching the DVDs so long i forgot they even included that back in the day. that's not even a nitpick for me, i was kinda delighted by it.

edit: to illustrate my point, here's some side-by-sides: http://i.imgur.com/TuDvRPE.jpg
Click to expand...

Kinda makes me glad I still have the DVDs, as they're marginally better than the online versions. But it's nice to be able to have both, in case I'm traveling. They are the full versions (no syndication cuts), but some episodes don't match the 1st Fox airdate (for example, in Viva Ned Flanders, Homer mentioned Barney's birthday as April 20th, same as Hitler in the 1st Fox airing, but both the DVD and Simpsons World have Homer mentioning Barney's birthday as July 15th, same as Lassie).

Also, if you're a Verizon Fios subscriber, Easter has come early: you can now access Simpsons World! Even better, FXX is now on the "Select" TV package, when it used to require a subscription to the "Extreme" tier. Also, Seasons 1-15 are now available in their original 4:3 format, though only through simpsonsworld.com for now.
 
Ramier Wolfcastle said:
They are the full versions (no syndication cuts), but some episodes don't match the 1st Fox airdate (for example, in Viva Ned Flanders, Homer mentioned Barney's birthday as April 20th, same as Hitler in the 1st Fox airing, but both the DVD and Simpsons World have Homer mentioning Barney's birthday as July 15th, same as Lassie).
Click to expand...

supports my theory that there's, like, five different versions of each simpsons episode:

1) original master (no surround sound logo, seen on DVDs)
2) broadcast master (seen on original airdate) with surround sound opening logo and original 20th TV logo
3) edited broadcast master (used for revised lines/censorship issues)
4) syndication master with surround sound opening logo and revised 20th TV logo, plus time compression/numerous cuts
5) DVD edits which tend to be original masters, save for any odd ambiguities, with a revised 20th TV logo (many s1 DVD versions ("there's no disgrace") retain the original 20th tv logo, oddly)

simpsons world 16:9 seems to use number 1, digitally remastered and color corrected. simpsons world 4:3 seems to use a mix of broadcast (most of s1-4) and original masters. i'm fascinated by the weird ambiguities from episode to episode, and SNPP's old DVD companion guide is super useful. i've cross-checked some of them with the 4:3 simpsons world versions and they're occasionally different. i checked both simpsons world versions of "viva ned flanders" and they're both with "lassie" :(
 
Tyler said:
supports my theory that there's, like, five different versions of each simpsons episode:

1) original master (no surround sound logo, seen on DVDs)
2) broadcast master (seen on original airdate) with surround sound opening logo and original 20th TV logo
3) edited broadcast master (used for revised lines/censorship issues)
4) syndication master with surround sound opening logo and revised 20th TV logo, plus time compression/numerous cuts
5) DVD edits which tend to be original masters, save for any odd ambiguities, with a revised 20th TV logo (many s1 DVD versions ("there's no disgrace") retain the original 20th tv logo, oddly)

simpsons world 16:9 seems to use number 1, digitally remastered and color corrected. simpsons world 4:3 seems to use a mix of broadcast (most of s1-4) and original masters. i'm fascinated by the weird ambiguities from episode to episode, and SNPP's old DVD companion guide is super useful. i've cross-checked some of them with the 4:3 simpsons world versions and they're occasionally different. i checked both simpsons world versions of "viva ned flanders" and they're both with "lassie" :(
Click to expand...

1 2 and 4 are added by the network, obviously. crushes your theory
 
I didn't realize that until I was watching Call of The Simpsons the other day. Flanders waving as they drove off was cropped out
 
I'm on FIOS and, currently, I can access full episodes on my iOS devices, but when I try on my laptop, it says I cannot watch full episodes, even though I could a few days ago. Can anyone else with FIOS test to see if the same thing is happening to them?

EDIT: Nevermind, I quick Googling tells me this seems to be something that just happens and then unhappens by itself for some people. Whatever, I guess.
 
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