More Tom And Jerry Tales, plus we need your Blu-ray help!

Rodney has jumped in with his latest review, a very enthusiastic one for the most recent collection of episodes from Tom And Jerry Tales Volume Six[1]. I must admit to trying to catch the show as and when I can but haven’t seen too much of it. However I would certainly agree that I’ve been fairly impressed with the intention of recreating the classic cartoon feel of Hanna-Barbera’s 1940s originals and, as Rodney says, “that the characters look true to their original shapes and designs and have not been noticeably redesigned, keeping their basic characteristics”. Though there will be some that disregard these television efforts out of hand, there’s a real attempt at capturing the old charm, and this final collection finishes up Tom And Jerry Tales “with a great set of episodes that showcase some of the things the new show got right: a good update on an old classic”.

Now then, we’re in need of some of your technical expertise! Along with Blu-ray’s magnificent developments in picture, audio and supplemental technologies comes the troublesome downside of actually being able to pull any image captures from the discs with which we illustrate our reviews. We’ve posted a couple of reviews so far that went the old photographic route, aiming a digital camera at the display screen and hoping for the best. Like us, you’ll probably feel like it’s a solution, but one that doesn’t accurately represent the intentions of a transfer. Despite my trying to reach out to other sites that seem to be having no difficulty in presenting direct captures from hi-def titles, it seems it’s a little bit of a “top secret maneuver”…and a lot of digging around the web this week has yielded little in the way of a short and sweet solution.

I’m not terribly technically minded when it comes to these things, but anyone able to offer the right knowledge to help out Animated News & Views would be mucho appreciated (as for the basics, I’m using a BD drive built into my PC system). You can be assured that you’ll remain anonymous and that information will not be posted or leaked elsewhere – please contact me via direct email or through this thread in our AN&V Forums[2]. I’m all for the rigorous copy prevention steps put in place by the BDA, but when it actually stops a genuine, officially recognized by the studios site from helping to promote content that they send us on the format, how the heck is that assisting Blu-ray’s chances?

Back soon with some BD coverage (hopefully with pictures!), so stay tooned! — Ben.