Cowboy Bebop Discs

A while ago, way back yonder (last year) in our first year of operations we proudly and nervously released our very first title: Cowboy Bebop on glorious blu-ray in wonderfully remastered high definition. ‘Oh!’ we exclaimed, ‘This looks so great in HD. We’re so happy that this is our very first release!’ as we sobbed quietly in awe and appreciation. The packaging looked great, the animation looked wonderful for a 15 year old piece of work in an age before high def animation for television – this officially looked The Nuts.

Shortly after the release, it quickly became apparent that a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-them capture errors (visual glitches) made their sneaky way past QC and onto the final product. While they in no way impeded one’s enjoyment of viewing Bebop in all it’s HD glory, some were put out but these tiny imperfections.

We agreed at the time that the best course of action was to send out replacement discs in exchange for the affected discs over the 2 sets (I believe that’s two discs total) once the complete Cowboy Bebop blu-ray was ready for release. That time has come. So, without further ado details on this and more in the section below.

 

Cowboy Bebop Replacement Discs

What are the errors? And what has been corrected?

As mentioned above, there were a few (over the 4 disc set of 2 parts) blink-and-you’ll-miss-it video glitches that were down to a capture error in the digitisation process. These errors were in episode 2 on disc 1 and episode 19 on disc 3, for those who may have forgotten (we had to actually dig through the archives to find them if I’m totally honest with you guys here).

We’ve re-digitised the errant episodes so that they are corrected for the upcoming complete collection release. NOTE: the DVD release was fine, these minor glitches affected only the blu-ray release.

In terms of the print ‘error’ on the discs in part 1 – where some pointed out that the episode count split on the disc labels was incorrect – we’ve not corrected this. To do so would have added a surprisingly higher cost to the re-print (as we would have to go ahead and re-issue 4 blu-ray discs instead of 2) for something that, while technically annoying, is not an impediment to enjoying the show itself.

How will these be sent?

We will be sending these out via the Royal Mail in monthly batches. We’ll be sending the replacement disc on their own – i.e. in envelopes or plastic casing; no special packaging, no extras. Let me be clear on this point before it’s misconstrued: by extras I mean physical extras. All on-disc extras and content will be identical.

Who is eligible for a replacement?

Anyone who felt that their enjoyment of the release was marred by these glitches – whether international fans (within reason – get in touch with us for confirmation!) or local. If you send us a screengrab of your receipt, order confirmation from one of the many online retailers stocking Bebop on BD or failing that a photo of your email address on a sheet of paper next to your copy and we can send out replacement discs.

A Request for a Little Common Sense

Yes, everyone who’s bought a copy of Cowboy Bebop with the glitches is eligible for a replacement disc. No ifs, ands or buts. There are a couple things to note: the second wave of Bebop Part 2 that went out had the glitches corrected – so, if you’re unsure whether or not you have the corrected discs please check it before you send in a request for a replacement. You’ll be doing us a huge solid.

Secondly, please exercise a bit of discretion: If the glitches on Episodes 2 and 19 irritated you then of course we’re happy to replace it but again be aware nothing else has changed.  So if you didn’t notice anything or weren’t too bothered by those capture errors then you’re not going to notice any changes on these discs so we’d beg you to save us on some packaging time as we’ll be doing it manually in the office!

How do I get in touch and request replacement discs?

Easy as emailing us your details to the following address: cowboybebop@alltheanime.com

If you can include photos or screengrabs as well as your postal address, we’ll get right on this. We’ve recently taken receipt of these discs in the office, so we’re hoping to get them out as soon as possible.

Are there any deadlines for requesting replacements?

Last day of January 2015, after that we’ll try our best to fulfil but keep in mind it’s a huge administrative task for us so have some pity given what was fixed wasn’t all too big!

And I think that’s it for now! If you have any questions or queries, email us at the above address as well. We’ll be checking that and using it as our base of operations for the new Bebop blu-ray discs.

 

Thanks for your patience everyone!