The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series [Blu-ray] (£23.19 + VAT)

Presented in its original tube TV-friendly 1.33:1 aspect ratio, The Jetsons looks as visually impressive as you'd expect for a Warner Archive Collection release. The rich, film-like 1080p transfer is sourced from a recent 2K scan and does a great job supporting the show's colourful aesthetic, highlighting the 1960s-inspired interiors and smooth linework. Film grain is robust without feeling intrusive, adding an attractive layer of texture to the otherwise simple character designs and backgrounds. Most importantly, typical problems like banding and compression artefacts are virtually absent from start to finish, thanks to the high bit rate afforded by giving these 24 episodes plenty of breathing room on three dual-layered discs. Although the image is largely free of wear and tear, I spotted very occasional hints of dirt, debris, and vertical scratches, but these are few and far between. Overall, it's clear that a lot of clean-up was done here.

One note about the potential presence of other damage: imperfections in the cel paint can regularly be spotted on certain characters, especially in close ups...but these imperfections are not only part of the source material, they're a big part of hand-drawn animation's charm and I applaud WAC for not attempting to "correct" them.

Less revelatory but still impressive is the show's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio, which repurposes The Jetsons' one-channel source material with no discernible problems. Dialogue, music, and background effects are given almost equal priority and everything's very easy to follow; although depth is rarely achieved, what's here does the job nicely for a sitcom over 60 years old. No obvious defects or sync issues could be heard along the way.

Optional English SDH subtitles are included during all 24 episodes...but not the bonus features, unfortunately. These are formatted very nicely and not in all caps like most recent Warner Archive Collection Blu-rays.


Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (26.99 Mbps)
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1

Audio

Subtitles

Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BD-50)

Playback
2K Blu-ray: Region A, B (C untested)