Editing Shout! Studios

{{factions|dvd|usa}}
[[Image:Shoutfactory.jpg|right|180px|thumb|If there's some weird sound / on your DVD / who you gonna call?]]
'''Shout! Factory''' is the latest company to hold the U.S. [[home video]] distribution rights to the original [[The Transformers (cartoon)|''Transformers'' cartoon]]. They also have released DVD versions of many other nostalgic cartoons, like ''[[wikipedia:C.O.P.S. (animated TV series)|C.O.P.S.]]'', ''[[wikipedia:Captain N|Captain N: The Game Master]]'', and ''[[wikipedia:Wheeled Warriors|Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors]]''. Oh, and [[G.I. Joe (franchise)|that one show]] that always gets mixed up with the Transformers.

'''Shout! Factory''' releases are manufactured and distributed by [[wikipedia:Vivendi Entertainment|Vivendi Entertainment]].
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==Releases==
For their Generation 1 DVDs, Shout! Factory have notably cleaned up the extra sound effects and animation errors introduced by [[Kid Rhino]] and [[Magno Sound & Video]] that have previously been present in many different companies' releases worldwide.  Though ''much'' closer to the originals, the cleanup was not perfect; some scenes required mastering from lower-quality records, resulting in noticeable jumps in visual and aural quality within episodes.

*'''''The Transformers'' — The Complete First Season: 25th Anniversary Edition''' ([[June 16]], 2009)
:Contains the entire first season across two discs, plus a third disc of bonus material including a featurette on "the origins of the Transformers", [[commercial]]s, [[Public service announcement|PSA]]s, and the script for "[[Transport to Oblivion]]". This set also includes a magnet in the form of the G1 [[Autobot]] [[insignia]].
*'''''The Transformers'' — More than Meets the Eye''' ([[September 1]], 2009)
:Contains the episodes "[[More than Meets the Eye (episode)|More than Meets the Eye]]" parts 1-3, "Transport to Oblivion" and "[[Roll for It]]". 
*'''''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition''' ([[September 15]], 2009)
:Contains 28 episodes of the second season across four discs.
<center><gallery perrow=3>
Image:ShoutFactory Season1 DVD.jpg|'''Complete First Season'''
Image:ShoutFactory MTMTE DVD.jpg|'''More than Meets the Eye'''
Image:ShoutFactory Season2Vol1 DVD.jpg|'''Season Two, Volume One'''
</gallery></center>
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*'''''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection''' ([[October 20]], 2009)
:Sixteen-disc set compiling the four individual "25th Anniversary Edition" season releases, with extra bonus material including more episode scripts, an exclusive interview with [[Bob Budiansky]], and a featurette on "voicing the robots in disguise". This set also includes a 60-page book and Autobot and [[Decepticon]] insignia magnets.
*'''''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition''' ([[January 12]], 2010)
:Contains the remaining 21 episodes of the second season across three discs, plus a fourth disc of bonus material including a featurette on "forming the ''Transformers'' animated series", a concept art gallery, excerpts from the show's [[production bible]], commercials and PSAs.
*'''''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three and Four: 25th Anniversary Edition''' ([[April 20]], 2010)
:Contains the third and fourth seasons across four discs, plus a fifth disc of bonus material including "The Autobots, The Decepticons & the Fans" featurette, a concept art gallery, production bible excerpts, commercials and PSAs.

*'''''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series''' ([[May 24]], 2011)
:Fifteen-disc set compiling the four individual "25th Anniversary Edition" season releases.  The slipcase used on this release can be purchased separately [http://www.shoutfactorystore.com/prod.aspx?pfid=5257413&sid=B38F1A2254B348ED8741B2887226EC58 on Shout!'s website] for those that already bought the four individual volumes.
<center><gallery perrow=3>
Image:ShoutFactory CompleteSeries DVD.jpg|'''Complete Series "Matrix of Leadership" Collection'''
Image:ShoutFactory Season2Vol2 DVD.jpg|'''Season Two, Volume Two'''
Image:ShoutFactory Seasons3and4 DVD.jpg|'''Seasons Three and Four'''
</gallery></center>
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*'''''Transformers - Beast Wars'': Season One''' ([[June 7]], 2011)
: Contains the first season of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' on four discs. Bonus material consists of the "Maximize! Creating A New Breed Of Transformer" featurette, an art gallery, and character models.

*'''''Transformers - Beast Wars'': The Complete Series''' (June 7, 2011)
: Eight-disc set compiling the Season 1 and Seasons 2 & 3 sets. Also included is the ''[[Transformers Timelines (fiction)|Transformers: Timelines]]'' prequel comic "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]". This set was originally given away at [[BotCon 2011]], and then released as an online exclusive to Shout! Factory's website. It was later released to retail on [[November 11]], 2011.

*'''The Japanese Collection''' — '''''Transformers: Headmasters''''' ([[July 5]], 2011)
:Four-disc set comprising the first North American release of the Japanese ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]'' cartoon. All thirty-five episodes are included in the same slightly edited format previously evidenced on [[Metrodome]] and [[Madman Entertainment]]'s earlier releases of the series; unlike those two companies' versions, the [[Omni Productions]] dub is absent, its inclusion vetoed by [[Hasbro]], who [[Brian Ward]] has noted appeared resistant to the idea of releasing the series at all. Hasbro did, however, oversee the new English subtitles produced for the set, modified from those created by Metrodome—and it shows, with some very anachronistic Transformers-specific terminology being substituted in where appropriate, such as [[Sixshot]] being referred to as a "[[Infiltration protocol|phase six officer]]" instead of a "ninja staff officer", or the Autobot and Decepticon [[Mini-Cassette]]s being called "[[Deployer]]s". An art gallery is the sole extra.

*'''''Transformers - Beast Wars'': Seasons 2 & 3''' ([[October 4]], 2011)
: Contains the second and third seasons on four discs. Bonus material consists of the "Remembering the Spark" featurette, "Original Making Of Beast Wars" featurette, an art gallery, and character models.

<center><gallery perrow=3>
Image:Shout_headmasters.jpg|'''Headmasters'''
</gallery></center>
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==Future Releases==
Shout! DVD director Brian Ward hinted at releasing a DVD collection in America, called the "Takara Releases", featuring ''Transformers [[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'', ''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Victory (cartoon)|Victory]]'', and ''[[Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!|Zone]]''.<ref>http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Transformers-Headmasters-Takara-Collection/15023#ixzz1E4Emq8Mw</ref>

''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'''s pilot, "[[Darkness Rising]]" will be released on [[December 6]], [[2011]].<ref>[http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Transformers-Prime-Darkness-Rising/15916 Press release: Transformers Prime - 'Darkness Rising', the Newest Program's Original 5-Part Mini-Series, Announced!]</ref>

==Notes==
{{picsneeded|maybe a couple of quality comparisons, pre- & post-restoration screens etc.}}
*The episode order as used by Shout! Factory for season one (in production order), and season two (mostly in airdate order), actually stems from utilizing the episode order as suggested in the unofficial guidebook [[Unofficial guidebooks#Prime Targets|''Prime Targets'']]. The book presents a list which places priority on the over-arching continuity of the series, rearranging the latter half of season two and the whole of season three into neither production, nor airdate order.
**When publicising their ''Season Two, Volume One'' DVD, Shout! somewhat bizarrely initially claimed that [[Hasbro]] had [[canon]]ised the episode order presented in the unofficial book. Shortly afterwards however, they were instructed to restore season three's airdate order for the ''Matrix of Leadership Collection'', regardless of continuity between some of the episodes. Shout! obliged, but this instruction came too late to change the disc covers or accompanying booklet, leading to much confusion about various season three episodes being on the 'wrong' discs.<ref>[http://www.shoutfactory.com/community/1551/thread.aspx Shout! Factory Community - The Definitive Transformers Thread]</ref>
*On the first season set's "Triple Changer: The Origins of the Transformers" featurette, and the ''Matrix of Leadership Collection'''s interview with Bob Budiansky, there is a deliberate obfuscation of [[Marvel Comics]]' involvement in fashioning much of the Transformers' early backstory and no direct mention that they were the publisher behind the 1980s comics. Clips from the [[Commercial/Generation 1#1984|very first]] Transformers commercial for [[The Transformers (issue)|issue #1 of the comic]] are shown, but are cut off before [[Victor Caroli]]'s narration can mention it will be coming "from Marvel Comics", with even the brief image of the comic in the commercial also having Marvel's logo blurred out. The tiptoeing around Marvel's name is particularly noticeable in Budiansky's solo interview as he only ever refers to working for "the comic book company", even when mentioning receiving a fan letter from someone named [[wikipedia:Stan Lee|Stan Lee]], who was apparently well-known for being associated with "the comic book company".
*The ''[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]'' no longer appear after their respective season three episodes, but are instead all included separately as isolated extras.
*Following the precedent of [[Sony]]'s ''The Transformers: The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition'' DVD, all the commercials on the Shout! discs have the kids' faces blurred out due to clearance issues.
**These commercials are of unfortunately low quality; the commercial for the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]]s, for example, contains the horizontal distortion lines common to degraded VHS videotapes. No original masters were saved or archived for the commercials, hence the quality issues.
*Shout! looked into obtaining the U.S. home video rights to include "[[Scramble City: Mobilization]]" for the ''Matrix of Leadership Collection'', but were unsuccessful, simply stating that "[[Toei]] has no interest in licensing [[Sony|to]] [[Metrodome|third]] [[Madman Entertainment|parties]]".
*In the 60-page booklet that accompanies the ''Complete Series'' set, selected character profiles are mixed in with episode summaries. These profiles are taken from [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' profile books and paired with art from varying sources (some brand new). This means that [[Unicron]]'s profile mentions his cosmic battle with [[Primus]], for example, and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s profile is randomly mean and sarcastic since it was written as being from [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s [[datatrax]]—a detail that goes unmentioned.
*In the concept art montage that was on the Special Features disk of Season Two: Part Two, [[Hook (G1)|Hook's]] character design is omitted from the collection of [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]] artwork, making it seem like [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] is a [[Constructicon Maximus|five-piece Combiner]].
 
===Restoration===
[[Image:HeavyMetalWar-Rhino_VS_Shout.jpg|thumb|right|420px|A comparison between Shout! and Rhino's versions of [[Heavy Metal War]], showing an example of a Rhino error they fixed.]]
*Shout! Factory conducted a painstaking editing process to correct the animation errors and sound effect additions made by Kid Rhino and Magno Sound & Video.
**From the DVD insert: "''Transformers'' DVDs released prior to our 25th Anniversary Edition were missing animation seen in the original broadcast. We did extensive research, found the discrepancies between the original broadcast masters and the restored masters used for the last DVD release, reinserted the correct animation, and color corrected it as best we could to match the shots before and after. But because a one-inch master tape simply can't hold up to the quality of the restored masters, you may notice occasional shots—or even scenes—in some episodes that seem slightly softer than others. Just take comfort in knowing that laser blasts have been reinserted, backgrounds have been corrected and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] is Starscream once again."
**Some of the fixed scenes are indeed "softer" than the surrounding animation—though since the last time the correct versions were released for North American purchase was on VHS tapes over 10 years ago, by this point the Shout! versions probably look as good as or better than them. Though not absolutely every Kid Rhino coloring error was fixed, the vast majority were, and certainly all of the [[Heavy Metal War|sequences of mistaken animation that confused the plot]] were fixed.
**Shout! even repaired some ''audio'' errors that had been present on several prior releases of "[[Fire on the Mountain]]," and also included the <s>totally better</s> original, non-narrated closing sequence for "[[Dark Awakening]]" where Kid Rhino had used the later version. A few episodes did however have their soundtracks incorrectly tweaked; for example, many of the sound effects in "[[Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction]]" are almost inaudible, despite being prominent before.
*A version of the [[theme song]] including all of the extra sound effects introduced by Magno is used on the DVD title menu, but not in the actual episodes.

==References==
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==External link==
*[http://www.shoutfactory.com Official website]
*[[wikipedia:Shout! Factory|Shout! Factory]] article at Wikipedia.

[[Category:Home entertainment]]
[[Category:Companies]]