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Funimation Suspends Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray Production (Updated)
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Funimation announced on Thursday that it has suspended production on all future Blu-ray releases of the Dragon Ball Z television anime series, including the Level 2.1 disc that was originally scheduled to be released on March 27.
Funimation said that it had produced the Blu-ray editions of the series due to fan demand; however, the company explained that "due to technical challenges of restoring from the original film frame by frame, we are unable to continue these releases by way of this process." The company added it will re-evaluate its process of creating these Blu-rays and will research more efficient methods of restoration.
Funimation announced last July that it would release the series for the first time on Blu-ray. Funimation and the Dallas-based company ANDTRANSFER remastered the series from the original Japanese 16mm film reels at 1080p, keeping the original 4:3 aspect ratio. The first set, Dragon Ball Z Level 1.1, was released with the first 17 episodes on November 8.
Update: Funimation confirmed with ANN that sales were not a factor in its decision to discontinue production on the Dragon Ball Z Blu-rays. Funimation added that "the cost incurred to restore these shows has outweighed the suggested retail price we were able to pass along to our fans." Funimation also added it is "currently researching various technology that would let us proceed" with the Blu-ray releases.
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