House - The Complete Collection [Blu-ray] [2004] [Region Free]

This is a great series love the box set

This review is purely about the blu ray quality and packaging, because House has been around for a number of years so most people will know if they like the show or not.So, it comes in a fairly large box that, when the lid is removed, contains all 8 seasons. They cases have completely different covers/pictures to the DVD versions and each case is fairly chunky (about 2 or 3 times standard blu ray cases). The discs are in flip trays. Only fault is that the cases don't close properly. If you attempt to close the case normally it gets to about halfway closed but then gets stuck and a clicking sound occurs. It's fairly hard to explain but you sort of have to squeeze the top and bottom in at the same time then close. Only a minor problem though, everything else is of really high quality.In terms of the actual discs then, one of the major complaints about the DVD's was that they never had no subtitles for seasons 1-6. I played this set on a playstation 3 and subtitles were available in numerous languages. The menu's are all very nice, only complaint is that when you get to the main menu they use icons i.e there's a house icon that takes you back home, a book which is scene select etc). It's a bit confusing as to what all these icons mean at first, text would have been better. Although I can't go into technical details, the discs look so much better in blu ray. I remember on TV the colour of the older episodes was horrible - but here it is clear and crisp and much more colourful. It becomes especially obvious when the camera zooms into the body, and you can see the blood cells travelling round the body. Sound seems good too.Personally, I rate House as one of the best shows ever so this was a no brainer for me to get. So far this set hasn't disappointed, and I'm looking forward to watching this great series all over again. When you consider that most new TV shows are available on amazon for around £20-£30 a series, this set represent fairly good value for money too IMO. As mentioned in the comments though it is available for £3 cheaper elsewhere.

Great show.Great price for so many seasons.

Great value for money

House, M.D. is one of my absolute favourite series from the 2000's. It has everything an old-fashioned formulaic show needs: A beautiful, likeable cast, a formula that works every week (the show soars those few times it breaks from it) and a slew of episodes so you never run out during a marathon.Enough about the show, there are plenty of reviews summarising the show elsewhere on the internet. The rest of this review is dedicated to the Complete Collection Blu-Ray set.Finally! House hits Blu-Ray, and in reasonable fashion. Every episode of the eight season long run is gathered here on Blu-Ray for the first time.The packaging is everything the old UK DVD-set was not: Bright, inviting, honestly huge and most important of all, consistent. Every season is packaged in a double-width Blu-Ray case (those standard ones that are a bother to open, Titanic 3D is packaged like this), each with its own distinct colour, the same colour the DVD spines had, except for season eight which is now bordeaux rather than white. Each season has gotten new cover art, taken from promotional shots of House for each season. The outer case is sturdy (though mine had a nasty bumped corner, I got it at a great discount), the cardboard similar to the original DVD release. The individual cases "lie down" inside the case, with the spine pointing up towards the lid, easily distinguishing each season.I won't be talking much about the video, seeing as it is a mostly top notch, 1080p 23.976fps transfer. The earlier seasons look less perfect than the later installments, but overall it is great with little-to-no hint of digital noise reduction or video anomalies. There's never any doubt this is Blu-Ray, and every season looks as good as it probably ever will (certainly on Blu-Ray). The original UK DVDs presented season one as 4:3/ full-frame video. Luckily these Blu-Rays are all presented in the originally intended 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, season one for the first time in the UK.Now the much talked about sound. Let me just make it clear to the uninitiated: nothing is wrong with the sound on this release; it is free of hiss, distortion and everything is clear and intelligible.The problem is, that in order to have six spoken languages on each disc, the soundtracks have been compressed, just like they would be on DVD, and there is no room for an HD track (i.e. DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD). However, each episode is presented with DTS 5.1 surround at 768kbps. This is still higher quality than the DVDs ever were, and for seasons 1-5 this is the best the show has ever sounded.That said seasons 6-8 have previously been released on Blu-Ray with full DTS-HD MA tracks. I do not own any of these sets, I can only say that most reviews I've read of these releases say, that HD sound is more or less wasted on House, M.D. due to it being dialogue driven and not very action oriented. To my ears the sound available on the Complete Collection is more than adequate, as the show sounds great! In my opinion there's no need to double-dip.Each episode has the second international theme running over the intro credits, i.e. not the US "Teardrops" and not the initial "House" theme from the UK season 1 DVDs, but a uniform, original theme throughout the entire series, first heard on the season 3 DVD in the UK.Every episode is subtitled in English HoH.All the extras from previous releases have been ported over. The extras are located on the last disc of each season, apart from the commentary tracks which are obviously spread throughout the discs. Seasons 1-5 are presented in SD-DVD quality, seasons 6-8 are full HD 1080p. I can't help but express a little disappointment, that a show this grand hasn't go any Blu-Ray exclusive extras and nothing new is here. I knew that when I bought the set, though, and there are plenty good extras here that are worth a look.My final criticism towards the set concerns the season six premiere, Broken, which in the original US transmission was aired as a single, feature-length episode. On this set however (and on the UK DVD set before it) the episode is broken up into two standard-length episodes, complete with an extra set of opening and closing credits. I may find myself eventually picking up a copy of the standalone season six release for this reason alone.Overall this is a beautiful set and a good release. It seems unlikely that seasons 1-5 will ever see a better release, at least in this generation.Happy watching! Recommended.

Love this show. Value for money and great condition

This review is for the Blu-Ray box set not DVD. What can I say? All 8 seasons in HD for £60? I'd only seen a handful of episodes before I bought the set but I already knew that I wanted to watch the whole set.A brilliant buy and a great price. Exterior and interior packaging/boxes a very nicely designed and of good quality. With a TV capable of a good HD picture, the picture quality is fantastic, even the older series' that would've originally been filmed in standard definition. Audio is good with plenty of subtitle choice throughout all seasons. Menus clean and uncluttered and interesting bonus features.A word on the content of the series, if you've never seen House, check out an old episode online or TV first. I've seen people complain about it after they've bought it even though they've never watched it before. Not a smart move.All in all a stellar product that the show deserves. Highly recommended.

I watched this series a while ago. I am looking forward to seeing it again. The episodes are all different and well acted. Hugh Laurie is exceptional in the lead role. Looking to binge watching!!