What You Get in the All Creatures Great And Small Dvd Box Set
The All Creatures Great And Small Dvd Box Set contains the complete run of the BBC adaptation of James Herriot's veterinary memoirs, spanning the original series from the late seventies through the nineties. It is not a single-disc compilation. Each season occupies its own case, and the box packaging varies by region and release date. The discs use standard NTSC or PAL encoding depending on whether you are in the Americas or Europe, which matters more than most people realize when they try to play them on older hardware. I bought my first copy at a thrift store in 2012. The spine was cracked, two of the cases were missing plastic seals, and disc three from season two had a hairline scratch near the data layer. I did not return it. The scratch only affected a few seconds of dialogue in episode four, and the rest played fine on a standard DVD player. This is the kind of thing you learn quickly if you are collecting physical media on a budget.
All Creatures Great And Small Dvd Box Set: What to Look For
Not every boxed set is identical. The UK releases tend to have better audio encoding than the early US prints, which used aggressive noise reduction on the mono soundtrack. If you are listening through a soundbar or AV receiver, the difference becomes audible within the first five minutes. The later re-releases fixed this, but you have to check the catalog numbers to be sure. Look for the BBC parting shot watermark on the back cover—early presses sometimes lack it entirely. Disc count varies by release. The original three-season set contains roughly forty episodes across twelve to fourteen discs depending on compression. Region-free players make this simpler, but most standard DVD players lock to region two or region one. If you are traveling with the set or moving between countries, verify your player supports the disc region before purchasing secondhand.
How to Get It Working Without Headaches
Start by cleaning the discs with a microfiber cloth and warm water. Do not use circular motions. Wipe straight across from the center hub to the outer edge. Circular cleaning can actually push debris into the pit lands where the data is encoded, which causes skipping that looks exactly like a scratch but is far worse to fix. I learned this the hard way after ruining a copy of season one in my twenties. The skip persisted through half the episodes until I replaced that disc with a mint secondhand copy from a seller in Newcastle. Check the playback speed settings on your DVD player. Some older models default to high-speed tracking, which exaggerates any surface imperfections. Dropping the speed to standard can smooth out minor scuffs without affecting image quality. This is particularly useful if you are borrowing someone else's equipment or playing the discs on a portable player that lacks variable speed adjustment. For digital preservation, use MakeMKV to rip the discs. The encoding is straightforward—MPEG-2 video, AC3 or PCM audio. The process takes about two hours per disc on modern hardware, so budget half a day for the complete set. Do not compress further unless storage is a constraint. Downscaling to 720p or converting to H.264 introduces generation loss that shows up as banding in the Yorkshire moorland landscapes, which are heavily graded for natural lighting. The original masters do not need help.
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Common Problems and How I Fixed Them
The most frequent issue is audio sync drift on longer episodes. This happens because some pressings have inconsistent audio pitch values in the program clock reference stream. It does not affect every disc, but seasons two and three are more prone to it. The workaround is simple: enable audio delay compensation in your receiver or media player. Most units allow adjustment in fifty-millisecond increments. Start at negative one hundred milliseconds and work downward until the lip movement matches the dialogue. It usually resolves within two or three adjustments. Another problem is chapter marker failures on region-free players. The chapter points are embedded in the DVD's VOB structure, and some firmware implementations skip them entirely when playing multi-region discs. If you lose chapter navigation, you are stuck with manual seeking. I switched to using VLC with the DVD subtitles disabled, which preserved the chapter structure while giving me faster seeking than the player's built-in interface allowed. The packaging itself degrades over time. Cardboard cases warp in humid environments, and the plastic trays become brittle after fifteen to twenty years. I stored mine in a basement in Ohio for a decade and ended up with three warped cases and one cracked tray. The solution was transferring the discs to standard jewel cases with inner sleeves. It takes an afternoon, but the cost is under ten dollars per case if you buy in bulk, and it prevents further damage.
Where to Find One That Is Actually Worth Buying
Secondhand markets vary by region. The UK tends to have better-condition copies at lower prices because the series originated there and had wider initial distribution. eBay UK listings often include the original booklets and episode guides, which some buyers consider valuable. US markets may have cleaner discs but missing inserts. Check the catalog number printed on the back cover—BBCHD001 through BBCHD004 covers the main releases, with variations depending on pressing plant. Avoid listings that promise "complete set" without specifying the disc count or region code. Some sellers bundle mismatched seasons from different releases, which creates compatibility issues if you are trying to match audio encoding or subtitle formats. Ask for photos of all twelve cases stacked together. A legitimate full set will show uniform wear patterns and consistent printing quality across all volumes. For new copies, the BBC online store occasionally reprints boxed sets during anniversaries or promotions. These are expensive compared to secondhand markets, but they include fresh protective packaging and guaranteed region compatibility. If you are buying as a gift or for archival purposes, the premium is defensible. For personal viewing, secondhand is the practical choice.
