Thanks to Denare for the tipoff...looks like Amazon.com is making Dinosaucers available as downloadable material (presumably 'cause they don't want to spend the money to press DVD's for something no one is likely to buy in great quantities). I've checked the previews, and they look to be of the best quality we've ever seen them. I think they are digitized from made-for-VHS source material, though...they have an FBI warning at the beginning.
I just have three questions about them now...
(1) Are these originals they got the ORIGINAL originals, or the ones edited to put in more commercial breaks, thanks to second-run cable TV channel appearances (curse you, USA and Family Channel)? Like with early seasons of "The Simpsons", greedy TV execs commanded tiny bits be snipped or shows be time-compressed to allow for the new commercial break formats with more commercial breaks during shows, and Dinosaucers suffered the same fate in the early 90's during its cable re-reuns. I demand purity, dammit! I believe that the VHS releases of years back of those select episodes may have suffered from the extra-commercial syndrome, but now I can't remember.
(2) I'd also really cream in my pants if the commercial bumpers were intact, at least at the one mid-story commercial break the cartoon originally had. If not, I can at least put those up for people to download if they want 100% authenticity.
Now THERE's a digitization project I can actually complete in a day.
(3) Can I successfully rip this streaming/downloadable video format into something that's not swimming in DRM that I can put on my media center PC, or back to physical DVD media?
Hrm, I wonder if Somtow Sucharitkul (S.P. Somtow) is still out there, or if he'll ever check in with Lava Dome Five again. Remember that from the last forum incarnation, guys?
Anyway, just search for "Dinosaucers" on Amazon.com and you'll see it as (oddly) #2 in the results. They have the first 21 episodes up for $1.99 each, or the whole season for $33.43. I think I'm going to buy at least one episode, unless someone beats me to it, and see what I can do with it, and if I can at least rip it other formats, I'll pick 'em all up. Well, who am I kidding...I know I will anyway, 'cause I'd wager we need to buy this season at least a few times before they put up the next.
Hrm...I wonder if they have that Galaxy Rangers "Bronto-Bear" episode up for download...mmmmm....stompypaws.