Now that the age of HDR is here and also with x264 supporting 10 bit encoding, I've been annoyed by AviSynth's lack of support for bit depths above 8 bit per channel.

I've known for a while that AviSynth+ natively supports higher bit depths, but been always concerned that it may break compatibility with older plugins and scripts, which would be pretty stupid.

Luckily, I read today that AviSynth+ is actually very compatible with old plugins and upgrading to it is actually fairly easy.

This shall be a short guide on how to upgrade to AviSynth+ while keeping your old scripts functional and making use of higher bit depths, based on my initial experiences.

1. Get the newest release of AviSynth+. There are some older releases floating around, which led to me initially being unable to use the higher bit depth feature. You can find the newest release here: https://github.com/pinterf/AviSynthPlus/releases

2. According to the documentation, you can leave your old AviSynth installed and install AviSynth+ over it. During installation, you are given the (default) option to simply make use of the old plugin paths for the older compatible plugins. Upon deinstallation of AviSynth+, the old paths etc. would be restored and you would be safely switched back to your old AviSynth. I personally felt that this was cumbersome and deinstalled AviSynth first opting for "do not delete plugin paths"; this did not delete my plugin folders. Then I installed AviSynth+ which gave me the same option I mentioned from the documentation - to keep the old plugin folders in the path and automatically load any needed plugins from there.

3. After the installation, pretty much everything *should be* as you're used to it.


4. Get VirtualDub FilterMod and use this instead of normal VirtualDub for previewing your work. This is because normal VirtualDub does not support deep color/high bit depths and will throw an error if you attempt to use higher bit depths.

5. Note that AviSynth+ (as well as VirtualDub Filtermod) comes in both 32 bit and 64 bit version in the same package. Which version gets actually used depends *solely* on whether the app you use AviSynth with (avisynth being a library) is 32 bit or 64 bit. This means that if you open your avs file in VirtualDub Filtermod 64 bit (it's a seperate file called veedub64.exe), then you are using the 64 bit version of AviSynth+ which does NOT have access to the 32 bit plugins of the old AviSynth that you need. Hence, use the normal 32 bit VirtualDub Filtermod and you're good! Same goes for ffmpeg versions btw. - a 64 bit ffmpeg will call the 64 bit AviSynth+ library.

6. Test one of your scripts. If you, like me, get a popup called "System Exception - Access Violation", then you have some incompatible plugins in your plugins folder. I had this error and made post about it over on Doom 9 (Permalink). AviSynth+ uses an AutoLoader for plugins. This means that when you call an unknown function, the plugin directories are scanned for plugins. If there is any plugin in your plugin folder that is not fully compatible, it will throw this error (even if the plugin you are trying to use *is* compatible). There are two solutions to this. First solution: Move all your plugins into a temporary folder, then move them back in batches while testing the script again - that way you can find out which plugin (likely some unimportant niche plugin you never used anyway) is making trouble. Second solution: Add ClearAutoloadDirs() to the beginning of the script. This will completely disable AutoLoading. Then simply manually load every plugin you need like this: Loadplugin("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth\plugins\ffms2.dll")

7. To use higher bit depths, use the ConvertBits function. It's as simple as srcclip = srcclip.ConvertBits(16) for 16 bit depth per channel. This should not create any visible change in your preview, as your display (likely) and VirtualDub (likely) only supports 8 bit preview anyway. But it will improve postprocessing as long as the filters support it. For example, if you do some kind of averaging of various sources or color/levels manipulation, you will have 255x the former precision per channel and 16,777,216x more available colors in the spectrum overall. I think you can go even deeper than 16 bits per channel.

8. The resulting script can be encoded as you are used to it. If you want to use a 64 bit software for encoding, like x264 64bit builds, then you can use a neat little software called avs2pipemod to pipe your 32-bit AviSynth script into a 64 bit tool. For example, here's an overly convoluted commandline I am using to pipe a 16 bit depth 32bit AviSynth+ script into 64 bit ffmpeg, where I apply a 3D LUT and further pipe it into x264 64 bit for final encoding:

Hi.

I'm trying to identify the fonts used in this Disneyland (actually "Walt Disney Presents") Christmas episode from 1960, so that I can recreate the end credits. Does anybody have suggestions for fonts that can be used?


 

The font used for the names is fairly similar to Impact, but I'm sure it's possible to find a font that's a better fit.

 

I have several other episodes ripped from DVD, BD and HD recordings, where the credits use the final font. Here's one example.


Obviously Disney didn't use digital fonts in 1960, so it's very possible that the exact fonts has never been available digitally (I wouldn't even be surprised if they were originally made in-house at Disney). So I'm mostly looking for fonts that are a close match.

Well, caps-a-holic is very nice and professional, but it has almost nothing on HDTV or fullscreen DVD, and doesn't allow user entries; screenshotcomparison is simple and allow user entries, but it has also empty and wrong entries; diff.pics and framecompare allow user entries and, most important, more than two pics comparison, but lack a search engine...

Now, it will be nice to have a lightweight site like one of the latter, which DOES not host internally pics (so, a lot less bandwidth and web space), and allow something more; namely, a search engine, a fullscreen comparison, and a slide to see the before/after; I hunted high and low, but without success...

So, maybe we can do it - we made this very forum, at the end, so it would be a walk in the park.

For the moment,I set up a simple comparison here: http://ultimateaspectratio.co.nf/TheArrival.html

The idea is simple:

• setup a free subdomain
  
• main page will be a simple search engine
  
• an input page (maybe password protected, so only our members could add pics, and so spam will be avoided) with FIVE simple variables:
  • name of the movie (which will appear in the page title)
    
  • URLs for both images
    
  • releases for both images
    
• a script (PHP?) will create a new page named as the movie, and feed the other four variables to the easy js
  

Anyone keen on tackling the FEMALE PRISONER/CONVICT SCORPION series that Arrow put out on blu ray towards late '16?

The colours and contrast of the transfers were just off and a radical departure from previous releases.

http://screenanarchy.com/2016/08/have-yo...-blue.html

Apparently they get worse as the series progresses (I haven't brought myself to view them, yet). So, who's to blame?

From Arrow:

"A set of low-contrast 35mm prints struck from the original 35mm film elements were supplied by Toei Company, Ltd. These prints were scanned in 2K resolution on a pin-registered 4K Northlight Scanner. Picture grading was completed on a DaVinci Resolve and thousands of instances of dirt, debris and light scratches were removed using PFClean software. Overall image stability and instances of density fluctuation were was also improved. All restoration work was completed at Pinewood Studios.

The images on all four Female Prisoner Scorpion films favor a noticeably cyan/blue look throughout. This look was inherent in the film materials supplied and relates to how these lab materials were created, as well as how the original elements have faded over time. With these restorations, we have aimed to present the films as close to their intended original style and appearance as possible."

Fair enough.

I found this example of somebody's quick attempt to mimic the look of the DVD, which suggests something can be done:

[Image: gAv7neb.gif]

For comparisons of the individual 4 films, see here.

I will personally* suck the toes of any one who can rescue these movies from a fate worse than death.

And, of course, I'd be happy to help out with source materials if/where necessary.





*may not actually be me. May be a (poorly) paid proxy in my stead.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone who has a copy of Star Trek: The Motion Picture on Laserdisc could post screencaps of how the alien subtitles look (during the opening Klingon scene and during the Kolinahr). The HDTV and the Director's cut use burnt-in subtitles in the Star Trek II font, and the BD uses generic soft subs. A quick search shows the the laserdisc has the original subtitles using a font from the Bauhaus family.
At some point I'm going to do an updated version of my TMP Director's Cut Recreation (I already made new opening credits with a title card animation to match the DVD). It would be nice to have a reference for the subtitles with the exact font and its placement on the screen.

During these days I worked a lot onto this project, because I spent so much time in previous versions, that I wanted to give it another spin...

Previous versions:
The Arrival [spoRv] *BD-25* - OriginalTrilogy - FanRes
The Arrival (1996) [Fundamental Collection™ #008] - FanRes

I did also an upscaled fullscreen 1.33:1 version, but as it seemed nobody cared about this, I deleted the file - that wasn't that great, indeed; still, has a lot of potential, as the BD frame is mainly the center of the fullscreen frame, obviously cropped, with a bit more image on one or both sides, apart few shots where the added image is bigger, but not so much.

So, I thought to do a UAR version (Hybrid Vs UAR - a simple guide), that will do justice to the fullscreen. Of course, as source for the latter the PAL Italian DVD is used, while for the letterbox version I had the BD, what else? Well, yes and no... yesterday I've found a letterbox DVD, so it is there as well.

Let's see one frame in particular, randomly chosen, but with vertical lines to see better the alignment between the two sources used in the UAR:



as you can see, fullscreen and letterbox DVDs are almost identical, while BD is very different regarding colors and contrast.

So, first attempt was to combine FS DVD and BD, as I had no other LB source (at that moment); of course, BD was regraded to be as closer as FS DVD as possible... I was sure to get a good result, as previously tested UAR projects: WRONG! Yes, BD it has a lot better detail than DVD, but the image doesn't align perfectly, as well as color grading:


Then, I found the LB DVD, so I thought to regrade the BD using is as reference; this should be better than using the FS DVD, which has a different aspect ratio, hence now color matching could be as good as it can be; I was sure to achieve the right result: WRONG! Yes, now it's better than previous attempt, color wise, but still not aligned:


I gave up, end using the LB DVD instead of the BD, as they both have the same contrast and color grading: RIGHT! Yes, alignment and color grading were OK, as expected; as well as inferior resolution due to SD sources:


I was almost happy with it, when suddenly I had a flash of genius: why don't I reform the BD, to be as closer as LB DVD? So, after various resize and related crop trials & errors, thanks to WarpedResize, that stretches only sides or center of the image, I finally get a version that is almost right for the whole film (I hope, still finish to test):


Then, feed both to first pass of the AutoOverlay plugin, to get the BD better aligned with the LB DVD, then result was used to feed the second pass of the AutoOverlay align:


I was almost there; a little tweak to colors, a grain plate... et voilà le jeux sont fait!


Comparison between fullscreen DVD and UAR: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/133547

About color grading: after few days of testing, I realized that slightly corrected DVD colors are not that bad, and *may* be more theatrically accurate than BD - due to some clues like fullscreen format, dirt and speckles and the fact that at the time was not infrequent to use interpositive prints as sources instead negative.

Hey, guys.

I've been trying to install DaVinci Resolve, since I just learned that there is a free version, so I was like "let's give it a try and learn color correction to see if I can do something with Die Hard With A Vengeance myself". But although it's "successfully" installed, I cannot launch the damn thing! I have an api-ms-win-core-synch-l1-2-0.dll alert that I can't seem to correct. All my attempts at googling solutions have failed so far. I even download the f***ing .dll file and pasted it in the right folder as I read here: https://www.dll4free.com/api-ms-win-core...0.dll.html, only to find out that I already had the damn .dll and even a more recent one! Why the hell is it not working?! I hate computers!!! This is exactly the kind of things that, about 10 times a year, makes me want to throw the f***ing thing out the window!

OK, I confess... I like this movie - shoot me now (with one of the badass guns found in the flick)!

Well, BD has a very lifeless, dull color grading... everything seems sad, colorless, dead. But I discovered the German DVD is live, colorful, happy in comparison! Yes, clipping whites, I know... http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?d1=1776&d2...=7&l=0&a=0

I thought to use is as guideline, retain more BD contrast - to avoid white clipping - but at the same time get its colors.
And, as it's not enough, release it in UAR - actually, a lot of shots are full open matte, so in reality it will be mostly hybrid, with some UAR shots.

Rough test, still not in sync; a compromise, I know, but it gave good result IMHO - single setting for the whole movie excepts last, only scene in daylight; few examples - top BD, middle DE DVD, bottom HDTV (which has the same BD grading) regraded as DVD:

Around the time of Patrick Swayze's death there was a TV broadcast of Dirty Dancing extended with deleted scenes. The timing seemed mercenary, but the extra scenes worked pretty well.

I've never seen that edition re-aired, turn up on the net, or get an official release.
I believe one of the many DVD releases had those scenes as a bonus feature, but never inserted in the film.

Anyone come across either an HDTV rip or fan edit?

Sometimes you encounter a movie with slight differences in contrast, colors, aspect ratio, that you asked yourself: "Is it worth making this into a project?"

Well, here you can post your thoughts!

Simple rules for the poster:

Movie title (in bold) (year needed only if there are two or more movies with the same title)
Versions (source and reference)
Link to screenshotcomparison.com related page
Comments (at least few words on differences)

Simple rules for the commenters:
Movie title (in bold)
Comments

that's it!

Ready, steady, go!