Anyone thinks that definition = resolution. This is not (always) true!

To me, definition is the maximum resolution (in pixel) a given display, or source, could show; so, an high definition image (1080i/p) is made by 1920 (sometimes 1440) x 1080 pixels. Does it mean I have always a 1920x1080 resolution? Think about it... if you take an high resolution source - like a BD made using a 4K master - and compare it with an upscaled DVD, will they look like the same? Obviously not!

So, resolution is not (always) the same as definition... back to the example, if we downscale the 1920x1080 BD image, mastered from a 4K source (hence more than 2x the BD definition) to DVD definition, it should be better than previous DVD of the same movie, but made with a 2K master...

At the end, the resolution of the master used for the source is the most important thing, but not the only factor in the resolution "affaire"... for example, if we have two different HDTV broadcast recordings, one 1080i, and the other 720p, sometimes we discover that the 720p seems better, even if we know that they use the same master (same colors, same cut, same dirt spots placed in the same places etc.); with the hypotesis of a low resolution master (again, resolution <> definition), there could be some reasons for that...

• bitrate: a 1080 FHD video has an image size of 1920x1080 = 2073600 pixels, while a 720 HD video has 1280x720 = 921600, so a FHD video file size is 2,25x the HD video (given the same codec is used); if the size difference (minus audio/subs tracks) is much different, and the ratio is lower, than the 720 video has obviously an higher bitrate; there are times where the 720 video has almost the same size of the 1080 one!
  
• codec: previous comparison has taken in account two videos with different sizes but the same codec; what if one uses a codec and the other another? You should calculate also this factor; roughly, AVC encoded video has the same perceived quality when compressed at half bitrate of an MPEG-2 video: so, if you have an MPEG-2 1080 video, it should be around 4.5x the size of an AVC 720 video to have the same quality
  
• encoder: different encoders give different results, depending not only on the settings used, but also on the encoder inherent quality; did you know that the best MPEG-2 hardware encoders (the ones used by the professionals) are about 20-25% more efficient than the software ones?
  

Warning: I do not endorse nor reccomend the habit to watch screeners only, and then NOT going in theaters AND/OR buying the commercial release!

Said that, a screener (cinema rip, cam rip, telesync... the capture of a movie as shown in the theater) have a certain importance, in particular for us, project maker.

Why? How many times you hear (or you say to yourself) "...but I am certain that scene was (was not) showed" or "the dialog was not the same" and so on... with a screener, you can have a PROOF that this fact is true, or just a memory trick (due to other things like written scripts, trailers, deleted scenes, documentaries, comics, radio dramas etc.)

Now let's see the main things that could make a screener useful (some deeply depending by the screener audio video quality itself):

• cut: to know if the movie shown has the same cut released later on media, or if there are additional/cut/different scenes/shots
  
• color grading: to see the original colors
  
• aspect ratio: to know the original one
  
• audio: to hear if the mix is the original one, or if there are added/cut/different music and/or dialogs
  

Time to start a proper thread about this...

Someone *thinks* that the first Japanese squeezed (read: anamorphic 16:9) version, PILF-2187 - does contain both theatrical audio mix AND color grading...

I explored the web and found some links about this edition (and comparisons with other releases as DVD, BD, and even MUSE LD!):

https://www.google.it/amp/s/blog.mercian...t-day/amp/
http://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=2338

As you can see, the trailer (as usual, I could add) has totally different colors from any other versions; also the MUSE LD, as the PILF-2187 as well, while other laserdiscs, DVDs and BDs seems to have, more or less, the same grading... I must admit I like a lot the trailer colors (and the different takes, and unused shots too!) but it's difficult IMHO to use just few shots to regrade a whole movie; MUSE LD, apart some too green images (probably due to the MUSE standard itself) has nice natural colors; can't say which has the "proper" color grading!

A comment in the following page says that, even if PILF-2187 has a different color grading in comparison to any other sources (and it seems true, according to previous pages) and it *seems* almost no corrected in some scenes, it is not the same seen in 35mm:
http://www.ghoulishbasement.com/2012/01/...discs.html

About audio, I think the "original" CDS mix is present in one of the earliest versions on DVD; what about PILF-2187 audio mix?

Time to write your thoughts now!

Back in 2006 I've re-edited the trailer for The Little Mermaid, but the project was never finished, due the titles. Today the project has been "finished" with the help of taas007. He re-recreated the movie title and credits for the trailer.

You can view the trailer on youtube.



Okay, it's only SD for now. But I'll upgrade it to HD as soon as I get Bambi on BD. When the true finished version is complete, I'll share the HD version here. Till then I hope you'll enjoy the released version nonetheless.

Trailer edited with Final Cut Pro 5.1

I sold the bulk of my laserdiscs and my player a while back   but I kept a handful for nostalgia/keepsakes:

The Killer (Made In Hong Kong, HK002L, PAL, CLV, UK)
Just Heroes (Hong Kong Classics, EE1210 PAL, CLV, UK)

Would anybody be interested in capturing these if they have not been already? I'm based in the UK.

Edit: LD info corrected.

As those of you who have been following my thread will know I discovered earlier this year that Netflix were streaming a 1080p version of Die Hard which differed in a number of ways from the Blu release:

Stable titles/no telecine wobble
Cleaner, with film damage reduced or removed
Altered colour timing, varying from shot to shot so as to suggest a full regrade as opposed to a blanket tinting
More detail in many circumstances, usually static close-ups due to the way Netflix's compression operates

Obviously the film was restored in 4K a number of years, perhaps the master slipped out? In any case I felt it warranted a preservation, purely as a curiousity, so I capped it:

Captured from cable box at 1080p24 to an external USB capture device which hardware encoded to a high bitrate AVC file, visually identical to stream
Stream capture converted to Lagarith lossless and imported in NLE,
Blu ray indexed via DGAVCindex and downconverted to 480p Lagarith for sync,
Lossless stream synced to blu ray and menu cutaway removed during end titles,
Light 35mm film grain applied via grain plate, matched to what grain survived the encode,
Rendered out to UTvideo codec in YV12 for 2-pass encode via x264 CLI (veryslow preset, tune grain, av. bitrate 19Mbits/s, blu ray compliant)
Raw .264 file muxed to blu ray folder structure with audio and chapter stops from blu ray with tsMuxer.

Audio tracks (with huge thanks to DoomBot and PDB):
1. PCM Dolby Stereo from Initial Widescreen Laserdisc release (1666-80), closest to Theatrical Audio known available short of obtaining the optical track from a realease print
2. PCM Dolby Stereo from THX Widescreen Laserdisc remaster (8905-85), a beefed-up track said to be based on the 70mm 6-track, offered as an alternative listening experience.

As this is Blu ray synced alternative tracks can be ripped/muxed to your taste.

Obviously a streaming video can never match the bitrates of a commercial blu ray, there are compression artifacts mostly in shadow detail and out of focus/solid areas of colour. The grain plate helps to mitigate many of these. What I have aimed for here is to replicate the experience of streaming at the maximum quality available, offline with superior (and authentic) audio.

PM me for more information, feedback is appreciated, especially from anyone fortunate to catch the limited 4K DCP presentations. Depending on feedback and improved source material there may be a v1.1, also I will be keeping the original capture for the foreseeable and may make it available.

Happy trails!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

No one's created this thread yet?

Without going into spoilers, I think it's the best Star Wars film since 1980.

Lots of great universe building, surprising additions to the cinematic force mythology, and memorable new characters! Whole thing looks great, and you really get the battle between Rebel Alliance and Imperials come to life in a way never seen before. But, the most bold addition is a degree of radical moral ambiguity on both sides that we really haven't gotten, almost the film I wish that 2015 had given us.

The film admittedly does suffer from some pacing issues early on, but, unlike the other SW films, its nothing that a fanedit couldn't feasibly fix. The film picks up later on and concludes with one of the best endings in the saga, apparently most of which is radically changed reshoots.

Ironically, for a film that takes place during the OT timeline, it will comfort those that didn't like TFA that there aren't as many plot/narrative beats lifted from previous films. There are references to be sure and some more ham-fisted than others , but again, inevitable fanedits will take care of this...

Go see it, hopefully more than once. Have a feeling I'll be revisiting this one time and again.

I have the material to get this kickstarted that i can share but my laptop is not powerful enough nor do I have knowledge to do this but I would absolutley love for someone to restore the US Theatrical cut of Luc Besson's The Big Blue featuring the alternate score by Bill Conti.

I have the following on my laptop

The Big Blue - US theatrical version (HD 720p MKV from rutracker) but with agressive cropping
The Big Blue - original Motion Score by Bill Conti (FLAC)

I also have the US Laserdisc and the VHS as well but have no means of ripping the Dolby Surround track sadly.

I do mention this over at OT.com but there wasn't any uptake on it even though i did hear that someone did restore it but didn't share it for some unknown reason but considering it's never been released since it's original VHS and laserdisc and from what i heard that Luc Besson won;t actually allow this cut to be released in the future due to his dislikign of how it was changed, it's a pretty solid title for preserving i think?

Simple project: "recolor" the Black and Chrome version... why? Well, because it is not just the Color version desaturated:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/194121

It's just a matter of using the Black and Chrome luma with the Color chroma:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/194122

Quite easy, don't you think? A perfect project for PDB!