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The importance of HDTV recordings! |
Posted by: spoRv - 2017-05-16, 07:03 AM - Forum: Official and unofficial releases
- Replies (12)
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Now, in 2017, 4K (or, better UHD) is available via UHD-BD and web download - and few satellite broadcasting; Blu-ray is the king of HD, with very good alternatives as web download.
So, why one could be worried about recording a program from an HD channel, and subsequentely store it on hard disk for years?
Well, there are many reasons, and I'm going to list the most important:
availability
There are still some contents not available in HD; few movies, but also TV-series, documentaries, concerts; maybe they will be, in the future, released, but, are you 100% sure? I'm not... think that many contents are still available only on laserdisc, or, worse, VHS!
version
Often there are the so-called "TV version"; they usually have toned down dialog, sometimes made just for that purpose; sometime there are scenes cuts completely due to nudity, violence etc.; but in few cases, there are additional scenes (or even single shots) not present in any other version, or the shots are replaced with different ones, using properly alternative shots, or reciclying deleted scenes.
In rare cases, it's possible to get the Theatrical Cut, when the only HD version is the Director's Cut (or the contrary may be true)!
color grading
Some folks are even aware that there is, for many movies, more than one color grading available; is not my due to say you which one is the "right" one, but isn't always true it's the one found on released media; it happens that TV and BD use different masters, with different colors, so it may worth to preserve both (or more of them), don't you think?
aspect ratio
People in the past wanted their TV sets "filled" with image (at the time, the "square" 4/3, or 1.33:1), hence the invention of the dreadful pan&scan... while, during the years, many viewers have learned to watch movies in their original aspect ratio, there is still a large percentage that want their HDTV (now 16/9, or 1.78:1) filled as well...
There are two ways to do this, pan&scan, and open matte. While the former is to avoid, the latter is IMHO a nice alternative to watch a movie - you may have a more immersive visual experience, if it's well done. The third way is to mix pan&scan and open matte - this usually happens very often with movie which has special effects, that are done at (or around) the original aspect ratio; so, you would get a cropped image when there are special effects in the scene (very often, but not always), and an open matte for the rest of the movie.
There is also another possibility, where the open matte seems pan&scan, while it's "just" heavily cropped, and the difference with a mere p&s version is difficult to discern - usually the image lose a lot on one or both sides, but gain a tiny bit on top, bottom, or both.
Also, sometimes the open matte version doesn't only "gain" image on top and bottom, but also on one or both sides, due to different framing; in that case, you can "earn" something around 20% vertically (in case of a 2.35:1), but also a further 3/5% horizontally... that's 1/4th more image and, despite the OAR philosophy, which I endorse and reccomend to follow, it's always nice to see your preferred movie, the one you have watched several times, in a new way, that leads you to watch it almost as a new movie...
audio track
For historical reason, it could be nice to retain that strange, censored dialog tracks which many of us saw on TV for the first time; also, for old movies sometimes the old audio track is "recycled", and this is a good thing, because the old mix is available, while the recent media may contain only a new, different mix; there are also rare cases where some songs found on modern media are changed, due to rights, or other reasons; in very rare cases - still not encountered yet, but may happen - it's possible to find a multichannel version on TV, while a stereo or mono on BD...
So, when a given content you feel particularly interesting is broadcasted on your favourite HDTV channel, take the chance to record it - you can always delete it if it doesn't satisfy one or more of the previous points; and, if you got your hard disk full of old HDTV recordings, think about this before delete them; you can throw away a small, but important, piece of video history...
There may be other reasons, but at the moment I can't think of them... can you? If so, please reply!
Note: the same could be valid for SDTV broadcasting, even if it's more probable to have the same content, with same aspect ratio, colors, audio tracks etc. available, thanks to the huge title numbers of DVDs, Laserdiscs, VHS tapes.
Note 2: before deciding to delete forever an HDTV recording, please take few minutes to talk about it to your nerd friend, write on your favourite forum, or take a look at the following lists:
http://blog.sporv.com/open-matte-master-list
http://blog.sporv.com/workprints-master-list (contains also TV versions)
and consider also the option to give it to one of your friend, or upload/torrent it before delete it.
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THX-CERTIFIED HOME MEDIA RELEASES - Master List |
Posted by: Koopa Luath - 2017-05-15, 09:23 PM - Forum: Official and unofficial releases
- Replies (18)
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My second master list for the site, this being a comprehensive list of THX-certified releases on the VHS, laser videodisc (more popularly known as LaserDisc), DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D formats. The usual suspects, naturally, are the films of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron; however, even then there are some anomalies, and the world of THX certification is much greater than those three filmmakers, even if THX did have its origins at Lucasfilm. As THX's list no longer appears to be up, and when it was it didn't really distinguish between DVD and Blu-ray, this is an attempt to make things easier, first and foremost by sorting each, as a certain Modern Major-General once boasted, in order categorical. Where applicable, I will also mention which THX trailer was used.
THX LASERDISC
The sole medium where THX certification got its own unique branding. - The Abyss (1993) (Broadway)
- The Abyss (1996)
- Aladdin (letterboxed) (1994) (Broadway)
- Alien: Resurrection (1998) (Broadway)
- Apollo 13 (1995) (Broadway)
- Apollo 13: Signature Collection (1996)
- Apollo 13 (DTS) (1997) (Broadway, DVD variant)
- Apollo 13 (Dolby Digital) (1997)
- Braveheart (1996) (Broadway)
- A Bug's Life (1999) (Broadway)
- Casper (1995) (Broadway)
- Casper (DTS) (1997)
- Die Hard with a Vengeance (1996) (Broadway)
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1997) (Broadway)
- Independence Day (Dolby Digital) (1997) (Cimarron)
- The Lion King (1995) (Broadway)
- The Little Rascals (1995) (Broadway)
- Men in Black (1997) (Broadway)
- Night of the Living Dead (1994) (Broadway)
- The Rock (1996) (Broadway)
- The Rock (Criterion Collection) (1997)
- The Rock (DTS) (1998) (Broadway)
- Saving Private Ryan (1999) (Cimarron)
- Species (1995) (Broadway, theatrical variant)
- Species (DTS) (1997)
- Speed (1994) (Broadway)
- Speed (Dolby Digital) (1996)
- Stargate (1995) (Broadway, theatrical variant)
- Stargate: Deluxe Edition (1996)
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (letterboxed) (THX field test) (1992)
- Star Wars Trilogy (1993) (Broadway)
- Star Wars Trilogy (1995) (Broadway)
- Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition (1997)
- Terminator 2: Special Edition (1993) (Broadway)
- Terminator 2: Special Edition (1997)
- Terminator 2 (1998)
- Toy Story (1996) (Broadway)
- Toy Story (CAV) (1996) (Tex)
- Toy Story (DTS) (1997) (Broadway)
- Twister (1996) (Cimarron)
- Volcano (Dolby Digital) (1997) (Cimarron)
- The Wizard of Oz: The Ultimate Oz Collector's Edition (1993) (Broadway)
VHS
Unless otherwise noted, all releases use the Broadway trailer.- 101 Dalmatians (1999)
- Akira (2001)
- Akira (subtitled) (2001)
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2002)
- Bambi: 55th Anniversary Edition (1997)
- Beauty and the Beast: Platinum Edition (2002)
- A Bug's Life (1999)
- A Bug's Life (letterboxed) (1999)
- Die Hard with a Vengeance (1996)
- Dinosaur (2001)
- The Emperor's New Groove (2001)
- Fantasia 2000 (2000)
- Freaky Friday (2003)
- Fun and Fancy Free: 50th Anniversary Edition (1997)
- The Godfather Trilogy (1997)
- The Godfather Trilogy (letterboxed) (1997)
- GoldenEye (1996)
- GoldenEye (letterboxed) (1996)
- Independence Day (1996)
- Indiana Jones Trilogy (1999)
- Indiana Jones Trilogy (letterboxed) (1999)
- The Jungle Book: 30th Anniversary Edition (1997)
- The Lion King: Platinum Edition (2003)
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: 25th Anniversary Edition (2002)
- Mary Poppins (1997)
- Melody Time: 50th Anniversary Edition (1998)
- Men in Black (1997)
- Men in Black (letterboxed) (1997)
- Monsters, Inc. (2002) (Tex 2: Moo Can)
- Old Yeller (1997)
- Peter Pan (1997)
- Romeo + Juliet (letterboxed) (1998)
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Platinum Edition (2001)
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (2000)
- Star Wars Trilogy (1995)
- Star Wars Trilogy (letterboxed) (1995)
- Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition (1997)
- Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition (letterboxed) (1997)
- Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition (2000)
- Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo! in Love (1996)
- Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo! in Love (subtitled) (1996)
- Toy Story (2000)
- Toy Story 2 (2000)
- Treasure Planet (2003)
- Twister (1996)
- Twister (letterboxed) (1996)
- The Wizard of Oz (1996)
DVD- The Adventures of Indiana Jones (2003) (Broadway 2000)
- Avatar (2010) (Amazing Life)
- Cars (2006) (Tex)
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (2002) (Tex 2: Moo Can)
- Die Hard Trilogy (2001)
- District B13 (2006) (Tex 3: Action!)
- The Doors (1997) (Broadway)
- Dr. No (1997) (Broadway)
- Fantasia 2000 (2000) (Broadway)
- Finding Nemo (2003) (Tex 2: Moo Can, disc 1; Tex, disc 2)
- From Russia with Love (1997) (Broadway)
- Goldfinger (1997) (Broadway)
- The Incredibles (2005) (Cavalcade)
- Independence Day (2000)
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) (Amazing Life)
- Monsters, Inc. (2002) (Tex 2: Moo Can)
- Oklahoma! (1999) (Broadway)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) (Broadway)
- Red Tails (2012) (Amazing Life)
- Speed (2002) (Grand)
- Speed 2: Cruise Control (2002) (Tex 2: Moo Can)
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) (Cavalcade)
- Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 1 (2005) (Cavalcade)
- Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 2 (2005) (Tex 2: Moo Can)
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005) (The Science of Sensation)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) (Amazing Life)
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (2001) (Cavalcade)
- Star Wars Trilogy (2004) (Cavalcade)
- Star Wars Trilogy (2006) (Cavalcade)
- Terminator 2 (1997) (Broadway)
- Terminator 2: Ultimate Edition (2000) (Cavalcade, T2 variant)
- Terminator 2: Extreme Edition (2003) (Cavalcade, T2 variant)
- Titanic (2005) (The Science of Sensation)
- Toy Story (2000) (Tex)
- Toy Story (2005) (Tex 2: Moo Can)
- Toy Story 2 (2000) (Broadway)
- Twister (1997) (Broadway)
BLU-RAY- Avatar (2010) (Amazing Life)
- Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition (2010) (Amazing Life)
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) (Amazing Life)
- Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures (2012) (Broadway Classic)
- Red Tails (2012) (Amazing Life)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) (Amazing Life)
- Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (2011) (Broadway Classic)
- Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy (2011) (Amazing Life)
- Terminator 2 (2006) (Cavalcade, T2 variant)
- Terminator 2: Skynet Edition (2009) (Cavalcade, T2 variant)
- Titanic (2012) (Broadway Classic)
BLU-RAY 3D
All use Broadway 3D as their THX trailer.- Avatar (2012)
- Titanic (2012)
Updates from others are always welcome!
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Pirates of the Caribbean saga open matte |
Posted by: spoRv - 2017-05-15, 08:01 AM - Forum: In progress
- Replies (37)
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After Harry Potter, here you are another saga in open matte! 
Edit: 2017-10-31
- The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
- BD 2.40:1 original aspect ratio
- HDTV & WEBdl 1.78:1 open matte
- Dead Man's Chest (2006)
- BD 2.40:1 original aspect ratio
- HDTV 1.78:1 open matte
- At World's End (2007)
- BD 2.40:1 original aspect ratio
- HDTV & WEBdl 1.78:1 open matte
- On Stranger Tides (2011)
- BD 2.40:1 original aspect ratio
- HDTV 1.78:1 (moderately) open matte
- Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
- BD 2.40:1 original aspect ratio
- WEBdl 1.78:1 open matte
Things to do:
- replace the Russian title with the English one, with the overlap technique - put the whole 2:40:1 over the center of the 1.78:1 open matte
- overlay both HDTV and WEBdl (for eps. 1 and 3) to get more details and less noise
- remove the residual HDTV logo
- deblock and clean ep. 2, as there is not known HDTV to overlay to it (EDIT: maybe there will be one soon...)
- add a grainplate, to increase perceive details and obtain a cinematic look - the WEBdl is too "clean"
- (optional) if it exists, and could be found, add ep. 4 to the project - actually I'm waiting to know it from one of our members thanks to two new members now POTC 4 is available!

- add the usual five languages audio and subtitle tracks
That's it, I suppose. 
Now, a French or German Spanish member with the BD versions are needed (EDIT: both languages seems to be present in both French and Spanish BDs)!
Preliminary test; top WEBdl, bottom WEBdl mixed with HDTV, then result overlaid with a 35mm grain plate.
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/209898
Special thanks to babouin and OperatorIV for their help providing needed HDTV recordings, and to maksnew for POTC5 WEBdl
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Recreating the good old days... |
Posted by: Koopa Luath - 2017-05-15, 12:28 AM - Forum: Recycle bin
- No Replies
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...when cinemas actually gave a damn about quality.
The question here concerns both 35mm and 70mm presentations. What is the order in which each segment of an old theatrical presentation was shown? I'm talking policy trailers, THX trailers, Dolby or DTS trailers, movie trailers, EVERYTHING that came before the feature presentation. Target flashback: the '90s, when THX certification was at its peak as THX slowly but surely expanded into the home entertainment sector before cinema certification basically stopped around 1996 or so.
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La femme Nikita Besson multi-mixes |
Posted by: Stamper - 2017-05-14, 09:25 AM - Forum: Requests, proposals, help
- Replies (17)
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Hey guys, I'm trying to sort out the different french and english sound mixes for La Femme Nikita (1990).
- Original 2.0 mixes both in french and english were on the first 1997 french DVD but Pal speeded up.
- Original french 2.0 mix is on the UK Blu-ray.
- There's a unique French Dolby Digital 4.0 mix on the first Tri-Mark US DVD.
- French Blu-ray as a unique french 5.0 mix
- US Blu is of course 5.1 Dolby True HD for both mixes.
Is there any Blu ray with the english 2.0 mix, and is there any english 4.0 or 5.0 mix?
Why would there be 4.0 mixes and 5.0 mixes in the first place?
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Stripes - Theatrical cut (including original European dubs) |
Posted by: Evit - 2017-05-12, 01:09 PM - Forum: In progress
- Replies (21)
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Stripes - Theatrical cut
In Europe Stripes was only released in HD in its extended edition (which I call the bloated edition) with new dubbings for each country. I'm working on a release of the theatrical cut of the film that will also include original audio tracks in French, Italian, German and Spanish and some color tweaks where needed, if possible.
Sources:
- Stripes extended cut Blu Ray
- Stripes theatrical cut (amazon-produced barebone Blu-Ray from a VOD version, presumably)
- original European dubs from either Netflix, DVDs or VHS (depending on availability).
Proposed final format:
Video: 1080p, 23.976fps.
Audio (all in 2.0 dolby digital 384kbps): original stereo mix in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish + new European dubs from 2005 + Audio commentary 192kbps.
Subtitles: English, German, Italian, French, Spanish + audio commentary subtitles.
I'm planning a digital release for this title.
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