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| Hard Target Japanese Laserdisc |
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Posted by: IcePrick - 2016-12-02, 12:48 AM - Forum: Requests, proposals, help
- Replies (20)
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Does anybody have the Japanese Hard Target LD? (PILF-1913). I'd be interested in hearing the PCM soundtrack on that.
I think the Japanese disc has the "unrated" cut, same as what's on the Blu-ray release, so it would be preferable over the R-rated US LD.
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| Restoration tips: free software |
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Posted by: spoRv - 2016-11-30, 02:41 AM - Forum: Restoration guides
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Do think you need the latest dual CPU octa-core ultra overclocked desktop computer, and really expensive software, do make your own restoration? Well, the fastest computer the better, of course - even if I'm still using my old Core 2 Duo E6300 1.83GHz to make my own projects... anyway, let's stay on topic... I was writing, a powerful computer will indeed encode your intermediate lossless and final lossy files, but it will be useless without proper software; I'm going to list free software to make your own projects - yes, no payware, trialware etc. - is it possible to do a complete project without spending a dime; with this, I don't want to say that you have not to spend some bucks to buy a good software, nor that free software could do everything a pay software do...
The following is the list of the software I currently use to do my own projects; I'm still using Windows XP, but many *should* work even with newer Microsoft operating systems; you could use some, or all, it depends on your need:
ANALOG AUDIO/VIDEO CAPTURE
VirtualDub
The best to capture video and audio; very stable, with a powerful enough PC (10+ years dual core will be enough) it will not lose any frame!
VIDEO EDITING
VirtualDub
It's not only a great capture software, but also a simple, yet powerful, video editor, with a lot of free plugins and filter that will do almost every effect you can think of.
AviSynth
Not properly a classic software, it is called a " frame server"; in few words, you write a script - similar to a computer program, and "feed" it to AviSynth through another software - I use VirtualDub, but there are many others!
To me, this is the most powerful video tool still today; it can do everything, there are literally thousands filters and script, and, if there is none which can fit your need, you can always take an existing one and modify it, or write a new script from scratch!
AviDemux
Frankly I don't use it usually, but it's still a good simple editor to try.
VIDEO ENCODING
x264
The best free AVC encoder, that's it. You can use it as command line, or use one of the many GUIs around; one of the simpler, yet powerful, is Simple x264 Launcher - you can set every parameter there, and now it can encode also in x265!
Lagarith
The best free lossless codec; fast, and compress more than many other codecs.
HuffYUV
One of the older lossless codec, doesn't work with YV12, but I still use it when I capture video, because it's fast and lightweight, and compress about 2.5x times in comparison to uncompressed video.
MagicYUV
Another alternative lossless codec
VIDEO INDEXER
DGIndex
I use it to index DVD VOB files; it works with MPEG-2 codec.
DGAVCIndex
As its name says, it index AVC files.
AUDIO EDITING
Audacity
A simple and powerful audio editing tool; perfect to cut, paste, and add effect to your audio tracks.
FooBar2000
I use it mainly as audio converter, when the audio track needs just that. A lot of plugins avaiable.
Aften GUI
Best AC3 free encoding; but Aften CLI could be used also with other softwares, like FooBar
MUX/DEMUX
tsMuxeR
One of the best muxer around, could mux, demux, remux .ts and .m2ts files, and even a complete BD structure; warning! It *may* produce not-compliant BD files, even if it's still not clear if it's true, and also *may* depends from the version number, or wrong settings used.
GDSMux
Used to mux in MKV.
MEDIA PLAYER
MPC-HC (Media Player Classic - Home Cinema)
One of the best free media player, can play anything, or, if not... you can always use
VLC (VideoLan)
The alternative; what it can't do, the other can, and viceversa.
BD AUTHORING
EasyBD Lite
This free software doesn't allow you to make menus, but it produces BD compliant disc structures
MultiAVCHD
Free BD authoring with menu maker; quite difficult to understand at the beginning, but simpler than many other payware; after all, it's the only free authoring software that could make BD menus, so...
SUBTITLE EDITING
Subtitle Edit
The most powerful freeware; must spend some time to learn how to use it, but it worth that time!
COVER/DISC DESIGN
MSPaint
Yes, surprised? What about levels?
Fotographix
A very simple piece of software; Photoshop ain't it, but it's easy, and works well - I use the old version, seems better than the old one!
OTHER USEFUL SOFTWARES
Mediainfo
Tells everything (more or less) about your audio and video files
eac3to
Great audio tool, difficult to use as CLI; but it has many GUIs, and many other softwares use it.
Bitrate Viewer
Calculate the average bitrate of your video files.
ImgBurn
A disc burner, free and reliable.
Remember to install FFDShow, Haali Media Splitter, LAV filters, audio/video codecs etc.
And don't ask me the download links; they are free, and easy to find everywhere on the net, so...
There are of course many other free softwares around, impossible to list them all; but, if someone don't know how to start, I think these should be present "as default" in any project maker computer; maybe you don't need them now, but probably you will need one, or more, in the future.
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| DeSub - automatic hardcoded subtitles removal |
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Posted by: spoRv - 2016-11-29, 04:58 PM - Forum: Script snippets
- Replies (17)
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DeSub - automatic hardcoded subtitles removal (Avisynth script)
Is it too good to be true? Well, it needs two clips, one with subtitles (or logo), and the other without; will create a mask "on the fly", and the subtitles (logo) will be replaced with the corresponding part of the image of the clip without logo.
For best result, it's better to limit usage only to frames with subtitles; clips must be aligned perfectly, both temporally and spatially; must have the same (or very similar) colors; it's always possible to merge the result and the existing not subbed clip to improve quality.
Include it into your avisynth script or save it as DeSub.avsi and put into your AviSynth plugins folder.
EDIT: WARNING! IT WORKS ONLY WITH WHITE SUBTITLES!!!
Code: ###########################################################################################
### DeSub 1.0: removes the subtitles with no need to prepare a mask for every line! ###
### ###
### Two spatially and aligned clips are needed, one with hardcoded subtitles, or logo, ###
### and the other without; the script creates a mask "on the fly" that will be used to ###
### cover the subtitles with the corresponding parts of the clip without them. ###
### ###
### Usage: DeSub(clipwithoutsubs,clipwithsubs,subcolor) ###
### ###
### Example: goodclip.avi has subtitles, badclip.avi has no subtitles, subs color white ###
### ###
### DeSub(goodclip,badclip,$ffffff) ###
### ###
### It is highly reccomended to use it only on frames with subtitles ###
### Possible update: limit the use to a certain area of the frame, perfect for logo! ###
### ###
### AviSynth script made by spoRv (http://blog.sporv.com) - Created: 2016-11-29 ###
### ###
### Creative Commons 4,0 - Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) ###
### Link to the licence page: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 ###
###########################################################################################
function DeSub (clip nosubs, clip withsubs, val "color") {
withsubs=withsubs.converttoyv24
nosubs=nosubs.converttoyv24
color=default(color,$ffffff)
subs = withsubs.converttorgb
mask = ColorKeyMask(subs, color, 20)
blk = blankclip(length=withsubs.FrameCount,width=withsubs.width,height=withsubs.height)
over=Overlay(withsubs, blk, mask=mask.ShowAlpha, mode="blend", opacity=1)
mk=over.levels(235,1,255,1,255)
w=2
a=mk.addborders(0,0,w,w).crop(w,w,0,0)
b=mk.addborders(0,0,0,w).crop(0,w,0,0)
c=mk.addborders(w,0,0,w).crop(0,w,-w,0)
d=mk.addborders(w,0,0,0).crop(0,0,-w,0)
e=mk.addborders(w,w,0,0).crop(0,0,-w,-w)
f=mk.addborders(0,w,0,0).crop(0,0,0,-w)
g=mk.addborders(0,w,w,0).crop(w,0,0,-w)
h=mk.crop(w,0,0,0).addborders(0,0,w,0)
x= overlay(b, f, mode="add")
y= overlay(d, h, mode="add")
xx=overlay(a, e, mode="add")
yy=overlay(c, g, mode="add")
z= overlay(x, y, mode="add")
zz=overlay(xx,yy,mode="add")
nu=overlay(z,zz,mode="add")
mk=nu.levels(235,1,255,1,255)
w=3
a=mk.addborders(0,0,w,w).crop(w,w,0,0)
b=mk.addborders(0,0,0,w).crop(0,w,0,0)
c=mk.addborders(w,0,0,w).crop(0,w,-w,0)
d=mk.addborders(w,0,0,0).crop(0,0,-w,0)
e=mk.addborders(w,w,0,0).crop(0,0,-w,-w)
f=mk.addborders(0,w,0,0).crop(0,0,0,-w)
g=mk.addborders(0,w,w,0).crop(w,0,0,-w)
h=mk.crop(w,0,0,0).addborders(0,0,w,0)
x= overlay(b, f, mode="add")
y= overlay(d, h, mode="add")
xx=overlay(a, e, mode="add")
yy=overlay(c, g, mode="add")
z= overlay(x, y, mode="add")
zz=overlay(xx,yy,mode="add")
nu=overlay(z,zz,mode="add")
mk=nu.levels(235,1,255,1,255)
w=4
a=mk.addborders(0,0,w,w).crop(w,w,0,0)
b=mk.addborders(0,0,0,w).crop(0,w,0,0)
c=mk.addborders(w,0,0,w).crop(0,w,-w,0)
d=mk.addborders(w,0,0,0).crop(0,0,-w,0)
e=mk.addborders(w,w,0,0).crop(0,0,-w,-w)
f=mk.addborders(0,w,0,0).crop(0,0,0,-w)
g=mk.addborders(0,w,w,0).crop(w,0,0,-w)
h=mk.crop(w,0,0,0).addborders(0,0,w,0)
x= overlay(b, f, mode="add")
y= overlay(d, h, mode="add")
xx=overlay(a, e, mode="add")
yy=overlay(c, g, mode="add")
z= overlay(x, y, mode="add")
zz=overlay(xx,yy,mode="add")
nu=overlay(z,zz,mode="add").levels(235,1,255,1,255)
numask = ColorKeyMask(nu.ConvertToRGB32, color, 30)
Overlay(nosubs, withsubs, mask=numask.ShowAlpha, mode="blend", opacity=1)
converttoyv12
}
I tested it, and seems to work well; of course, could still be improved. Waiting for your test results and impressions!
Examples - top DeSub result, bottom original:
![[Image: desub2.jpg]](https://s16.postimg.cc/mcnxosox1/desub2.jpg)
![[Image: desub4.jpg]](https://s16.postimg.cc/87i4mzfvp/desub4.jpg)
![[Image: desub3.jpg]](https://s16.postimg.cc/uxh9fyz39/desub3.jpg)
![[Image: desub1.jpg]](https://s16.postimg.cc/f0ihj96p1/desub1.jpg)
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| source load |
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Posted by: spoRv - 2016-11-29, 03:12 PM - Forum: Script snippets
- Replies (18)
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What kind of filter do you use to load compressed sources?
These are what I use:
Video
Code: #MPEG-2
#DGindex - d2v file needs to be prepared with DGindex
LoadPlugin("your actual path to avisynth plugins folder\dgdecode.dll")
temp=mpeg2source("filename.d2v")
TFM(d2v = "filename.d2v")
#if source is NTSC film, then add the following
TDecimate.assumefps(24000,1001)
#AVC (h264)
#DGAindex - dga file needs to be prepared with DCAVCindex
LoadPlugin("your actual path to avisynth plugins folder\DGAVCDecode.dll")
AVCSource("filename.dga")
#AVC (h264) and VC-1
#Directshow
DSS2("filename.mkv")
#or
DirectShowSource("filename.mkv")
#or
FFVideoSource("filename.mkv")
#used usually for the video track, when I need to load audio track as well
#then at the end
TFM
#if source is NTSC film, add the following line
TDecimate.assumefps(24000,1001)
Audio
Code: nicac3audio("filename.ac3")
nicdtsaudio("filename.dts")
OR
FFAudioSource("filename.ac3")
#remember to join audio and video!
audiodub(yourvideofile,youraudiofile)
If there are better ways, I'm all ears! 
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| Reputation |
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Posted by: Feallan - 2016-11-27, 06:21 PM - Forum: Announcements
- No Replies
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I removed the likes system since it stopped working anyway after one of the updates and disabled the MyBB reputation system along with it. I think it would be redundant having both "Rate" and "Thanks" buttons.
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| [proposal] Apollo 13 - open matte 16:9 |
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Posted by: spoRv - 2016-11-27, 12:28 PM - Forum: Requests, proposals, help
- Replies (2)
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If I recall correctly, there was someone interested in a restoration of the open matte 1.78:1 of "Apollo 13"; found the 720p HDTV, it's not that bad at all, even if it could be maybe improved a bit - grain plate SHOULD be added!
Comparisons:
BD vs HD-DVD
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/191965
BD vs HDTV
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/191964
HD-DVD vs HDTV
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/191962
I took this image because it has those tiny figures on the wall, good for comparisons... as you can see, HD-DVD has a lot more image than BD; HDTV has almost all the sides of HD-DVD, plus of course a lot more on top and bottom; color wise, HDTV is similar to BD, but don't know which has the *right* color grading.
Now, I wonder if the Imax DVD 1.66:1 has more image on top and bottom of the 1.78:1 (probable) or it's just a cut or P&S version of the latter.
Audio: the laserdisc DTS has a different mix than HD-DVD and BD, it should be the same of DTS Cinema - that, by the way, is also available!
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| Interesting post about laserdisc and hardware video processors |
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Posted by: spoRv - 2016-11-27, 01:14 AM - Forum: General technical discussions
- No Replies
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Posted by substance, original thread: http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Laserdi...o/id/51519 (can't link to the exact post...)
I think it's really interesting post; verbatim copy (just in case it will be lost in the future):
Quote:hi, just joined.
actually I was the one who recommended antcu the analog devices adv7800 evaluation board to use it as the external comb filter. The ADV7800 chip so far is the best comb filter in the market and I doubt that there will ever be a newer/better one from any hw manufacturer.
I am not well knowledge about the capture part but I can talk about a thing or two on the real time viewing.
I own or have owned pretty much all of the well known video processors including PMS Crystalio II (had 2 at one point), DVDO VP30/50, Algolith Dragonfly, Algolith Mosquito HDMI (still have two), Faroudja NRS, Lumagen HDQ. I currently own the following,
-Algolith Mosquito HDMI
-Lumagen Radiance 2144
-Lumagen Radiance Pro 4449
I own or have owned all of the highly regarded LD players. I won’t list all but only the ones I currently own.
-Pioneer DVL-919 (US version)
-Pioneer DVL-919E (EU version Pal/NTSC)
-Pioneer LD-S1
-Pioneer LD-S2
-Pioneer HLD-X9
-Pioneer HLD-X0
-McIntosh MLD-7020 (Pioneer CLD-97 Clone with factory RF out)
-Theta Voyager V2 (Silver)
-Theta Voyager V2 (Black with Progressive Scan Component upgrade)
If cost is no object below is the best of the best in LD playback, look no further!
Pioneer HLD-X0 -> Lumagen Radiance 2144 (Comb filter + deinterlacing =480p output) -> Algolith Mosquito HDMI (Dynamic Gaussian Filter for noise removal)-> Lumagen Radiance Pro 4449 (Color calibration + Darbe + Geometry = Scaling up to 4K)
Above is a several decathousand setup, let’s look at more conservative ones.
Pioneer CLD-97 and LD-S2(not! HLD-X9) are the closest to the HLD-X0. They have very low chroma noise and very stable video. For the shipping cost of HLD-X0(from Japan), you can perhaps buy 3x CLD-97s(or 4).
For video processing, I will stick with Lumagen gear. The no ringing scaling of Lumagen is really the only suitable processing for its NTSC video. DVDO sucks, Faroudja is OK, Algolith is OK. Only Crystalio II rivals but that is hard to find. Lumagen Radiance 2124 and 2144 are the only models with the good ADV7800 chip. All other Lumagen use 2D comb filters and not good. The very old HDQ model has the very good TI TVP5160 chip for its 3D comb filter. It is a rare machine but very cost effective comparing to 2124 and 2144.
At one point, I had both Crystalio II Pro VPS-3800 and Lumagen Radiance 2144 in my system. ADV chip in Lumagen is excellent with dot crawl(absolutely none) but noticeably softer than TVP chip in Crystalio II (some dot crawl in motion). Crystalio II uses Gennum VXP for upscaling which is second to Lumagen scaling. Let’s make a list:
-Lumagen HDQ $200-500
-Crystalio II $1000-1500
-Lumagen Radiance 2124/44 $2500-3500
If you really have to go low cost and can’t find a HDQ, Faroudja NRS would be my only alternative. These above VPs are so good, even a mediocre player like DVL-919 can look amazing through these. I see a lot of people use DVDO processors. If you have one of these, make sure to disable its scaling and use your TVs. Just set it to output 480p so it only does deinterlacing (which it does excellently). DVDO scaling will murder LD. its too harsh and aggressive.
Some fun project:
SO I bought these DVL and Theta units for a Frankenstein player. Theta Voyager is basically a DVL-919 with an upgraded power section and video opamp/output section. It’s discete components and toroidal transformers really help lower the noise floor for both sound and video. There is really not a decent PAL capable LD player in existence. I looked into CLD-d925, 2950 and D515 but the best is DVL-919E. It’s the only one with a digital TBC. So my project is to swap come boards inside a Theta unit and make it PAL capable. I still don’t expect CLD-97 type performance but with its amazing power section, I expect much lower noise than the 919. It will mostlikely be the best PAl player in existence.
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| Small header change |
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Posted by: spoRv - 2016-11-24, 01:09 PM - Forum: Announcements
- Replies (5)
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I made small change to the header; I removed "Buddy List" link, and replaced it with "Subscribed Threads" link; also, removed "View" from "New Posts" and "Today's Post" links (just to make room for the new link).
Why? I think the most used links should be placed there, and "Subscribed Threads" seems more used than "Buddy List"...
Of course, if you think I should revert to the previous status, just post here!
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| RESTORATION FOR DUMMIES |
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Posted by: spoRv - 2016-11-24, 01:24 AM - Forum: Official and unofficial releases
- Replies (1)
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Many people would like to start a fan restoration project - some have good ideas, I must admit - but almost no one has patience, time and skill to do one in person; they keep asking someone else to do it for them.
So, it's time to reveal an hidden truth, feared by all of us, fan restoration project makers... the truth is...
EVERYONE COULD MAKE A RESTORATION WITHOUT EXPERIENCE!
you just need few things - no computer, fancy software, 4k monitors, steep learning curves... only a bit (just a bit) of time and patience, and you could start your project right now! REALLY! Of course, not every kind of restoration is possible, but following this guide, anybody - yes, even you! - will be able to do his/her own project, and finally say "I did it!"
Let's start!!!
***
Things you need - without them, you can't do anything, sorry...
- Time. Not too much, but you can't do it in ten minutes... let's say, few hours for each project
- Patience. Not a lot, because everyone could follow this guide easily, with zero trials & errors
- Source. Of course... you would restore a movie, right? You need one!
- Player. A DVD, BD, even a VHS player. A TV broadcast could be used, but you need more skills.
- Display. A TV set. Better if it's a LED/plasma/OLED, but an old CRT could still be used.
- Camcorder. Or a phone which could record long video. Don't forget tapes/disks/memories!
- Stand. To put your camcorder, or phone
- Other small things you usually have at home; project dependent, more on these later
OK. If you have all this things, you are ready to start. First, check your connections (is your player connected to the display?), your camcorder (is the battery full charged? is the tape/disk/memory inserted? is there enough space to record the movie?), your watch (have you enough time to do it right now?)
If everything is OK, we could start! First, let's prepare the "studio"
- Take the source (movie, usually, but a documentary, concert, TV episodes etc. will do) you want to restore
- Note the source duration; read the techniques you want to use to calculate the time needed for your project
- Put the source in the player, press "Play" and let it play - don't forget to turn on the display!
- Put the camcorder on a stand, in front of the display, at the right distance, so you are able to cover the whole display, and not anything else
- Record a minute, watch the result, adjust settings and repeat until you reach the desired quality
- You are ready to go! Don't forget to turn off the lights to achieve a better result.
Now, you can record your movie "as is"; but you want to do a restoration, right? Then, now it's time to discover the secret truth... each point teaches you how to make a certain effect; more kinds could be combined for each project; sky's the limit! Don't forget to record the movie AFTER you have applied the effect(s)!
***
Don't you think sometime a contemporary movie would look better in black and white? It's quite simple! Take your display remote, go to the image menu, find the color setting (sometimes called saturation) and put it to zero (or lowest level); magically, the image now is black and white!
Sometimes, especially with old movies, details are not so clear, and seems out of focus. Just take the remote, search for sharpness setting, and raise it high, until you could see more details.
Why, when you go to any electronic shop, you see TV sets with brilliant colors that "pop" out of the screen, bright images, that seems almost alive, and when you are back home, your almost-brand new TV shows pale colors and dull images? Want a particular movie to be more alive? Just find a setting like "image mode" or something similar, and turn it to "dynamic" (or vivid, or the like); is it enough? If not, turn up color and brightness, and eventually contrast, too!
Ever wanted to turn a boring movie into something like Blair Witch Project? You need to stay behind the camera the whole time... can you? If so, just tilt gently the camera every twenty/thirty seconds, for a second, no more, so that the camera record the display just few inches off the center; change direction every time. Also, defocus helps - you can manually do it, if your camera has a manual focus, or just slide the camera/phone slightly towards the display, and back - best results is to make it not more than ten times for the whole movie, let's say once every ten minutes.
This depends from the source and display aspect ratio. If you have a 4:3 source, and a 16:9 display, you have just to find out, in your display menu, the size setting, and set it to zoom (or letterbox). If you have a 4:3 source and a 4:3 display, procedure is slightly complicated, but not too much! Just decide how big you want your black borders; done? Well, you need black cardboard, wide as TV - just cut it to cover top and bottom part of the image, tape them to the TV, and voilà! you have letterboxed image! If you haven't black cardboard, you could use some kind of tissue, or just the black adesive tape - use it ONLY on glass-covered display, at your risk! Also, this last technique could be used if you have a 16:9 source and a 16:9 display, and want to obtain an higher aspect ratio - like 2.35:1 for example.
Sometimes you find that old TV show, that is impossible to find on any format, but you hate that little logo in the corner? Well, just remove it! The best way to do it is to cover it with a piece of paper, or, better, cardboard, shaped as the logo that should cover, and tape it to the screen; you could leave it blank, or write something on it, just your own logo for example! For better result, I suggest just to cover the logo only with transparent adesive tape; logo will not be recognizable, and image seems more "professional"! Of course, same risk of display damage, so keep in mind the previous point!
This could be obtained in different manners. If you have a DVD/BD source, just switch on the subtitles - remember to do it in the menu, not during the movie, or you will record menu as well! If you have a laserdisc source, probably it has a Closed Caption track; just find the setting on your display menu - or you need a Closed Caption decoder. If you plan to record a TV broadcast, often subtitles are available, just find the setting on your display menu as well.
But, what if no subtitles are available on the source, like, for example, in a VHS tape? This requires A LOT of patience, time, and some skill, but could be done by anybody. You need also a lot of paper, a pen or better a big colored marker. A friend is really useful in this task... Ready? Take the paper and the marker, start watching the movie (DO NOT RECORD YET!), listen to the dialog, pause the movie, write down the dialog - literal transcription is better, but it's up to you - in the top half of the paper sheet. You could use different colors for different actors. Write down in the bottom half of the paper the movie time when the dialog is placed - if you have a player that shows time, or just a progressive number. Repeat the steps until you have written down all the dialogs of the movie. Now you have some hundred paper sheets, ordered from the first to the last dialog, right? OK, now start to record, and be ready to place the top half of each paper in front of the display, so the camcorder will take just the written dialogs, and not your hand holding the paper; you could share this task with a friend, one places the odd numbered papers, the other the even numbered ones. Just do it well, fast, and don't forget to remove the paper when there is no dialogs... and you have your homemade subtitles!
(this requires good timing skill) Ever wanted to include deleted scenes back into your favourite movie? Is it possible, but this technique requires also patience and time. First, play the movie (DO NOT RECORD YET!) possibly with friends or relatives (the more, the merrier - they will help you to remember) to have it "fresh" in mind. Then play the deleted scenes, and try to understand where, more or less, should be inserted. Play again the movie (DO NOT RECORD YET!) and find the exact place where each deleted scene should be inserted. Write down time for each scene. Ready! Play the movie and record it. Wait until the time when the first deleted scene should be, and suddenly PAUSE the camcorder. Now go to the first deleted scene, press PLAY on the player and PAUSE again (or record) on your camcorder. Be prepared to PAUSE again the camcorder when the deleted scene is over. Go back to the movie, at the scene that will ideally follow the first deleted scene, press PAUSE on the player. Now be ready to press PLAY on the player, and PAUSE again (or record) on your camcorder. Repeat the steps until the last deleted scene, and let the movie play until the end. A remote for player and/or camcorder is really welcome!
Basically, it requires the same skills and technique used in the extended edition, but this time you have to eventually cut scenes, replace them with deleted or extended scenes, or even a scene from a different movie - in that case, you obviously need the other movie, too. First, think of what kind of fan edit you want to make - which scenes to cut, move, replace etc. and write down them in a paper. Now play the movie (DO NOT RECORD YET!) and keep track of every scene you need, and write down begin and end time. Do the same for the eventual second movie. Now you have a kind of beat sheet. At this moment, you should know what you have to do... if not, just read again the previous point!
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Always thought that your favourite movie has a wrong soundtrack, or, simply, one or more tracks should be replaced with better ones? Now you could do it! For this technique, you need an audio player, with the desired soundtrack, or songs. Also, you need to be fast and have good timing. First, play the movie (DO NOT RECORD YET!) and write down begin and end time of the track(s) you want to replace. Keep the CD/audio tape/record ready. Play the movie and start to record. Keep attention at the time, because you must press the MUTE button on your remote AND press start to play the music you want to use at the same time. Also, don't forget to stop the music AND press MUTE again, to listen back to the original source track.
Sometimes there are great movies on BD, which has the wrong mix, or is redubbed... the only way to listen to original audio track is to obtain an old VHS or laserdisc, but obviously the quality of video is inferior... so, you thought to use the video from the BD and audio from the VHS (or laserdisc)? Pronto, it's quite easy! For this, you need a second TV set, or an audio system, and a second player. Put the BD in the player connected to the main display. Mute the main display. Put the VHS (laserdisc) in the second player. Turn on the second TV, or connect the player to the audio system, and use the main display to check the VHS (laserdisc). Take both sources at the beginning of the movie. Put them in sync using, for example, the first frame of the logo, and pause them at the same time. If you have one display only, just switch the input to the BD source. Start record, and press AT THE SAME TIME the PLAY buttons in both players. Now you will see images from BD, and hear sound from VHS (laserdisc)... it's kind of magic, don't you think?
(best result obtained when combined with the old cinema technique) Simple version is done just settings the camcorder, or display, volume to zero. Advanced version requires subtitles, and soundtrack replacement - as the mute movies usually has someone who play a piano song, it will be the best solution to have a piano player ready to help with your project!
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OK, it's time to decide which movie will be treated in your restoration project, and which technique(s) to use to improve it in some way. Have fun, and post your project on Youtube - instant fame!
Hint: before your mom/granny/relative decides to call a technician, because the TV doesn't work well anymore, don't forget to put the image and/or audio settings back to their original status!
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