A documentary about Italian dubbers, directed by an American!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3993714
http://www.betterinitalian.com

(I discovered it thanks to Evit's blog! )

Does anyone may have the PCM audio from this laserdisc?

Ok, bare with me as this will be a rather long post (those of you that know me are already aware, LOL)...

So, a while back there was a discussion in one of the other threads here about various films and open-matte versions of those films. Somehow, the topic of "Top Gun" came up and I thought to myself, "this would be an awesome project for one of my favorite 80s films."

I HATE the 2.40 AR that is used for most of the DVD releases and all of the BD releases. There is just too much cut off from the top and bottom. The aerial scenes suffer the most from this ridiculous cropping. The "director's approved" 2.0 AR would have been awesome (as was released on Laserdisc and the first DVD editions for NTSC and PAL) but we were not that lucky. Even though the 2.0 AR is decent, there is still some stuff on-screen that would benefit from a 1.78 AR (16x9) especially during some of the aerial scenes.

There was a full screen release of the film on the first NTSC DVD, which is mostly open-matte (although about 15-20% of the shots have a "pan & scan" thing going on) This same DVD also had a non-anamorphic 2.0 AR version included on the same disc. There is also an anamorphic 2.0 AR PAL DVD of the film, but I'll get to that in a moment.

All of this is "lovely" and all, but reconstructing an open-matte version using just the 2.40 AR BD release and the DVDs would NOT have been worthy of a project. There are a couple of reasons for this. The BD looks like sh*t, due to excessive DNR and EE (making it look like "wax-o-vision") and it has a different color-timing. Granted, I could probably regrade it and make it match rather well, but the wax look of it still bothers me. The 3dBD, is excellent in terms of sharpness, detail, and grain, but has an atrociously changed color-grading. Even if I was able to match the color-grading of the 3dBD to the DVD, it would still be waaaaaaaay too obvious that I used two different sources to create an open-matte version due to the sharpness of the 3dBD.

Granted, I could create this open-matte version using just the DVD footage but it would only be an upscale of SD footage, which would be pretty pointless IMHO. However, I got really lucky. Thanx to Andrea, who pointed me to a private ftp site, I now have a 2.0 AR HDTV broadcast of Top Gun from RTS DeuxHD. It's "only" 720p, but was encoded at ~10.5mbps, is an AVC stream (so better than MPEG2) and is progessive (so no de-interlacing needed, yay!) It has a very small logo in the upper-right-hand part of the screen, but can be easily patched using any of the DVD footage (once upscaled)

With this source, all of a sudden, this project became doable and I started working on it. For the last couple of weeks, my computer was hard at work upscaling all of the sources that I have, using SuperResolution, so that I can start assembling this together.

During this process, I discovered something rather weird... the non-anamorphic NTSC DVD (at an average bitrate of ~4100kbps) looks BETTER than the anamorphic PAL DVD (which has a higher average bitrate of ~6000kbps) The NTSC disc is progressive, while the PAL release is interlaced (which may have something to do with this, even though I tried multiple de-interlacing methods) but it shocked me when I was able to see them after the upscaling. The NTSC disc looks excellent, while the PAL disc looks smeared and REALLY soft. However, the progressive NTSC disc has some problems too. There are 8 (or 9) instances where the is combing present, which to me says that they de-interlaced it incorrectly. Fortunately, most of these are after a scene change and can be fixed fixed easily... The full-screen version suffers from the same issues, during the exact same frames and this shouldn't be much on an issue.

The HDTV capture has a couple of "issues" too. First, there are French undertitles for the English onscreen text and the intro text is in French. Fortunately, this is easy to fix/patch. Then, there's the logo which is also easy to fix. The part that can NOT be "fixed" is the 25 frames that are missing for the one single commercial during the broadcast (which I will have to replace using upscaled footage) There is also one more frame missing at a scene change toward the end of the film, which can easily be fixed (already done) Also, during the fade-out at the end of the credits, the last 6 frames are missing and will have to be replaced. Other than that, the footage is excellent and will help this project look right.

I spent the last couple of days aligning the footage to the 2dBD, as that will be the source for nearly all of the audio. This was pretty straight-forward, but time-consuming. Now, I have to align the frames to each other spatially. About 65% of the film is a straight-forward center-crop and will be easy to "expand" to the 1.78 AR. About 20% of the footage needs to be aligned differently (to the side, zoomed in more/less, etc., depending on shot) and about 15% of the footage will be re-cropped to fit with the 1.78 AR (as the DVD footage there is "pan&scan")

It will take me the next few days to get all the sources to align properly, as I have to correct everything on a shot-by-shot basis (there is no "universal" setting I can apply here) The film will also contain the original studio logo, unlike all of the "official" releases, with the proper AR for that logo (the 3dBD has the original logo, but it's squeezed into a 2.40AR and looks wrong) There is a LOT of work to be done here, as the alignment changes very frequently and I have to keep in mind the logo patch.

Anyway, the sources used for the video of this project:

2dBD - for timing ONLY
3dBD - for the text intro (as it has the best quality) and has been re-graded to match the rest (had a nasty yellow cast)
NTSC non-anamorphic DVD (mostly for logo patch and, possibly, the onscreen undertitles)
NTSC full-screen DVD (a HUGE thanx to Tylerdurden389 for providing this source)
PAL anamorphic DVD (will NOT be used at all... mad that I wasted time upscalling this for nothing)
720p HDTV broadcast (a HUGE thanx to Andrea for helping me get this source)

Everything upscaled, using SuperResolution, to 1080p (actually the full-screen DVD is upscaled to 1920x1440 so that when I crop to 1920x1080, there is no picture quality loss)

The sources for the audio of this project:

2dBD - the US version and two different EUR versions
custom BDrips - for some of the more "obscure" languages
NTSC Laserdisc

The sources for the subtitles of this project:

Same as the audio


There will be TONS of language options available for this

For the audio, I have:

English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
English 5.1 AC3 @640kbps
English 6.1 DTS-HDMA
English 2.0 PCM from LD, not bit-perfect, still needs to be synced (thanx to friend for supplying this)
English Commentary 2.0 AC3 @192kbps
Czech 2.0 AC3 @224kbps
French 5.1 AC3 @640kbps
German 2.0 AC3 @224kbps
Hindi 5.1 AC3 @448kbps
Hungarian 5.1 AC3 @640kbps
Italian 2.0 AC3 @224kbps
Polish 2.0 AC3 @224kbps
Portuguese 2.0 AC3 @224kbps
Russian 5.1 AC3 @640kbps
Spanish 5.1 AC3 @640kbps
Turkish 5.1 AC3 @640kbps
Ukrainian 2.0 AC3 @224kbps

For subtitles, I have:

English
English SDH
Arabic
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Estonian
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hungarian
Icelandic
Italian
Latvian
Lithuanian
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Serbian
Slovak
Slovenian
Spanish
Swedish
Turkish
English Commentary
French Commentary
German Commentary
Italian Commentary
Spanish Commentary


Feel free to post any comments

So last year I released this over on MS.

A few days ago, Vinnie contacted me and asked if he can post this on BT. Since it's my work and I have an account there, I decided to upload it myself.

This is now available on MS and BT

For those interested, here's the original thread over on OT.

"Official" release info:


Jerry Shadoe presents:

The Last of the Mohicans - Original Theatrical Cut BD-50

Purpose: to provide the highest quality possible for the Original Theatrical Cut which has not been released on bluray and restore a lossless 5.1 audio track for this cut.

Video sources: 1080i HDTV SKY-HD broadcast, R4 Brazilian NTSC DVD (for timing purposes ONLY)

Audio sources: Lossless audio - official BD, lossy - numerous DVDs and HDTV

Subtitles sources: various DVDs and HDTV

Bonus sources: official BD and various internet finds

Final format: BD-50


Project info:

The Last of the Mohicans has been released on Blu-ray, but it's a different cut and the color-timing is completely different, On top of that the release has crushed blacks. The HDTV broadcast was a great source, but a little too much contrast and had nearly no grain remaining. After changing the fps back to 23.976 and de-interlacing the footage, I timed it to the R4 Brazilian NTSC DVD, as that was the main audio source I was using (although it's a secondary track now,) applied slight filters for the contrast/brightness/saturation and then laid real 35mm film grain on it. The result is actually pretty nice. The lossless 5.1 24bit DTS-HDMA English audio track is a custom build. Most of it is from the actual lossless track that came on the official release. However, as there are some alterations/deletions/etc. I had to supplement this audio with the 5.1 lossy track from the R4 NTSC DVD. I did some re-mastering on the lossy parts to bring some fidelity back to them and, overall, the transitions from one to the other are almost inaudible. Also, I re-inserted any sound effects from the R4 NTSC DVD back into the lossless BD audio that had been modified for the official blu-ray release. I kept the bonus featurette included on the official release, as well as the trailer. next, i searched the internet for bonus footage and have lots of interviews, promos, a soldier training for the film video, video-assist footage and more ;o)

Main Feature Video:

1920x1080, 23.976fps, A.R. 2.35:1, AVC encoded 24.9mbps

Main Feature Audio:

English 5.1 Custom DTS-HDMA 24bit @~3800kbps
English 5.1 AC3 16bit @384kbps (sourced from R4 NTSC Brazilian DVD)
English 5.1 AC3 16bit @448kbps (sourced from R2 DVD, slowed down to 23.976fps)
Isolated Score 5.1 AC3 16bit @384kbps (sourced from R4 NTSC Brazilian DVD)
Audio Commentary Track 2.0 AC3 16bit @384kbps (sourced from BD, re-synced to this cut)
French 5.1 AC3 16bit @448kbps (sourced from HDTV, slowed down to 23.976fps)
German 5.1 AC3 16bit @640kbps (sourced from HDTV, slowed down to 23.976fps)
Italian 5.1 AC3 16bit @448kbps (sourced from R2 DVD, slowed down to 23.976fps)
Polish 5.1 AC3 16bit @448kbps (sourced from R2 DVD, slowed down to 23.976fps)
Brazilian Portuguese 2.0 AC3 16bit @384kbps (sourced from R4 NTSC Brazilian DVD)
Russian 5.1 AC3 16bit @448kbps (sourced from HDTV, slowed down to 23.976fps)

Main Feature Subtitles:

English, Croatian, French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish, and Swedish

Bonus Video:

Various (mostly HD)

Bonus Audio:

English 5.1 AC3 16bit @448kbps (for the featurette)
English 2.0 AC3 16bit @384kbps (for all other)

Bonus Subtitles:

NONE

EXTRA SIDE-NOTE: I forgot to mention, that the background audio on the commentary track will be out-of-sync in certain points to what is on-screen, as I didn't want to cut any of the commentary out, so I did the best I could to keep it in sync while still retaining all of it.

It happens I have both versions (MPEG2 and AVC "remastered") BDs, but I bought them when I had no HDTV, so they remained unseen - until today!

So, which I should watch first?

MPEG2 BD was the winner... what I can say? IT... IS... GORGEOUS!!! To anyone who says the contrary, or that MPEG2 is simply not capable to deliver stunning picture at medium (20mbps) bitrate, just watch it (again, if necessary)!

This version of the movie is wonderful; no sign of compression artifacts, natural colors, grain was never excessive (apart in few instances, four or five shots, for a total of maybe a dozen second, where it was really excessive, like if 16mm - or even 8mm - film was used for those shots...

Is it perfect? Well, apart those shots, yes...

So, what's about AVC version? I started to watch it just the moment I finished the other, and I was disappointed... not because the AVC was really really bad - it is not - but in comparison, it's really REALLY waxy, less detailed, lacks a sort of tridimensionality that was present in the MPEG2... maybe because it lacks grain, or it's DNRed to death, or both... even those brief shots with excessive grain were better than the waxy AVC versions... I must admit I haven't watched it all, but I played all the first part until the helicopter scene, then I started to skip scenes here and there.

At the end, I'm happy to have both, just because the AVC has the bonus material and more audio options, and *maybe* the AVC color grading is the *right* one - according to something I read on some forums months ago, so *at least* it could be useful to be used as color reference for a restoration project... probably it's also due to the fact I paid them €4 each!

I made a custom BD of RotLA.  It is sourced from the WOWOW broadcast but uses another broadcast encoded from the same master to remove the logo and the Japanese subtitles.  I also replaced a few frames that the WOWOW was missing before the close-up of the snake in the Well of Souls.  The custom BD is synchronized to the official one, so people should be able to mux in whatever dub tracks they want.

Details
BD-50
PCM from the LD
DTS-HD MA (from the official BD)
various subtitles
I made this for my own use because I like the color-timing of the WOWOW broadcast.  (Please don't argue about the color-timing in this thread.)  I sent it to a few friends, and to my surprise, there has been a fair amount of interest.  Andrea forced me at gunpoint to post a thread about it here, so here it is.
PM me (preferably on ot.com) if you are interested.

Thanks
Andrea
Booshman
msycamore
PDB
The Aluminum Falcon

Please do not:

pass on my links;
remux my releases;
re-encode my releases.

As many of you know, few months ago my 55' HDTV died; it was a great direct LED backlight LCD; today, it's almost impossible to find one with the same technology - not under around 3000€... and, used one are disappeared from the market... I searched a lot, here and there, and nothing... the few ones I found were all sold!

OK, so I tought about plasma - quite the same situation; no new ones under the same price, and good used ones are quite pricey...

So, I felt the "urge" to buy a non-direct LED TV - an edge LED backlight LCD - because, at the same size, prices starts from 600€; few days ago a whopping 25% discount, just for a day, convinced me to go to the store and I said myself: "it's time to come back with a new TV"... but, when I was there, all the cheap models were really ugly, with all the problems one could spot on an LCD TV... only the top models were good, and still not as good as a direct LED - I must admit I was too used to my TV, so I found all sort of problems... I repeated myself: "you have to live with these problems, if you want an HDTV that big AND spend not too much..."

But, again, spending 600€ - 450€ with the discount - for an entry level 55' edge LED was not a great deal, in my opinion... and I couldn't afford much more than this... I also thought to go for a smaller size, that, at the same price, could be better; they were indeed better, but always... don't know... not good enough... I know, I am a sorta "permanent discontent" for this kind of things... also, almost all have that "stupid" tiny stand that will SURELY not be enough to fight with my cats, plus the SDTV (yes, we watch it, too) is really ugly...

Then, I started to read an audio-video Italian forum, on the HDTV section, and (re)discovered that Panasonic made the only 42' plasma HDTV... so, I thought: "well, we (me and my brain) could like with it for a while, until we (me, as my brain never pay anything) could afford a bigger/better/(put your superlative here)"

Searching for an used one (because new were not available since months ago) and all of them were around 300/400€, many hundred kms away, while the HDready (1366x768, or, worst, 1024x768) were available for not less than 150€, when... hey, this *seems* an HDTV model... but it CAN'T be, at 125€... let's phone the guy, to know more about it...

-Hello, I'm interested in your TV, what model is it?
-Dunno, I'm away home, I'll let you know in few hours...
-Can you say something more about it?
-Well, I bought brand new in 2009 for 2000€ $) I used for few hours a day and it's in a very good condition...
-Does it have the DVB, right?
-Well, no... or, better, dunno...
(mmh, bad sign, or simply he doesn't know?)
-OK, let me know the model...

Few hours later, I was aware of the model, but strangely really few info were available on the net... it *seemed* a rebadged version of another HDTV good model, but it *can* also be another lower HDready one... so, after (literally) have spent all the last night searching for info, I said myself: "what the heck, it cost a fraction of the original price, and I could afford the risk..."

Took the car, made a long trip (300km back and forth, still half the way of the ones which cost three times) and finally was at the guy's home... it was huge (not really, "just a tiny" 42', but after few months forced to watch first 28' CRT and then for the last few weeks a small 14' CRT, it seemed really huge)... in very good condition, no burn-in, no retention, no dead pixels... I took the remote, and press some "magic keys" (that what's the guy said) and ta-dah! the lifespan of the TV comes out: 9400 (and something) hours, around 4hrs a day, so the guy was right... not bad, because those plasma TVs go down to 50% brightness in 100,000 hours, so now it's a bit more 95%... take a look in the rear, and the smart cam slot was here, so DVB was indeed present... time to pay "120€, is it OK?" - "OK... do you want the TV furniture as well?"

So, after have it "rest" for some hours - it was laid down on the back during the trip - I have switched it on, and with just low bitrate SDTV broadcast, it-is-won-der-ful!!! I can't wait to spend some hours with BD, DVD, PS3, PC etc.

The model is TH-D42PT84E, a rebadged TH-42PZ80E; it is the same, apart it has the lower front silver, instead black, and SRS tru-surround XT - indeed, audio is waaay better than any thin edge LED!

If you are curious, spend few minutes to read the review here: http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/panasonic...514109.htm
It's a perfect TV? Of course not; but for the price of few brand new movies on BD, I have a great HDTV, with better features than a lot of edge LED modern TVs... a smart move, I think... and, of course, I'm still looking for direct LED TV - if/when I'll find a suitable one, this Panasonic will remain with us, I think it's a great option to watch laserdiscs in a "vintage" way!

(if someone has read everything until here, could understand how much I'm excited about this... OK, it's not a life-changing event, but finally I'm able again to watch HD material, really important to check my own projects, too!)

As a fan of the Terminator series, I found this the most solid entry since T2 and entirely undeserving of the hate it's getting online.

Because, I wrote what almost amounted to an essay on originaltrilogy.com. Thought I'd just copy it verbatim:

A Defense of Terminator Genisys

I wholeheartedly agree with Cameron and Arnold that this is the "official" third movie in the franchise, being superior to Salvation and the utterly abysmal Terminator 3. Visually, it hearkens back to James Cameron's films. The opening war scene set near Skynet's time displacement machine is a great spectacle. It's fulfilling to witness the 2029 victory that has been talked about since the first movie. You can see why Cameron considered using it as the opening of T2. Thankfully, unlike Terminator 3, there is no hamfisted inclusion of the American flag, which entirely belittles the fact that this is the struggle of a united race to survive. Independence Day, this is not. Jason Clarke did a good job as the weary, messianic leader of the Human Resistance, much better than Christian "Batman voice" Bale or Nick "paintball gun" Stahl. I appreciated that they resisted the urge to throw in a wife. Having a partner humanizes John Connor, and, for reasons I'll expand on later, the character should not be humanized.

Once Reese travels back in time, he finds, as I assume most of you know, the 1984 world of the first Terminator with marked differences. The editing and effects are markedly improved from the promotional material. I was worried by a lot of amateurish cuts in the TV spots, but none of those are replicated in the actual movie. Similarly, I was impressed by how the CGI young Arnold looked. Though superior to the instances in Tron Legacy and Terminator Salvation, it's not perfect, but I daresay we're only about a decade away from photorealistic replication of actors. Overall, it was exciting to watch this new Terminator flick, especially since it didn't adhere to the tried formula without adding anything new (Terminator 3, I'm looking at you.). Except for the well-known SPOILER that John Connor had been converted to a Terminator, I didn't know what was coming next most of the time, and, for fear of ruining anyone experiencing it for the first time, I think I'll stop divulging plot details here.

Alan Taylor is admittedly no James Cameron when it comes to action and suspense, but his directing worked for the most part. He, without a doubt, trumps McG, whose movie contained baffling lapses in logic (open heart surgery in a post-apocalyptic wasteland?). The rather large budget shows, making it feel more epic and like an open world, unlike the cheap looking Terminator 3. Until the end, the film continues to feel like the spiritual successor to the Terminator and T2, visually continuing with a color Cameron-like palette, staying away from dwelling in warm colors (Terminator 3) and desaturated ones (Salvation.)

I think the main reason that Terminator Genisys works much better than Terminator 3 or Salvation is that it fits the criteria for a good sequel, expanding on the themes of the last installment and growing the characters to create an emotionally satisfying follow-up. Despite being a fantastic movie taken in a vacuum and one I personally love, Alien 3 is a prime example of an unfulfilling sequel. With Hicks and Newt so unceremoniously killed off, Ripley is regressed, going from lone survivor (Alien) to mother of makeshift family unit (Aliens) to lone survivor once more. The audience at least partially rejected Alien 3 because they, on a conscious or subconscious level, felt cheated. Alien 3 makes Aliens useless, as it renders the extensive character development there inconsequential.

Amazingly, Terminator 3 does the same thing as Alien 3 but even worse and without the benefit of being a good movie on its own. In a nutshell, The Terminator was about maintaining the world's destiny. Kyle Reese ensures that John Connor is born, and the T-800 inadvertently (as shown by T2) ensuring that Skynet is also likewise born. Brilliantly, T2 alludes that the future may be altered, taking to heart- John Connor's iconic message— “no fate but what we make.” The ending is wonderfully open-ended, not stating whether or not the events did make a difference. But, then Terminator 3 completely betrays this! In stating that Judgment Day is inevitable, it not only completely disregards the hope of T2 but also John Connor's iconic message. On the other hand, Terminator Genisys expands on the idea that the future may be changed, and Judgment Day may be stopped. It leaves open the possibility that preventing Skynet from rising is possible, albeit really complicated. Yet, as the mid-credits scene shows, Judgment Day may still come. Ambiguity is essential in this franchise, as James Cameron and the makers of Genisys understand.

A running sub-theme of T2 is that man is becoming more machine-like in the name of victory. Sarah Connor, with her knowledge of the horrible future, teeters close to the edge of Terminator-esque merciless efficiency. This is particularly highlighted in the scene where she tries to kill Miles Dyson. The picture of the future John Connor is an even bleaker one; in the once scene we see him, he is emotionlessly scanning the battlefield like a Terminator. Those behind Terminator 3 thought the most interesting progression would be to turn John Connor into a hobo played by Nick Stahl, who gets bullied by Arnold for the length of a movie. They humanize him by showing that he has weaknesses and has qualms about violence, as shown with the paintball gun. Giving him a wife and “important,” assassination-worthy lieutenants undermines James Cameron's depiction of John Connor as a “Great Man” of history, who used his burdensome knowledge of the future to save the human race. John Connor is supposed to be distant and rather inhuman; having him be married and overly friendly with anyone but Kyle Reese betrays that. Like Salvation almost did beforehand, Genisys has the novel idea of making John's machine-like tendencies literal. This completes the progression of him slowly losing his humanity.

Terminator Genisys also is superior to Terminator 3 in terms of character progression. In their modifications to the timeline, the creators of Genisys ensure Sarah Connor is still a badass like we saw in T2, albeit one who has her humanity fully intact. It would be awful to have Sarah regress to being a waitress, a passive character, as she would be, had the timeline not been rebooted. They go on to explore the interesting possibility of Kyle Reese meeting this toughened Sarah Connor, which he didn't get to originally because of his death at the end of the first Terminator. The character who the Genisys filmmakers did justice most in terms of logical progression was Arnold's. Now, let me preface this by declaring that I understand Arnold is playing a different Terminator in every movie. Even so, because it's always Arnold, it's hard for an audience not to at least subconsciously think of him as a single entity. Between Terminator 2, he undergoes a radical character arc in the eyes of the audience, from unfeeling monster to benevolent compassionate surrogate father figure. It is unsatisfying in Terminator 3 to “regress” to unfeeling but benevolent, with occasional outbursts of physical violence towards John. Genisys instead continues along the natural arc set up by two, showing him turn to a more positive character— from the father figure in T2 to a literal father named “Pops,” who basically raises Sarah from the age of 9.

Sorry if this post has been long, but I really wanted to explain why I feel that Genisys doesn't deserve all the wanton bashing it gets throughout the Internet. To conclude, in no way am I saying that Terminator Genisys is better than T2 or The Terminator but it is the sequel I can put next to those classics without regret.

Hey folks,
I just wanted to say 'hello' to everyone and add that it's very exciting to see these kind of projects passionately tackled and restored for the benefit of all that love them.

Cheers!  

Sometimes you want to change the frame-rate of a video but not re-encode it. This is straightforward, but not all video editors comply. For instance, FFmpeg won't do it for you. The frame-rate is not stored in the video stream header, it's stored throughout the stream (hence why you can have a variable frame rate video file if you want). The easiest way to change the framerate is with MP4Box. First you need the raw video file...