Setting the standards: cover and disc label


It will be a great thing to have all the projects posted here - assumed they are released on Blu-ray or other disc-based formats - with a proper custom cover, and if they share some similar elements, they will seems "published" by the same "studio"...

Well, here I use my latest cover as example:

[Image: test_cover.jpg]

1. front cover - it should be as much different as possible in comparison to BD, DVD, HD-DVD, but could be similar to LD, VHS etc. if they are different from BD and DVD; theatrical posters are welcome
   
2. spine icon - put here the face of one of the movie protagonist, better a bad guy... edge color in according to background
   
3. spine title - put here with the title beginning from top, to let possible read it when the disc is placed horizontally, with top cover up
   
4. spine logo - I used the stilized light bulb with a disc under it, without fanres reference; I like it, it's kind and gives you the impression of an interesting idea, isn't true?
   
5. spine disc logo - Blu-ray disc logo; it will be replaced by Ultra HD Blu-ray logo or other
   
6. spine catalog number - top project maker, bottom progressive number (B stands for Blu-ray) - if you all agree, this could be shared by all the projects posted here; color in according to background
   
7. back title - should be the same (apart size) of the spine title
   
8. project maker text logo - to let the viewer know who made the project
   
9. back text - here I write first a small sinopsys of the movie, preferably taken from the studio website, then the project title and type, and at the end project description about used sources, processing, filters, final video, audio and subtitles tracks
   
10. screenshots - I usually put comparisons here, but it's always possible to post movie frames
    
11. credits - taken from movie posters or home video covers
    
12. project maker mini logo - your "trademark" logo
    
13. various logo - disc, video and audio codecs used for the project
    
14. info box - video, audio, subtitles and notes info; back color in according to background
    
15. various info - a disclaimer, plus an advice about the fact that the disc should be played using a proper player
    

Film grain addition has been discussed around these parts a few times, as a useful tool to obscure digital artifacts and such. I've been using such methods - both subtly and grossly - in various projects of my own, film trailer reconstructions in particular. Initially I played with DigiEffects Aged Film:

http://www.digieffects.com/products/damage

which is more a digital simulation of film damage than an authentic recreation, so it can only achieve so much. These days I'm using HolyGrain's grain plates:

http://holygrain.com/products/

which are far more convincing, having been scanned from actual film stock. Still, I think there may be more progress to make here, especially in the area of convincing gate weave and damage. So what are other folks using? Please share your own thoughts and tips here!

Blood In Blood Out: Bound By Honor (1993). Here's another movie I've yet to see any mention of even having an HD version in existence. Anyone know if it exists in HD format? This was a favorite of mine growing up, but seems to be forgotten more and more every year that passes.

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Setting the standards: codecs and delivery formats

I must admit I LOVE to take a DVD, a BD, a Laserdisc into my hands, read the back cover, and the inner sleeve or booklet, admire the image in the front of the cover and the disc label, and finally take the disc, put it into the player, press "play" on the remote... it's a guilty pleasure nowadays, where every audio and video content seems that should be delivered in non physical form... but I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here, right?

Even if it's pretty easy today for the tech savvy to take any audio video file, which is encoded using a given codec, and remux or convert it to another one, I still think it's a good idea to release our project using an established standard, both for audio video codecs, and for the delivery format, to give our friends, parents, grandparents a disc, and say them "put it in the player, and press play"...

Here you are my thoughts:

DELIVERY FORMATS

today, everyone has a DVD player at home; it could be a stand alone player, a videogame console, a PC recorder... so, a project, in standard definition, should be available at least on DVD, but... this is not my first option... because DVD is rather limited today - just one video and few audio codecs, not high-definition etc... plus, many time there is a DVD version of a movie, but not a BD...

So, to me, we should set the Blu-ray disc (BD-25 or BD-50) as the default delivery format. Granted, there are a lot less BD player around, in comparison to DVD, but any movie lover has one... it has all we need; several video and audio codecs, high-definition, a lot of space... plus, a menu is a welcome addition!

Personally, I release my projects on BD-25 because they are a lot cheaper and available than BD-50, but not only for that reason... the fact is, the only Blu-ray disc, recorded at home, which will last for a very long time, is made by Milleniata; the M-Disc seems to last for centuries, and they are available as BD-25 only (for the moment), so...

The next format, that probably will be the last physical audio video delivery format, will be Ultra HD Blu-ray... we'll talk more about it when the standard will be finalized, but it promises UHD, new codecs, higher frame rates and color gamuts...

Anyone who would like to obtain a file-only version of a project, could just take the .m2ts file and use it as is, or remux it in whichever other container, like .mkv, .mp4 or others... but, of course, it will lack the menus!

VIDEO CODECS

AVC (or H264, or MPEG-4 Part 10): I think anybody agrees that it's the only codec to use today, not only for high-definition or for Blu-ray authoring, but for any high quality file; the free x264 encoder is considered one of the best ones around, and best thing of all, is free... some retail BDs are encoded with it, too!

VC-1 quality is almost on par with AVC, but it's not that easy to encode, and not all standalone file players are compatible, so I think there is no reason to use it instead of AVC.

MPEG-2 is the third option; used on BD, HD-DVD and DVD, to reach the same quality of AVC it should use about twice its bitrate, so I think it's better to avoid it, unless you have some content encoded with it, which should be used "as is"; for example, it's possible to put DVD content on BD, just without re-encoding it.

HEVC (or H265) is the new codec, perfect for UHD... it will be used in the next Blu-ray format, and it seems to work really well; I'd wait to use it, until the Ultra HD Blu-ray will be ready, or if the "classic" Blu-ray will change its standard...

AUDIO CODECS

PCM is the older and simpler audio codec, yet its quality is very good; audio CDs and Laserdisc with digital audio has it; easy to edit, the big downside is its size.

Dolby Digital (or AC-3)  is the most known lossy codec; it's perfect for good quality multichannel audio tracks, but today there are many better codecs around. Remember that is possible to capture AC-3 from a laserdisc, and use it without conversions for a BD or DVD project.

DTS once was the best lossy codec; many laserdiscs are available with full bitrate DTS tracks, as some D-Theater tapes, while many DVD use the half bitrate; plus, even if it uses a different codec, we have also the Cinema DTS for some movie!

Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD MA: lossless codecs, the best quality available today; to me, they should be used only when an original audio track is avaible, because there is no reason to use them when the original source use a lower quality lossy codec...

SUBTITLES

Last, but not least, subtitles... I always try to add them to my project, one for each language used for audio tracks; I think it's useful for hearing impaired persons, as well as foreigner like me, who may want to listen to the original audio and use the subtitles to not lose any word.

Since yesterday, when I go to screenshotcomparison.com, I receive this message:

Coulen't choose database.

OK, apart an english worst than mine - and it's quite difficult - what's  going on? I hope it will be up and ready soon... I can't think we could lose a such precious resource... :cry:

Hello everybody, happy to have a new forum centered around preservations and such! For my first post, I thought I'd start with a request...

I do not know if The Thing From Another World (1951) has ever been released or broadcasted in HD at all, but in the chance that it has, I'm hoping it can be transferred for burning to BD, whether that is 25 or 50gb. I haven't been able to find anything about this film existing in HD, but then again I'm not the most seasoned in hunting these things down (no pun intended).

Any chance we could preserve this film? I doubt it will ever appear on blu-ray at this point.

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Hi there,

I too was referred to this place by Commodore Schmidlapp.

I've dabbled in some restoration work before. I provided the video for the true HD cut of Hard Boiled and the PCM laserdisc Cantonese mono track for The Killer.

Lately, I've been into a Disney kick of sorts. My favorite show was Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers. The DVDs are absolute garbage with tinny AC3 audio and poor video transfers that are all pushed to yellow/brown. The laserdiscs look and sound significantly better as they have PCM sound and much more accurate color timing. The difference between the DVD is night and day, so I'm going to make a HEVC rip of it as these LDs are rather rare.

I know, I know, everyone is talking about of how bad this movie, but nevertheless I wanted to watch it, to have my opinion... and guess what? It was so bad it's... BAD!

I can't say it's the worst movie ever made, just because it made me laugh few times for its unintentional comic situations... acting, story, effects, location, music, effect... nothing could be saved...

So, unless you want to waste your time, do yourself a favour, and do NOT watch this movie!

So now it's time to tell you about the project I've been working on for a while. A fan restoration of the original HK version of Armour of God using the best available material.

Video

For the bulk of the movie, I used the HD transfer from the US blu-ray. I filled in the missing scenes using the upscaled Fortune Star transfer color- and brightness corrected to match the HD transfer. I did the encode a while ago, and there are a few minor issues with it, but since I don't have the raw files anymore, there isn't much I can do about it. Also, while I tried to make sure that the encode is BD compatible, I don't have a Blu-ray burner so I can't know for sure. It would be great if some people are willing to test it for me.

Audio

Original Cantonese mono mix in LPCM format captured from a VHS. The sound quality is surprisingly good. It certainly blows all the DVDs out of the water. I think many wouldn't even guess it was sourced from VHS. I'm also planning on including some other tracks, including the old English dub. I'm also thinking about having a track that replaces the closing theme song with 'Flight of the Dragon' that was used in the export cut. It makes sense since the score is largely based on that theme. Not sure what the story behind it is. Maybe they changed it at the last minute?

Subtitles

I'm still working on the English subtitles. I used the Joy Sales subtitles as a source, but I've been doing tons of editing. I'm hoping to get someone who speaks Cantonese to do a read-through to spot any errors.

Extras

I haven't decided whether or not to include extras yet. I'd like to hear people's opinion on that.

It's fairly close to completion. All I need to do now is to learn how to author BDs Let me know what you think.

Yesterday we wanted to watch a "different" movie - not the "usual" sci-fi, horror, zombie, action etc.
So, took my 1€ Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and rewatch it after a lot of months...

A strange (in a good way) film... comedy, videogame, music, comics, everything melted together in a final product that is fun to watch and never boring; if you haven't watched it yet, you'll be amazed - and don't forget to watch also deleted/extended scenes, it may lead you to think about an extended restoration project!