I'll Sync Your Classical Hollywood!

[Moshrom]

Hi everyone,

(I've PMed a couple people about this, only to then realise that they're already a part of the 'audio sync scene' here!)

Basically, I'll sync the LD (or even DVD) audio of any film released from the Classical Hollywood era, provided it sounds better than its blu-ray counterpart.

People here have contributed greatly to the preservation of mixes that haven't been issued on blu-ray, but as I'm finding with increasing frequency there are also countless instances where a film's mono or stereo mix has been filtered to such an extreme degree that it is no longer truly representative of the original sound mix.

This offer extends beyond just Hollywood films: anything from the 1960s and earlier, anything belonging to the Criterion Collection, etc.

If it's a movie I like, I can often bang out a synced version in a couple hours.

It would be great if anyone interested could reply with a list of the movies they own on LaserDisc that fall into these criteria. If you are unsure of whether the blu-ray sounds better or worse, I'd be happy to examine the captured track (or even an excerpt of it) in detail.

[spoRv]

Thanks for your offer!

[alexp2000]

I know I've sent you a few already but I'd imagine there will be more to come! Thanks for your generous offer

[captainsolo]

If I can ever build a PC and get a good capture system going, absolutely. The problem I've found with many classic titles is that the sources used are filled with pops, jumps, missing frames, reel changes, damage, distortion etc. There's no telling what it will be like until one actually watches the transfer. So doing a sync will probably be a very difficult matter.

All this said, I've found a number of them very pleasing to the ear in spite of this-most likely due to later DVDs etc. being filtered, EQ'd and the like as you've found with a good number of releases.

[Moshrom]

If I can ever build a PC and get a good capture system going, absolutely. The problem I've found with many classic titles is that the sources used are filled with pops, jumps, missing frames, reel changes, damage, distortion etc. There's no telling what it will be like until one actually watches the transfer. So doing a sync will probably be a very difficult matter.

All this said, I've found a number of them very pleasing to the ear in spite of this-most likely due to later DVDs etc. being filtered, EQ'd and the like as you've found with a good number of releases.

Care to name specific titles? :-) I'm always interested in which ones people feel might sound better, even if they have 'issues'.

I've dealt with quite a few audio tracks that have had parts missing. It's a bit of a pain to fill these parts in with the next best source, but it doesn't really bother me. Pops and distortion I can live with and usually don't bother removing at all. Unless it's damage that actually makes it difficult to discern what's being said or an artefact that truly takes you out of the film, I probably won't touch it.

And I think folks here make too big a deal about having an 'optimum' capturing workflow ;-)

I mean, it's optimal to be able to capture digitally and bit-perfectly, but all of that amounts to an incredibly small audible difference. The vast majority of the improvement in sound comes from the lack of filtering. A couple people have offered to help me with this project so far, and while the captures will be done analogue, I really don't care~ :-)

[spoRv]

Even if the analog capture could be great sometimes, it relies on three different variables, that would influence the quality: source DAC, card ADC and cables used.

I would choose always a capture made using a cheap laserdisc player and a cheap audio card, bit-perfect, Vs the analog capture using the same hardware. At the end, a bit-perfect audio card is quite cheap nowadays.

Said that, high-end setup would always be a great thing to capture analog only tracks!

[Moshrom]

Even if the analog capture could be great sometimes, it relies on three different variables, that would influence the quality: source DAC, card ADC and cables used.

I would choose always a capture made using a cheap laserdisc player and a cheap audio card, bit-perfect, Vs the analog capture using the same hardware. At the end, a bit-perfect audio card is quite cheap nowadays.

Again, I'm not saying capturing bit-perfect is not ideal. I'm saying that if I had the option to attain an analogue capture now as opposed to waiting months for a bit-perfect capture offering what is truly only a very small improvement in real-world sound quality, I'll choose the former option every time. There are well over a hundred films I'd like to hear on LD, and I don't want something as menial as a less-than-ideal capture chain to become a bottleneck.

[Colek]

Let me know if you need something from my preservation project.

[The Aluminum Falcon]

Mentioned in another thread, but I ripped a bunch of PCM audio (non bit-perfect). Moshrom was helping me, but I lost touch. Another assistant to sync would be wonderfully appreciated.

Titles in question are:
-Casablanca (1942) - http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/21518/ML10...elebration
-Citizen Kane (1941) - http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/01001/ID83...nniversary
-Dr. No (1962) - http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/04166/ML10...Goldfinger
-From Russia with Love (1963) - http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/04166/ML10...Goldfinger
-Notorious (1946) - http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/00962/CC12...itchcock's
-On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) - http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/02602/ML10...et-Service
-The Night of the Hunter (1955) - http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/00978/CC11...Hunter-The

And, Moshrom, if you're reading this, would love for you to sync if still interested. Really enjoy how the Lady Vanishes track turned out.

[Moshrom]

Hi everyone.

Sorry for my abrupt exit. I have more time available now for sync projects, but I'd first like to dedicate some time to listening all the wonderful tracks you all have synced in my absence!