True Lies HDTV (Film4 HD) Preservation

[captainsolo]

Found disclord's old posting:

"I have the AC-3 LaserDisc of True Lies plus the DTS LaserDisc and the Pan-Scan AC-3 LaserDisc - I also have the R1 DVD.

In terms of picture quality, the DTS is the clear winner - it has less edge enhancement and the Kuraray mastering and pressing is sharper and has less noise than either two of Pioneer's AC-3 pressings. An engineer at Fox told me, back when the DVD was released, that they used the same D1 master tape, that had extra edge enhancement, to make both the AC-3 LaserDisc and the DVD release. However, the sound on the DVD used the same 18-bit DA88 master tape that was used to make the DTS LaserDisc release. The AC-3 LD's used a 16-bit master that had been slightly remixed for home use whereas the 18-bit master used for the DTS LD and AC-3 DVD was an exact duplicate (bit-for-bit clone) of the theatrical mix used to make the 70mm prints and DTS/Dolby Digital 35mm prints.

Its a shame that True Lies is only available in HD on D-Theater because this film needs a state-of-the-art HD transfer and release on BD - even for the time its LaserDisc and DVD transfer was not that good. But the sound of the DTS LD is truly amazing - it's another film where the sound mixers recorded real multichannel backgrounds and such to greatly increase the realism of the audio."

I've only heard the ac3 LD. I forgot what disclord said about the DVD being untouched and the ac3 LD being remixed slightly, so I guess I'll have to compare at some point.

[Stamper]

Wow awesome. Is the DTheater rip then using the DVDmix?

I wonder if the Japan DTS and AC3 european DVD use that same mix.

Maybe they actually use the AC3 LD mix?

[spoRv]

Italian DVD has both English and Italian track in DD 5.1 384kbps; made a quick comparison between it, D-Theater and open matte: they have all the same color grading. More, open matte is full and, looking at the few frames compared, they lose just few lines on the sides - maybe two or three pixels... don't know if SFX and/or wide shots are open, but, IIRC, the SFX should be open, according to a post on OT.

[nirbateman]

The SFX are open, I can confirm.

How do the sound mixes fare against the Dtheatre?

[spoRv]

Actually I have the PC connected just with a JBL On Tour - it's a tiny stereo speaker set, wonderful for its size, but not that hifi, so I can't say the differences... I have also the DTS LD, but it's not connected at the moment... can't remember if Jetrell has the Cinema DTS discs, or can find them.

[nirbateman]

There is a fairly easy way to know without a 5.1 setup.

Just load both tracks to audacity and compare the wave forms.

[spoRv]

I'll do.

[jerryshadoe]

So what's the verdict on the audio?

[zoidberg]

Hi all, apologies for the lack of updates. I've been kind of distracted of late with one thing or another. I'm still planning on releasing this, I'm running some tests to see if I can improve the video in the absence of a second broadcast cap. Audio wise I'm leaning towards preserving the LD PCM and AC3 as I understand the LD mix is a unique one which hasn't been released elsewhere. It's also important as it was but the second LD to feature AC3 after Clear and Present Danger, and as Buzz Aldrin said, 'second comes right after first'. Depending on the video file size (or disc size) I'll try to include the DTheater DTS too. But it's still early days so nothing's definite yet.

[Stamper]

BTW does anyone have the NTSC DVD with the AC3 track? Or do I need to buy it to provide? I just have the Pal DVD in 16/9 but I don't know if the AC3 is similar to the NTSC DVD.

EDIT checked amazon and it appears the DVD is 5.1 + Dolby Surround. Same for the french track which is Dolby Surround. There is a re-release from 2012. This make it really interesting as I believe the french and UK DVDs are 5.1 only. DS would be the original mix?