[In progress] Van Helsing (2004) [Fundamental Collection]

[spoRv]

Prologue:

thinking about this movie since a long time, still was undecided what to do with it... sure, color grading was bad and surely wrong... also, there is a 1.33:1 full screen version... so, my first thought was an UAR version - open matte WEB + full screen DVD regraded using a telesync.

Done quite some tests, with nice results, then, few days ago... BOOM!

Van Helsing (2004) [Fundamental Collection]

Found a Russian DVD: open matte, with bigger image than WEB, and, most important, theatrical colors - master is from a release print, including cigarette burns! Much, MUCH better colors (and contrast) than BD (and other DVDs), I always said the latter had wrong colors, but reading reviews here and there, nobody noted it... are they all color blind?!?

The Russian DVD quality is fair, but it has a geometrical distortion; I managed to fix it, along with the usual basic noise reduction, mild sharpening and at the end the grain plate. In comparison to simple upscale, result was good, but not up to the WEB - which is a bit worst than BD sometimes, but still with a bit more image than the 1.85:1 BD.

So, I tried to slap the WEB on top of the upscaled DVD, and result seems good; done some brief tests, and until now it seems to work well, but I noted that in few shots they do not align well, so more work is needed.

Moviefingerprints - top BD, bottom Fundamental Collection:




http://www.framecompare.com/image-compar...n/DLW7WNNX

Screenshots - top BD, bottom Fundamental Collection:













http://www.framecompare.com/image-compar...n/DLW7PNNX
http://www.framecompare.com/image-compar...n/JB09CNNU

ETA: dunno, but not ages - I still miss all audio and subtitle tracks, and you all know that I'll never release a project without all the needed ones, so...

P.S. albeit fullscreen DVD has quite more image on top and bottom in comparison to BD, it has not so much more in comparison to Russian DVD; more, quality is lacking, and color grading is the same of BD/WEB, hence I decided to DO NOT an UAR version - just in case someone is wondering...

[LucasGodzilla]

I've always had a soft spot for Van Helsing and always saw it as an interesting attempted predecessor to the whole Dark Universe fad way before it was even a fad. I really love the regrade since now that ugly magenta / purple-ish hue has been removed.

[SilverWook]

Interesting. I'll have to dig out my HD-DVD version to compare.

[maksnew]

It looks very interesting, we are waiting! Thank.

My WEB DL Amazon was hosted on bluebird-hd and had a slight addition from the bottom and top compared to drives

[spoRv]

Test cllp - x264 no audio, 40s 193MB - link will expire in two months:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/dqrd8q

problem: there are few instances in the beginning where the picture outside the "insert" wobbles; dunno if it's due to the fact DVD is less steady than WEB... apart this, I think the "seams" are not (easily?) detectable; but opinions are always needed.

[spoRv]

UPDATE:

made a first test version; apart some shots were BD does not align at all - a dozen - hence the upscaled version should be used, the rest is almost perfect; wobbling occurs in just few instances, but it's not very annoying, and I plan to reduce it as much as possible.

Meanwhile, if someone is interested to see differences between PAL DVD and Fundamental Collection: http://www.framecompare.com/image-compar...n/DLGDPNNX
taken maybe one of the worst offender, where the MPEG-2 blocks are more evident (in the fire).

[spoRv]

Mostly finished... someone still interested, though?!?

[JackReacher]

If you throw in the new DTS:X soundtrack then yes 

[maksnew]

I would really like to see the final result, I hope you will be able to finish it!

[spoRv]

If you throw in the new DTS:X soundtrack then yes 

I guess the DTS XLL (DTS HD-MA) it is... or not?!?