[Released] NEAR DARK (1987): a pipefan413 preservation

[Evit]

original theatrical Ultra Stereo mix...


I for one would be very happy with the Italian dub added . This film has been basically forgotten here in Italy and its dub also became somewhat rare along with the film itself. I think I already sent you the audio I found, should be already synched or near so. I bet others here (sporv for sure) would be happy to see the inclusion of that track but if you can add all European languages, many more fans will benefit from it.

Thanks for all the effort

[pipefan413]

Here's a thought... and this might be crazy talk for a film like this, I dunno...

If, hypothetically speaking, it might be possible to get a complete copy of this film scanned from a print... would you lot be willing to chip in to make it happen? This would include the optical audio and the LaserDisc track I'm in the process of aligning to the current best (but still pretty bad) HD master. Hypothetically...

[Stamper]

Awesome!

I would in your place release the LD sync for the HD video.

If you have enough demand, then resync to the DVD (though it could be as easy as giving an initial delay?)

[pipefan413]

Awesome!

I would in your place release the LD sync for the HD video.

If you have enough demand, then resync to the DVD (though it could be as easy as giving an initial delay?)

I got curious and compared the *PAL* DVD to the HD master... it appears to have 2 frames missing (individual ones in kinda weird places). I think the NTSC one is matched to the HD master if I remember rightly. If anything, I'd have expected it to be the other way round!

Any thoughts re. getting a print scanned or not too fussed necessarily?

[PDB]

Any thoughts re. getting a print scanned or not too fussed necessarily?

It would solve the question of what are the "right" colors. Hell, scanning a 35mm print can't be much softer than the existing master(s).

[pipefan413]

Any thoughts re. getting a print scanned or not too fussed necessarily?

It would solve the question of what are the "right" colors. Hell, scanning a 35mm print can't be much softer than the existing master(s).

If there's interest I'd like to see if we could fund it, much in the manner of @LucasGodzilla's THE KEEP / BIG TROUBLE... projects. But only if there's interest to make it realistic!

[zoidberg]

There was going to be a 35mm screening this month at a nearby festival along with other 35mm treats (including Cronenberg's The Fly) but it got cancelled unfortunately, hopefully it will be rescheduled for next year.

Was the LD video captured along with the PCM?

[pipefan413]

There was going to be a 35mm screening this month at a nearby festival along with other 35mm treats (including Cronenberg's The Fly) but it got cancelled unfortunately, hopefully it will be rescheduled for next year.

Was the LD video captured along with the PCM?

Not yet but it will be: I've not got my capture card yet. Dying to test that bit out.

By the way, @schorman, would you think there may be a benefit to a single-sided player in terms of grabbing the entire disc, or the opposite? I guess with the ability to read from both sides you've got two chances at better coverage, but then the side change mechanism is another point of failure...

[schorman]

I guess I would say that it's going to depend on the player. For me, having spdif and ac3-rf output would be the primary options. Dual side play can typically save you time in capturing, as you can generally get both sides without having to touch the machine. Obviously, you'll need to make sure the beginning and end of each side are accounted for, but that's generally quick to fix at the backend, if there's a problem.

I couldn't say one way or the other whether you'll get better coverage from single or dual side machines.

I will say that for video capture, you may prefer the single side machine. The laser mechanism on a dual side player has to be adjusted separately for each side, and can often be better on one side than the other. For instance, a player may exhibit more crosstalk on side B than A, or vice versa. This could be a problem for analog audio tracks as well, but unless there's a big calibration problem, it's likely not noticeable. Generally it would not be of concern for digital audio tracks.

Also, I agree that a single side player is likely to have fewer calibration issues, and has fewer moving parts and motors that could break. It's damn near impossible to find parts for an LD player at this point.

[wilcof]

Is there anybody willing to do the sync work, in case the LD doesn't line up properly with the Blu? I should be able to transfer the disc this weekend. This will be a direct capture of the disc via a Domesday Duplicator.