[No Longer Available] Halloween II VHS Regrade (Quick Project)

[PDB]

Halloween II VHS Regrade (Quick Project v1.0)

So I was looking around at some old VHS caps and found one for Halloween 2. After watching and comparing it to the Shout Halloween Collection BD, I was surprised how different the two were in some scenes. There are some dark greens, puncher blues, yellows and red on the VHS that were not there on the Shout BD. Sometimes garish but always interesting.

Now I'm not saying the VHS is theatrically accurate, in fact I doubt it. I'm just viewing it as a fun alternative look to the other BDs.  And while I know there is ther 4K remaster BD and  UHD, I found those transfers very flat and unappealing. Far away from the VHS.

After taking weeks to regrade The Crow (still working on it) and other projects I wondered if I could a regrade a lot faster and with a set deadline (aka Halloween). Basically get it 90% and not sweat the last 10% like I always do. So I revived the nomenclature "Quick Project" as set about a few days ago to see what I could get done. I'm about half way done so far.

For audio I wanted to keep it short to keep the file size down, so no massive list of audio like previous projects.

Video:
The Shout Halloween Collection BD of H2 regraded to an older VHS capture.

Audio:
1. DTS-HD MA 2.0 (from the Shout BD)
2. DTS 5.1 (from the Shout BD)

Sync:
Shout Halloween Collection BD

Pics:

Final MKV


Comparison Pics

Regrade/Orig BD

[spoRv]

Wow, never thought a BD could be so magenta!

[The Aluminum Falcon]

Yay! Love this film @PDB and never seen it look like this. Interested to see the final result in time for the holiday season.

There are so many regrades and preservations for the 1st Halloween, but AFAIK, this is the 1st one for Halloween II.

[PDB]

Thanks guys.

I’ve always watched it as a double feature with the original. Not nearly as good of course but still a good time.

Maybe you can watch spoRv’s regrade, then this and finally Lucasgodzilla’s H3 regrade.

Like I said some colors are garish especially in the middle section but it does give the beginning and end a new look. I debated between my CRT LUT or this regrade and went with this since it was more “fun”.

[PDB]

Finishing up the MKV. I went through and balanced out the shots, smoothing over the blow out and over saturation of the VHS but keeping the different colors. Here is what the final MKV will look like:


(had to censor a few pics there to keep with the site rules, H2 fans know the scene)

Some more pics:

[The Aluminum Falcon]

Yay! Thanks @PDB

Colors are looking very healthy and 80s-like. Which Shout release is this based on btw?

1) The first Shout release/the one in the Halloween Collection box set
2) The 4K transfer of an IP released on a Steelbook
3) The NEW 4K transfer of the OCN released with the 4K disc

I swear it's ridiculous how many releases these have...

[PDB]

This would be built on number 1. I actually bought that collection years ago when it came out and I still had cash to buy things. The original Shout does have some shots in the middle of the film which match the VHS a little closer then number 2.

I never acquired number 2 as the pics online made it look bland to me. I didn't know that it was an IP scan and the new 4K is a OCN. Now I'm super curious to see what the differences are. Especially since the two Halloween 4Ks are different looking.

https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&...65&i=2&l=0

Yeah maybe a few too many releases...

[The Aluminum Falcon]

Yeah, to be honest, I'm often suspect of the color timing of Shout's in-house transfers, with the Halloween II 4K steelbook coming to mine. It had better detail and grain structure, but definitely was way too bland in terms of color.

That said, their new 4K Halloween gives me some hope that their Halloween II may be interesting. It's super impressive that they convinced the rights holders to give them access to the OCNs. Still, I'm not rushing out to buy a copy, considering how many I've compiled.

Tbh, Halloween IV is the one I'm most likely to buy considering that'll be a massive leap up from the dated transfer that's been making the rounds.

[PDB]

Ready to call this done. I re-enocded another version lowering the bitrate from my normal 30 to 25. Not sure it will make a visual difference but trying to get under the 20GB limit of some sites. I also changed one short scene's VHS color timing to better match the rest of the regrade...

By all accounts this appears to be my 50th Fanres project (or maybe 51, who knows). So very happy to hit a milestone, minor as it is.

Participating members (aka no newbies, low posters) can PM me if they want a copy. Do NOT post in the thread asking for the project. Please allow me a day or two to get back to you. I'll keep it posted for a week or two.

[Hitcher]

Congratulations on reaching your 50th project. Care to guess how many hours you've out in on them altogether?