Top Gun / Open-matte / 1080p / Multiaudio-multisubs / BD project

[PDB]

Good to hear the PCM was satisfactory.  
The AC-3 on the JP LD I have (http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/25690/PILF-2284/Top-Gun) appears to be the same as the one you linked PDB, since the insert also mentions the 70mm 6-track.  I don't currently have an RF Demodulator, but I can probably get one used fairly cheap, and then I can capture the AC-3 as well.

I always laugh that I kept my RF Demodulator, the ubiquitous Yamaha APD-1, for so long. Who would need one so many years after the death of laserdiscs? To this day they still fetch a nice price on ebay.

It would be cool to hear the AC-3 from that LD but I'm not sure it worth the effort since I don't know for sure how different it is from the other tracks jerry has. Never heard myself just know it has a great reputation as an aggressive track.

[SilverWook]

Just out of curiosity, is the 2007 HD DVD release the same as the Blu Ray master?

[jerryshadoe]

@ SilverWook - Yes, the HDDVD is the same transfer as the 2DBD releases. Same DNR, EE and soundmix.

@ BusterD - The PCM is not JUST satisfactory, it's incredible. Again, HUGE THANX for capturing this and sharing it

@ PDB - Yeah, I've been aware of the fact that the LD PCM is often much better than it's lossless counterpart of BD, but I was particularly blown away with this particular sound mix. The dynamic range, aggressivness of the mix, the "warmth" of it is just a completely different experience compared to all the other mixes (with exception of the LD THX AC3 track sourced form 70mm which I'm curious about)

I have the first R1 DVD (the one with the non-anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen version) which contains a 5.1 AC3 track at 448kbps and a 2.0 Dolby Stereo Surround track at 192kbps. I also have the next R1 release, with the ~2.4 AR, this contains the same 5.1 AC3 track as the one before it and I found no noticeable differences. I also have the anamorphic widescreen (2.0 AR) French R2 disc which contains the same audio as the first R1 disc but has the typical PAL speed-up. I still have a digital backup of my HDDVD (although the disc itself is long gone) and the sound-mix for this one was re-done a little bit. This same re-worked sound-mix is also on the 2DBD releases. The 3D release, although has MUCH different looking video, still contains the same sound-mix that is found on the 2D counterpart.

Before I get ready to leave for my vacation (which was moved back from tomorrow to monday, grrrrr) I went ahead and synced the LD PCM to the 2DBD release. For the most part, the sync was relatively straight-forward, BUT there were a couple of discrepancies that I noticed. As to NOT de-rail this thread by discussing just the audio, instead of most of the project, I will start a thread for the LD PCM (making it available like other synced LD PCM tracks on here) where I will go into much, much more detail about that sound mix and the differences to the subsequent releases after that. Expect to see that thread pop-up within the next couple of hours, right after I'm done uploading the file to MEGA.

[FrankT]

Excellent stuff! Will there be a possibility of Hardcore/The Hardcore Life getting an open-matte preservation in future?

[jerryshadoe]

@ FrankT - Not by me but if you post a thread in the request/proposal thread, someone might or you could try it

OK, back to topic:

I will be resuming work on this project shortly. Between vacation, all the sh*t I had to do when I came back and the other projects I'm working on, I started running out of room on temp drives and there have been delays. As soon as I finish up my SitS project and release it, I'll have some free space to work on the THX WOW footage and on Top Gun.

If I remember right, I need to finish aligning everything (temporal/spatial) and then will get on to color-matching the footage, however I'm still not entirely sure which color-grading I will use as reference.

HUGE THANX to BusterD for capturing the LD THX AC3 track and to DoomBot for supplying it to me. I haven't synced it yet and that will be on list of stuff I plan on doing soon as well.

[Farstarbuck]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOP-GUN-35mm-sli...2070341476


Some 35mm slides for sale could be useful as reference?

In 2000 there was also a reprint done of the 35mm track for limited release in cinemas, not sure if much changed.

A lot of people complaining about the brown tinge added to the 2d/3d release.

[Feallan]

One 35mm frame can be enough to build a color model for the entire movie using DrDre's tool, so it's definitely worth checking out.

[PDB]

Unfortunately, those aren't pics of 35mm frames, they look like promo shots and are probably not much use as a color source.

[jerryshadoe]

Yeah, I noticed that too, LOL

I do have some stills somewhere on my drive, (got to look for them) that I found a few months ago, of actual 35mm frames from the film and not from promo stuff When I find them, I will post them here.

[Colek]

I've got some HDTV 1080p capture from Paramount Channel, 16:9.