HDTV and Web-DL Preservation Project

[PDB]

Trying to finish up In the Mouth of Madness



This was a particularly frustrating one as the EE/halos were very difficult to deal with. Some of the worst I have seen this side of Tremors. I went through about 6 versions, everytime trying to balance between removing the EE and keeping the details. This current version isn't perfect but gets rid of about 90% of the EE.

Beyond that, this is a very dark transfer. Significantly darker then the New Line or Shout Blu-rays. To that end I bumped up the low end to give it a tiny bit more shadow detail. Understand it is still crazy dark but there are a few more visible details.

The sync is to the Shout BD with a few frames in the middle duplicated.

On the audio front I just duplicated the Shout audio selections. So its the 5.1 and the two commentaries:

1. DTS-HD MA 5.1 (from the Shout BD)
2. Dolby Digital 2.0 Commentary#1 (from the Shout BD)
3. Dolby Digital 2.0 Commentary#2 (from the Shout BD)

The end credits say this was DTS production but no one I know was able to find the discs. I was also unable to source the PCM from the LD. Given that I couldn't find either of those soundtracks, I decide to not include the DVD, Web-DL and New Line BD soundtracks. This was in an effort to keep this file small instead of my normal maximalist audio approach.

I'll post again when the movie is uploaded in the next few days.

[PDB]

In the Mouth of Madness is finished and uploading now. If you want a copy and are a regular posting member, you can PM me.

2010 has been retired.

Krull which also had a massive amount of EE is being finished now. The video is done, the LD audio is in sync, all I have left to do the DVD soundtrack/commentaries.

Next up might be something not on the original list. There is an old HDTV master of Bram Stoker's Dracula that Zoidberg found. It uses the same color as DVDs and is much brighter then the BDs. I asked him for a copy to take a look. Given the compression used, it is going to be a hard task to clean it up. Pretty much every frame on the video files has compression blocking. It is a virtual checkboard.



And given that compression, a lot of detail and a lot of grain has been destroyed. On top of that there is a fair amount of EE.

In testing I think I can get rid of most of the compression artifacts. I had to obviously re-grain the footage using a heavy grain pattern that matches the BD. It looks a lot better but not really great. I would say its more watchable.

I might generate two versions. A cleaned-up version with the HDTV's original colors and one with my CRT LUT and added contrast.

Original/Cleaned-up/Cleaned-up w/CRT LUT and Contrast



For audio, very tentatively this is what I might be able to include, not 100% sure yet:

PCM 2.0 Dolby Surround (from the Criterion LD)
PCM 2.0 Dolby Surround (from the Columbia LD)
Dolby Digital 5.1 (from the 1st Gen DVD)
DTS 5.1 (from the Superbit BD)
Dolby Digital 5.1 (from the 1st Gen BD)
PCM 5.1 (from the 1st Gen BD)
Dolby True HD 7.1 Atmos (from the 4K Remastered BD) <- Iffy on including this
Dolby Digital 2.0 Commentary#1 (from the 4K Remastered BD)
Dolby Digital 2.0 Commentary#2 (from the 4K Remastered BD)

[stwd4nder2]

Does the HDTV of Dracula include the theatrical subs, or the generic text that was on the UHD?

[PDB]

Does the HDTV of Dracula include the theatrical subs, or the generic text that was on the UHD?

Theatrical subs I believe

Edit:

[jolennon]

Hey @PDB do you think Foreign Correspondent looks better than its BD/2014 restoration?

[dvdmike]

Was there a definitive version of Three Kings?

[PDB]

Hey @PDB do you think Foreign Correspondent looks better than its BD/2014 restoration?

Not sure let me do a comparison and find out.