[Released] The Seventh Seal (1957) IVC LD, Swedish DVD, Criterion Commentary Synced to BFI UHD

[axeyou]

Sertoli previously synced the IVC LD & Svensk Filmindustri DVD to the 2018 Criterion BD (part of the Ingmar Bergman's Cinema boxset). Since he doesn't appear to be active around here anymore, I've taken the liberty to re-time his syncs to the new BFI UHD. I've also thrown in Criterion's commentary by Bergman expert Peter Cowie as a bonus. (A great commentary IMO. It definitely helped me appreciate the film more after a perplexing first watch years ago.)

Audio comparison:

• Blah-ray's coverage: https://blah-ray.blogspot.com/2017/03/th...-1957.html
  
• IVC LD sounds the best overall.
  
• Svensk Filmindustri DVD is more detailed in a few places, but more muffled in others. It should make an interesting alternative track.
  

Picture quality wise, BFI's UHD is better than Criterion's new UHD, because:

• David M. @ Fidelity in Motion encoded the BFI release.
  
• BFI is presented in (a conservatively-graded) Dolby Vision, while Criterion UHD is presented in SDR. Here's BFI's HDR grading, plotted from my own disc (blue line tracks per-shot MaxCLL; purple line tracks per-shot MaxFALL):
  
  

Credits (THANK YOU!):

• IVC LD originally sourced by: BDgeek / alinskey
  
• IVC LD originally ripped by: alinskey
  
• IVC LD & Swedish DVD originally synced to Criterion BD by: sertoli
  
• sertoli's syncs shared with me by: stwd4nder2
  
• [BONUS] Criterion commentary ripped & synced by: axeyou
  

Inputs:

• IVC LD: FLAC, 2.0 mono, 718 kbps, 44.1 kHz, 16 bits
  
• Swedish DVD: FLAC, 1.0 mono, 339 kbps, 48 kHz, 16 bits
  
• Criterion Commentary: AC-3, 1.0 mono, 192 kbps, 48 kHz
  

Outputs:

• IVC LD: FLAC, 2.0 mono, 715 kbps, 44.1 kHz, 16 bits
  
• Swedish DVD: FLAC, 1.0 mono, 336 kbps, 48 kHz, 16 bits
  
• Criterion Commentary: FLAC, 1.0 mono, 249 kbps, 48 kHz, 16 bits
  

Notes on the sync:

• BFI UHD is presented in 24 fps, while Criterion BD is 23.976 fps as usual. I've sped up all three tracks with SoX.
  
• BFI UHD and the 2018 Criterion boxset BD are frame-wise identical. The only difference is Criterion having an extra 865 frames at the beginning. At 24 fps, this translates to a delay of -36042ms.
  
• When remuxing, the LD and DVD tracks I'm sharing need this -36042ms delay. However, the Criterion commentary track complicates things, as Peter Cowie starts introducing himself at an untimely ~33 seconds. So, if you are interested in the commentary, apply a positive 36042ms delay to the BFI UHD's video, audio, subtitle, and chapters instead.
  
• Alternatively, apply a +5000ms delay to BFI's video & associated tracks, and a -31042ms to the LD, DVD, and commentary tracks. See comment below: I've re-synced the commentary to perfectly match BFI UHD.
  
• I've also included SRTs from both the 2018 Criterion BD (re-synced to BFI) and BFI UHD. Their translations are a little bit different, e.g. BFI refers to Death as "the Devil" in a few but not all instances. I don't speak Swedish to be able to determine which one is more accurate.
  

PM me for a link. Enjoy!

[axeyou]

• So, if you are interested in the commentary, apply a positive 36042ms delay to the BFI UHD's video, audio, subtitle, and chapters instead.
  
• Alternatively, apply a +5000ms delay to BFI's video & associated tracks, and a -31042ms to the LD, DVD, and commentary tracks.
  

It turns out MKV playback software really doesn't like it when the video stream doesn't start at timestamp 0. I tried this on both my PC (MPC-BE & VLC) and Zidoo Z9X and can't get the first 5 seconds of plain audio to reliably play.

I've examined the commentary more closely. Very interestingly, the opening 2 minutes or so is actually out-of-sync with the film: The first sound in the film's LD/DVD audio tracks is a percussion note on a cymbal, timed to the "Det sjunde inseglet" title card. On the commentary, as Cowie is talking, this percussion came in the background 15417ms earlier than it should, landing on the restoration notes card. Then there is a long silence at the end of the opening credits.

So that makes syncing this commentary to the BFI UHD much much simpler. I added a 15417ms silence at the beginning to align the cymbal hit, and then trimmed the same amount from the original silent segment. And since I'm already editing, I also trimmed the 36042ms CC BD to BFI UHD offset. This track should now sync perfectly with the BFI UHD, no more fiddling with the delay necessary.

[therobotdreamer]

Finaly watch it yesterday, but the LD track isnt sync with the BFI, weird.

[axeyou]

Interesting. I remember checking the sync when I published this. Did you apply the extra delay when muxing?

When remuxing, the LD and DVD tracks I'm sharing need this -36042ms delay