ChainsawAsh, what are your sources? The recent V3 theatrical dvds and the unreleased 97 SE V2?
The picture quality for the blu-ray V3 theatrical cut is incredible. I would assume a blu-ray release for the 97 SE V2 set would also be an incredible resource as well.
i didn't see any comments about this idea when I skimmed the forums before. I now see that you guys were just talking about it recently.
I must have looked at every page but missed page 10. Sorry for the long post that basically stated what you guys were already doing. I'm writing this stuff on my phone.
I can't wait to see what the quality jump will look like.
I'll take a more detailed look at the previous posts when I get home today.
I've got a crazy idea my friends and I are considering
When DJ finally uploads the 97 SE v2, there will be an excellent transfer of both the theatrical and 97 releases.
Despite the added scenes and annoying CG, the 1997 versions were great restorations of the original films. (nothing like the funky color correction in the 2004 versions)
What if we took DJ's enhanced V3 theatrical versions and simply edited in the parts from the 97 SE that weren't offensive. (which is alot actually) It would be around 80% 97 SE and the rest would be the theatrical elements. Theatrical audio throughout of course.
I haven't seen a video clip from the 97 SE Trilogy V2 to compare, but I would assume the quality of the picture is better than the GOUT. It came from a "restored" source made in the late nineties. (has DJ ever uploaded a sample? I'm going to dig through the forums right now)
I understand this is a bit nuts, but it would be a way of making a theatrical cut using the BEST visual resources available. Other than someone privately funding a 35mm cleanup or waiting until hell freezes over when Lucasfilm releases the theatrical cuts, this is the best way to make a "restored/cleaned-up" version of the films.
I might even consider taking on the task if I think I can find the time.
It would be great to get an invite to myspleen as well. Any left?
I can't wait to see the quality of ESB and JEDI. Especially the Asteroid sequence in Empire.
That reminds me, I would love to know what the special effects sequences look like in these Blu Ray versions. Other than the beginning of Star Wars, I don't think we've seen much else.
I know you're swamped with renders right now. Just a screen cap or two would be awesome.
This new and longer 720p clip really shows off the quality and resolution of the cleanup. You definitely pumped up the de-graining alot and it might be a good idea to pulled back ever so slightly. Some of the faces look a little bit like this at times:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/1/full/1278011824_1.jpg
I absolutely agree with your belief that the de-graining helps. Honestly, I'm surprised that I wasn't as upset about it. It really looks amazing. Maybe pull back just 5%. Could you give us some screen grab samples for steps in reducing the amount of DNR?
You can really see the over-smoothing of the image when Luke is sitting and eating with this Aunt and Uncle. It's especially noticeable in Uncle Owen's face.
After doing research on the anamorphic issue, it's clear you guys were completely correct about it needing to be 16:9. So, sorry about that.
I should have just stated the actual issue I was concerned about. In most other anamorphic dvds, the black bars on the top and bottom are blacker/darker than the rest of the black levels found in the actual movie. In your HD exports, the black levels of the top and bottom bars are almost identical to the blacks levels found in the movie. This is especially noticeable in the space scenes.
I would like to directly compare your exports to the 2004 anamorhic dvd of star wars but I'm not at home right now. I'll check it out a ASAP and see if the difference can be seen in the space scenes. (Thus my comment is not 100% backed up yet) Until then, here examples of what I mean from other dvds.
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/screenshot.php?movieid=5090&position=7
http://media.bluray.ign.com/media/143/14320351/img_8123419.html
http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/artman2/uploads/1/matrix-neo-widescreen.jpg
Here are the comparison screenshots for the first and second 720p and the second 1080p. (the third 720p and the first 1080p were not that different from the rest. So I didn't include them in the comparison)
http://www.dacklinyoung.com/EXPORT_COMPARE.jpg
After your first 720p export, the compression seems to be making the same negative effect on each version. You can see in the first 720p how much detail was in C-3PO's chest plate and on his face. The compression in the other versions also gets rid of detail found in left hand corner of the frame.
What program did you use for the first export? Any idea what the settings were?
I'll be sending more notes and suggestions later today or tomorrow. This was all that I could put together for the moment.
I Don't know anyone who has that kind of crazy TV either. Just using it to make a point. But your right, it probably just crops blu-rays to play them like that.
I'm still concerned about this but I'm going to stop myself here and do more research before I really putting my foot in my mouth.
I will be including every detail you need in my next big post.
Regarding the anamorphic issue...what would happen if you watched your clips on this TV?
http://www.hdtvlounge.net/philips/cinema-219/
Star Wars is 21:9 not 16:9, so is this HDTV. An anamorphic disk played on this TV would look fine since the black bars are not included in the video information. The video information would simply fill the space given. Isn't that the point of anamorphic?
I will download the new links ASAP. I've looked at the other links from ealier this week and just haven't had time to respond. I actually have some screenshot comparisons I'm putting together.
The first 720p blew me away. The sharpness was amazing and the compression didn't look terrible.
The second 720p and first 1080p looked worse honestly. The sharpness was gone and there were alot more compression artifacts. (My comparison shots show exactly were the compression is completely removing detail found in the first 720p.)
I also have a big concern with the way your making this "anamorphic." Why are you including the black bars on the top and bottom? Shouldn't that area just be negative space on the tv where there isn't any image information? if you were to play these files on 4:3 TV, there would be dark black bars on the top and bottom then slightly lighter black bars surrounding the image.
I will be posting a ton of photos tonight or tomorrow supporting everything I just spoke about.
I know you're working hard on these and I'm game to assist in any way possible. What program are you using to make these exports? I apologize if this has been stated somewhere else already...
I hope all of this constructive criticism is useful.
It's very important that a project like this exists. It's so painful to watch the special editions that I've been avoiding watching any of the original films until an adequate theatrical version was released.
Thank you for caring enough to put in the hard work. I plan on sending in DVD-Rs and making a donation. (I can still do that, correct?)
I've been checking this forum since summer 2010 but have not posted anything until now.