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Info: Star Wars Executor Boxset VHS (1995) — Page 2

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Originally posted by: RowMan
Has anyone done a VHS to DVD transfer of Classic Creatures or From Star Wars to Jedi from this set? The US NTSC videotapes don't look that great and I wonder if these would look any better. If they do, they could be a good non-subtitled alternative to the Japanese laserdiscs which have subtitles.



I hated the NTSC videotapes of the CC, SW to J.
"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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I have to post some more screencaps of the boxset... later
"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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I have two questions: These making ofs you're talking about were in the USA definitive collection laserdiscs? What changed with the two japan releases of this boxset?
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Originally posted by: UN0
I have two questions: These making ofs you're talking about were in the USA definitive collection laserdiscs? What changed with the two japan releases of this boxset?


No. The two documentaries never made it to laserdisc in the USA. They were only released on VHS and the video quality was not that great. In Japan, the two docs were released on laserdisc with SLIGHTLY better quality, but they also had burned in Japanese subtitles. After seeing the quality of both the USA VHS tapes and the Japanese laserdiscs side by side, I think that the masters used for the video transfers of these programs were "soft" looking. I also seem to remember seeing From Star Wars to Jedi when it was originally broadcast on public television and noticing that it didn't look that great.
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For burned subtitles you mean that they're impressed on the video or that they are in the ld g format? If not, there are many scenes with these subtitles right? So the only way to have them without subs is to get them from vhs.
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Right. On the Japanese laserdiscs the subtitles are impressed on the video and cannot be removed and run throughout the program. Only the PAL and NTSC VHS tapes are without subtitles.
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Hi all,

First post from the usual long time lurker.... Great forum!

I am currently in the process of capturing the extras from my PAL VHS Executor tapes. I have a copy of RowMan's extras disks to compare with my captures and so far the PAL stuff is of much better quality than the NTSC (which is not belittling RowMan's terrific work- just the source material).

However, the "From Star Wars to Jedi" tape I have is of very poor picture quality. I seem to remember that it always looked a bit rubbish, but part of me suspects that my tape may be on the way out.

Can another owner of this set confirm what the quality of their "SW to Jedi" tape is ilke? Of all the preliminary captures I have done, this is the only documentary that is better on RowMan's NTSC disks.

By the way, I am working with a Pinnacle DVD500 DV capture card and Adobe Premiere.

Thanks all. Glad to have finally joined the forums!
I'm sorry, I hate it when it does that.....
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Can another owner of this set confirm what the quality of their "SW to Jedi" tape is ilke? Of all the preliminary captures I have done, this is the only documentary that is better on RowMan's NTSC disks.


I've got this boxset so I can check it out tonight.

I liked all the matte paintings and posters you get. I've used the posters to make DVD labels for my edits.

DE
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Originally posted by: Goose
Hi all,

First post from the usual long time lurker.... Great forum!

I am currently in the process of capturing the extras from my PAL VHS Executor tapes. I have a copy of RowMan's extras disks to compare with my captures and so far the PAL stuff is of much better quality than the NTSC (which is not belittling RowMan's terrific work- just the source material).

However, the "From Star Wars to Jedi" tape I have is of very poor picture quality. I seem to remember that it always looked a bit rubbish, but part of me suspects that my tape may be on the way out.

Can another owner of this set confirm what the quality of their "SW to Jedi" tape is ilke? Of all the preliminary captures I have done, this is the only documentary that is better on RowMan's NTSC disks.

By the way, I am working with a Pinnacle DVD500 DV capture card and Adobe Premiere.

Thanks all. Glad to have finally joined the forums!



Welcome to the boards and a nice project you have.

"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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Nevermind. Old news.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Thanks for the replies!

Darth Editous, I'd be interested to hear back from you regarding the quality of your copy compared to mine. Specifically, the picture on mine is poorly defined, overly dark and has a definite blue cast to it. As the other docs on my tapes do not suffer from this when captured, I assume it is the tape and not my equipment that is at fault.

Oh, and you're right, the artwork and other extras that came with this set were great. The official DVD release was a real missed opportunity, IMO.

Cheers,

Goose
I'm sorry, I hate it when it does that.....
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I'm watching from SW to J now and I'd say it's probably the same as what you're seeing.

DE
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Well, I guess that means I don't have a duff copy of an otherwise decent tape!

I will concentrate on the rest of the supplemental material for now. It's looking very good and should require minimal adjustment from the raw capture (I need to play with the levels a bit to improve black levels etc). I was kind of thinking it might be nice to have a decent transfer of this PAL stuff to complement Moth3r's outstanding work....

I'm sorry, I hate it when it does that.....
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The from star wars to Jedi tape needs to get fixed up, it looks poor in picture quality and has bad audio.
"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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I couldn't agree more, but it needs a decent source- I doubt I could turn the poor VHS copy included in Executor into anything worth the effort. If RowMan reads this, how much clean up work did your NTSC transfer of SW to Jedi require?
I'm sorry, I hate it when it does that.....
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Don't have the NTSC version of the tape dude.

I live in Ireland and i have the PAL transfer which is really a small improvement of the NTSC transfer. But the tape still sucks.

The first 10 mins, the picture quality is completely poor.

The Executor Boxset's version of the tape still could use a great improvement and fixture.
"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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Originally posted by: Goose
I couldn't agree more, but it needs a decent source- I doubt I could turn the poor VHS copy included in Executor into anything worth the effort. If RowMan reads this, how much clean up work did your NTSC transfer of SW to Jedi require?


I don't have the equipment to actually improve any of my VHS transfers. I use a DVD recorder and then transfer those files to a proper DVD with menus. The only thing I have recently done with From SW to Jedi (for my new EditDroid ROTJ bonus disc) was a new transfer using a newer original tape and a JVC S-VHS machine using the S-VHS inputs into the DVD recorder. My new transfer is a slight improvement, but I'm sure others with the proper equipment and software could do better.
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I got the Executor Boxset years ago and I love it. Still an official release of the dvds would be more better.
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/2348/liverpool7vb1.png
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Originally posted by: Goose
I couldn't agree more, but it needs a decent source- I doubt I could turn the poor VHS copy included in Executor into anything worth the effort. If RowMan reads this, how much clean up work did your NTSC transfer of SW to Jedi require?


The SW to Jedi was a straight transfer no filters done with a allinwonder 128 - I'me sure a PAL tape would have better results as the tapes that were used were USED and not new


“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK

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Long time listener - first time caller!

Let me say first of all guys - what a tremendous job you are all doing with the Fan edits, etc. My goodness there is just so much coming out in the Star Wars universe right now - and I don't mean the official goods (thank the lord!)

Anyways, as I have taken so much from the forum already - I'd like to give a bit back, if I can.

I recently acquired the Executor box-set via eBay - yes, this is a used set, HOWEVER - None of the VHS cassettes have been opened - and I mean NONE of them. They are all still sealed! I wasn't gonna open the videos originally - however, if it is of interest to you guys then I will definitley open them to see how they transfer to DVD.

These tapes are UK PAL format - which I believe you may be looking for?

I dunno if my transferring method would be ideal for you or not - but I have some really nice results when transferring some VHS tapes to DVD already. I would be transferring them straight from the VHS onto a standalone Liteon LVW 5005B DVD Recorder. I would only transfer in either 1, 2, or 3 hour mode - I wouldn't go beyond these times as it can pixelate pretty badly after this point.

Any takers for this - just let me know if you'd like me to have a go at transferring these, and I can see how they come out.

Cheers,

Rebel Scum.
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Hi there Rebel Scum,

Welcome from another (relative) newbie!

Sounds like a good purchase- the tapes I am using have been watched, althoguh only a few times, so it would be interesting to see how the quality compares to a tape straight out of the shrink-wrap.

To let you know, I have captured the extras from Star Wars and Empire fully, and have started on Jedi, with good results. All-singing, all-dancing DVDs with intro movie, menus etc etc- a sample winging its way to the US right now.

However, as mentioned on page 2 of this thread, my SW to Jedi tape sucks......

If you are willing to open the tapes, please go ahead and enlighten us- it is just possible your SW to Jedi may be better than what I am working from (it could hardly be worse!).

Cheers,

G
I'm sorry, I hate it when it does that.....
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Hey there Rebel Scum and welcome to the boards, although you seem to have nicked my username!

I have the 95 THX widescreen VHS tapes and have transferred them to DVD. The quality is pretty good compared to the laserdisc NTSC versions but much more unstable obviously. There´s some audio dropouts as well as the usual (although minimal) picture bugs and my set was in mint condition. With the great efforts of fellas like Moth3r and Citizen with their PAL laserdisc projects, it´s pretty much certain that a VHS transfer is not gonna come close to those projects. What we should hope and pray for is for those PAL guys to get their hands on the english soundtrack featured on the very rare french laserdisc release. That coupled with the great picture quality of PAL should give us the very best Original OT project possible. And then there´s the X0 Project, which promises to be something very special, although it´s still pretty far away.
peace,

Rebelscum
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Originally posted by: Rebelscum
Hey there Rebel Scum and welcome to the boards, although you seem to have nicked my username!


Oops! Any ideas on how I would go about changing my username? Wouldn't want to go stepping on anyone's toes just as I've arrived at the party...

Thanks for the welcome guys - I've opened the tape now anyway, so I think I'll have a go recording it - just to see what it's like. If you wish, I'll maybe try posting a sample up later.

Cheers,

Rebel Scum (for the time being anyway!)

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I'm confused. Are there any extras on here that aren't the "making of" specials or that are on the laserdisc???
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Not sure- as far as I'm aware they are the same as the Def Collection laserdiscs as far as content is concerned- the point here is that the NTSC disc transfers seem to be of pretty poor quality, so PAL material, even from VHS, might look better.
I'm sorry, I hate it when it does that.....