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Post #1104304

Author
starkiller base
Parent topic
Techniques and ways of fixing Black Crush or Crushed Blacks
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1104304/action/topic#1104304
Date created
3-Sep-2017, 2:34 PM

from dvdactives review of the blu ray

The 4K scan pays off in terms of clarity and detail, but the difference in colour timing between the two transfers is the more immediate issue. Without getting into which transfer is ‘correct,’ because I have no idea, I’ll just say that I like the Shout transfer’s richer colours, especially the vivid oranges and slightly lavender reds, but I also recognize that the Metrodome disc’s palette is closer to other DVD versions of the movie. The next issue is the overall levels of each release. Watching it on a big TV screen, the new transfer’s contrast looks nice. The subtle highlights reveal more shading in the hand-painted backgrounds and ensure that accompanying lighting effects – laser blasts, surreal starscapes, and computer console readouts – really stand-out against the hand-drawn panels. The Metrodome transfer’s highlights seem to crack up some of the ink outlines, too. Shout Factory’s darker overall tint is fine, but there’s a lot of detail missing in the moody shots, due to soupy shadows and greyish blacks. Chris’ theory is that the image was mastered using PC levels (0=black, 255=white), instead of television levels (16=black, 235=white), which makes sense. I found that I could pretty easily mitigate the problem by sticking the caps in Photoshop and sliding the middle RGB input a tad to the left. Shout Factory had the visual information they needed; something just went wrong during production. The print damage and general wear is a bit more prevalent than expected, considering the extensive remastering, though compression artefacts are minimal, in part because Shout Factory separated the 1.85:1 and 1.33:1 transfers onto separate discs. I actually find the grain and scratches charming, myself – they add character to this plucky movie.