In my quest to review all the DVD’s I was gonna sit down and watch one transfer a day and write down notes on the films BUT after think this plan over (50+ hours of SW in 7 days…) SO instead I made a OT transfer DEMO DVD that featrured 7 of the best NTSC OT laserdisc transfers! And now after having a few friends (5 of us total) over to check out the Demo DVD and the new Cowclops Transfers; we did watch the DEMO DVD first (27” 4:3 TV) and then the entire Cowclops V.2 ESB (16:9 LCD projector) then after the viewing we watched the DEMO DVD a second time (TV) and third time (Projector) after that we voted for the BEST OT transfers...
Now, there are few things for you to consider about these mini reviews.
1 - We did not use ANY of the Asian "IMPORTED" laserdisc transfers.
2 - I felt it best NOT to use the PAL transfers as the average DVD viewer cannot play PAL
3 - These are my personal opinions and it is best to come to your own conclusion about these DVD’s (that’s why I made the DEMO DVD
) So starting from the bottom of the list....
7 - The Quality Broth set
This set is the worst of the best, it features lots of artifacting, jaggies and pixilation BUT the colors are nice and not over boosted or muted - would look best on a 19" or smaller screen.
6 - The Cowclops V.2
This is yet again another anamorphic transfer but unlike the other versions this one seems to have the aspect ration spot on (I’ve not measured it but it looks damn close!) when screened with a Panasonic PT-AE100U (16x9 native) LCD projector this transfer also has motion artifacting jaggies which seem to be a LD to DVD trait but this transfer does offer good detail on all three discs the only downer is that all the dark colors did look a bit washed out and when played back on a 27” television odd double black bars appeared…
The double black bars shot this set down, the black levels are WAY off on all the discs in this set and required the standard TV settings to be changed in order to make them disappear - so this would also mean that the double black bars (ones really dark grey) are really supposed to be there? (the dealer of this set has confirmed that the low black levels are intentional) - SO you'll honestly need to lower the brightness setting and possibly boost the contrast on your set to enjoy these DVD’s (THEN lower both again to watch TV or other movies – otherwise they seem too dark!)
– OKAY, OKAY yes having to adjust your set is really no big deal nor does it take that long but let’s be brutally honest here… WHEN was the last time you had to alter the color settings of your TV set in order to enjoy a DVD?
5 - The Farsight Set
A very fair transfer the second of the “Anamorphic” transfers and is about tied with the ISOMIX set on quality. Nice colors and less jaggies and pixilation but there is some artifacting under motion and dark scenes - The picture is not as sharp and some finer details are a bit blurred but the lack of double black bars when played back on a standard 4:3 set bumped this set above the Cowclops V.2 set -
4 - The ISOMIX Set
The Isolated score gave this set the edge until the EditDroid set became a public torrent, Good/Fair colors and a real neat menu structure have kept this a popular set but the set does suffer from more jaggies on ESB and JEDI and some motion artifacting is apparent in the "battle" scenes and the sabers seem a bit washed (true they are in the LD also) - BUT I'm sure that this set is a straight transfer with NO color or gamma modifications.
3 - The Cowclops V.1 (aka Row47, TR47 and the PCM audio set)
This set is a LONG time favorite next to the Dr. Gonzo set. This set features the BEST AUDIO PERIOD! Sweet PCM transfer has the BEST surround of any set and the picture very well may be on of the best also. A few minor errors have been pointed out on this set including a LD side flip on ESB that has 4 seconds of blank screen before the Leia welding footage (At 50m 31s) and ROTJ; on some DVD players there MAY be a slight stutter when a speeder bike explodes due to a bitrate jump. The lack of any menus was a bit of a let down but the overall video/audio presentation made up for the lack of menus.
AND yes, it is true that there was a second version that was re-authored by RowMan to include new basic “title-page” static menus and he also cut the bad “blank” screen frames this second version is called the “Row47” version and is a real step up from the first release.
The Best sound and great 4x3 picture helped this set tie for #2
2 - Dr. Gonzo
This is the oldest known transfer of the sets, yet most likely the most popular and well known of ALL the sets. This DVD set became the main stay of eBay OT DVD's for many years now and has fetched upwards of $500 for a 4 disc set (a few years back that is!). The sheer awesomeness of this set is apparent in the menu layout and the anamorphic video conversion. (the first of the anamorphic versions) It would seem MORE time that went into the creation of this set then others based on the presentation (with the exception of the EditDroid set), from the commentary track to the incredible extras disc, if only the audio was a stronger and if the video had a bit more detail (the video seems a bit fuzzy the yellow off a tad & aspect ratio seems off very slightly) this set may well have NOT tied for second.
1 - The EditDroid Set
WOW, after all the sets we get a set with both great picture and sound. MUCH thought went into this set with its selectable title crawl for STAR WARS and the coolest menus of the bunch. Sure some sets may have been encoded into anamorphic widescreen but thank goodness the creators of this set did not take that route! (I prefer the straight 4:3 transfers myself – no 16:9 display) This set may well be the damn nicest of the NTSC transfers, strong colors and solid audio set this set apart.
VIEWING EQUIPMENT:
Display 1: APEX AT-2708 27” Television - Calibrated by an ISF certified calibrator/HD installer - connection via S-Video
Display 2: Panasonic PT-AE100U (16x9 native) LCD Projector - connection via Component Video for Progressive Scan output
DVD Player: Philips DVP-642
HT equipment used: ONYKO TX-SR501 - DTS ES/Dolby Digital EX Receiver, Six NHT New Wave Satellites and a KLH 10” powered subwoofer (SW10-100C)
Please post your opinions of the transfers!!!!!!!!!
Word to the Spookies...
Now back to my vacation - REALLY!