logo Sign In

Info Wanted: Question about LD 1993 to DVD Transfer

Author
Date
Author
Time
 (Edited)
Post link

Hi guys,

I <finally got around to watching my ROTJ DVD, a transfer from the 1993 Laserdisc release that I purchased sometime back on Ebay. I did notice one strange thing however - during the Ewok celebration scene a name pops up on the top of my screen in white letters. Dave Murren? Davvik Marren? Hehe, I can’t remember, but anyway, it stays there for around a minute and then disappears. Can anyone explain how this happened?

It’s not a huge deal to me, but I was curious. I didn’t plan on buying any of the 9/12 OUT’s, but if my bootleg is flashing names here and there, i’ll definitely want to pick up a ‘clean’ retail copy sometime in the future. Thanks for your help!

Author
Time
Post link
Dennis Muren? I think the Dr. Gonzo set had a subtitle stream displaying the name of the person who was talking for the commentary track.
Fez: I am so excited about Star Whores.
Hyde: Fezzy, man, it's Star Wars.
Author
Time
Post link
Perhaps that's the one.

Thanks for your reply. I did a little Googling (I had no idea there were so many fan edits and bootleg transfers out there) and found this page on the Dr. Gonzo edition you mentioned:

http://www.prillaman.net/starwarsdvdreview-bootleg5.html

Reading up on that page I noticed these remarks

The commentary on A New Hope and Return of the Jedi included Ralph McQuarrie, Dennis Muren, and Ken Ralston, while the Empire Strikes Back commentary added George Lucas and Frank Oz to that list. Second, the discs boast a remarkable number of chapters: A New Hope sports no fewer than 79 chapters, each of which has a thumbnail link from the eight pages of chapter stops. The production notes are rather interesting, and even make reference to the 1993 Definitive Edition LaserDiscs that were used as the source material.


That certainly sounds like mine, chapter wise. There are a BUNCH of chapters (79 total I believe), though navigation isn't the easiest. I will check to see if there is actually a commentary option in the menu. Strange that Dennis Muren's name would pop up on the screen though, as if he were making commentary, when in actuality his voice is absent.
Author
Time
Post link
Originally posted by: Stretch
I finally got around to watching my ROTJ DVD, a transfer from the 1993 Laserdisc release that I purchased sometime back on Ebay.
The official DVD's are of much higher quality.
Some were not blessed with brains.
<blockquote>Originally posted by: BadAssKeith

You are passing up on a great opportunity to makes lots of money,
make Lucas lose a lot of his money
and make him look bad to the entire world
and you could be well known and liked

None of us here like Lucas or Lucasfilm.
I have death wishes on Lucas and Macullum.
we could all probably get 10s of thousands of dollars!
Author
Time
Post link
Sounds a bit like the new DVD OOT release. I'm sure it was cleaned up from that older version though.
Author
Time
Post link
I checked my DVD's and they do indeed have audio commentary options. Nice!

Perhaps its just some glitch that causes Dennis Muren's name to appear in white text. Might be time to start searching for another ROTJ bootleg edition.... Of course, I appreciate Mr. Muren's contributions to the SW mythos, I just don't want to see his name randomly popping up on my ROTJ disk.

I guess my only other question now is whether my transfers are actually anamorphic widescreen. My first guess would be yes - I was watching a bit from my ESB dvd, and the letterboxing was minimal. Interestingly enough though, the black bar on top seemed ever so slightly wider than the one on bottom. Is there an easy way to tell through visual inspection?

The official DVD's are of much higher quality.
Sounds a bit like the new DVD OOT release. I'm sure it was cleaned up from that older version though.


Yes I was wondering about that too. I was tempted recently to purchase the 9/12 discs just so I could see how much better the official transfers were. (My first hunch is that they most likely are, but just by how much I can't say yet.) Like many other fans who already own the 2004 set I've been holding back, primarily b/c I don't want to purchase another trio of enchanced OT discs just to get the OUT as a bonus. BUT - I also have a sneaking suspicion that the 30th anniversary box set might, just might, have something nice in store. The OOT clips in the documentary "Empire of Dreams" were anamorphic, so you never know what GL might be hiding up his sleeve.

You know what would be cool though? It would be fantastic if someone were to post comparison screens between the 9/12 official release and some of the more respectable transfers, that way we could all see for ourselves. Perhaps someone already has? Links anyone?
Author
Time
Post link
I seem to remember Dr Gonzo's DVDs had the laserdisc commentary, with the name of the person currently talking in the subtitles. You probably have subtitles turned on - turn them off on your DVD remote and the text should no longer appear.

Regarding screenshots, click here.

Guidelines for post content and general behaviour: read announcement here

Max. allowable image sizes in signatures: reminder here

Author
Time
Post link
Originally posted by: Stretch
Yes I was wondering about that too. I was tempted recently to purchase the 9/12 discs just so I could see how much better the official transfers were.
Well they manaqged to clean-off that nasty "A New Hope" subtitle that managed to knawl its way into the print!
Some were not blessed with brains.
<blockquote>Originally posted by: BadAssKeith

You are passing up on a great opportunity to makes lots of money,
make Lucas lose a lot of his money
and make him look bad to the entire world
and you could be well known and liked

None of us here like Lucas or Lucasfilm.
I have death wishes on Lucas and Macullum.
we could all probably get 10s of thousands of dollars!