I'll try and get some new screengrabs posted within the next day or so. I've also changed the scripts several times since my last post, so I'm hoping that does the trick.

Because of the time they are taking to render (slightly over 1 fps on my quadcore processor), I'm doing these new scripts as a "first pass" with minimal noise reduction. If they're too grainy, I'll work out the kinks on a 2nd pass.

My existing 720p Empire was just an upscale of my Rebellion Collection master AVI, but with a slight increase to the black levels. It was done through a program called Video Enhancer that I'd purchased via direct-download a few years back.

I was planning to use that program for this project, which would have saved me A TON of trial and error. But...when I started taking a closer look at the output files, I saw some real weirdness. The best example I can think of is during bright flashes of white. The white frame itself and the first frame or two following were riddled with tiny blocks...but not block noise. I'll see about getting a screengrab to demonstrate whenever I can.

So, I've had to go back to upscaling in AviSynth and VirtualDub.

As for what will be different between my original 720p Empire and the version I'm working on now:

- The new version will hit the aliasing a lot harder. Those jagged edges are the one thing about GOUT that drives me totally nuts beyond anything else. But, it will not be done at the expense of overall image detail.

- The new version will no longer have the "accidental sharpening" that occurred in my Rebellion DVD set. Any edge-enhancement will be done on purpose with the proper script ;)

- The new version will "try" to reduce the major color and white level problems with GOUT. It will slightly reduce the clipped whites and decrease the oversaturated reds, while still increasing overall saturation.