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.: LeeThorogood's Original Trilogy Replica Technicolor Project :. (Released) — Page 8

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ESB also has PGC_2 coming first, so

15 + 179656 + 15 = 179686 That's Encoded# reported by DGIndex on the VOBs directly

12 + 179656 + 12 using Forced Film on the VOBs
or
0 + 179656 + 12 using Forced Film on the M2V from PgcDemux.


Only in the third scenario, the cave scene begins at 92104 just like g-force's trim() command.

I do see your point about default filename. Using PGCDemux the default name might have been VideoFile.m2v & VideoFile.d2v
Nevertheless, the trim() command is the deciding factor IMO.

It isn't always necessary, but in these (rare?) cases where PGC_2 comes first I think I would recommend going the M2V route.

However, in practice you must take into account the “fuckwit factor”. Just talk to Darth Mallwalker…
-Moth3r

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Darth Mallwalker said:  I do see your point about default filename. Using PGCDemux the default name might have been VideoFile.m2v & VideoFile.d2v.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.  It seems natural to me to view that line in the script as an indication to load the VOBs straight into DGIndex.  As I don't really use PGCDemux, I didn't think twice about doing that when I was trying out the script.

Darth Mallwalker said:  Nevertheless, the trim() command is the deciding factor IMO.

That's certainly logical.  You're probably right.  All the same, I would like to hear what g-force has to say on this.  I would like to know for certain. :-)

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Just in case G-Force doesn't follow this thread I've posted the question in his GOUT Stabilisation thread so hopefully we should get a reply soon. :)

I am inclined to agree with what Darth Malwalker said about using PgcDemux when PGC_2 comes first like on the GOUT DVDs. The reasons I say this is that I had problems syncing the audio and had to offset it by about 12 frames which I didn't understand at the time but do now ;) Also when I used VobBlanker I only replaced PGC_1 and left PGC_2 as it was, this means that PGC_1 on my DVD would be at least 12 frames longer then on the GOUT DVD so by using PgcDemux I should be replacing like for like. There is also this guide by oldschooljedi which directs you to use PgcDemux rather than the VOBs direct.

Until I am certain that I have ironed out all these little issues I am putting Empire and Jedi on hold, it is also likely that there will be a V2 of Star Wars.

@Jonno
Many thanks for the further info / explanation I am 99.9% sure I can do what you say using Final Cut Pro, Compressor & DVD Studio Pro if I get stuck I will give you a shout if you don't mind ;)

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project

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 (Edited)

For what it's worth, when when I was doing my earliest attempts at custom dvd's with replaced soundtracks a couple years ago, I used Mac The Ripper to simultaneously rip and demux the video, then ran DGIndex in Forced Film mode through Crossover (a Mac WINE setup) on the resulting m2v files.  I can't remember the exact numbers it came up with, but the audio synch was always perfect.  This seems in line with the finding that using the m2v files yields the most accurate results.

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g-force said:
Here's what I did:

insert SW bonus disc into drive
open DVD decrypter
Mode > IFO
Edit > Select Main Movie PGC
Tools > Settings... under "IFO Mode" Tab check "Chapter Information - IfoEdit", click OK
File > Decrypt

open dgindex.exe
Video > Field Operation > Force Film
File > Open > (path where you saved the Decrypted files) "VTS_03_1.VOB" "VTS_03_2.VOB" "VTS_03_3.VOB" "VTS_03_4.VOB" "VTS_03_5.VOB" "VTS_03_6.VOB" "VTS_03_7.VOB"
File > Save Project (save to some path other than where the decrypted files are or you may get a file protection error)
I tried installing DVD Decrypter under WINE on my Mac but Decrypter can't see my DVD drive. :( Can someone please try out G-Forces method and let me know if it yields the same results as either using PgcDemux / The VOBs directly or not?

Many Thanks :)

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project

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Using g-force's method, I make the frame count 174258 after forced film.

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Jonno said:

The original GOUT video has 53-54 cells - that's 50 'reported' chapter headers (i.e. the ones you see in the menu), one unreported (which amounts to the last couple of seconds of the end credits), and a couple of split chapters (sometimes to assist with the chapter break, sometimes for no good reason!)
Jonno if your still reading this thread I could use some help. :)

I opened up the original GOUT DVD in VobBlanker. However I cant see where it says there are 53-54 cells, I can only see where it says there are 51 cells in PGC_1 and 1 cell in PGC_2. I'm just trying to find out where to put the split chapters. ;)

Many Thanks

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project

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My mistake! ANH only has 51 cells, which is a direct match for the 51 chapters in the navigation - no split cells required. The last chapter occurs in the last few seconds of the end credits, so when you author your preliminary disc image just pop a marker in there.

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Thanks for the help Jonno! :D

I think I am almost finally at the stage where I am able to say the revised NTSC DVD of Star Wars is finished, I say almost because I still need to watch the DVD all the way through to double check it. I have run the DVD through DGIndex and it didn't flag up any errors so hopefully this is a good sign! I have done a reversal of sorts this time around where previously I concentrated on the PAL DVD and then did the NTSC one as an after thought, this time around I am concentrating on the NTSC DVD in the hope that if I get it right then the PAL DVD should be a doddle.

As the lack of a layer-break point caused some issues before I have found I can use PGCedit to create the ISO, which allows me to set the layer-break point. :D So hopefully that wont be a problem this time around. I have also adjusted the white levels in the colour grade compared to before removing the luma curve adjustments I had made to the whites and lowering them.

From looking at the waveform for the Luma of both the GOUT and THX WOW DVDs it seems the GOUT waveform has had a lift of about 10 IRE applied to it which would explain the clipped whites and washed out blacks, so I have kind of reversed this lift which should put the levels back roughly where they should be, the whites are still clipped but there's nothing I can do about that. :(

I am hoping to have Star Wars finished by the end of the week so that I can get back onto Empire. ;)

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project

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One last question and then hopefully that will be the NTSC DVD done! As I have used burned in subtitles for the Greedo scene I have turned off the forced subtitles by editing the pre-command for the main feature in VTS_3 using PGCedit. Now this works fine but as part of my watch through last night I turned the subtitles on for a bit via the DVDs languages menu, now this worked fine, however when I turned them off once again through the DVDs languages menu, instead of turning the subtitles off completely it switched back to the forced subtitles so during the Greedo scene you had both the burned in and DVD subtitles.

Is there any way to edit the "OFF" button of the languages menu so that it switches the subtitles off rather then switching back to the forced subtitles track?

Many Thanks

EDIT: Never mind I figured it out. :)

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project

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The revised DVDs (NTSC & PAL) for Star Wars are now finished! :D I plan to start upping them to the newsgroup on Sunday evening as I don't want the upload slowing my internet connection over the weekend. ;) In the meantime onto The Empire Strikes Back, which if everything goes smoothly should be done in about 2 weeks. :D

I will post some specs for each disc later today.

@Jonno BTW you weren't completely wrong about there being 53-54 cells in Star Wars, as the PAL version has 52 chapter cells and one split cell. ;)

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project

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LeeThorogood said:


@Jonno BTW you weren't completely wrong about there being 53-54 cells in Star Wars, as the PAL version has 52 chapter cells and one split cell. ;)

Ah, that's interesting. I started tinkering with the PAL version myself originally (I'm in the UK so it was the most readily available), but quickly invested in the NTSC when these serious preservation projects arose.

I genuinely think that the GOUT discs are really nicely authored - just a pity that there's no worthwhile content on them whatsoever ;-)

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Okay the Revised NTSC DVD9 of Star Wars in Technicolor is up on the newsgroup, I hope to finishing putting the Revised PAL DVD9 up in the next day or so. The Revised versions while not a massive change / improvement are a much better product all around in my view. ;)

Update on Empire, I am just about ready to start authoring up the NTSC DVD so hopefully by the end of the week I should have Empire in Technicolor done and then I can move onto Jedi. :D *Sees a light at the end of the tunnel*

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project

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I'm watching ESB now.  So far everything looks great.  Nice work!  What audio did you use for the English track?  I'm looking forward to seeing how ROTJ turns out.

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I've finished watching ESB.  It looks very very good.  As with SW, I think it's probably as good as it's possible to achieve with a single setting.  The only point that I might raise is that at times the picture seemed a little dark, so I put the brightness up a little on my TV; but this might be down to individual settings, and it's a minor problem.  Overall, this release looks gorgeous. It is now my preferred version of the original theatrical cut of ESB.  I'm downloading the revised version of SW as I type.  Thanks for all your hard work, Lee. :)

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Thanks for the high praise Chewtobacca! I'm sorry to hear ESB seems overly dark at times, although I dare say that as its not a constant thing this is probably a fluctuation in the GOUT source which you would only notice when the white/black levels have been adjusted as in my release.

Moving onto Jedi I have finished running the PAL GOUT through my modified G-Force script, converted the AVIs to ProRes 422 HQ QuickTime Movies and am now about 75% through rendering the colour grading. Once this is done I just need to set-up the subtitles in FCP, sync all the audio tracks and then I can move onto authoring the DVDs. :D

Another week or so and I should hopefully have this project all wrapped up. :)

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project

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I watched the revised version of SW today.  The improvement over the previous version is not huge, but it is significant. This is well worth downloading.  There are still some minor problems: color fluctuations, while Threepio is wandering across Tatooine's sands; some funky sky appearing, especially when Luke first meets the droids; but the excessive brightness that was present in parts of the first version seems largely to have been rectified, at least to my eyes.  Overall the colors are simply stunning, especially given the source.

It is a shame that the minor issues will not be fixed, but I can understand that Lee doesn't want to devote any more time to this project.  Arnie'd's V8 will remain my version of choice, but this is the one I'll watch every time I want to see a recreation of the original technicolor appearance of SW.  Bring on ROTJ. :D

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If anyone is willing to post to RS, MU or the Spleen please do! I've been anticipating this project for a long time and my track record with Pay it Forward is not very good (meaning I have yet to send discs in return to some people...)

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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Dammit! I may have spoken too soon about finishing Jedi! I was just going through putting in the chapter markers in preparation for authoring the NTSC disc when I noticed in several shots a 10-15 pixel wide black border running down the right hand side. :( Now I checked the GOUT source and its there too, so I can only imagine I would need to adjust the crop and resize values in my AviSynth script to eliminate it.

I'd like to avoid throwing away a weeks worth of work if I can so I am going to finish authoring the NTSC disc, watch it through and then go from there. If I find the border distracting while watching I'll go back and fix it, otherwise I'll leave it be. That said I am something of a perfectionist so chances are I will be going back to fix this. *sigh*

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project

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I checked out your ESB Lee. It was very good but like Chewbacca said, it seemed a bit too dark. The colours however were very close to the stills photography you see of ESB which made the experience very fresh and interesting.

I'm interested to see what you bring to the table with ROTJ as well.

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rockin said:

I checked out your ESB Lee. It was very good but like Chewbacca said, it seemed a bit too dark.

Lee's first release of SW was criticized for being too bright, so I wondered if I he might have overcompensated when he did ESB.

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Most likely the GOUT disc for ESB has a darker picture then the GOUT disc of SW as I used the same colour settings for Empire as I did the revised SW disc. :) Regardless I don't intend to spend another two weeks fixing this, not when if it bothers the viewer that much they can always adjust the brightness of their TV to compensate. ;)

When I watched Empire to check it for problems I did pick up that it was slightly darker then SW but it wasn't a massive difference and I just figured Empire was suppose to have a slightly darker picture to match the darker tone of the film's story compared to Star Wars and Jedi.

Original Trilogy in Replica Technicolor Project
Star Wars PAL LaserDisc Project