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Harmy's STAR WARS Despecialized Edition HD - V2.7 - MKV (Released) — Page 235

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About to dive into this, must get popcorn....after I find it; never hire Jar-Jar as your butler. ;)

Thanks Harmy! The audio options alone have my appetite whetted, along with hh's new 70mm 5.1, and your color timing to the IB print...a day long remembered.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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Ok, here are a few screenshots comparing the quality of both BD/MKV and AVCHD to the Lossless Source. Unfortunately the bitrate had to be substantially reduced to fit the video, several audio tracks and the insanely large overhead of the m2ts container (1GB!) to a DVD9.

Lossless Source vs. Bluray/MKV @ 15000 Kbit/sec:

Screenshot Set 1

Screenshot Set 2

Screenshot Set 3

Screenshot Set 4

Screenshot Set 5

Screenshot Set 6

Screenshot Set 7

Screenshot Set 8

Lossless Source vs. AVCHD @ 6500 Kbit/sec:

Screenshot Set 1

Screenshot Set 2

Screenshot Set 3

Screenshot Set 4

Screenshot Set 5

Screenshot Set 6

Screenshot Set 7

Screenshot Set 8

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Just finished watching this on my 50" plasma... there are no words to describe how amazing it is.

And I actually caught something I had never noticed before, which is pretty rare when I watch SW these days.  After the DS has been destroyed, and it shows Luke getting out of his X-wing, focus on the upper-right part of the screen, and you can see Han and Chewie WAY in the background getting driven around on one of those cart things.

Anyone remember different camera angles from ROTJ?

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I finally watched the whole thing. 

Man, it is totally effortless to pretend I'm watching it in a theatre in the seventies. There are no loose ends or "mistakes" that distract me, much less an unsuspecting moviegoer. My only hang-up last time around was the lightsabers, and they are beautiful now. All the warts are restored, and it is so seamlessly blended. Version 1.0 was amazing, but somehow this seems twice as good. 

With a 16 GB MKV version, this is the best it's going to get until an even higher-definition home video source becomes mainstream. I know I sound like a broken record by now, but this release is genuinely fantastic. It's the best presentation of Star Wars that I've personally ever seen, and that's no mistake.

My stance on revising fan edits.

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Can anyone give a reason why when I put it on disc ,at certain places it starts to stutter. I re burned it and the same places. On the computer when I watch it,,no problem.
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Probably a bad download, or something happened when you were splitting it.

Anyway. I must say I'm sorry to you all. Had I known the AVCHD would look this good, I wouldn't have released the MKV in the first place and release just the AVCHD instead and keep the super high bitrate for the BD. Well, what's done is done.

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No need to apologize Harmy!  It just gives us more reason to look forward to the AVCHD version!

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Wow, this is incredible...I got to go up to the tractor beam with my surround engaged, will have to continue tomorrow.

This looks incredible, even the necessary GOUT shots for the most part, and when it gets to the really degraded ones like the Sandcrawler or the speeder force field, I get a knowing smile on my face that this is real and cobbled together by those who care deeply. (BTW that JSC shot of the speeder looks far better than I could have imagined-great job!)

The color timing is really different to experience after all these years of video masters, incorrect timing, SE, non-SE and all of our constant comparisons. I liked everything, but was surprised by the skin tones and texture. The Dune Sea and Ben's appearance was also far whiter than I had ever imagined.

I tried to stick with hh's new 5.1 70mm track but couldn't help it and had to listen to some of the other options as well (thank you so much for including all of them). Some of the lesser known dubs were new to me an very interesting to hear.

Something I did want to point out however. On the DVDTalk forum topic on the DE 2.0 that was posted earlier, this was stated:

I can tell you this, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts has an unfaded Technicolor-process print of Star Wars, and good condition 70mm prints of Empire and Jedi. And that place is full of film students who all undoubtedly loathe what Lucas has done to the films. Get those prints to this mysterious scanner and we'd have HD editions of the original cuts of all three films by the end of the year.

Damn. I sure got screwed on film school.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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Harmy, man, I just watched it again. Start to finish.

The color grading was fucking superb. Not only that - the detail established in the areas that were previously obscured by black crush was unreal. The difference is even more pronounced after watching it all the way through twice. Also man - the fact that I was mentioned in the "Special thanks" section at the end of the credits almost made me shit myself.

It's only my 2nd viewing in the last couple days but in the next couple weeks I can guarantee you this will get into the dozens.

Now I wait until you craft it into a BD version so I can give it to my brother.

Harrison Ford Has Pretty Much Given Up on His Son. Here's Why

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Jan said:

Ok, here are a few screenshots comparing the quality of both BD/MKV and AVCHD to the Lossless Source.

 

The AVCHD looks really great... do you think that quality could be achieved if I re-encode the MKV video to 15000kbps again?

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I finally got to view this masterpiece last night and all I can say is that it's simply stunning. From all the screenshots and clips Harmy posted over the many months it's taken him to complete this remaster, I was still unprepared as to just how gorgeous this film can look. In fact, if I had no knowledge of OT.com and someone would have showed me this version and told me that it was taken from an original print, I'd believe it! That's about the highest compliment I could pay. Never again will I suffer through inferior version of Star Wars! My, my...how I've longed to say those words!

If I have a (very) minor complaint, it's that Harmy's own Despecialized Edition credits begins too soon...while the end credits music is still playing. I had a similar problem with the first version and while this isn't as bad (they begin much later this time, it's still a bit distracting if you want to absorb yourself into thinking it's 1977. It kind of goes against the point of preserving every inch of the film exactly as it was in 1977 and I personally would have prefered a few extra seconds of distance between the main film and the DE credits. But all in all, it's a very minor gripe... and I shouldn't harp on it.

Fantastic job all around Harmy, you should be proud! 

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 (Edited)

I think it's important to remember too that just because the skin tones look "unnatural" in certain scenes, or certain scenes are biased towards tan or green, or are much whiter, that doesn't mean that's not how it was. These kinds of colorings and "pushing" the film and etc. would have been done in the lab, which in those days was much more advanced than it is now (the 70s equivalent of computer color grading today). 

The colors would never have been on the original negative as it was shot, but they were deliberate decisions that you lose when you go back to the original negative and start over again (the special editions besides the 97 which was sourced off of GL's technicolor print from 1977- and also looked radically different between theater and home video).  Also, I think that on VHS versions they color corrected it greatly as they did with other releases.

I wish that I could just wish my feelings away...but I can't.  Wishful wishing can only lead to wishes wished for in futile wishfulness, which is not what I wish to wish for. 

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captainsolo said:

BTW that JSC shot of the speeder looks far better than I could have imagined-great job!

Huh?  What's JSC?

It’s really sad when the “creative minds” behind something we hold dear are also guilty of its destruction.

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I'm really pissed hearing all the glowing reviews! I downloaded this twice now,thinking something happened the first time. I even split it up to fit on the Verbatim dvd5,which I have and have read is superb quality. Well everything is set,I start the movie and again am awed by quality Harmy produced. I particularly loved the night scened with the jawas,in almost every version I own they seem to make the image darker than it should and you lose alot of the character detail. Ok,well anyway,I get to the spot in the movie where in my last attempt the movie suddenly starts skipping,,,and thats Luke and the sunset,and BINGO it happened again!?? I can only imagine that its the download I chose. Does anyone know where else I can get the download,and I'll try it again,cause I want this sooo bad,thanks in advance.

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Laserschwert said:

Jan said:

Ok, here are a few screenshots comparing the quality of both BD/MKV and AVCHD to the Lossless Source.

 

The AVCHD looks really great... do you think that quality could be achieved if I re-encode the MKV video to 15000kbps again?

Generally I don't recommend doing such a thing and honestly I can't see why you want to. Output quality will largely depend on the encoding settings as will speed. I guess you could achieve the AVCHD quality or even better in such a scenario if you used optimal, but also very slow settings which are carefully adjusted.

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 (Edited)

Jan said:

Laserschwert said:

Jan said:

Ok, here are a few screenshots comparing the quality of both BD/MKV and AVCHD to the Lossless Source.

 

The AVCHD looks really great... do you think that quality could be achieved if I re-encode the MKV video to 15000kbps again?

Generally I don't recommend doing such a thing and honestly I can't see why you want to. Output quality will largely depend on the encoding settings as will speed. I guess you could achieve the AVCHD quality or even better in such a scenario if you used optimal, but also very slow settings which are carefully adjusted.

I want to do it because I'd like to add a German crawl and German Greedo subs. Logistically it'll be a bit complicated getting the lossless video files from Harmy to me. If re-encoding the MKV proves to be a viable option, I'd definitely go that route.

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I see. Well, you could try it of course. If you want I can help you with the settings once you come to that point. 

Viel Glück für dein Projekt!

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Skipped around the MKV, looks great! Is there going to be a Harmy-released AVCHD, or should I used my IT skills to make one of my own?

Star Wars Revisited Wordpress

Star Wars Visual Comparisons WordPress

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doubleofive said:

Skipped around the MKV, looks great! Is there going to be a Harmy-released AVCHD, or should I used my IT skills to make one of my own?

Scroll up a few posts and you'll see screenshots of the official AVCHD ;-)

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Hey Harmy,

Thank you for this awesome release - I watched the whole movie with my brother, we were both so impressed of quality and "despecialization" :D

It really became what all star-wars-fans were dreaming of for so long!

Man, thanks!

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Jan said:

Ok, here are a few screenshots comparing the quality of both BD/MKV and AVCHD to the Lossless Source. Unfortunately the bitrate had to be substantially reduced to fit the video, several audio tracks and the insanely large overhead of the m2ts container (1GB!) to a DVD9.

Lossless Source vs. Bluray/MKV @ 15000 Kbit/sec:

 

Screenshot Set 1

Screenshot Set 2

Screenshot Set 3

Screenshot Set 4

Screenshot Set 5

Screenshot Set 6

Screenshot Set 7

Screenshot Set 8

 

Lossless Source vs. AVCHD @ 6500 Kbit/sec:

 

Screenshot Set 1

Screenshot Set 2

Screenshot Set 3

Screenshot Set 4

Screenshot Set 5

Screenshot Set 6

Screenshot Set 7

Screenshot Set 8

 

  Very good comparisons 

One day we will have properly restored versions of the Original Unaltered Trilogy (OUT); or 1977, 1980, 1983 Theatrical released versions (Like 4K77,4K80 and 4K83); including Prequels. So that future generations can enjoy these historic films that changed cinema forever.

Yoda: Try not, do or do not, there is no try.

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Myspleen invite please, and Thank you

One day we will have properly restored versions of the Original Unaltered Trilogy (OUT); or 1977, 1980, 1983 Theatrical released versions (Like 4K77,4K80 and 4K83); including Prequels. So that future generations can enjoy these historic films that changed cinema forever.

Yoda: Try not, do or do not, there is no try.

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Just wanted to comment on the very bright Obi-wan scene on tatooine.  I have a tape of  the original 1983 HBO presentation of star wars that my uncle taped for me (he had a vhs recorder and we didn't at the time).  I may be misremembering because I don't think I have watched the tape in over 20 years but I'm 99% sure that scene was just as bright.  Watching the Despecialized edition was the first time that scene looked "right" to me!

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Cobra Kai said:

Great work, Harmy!

one question though...  How come the V2.0 shot here looks so different from this shot that Mike posted?

 

 

Harmy, if you get a chance, could you ask Mike about this scene, and why it is so much brighter on your reference images than other releases.

I know you're probably sick of all the color timing discussions and criticisms, but I was just curious about this scene. 

Thanks.

“In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.” - George Lucas