Harmy's STAR WARS Despecialized Edition HD - V2.7 - MKV (Released) — Page 279

Cool - I'll be sure to get the audio fixed :)

Didn't have much time to really sit down and enjoy it last night, but did check through a couple spots for a few minutes. Couple interesting comparisons on 1.0 vs. 2.0 really stood out though - the darkness of some scenes (Falcon in hangar bay of Death Star seemed most dark and lost detail on edges/starfield). Really surprised by that, and a couple of others where contrast seems a bit extreme in the other direction (Obi next to speeder shot, for example).

I'm fine with higher contrast in brighter scenes more so than the extreme dark.

Other than a few spots like that (and, I suppose the 'green' tint/scale as already discussed), it's freaking damn impressive and quite awesome.

Not sure how others feel about some of the darker spots in 1.0 vs 'remastered,' but if at all possible, I would personally prefer (a little more of) the 1.0 type of "visibility" in a few of the aforementioned scenes. Perhaps the re-coloring would take care of some of that, in and of itself, I don't know. On the positive side, there are some really interesting bits of detail that are there, which is pretty impressive. Guessing that's due to the inclusion of newer source material in some places, and which probably also makes it a pain in the ass to have to try getting colors/contrast/etc. all back the way you want. Looking forward to an even better 2.1 with the fixes you intend to do!

Hoping to get time this evening and over the weekend to simply absorb all of it. Been cracking out on the thread here, doing lots of reading. Unbelievably wonderful project Harmy, this fan is truly humbled to be able to share in this experience, and I thank you so much for putting your efforts into everything.

Looks great my friend. I am so excited for all the updates and ultimate release.

Your hard work continues to inspire fans all over.

If I could have shown you my dad's face when he saw your piece. It brought a tear to my eye.

Looking forward to this Christmas more than ever lol, feels like I'm a kid again!

My bad! Still reviewing all the comparison shots in your albums, and hadn't caught that reference to the slide yet (remaster vs. 1.0). Totally understand being more true to the original work! Would think it'd be projected just a notch brighter, but if that's how it is, then "end of story" ;)

Harmy, there is another issue with the HD/BD sources (nothing to do with your edits) which hasn't been mentioned: edge sharpening. Some of the effect is a result of clipping removing the original (smooth) highlight and shadow transitions but, apart from that, there has been some sort of selective filter applied to sharpen edges. I've seen it mentioned somewhere on this forum but haven't seen any discussion of it recently in relation to your restoration. Any thoughts?

I watched most of the movie all the way through last night before finally going to sleep towards the very end. Regarding brightness, I see some of the darker scenes as less an issue now, as my TV(s) (I started on one, then to bedroom TV, which is not as good) are better suited to watch than my PC monitor.

The color issue is, however, definitely a bit awkward in places, and I see why a "2.1" is due. Pretty much agree with the previous posts on this, and am very glad that Harmy is going for a few changes there. Not that it's terrible, but I can see the use in re-rendering one more time with some tweaks in color (and hopefully a tiny [and I do mean very tiny] bit of contrast, plus and minus) in places.

No more "crap mattes" - fucking unreal! Pardon my cursing, but, damn that is nice! I basically sat down very late last night to "just watch it" and the experience was very enjoyable, cannot wait to sit down and properly watch in a more "awake" state!

Random question - would anyone mind, or want me upload the "fixed" audio MKV (defaults to English 5.1 audio track..) to ye olde tyme news groups? Just want to help in some small way, and figure this might be helpful to some - ease of access, and not having to go through getting the "fixed" audio tracks separately and fix it themselves, or, should I just wait for 2.1 and do so then? Would also be willing to do both, for the completeness factor ;) 

Either way, I'd love to help in some small way! Only did the English files, but would be fine with grabbing all the rest and then going through the fix/upload.

crissrudd4554 said:

Hi again guys. I tried multiAVCHD but it failed during the conversion process. Didn't matter because I realized afterwards that this wasn't what I was looking for anyways. From what I could see it would convert the movie to a DVD file which I would open in another program then burn it to DVD. That's not exactly what I was going for. I'm trying to BURN it to a DVD with the audio tracks and still retain a good percentage of the high quality. I burnt the original file the other month ago with Burn but 1. The DVD skipped in a few areas 2. It only incorporated 1 audio track 3. Quality was fair but a bit boxy in some areas. I opened the original file with Nero but Nero will only incorporate one audio track. I think the same goes for Toast. The only program I've used to burn a DVD of the DeSpecialized edition that also incorporated the audio tracks was ConvertX. However, the quality was essentially the same as Burn, a bit boxy in some areas. So I ask again does anyone know any programs that will BURN the movie to a DVD with the audio tracks and decent quality.

Anybody got anything?

So I finally got around to hosting a Despecialized 2.0 viewing with some buddies and the reactions were unanimously positive, even giddy in some cases.  Most of these friends had been suffering with the GOUT or SE DVDs for years, and to say that they were blown away by 2.0 is an understatement.  I can't emphasize that enough.  One of them said it was like an old friend had come home again; he didn't realize just how much he had missed it until seeing it like this.  Most of them just couldn't believe how good it looked, having resigned to the idea of living with the laser disc transfer.  I'll be burning a copy for each of them once 2.1 is released and giving them 1.0 ESB and ROTJ as well.  They don't have accounts here, but I was told to pass along their heartfelt thanks.

Between your De-Specializations and the Team_Negative1 restorations, I know that Star Wars is in the best possible hands.  I feel more enthusiasm for Star Wars now than I ever have.  Can't say "thank you" enough, but I'll keep doing it anyway.  Thank you!

crissrudd4554 said:

crissrudd4554 said:

Hi again guys. I tried multiAVCHD but it failed during the conversion process. Didn't matter because I realized afterwards that this wasn't what I was looking for anyways. From what I could see it would convert the movie to a DVD file which I would open in another program then burn it to DVD. That's not exactly what I was going for. I'm trying to BURN it to a DVD with the audio tracks and still retain a good percentage of the high quality. I burnt the original file the other month ago with Burn but 1. The DVD skipped in a few areas 2. It only incorporated 1 audio track 3. Quality was fair but a bit boxy in some areas. I opened the original file with Nero but Nero will only incorporate one audio track. I think the same goes for Toast. The only program I've used to burn a DVD of the DeSpecialized edition that also incorporated the audio tracks was ConvertX. However, the quality was essentially the same as Burn, a bit boxy in some areas. So I ask again does anyone know any programs that will BURN the movie to a DVD with the audio tracks and decent quality.

Anybody got anything?

There has already been a DVD conversion, but I don't know where it's available, or what audio track(s) it contains.. Do you mean to burn to a DVD with ALL of the audio tracks included in the other editions? That would be unrealistic, if you also expect high quality video...

Your best bet is one or two audio tracks, and even better, to author a "DVD9" formatted version if you really want the best quality. MPEG2 converted from these just isn't going to be "perfect" unless you do some very specific things - encoding for it requires specific knowledge of the codec, a good encoder, and some tricks that you might not be familiar with...

If a good existing DVD conversion is still out there, perhaps somebody can PM you?
For encoding, there are other forums/websites that might be better suited to this topic..
If the DVD doesn't exist, I'd be willing to give it a shot, but only with blessings, and even then, it'd only be really worth it if it turns out nice enough to be worthwhile.

I think that's a great idea, I know we're all anxious for 2.1 

I can make my own blu ray from the MKV file, of course not a menu and as nice as that would be I think the movie is what is really important here. 

I'd vote for:
2.1 MKV as well, with BD content following,
..then the others in similar form.

Though stinky-dinkins has a point, that it's much "nicer" to have the whole package deal, I think the opposite direction of getting the raw (and arguably most important) work done - the actual movie first - is more important.

It'd be easy enough to assemble into a BD after that, and I'm sure others would be glad to handle the assembly of the "final product" when that time comes.
On that note, I'd be down for a spleen invite to help share, plus still volunteer for getting things to the aforementioned place in one of my previous posts, when the time comes. It'd be an honor to help with making sure posts there stay "clean" and understandable.

Keeping an "official" BD release until it's really done would be best I think. It'd probably also be nicer to wait for the others to get the 2.1(.1?) treatment (I'd skip to at least 2.1 depending on lossless audio for the rest, to keep the releases at same version - you already "learned" from color correction, so I think the skip is justified), and to keep the versions lined up so that when they're all ready for BD, they're "known" to be the most solid to date, but it wouldn't hurt to leave 2.0 I either I guess. Just thinking out loud.

The only part that plays into making things more complex is the audio. It'd be a little more complex to see releases with or without the lossless audio, but if we left that to when the BD is really really ready (and to those who choose to mux it on their own), it'd be a lot "cleaner" in "release" forms
1.0 MKV / AVCHD
2.0 MKV / AVCHD
2.1 MKV / AVCHD - corrected/final color correction + 'replacement audio'
2.1.1 (?) - MKV / BD with lossless audio.

Also, I'm betting lossless audio on an AVCHD would compromise the visual quality, which I doubt anyone really wants to do, so that'd be another reason to go with keeping 2.1.1 for BD *only*

Personally i would like to see the blu ray as soon as possible,why not make an extra blu ray disc with all the new extras for all three movies when the trilogy is complete?.

Harmy said:

Why would I do v2.1.1? It will simply be v2.1 MKV and AVCHD and then whatever versions will be necessary for ESB and ROTJ (starting, and hopefully ending with v2.0) and then it will be STAR WARS TRILOGY Despecialized Edition Remastered on Blu-Ray. Since there will only be one BD release, there's no need for numeric labels.

And what would be the point of releasing the BD without the extras? I mean if someone needs a BD in terms of format, they can always remux the MKV with like two clicks. I don't think the menu is really that important, is it?

 Agreed, Blu Ray format can be done in 30 seconds with the MKV.  That's what I'm anxious for, I can wait for menus and extras.  Lossless audio isn't a must for me either.

Handling this in that manner to account for time and where it all is at the moment sounds like an excellent strategy Harmy! After all, who wouldn't want to settle with an option that allows you to share something even better than 2.0 so the journey to ESB 2.0 can finally begin?