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The Great Escape - Non DNR/Teal and Orange Preservation (* unfinished project *)

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 (Edited)

Looking at the reviews and screenshots of this amazing movie and it just will not do!

New colour timing, messed up contrast, DNR.
 

What I have:

1. 1080i HDTV 1.78:1 Cropped

2. 1080i HDTV 2.35:1 Slight Crop from the 1998 2.39:1 Master

3. 720p HDTV 2.35:1 Looks to be same master as above 
 

DVD Extras

Shots:

Screenshot Comparison

BD-HDTV 2

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/21837

BD

 

What I need

Criterion Laserdisc Commentary

The contrast needs correcting in the HDTV, but its is already better.

I want to add the extras, and the Commentary track to a BD25 restoration

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God, that's disgusting looking. Awful color timing, horrible DNR and contrast that makes it look like it was shot through a fog.

The HDTVs don't look too hot either, but they could probably be worked with.

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I want to reign in the whites and dial down the contrast, just not to the level of the BD

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I love this film.

dvdmike: Where'd you get source #2? Usenet? Found it.

Count me interested!

A picture is worth a thousand words. Post 102 is worth more.

I’m late to the party, but I think this is the best song. Enjoy!

—Teams Jetrell Fo 1, Jetrell Fo 2, and Jetrell Fo 3

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Glad someone is taking a stab at this. This new BD is terrible!

Is it wrong that I really prefer the old 1998 DVD with the original as-shot framing that's really wide?

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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My problem now is to DNR the video noise out and regrain the image?

I hate doing anything drastic but the image can look like a hot mess in places 

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I think the whites are a bit blown out on your sample, but it still looks ten times better then the BD. I think it would be best to not try to remove the video noise (already lost a lot of detail as is) and simply cover it with grain.

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Contrast is the next step, I am close to happy with the colour and now comes the contrast balance.

I tried a little DNR sample and it looked like crap, so video noise it is!

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Whites do look blown out. Just tone it down a bit. 

Fake grain really won't do though. It is what it is and we will have to live with it. 

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Next run with contrast changes encoding now!

Will update when its done.

 

If people are happy I need to cut the file down as at the moment its 40gb  

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The contrast still looks a bit blown out; but your tweaks have gone a long way in helping it. I'd definitely be interested in the final product of this. BD25 perhaps?

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Yeah was aiming for a bd25

I have the DVD extras I need the Criterion commentary yet tho 

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Cool. Definitely will keep my eye on this thread then. Haven't watched this film all the way through in a long while...

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 (Edited)

Another day, another run! (I seriously need to get this done as projects are piling up!)

 

Knocked the contrast down further and got the encode down to 16gb

 

A few other shots from elsewhere in the movie:

 

 

 

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I must admit your first pass had me skeptical but knocking down the contrast has really improved this IMO.  Looking forward to giving it a look whenever it gets out there.

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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That's why I put images up and did not stop at one pass!

 My free time is rarely occupied, so I have issues with trying again and again

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Thanks for this thread! I must read more of these projects to discover which DVDs to keep when I upgrade to the Blu-ray downgrades. Seriously.

I gave it a (not-so-)quick correction attempt -- that last 10% is a killer. It's still probably 5% off, but from the Blu-ray screencap:

add these RGB corrections (in a single pass):

histogram     low   gamma   high   mid-tones
RED               0       1.6        255    -10
GREEN           0       1.5        255    -12
BLUE             0       1.5        255    -15

for this result:

which improves (according to taste) on the HDTV's strong contrast and hot skin-tones:

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That is some good work, you have a full size link for that corrected shot?

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The original was shrunken to the posting size, but it was easy enough to again grab your posted picture and plug the numbers into a paint program's histogram function (which I use for quick tests):

You may have some other program or plug-in to apply this to your video, but I've used the VirtualDub plug-in Gradation Curves and it's just as interactive as a paint program, with improved features. It's supposed to be Avisynth compatible but I couldn't get that to work (Avisynth is not interactive anyway and interactivity may not show there). See my post in the THX 1138 preservations thread http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/THX-1138-preservations-Italian-Cut-available-see-1st-post/post/589761/#TopicPost589761 for more information and examples.

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I do stuff the hard way, mostly scene by scene by eye!

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 (Edited)

The last 10% that I previously mentioned was to get the blue shirt colors the same. It came only close (the remaining 5%). Perhaps they were unevenly playing around with the color? So I capped an earlier source (videotape). It was pan & scan but, fortunately, this scene had both parts of the shot (at different times) that could be stitched together. I also re-sized it to better approximate your capture:

  

If you have access, you might consider capturing or getting sample screen grabs from the laserdisc for a better representation of what the color once looked like. That may be the best guide to "fixing" the Blu-ray.

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I know there is a good quality 16mm print available as well.

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