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Post #70732

Author
Rikter
Parent topic
The Cowclops Transfers (a.k.a. the PCM audio DVD's, Row47 set) Info and Feedback Thread (Released)
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/70732/action/topic#70732
Date created
11-Oct-2004, 6:08 PM

The Cowclops V.1 - Defintive Collection OT Transfer

A.K.A. “The TR47” & “The PCM” sets

Disc Attributes:

Type: DVD5/Single Layer/DVD Recordable
Format: DVD Video
Interactive Menu: None
Region Code: 0 (code free)
Disc Size[s]: ANH 4.33gb, ESB 4.36gb, ROTJ 4.35gb

Video Attributes:

Video compression mode: MPEG-2
TV system: NTSC (525/60)
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Display Mode: Pan&Scan Letterboxed 2.35:1 Widescreen
Source picture resolution: 720x480
Frame Rate: 30.00
Bitrate: 4-5Mbps (average)

Audio Attributes:

Audio Track: Main
Audio Format: Linear PCM
Sampling Rate: 48kHz
Number of Audio channels: 2
Bitrate: 1536 Kbps

Disc Features:

None

Transfer Details:

Type: Laserdisc to DVD
Source: U.S. 1993 Defintive Collection Laserdiscs (CAV format)
Capture Method: DV camcorder to PC “bridge” (vcr mode)
Player Used: Pioneer CLD-59 Elite Laserdisc Player
Encoder Used: CinemaCraft Encoder
Software Used: DVDit PE, Nero, various noise filter software (?)
Release Date: Summer 2003
Creator: Cowclops

Editing Notes From Cowclops:

Hooked up the s-video out on a Pioneer Elite CLD-59 Laserdisc player to a Sony Digital8 camcorder with analog in. Recorded the video to DV format by way of the camcorder, and used firewire to digitally transfer the video into the computer. From there, used several rograms to filter out the noise from the laserdisc. Then, encoded the video to DVD format with CinemaCraft Encoder SP. Finally, authored the DVD with DVDit PE and wrote it to a Ritek 2x DVD-R with a Pioneer DVR-104 drive using Nero.

Glitches/Errors/Oddities/Nuked:

  • ESB has 4 seconds of blank screen before Leia welding footage (At 50m 31s), ROTJ - on some DVD players there MAY be a slight stutter when a speeder bike explodes due to a bitrate jump.

  • Randomly selected Chapter Stops/Markers that do not match the original LD chapters

Chaper Markers:

A New Hope:
1. Opening Title (0:00)
2. Preparing to be Boarded (2:34)
3. Lost in the Desert (8:54)
4. Sandcrawler (13:06)
5. Cleaning Up the Droids (19:17)
6. Artoo in the Jundland Wastes (27:22)
7. Obi-Wan’s Home (32:11)
8. The Death Star (36:31)
9. Mos Eisley (42:23)
10. A Fast Ship (46:51)
11. The Jump to Lightspeed (53:12)
12. The Falcon Captured (1:02:48)
13. Prisoner Transfer (1:09:59)
14. The Trash Compactor (1:16:34)
15. Lightsabers (1:27:21)
16. TIEs in Pursuit (1:31:08)
17. Artoo’s Data (1:36:00)
18. Fighter Attack (1:42:19)
19. The Victors Return (1:54:44)
20. End Credits (1:57:11)

The Empire Strikes Back:
1. Opening Title (0:00)
2. Probe Droids (1:55)
3. Wampa’s Lair (8:18)
4. Snowspeeders at Dawn (15:02)
5. “It could be an Imperial code” (18:09)
6. “Prepare for ground assault” (22:20)
7. Launching the Snowspeeders (25:11)
8. Evacuating the Command Center (31:17)
9. Setting Course for Dagobah (36:11)
10. A Soggy Landing (41:22)
11. Asteroid Hiding Place (44:52)
12. The Emperor (52:08)
13. Jedi Training (1:00:26)
14. Leaving the Asteroid Field (1:06:00)
15. Garbage Day (1:13:51)
16. Bespin (1:17:45)
17. Leaving Dagobah (1:22:02)
18. Cloud City’s New Arrangements (1:27:21)
19. Luke at Cloud City (1:33:20)
20. Duel in the Carbon Freezing Chamber (1:39:22)
21. Revelations and Losses (1:48:13)
22. Leaving Bespin (1:54:36)
23. A Hand for Luke (1:58:11)
24. End Credits (2:00:21)

Return of the Jedi:
1. Opening Title (0:00)
2. Vader arrives at Death Star II (1:56)
3. Gifts to Jabba (4:58)
4. The Bounty on Chewbacca (14:02)
5. Escape from the Carbonite (17:06)
6. Enter the Jedi (21:53)
7. Sarlacc (29:06)
8. Departing Tatooine; An Old Friend (36:17)
9. Yoda (38:43)
10. The Fleet Assembles (47:34)
11. Vader and the Emperor (52:43)
12. Endor (56:04)
13. Vader returns to the Emperor (1:05:28)
14. A Feast in 3PO’s Honor (1:11:11)
15. Tribal Council (1:15:01)
16. Father and Son Reunited (1:21:39)
17. The Fleet Enters Hyperspace (1:25:59)
18. Meeting the Emperor (1:29:17)
19. All According to His Plans (1:34:39)
20. Fully Armed and Operational (1:39:31)
21. Hotwiring The Bunker (1:41:30)
22. “Obi-Wan has taught you well…” (1:47:48)
23. The Full Power of the Dark Side (1:54:42)
24. Fighter Attack (1:56:45)
25. The Mask Comes Off (1:58:39)
26. Funeral (2:03:56)
27. End Credits (2:06:36)

The Cowclops V.1b - Defintive Collection OT Transfer
A.K.A. “ROW47” UPDATE set

Disc Attributes:

SAME AS ABOVE except
Interactive Menu: Yes

Video Attributes:

SAME AS ABOVE

Audio Attributes:

SAME AS ABOVE

Disc Features:

Basic static title menu

Update/Repack Details:

SAME AS ABOVE except for
Software Used: TMPGEnc DVD Author 1.5 (?)
Release Date: Fall/Winter 2004
Creator[s]: Cowclops (transfer) / Rowman (DVD menu authoring/repair)

Corrections/Mods/Repack:

This version is exactly the same set as the Cowclops V.1 “TR47/PCM” sets, EXCEPT now each disc in the trilogy now has a basic static title screen, and the 4 blank seconds (LD sideflips) in ESB before the Leia welding scene has been corrected.

The Cowclops V.2 - Defintive Collection OT Transfer

Disc Attributes:

Type: DVD5/Single Layer/DVD Recordable
Format: DVD Video
Interactive Menu: Yes
Region Code: 0 (code free)
Disc Size[s]: ANH 4.18gb, ESB 4.22gb, ROTJ 4.30gb

Video Attributes:

Video compression mode: MPEG-2
TV system: NTSC (525/60)
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Display Mode: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Source picture resolution: 720x480
Frame Rate: 30.00
Bitrate: 3-4Mbps (average)

Audio 1 Attributes:

Audio Track: Main
Audio Format: Linear PCM
Sampling Rate: 48kHz
Number of Audio channels: 2
Bitrate: 1536 Kbps

Audio 2 Attributes:

Audio Track: Commentary
Audio Coding mode: Dolby Digital 1.0
Sampling Rate: 48kHz
Number of Audio channels: 1 (mono)
Bitrate: 64 Kbps

Disc Features:

Anamorphic Menus
Interactive Chapter & Audio Selection menus
Audio Commentaries
Greedo Subtitles only (ANH) & Jabba Subtitles only (ROTJ)

Transfer Details:

Type: Laserdisc to DVD
Source: U.S. 1993 Definitive Collection Laserdiscs (CAV format)
Capture Method: Phillips based 10-bit Asus TV/FM capture card, HuffyUV
Player Used: Pioneer CLD-97 Laserdisc player
Encoder Used: CinemaCraft Encoder
Software Used: Nero, TMPGEnc
Release Date: Summer 2005
Creator: Cowclops

Editing Notes From Cowclops:

ON FILTERS: I realized that there is no way to really eliminate the noise without trading it off for smearing in the moving scenes or loss of detail everywhere, so on the new set I used noise reduction that is actually stronger (because it searches more frames at a time to decide what the noise free version is) but it is applied in full strength less often. What this means is that in the most still scenes, you get near perfect noise reduction, but as soon as you get any movement the entire frame basically reverts to the sharp, but noisy image. What it really means is that you don’t get anywhere near as much smearing because no real noise reduction is being applied to the moving scene, PLUS since its moving you’re less likely to be able to focus on any noise ANYWAY. This goes back to the whole reason some still frames may not look that great… if you freeze frame something that isn’t perfectly still, you’ll see the noise and it won’t look that pretty, but in motion your eyes won’t be able to follow it anyway.

Mind you, I didn’t manually do this on a scene by scene basis, just decided on an overall setting once and used it for all 3 movies. When I say its “applied less often” it means that the algorithm that decides whether to apply noise reduction or not to any individual portion of a frame kicks in less frequently.

ON SUBTITLES: Basically, heres what I did. The subtitles are in the black bars in the laserdisc version of the movies. When I cropped some of the black bars off to turn it into an anamorphic ratio DVD, I didn’t lose any of the subtitles, and I wanted to leave the originals in so as to stick with the “Definitive Collection LD-on-DVD” motif. Since they are still fully there on the disc, you can see them just fine on any 4:3 display and probably all 16:9 digital projectors or most specifically anything that doesn’t overscan the video. CRT-based 16:9 sets (projection or not) still have some overscan, however. Sooo, on these TVs you may not be able to see the subtitles at all, because erasing some of the black moved the subtitles out of the “safe-title” area as they call it. To compensate for that, I made it so you can turn on dvd-software subtitles of the same lines that will not appear in the overscan area, and in most DVDs should actually occupy the video frame itself. This way, those who can see the LD subtitles don’t have to worry about anything, and those who can not see the LD subtitles can turn on the software encoded DVD subtitles. The bottom line is, if you’re still using a display that overscans the video, you better hope it overscans the LD subtitles all the way or you might see a subtitle and a half. I suspect the people using analog 16:9 sets are in the minority, however. Most people probably watch on a PC monitor, a 4:3 tv, or 16:9 digital projection.

Glitches/Errors/Oddities:

  • After Selecting “Chapter Selection” there is no return to main button so you must select a chapter
  • Has double black bars so you’ll need to adjust the black level on your set (brightness) to make them kinda go away but then the picture also gets darker… so you may have to change the levels again for TV viewing.

The Extras discs

The 4 “Supplemental” discs that have been distributed with this set are NOT official, exclusive or limited to the “Cowclops” set.

Forum member Rowman was originally inspired to created these particular DVD’s to compliment the “EditDroid” set (the menus were made to match) BUT this set is a PERFECT addition to ANY set be it the COWCLOPS, EDITDROID, FARSIGHT or ISOMIX sets!!

I’ll make a thread that features ROWMAN’s discs in just a few days!!