Thanks for your nice words.
For anybody who is still interested, all episodes of the first season of Ewoks are now cleaned up and are waiting only to be authored to DVD . Unfortunately most of the blended frames are still there :-( But it's not THAT bad and as I wrote, this is a "version 1.0"
I'll take it! I'm really excited about this project, if you hadn't guessed by now. Awaiting your upload...
Looking forward to this.
My best to you and your family, pittrek. Tomorrow is 7 years since my dad died (his birthday also) so reading that your mom passed hits close to home. All I can say is that the pain will lessen in time, but the great memories will never fade.
Very much looking forward to this, but take your time and focus on your family if need be.
I'm very sorry to hear about your family problems.
I wish there was something I could do to help you guys with this restoration project! I'm really looking forward to your final release.
Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker, Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi
If you want the OT deleted scenes, PM me and I'll send them to you! DON'T BUY THE BLU-RAY DISCS!!!
Out of curiosity, how is the Droids scavenge coming along? I know there've been some hangups, and I'm sorry to always bump this thread, but I'm just wondering how things look.
Still hoping to track down the 2 Mexican tapes.
That would yield a perfect Droids set.
I have contacted some collectors in Mexico to help with the hunt. So far nothing but I am not giving up yet!
I've never completely read through the thread but I was just now taking a better look at older posts, though I was simply skimming.
Here is someone's recreation of the full Coby episode for Droids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22mIoXf3e_Q
Perhaps they have a source that could get you the missing footage.
Here also is a Spanish version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VHoeVrVKhQ
I got the second from this site:
http://www.swccmty.mex.tl/76406_Los-Androides.html
I am at work and can't listen to movies, so I may be wrong on the audio but perhaps these are some helpful leads.
I was looking on Myspleen and saw some suggestions that perhaps you make a "version 1.0" as Pittrek has done with Ewoks. This may be the best way to go for the missing episodes for the time being. I personally want the full episode if possible, and obviously would love the best quality possible, but if it takes some Frankensteining to piece together a complete set, I really don't mind.
If this is all useless, I apologize, and in any case, I do again thank you for all your efforts in this project. I look forward to a completed version.
Sorry I haven't been very active on this as of late. I recently just had a very premature baby and the little tyke has been pretty much the main focus of my time :)
Concerning the Coby sources, I actually have the DVD-R of the full episode as well as the full DVD-R of the SciFi episode already in hand. As well as the OTRV DVD that has great audio. The full episode is actually a recording of the original ABC airing with commercials and is "OK".
Concerning the spanish version, the user "swccmty" that has been posting in this thread is actually the owner of that site and has already provided me with an xvid copy of the episode that is one of the better ones I have seen. But there was some odd framerate problems and blending in his capture. So I was waiting to hear back from swccmty concerning another go at capturing his VHS tape but I haven't heard from him in about 2+ months.
I really wish I could get my hands on the Mexican VHS tape with Coby. That combined with the Great Heap Mexican tape and we would be 100% done. All IVTC'ed perfect episodes.
But as it stands now I may just have to move forward with a version 1.0
Hopefully my schedule will open up here soon after the new year to complete it. And I WILL complete this set eventually. If it is the last thing I do! :)
Well, we are all simply mooches off of your efforts. I want you to know how much it is appreciated. You and Pittrek and Adywan all are doing projects that interest me, and of course you have real lives beyond OT.com. I really do appreciate it, as well as empathize with your difficulties. My wife and I have twins that were born at about 33 weeks and thus were in the NICU for close to a month. I know that it can be hard and you of course need to give full attention to family and real life.
I feel like I'm always a nag when I ask everyone when things are coming, but I just can't help but be excited over all the work you all do. Thanks again, and yes, I would probably suggest for your own sake as well as that of your fans that you make an imperfect release for now. I know I said earlier that I wanted the pristine version, but this is probably the better option for now :)
Congratulations to your baby Ed :-)
So I came here to tell you what I found on myspleen, but then I read the comments and see you already noticed. Glad to know you're getting closer. Can't wait for a good copy of The Great Heap to surface.
How's the baby? Hope he/she is coming along well :)
darth_ender said:
So I came here to tell you what I found on myspleen, but then I read the comments and see you already noticed. Glad to know you're getting closer. Can't wait for a good copy of The Great Heap to surface.
How's the baby? Hope he/she is coming along well :)
I tracked that guy down somewhere and told him about MySpleen. We were sort of working on a trade but I think he fell in love with the site and decided to upload the DVD. More fun for everyone!
I plan on using that Coby episode (with some Avisynth and VirtualDub filters) for my set.
I just built a brand new workstation after the holidays and it is just ripping through VirtualDub and Vegas encodes so I shouldn't be much longer. I am having to knock the dust off of my brain after putting this project on hold for so long.
I do plan on recapturing all of my English audio to dub over the Japanese episodes, but that shouldn't take very long.
It is looking like the fastest method to finish the set and get it uploaded is to make an MP4 set. It was either that or MKV but everyone always seems to complain about MKV's (I love them). But the difference in quality is negligible.
And the baby is doing well, since we have checked out of the hospital we haven't had any issues. Thanks for asking. :)
All great news. Thanks for the update, and I'm especially glad about the baby. Like I said before, NICU stays are personally meaningful to me.
Hi Ted.
Glad to hear your wee one is doing fine. Our first born was slightly premature as well (5 weeks), so this brought back memories.
Good to hear you're still working on Droids. I favour MKVs as well, but what I really want are finished DVDs, ready to burn. I could author them myself from your MKVs, but I'd rather you make a specific DVD encode using the highest feasible bitrate.I don't necessarily want it fast, I want it good :-)
I was thinking I could make a custom cover for a complete DVD set, like I did for Ewoks seasons 1 and 2.
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Hi, everyone. It's been a long time. Anyway, I've been somewhere else *wink wink nudge nudge* and whenever Ted is ready I'm ready to send him clones of all the transfers I had someone make(for the PAL tapes). I don't know if you guys want any NTSC stuff I have, but you're all welcome to it.
(I did the NTSCs if anyone is wondering)
I felt bad that I didn't have anything to offer months ago and some false leads.
The expertise that Ted and the rest of you have humbles me.
droiddad1 said:
Hi, everyone. It's been a long time. Anyway, I've been somewhere else *wink wink nudge nudge* and whenever Ted is ready I'm ready to send him clones of all the transfers I had someone make(for the PAL tapes). I don't know if you guys want any NTSC stuff I have, but you're all welcome to it.
(I did the NTSCs if anyone is wondering)
I felt bad that I didn't have anything to offer months ago and some false leads.
The expertise that Ted and the rest of you have humbles me.
Hi Dad.
Whatever you can contribute will always be appreciated by the community. The more we can give Ted to work with, he'll be able to sort out the best possible sources on his own.
I have made transfers of the PAL tapes myself, but the dreaded blended frames are an eyesore. It's a pity, because otherwise the PAL tapes have good colours and the details are better than the off-air recordings doing the rounds.
Anyway, there's always use for a second set of PAL captures to replace any damaged portions of either set. I know my set has quite a few instances of dropouts and streaking from tape damage.
Thanks for all you've already contributed.
Fritz
Visit my *NEW* Star Wars on Video Collection site:
Well, I can confirm that the Malaysian Ewoks tape I obtained is also PAL with field blends.
Here's a short, lossless, uncalibrated/unprocessed sample (no audio):
http://www.mediafire.com/?tzbk2u1cdk3bz4a
These blends are very difficult to remove as sometimes - especially during fades or pans - there are no 'clean' fields available from which to reconstruct the frames. None of the existing AviSynth-based methods can deal with this.
Am I right in thinking it was only Droids that has a Japanese release, so for Ewoks we are stuck with this PAL video?
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Correct, I have seen no mention of Japanese Ewoks tapes anywhere.
The only NTSC territory that had a large release of Ewoks episodes was Mexico. And those are nearly impossible to find.
I think the plan moving forward is to just release a high quality MKV set of Droids now as a version 1.0. If/when I get the Mexican tapes and can make a nice transfer of Coby and Heep then I will release a 4 DVD set. It may take a year or two, but that is why I am going to release an MKV set now.
Here is the first episode to show you guys what the quality will be like for episodes 1-8 and 10-13. I have made a few MPEG2 files and compared them to the MKV's and I honestly can't see a difference with the naked eye. After all, these are VHS rips.
If you guys could take a look at them and offer any advice or criticism that would be good. To get out before I upload the entire series. Also any odd audio crackles or VHS defects I likely won't be going back and editing out. I barely have enough time as it is :P
Link
http://www.2shared.com/video/7CDUcwtG/Droidsep1TheWhiteWitchBETA.html
Mirror
http://jumbofiles.com/2y0t7flhqh4f
Here is the output from MediaInfo to save you the trouble...
General
Unique ID : 87692329119291521909277764923099031789 (0x41F8EDA2146944588DD7AB476115A8ED)
Complete name : D:\Droids Project\FINAL\Droids.ep.1.The.White.Witch.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 375 MiB
Duration : 23mn 39s
Overall bit rate : 2 217 Kbps
Writing application : HandBrake 0.9.5
Writing library : libmkv 0.6.4.1
Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 23mn 39s
Bit rate : 2 020 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate mode : Variable
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.244
Stream size : 335 MiB (89%)
Writing library : x264 core 112
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=6 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=2020 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=3 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Color primaries : BT.601-6 525, BT.1358 525, BT.1700 NTSC, SMPTE 170M
Transfer characteristics : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients : BT.601-6 525, BT.1358 525, BT.1700 NTSC, SMPTE 170M
Audio
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 23mn 39s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 32.5 MiB (9%)
Default : Yes
Forced : No
This is fantastic news! I'm studying at the moment, but I'll check them out ASAP and provide whatever feedback I can.
retartedted said:
If you guys could take a look at them and offer any advice or criticism that would be good. To get out before I upload the entire series. Also any odd audio crackles or VHS defects I likely won't be going back and editing out. I barely have enough time as it is :P
Ted, these links aren't working for me. All I get is pop-up ads. Would you please consider uploading to Rapidshare, a site I'm more comfortable with?
Please?
Visit my *NEW* Star Wars on Video Collection site:
Video Collector said:
retartedted said:
If you guys could take a look at them and offer any advice or criticism that would be good. To get out before I upload the entire series. Also any odd audio crackles or VHS defects I likely won't be going back and editing out. I barely have enough time as it is :P
Ted, these links aren't working for me. All I get is pop-up ads. Would you please consider uploading to Rapidshare, a site I'm more comfortable with?
Please?
Sorry, I would have used a more popular site but the file size was too big. I think Rapidshare has a 300Mb limit. I would have to zip/rar/7z the file first.
I can just split it into 2 parts and upload them separately.
Ok, try this
http://www.sendspace.com/filegroup/zzMjOinpIDupP%2BiO1r%2Fw7w