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Idea: Combine some prints with color from LD !

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Just a crazy idea to make the most of what is available to us.
Supposing you take some of these faded prints that are held privately. Scan them in. Convert to black and white - use that as luminance data.
Now take a LD scan, and use it’s colour data - combine it with the luminance from the print scans.
Since colour resolution doesn’t need to be as high as luminance, maybe you get a decent result.

Then maybe the fact that the prints have faded or gone green or whatever, doesn’t matter.

Darth Lucas: I am altering the trilogy. Pray I don't alter it further.
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I posted a similiar question in a forum and got this response. It sounds possible.

http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=283277&highlight=
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Originally posted by: ronlaw
Supposing you take some of these faded prints that are held privately.
This represents about 25% of the effort required to complete the project using your idea...
Scan them in.
...74% of the effort required...
Convert to black and white - use that as luminance data.

...0.1% of the effort required...
Now take a LD scan...

...0.5% of the effort required (would be 0.3%, but it's quite tough to get a cap with low chroma noise)...
...and use its colour data - combine it with the luminance from the print scans.

... and 0.4% of the effort required.

Great idea. It will work. Let me know when you've done steps one and two, and I'll help with the converting to B&W, making the LD cap, and using AviSynth to combine the luma and chroma.

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I don't know how film degrades, but if the film has faded, how can you be sure of getting a reliable luminance signal out of it?

You'll also need to spend time getting the two sets of data to overlap, which will probably mean registering and changing the geometry of the images (I believe OCP had to apply lens distortions to make his editions).

Since colour resolution doesn't need to be as high as luminance, maybe you get a decent result.


Maybe you do, but the real problem with composite video is the chroma signal. If anything needs to be replaced, it's that. I really doubt that a new luma channel is going to make much of a difference.

DE
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That's not as crazy as it sounds. Some vintage Dr. Who episodes that survive only as black and white 16mm film have been combined with the color signal taken from a fan's off-air Betamax recording from the 70's! The kind of gear required might be more than what anybody here has handy though.
Dr. Who restoration site.
Direct link to color restoration article.

Where were you in '77?

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I thought about separate sources for luma and chroma a while ago as a way to try and get round the color degradation on the '04 discs, but I figured the registration issue would counteract the potential gain, not to mention being a real pain to accomplish.
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Originally posted by: mverta
This is silly guys, Lucasfilm had the materials scanned in long ago. Com'on... "we couldn't find them..." you know better than that.

_Mike


I know there such jerks about this.
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They did something similar for the SE restoration, though no LD color thing. The prints had faded, so they made new ones and fixed the colors chemically.