PS78: Pre-ANH Star Wars Bootleg VHS from 1978 ***"RAW" DVD RELEASED*** — Page 13

g-force said:

might want to compare a TOOT or median1 with median2 on a short section, just to make sure that median-of-five is really needed before you kill yourself over the 5th capture.

-G

Great idea! Will do. I'll post the results here in a little bit.

Median1(c1, c2, c3)

StackVertical(Median1(c1.EF, c2.EF, c3.EF), Median1(c1.OF, c2.OF, c3.OF))

Merge(Median1(c1.EF, c2.EF, c3.EF), Median1(c1.OF, c2.OF, c3.OF))

Note: EF and OF are defined for the sake of brevity as...

function EF(clip c) { return c.SeparateFields().SelectEven() }
function OF(clip c) { return c.SeparateFields().SelectOdd() }

You_Too said:

That last sample pic does look pretty good.

Could you post it in full resolution?

That is full-resolution. It's the result of averaging the MedianOfThree of the even fields of each capture with the MedianOfThree of the odd fields of each capture. Since fields are half-resolution, 720x240 is all we're going to get. The upside is that the aspect ratio is now correct.

You_Too said:

Yeah, the aspect ratio looks better. Maybe it should be just a slight bit taller?

You_Too said:

Yeah, the aspect ratio looks better. Maybe it should be just a slight bit taller?

Anyway, are you sure there is no way to keep the original resolution? I mean, each field is half resolution in the original too, but together they make up the full image.

Otherwise, how about upscaling all the captures to the double size and then downscaling it again to 720x480? At least double the height?

It's an interesting trade-off. Using Merge to average the even and odd MedianOfThree'd fields really reduces noise in the image, as you can see. The downside, of course, is the loss in resolution. I'll try to see if I can find a way to have my cake and eat it too... I hope!

RELEASE PLAN

This should keep everyone happy.

Release 1.0: All 5 Raw Captures; Huffyuv-compressed AVI; Audio uploaded separately; Usenet.
Release 1.1a: Median1(c1, c2, c3); MPEG-2; Audio sync'd; Usenet and Myspleen.
Release 1.1b: Merge(Median1(c1.EF, c2.EF, c3.EF), Median1(c1.OF, c2.OF, c3.OF)); MPEG-2; Audio sync'd; Usenet and Myspleen.

I will include several high-quality images of the tape itself. Furthermore, I will include high-quality images of my setup, including all relevant settings involved.

Redistribution of PS78 outside of Usenet or Myspleen should be bit-for-bit copies -- nothing more.

Release 1.2, if it ever happens, will be less painful to watch. Furthermore, it will be a proper DVD with menus, chapters, extras, and more.

Thank you for preserving this important piece of history and important reference as to how the colors on Star Wars looked on unfaded prints of the day.  This is definitely the highest quality 1970s tape reference yet discovered and it is great to see all of the money and time you have put into getting the most out of it:)

1990osu said:

Thank you for preserving this important piece of history and important reference as to how the colors on Star Wars looked on unfaded prints of the day.  This is definitely the highest quality 1970s tape reference yet discovered and it is great to see all of the money and time you have put into getting the most out of it:)

Thank you! Encouragement like this really keeps me going :-)

Yes, it is so important to have accurate color references for the various restoration projects going on. And this will give them yet another source they can check against to make sure the colors are as close as they can make them when color correcting. Plus, it's very cool to have a recording of Star Wars directly from a theater. =)

Thanks for going to the effort to capture this in the best quality. :)

I plan to capture the audio sometime this week. Sync'ing it is bound to be annoying.

I'm not running out of fuel! I've been busy and I'm sorry for the delay(s).

I plan to capture the audio tonight. Should I use my sound card (Realtek ALC888) or my capture card?

I've decided to go with the capture card (for consistency).

The audio capture is done. I'm going to start working to sync it tomorrow evening (technically, this evening).

Syncing this should be really easy, because they are from the same source and playback is on the same machine.

An Aside

I often hear bootlegs regarded as the Holy Grail for Star Wars fans in the '80s. To what extent is this true?

I'm sure many of you were conscious during that time (I wasn't, as I was born in the late '80s), so do you have any stories to share? If so, please do!

frank678 said:

AntcuFaalb said:

An Aside

I often hear bootlegs regarded as the Holy Grail for Star Wars fans in the '80s. To what extent is this true?

I'm sure many of you were conscious during that time (I wasn't, as I was born in the late '80s), so do you have any stories to share? If so, please do!

 

Born in 1975 I was too young to get to see star wars at the cinema and so the version I knew was the pan and scan version that would have been shown on u.k. t.v. during the 80s. One of the many ways Star Wars fired up my imagination were the quick cutaway shots which would give you tons of alien stuff/information/detail in one second and then be gone (this is before I had the ability to pause films) . It suggested whole films within films, worlds within worlds. Then one day I visit my cousins house and he's got this star wars paperback with 16 colour inserts, with pictures wider than pan and scan, pictures not actually in the film i've seen, and pictures with deep rich inky colour unlike i've seen. I see there is a whole different version of star wars that i've never seen before a richer more detailed (later understood as the documentary style feel Lucas was going for) version that was there when it first came out in the cinema and which i've unfairly missed by being too young. Will I ever get to see this version? Is the only place you can see this version in america? These questions are still kind of waiting answers decades later.... (!)

i realize the film i imagined through these pictures stems from inaccurate colour printing technique and so exists in an alternate universe, but still the dream (reality!) of a richer original starting print is what the PS78 is for me...

 

Awesome story, Frank! Thanks for sharing!

I'm almost ready to upload raw capture #5 to Usenet.

I need to free-up space on my HDD, so I'll be uploading raw captures #1-5 (in reverse order) to Usenet and storing #4 and #5 on an external HDD.

frank678 said:

I've been out of the loop for a couple of weeks (and re-reading the last two pages I'm still pretty much out of the loop because of the the technical depth) but comparing the result you have arrived at via merge in post 302 with your very first result i had stored on disc = it was like night and day, the merge result is SO much sweeter on the eye than the first that I no longer feel the need to treasure that first capture because of whats coming up! Well done for going forward with this and seeing thru what could be acheived with it. I no longer believe it was luck the tape ended up in your hands - IT WAS DESTINY!! (apologies for such a dramatic statement!!) 

Thank you!!!

I love dramatic statements, so it's fine by me :-)

The raw capture #5 upload to a.b.starwars has 2.5 hours to go. I should be able to upload raw capture #4 tonight as well.