logo Sign In

Trancers: Enhanced Edition (Mastered and Upscaled from the Vestron LD) (Released)

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Anyone who has seen any of the various official DVD releases of the movie Trancers knows of the problems they all share.  It’s duplicated from the Vestron LaserDisc (not the master used for that LaserDisc), it’s 4x3 open-matte video, it’s loaded with compression problems, and there’s an odd transition midway through where the LD had to be flipped.

Originally, I’d hoped to simply clean-up the DVD and upscale it to 16x9…but that became impossible.  Upon analyzing the disc’s video, it turns out there is a weird “drift” in the fields which causes things to images into subsequent frames and kills any chance it restoring it to 24fps progressive.

Using a copy of the original Vestron LD release, I’ve made a new transfer of** Trancers**, converted it to NTSC progressive, upscaled/matted it to 16x9, tweaked the color timing and saturation, and processed the hell out of it.  In fact, I hated having to denoise it as much as I did, but the Vestron LD isn’t much better than the official DVDs.  And, my LaserDisc player is sadly below par.

The result is Trancers: Enhanced Edition.

Specifications:

  • DVD-5
  • NTSC, 23.979
  • 16x9 Matted to 1.66:1 (roughly, slightly pillarboxed)
  • English Mono Audio
  • No Subtitles

Screenshots:

Menu and Cover Art:

As I stated, my LaserDisc player is far from the top of the totem pole…but I hope the results will be considered adequate…for now.

Author
Time

Many thanks for this! :)

Though late in the game, you should've consider adding a reconstrcuted trailer using your preservation's transfer.

Author
Time

That's not a bad idea.  I might do that if I ever decide revisit this project with a superior LD player down the road.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Many thanks, I'll have to check it out.  Love this movie.

I've seen the official DVD and was mad that it looked like monkey-ass.  The colors are crap compared to the laserdisc (not to mention the horrible new compression artifacts.)

Edit: I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with the artificial anamorphicizing.

Full Moon Video was always direct to VHS (sort of like Asylum is now).  I'm not sure I believe IMDB's 1.85:1 AR in the tech specs since this probably was never intended to see the inside of a theater.

Dr. M

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Omega, your work is excellent !

I own the recently re-released Trancers trilogy dual-side DVD from Echo Bridge Entertainment.

Not only is your menu professional-looking compared to theirs, but the image quality from the LD that you say is sub par litterally KILLS the official release that is even worse than a VHS... and I used to own a VHS copy of Trancers, so I know what I'm talking about !

 

Doctor M, the original Trancers isn't a Full Moon Production, it is one of the last Empire Pictures productions, which, like Re-Animator, were actually thetrically released, although in a very limited run.

All the Trancers sequels that followed though were Full Moon productions.

 

Do you expect me to talk ?
No Mister Bond I expect you to DIE !
Author
Time
 (Edited)

Templar said:

Doctor M, the original Trancers isn't a Full Moon Production, it is one of the last Empire Pictures productions, which, like Re-Animator, were actually thetrically released, although in a very limited run.

All the Trancers sequels that followed though were Full Moon productions.

 

I did not know that.  Thank you.  Do we know for a fact the laserdisc is open matte and not pan and scan?

Edit: Just noticed that you went with 1.77:1-ish not 1.85:1.  Okay, probably the best way to go.

Dr. M

Author
Time

Thanks, Templar :)

Doctor M said:

Edit: Just noticed that you went with 1.77:1-ish not 1.85:1.  Okay, probably the best way to go.

Yeah, when I was first matting the things closer to 1:85, it looked to too close in a few areas.  Given the lackluster quality of the LD, it may have lost a bit more than average picture information on all sides.  I added pillarboxes, so it may even be closer to 1:66.

Beyond it being an Empire release, the reasons I assumed it was an open-matte transfer and not cropped (like some people seem to think) were:
A)  Waaay too much headroom in some areas.
B)  In 4x3, there's a boom mike that can be seen in one shot during the motorcycle chase.

Author
Time

Wow, this is awesome.  I have long struggled with doing this with the DVD and kept giving up from frustration with the "quality" of it. 

Thank you so much for your work.  And your approach to the aspect ratio is exactly what I would agree with.  Thanks Omega.  :)

 

Author
Time

Hey peeps wondering if anybody still has this and you never know maybe a copy will find its way uploaded to, I dont know a site that sounds a bit like "why scream"...

You never know :-)

Author
Time

There was a copy up on Cinemageddon.  I'll see about getting a "Spleenish" one up over the weekend ;)

Author
Time

There might be a legit blu-ray coming, ill try to find  where I read that.

Author
Time

Assuming no administrators take it down (since the official disc is still available in Region 1), I've placed it on a spleen somewhere.

Author
Time

OmegaMattman said:

Assuming no administrators take it down (since the official disc is still available in Region 1), I've placed it on a spleen somewhere.

You the man, the OmegaMattman!

Author
Time

Where can I download this version? Looks fantastic! Much better than the simply embarrassing dvd I have from the collection. Please provide a download link, Thanks!!!

Author
Time

Go for it again as a DVD9. Much better bitrate and why not a 1080i HDTV broadcast to work from? No Hauppage?

Also it appears heavily similar to DVNR/EE wreckage which can be attributed to releases exactly of the same vein as DIE HARD: With a Vengeance USA DVD.

Author
Time

DVD9 was unnecessary because of the length of the movie.  At 76 minutes, it has an average bitrate of 9+Mbps (DVD's maximum) on a DVD5.

Sadly, unless something has changed, there is no 1080i broadcast to work from.  Heck, I don't even believe there's been a 480i broadcast since the mid-to-late 90s (when Sci-Fi Channel used to run it).

As much as I generally abhor DVR, this was one case where I decided it was necessary.  The Vestron LD leaves much to be desired.

Author
Time

the movie is available on the u.s. itunes movie store. i don't know how the quality is. might be worth a shot.

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/trancers/id297782127

Author
Time

Certainly an improvement over the official DVD. But it is soft. Best viewed on a smaller TV. 

For fans of the film this is your only option. I am seeding it whenever I can.

Author
Time

I previously posted the English subtitles from the laserdisc uncorrected or retimed.
Looking at them again, they're kind of poorly done (by whoever transcribed it).

Has anyone gone to the trouble of filling in the missing dialog?

Dr. M

Author
Time

I haven't yet, but I'll remember to scan through them (or put in a request for someone else to do it) if and when I get the chance to revisit Trancers.  Subtitles have never been my strong suit.

With the various Blu-rays Full Moon has been releasing lately and the announcement of Trancers 1.5: City of Angels on the way, I've been hoping Charles Band would spring to release the original movie in HD and save me the trouble ;)

Author
Time

OmegaMattman said:

I haven't yet, but I'll remember to scan through them (or put in a request for someone else to do it) if and when I get the chance to revisit Trancers.  Subtitles have never been my strong suit.

With the various Blu-rays Full Moon has been releasing lately and the announcement of Trancers 1.5: City of Angels on the way, I've been hoping Charles Band would spring to release the original movie in HD and save me the trouble ;)

Is 1.5 some weird extended cut or is old man Thomerson going to stagger through another movie?

As far as the subs I have, they ARE ripped from a laserdisc, and they synced and remuxed just fine to your DVD (I'll def repost the retimed version later).

It's just lines like: "Last January, I finally singed Martin Whistler, out on one of the rim planets."

Is: "Last January, I finally singed Martin Whistler."

Seriously, they cut like half the dialog.  But it may be better than nothing.

Dr. M

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Is 1.5 some weird extended cut or is old man Thomerson going to stagger through another movie?

Part of it is an unreleased mini-sequel made before Trancers II.  Full Moon produced an anthology film called Pulse Pounders, which included the segment...but it never made its way to theaters and/or video.

I'm not sure if they're just releasing that 30+/- minute segment as a standalone product, or shooting wraparound footage to extend it.  But, it will feature both Thomerson and Hunt.