Okay, since I bought a new TV last year, I’m getting more interested in transfering my old DVD’s into good quality upscales, and Robocop is well deserved of this treatment. Of course, I can’t speak for everyone, but generally those of us who own this version think it’s 200% better than any other release to date, even if it is grainy as hell and non-anamorphic NTSC!

So, here is my upscale script:

RU.08’s Upscale Script for Robocop Criterion

Required plugins

import(“LSFmod.v1.9.avsi”)
LoadPlugin(“DGDecode.dll”)
LoadPlugin(“TIVTC.dll”)
Loadplugin(“mt_masktools-25.dll”)
Loadplugin(“removegrain.dll”)
Loadplugin(“Repair.dll”)
Loadplugin(“mvtools2.dll”)
Loadplugin(“nnedi2.dll”)

Load DVD video

Mpeg2Source(“VTS_06_1.d2v”)

IVTC video

TFM(mode=5,PP=7,slow=2)
TDecimate()

Crop most of the black borders here, leaving enough for MDegrain

crop(0,44,720,384)

Degrain the video somewhat

source = last
super = MSuper()
bvec2 = MAnalyse(super, isb=true, overlap=4, delta=2)
bvec1 = MAnalyse(super, isb=true, overlap=4)
fvec1 = MAnalyse(super, isb=false, overlap=4)
fvec2 = MAnalyse(super, isb=false, overlap=4, delta=2)
source.MDegrain2(super, bvec1, fvec1, bvec2, fvec2)
Repair(last, source, mode=9)

Crop all of the black bars (can’t be done in YV12 mode)

ConvertToRGB24()
crop(2,1,714,-1)

Upscale to 720p using nnedi2. The reason there is 3 parts is because

from 1:13:20 onwards there is 2 more lines of black at the bottom of

image, up until when the credits start.

PartA = trim(0,105605).nnedi2_rpow2(rfactor=2, cshift=“Spline36Resize”, fwidth=1200, fheight=720)
PartB = trim(105606,139289).crop(0,0,0,-2).nnedi2_rpow2(rfactor=2, cshift=“Spline36Resize”, fwidth=1200, fheight=720)
PartC = trim(139290,0).nnedi2_rpow2(rfactor=2, cshift=“Spline36Resize”, fwidth=1200, fheight=720)
PartA + PartB + PartC
ConvertToYV12()

Sharpen Image

LSFMod(strength=180)

The result is very nice indeed, and guess what? It still looks better than the 2007 DVD version (which I belive is the same basic transfer as the Bluray, although I don’t have that). So, here are some screenshots of the upscale:

I am very pleased with how the upscale looks, and hopefully it will encode beautifully!

Well that's good news, hopefully they do a better transfer than sony/mgm have done so far.

Why are you carrying out IVTC? Couldn't you just use force film in DGIndex?

What's your final intended format? If making AVCHD/BD then I think you'll have to add the black borders to the side to make the horizontal res up to 1280.

Moth3r said:

Why are you carrying out IVTC? Couldn't you just use force film in DGIndex?

What's your final intended format? If making AVCHD/BD then I think you'll have to add the black borders to the side to make the horizontal res up to 1280.

You can't use force film on titles like this, it was "scanned" in a telecine machine the same as 1993 star wars LD's were. This title was originally a laserdisc too. There'll be orphaned fields and changes in the pulldown pattern throughout. Having a quick look though, one time the pattern suddenly changes in-scene is at 16:10 where you can see 2:3:2:3:2:3 as normall and then suddenlty 3:4 (three interlaced frames followed by four progressive), evidence of video editing/splicing. It probably only happens half a dozen times or so, and so would be difficuilt to find more examples without going through every frame of film specifically looking. Generally, I never use Force Film if I know the source is "hard telecine" as opposed to "soft telecine".

My format will be x264, mkv. I only care about streaming from my PC to my TV, not about burning copies onto discs, if authoring AVCHD then all you need to do as you said is add the side borders at the end of the script before encode. Or, you could resize to 1280 x 768 (instead of 1200 x 720) and then crop 24 pixels from the top and 24 from the bottom to arrive at 16:9 (1.778:1).

^^That was posted a year ago. :(

^^^^ :o Amazing you were able to find it! It's been OOP for like a decade! I can't remember when I bought mine it was that long ago! :) Before that I had the movie on VHS. These days I'm a big Paul Verhoeven fan.. well except for Hollow Man, that movie sucked! What a way to end your hollywood career!

Maybe I am just stupid, but how do I use this script? I have never done such thing before. A hint to a how to, and which software is needed would be very kind :) I love Robocop, and I love my Criterion DVD, so I just would like to try also to resize it. How long does it approx. take to upscale on a normal PC?

RU.08 said:

Moth3r said:

Why are you carrying out IVTC? Couldn't you just use force film in DGIndex?

What's your final intended format? If making AVCHD/BD then I think you'll have to add the black borders to the side to make the horizontal res up to 1280.

You can't use force film on titles like this, it was "scanned" in a telecine machine the same as 1993 star wars LD's were. This title was originally a laserdisc too.

Actually, you can use Force Film on the Star Wars DVDs, even though they originated from laserdisc masters.

Generally, I never use Force Film if I know the source is "hard telecine" as opposed to "soft telecine".

Absolutely - but do you know for sure that this is hard telecine (i.e. does the Ignore Pulldown option give you telecined output)? Force Film can deal with minor breaks in the pattern and keep sync.

Popped in my Criterion LD copy recently and forgot how wonderful this one is.  The Blu-rays both suck a big one.  Anyone here anything about a future Criterion re-issue on Blu?  I won't hold my breath.  

The 2.0 PCM holds up nicely as well.  I've never heard the 5.1 mixes on DVD or Blu, but it did have a 70mm 6 track mix upon initial release.

The Criterion transfer was state-of-the-art for its time. It was one of the most natural-looking pictures that had ever been attempted for the format; on a 32" television (which was the contemporary “big screen”), it looked like nothing you'd ever seen before. The image always felt more textured to me than the Blu-ray; the Blu-ray doesn't look like a movie that was made in 1987.

I would mention that the Orion laserdisc had a different mix, a pumped-up audio track that was often used as a demo disc for the format. The Criterion audio is more accurate to the original theatrical mix, but if Criterion is not issuing this disc and a restoration were attempted, it might be an interesting alternate audio option. I have no idea what the state of those discs might be (I never heard they were particularly prone to rot).

Moth3r said:

RU.08 said:

Moth3r said:

Why are you carrying out IVTC? Couldn't you just use force film in DGIndex?

What's your final intended format? If making AVCHD/BD then I think you'll have to add the black borders to the side to make the horizontal res up to 1280.

You can't use force film on titles like this, it was "scanned" in a telecine machine the same as 1993 star wars LD's were. This title was originally a laserdisc too.

Actually, you can use Force Film on the Star Wars DVDs, even though they originated from laserdisc masters.

Generally, I never use Force Film if I know the source is "hard telecine" as opposed to "soft telecine".

Absolutely - but do you know for sure that this is hard telecine (i.e. does the Ignore Pulldown option give you telecined output)? Force Film can deal with minor breaks in the pattern and keep sync.

I do remember that you couldn't use Force Film on this one successfully as with GOUT, recall spotting combing in several places, I ultimately did an IVTC on it as well.

Fucking love Robocop, agree with many here that this old transfer is still a solid one. I cannot see why you would want to degrain it though, I simply opted for a simple 16:9 resize. For those who resize it, keep in mind that the left and right borders shifts wildly during the transfer.

borisanddoris said:

Popped in my Criterion LD copy recently and forgot how wonderful this one is. The Blu-rays both suck a big one. Anyone here anything about a future Criterion re-issue on Blu? I won't hold my breath.

The 2.0 PCM holds up nicely as well. I've never heard the 5.1 mixes on DVD or Blu, but it did have a 70mm 6 track mix upon initial release.

Yeah, the original mix is great and also a little bit of a milestone as it was one of the first films with Dolby Spectral Recording. Haven't heard the DVD/BD 5.1 mixes myself but heard reports of Basil's score being drowned out by sound effects in certain scenes such as in the drug factory sequence. Both the 20th Anniversary DVD and MGM/FOX BD does apparently contain a discrete version of the original mix in Dolby Digital 4.0.

Regardless of a future Criterion Blu (which may or may not be 1:66, we don't know) I'd like to see the finished result of this upscale.

Preserving the 1:66 aspect ratio is the major plus of this project, IMO, so put me down for a copy of the MKV when it's finished. Thanks.