logo Sign In

BadAsh71

User Group
Members
Join date
14-Sep-2004
Last activity
14-Dec-2004
Posts
130

Post History

Post
#74483
Topic
***The "official" Screenshots feedback thread ***
Time
Darn you all to heck

Okay, I have used VirtualDub off and on for years but had never tried VirtualDubMod. I knew that the regular VirtualDub didn't open VOB files but it is so cool that VirtualDubMod does.

I used VirtualDubMod to re-capture the Farsight scenes and while they are still bright they are nothing like what I had posted before. But now, I feel I need to re-capture everything.... dohhh

I will be posting the new Farsight screencaps in a few minutes but I think before I redo everything, I am going to start the ESB shots because my wife is busy making her Halloween costume tonight so I have the perfect opportunity to play so I better get the other movies going while I have the time

I will keep updating here as I change out existing shots.

Thank you Tikigod for pointing this out and special thanks to drjimmy526, Zion and MeBeJedi for pointing me in the right direction to fixing this.

Look for ESB or ROTJ shots soon and if anyone has suggestions of scenes to capture speak now or forever hold your peace.

Cheers

BadAsh
Post
#74459
Topic
***The "official" Screenshots feedback thread ***
Time
VirtualDubMod.... hmm... okay, I'll give that a try. I never realized my screenshots were coming out too bright... but then again, if you look at the screenshots in my thread the only ones that look super bright are from the Farsight series.

I'll give VirtualDubMod a try for all my screenshots going forward.

Zion, I don't have any ESB shots posted yet but I believe I have your latest ANH screenshots up there. Let me know if you have any updates.

Thanks

BadAsh
Post
#74426
Topic
***The MeBeJedi feedback thread ***
Time
Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
From the other thread:

"Oh, and the benefit from making the anamorphic is a higher quality... I know, this has been denied by many people, but you should consider that any possible compression artifacts get squeezed together (or only stretched horizontally, as opposed to a zoomed letterboxed image), and become teeny-tiny... well, at least less visible."

Expanding to anamorphic makes any visual glitches larger along with the rest of the picture, and they are still going to be compressed in the image - thus being especially visible on the widescreen image that they are intended to be shown on.


Why don't you take a scene, maybe 5 minutes from any of the OT movies, capture it, run it through all the filters and color correction you feel is necessary and then encode it to MPEG-2. Then, transfer the same scene again, crop out the black bars as necessary for the AR, run the video through whatever filters and color correction necessary, keeping in mind that these filters, etc. may be slightly different with anamorphic video in mind, then encode this version as a 16x9, anamorphic widescreen MPEG-2, create a DVD with both transfers and then compare the scenes on a Widescreen TV using Component Video Cables.

Make sure to zoom in on the video using both transfers and decide for yourself.

This topic comes up a lot and many people look at bad Anamorphic transfers and point out the flaws in comparison to a more superior 4:3 letterboxed transfer. If you ask me, this is comparing apples and oranges because the transfers are never from the same authors. MeBeJedi, you have been doing a really great job of finding just the right filters and alternative editing software to make sure you get the best transfer possible. If you could put this same knowledge into creating two short transfers as mentioned above I think we and you would have a more definitive answer on what is possible and what is good.

The gauntlet has been thrown... okay, just kidding but I would love to see the results of such a test
Post
#74404
Topic
***The "official" Screenshots feedback thread ***
Time
Originally posted by: Tikigod
Your copy of the Farsight transfer:

http://img87.exs.cx/img87/1671/Farsight_000.jpg

looks way more washed-out than my version:

http://img86.exs.cx/img86/4295/farsight.jpg

Is there something going on with yours, or is my monitor just set ridiculously differently than it should be?


hmmmmmm...... now ya got me worried

Tikigod, your screenshot is very different in terms of brightness from mine... it almost looks like a completely different transfer. It looks more like the Dr Gonzo transfer. Would you mind posting a screenshot from any of the other, non Farsight transfers to provide another sample for comparison? If you have the Dr Gonzo transfer that would be a good one since its quality is closer but still much better than the Farsight version.

I'm at work now so I can't check anything out right now but I can tell you that I am using PowerDVD's internal capture and then using PhotoShop to crop out the black bars and then saving as a JPEG at level 12 (maximum). Please note that I am not tweaking the color at all using PhotoShop.

Tikigod, what are you using for taking screenshots? If you are using a software DVD Player such as PowerDVD or WinDVD, does your software offer a brightness level? I am wondering if yours does and you are setting it darker or maybe mine does and I am unknowingly setting it brighter.

I'll definitely look at my computer tonight to see if there is something I am doing wrong but I would also like to see some samples from other transfers in the meantime if possible.

The Farsight transfer is very bright and fuzzy. The Definitive Collection ANH LaserDisc transfer is a bad one already so that could contribute to a poor LD to DVD transfer but if you look at the other screenshots posted in the "official" screenshots thread you can see that many of the older Definitive Collection transfers are brighter and slightly washed out at times.

Thanks for the feedback.... good or bad is always welcome and if there is something I am doing wrong or need to do better please let me know so that I can improve the screenshots thread.

Thanks
Post
#74373
Topic
***The "official" Screenshots feedback thread ***
Time
Thanks for the nudge there Jason.... you asked for it, you got it. Check out the "official" screenshots thread for new pics from the Farsight ANH transfer.

Okay folks, the ANH screenshots have about had it. I want to add some darker shots such as Opening Scroll, a Space Battle shot and of course at least one lightsaber shot and then ANH will be done.

Next up is ESB.

With that being said, I will remind everyone that some of the transfers listed in the current screenshots are active projects so aquiring screenshots for ESB and ROTJ may not be so easy but rest assured they will be added when possible.

Zion has provided me with updated ESB shots so I have those but I am not sure about MeBeJedi.

Speaking of MeBeJedi... please PM me about screenshots. I would like to get updated shots from your latest ANH transfer if possible. The ones I have posted are from an earlier "screener" so when you are ready to share your latest creation please let me know.

Oh yeah, if anyone has requests for specific ESB or ROTJ shots please let me know. I have a starting point with what Zion has provided but would love everyone's input.... no really, I would

Thanks

BadAsh
Post
#73670
Topic
.: The Zion DVD Project :. (Released)
Time
Originally posted by: Zottig
Question though… I couldn't find (or perhaps missed) which LDs (DC, faces, NTSC or PAL) you are using to accomplish this transfer.


Zion is using the "Faces" edition of the Star Wars LDs as it has a superior image quality over the Definitive Editions.... this is already becoming a long thread but check back on page 1 for more info on Zion's transfer and check out his website for more info, screenshots and a sample of his Empire menus. You will be glad you did

Oh yeah... missed this part of your question, Zion is making an NTSC transfer. If you are interested in PAL, check back in the "Original Trilogy Preservation" forum, there are discussions on PAL transfers there as well.
Post
#73541
Topic
Question on multi-disc DVD cases
Time
Originally posted by: Darth Simon
Originally posted by: BadAsh71
iNetDVD currently has two quad cases for sale, an Alpha black and an Alpha white.



They do have a pretty nice selection...but what i like about the scanavo line is they have 4 disc (even 6 disc shown on their site) cases that are the same thickness of a single dvd case. Though the multi colors are nice, especially if your looking to replace the snapper cases (what ps2 games come in blue cases? all mine have black)

But where i think the single size multi disc cases are nice is if you have multiple sets of the laserdisc transfers and want to have them all on your shelf without having a seperate case for each version...thats what i plan on getting a couple of these multiple cases for...only places ive found those are just from searches on froogle and scanavo is the only company ive seen with them.

-Darth Simon


Sorry... I own an XBox, not a PS2... I was trying to list items and colors from memory.... dohhh.... I just checked to see what they mentioned for the "blue" cases and could not find the one I was thinking about. I bought some dark blue cases from them a while back to put my BTTF DVDs in and I could have sworn they listed them as the "same ones used for PS2 games" but it doesn't appear they stock those right now so I can't look it up.

Hey, those Scanavo cases do look pretty sweet... I might have to pick up a few... but where to put them... I already have such a huge collection of blank cases in all sizes and colors... I need another room in the house... 3 bedrooms, office and a general junk room

Kingsama, iNetDVD has Alpha Triple and slim-triple cases, black only... they may have white... not sure... give'em a look.
Post
#73344
Topic
Question on multi-disc DVD cases
Time
I have been buying cases from iNetDVD for a long time now and have always found that they have the best selection of good quality, professional cases.

The two most popular brand name cases out there are Amaray and Alpha. Both brands have single, dual and multi DVD cases. I like iNetDVD because they not only have the standard "black" cases but they have all the special color cases such as the lime green XBox cases, Blue PS2 cases, white Disney style cases, silver ID4 style cases and whatever elese you might like.

I first ran into these guys through their eBay store and have been shopping with them ever since. Check'em out:

DVD Media Cases at iNetDVD

iNetDVD currently has two quad cases for sale, an Alpha black and an Alpha white. The white version is currently out of stock (10-24-2004):

Alpha Black Quad DVD Case

Alpha White Quad Case

I hope that helps.

-BadAsh
Post
#73039
Topic
Idea: Sound mix options? Where?!
Time
The original discussion about the different sound mixes starte around page 86 of the "bootlegs" thread:

Bootlegs Thread - Audio Mix Discussion

For those that don't want to filter through that very lengthy thread, here are some of the posts:

Originally posted by: Patrick R.
The 3PO line isn't on the Faces set either. It is the one where he says, "The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave."

I'm still working on my versions, but I've had to take time away from it and not sure when I will be finished. I have the Definitive Collection with the Leia footage in tact. A friend also sent me small capture files of 3PO's line and "Close the blastdoors!". I really don't like the blastdoors line as the guy's voice sounds different than the one who said, "Open the blastdoors". For capturing devices, I have a Canopus ADVC-100 and a Leadtek WinFast TV2000 XP Expert. I haven't had time to experiment with the WinFast yet. I also have a Pioneer CLD-D703 LD Player which I really like. It doesn't have AC-3, but can be modified. I just don't have a reason to since none of my LD's have AC-3. I only own the Star Wars DC LD's and an unopened copy of A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott that came with the plater.

Anyway, I will keep everyone posted on my progress. I was happy with my original attempt until I saw how good everyone else's was and how much mine had dot crawl in them since I used S-Video. I did buy a much better S-Video cable and will test it on both devices to see if the crawl still appears. If it does, I will use high quality Composite cables.

I originally split each film up onto two DVD's and used uncompressed PCM for the audio. I really want to make dual layer versions with uncompressed PCM if the dual layer technology ever allows me to put the layer break where I want so that it will be hardly noticeable. I also hope the -R DL format comes out someday.

I forgot to mention that I plan to at least capture a small audio segment from my SE VHS tapes before I sell them of the snowspeeder spinning out of control and exploding in ESB. I'm sorry to keep mentioning it, but that sound effect is missing from both the Faces and Definitive Collection LD's as well as the 1995 THX VHS.

Patrick

Originally posted by: drcrawn
just found the Fox WS releases of SW and ESB for 10 dollars a piece at local used video store in Seattle on laserdisc. Asked the guy to hold them for me. My jaw dropped when he said 10 buck a piece...I didnt tell him they were worth at least twice that...

Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
Attaboy. Hey, if your ESB LD has the "snowspeeder wipe-out" sound byte, you may have to send it to me.

[EDIT] I meant, as a .wav file (though it would be nice to extract it digitally from the LD.)

[EDIT] You know, I totally forgot I had this LD as well...http://www.davisdvd.com/images/starwars/esb_ld6.jpg
• RELEASE DATE: 1985

• STUDIO: CBS/FOX

• RELEASE FORMAT: Laserdisc

• COMMENTS: Three Standard-Play CAV discs (Cat# 1425-84)

• TECHNICAL COMMENTS: Pan & Scan transfer with with CX-encoded Stereo Surround sound

• OTHER COMMENTS: This edition is not time compressed and also marks the first time ever that fans can analyze the film frame-by-frame (thanks to the CAV format)
- DavisDVD
Anyone know if this version has the sound byte? I guess I'll have to bring a TV in my office to play the LD, since my computer is busy.

Oh, I have this disc also...http://www.davisdvd.com/images/starwars/rotj_ld1.jpg
• RELEASE DATE: 1986

• STUDIO: CBS/FOX

• RELEASE FORMAT: Laserdisc

• COMMENTS: Two Extended-Play CLV discs (Cat# 1478-80)

• TECHNICAL COMMENTS: Pan & Scan transfer with CX-encoded Digital Stereo Surround sound

• OTHER COMMENTS: The film is spread over three sides


(They are fool-screen, so I never really bother with them. Of course, that didn't stop me from buying them. )


Originally posted by: Patrick R.
Originally posted by: drcrawn
Does anyone here actually have the Definitive LDs with the missing 7 seconds of ESB? Those are tremendously collectible, very rare indeed. Also I heard mention of laser rot. The definitve ld are not know for having laser rot are they?


I have the Definitive Collection LD's with the Leia Welding footage in tact. The early release was suseptible to rot, but I'm not sure about the version I have since it was a later pressing.

MeBeJedi,

I believe the missing C3PO line is included in one of those early LD's. If you look at this

link, he mentions this about the 1985 VHS release:
"WHAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN: This release is a little-known milestone in the history of Star Wars. When Fox decided to digitally remaster the audio track for this re-release, sound designer Ben Burtt asked to be involved. What Burtt actually ended up doing was that he created an entirely new sound mix for the film. So in reality, the audio for this video release is the fourth official Star Wars audio mix (following the three original theatrical mixes - see the first entry at the top of this page). Among the clean up and digital repairs, some interesting new changes were added. These include sweetened sound effects, new stereo'd effects (Jawa voices after Artoo's capture) and, most noticeably, the addition of C-3PO's line in the Death Star ("The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave"). This new sound mix was used for every subsequent video release until the 1993 THX "Definitive Collection" remastering [ Very Special Thanks to David C. Fein for this important revelation ] ".

He also says this about the 1992 LD. "Coupled with the 1985 audio mix, this could very well likely be the best presentation of the film."

So, I would bet that line was there.

I have seen a copy someone made of the movie with that line and the "Close the blastdoors!" line inserted into the Faces version of ANH. They are a little jarring. The person who made it did a good job. It's just that you can tell the lines were recorded at different times. Kind of reminds me of Vader's added line in ESB of, "Inform my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival.". It is really James Earl Jones performing that line according to Ben Burtt. However, it doesn't sound right because that line was meant to be in ANH, but they never used it.

When you get a chance, check out the '92 LD and see how the line sounds compared to 3PO's other lines during that scene. If you had the entire '92 LD, I would probably use that for the audio and maybe the video as well.

I just looked at Ebay and found this:

Laserdisc. I wonder if this is the 1989 or the 1992 version.

Patrick


Originally posted by: Klingon_Jedi
Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
Actually, it sounds a little out of place. It was definitely recorded at a different time.


That's the sound mix I know by heart, as I have the 1992 VHS.



After skimming through this discussion from the old "bootlegs" thread I can see that there are some like me, who remember the 3PO "tractor beam" line and find that scene a little out of place without it and then there are others who found this line to be distracting as it sounded as if it were recorded at another time and just added in. Some said that the "close the blast doors, open the blast doors" snippet sounded odd because the voices were not the same.

Maybe I have been making a mountain out of a mole hill.... what does everybody else think? It seems some of us like the 3PO "tractor beam" line while others do not and MeBeJedi seemed kind of anxious to add the "snowspeeder wipe-out" into ESB.

Is this sound mix being discussed in the old "bootlegs" thread as wel as here all from the '85 sound mix or from other versions?

Anyone care to add to this discussion?
Post
#73007
Topic
Idea: Sound mix options? Where?!
Time
What are the differences between the so-called '85 audio mix and the sound mix used for the Faces/DC set?

The DavisDVD site includes information about the changes to ANH but nothing about ESB or ROTJ. I know in the old "bootlegs" thread there was a big discussion about the audio differences, specifically about ANH. Someone mentioned that ESB had some different sound effects.

The '85 audio mix was first made available on a VHS remastered set and later came out on LaserDisc between '89 and '90 with an ANH reissue/correction in '92.

I know that the '85 ANH audio mix has significant changes that would warrant an inclusion on a fan-based DVD transfer but what about ESB and ROTJ. Is it worth it?

MeBeJedi, you had discussed some ESB sound effects only found on the '89 LaserDisc. What are your thoughts on this?

For those of you who think you might have the '85 mix, here are some links to help you out:

Blam Entertainment - '89 ANH Release

Blam Entertainment - '89 ESB Release

Blam Entertainment - '90 ROTJ Release

You can check out more information on all Star Wars releases in any format at the DavisDVD Site:

DavisDVD

And for everything LaserDisc specific, check out Blam Entertainment:

Blam Entertainment Group
Post
#72919
Topic
Idea: Sound mix options? Where?!
Time
Zion, here is some info from the DavisDVD site.... this information is specifically about the '85 ANH audio mix but I but I believe ESB and ROTJ were updated as well. MeBeJedi or anyone else, please chime in... I believe the '85 mix of ESB included new sound effects during the Hoth battle scenes... not sure about ROTJ. Here is the DavisDVD info:


1985 ANH Digitally Remastered Audio Track
This release is a little-known milestone in the history of Star Wars. When Fox decided to digitally remaster the audio track for this re-release, sound designer Ben Burtt asked to be involved. What Burtt actually ended up doing was that he created an entirely new sound mix for the film. So in reality, the audio for this video release is the fourth official Star Wars audio mix (following the three original theatrical mixes - see the first entry at the top of this page). Among the clean up and digital repairs, some interesting new changes were added. These include sweetened sound effects, new stereo'd effects (Jawa voices after Artoo's capture) and, most noticeably, the addition of C-3PO's line in the Death Star ("The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave"). This new sound mix was used for every subsequent video release until the 1993 THX "Definitive Collection" remastering.
Post
#72856
Topic
Idea: Sound mix options? Where?!
Time
Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
"It would be cool if someone could provide both a Faces/Definitive soundtrack"

Believe me, the Faces and DC soundtracks are 99.5% identical.


Yeah but there are a lot of people who would like to have the '85 sound mix while others prefer the Faces/DC mix so having both would give us the best of both worlds and wouldn't be a problem at all for a DL disc.

LD transfers are about preservation and a lot of people look at the Faces/DC mix as the "original" OT mix since it is closer to the '77 mix than the '85 version, however, there is dialogue and sound effects in the '85 mix that a lot of us have gotten used to over the years.

For me, when I watch ANH and it gets to the scene where R2 is pulling up the Death Star schematics to point out the location of the tractor beam.... when I watch that scene and C-3POs dialogue is not there I look at the blank faces on Luke, Han and ObiWan and think... awkward moment.... did somebody forget a line?

I was there for opening night of ANH and I know that the '85 mix is not the version I saw as a kid but it does have many benefits to it.

Thats me and probably a lot of other people as well. If we had the option to watch the movie with either sound mix we would then be able to view the movie the way we as individuals want to.

With a dual-layer transfer this can be made possible.
Post
#72837
Topic
Idea: Sound mix options? Where?!
Time
I like Pemdawg's suggestion. This would be really cool.... I know a lot of people expressed interest in usiing parts of the '85 sound mix for MeBeJedi's transfer. It would be cool if someone could provide both a Faces/Definitive soundtrack as well as the '85 soundmix. This would give us all an easy way to compare both mixes used... of course the original '77 mix would be great and while your at it, why not the ISOMIX Isolated Musical Score.... okay... getting carried away but for a DL set there would definitely be room if the audio was compressed (DD 2.0).

Okay, who is up for it?
Post
#72488
Topic
.: The Zion DVD Project :. (Released)
Time
Check out the "official" screenshots thread for updated screenshots from Zion's latest transfer.

I re-ordered the screenshots so that you can better compare Zion's transfer to the "official" Lucas DVDs.

Zion, the new transfer looks great and the colors are amazing, but I am wondering if the colors are a little too saturated. Take your R2 shot for instance:

10-04-2004 Capture
http://img92.exs.cx/img92/7313/R2-Old.jpg

10-19-2004 Capture
http://img92.exs.cx/img92/7361/R2-New.jpg

These captures are just a little off in terms of frames but look at the blue on R2... the new shot looks very bright.

I think mverta or someone else was talking about the colors on R2 the other day.... I'll see if I can find what that was all about later. I'm running late for work now but if I can get a chance I will look into this a little more and compare it with the Lucas transfer tonight.... after Smallville of course

Post
#72481
Topic
.: The Zion DVD Project :. (Released)
Time
Originally posted by: ertertwert
Those look nice

EDIT: Oh, btw, how do I import my own avatar? I tried putting in a 50x50 JPEG and it said it was the wrong file type (and that only JPEG and GIF are allowed...) Anyone have a solution?


Wrong thread for this but I have the same question... never seems to work

Zion, the latest transfer looks great... I will be updating the "screenshots" asap