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Doctor M

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Join date
1-Feb-2005
Last activity
1-Jul-2025
Posts
2,544

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Post
#207292
Topic
.: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/207292/action/topic#207292
Time
MBJ yeah that bothered me too. I saw an interview (the '04 extra DVD?) where Lucas says he was trying for a "lived in" future, unlike previous scifi movies.

I could understand the prequels being all bright and shiny since galactic economies were thriving, but in the OT you expect to see a lot of junkers left over from the "golden age" before the empire. The color changes in the '04 DVD sort of yanked out a lot of the "lived in" dirty colors.
Post
#207276
Topic
.: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/207276/action/topic#207276
Time
I don't want to take this back into the territory we just left but I'm curious about color correction in general too.

Does the already color "corrected" (term used VERY loosely) 2004 DVD's provide more of a challenge to color correct-ors than the laserdiscs do (which seem to be in a more raw state)?

I ask that because when I did my set, I was working to tweak colors that someone else already tweaked and I found a distinct lack of dynamic range to work with. Is the same true for the DVDs? If so that's a real strong argument for the continuation of the X0 project right there.
Post
#207132
Topic
ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY OUT 09/2006 BY LUCASFILM
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/207132/action/topic#207132
Time
andy_k_250, you are a bit off. Laserdiscs contain analog video information just like vhs tapes. The data is stored optically but NOT digitally. Therefore there is no existing 1993 digital capture that can be used for the DVDs. It also means a new dvd struck from the old source will still contain much more data/resolution than the LD does (see my extremely nerdy dissertation on the X0 thread).

On the other hand LFL did do some early computer filtering techniques to clean up the picture. This is possibly part of the print that the '93 discs were taken from. It means any crap artifacts from it will still be present, and dirt/scratches that weren't removed will still be there too. I think THAT is what they mean by 1993 technology.

My real worry is that the film has to have degraded somewhat in the last 13 years. I can't imagine anyone went out of their way to preserve it. Who would figure that the original negatives would "no longer exist"?

I don't think Lucas has put out anything non-anamorphic in years (if at all) on dvd. I wouldn't worry too much there. Letterboxing was merely a function of early DVD transfer laziness. I don't really think we'd see a non-THX transfer, let alone letterboxed.

My bet says we are going to see an "Official (non)Fan Laserdisc Preservation Project" using film source to DVD instead of film source to laserdisc captured to PC to DVD. This also explains 2.0 audio. I'll bet on the same audio mix as the LDs too. The only question is my mind is the original crawl, if present has to be some other unknown source.
Post
#207126
Topic
.: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/207126/action/topic#207126
Time
Ok, I know I'll be incurring some wrath here, but I'm going to go to bat for OCP. First let me say I have the utmost respect for the work that's been done on the X0 project, it's amazing and ambitious.

The comparison screenshots:

The laserdisc shots posted are approx. 712x275.
Most laserdisc captures have 4 vertical lines of black on the left and right (hence about 712 not 720).
It's also important to note laserdiscs are analog and have no true width. 720 is just a convention since it's what DVDs commonly use.
LD signals contain an analog strength of up to 5mhz. This translates to only about as much data as 528-544 pixels in width. That's one reason why LD to DVD conversions look softer and are easily compressed on to single layer DVDs.

Horizontally there are only about 270 lines of movie data on a laserdisc (after cropping the borders). This is an estimate since laserdiscs technically only have about 400-425 lines NOT 480. That is true lines of resolution, the difference is extrapolated in software (further softening the picture).

So the X0 shots are the real captures as they are (as post on the X0 site anyway), preserving all picture information in the capture, yet of slightly higher resolution than the source laserdisc.

The DVD captures on the other hand are anamorphic and have a TRUE height of 360 horizontal lines (cropping the black borders). If OCP were to post 720x360 it would be distorted. If he were to match the height of a laserdisc shot he'd be throwing out picture data that really exists. So you would resize the width to produce equivalent aspect ratioed screenshots. This is no more artificial at 849 pixels than the laserdiscs using 720 (which again has no more than about 544 pixels worth of information).

As for the odd half sized screenies, they are only there for comparison: the full frames aren't available since OCP is obviously using what little is posted on the X0 site.

-----

Frankly if I were running the X0 project I'd go dark until September, saving time and money.

If the '06 DVD are really and truly completely borked then start up again, anything else is just plain crazy.
Post
#207113
Topic
Info: The LID Project: Laserdisc is dead.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/207113/action/topic#207113
Time
Ok, yes I thought you lost your mind OCPm (or were drunk for the last several days), but abrasive as your posts have been, I also think you are 100% right.

GL doesn't love us, he doesn't care what we want or think, he just wants more of our money.
But... no matter what he turns out in '06, these DVD will be our real source for all future work. Digital anamorphic 480 lines of resolution blow away analog letterboxed 270 (?!) lines every day of the week.
Woohoo bring 'em on!!!!

Btw, the LID screenshots above, are they Classic Edition snaps or the the '04 discs newly color corrected/tweaked.
Post
#206790
Topic
.: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/206790/action/topic#206790
Time
I absolutely agree with casualimp, in fact I said something similar on another thread.
What is interesting though is what the legal situation really is since it will be "out of print" by December.

Does that reset the copyright clock or something, or is it once again "no longer available" and no monetary loss can be claimed?
Sometime I wish I was a lawyer and understood the intricacies.
Mind you if it's format dependent, we can just start over in the Hi Def formats...
Post
#206637
Topic
ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY OUT 09/2006 BY LUCASFILM
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/206637/action/topic#206637
Time
I wouldn't pack it in or stop sharing your SW projects just yet.
Just because this is announced does _not_ mean that it will actually appear in a form we will be happy with, on the date specified, or at all for that matter.
It's happened more than once in the DVD industry for announcements to be nothing more than air.
It's real the day they go on sale (not even ship (Ed Wood was actually pulled from store shelves the first time)).

The community would suffer a major set back if we all said game over and those discs never showed up...
Post
#206308
Topic
ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY OUT 09/2006 BY LUCASFILM
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/206308/action/topic#206308
Time
Citizen
edit: HELL HAS FROZEN OVER!!
Um, you did notice an April 1st posting date didn't you?

You know the dumping thing of the '04's could be right. Does anyone have any whiff of what is planned for '07?
That date won't go by without some huge release. We do know he planned on redoing the CG Yoda in Ep.1 so there has to be at least one more release coming.

ALSO, do not forget, by releasing an OT DVD, it now meets the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and probably the Library Of Congress film preservation critera.
Before what we did here was vaguely legal because we were preserving something that did not exist in a digital format. That is no longer the case, no matter how bad the official release may be.
Prepare for a lot of legal notices to be mailed to preservationists....
Post
#206116
Topic
.: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/206116/action/topic#206116
Time
I think OCPMovie has been drinking tonight.

Anyway. I'm already seeing the future of preservations. HD upmixes. Frame by frame cleanup by the X0 crew, reinstitution of original poor sfx, removing of original poor sfx, mono tracks, 5.1 tracks, color correction, PAL conversions...

We're not using LD's anymore but I don't see any of us leaving well enough alone, we're a bit too crazy for that. We're just taking it to the next level now!
Post
#206050
Topic
ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY OUT 09/2006 BY LUCASFILM
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/206050/action/topic#206050
Time
_Pop quiz_
You are George Lucas.
You are making a Star Wars release you swore didn't exist, couldn't exists, and over your dead body would never be seen again...
You are releasing it ONE YEAR before the 30th Anniversary.
It is the cusp of kick ass HD/BluRay DVD's that are star-aligned with everything your THX company stands for.

Do you:

A) Work hard digging through the archives like a truffle pig, spend a fortune in time and man power reassembling elements, make a DVD-only release for 4 months and then bury it knowing you did right by the fan community.

=or=

B) Make a hi definition transfer, copy it to standard definition DVDs. Jack the price up by bundling it with the '04 DVDs (that everyone already owns). Shove it out the door to all the fanboys. THEN re-release it as part of a 30th Anniversary Uber-HiRay-BluDefinition-HologramArt-GoldLeafEncrusted-BreakYourBookCase Boxset (with one additional DVD of extras)?

What do you do?
Post
#206006
Topic
ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY OUT 09/2006 BY LUCASFILM
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/206006/action/topic#206006
Time
Only available for 4 months? Only $1999.95 per box set...

Anyone buying this limited release crap? Anyone going to take a chance that it's not true?
It sounds a bit like other "Limited Editions" of this sort. It's limited as a 2 disc set of the 2004/OT but will probably be widely available later as a 1 disc OT only.

Sigh, so now we can all retire, unsubscribe and find a new hobby. If this is really real, what does it mean for stuff like the X0 Project?

One caveat: "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD."- Jim Ward

Sounds a bit like they are rebuilding this from pieces, that can't be good.
Post
#203332
Topic
.-The Matrix Hacked-..:Completed:.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/203332/action/topic#203332
Time
So everything else I've tried to do lately has failed.
That is:
To make it further look like Neo is being brought home from Machine City (there is no exterior shot long enough to use (or re-use)).
Additional of a voice-over or footage to explain that Neo is jacking in looking for the Oracle (too rushed of a pace or suffers from voice-over-overload).

There is still some hope for the audio clip of Keanu saying 'It's over' but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I have managed to clean up a few audio edits, removed the opening voice over, and extend Neo's jack-in before the Super Brawl to improve the pace and logic of events.
It's better, but still not completely what I want. I'm waiting for the DVD of the Watcher for the audio clip so if no further ideas present before than you'll just have to fill in a few blanks on your own when watching. The pace should still be entertaining.

Btw, I haven't trimmed the rave at the end... yet(?). Out of context it didn't feel too long, but I'll decide after I rewatch the film in it's entirety.
Post
#203016
Topic
.-The Matrix Hacked-..:Completed:.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/203016/action/topic#203016
Time
Can you give some examples of lines you would suggest Marvolo?

Currently just before Neo brains Smith/Bane in TRW, Smith/Bane says "It isn't over Mr. Anderson". If I cut that line, it's a bit jerky and looks a bit darker for Neo (the line seems to encourage him to finish it).
The problem is that it IS over, all Smiths are now defeated in my cut.
You can either surmise it's an empty threat or a bad edit. I was hoping to pop in the line "Yes it is" or "It's over" from Keanu when he swings. Constantine doen't have anything helpful (that I noticed).

[Edit]
Clip removed.
Post
#202988
Topic
.-The Matrix Hacked-..:Completed:.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/202988/action/topic#202988
Time
So the current situation is this: I have editor's block.
I love the idea of showing Neo being brought home (explicitly) but there is no footage I can use to show it. I even tried flipping Horiz and Vert of a clip of a ship following the powerlines. But like just about every shot of Machine City it's too short (and looks funny). There's nothing long enough that can be used as an establishing shot.
I'm trying to think my way around this. And if I go this direction there's a few other supporting changes I need to make.

Also, I've got a line on a possible "it's over" line. The Watcher, according to an online script shows Keanu saying it (probably in a menacing tone). It's been a long time since I've seen it so I don't know. I should be able to get my hands on the film in about a week to check.