Dunedain

User Group: Members
Join date: 1-Aug-2006
Last activity: 4-Apr-2025
Posts: 442

Post History

Post: #260846
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/260846/action/topic#260846
Time: 9-Dec-2006 7:14 AM

So no one was able to record the Star Wars movies in HD off of Cinemax in a way that would allow ready copying over to high definition DVD's?

Post: #257385
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/257385/action/topic#257385
Time: 18-Nov-2006 1:28 PM

Great job on capturing them all.

Yeah, those movies need to be backed up onto a secure format. So first they need to be copied over to a PC hard drive (you could use an external hard drive with a firewire connection for that), then to be really safe (i.e., immune to hard drive crashes) each movie should be copied over to it's own Blu-Ray or HD-DVD blank disk (either single-layer or dual-layer, depending on how big the movies are). Of course, the movies should be kept in their original HD format, just as Cinemax broadcast them, no re-encoding to save space, or any other changes.

Then when guys like the X0 team get a hold of it, they can do an amazing de-SE job on it.

Of course, one runs into the problem of where to get footage of a high enough resolution to replace the scenes messed up by the SE changes so that the movies will look fairly equally good throughout when watching them. But it's never a bad thing to have a great looking permanent copy of the Star Wars trilogy in HD, even if it is the 2004 even-more-SE. Once you have that, solutions can found to at least most of the remaining obstacles to a good HD restoration of the unaltered Star Wars trilogy.

Post: #256716
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/256716/action/topic#256716
Time: 14-Nov-2006 12:03 PM

So, how did the capturing of the original Star Wars trilogy and the prequels in HD on Cinemax go?

What resolution did they broadcast it at, and what video bit-rate did they use, how about the video compression method? How did the movies look?

Post: #256224
Topic: .: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/256224/action/topic#256224
Time: 10-Nov-2006 11:01 PM

I imagine they do, but when something this good comes along, it's hard not to emphasize the importance of it.

Post: #256193
Topic: .: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/256193/action/topic#256193
Time: 10-Nov-2006 7:26 PM

Anyhow, the original point was that the X0 team should get the Star Wars trilogy in HD from Cinemax so they can have superb source material to work with for restoration purposes of the unaltered original trilogy. =)

Post: #256096
Topic: .: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/256096/action/topic#256096
Time: 10-Nov-2006 10:57 AM

Well, I don't really expect the HD version of Star Wars on Cinemax to have a bit-rate equal to what you would get on a dual-layer Blu-Ray version from Lucasfilm. =) But on the other hand, this may be the only chance to get the Star Wars movies in HD, in 1080i no less (which I think according to Laserman can be easily and flawlessly converted to true 1080p?), before they change even more things in the 30th anniversary set. When they do release the Star Wars trilogy and prequels on Blu-Ray or HD-DVD eventually, they may not give us the choice to watch them without the 30th anniversary changes, just like Lucas has been trying to foist the SE and even-more-SE 2004 changes on us ever since.

And you never know, since this is a one-time big event, Star Wars in HD for the first time on t.v. in the U.S., maybe Cinemax will go all out on the video bit-rate. =)

Post: #256049
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/256049/action/topic#256049
Time: 10-Nov-2006 12:15 AM

Well then, the movies will fit on either HD-DVD disks or Blu-Ray disks, take your pick. =)

Yeah, it's not good having the artificial PAL speed up or dubbed foreign voices, that's why this Cinemax HD broadcast of all the Star Wars movies is so important. They can be fully preserved in HD for unlimited viewing as they are, before any further changes that might be made in the 30th anniversary set. =)

Post: #255909
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/255909/action/topic#255909
Time: 9-Nov-2006 1:23 PM

It was posted on the site with the screencaps that the Cinemax broadcast might be in 1080, if that's the case and they use good bit-rates, then I figured it might go past 15 gig, in which case you either have to use a dual-layer HD-DVD disk or a single-layer Blu-Ray disk to have it on a disk you can play in a HD player. And full quality in this context obviously means the full quality that they broadcast the Star Wars movies at in HD on Cinemax, whatever that level of quality turns out to be. It depends on the res they use and the bit-rate, that won't be known for sure until they actually broadcast it, I guess. Anyhow, that fan on the other site seemingly had no problem recording the German broadcast of the HD version of A New Hope off his t.v., so apparently that wasn't encrypted. Hopefully it can be done here, too, in one way or another.

Post: #255884
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/255884/action/topic#255884
Time: 9-Nov-2006 12:11 PM

Hey, if you prefer HD-DVD, then record the movies onto dual-layer HD-DVD disks then.

This isn't about which format one prefers, as long as the full quality of the Cinemax broadcast is captured and preserved. What do you mean it can't be recorded from Cinemax, no one else has mentioned any such thing? The German t.v. broadcast of A New Hope in 1080 HD which that fan on the other forum recorded works just fine according to him, and it looks superb.

So why couldn't the same thing be done with the Cinemax HD presentation?

Post: #255881
Topic: .: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/255881/action/topic#255881
Time: 9-Nov-2006 12:01 PM

All movies in HD you buy are compressed, even if you buy a movie at a store that's on a Blu-Ray dual-layer disk (50 gig capacity), it's going to be compressed. So that goes without saying, but it will still look great. The point is to capture the Cinemax HD broadcast of the Star Wars movies in the full quality that they are broadcast at (whatever that is), and then back it up onto Blu-Ray BD-R disks (the best available HD optical disk format). If the Star Wars movies are broadcast on Cinemax at a very high video bit-rate and the movies go over 25 gig in size each, then dual-layer blank BD-R disks will be needed to back them up. But once it's done, the movies will be very safe on those disks.

As far as disk rot and such, naturally one would be expected to make extra backup copies of the disks periodically so that a flawless backup copy is always available, and that those disks would be kept in safe places and handled carefully. And once these disks get into the hands of sizable numbers of Star Wars fans, replacements could be gotten readily, if needed.

Post: #255866
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/255866/action/topic#255866
Time: 9-Nov-2006 11:26 AM

Hmm, too bad about all the voices being in German. Plus PAL movies are speeded up, so that messes up the video and audio. But it certainly doesn't affect the screencaps, they look super!

I sure hope the HD broadcast of all the Star Wars movies coming up on Cinemax will look this great! Get your HD digital video recorders ready, guys. This is our (maybe only) chance to get all 6 Star Wars movies recorded in HD without any further changes (even more changes to the movies may come in the 30th anniversary set). And please record and then back them all up at max quality, so the full unaltered video and audio quality of the original HD cable presentation is preserved. Once we have safe backup copies of all 6 movies on Blu-Ray BD-R disks in full HD quality that will play on any standard Blu-Ray set top movie player, they can never be lost or deteriorate and we can watch them any time.

Post: #255481
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/255481/action/topic#255481
Time: 7-Nov-2006 11:24 PM

Watching it on a set top HD-DVD or Blu-Ray movie player would eliminate any need to worry about handling H264 encoded video, and no video quality would have to be lost.

I assume the original H264 encoded version was kept for backup purposes.

Zeromancer: You mean like when aliens are speaking that is all printed in German right in the picture area itself (not in the bottom black bar), but the human voices are all in English?

Post: #255446
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/255446/action/topic#255446
Time: 7-Nov-2006 9:45 PM

Laserman: Does that video re-encode mean that visual quality was lost compared to the original 1080p broadcast version that was encoded by the t.v. station in H264 format? And if so, why would they do that, surely any Star Wars fan would want to keep every ounce of video quality from the original broadcast?

Post: #255443
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/255443/action/topic#255443
Time: 7-Nov-2006 9:41 PM

Does this German HD t.v. broadcast of "A New Hope" have a DD 2.0 soundtrack with the original English voices but with German subtitles, or are the voices dubbed in German? If it has German subtitles, but the original voices in English, were the German subtitles placed below the picture in the black bars where they can be easily removed?

Post: #255335
Topic: Star Wars HD coming in November! All SIX movies!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/255335/action/topic#255335
Time: 7-Nov-2006 3:00 PM

Wow, do those 1080p screen caps from A New Hope look gorgeous or what?!

Obi-Wan looks incredible in that one shot in the cantina, it's super detailed!

I have a question, I assume that the upcoming Cinemax HD broadcast will not be at full 1920x1080p, right? When they say HD on t.v. they mean something like 768p at most, right?

Also, where did that fellow get those 1080p screencaps from A New Hope? It's never been released in 1080p, and even the upcoming Cinemax HD broadcast might not be 1080p.

Post: #255310
Topic: .: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/255310/action/topic#255310
Time: 7-Nov-2006 12:40 PM

I suggest that when the Star Wars movies are on Cinemax this month in HD that members of the X0 team in the U.S. record these in the highest quality possible (with no loss of video quality), as having even the 2004 even-more-SE version of the trilogy in a permanent HD backup form could prove very useful down the road.

Because who knows what further changes they will make in the 30th anniversary set? If you could then burn each of the movies onto a Blu-Ray BD-R (writeable) disk, that would provide a safe backup that is not subject to hard drive crashes and such.

Also, anyone who would like to have The Phantom Menace in HD without the expected changes that will be made for the 30th anniversary set, this might be the only chance to get it in HD like that. Since we're not sure if when a HD DVD version is released if it will have the option of watching The Phantom Menace without the 30th anniversary set changes. The same applies to Episodes II and III. So best to have full-quality backups of all 6 movies in HD on Blu-Ray BD-R disks, where they will be safe permanently.

Post: #254870
Topic: .: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/254870/action/topic#254870
Time: 4-Nov-2006 6:21 PM

Well, as long as those 4 seconds don't come from the few places where the SC footage will be substituted for the DC, then it's not a problem.

Post: #254820
Topic: .: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/254820/action/topic#254820
Time: 4-Nov-2006 11:30 AM

I agree with GhostAlpha26, it's much better to spend the time available finishing the movies than typing up stuff about it.

This last post gave a very good update for now. Better to get A New Hope done first, then you guys can put those articles and such up on the site. Then onto The Empire Strikes Back.

Post: #254781
Topic: .: The XØ Project - Laserdisc on Steroids :. (SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATES) (* unfinished project *)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/254781/action/topic#254781
Time: 3-Nov-2006 11:51 PM

What an outrageous post. The X0 team is doing super high quality work on the whole trilogy, and that takes time. They are putting a lot of effort into this, it's not easy to achieve the level of quality and accuracy they are going to have. X0 team, pay no attention to stupidity like this. Anyone with any sense in their head knows you guys are doing a great job and the end result will be fantastic.

Post: #253066
Topic: Info: 2006 GOUT DVD using 'Faces' PCM Sound?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/253066/action/topic#253066
Time: 23-Oct-2006 10:52 PM

Belbucus or boba feta: Have you been able to figure out why the PCM .wav files are causing those error messages (listed in the post above) when compressing them into flac files and why they didn't want to work in winamp until after going through the flac compression and then uncompressing them?

As far as the bit-rate issue, I certainly wouldn't want to lower the bit-rate of the video on the 2006 Star Wars DVD set, we need all the video quality we can get.

Better to take the PCM soundtrack and convert it into DD 2.0 with a straight 448k bit-rate. That will sound much closer to the PCM track than the default DD 2.0 soundtrack and it will not cause any problems with the going over the max total bit-rate allowed for DVD.

Post: #252774
Topic: Info: 2006 GOUT DVD using 'Faces' PCM Sound?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/252774/action/topic#252774
Time: 21-Oct-2006 11:39 PM

I just downloaded the RotJ .wav file and was having the same trouble as with the ESB file. I used the flac program again and sure enough it fixed the problem just like I said in the previous post. This time I took a screen shot of the DOS box from within which the flac program runs, so I could type up any error messages that might help us to figure out what's wrong with the original .wav files. Below are the error messages that showed up in the DOS box while the file was being compressed from the original .wav file posted by boba feta and put into a flac file.

ROTJ '93 DVD.wav: WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk 'bext'
ROTJ '93 DVD.wav: WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk 'minf'
ROTJ '93 DVD.wav: WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk 'elmo'
ROTJ '93 DVD.wav: 100% complete, ratio=0.443ROTJ '93 DVD.wav: WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk 'regn'
ROTJ '93 DVD.wav: WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk 'ovwf'
ROTJ '93 DVD.wav: WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk 'umid'
ROTJ '93 DVD.wav: Verify OK, wrote 672631682 bytes, ratio=0.443

Tag - Automatic Tag from filename

C:\ROTJ '93 DVD.flac

Tag guessing failed.
Format: FLAC
Details 48000 Hz Stereo, 137 kbps, playtime 02:11:41

And then several lines below that it said something like " General Error: 1 "

Do any of you audio experts recognize what these error messages mean and why they happened?

And do any of them have any chance of meaning that the .wav file after being compressed by this flac program, and having these error messages come up, and then uncompressed back into a .wav file will no longer be perfectly synched to the ESB and RotJ video for some reason?

Post: #252771
Topic: Info: 2006 GOUT DVD using 'Faces' PCM Sound?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/252771/action/topic#252771
Time: 21-Oct-2006 11:06 PM

As I posted earlier, the full size .wav file from the ESB .rar files that were posted by boba feta wouldn't play on Winamp. So I had an idea, perhaps if I put the ESB .wav file into a flac file (as the A New Hope PCM soundtrack files had been in flac form when they were posted by boba feta) and then back into a .wav file that might help.

In theory that really shouldn't change anything, since your basically just compressing the .wav file, but in a lossless format that is playable as a flac sound file, and then uncompressing it back into what it was. But the Flac files from A New Hope (and the .wav files from them after uncompressing them) that boba feta posted worked fine with winamp, so I thought I'd give it a try. Sure enough, after compressing the ESB .wav file into a big flac file, it played fine as a flac file on winamp, and then when I uncompressed that flac back into a .wav file, it also played perfectly in winamp.

I'm not sure why this is the case, but when I was compressing the .wav file into a flac file, I saw a message that said something like "1 general error". But the process went ahead just fine and finished. And the files, both flac and .wav from the uncompressed flac file seem to play perfectly in winamp. I checked the sizes of the two .wav files, the one straight and unaltered from the .rar files boba feta posted, and the one I got after compressing the original .wav file into a flac file and then uncompressing it back into a .wav file. And there is a tiny difference in file sizes, the .wav file that was in flac form before being uncompressed is about 1k smaller than the original .wav file. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the original .wav file had a missing tag or something in the file, and this is what caused the error with winamp, but when putting the file into flac the form, the flac compression program automatically added the missing tag and thus eliminated any problems that winamp might have playing the file from then on.

What do you guys think, any ideas on what might have happened with this .wav file and why it works after being put into flac form and then back to a .wav file?

Post: #252749
Topic: Info: 2006 GOUT DVD using 'Faces' PCM Sound?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/252749/action/topic#252749
Time: 21-Oct-2006 7:52 PM

Well then, that might well be what's causing the synch errors in the PCM tracks that people are getting. When Lucasfilm was setting the video bit-rate they didn't factor in a PCM soundtrack being used. This means that a DD 2.0 version of the PCM soundtracks with a bit-rate of 448k (the highest that DVD will allow) will have to be used when substituting the official default soundtracks with these higher quality ones. This will still sound much better than the 192k bit-rate they used on the official DD 2.0 soundtrack.

Post: #252623
Topic: Info: 2006 GOUT DVD using 'Faces' PCM Sound?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/252623/action/topic#252623
Time: 21-Oct-2006 12:34 AM

chuck88 makes a good point, can someone check to see if the combined bit-rate of the 2006 video from each of the movies and the PCM soundtracks is within the max allowed by the DVD standard?

boba feta: I just finished DL'ing the ESB PCM soundtrack you posted, but when I uncompress the files and try to play the resulting .wav file, I get an error in winamp saying, "missing codec or unsupported format". But I have no problem playing the FLAC or wav files that you posted for A New Hope. And since both the PCM tracks come from Belbucus, the files should be in the exact same format and work with the same software. Has anything changed in the format or sampling rate or whatever between the A New Hope soundtrack files you posted and the ESB soundtrack files you posted? Thanks for any info.

Post: #252581
Topic: Info: 2006 GOUT DVD using 'Faces' PCM Sound?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/252581/action/topic#252581
Time: 20-Oct-2006 8:25 PM

I wonder what could be causing The Empire Strikes Back to go out of synch, I thought once the delay was gotten right it would be synched from start to finish?

boba feta: These files you uploaded, they don't have the delay's built in yet, right?