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Echo3

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Members
Join date
8-Mar-2004
Last activity
28-Dec-2023
Posts
234

Post History

Post
#69504
Topic
***The MeBeJedi feedback thread ***
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/69504/action/topic#69504
Time
I genuinely hope you get rid of that terrible THX trailer. It's horrendous looking


I agree. Its overly long, gives away the ending ( for the 4 people on the planet who have never seen Star Wars), and it sounds like shit. THX is supoosed to be an indication of some sort of quality presentation, and it doesnt make too much sense when is sounds like it was sourced from an 8bit MP3 recording of a scratched record.
Post
#67909
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67909/action/topic#67909
Time
but I'm sure that if I bought it I'd then find out here that it was manufactured in Bangalore by chimpanzees using fullscreen VHS tapes.
There really is no way of telling what version that is... the poor spelling in the ad doesnt inspire confidence. I dont even bother with ebay anymore. THe best versions are right here.
Post
#64984
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/64984/action/topic#64984
Time
I want the MEBEJEDI dvds!

Those look great. I have the TR47 edition and the Dr Gonzo Anamorphics, and have been ver pleased with both of them. I did a quick look, but couldnt tell.. are the MEBEJEDI DVDs anamorphic?

Also, Im not sure what other supplement are out there, but I have THX WOW! Laserdisc, and the official THX Ultimate Demo DVD. The Wow demo is on there in anamorphic and with DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1. It also includes the soundtrack feature, wich has some scenes from Episode IV using location sound. Those could make great additions to these "ultimate" sets you guys offer.
Post
#50802
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/50802/action/topic#50802
Time
I was revising my post to correct my flaw in logic. They are your DVDs, so you should cater then to your system. But if they were intended for sharing, I would avoid it.

Right now, I enjoy listening to my Star Wars DVD in DD 5.1. Is that really so bad?
ITs not bad, but its not 5.1 . Its PLII trapped in a 5.1 body.
Post
#50800
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/50800/action/topic#50800
Time
All I am doing is hard-coding the Pro-logic II soundtrack that you would normally get from a Pro-Logic II receiver, and storing it in compressed form. Is this really so difficult for you to understand? It's a tedious process, but it sounds incredible. I would imagine many of the so-called "5.1" mixes you've heard (if any) weren't done correctly, since the method used was very difficult to locate and fine-tune.

This is not a bad idea, but you are assuming that your PL decoder/encoder is better than the one the end user would be using. What if my system is better at taking a DD 2.0 and playing it back in proper PLIIx surround than your 5.1 mix? Youre assuming alot to say your 5.1 is the best solution. At least when you encode in 2.0, its up to the end user system how it is decoded. When you encode into 5.1, thats the only option anyonehave for playback. People with stereo setups would be out of luck too, as 5.1 does not translate well into stereo. The original 2.0 mix would play perfectly. I dont see any advantage to encoding this into 5.1. You are really only taking a step out of the process that anyone with a surround sound system could and should do themselves.

It's a tedious process,


Tedious? Then why do it? Anyone with a PLII decoder achieve the same result from a 2 channel source, so why bother?

Hey Dude...chill out. It gives me a Pro-logic II soundtrack without needing a Pro-logic II outboard decoder (which I don't have), and the .ac3 file takes up far less space than the PCM file. If you knew what you were doing, you'd see the obvious benefits here.


Benefits for you. Its catered to your setup, buts a compromise to anyone who has PLII or PLIIx in their setup, like me.

Im not saying what you are doing is completly wrong, and I know you have the best intentions, but I dont think 5.1 encoding should be done.
If theyre exclusively for you, fine. But overall, not the way to go.
Post
#48868
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/48868/action/topic#48868
Time
Something else I discovered... the bad news...

Over the years, many errors have been noted about the various Laserdisc editions of the OT. Ive looked through both TR47s and the anamorphic set, and checked the known problems.

1. In episode 4, when the R2D2 is hacking the empires computer network, C3PO has the line "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 line is absent on both DVD versions, and was also absent from both the 1993 definitive LD, and 1995 Faces LD.

2. Some pressings of The Definitve LD Empire Strikes Back... beginning of disc 2, side 3 is missing the first few seconds of Leia welding on the Falcon - this was corrected on later pressings of the box set.

3. TR47s DVD has this scene, the anamorphic dvds do not. Only about 3 seconds worth, nothing major, but this is a major problem in they eyes of some.

The side breaks are edited flawlessly on both sets of DVDs, except for 1 on TR47s set. Its the same side break that involves the Leia welding scene. On TR47s, there is about 3 seconds of black screen prior to The shot of Leia welding. Nothinng from the movie is missing, its just a pause between sides on the laserdisc.
Post
#48865
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/48865/action/topic#48865
Time
No, it converts the image to a 4x3 level of resolution. It wont be stretched, nothing will be lost. Everytime you buy a commercial dvd that is widescreen and anamorphically enhanced, (examples: Matrix, Gladiator, Episode I , II) and watch it on a regular 4x3 tc, a conversion occurs. When you set your dvd player to 4x3 mode, you are telling the dvd player to convert the widescreen image to properly display. No cropping ar streching occurs. The player essentially removes lines, or resolution. But the bottom line is, the resolution is dumbed down. On most 4x3 tvs, the difference is barely noticable. When you watche a non-anamorphic dvd on a 4x3 tv, no conversion occurs, so there is no chance for problems in the image to occur. anamorphic is still the preffered format for all widescreen dvds, because it can be properly displayed on both 4x3 and 16x9 tvs.

read this

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/welcome.html
Post
#48784
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/48784/action/topic#48784
Time
I compared the two on my Home Theater, on a 46" widescreen hdtv, with 7.1 surround sound. First, the sound. TR47's set has 2 channel PCM, which is exactly how the sound is contained on the LD. The anamorphic set, which is the same as the one offered by DigitalFreakNYC, is Dolby 2.0. This is surely done to save space on the disc, so that more space can be utilized for the anamorphic transfer, menus, and extras. I believe PCM audio winds hands down. The PCM track is louder, bass is stronger. Overall it just sounds cleaner. It sounds 99.9% identical to the LDs to my ear. But it may take a rather high performance system to really show off the difference. On its own, the Dolby 2.0 tracks holds up great. only if you have the PCM track to compare to will the Dolby 2.0 track come up a little short.

On the picture quality, it a tough call to make. Both are very similar. If you have a 4x3 tv, and you dont care about extras, you may want to go for TR47s discs. They are the most "accurate" representation of the definitve LDs. The anamorphic set appears to have less artifacts, but also appears slightly softer. Colors are a little less vibrant on the anamorphic set, but not by much. If you have a widescreen tv, alot of the side-by-side comparisons will depend on how good your tv is at "zooming" on TR47s set. Some tvs cant do it without causing harm to the picture, resulting in added artifacts. Overall, on my tv, I'll take the anamorphic set for movie watching, but thats primarlity because "zooming" on a non-anamorphic tranfer produces artifacting.

The 4th extras disc is identical on both versions. Overall, its hard not to prefer the anamorphic set as a complete set, but a completionist, someone who doesnt care about extras, or someone who does not have a widescreen tv, may prefer TR47s set.
Post
#46104
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/46104/action/topic#46104
Time
If you think the price is too high, then dont buy it. Its pretty simple. I know the dilemma faced by trading and selling ripped DVDs, I am an active seller and trader of Mystery Science Theater episodes. Believe me, the incentive of a little bit of compensation for my time, effort, and materials is all that makes it worthwile. If I were selling DVD-Rs at "cost plus a little", I wouldnt be doing it. If I sold them for $2 each, I would be be burning around the clock to meet the demand, basically LOOSING money. Its not worth my time. Ive had alot of people gripe a little over my prices, (about $7-$8 per disc, depending on qty) but I always tell them politly, "im doing you a favor. Ive made the choice to make these available to you, and my time isnt free. If you dont feel thats fair, order somewhere else, or invest a few thousand of your own dollars to make them yourself."

Post
#41529
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/41529/action/topic#41529
Time
I use a Pansonic DMRE50, and it has a flexble recording opition, where you input the length of what you are about to record, and it will optomize the bit rate. to fill the disc. The maximum quality is still 1 hour, so a 30 minute recording will only fill half the disc. Its not always a great idea to absolutly FILL the disc, as the outermost edge of the disc is the most prone to read errors on DVD-R (at least that what Ive read) its never been a problem for me, and Ive also noticed that the last 3% of discs I burn are unfilled no matter what, and when I check the content of the disc with DVD Decrypter, thet ar usually under 4.7 gigs. They usually have 4.4 to 4.5 on them. ROTJ is over 2 hours and 10 minutes, but it still looks great on my recording. Getting a high bit rate is only half the battle, as many of the recording gurus at DVDRHELP will tell you, its there are many other variables. The hardware and software used, and how it performs to correct the image, and not lower the quality.
Post
#41502
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/41502/action/topic#41502
Time
DVD-R can hold 4.7 Gigs, so depending on your bitrate you choose when burning, they can hold up to 6 hours. most burners have default speeds XP 1 hour, SP 2hours, LP, 4 hours, EP 6 hours. It just lowers the video bit rate each time. With XP, the bit rate usually stays rounf 8-11 MBPS. with SP it stays around 4-7 MBPS. Most burners have VBR (variable bit rate) that adjust according to how much is needed. This usually produces a better image than a constant bit rate. The less you put on 2 disc, the less compression artifacts you are likely to see. Most people agree that the difference between XP and SP is usually not noticable, but recordings longer than 2 hours and 20 minutes begin to have noticable artifacts. I have done alot of 95 minute recordings, (Mystery Science Theater 3000, and the quality is great. For recording animation, like Ren and Stimpy, the video content is relatively simple, so I record in LP mode, and they are still very good. But for recording complex video, like Film and sports, LP sucks.

My bootlegs have the each movie on 1 disc, and the quality is still great. It many ways it looks better than the LDs. Compression is minimal. When Dual layer discs and burners come out, theyll get even better. Ive made my own, but the ones I got from TR47 are slightly better. The bit rate my current bootlegs is still averaging over 5 MBPS, which is comparable to most studio releases.