OmegaMattman

mysycamore said

I have not seen this transfer myself yet, but I'm willing to believe you. I saw this thing on the Emperor hologram in Empire, where the DC LD preservation had detail that's missing in the GOUT: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Complete-Comparison-of-Special-Edition-Visual-Changes/post/452971/#TopicPost452971 looks more like interlace pattern on those pics though, but those are the actual scanlines, they are completely gone in the GOUT-transfer. But this is actually like comparing shit vs. shit.

I think I remember reading that.  And, the more I look at the X0, the more I feel like retracting my previous statement.  The detail gain is pretty negligible compared to the detail of GOUT.  Going through the hassle of combining the two video elements would be a lot of effort for something no one would ever notice.  And, most importantly, it still wouldn't solve the overall problems with Definitive and GOUT :/

I announced this a while back on the Rebellion Collection thread, but figured I'd start a new thread now that I've made some real progress.

The Project:
Star Wars Trilogy – Hyperspace Collection
This is my latest attempt at working with GOUT. The primary goal is to remaster the original theatrical trilogy in 720p AVCHD format. Eventually, if there is any demand, I'll also downscale my final video masters for a standard DVD release in 16x9 widescreen.

Beyond The Rebellion Collection:
After my Rebellion Collection was finished, I upscaled The Empire Strikes Back to 720p as a test. The results were okay...but changes were needed. So, I started reworking my existing AviSynth script, but wound up starting from near-scratch. Eventually, I wound up with the script I'm using now, plus some additional post-processing.
Obviously, the films still suffer from the limitations of GOUT. The blurring will always be there. And the aliasing, while reduced, is still present. No matter what anti-aliasing I throw at it, the fine details can't be fully resolved. Well, at least they can't be resolved on my budget ;)

Color Adjustment:
Rebellion only used minor color correction. Just some tweaking of the black and white levels, a slight hue change, and an increase in saturation. This new project goes beyond that.
For Hyperspace, I desaturated the red levels a bit and then mildly increased saturation across the board. I also boosted the yellow levels a touch. Black and white levels have also been adjusted differently than before to decrease the crushed whites as best I can.
The spliced-in GOUT opening for Star Wars was adjusted separately from the rest of the film in hopes of making it blend more seamlessly...and restoring the yellow of the opening text.

Trimming The Fat:
Originally, I'd considered recycling my audio tracks from the Rebellion Collection. Since the LaserDiscs I used for the theatrical sound mixes were often shorter than GOUT by a few frames (due to telecining), I had to stretch some portions of the sound. Most people wouldn't notice, but it never sounded quite right to me.
Furthermore, I noticed that the '93 Definitive soundtrack had been stretched by the studio in some of the same areas. I'm not sure if that means the Definitive video is from a different source than the Definitive audio...or what.
In any case, the loss of a few frames from telecining seems a fair trade-off for slightly superior sound. After all, if we didn't have multiple home video sources for the trilogy, we wouldn't know about the telecining differences to begin with, right? So, I've decided to trim the video and sound to match the shortest audio. I did the same thing with my early 720p Empire and no one who watched it ever complained.

Sound Options:
Each film will also contain at least two audio mixes, which you can switch between with your remote.  All three films include both the '93 THX mix (LaserDisc sourced) in Dolby 2.0 and the original theatrical stereo mix in Dolby 2.0.  Star Wars also includes the restored mono mix (from Belbucus) in Dolby 1.0.

Special Features:
I'm still undecided what will be included.  At this point, I'm probably going to just do a single "Bonus DVD" with some selected extras to round-out the 4-disc case for which I'm designing artwork.  I'm not planning a massive, feature-filled extravaganza (like Rebellion).


Selected Screenshots:

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/1488/bd10000.jpg

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/996/bd20000.jpg

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/436/bd40000.jpg

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/8903/bd50000.jpg

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/9859/bd60000.jpg

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/329/bd70000.jpg

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/6977/bd90000.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/1351/bd100000.jpg

The Aluminum Falcon said:

Not to get off-topic, but for those interested in the JSC, such as OmegaMattman, Arnie.d. has raw captures (not yet IVTC'd) from an X9 player and is willing to give them to anyone who will finish the project...

 Unless I'm mistaken, Arnie.d was looking to share his captures via harddisk.  Since I'm not sure how my attempt at working with it would turn out, I don't want to fully commit to something that I might not be able to properly complete...which is why I prefer something I can download.

Anyhooo, after glancing at the first couple of AVI files, I must say this transfer is excellent, aside from the dot-crawl issues mentioned earlier.  In fact, during some of the opening bits, I saw less loss of vertical detail than I did on GOUT...specifically, during those early close-ups on Artoo.  I wonder if this could be overlaid on GOUT to clean-up some of that detail.

msycamore said:

Harmy said:

 

Well, yeah sure, I just don't see what's all the fuss about now, when we do have the GOUT (and it sucks but it probably sucks a tiny bit less than even the best possible LD transfer).

 

Neither do I.

Ditto.  I guess I've only been reading parts of this post over my past years of "lurking".  I thought these were transfers of the JSC...which I know has loads of issues and is not a "holy grail"...but I would still love to look at in a high quality, raw state.

I'm still very excited about a HQ transfer of the '93 LDs (especially since my own LD player and capture setup are three clicks short of passable).  As mysycamore pointed out, this could be an excellent source for the '81 opening.  But, at this point, I think anyone who expects these raw captures to lead to an "uber Blu-Ray" might want to rethink their HD viewing plans.

Looks like I'm gonna have to renew my newsgroup subscription :)  Thanks, Zion!  I'm really looking forward to taking a crack at these.  Should make for a fantastic break from my other projects :)

To my amazement, some people have claimed to actually enjoy watching them :)

Add me to that list, Puggo.  Your Puggo Grande is easily my favorite fan-produced version to date.  Well, aside from my own ;)

It just has such a warm, grindhouse-esque style that just feels...well...good.  There's a purity to it that, aside from a genuine 35mm transfer, will doubtless ever be matched.

I can't wait for Puggo Strikes Back =)

Ditto on the Army of Darkness TV version.  I've seen Ridgeshark's Primitive Screwhead Edition, but I'd love to have access to a copy of the TV cut to possibly rework my own extended version.

It seems the only version airing on cable these days is the standard theatrical cut :/

To my knowledge, it should be synched to GOUT at 23.976 fps.  At least, I sure do hope so.  I was planning to recycle these sound mixes for my own 720p project and really don't want to redo the audio again :/

PM sent.

Harmy said:

That was only STAR WARS, I need another soundmix for Empire, perhaps the theatrical stereo. 256Kbps would be ideal.

If you can live with 224Kbps, there's a theatrical mix on my "Rebellion" set.  I just uploaded the AC3 for Lee Thorogood and would be happy to forward you the link.

and the side black bars are there because he IS using g-forces script

Actually, there is very little of g-forces script left in my current process: only two small sections.  The addition of the black bars was something I added myself before I started cannibalizing the g-force script.

The black edges were the result of my cropping some of the extra "ick" off of the sides of the gout image.  The reason I then added the slight borders instead of expanding the image to the sides of the screen was because of TV overscan.  I figured that, with the exception of computer monitors and some TVs, most televisions would make those bars invisible while losing a bit less off of the picture information off of the sides.

I started doing that with several of my custom discs after I noticed it being done on some anime DVDs, like Anchor Bay's U.S. release of The Castle of Cagliostro.

After a few days of rendering, I've completed my latest 720p raw avi of Star Wars.  My anti-aliasing has been upped a touch and edge sharpening slightly increased.  Again, this is much grainier than dark_jedi's V3.  And, of course, those jagged edges are still hanging around...though I do feel I've managed to decrease them even more.

Also, I've been playing with the colors a bit more, decreasing the red saturation while pushing everything else.  The colors are a work in progress.  I will probably wind-up releasing separate "color-tweaked" and "not-so-tweaked" versions in hopes of better pleasing everyone.

Here are a few new screengrabs WITH the color changes.  With exception to a shot of the opening text, these are the same screenshots dark_jedi used in his V3/BluGOUT thread.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8765/color1o.png

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5215/color2q.png

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8754/color3x.png

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/4085/color4.png

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/7916/color5n.png

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/5402/color6.png

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7455/color7.png

In addition to TehParadox, Rebellion can now be found on Demonoid.

Moth3r said:

Did you do any sharpening for the DVDs? Screenshots from your discs look slightly sharper than the DJ/g-force versions.

I think I did...but not intentionally.  There was one section of the g-force script that I meant to remove from my own script, which was part of the "De-ringing" section.  Since I didn't leave the whole thing as it was, it wound up having a sharpening effect.  But, I was rushing so much to finish this set in time for the Holidays that I completely missed it.

Unfortunately, it also added a haloing effect that became more visible when I tried blowing the "Rebellion" video up to 720p...which is why I'm now starting from almost scratch :/

Here are direct links to some screengrabs from my raw 720p AVI of Star Wars.  For comparison's sake, these are the same shots dark_jedi posted on his V3/BluGOUT thread.

Also, I'm currently reprocessing Star Wars again with some additional tweaks...specifically with the sharpness.  As much as a hate edge-enhancement, I've decided to test the waters with some very mild sharpening.  I'll post some shots of that when it's finished rendering...assuming they are even worth uploading :/

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/9448/image0o.png

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/4923/image1ry.png

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/4425/image2zex.png

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/1462/image3yu.png

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/5299/image4zf.png

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/9602/image5vz.png

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/4958/image6ed.png

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/3657/image7ss.png

Okay, just wanted to let everyone know my AVCHD project is still going relatively smoothly.  I've finished my 720p AVI master for Star Wars and will post some screenshots sometime tomorrow.

Right off, I can say the results are more grain-heavy, but softer than what I've seen of dark_jedi's V3/BluGOUT.  The decrease in sharpness, I believe, has to do with my increased anti-aliasing.  Unfortunately, the aliasing is still there...though it's a tad more subdued.

Also, I may move this project to a new thread.  I want to separate these 720p versions from my "Rebellion Collection".  For the moment, I'm leaning toward the "Hyperspace Collection", unless that title has already been taken by another project.

Here's an early, rough look at the intended (front) cover-artwork.  The picture is Frank Stockton's "Luke's Destiny" print.

I wonder if this means Discotek is licensing these from the original production companies...or if they've acquired the old Streamline Pictures library?  I'd love for it to be the latter.  I was raised on Streamline anime ;)

bkev said:

For those interested, Diskotek Media is licensing the first two movies discussed here - complete with English dub, no less!

It may not replace my Korean DVD, but I'm tempted to say the least.

I was just thinking about both of these movies the other day, scouring the internet for import copies.  Thanks for the good news :D

Did my pm go through?  Were the pics satisfactory?  Shots 3 and 5 were the ones that were difficult to get the exact frame for ..... I don't know if I was doing something wrong with DGIndex...I hope they helped. 

The problem with grapping frame-accurate screenshots for SW may be the chapter branching I used to add the '81 opening.  There are duplicates of the first 3 chapters.

If you still aren't able to get the right screengrabs, PM me and I'll see what I can do.

This is a project I completed about a year ago…which I’ve just now gotten around to uploading.  If anyone is interested, it can be found on TehParadox.

I fell in love with this 80’s gem about 10 years ago, when I stumbled across it in an old video rental shack.  Mr. T’s Be Somebody…Or Be Somebody’s Fool may be one of the most insanely, unintentionally funny videos on the planet.

Sadly, any VHS-to-DVD conversions I found online were waaay over-compressed and sourced from less-than-stellar VHS tapes.  So, I finally did my own.

This DVD preservation was authored from 2 VHS copies of the program.  The bulk of the hour-long feature is from my original ex-rental tape.  That tape had fantastic sound and good picture, but one brief section of damage.  That portion (about 20 seconds) was replaced with footage from a factory-sealed copy I picked up on eBay.  Initially, I’d hoped to use that “new” VHS for the entire project, but it turned out to have more damage and worse A/V than my original.

This DVD preservation also includes the rarely-heard Commandments album by Mr. T as a special bonus.

<span style=“text-decoration: underline;”>Specifications:</span>

• DVD-5
• NTSC, 29.97
• 4x3 Full Screen
• English Stereo Audio (Flagged for 2.0 Surround)
• Commandments album
• No Subtitles

<span style=“text-decoration: underline;”>
DVD Cover Art:</span>

<span style=“text-decoration: underline;”>**
Screenshots:**</span>

Thanks, Templar :)

Doctor M said:

Edit: Just noticed that you went with 1.77:1-ish not 1.85:1.  Okay, probably the best way to go.

Yeah, when I was first matting the things closer to 1:85, it looked to too close in a few areas.  Given the lackluster quality of the LD, it may have lost a bit more than average picture information on all sides.  I added pillarboxes, so it may even be closer to 1:66.

Beyond it being an Empire release, the reasons I assumed it was an open-matte transfer and not cropped (like some people seem to think) were:
A)  Waaay too much headroom in some areas.
B)  In 4x3, there's a boom mike that can be seen in one shot during the motorcycle chase.

That's not a bad idea.  I might do that if I ever decide revisit this project with a superior LD player down the road.

Anyone who has seen any of the various official DVD releases of the movie Trancers knows of the problems they all share.  It’s duplicated from the Vestron LaserDisc (not the master used for that LaserDisc), it’s 4x3 open-matte video, it’s loaded with compression problems, and there’s an odd transition midway through where the LD had to be flipped.

Originally, I’d hoped to simply clean-up the DVD and upscale it to 16x9…but that became impossible.  Upon analyzing the disc’s video, it turns out there is a weird “drift” in the fields which causes things to images into subsequent frames and kills any chance it restoring it to 24fps progressive.

Using a copy of the original Vestron LD release, I’ve made a new transfer of** Trancers**, converted it to NTSC progressive, upscaled/matted it to 16x9, tweaked the color timing and saturation, and processed the hell out of it.  In fact, I hated having to denoise it as much as I did, but the Vestron LD isn’t much better than the official DVDs.  And, my LaserDisc player is sadly below par.

The result is Trancers: Enhanced Edition.

Specifications:

• DVD-5
• NTSC, 23.979
• 16x9 Matted to 1.66:1 (roughly, slightly pillarboxed)
• English Mono Audio
• No Subtitles

Screenshots:

Menu and Cover Art:

As I stated, my LaserDisc player is far from the top of the totem pole…but I hope the results will be considered adequate…for now.

dark_jedi said:

Back to the V3 DVD set, Does anyone know why muxman and DVDLab Pro can't place ripped celltimes correctly? I really would like to understand why the V3 DVD's chapters go off and the layer break did not set right, this stuff kind of pisses me off, I wanted these DVD's to be as perfect as I could possibly get them.

I sthere any other software that can set a leyer break and create a iso\image file?

For the layer break and ISO, I suggest PgcEdit.  It's free and it's pretty straight forward.  Just open the DVD from your hard drive use "Burn DVD / Create ISO" option on the file menu.

As for the chapters and cell times, this sounds similar to a problem with just about every custom disc I've made (most recently my SW Rebellion Collection).  The software I was using to author the discs was MuxMan through GUI for dvdauthor and the chapters gradually became more and more off from the cell times I'd assigned.  I don't know what the deal is, but it has something to do with the dropped frames of NTSC format.

My solution was to get my cell times from an outside video editing program, in my case Vegas 8.0.  I set the timecode clock to SMPTE Non-Drop (29.97 Video) and then just input the new numbers directly into my MuxMan MXP file for each respective chapter before rendering the final product.

Jetrell Fo said:

Is there a transfer of this out there somewhere? 

MGM's Region 1 DVD is advertised as the uncut international version.  The disc is letterbox only (no 16x9) with zero extras, save an 8-page booklet.

TGG Direct also has it in a Triple Feature with Leviathan and Burnt Offerings.  I don't know if their disc is uncut, but based on some of TGG's other licensed MGM titles, there's a good possibility their version is 16x9...but probably loaded with compression artifacts :/