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Rebelscum

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4-Aug-2004
Last activity
21-Oct-2015
Posts
208

Post History

Post
#68391
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/68391/action/topic#68391
Time
It was a deliberate move on Lucasfilm´s account to color saturate the new 2004 DVD´s to make them look more like the PT films, which have much more contrast, are more colorful and with deeper black levels. You can see that those 2004 SE DVD´s are not closer to the original vision by Lucas back in the 70´s and 80´s then the LD and VHS releases. I remember clearly when seeing the movies in the cinema back then (and also in 97) that they had this desaturated gritty look that is represented quite well on the LD transfers. Lucas is making changes. He´s not only adding CGI, changing the story and characters, but he is also deliberately changing the way the films look, he wants a more "cartooney" look obviously because that´s what he´s brought us this time.

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#68381
Topic
Info Wanted: The laserdiscs vs. The best bootlegs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/68381/action/topic#68381
Time
"Sharp delineations are lost. Edges become softer, and objects with a range of colors (light brown to dark brown) have "bands" of colors, rather than a gradual change."

- Damn that compression to hell! I´m seriously starting to think about getting a laserdisc player and the Definitive Set or the 95 THX set. But anyway, do you expect those problems to be less noticeble if you do a dual layer transfer? With double the data to play with, wouldn´t that greatly lower the compression problems?

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#68371
Topic
Info Wanted: The laserdiscs vs. The best bootlegs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/68371/action/topic#68371
Time
It´s quite unbelievable taking a 200gb capture and burning it on a mere 4.7gb disc! That´s a hell of a downgrade fellas.

Anyway, MeBeJedi. What are the most apparent flaws you see when you´ve downgraded the capture to a DVD standard? What picture flaws do you see that weren´t in the original laserdisc? Does it go softer, is ghosting introduced and so on? Can u shed some light on the difference from source to destination?

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#68361
Topic
Info Wanted: The laserdiscs vs. The best bootlegs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/68361/action/topic#68361
Time
I always thought that laserdisc was a digital format, so this is all news to me. Uncompressed audio and video. That´s a beautiful thing indeed. I wonder if it would be possible to introduce a new laserdisc format that would not use those big ass 12" discs but instead the same size as DVD. Would it be possible to fit a similar amount of data onto one of those suckers as can be done with DVD´s? Maybe someone on here who has followed the laserdisc phenomenon closely can shed some light on what might have been possible to move the laserdisc format forward without making it digital? This is interesting stuff...

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#68223
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/68223/action/topic#68223
Time
I´ve watched the PAL versions and they´ve got oversaturated colors and are too dark. I had to fiddle with my picture setting for a while before getting something I was happy with. By then I had upped the brightness too much and put the color levels way to low for any of my other movies to look normal. I basicly had set my picture settings to a "universal" template and I made those setting based on some of the best refrence quality DVD releases available. Those 2004 Star Wars DVD´s are just badly calibrated IMO. Everything is just too darn colorful and the darkness is overwhelming. What a rushjob. And all this to make the OT look more like the PT.

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#68248
Topic
Greedo
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/68248/action/topic#68248
Time
Oh, he must have forgotten to mention in the bio that Greedo is actually blind as a motherfucker, can´t see a thing the bloody bugger!

Yep, Lucas doesn´t know who he is, where he came from or where he is. How the mighty have fallen... and gotten old and silly...

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#68141
Topic
Info Wanted: The laserdiscs vs. The best bootlegs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/68141/action/topic#68141
Time
I think that greatly depends on the quality of the zoom feature on your widescreen tv. I have a Philips 32" TV with an incredibly good zoom feature. If I have a really good quality 4:3 transfer of movie and blow it up it becomes almost as good as if it were anamorphicly enhanced. So if your TV has a lousy zoom feature you obviously won´t get much from a 4:3 source, while a proper 16:9 anamorphic transfer would look much better. That´s my experience at least.

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#68071
Topic
Info Wanted: The laserdiscs vs. The best bootlegs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/68071/action/topic#68071
Time
Originally posted by: Jay
As for the LDs versus the bootlegs, when you're dealing with analog sources (video on laserdiscs is analog, not digital as many assume), transferring the source to a digital format is bound to introduce some artifacts. Especially on consumer equipment.


- That problem should be almost eliminated with the eventual dual-layer versions right? With about half as much more space devoted only to the picture should give us a noticebly better and artifact-low picture. The only dual-layer release out there filled the extra space by including the extras on the movie discs themselves when instead they should have devoted the lot of it to just the picture and sound IMO. Let´s hope MeBeJedi, Laserman and Zion will provide us with dual-layer, artifact-low anamorphic transfers giving us the best possible rip of those Star Wars laserdiscs.

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#68053
Topic
Info Wanted: The laserdiscs vs. The best bootlegs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/68053/action/topic#68053
Time

Hey peepz,

Just wondering about the actual quality of the OT laserdiscs available, the Definitive Collection, the Faces set etc. Now we have the TR47 set which currently is considered the best transfer of the laserdiscs. But, and here comes the real question to all those who own and frequently watch their SW laserdiscs, what is the difference between those and the best bootlegs out there, including maybe MeBeJedi´s transfer if you´ve seen it in action. What I want to know is how are the black levels on the laserdiscs, the sharpness, color balance, are there any ghosting effects (motion blur) and so on and how does it compare to the bootlegs?

peace,

Rebelscum

Post
#67951
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67951/action/topic#67951
Time
MeBeJedi, any updates on your transfer work? Have you compared it directly to the TR47 transfers and if so what are the improvements (detail, black levels, ghosting etc.)? I notice some slight ghosting effects or motion blur on the TR47 transfers especially on ESB. If you´ve gotten the TR47´s then please give us some info on the comparison. And also, what do you expect of your anamorphic transfer, will it be worth it detail wise?

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#67359
Topic
Zombies and Jedi
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67359/action/topic#67359
Time
It has always bugged my how those lightsabers work differently in the Star Wars trilogy. One moment Obi-Wan chops off an aliens arm in Ep.4 and Vader chops off Luke´s hand in ESB... and then we have Luke on the sail barge chopping all over the place in ROTJ and nothing ever happens to the victims, no arms or legs get chopped off even though he slashes at them directly - they are just "pushed slightly" and fall into the Sarlacc. And then in the same movie he cuts off the front end of a speeder bike with ease! How can this be? Can´t there be some sense of continuity in this for christ sake?

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#67343
Topic
Star Wars 2004 DVD's
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67343/action/topic#67343
Time
I want to add another category: "Rented it, and hate it!".

That´s my story pretty much. I have no desire to own those suckers after having viewed them. Those silly changes bug the hell out of me and I will not support Lucas by buying this sub-standard DVD release ridden with bugs and inconsistencies, it´s cleary a rushjob, to try to counter the piracy market. Lucas is marketing those suckers as the OT, with no mention of the changes made or nothing. He´s deceiving the general buying public, those who "do not know". There are probably a LOT of unhappy buyers thinking they were buying the OT since it isn´t labelled as a "Special Edition" only to find those new versions even more messed up than the dreaded ‘97 release.

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#67070
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67070/action/topic#67070
Time
Holy crap and mega pepperoni! I just watched the 2004 DVD of Empire Strikes Back (by renting it ofcourse!) and the picture quality is OUT OF THIS BLOODY WORLD! Honestly, I could as well have had a handful of slimey mud thrown in my eyes when I immedietly watched my TR47´s right after seeing the the 2004 DVD. The sharpness and detail is something I´ve never seen before, not even when I saw them in the cinema. But that transfer is not perfect IMO, for one it´s way too saturated colorwise (a deliberate move by Lucas to make them more like the kiddy PT, lots of colour for the kids!) and the black levels are a bit off. I had to re-adjust my picture settings from something that had worked universally for just about every DVD movie I have and I made those setting based on refrence quality material. I had to crank up the brightness levels somewhat to get it to look right.

But anyway, I´m glad I´ve finally seen what Lucasfilm has to offer and I still don´t want this new release, the cons still outweigh the pros. I was gutted to hear Boba´s voice, it is so badly done I can´t believe it! That bloody accent of his destroys those few but important lines he had, plus he delievers them quite badly especially the "what if he doesn´t survive... he´s worth a lot to me". Sounds way to rushed. The old dialogue had a much more sinister sound about it, which fitted perfectly with the character of Boba. Also the scene with The Emperor absolutely stank, there´s no emotion from Ian in that scene especially when compared to his rich performance as the very same character in ROTJ. And that new dialogue is ridiculous to say the least.

This new transfer has not vaned my interest in a new quality bootleg, preferably anamorphic since I already own the TR47 ones, I need more detail. We seem to be getting some quality work here from MeBeJedi, Laserman and the newest entry from Zion. Things are looking good for us OT lovers who ain´t buying into this 2004 Lucas crap.

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#66589
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/66589/action/topic#66589
Time
I can´t bloody wait to play those MeBeJedi transfers on my dvd player. I´m sure they´re gonna look and sound awesome, better than the TR47 ones dare I say?? Who knows, keep up the good work and I hope you can "let go" at a certain point and release those transfers to us OT nutters to enjoy soon. Lucas sure as hell can´t let go (but then again he has lost his marbles), but I believe you can.

PS. MBJ, any estimate as to when you´ll be finished with all three movies (before christmas?) People on here are going crazy for this!

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#66366
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/66366/action/topic#66366
Time
Originally posted by: Kingsama
noob kingsama here, i was just wondering which would be better, a) going with the methods of getting a dvd copy mentioned through out this form, or b) going full LD.

My THX o-OT got lost/stolen when my mom moved while i was in my senior year in college.... and i WILL NOT watch the SE or new DVD's, well maybe watch but never pay for...

i need your help
,


There´s an awful lot of hassle involved with watching those laserdisc, a LOT of disc/side swapping, the sheer size of the things, laser rot and plus those old laserdiscplayers are pretty dodgy I hear and support for them is probably almost non-extistent today. From what I´ve seen and read the best transfer out there, the TR47 versions are pretty much identical to the Definitive Edition CAV laserdiscs so your best bet IMO would be to get that version (or wait a few weeks/months and see how the MeBeJedi transfers turn out). But then again if you don´t mind all the laserdisc hassle then going for the LD is ofcourse a viable option, at least then you´ll have the OT in it´s absolute best form currently available. I´ve got my set of the TR47 versions and I´m massively pleased with them.

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#66372
Topic
just how many versions do you own ..
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/66372/action/topic#66372
Time
I own the following:

Money paid to George Lucas:
- CBS FOX 1990 versions of the trilogy - Full screen Pan & Scan
- 1995 THX Widescreen VHS versions of the Trilogy
- 1997 Special Edition VHS Trilogy Box Set - Full Screen Pan & Scan (this is utter garbage, could well just throw this away one day!)

George Lucas gets no money at all:
- DVD-R transfers of my 95 THX Star Wars Trilogy VHS Widescreen Edition
- The TR47 laserdisc transfers of the original trilogy.
- Totally absent and banished from my collection will be those damn 2004 DVD versions. Hell yeah!

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#66363
Topic
"Review" of 2004 SE DVD trilogy release on MWCtoys.com
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/66363/action/topic#66363
Time
Brilliant, brilliant!! That is a great article and absolutely sums up Lucas´s chronic problem. He can´t bloody let go! He thinks he´s improoving the OT but on the contrary. He´s making them more like the new trilogy which most agree is not even in the same league as the originals. Why oh why hasn´t he gone the other way around and tried to adjust the PT more to the OT and show some god damn respect to the phenomenon that made him what he is. I can´t for the life of me understand his way of thinking!

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#66120
Topic
Class Action lawsuit?!?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/66120/action/topic#66120
Time
This is mighty interesting!!

For one how can something titled "The Definitive Edition" (as the Laserdisc release was called) be anything else but the full and completed vision/work of the one who releases it to the consumer market. The word "definitive" says it all folks! We could sue his ass off for false advertising. Come on now Lucas, bring us the OT - or we´ll sue your ass to kingdom come!

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#65632
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65632/action/topic#65632
Time
Good job on that new transfer MeBeJedi, there's much more detail in those shots and the black level is excellent. Keep up the good work! Can´t wait to see some shots when you start on Empire Strikes Back, the most important movie in the Star Wars saga!

PS. Btw, I suggest you get yourself a hold of the TR47 transfer, because that´s the version you should be comparing your transfer to. Most seem to think it is currently the best one out there so you should use that, learn from it and try to improove upon it, that´s the only way we are gonna see a better bootleg I think. Even if you manage to match the TR47 version and loose the 4 second delay in ESB you´ve already got a clear winner just there. And I´m not even going into the pure genius of it if you manage to make your transfer anamorphic too, while still providing a sharp image...

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#65661
Topic
PSYCHO_DAYV'S SW TRILOGY DVD SET REVIEW
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65661/action/topic#65661
Time
"JUST WHEN YOU WANTED TO HERE GL'S EXPLAINATION FOR THE "NEW" CHANGES YOU GET BEN BURTT DRAGGING ON ABOUT HOW HE CAME UP WITH THE SOUND FOR THE SCENE OR HOW NOISY THE SETS WERE."

- Exactly what I thought, he´s doing his best to avoid the real issues and questions with those new special editions. Just hoping they might slide by without too much hassle or notice. That´s a LOW way to great the fans on this release, by not giving them the info they so obviously want to hear. What a shame. Thank god I´m not buying this bug ridden release, I´ll rent it over a weekend and watch the Empire Of Dreams doc as well as other bonus material, but I won´t touch those "tinkered with" versions of the movies I grew up with, know and love. He´s just lost a faithful customer. This is it Lucas, no more!*

* That is until you get your arse around to releasing the original unaltered versions on the DVD format! THEN I´ll buy them...

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#65543
Topic
I have been taken by the dark side
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65543/action/topic#65543
Time
That´s it! I´ve made my decision. I´m NOT buying those DVD´s. That´s final. Lucas just lost one faithful customer. I´m gonna stick with my pretty darn good TR47 DVD-R´s and if the original unaltered movies come out later, in a few years maybe, and all those problems (Lucas meddling, audioproblems, visual inconsistencies and etc.) are not there, then I will definitely buy them. But I can´t stand those damn 2004 Special Editions. Lucas has lost his ones precious marbles!

peace,

Rebelscum
Post
#65506
Topic
For fun...What would be in your Star Wars DVD package?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65506/action/topic#65506
Time
Here it is:

A 7 disc boxset including the original unaltered versions, digitally cleaned up visually (black matte lines, transparecy and garbage mattes mainly) and audiowise, with three commentaries for each film. One by Lucas and various other technical vizards, one strictly with the actors, mainly Harrison Ford, Mark Hammill and Carrie Fisher with inputs from Anthony Daniels, James Earl Jones etc. Finally a soundtrack only commentary by maestro John Williams. Each film would have it´s own full DVD of bonus material including all four original docs: Making Of Star Wars, SP-FX, Classic Creatures and From Star Wars To Jedi. On each bonusdisc there would be a collection of old interviews with the cast and crew both internal publicity interviews and bits from various TV programs and stuff like that. We could also read the original scripts for each movie. We would get the original auditions and screen test including the ones with Kurt Russell and Cindy Williams. For each movie there would be a HUGE gallery of stills from the movies with a gentle John Williams music playing over it. There would be four trailers for each movie including teaser, release, re-release and 97 SE as well as a shitload of TV spots and radio spots.

A fourth bonus disc would contain new interviews with cast and crew and and the two and half hour "a look back retrospective" doc "Empire Of Dreams". We would get deleted scenes including the scenes with Luke and Biggs on Tatooine, the wampa attack in ESB, the sandstorm in ROTJ and more. We would get storyboard to final film comparison with angle selection and special effects breakdown for key moments in the trilogy presented by Dennis Muren and co. A feature on the puppetry involved presented by Frank Oz where Yoda and other characters are featured. Also a feature on the whole Star Wars toy and videogame phenomenon with the original Kenner figures and all that stuff, the arcades and various videogames. There would also be a feature on John Williams´s music for the trilogy. And finally a special Ben Burtt feature on how all those cool sound were made.

That´s about it (I think). What an incredible release that would make, I´m shitting in my pants here got damn it!!

peace,

Rebelscum