Spaced Ranger

ScruffyNerfHerder said:

I wonder if someone could use Oculus Rift (a virtual reality headset for those who don't know) to virtually sit in a Cinerama movie theater?

 I recently came across the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality website. Looks like the real-deal!
http://www.oculusvr.com/

YouTube is full of videos using VR Cinema, for the virtual reality prespective, and Oculus Rift, for the stereoscopic "3D" view. (Some even show dual images for you to try a no-hardware, "cross-eyed" stereo viewing.)

Here is an introduction (hard to see the theatre in this one)

"Virtual Reality Movie Theater For The Oculus Rift VR Cinema 3D"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl_xOyg8ziM

and here's an awesome first-person view (with the theatre showing it's full glory)

"Oculus Rift VR Cinema 3D Demo"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djBur6p49NE

About the laserdisc ...

AntcuFaalb said:

How much vertical stretch is there? I'm able to register to the BD pretty well after vertically compressing the 278 active lines to 270.

I took my own advise and did a compare of the 16mm to the 2004 DVD (mostly-the-same as the 2010 Blu-ray). A TV-to-PC resize (720x480 to 640x480) for the 16mm and a TV-to-PC (720x480 to 640x480) & anamorphic (640x480 to 853x480 [*edit note: rounding 16:9 from 1.777... to 1.78 would produce 854x480, an even value better for digital video manipulation*]) resize for the DVD was transparently overlayed. It showed a similar vertical mis-proportion as AntcuFaalb discovered between the laserdisc and Blu-ray:

When a vertical squash was applied to the 16mm (done that way only to maintain the DVD framing), it then lined up with the DVD:

In reality, it is the 16mm (and the LucasFilm-unmolested laserdisc) that is the optically trusted source. The later DVD and Blu-ray are the ones requiring vertical stretch to properly line up with original photography of the 16mm and laserdisc. That is because THX 1138 was originally filmed in Techniscope, which uses a spherical-lens camera (no optical squashing, on which to blame loss of exact aspect-ratio, as could be with other widescreen techniques):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techniscope

Interesting that the difference here is 8 lines and AntcuFaalb's difference is also 8 lines. Of course, this information doesn't affect the laserdisc preservation. It does show that GL revisionism altered THX 1138 in yet another way.  :O

 Pray he doesn't alter it any further ...

Thanks for that clarification, thxita. I thought I remembered reading here (years ago - LOL) someone buying a videotape for the Italian preservation. I only found the O.P. description "Source: Italian TV - broadcast". So it was a legal, WB commercial tape and not a bootleg / blackmarket one from the broadcast?

In that case, SilverWook's eBay "Spanish subtitles" find also could be a localized variant. I don't see how these would get a WB "greenlight" for publication. Maybe they didn't want the expense to do international ones? After all, who was that wet-behind-the-ears Lucas guy who's movie they hated anyway ...  :)

Vacation ... ?

"Please come back! ... You have nowhere to go! You cannot survive outside the city shell! We only want to help you!"

.

SilverWook said:

... I saw this on Ebay. ... Do you think it's worth getting to see if there are any variations?

If my previously mentioned theory on THX 1138 releases is correct (and I think it is), there are no previous versions to the laserdisc release. The same-version videotapes were in standard format, with one U.K. in widescreen. Any variations would be like the Italian broadcast (not a commercial videotape) and that by their editing.

Wow ... poor Slipstream ... stuck in full-screen low-quality Public Domain Hell ...

(It's Hercules [Steve Reeves] all over again!)

Apparently, it was once broadcast in widescreen on German TV IMDB - Slipstream (1989) : Widescreen???; caps from the TV-to-VHS-to-DVD are at the mentioned German forum:

nirbateman said:

The wording is a bit sketchy, ... the next paragraph mentions: " In the 2000 and 2010 releases, Deems Taylor's voice has been overdubbed throughout by Corey Burton because most of the audio tracks to Taylor's restored scenes have been lost"

So, I'm sorry, but it seems that the changes to the narration for the 2000 restoration were universal and final.

In Wikipedia's Video section, the 1st paragraph states "the 1990 restored theatrical version, was released on VHS and laser disc on November 1, 1991". That paragraph ends with "This version [the 1991 release] was also released as a DVD in 2000, outside of the U.S. ...".

I was hoping the non-Region-1 world would have the 1991 release on DVD, too. But we couldn't expect Disney to come out with an even newer general release sometime later that same year (could we?). Anyway, titanic's Greek PAL "Classic" DVD is evidence that the Wikipedia entry is wrong. *sigh*

Doctor M said:

Fantasia (1940): ... The laserdiscs were the last release to still have the Deems Taylor's narrations.

DVD and BD (2000 and 2010) have the restored runtime, but with new narration by Corey Burton. ...

Purist recommendation: 2001 60th Anniversary DVD (also available as a 2000 Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 box). ...

Ultra Purist recommendation: If you want Deems Taylor you'll want the shorter running laserdisc.

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasia_(1940_film):
Fantasia has received three home video releases. The first, featuring the 1990 restored theatrical version, was released on VHS and laser disc on November 1, 1991 as part of the "Walt Disney Classics" line. ... This version was also released as a DVD in 2000, outside of the U.S. ... [emphasis mine]

Would this indicate that the non-Region-1 2000 DVD, with original Stokowski score and Taylor narration (besides it being on digital media, but not knowing included extras) would be a preferred recommendation over the laserdisc?

That's a good question!

Did anyone ever compare any screenshots to the original (1971 or 1978) 16/35mm film to check for subsequently released media (Beta, VHS, LD, or more likely DVD and BD) mis-proportions? Here are some full-sized 16mm frames (just ignore the demonstrated restoration) with which to compare:
http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/THX-1138-preservations-Italian-Cut-available-see-1st-post/post/666433/#TopicPost666433
Those captures are from the SEN-talking-to-the-children sequence, just before THX & SRT hopping into jet-cars for their escape, at the last 15-20 minutes of the movie.

... oh, and did I mention I'm dying to see those awesome new screenshots?

SilverWook said:

... I'm finally ready to share that 1970 Sunday newspaper magazine supplement about George and the movie.

 Whoa, those are excellent! You're a THX 1138 treasure trove!

I wonder if George has a copy?

 If not, he's got one now.  :)

.

msycamore said:

"See-through car" - that is one ugly hippie car.  :)

"The see-through fashions in women's clothing have finally spilled over into the automotive world."

Wait. Wait! What'd I miss?  :O

.

AntcuFaalb said:

SilverWook said:

The albino lizard shot.

Any shot of a video screen.

The white void when THX and SEN meet SRT. ...

I wish I knew this film better. Can you give some rough time estimates for those shots?

From the 2004 "director's cut" (ha, ha ... pardon me); these times may not exactly match the pre-"director's cut" (giggle):

albino lizard @ 11:15 (between tape recorder & THX and OM in booth)
a video screen @ 25:17 (between THX and LUH station talking & THX corridor walking)
white void THX and SEN meet SRT @ 57:54 (first meeting in white void)

Notice:
Unfortunately the following website came & went, as is bound to happen with Internet obsolescence -- but thanks to caligari.us for trying!
For the rest of us, it's back to the Internet Archive.

If anyone wants to try theatre "real world" perspective, the 3rd party link (on page 2) for now-freeware trueSpace 7.61 has since died. However, the long gone Caligari trueSpace website is now resurrected at a new location by some enterprising enthusiast.

http://caligari.us/

The recovery and publication of this website is based on files saved by archive.org, and is intended to be used for educational and academic research, non-commercial purposes on mind for for the 3D graphics community, and the trueSpace users community who supported, bought and promoted the development of this great set of tools through the years.

• Architects, just like designers or illustrators, often prefer to use an artistic tool rather than a CAD tool to stay creative and be able to present their concepts to customers with clarity and elegance.
• The trueSpace award-winning direct manipulation user interface allows you to work directly in 3D space from concept to final result, maintaining the same precision a CAD program would while saving a lot of time learning more difficult CAD-style UI.
• trueSpace is also compatible with the majority of CAD data formats so you can bring your buildings into and out of traditional architectural CAD programs.
• Interiors can benefit from the ease of use and expressive power of trueSpace's modeling and surfacing tools. As you see from the images below above, the advanced lighting capabilities will let you create exactly the mood and atmosphere you need for any given space.

Not all the navigational links work, but just click around -- there's more there than just a program download. Remember, it's a phantom of a 2008 defunct website. Ignore things like $$ and the shopping cart.  :)

I saw those from the Consumer Electronics Show (was it 2012 or 2013?) -- stupid expensive and very cool!

It doesn't look like anyone picked up on this project. I'd love to do it (as alluded to in the previous pages) but, alas, I'm afraid time is fast running out for such excellent but mundane things ... even if I personally had the time.  :)

Now THAT would be just wrong! 

Let's hope Jar Jar Binks never gets closer than this to a bikini:

"But Princess, me-sa only want you-sa bikini."

AntcuFaalb said:

Hey guys! Guess what's being captured RIGHT NOW... (!)

Awesome! Be still my shaky typewriting!

SilverWook said:

George's bachelor party video? ;)

But don't tell Marcia about it (George staying out day & night, coming back exhausted, very suspicious) ...

But seriously, she made Star Wars for him (what a wife!) and the thanks she got (aside from an Oscar, which George didn't get) was to be communist-like purged from the annals of LucasFilm:

SYFY - 3 ways in which Marcia Lucas helped save Star Wars
http://www.syfy.co.uk/news/3-ways-which-marcia-lucas-helped-save-star-wars
"Until journalist Michael Kaminski started digging into books and interviews conducted before the great Marcia purge to find out more about the woman who helped make Star Wars, and Raiders, the classics they are:
"1. Killing Obi-Wan Kenobi ...
"2. A kiss for luck ...
"3. Trench warfare ...
"Bonus: How she helped resolve Raiders ..."

The Galaxy Express - Marcia Lucas: The Unsung Hero of STAR WARS
http://www.thegalaxyexpress.net/2011/09/marcia-lucas-unsung-hero-of-star-wars.html
"... as Michael Kaminski, author of the book THE SECRET HISTORY OF STAR WARS, writes on his Web site [http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com/marcialucas.html]:
"The Death Star trench run was originally scripted entirely different, ... Marcia had re-ordered the shots almost from the ground up, ... She warned George, 'If the audience doesn't cheer when Han Solo comes in at the last second in the Millennium Falcon to help Luke when he's being chased by Darth Vader, the picture doesn't work.'"

"Words with you, Yoda has. Hmmm?"

Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki - Yoda's lightsaber
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Yoda%27s_lightsaber

"WE HAVE THE DROIDS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR"
I love it when they do ...

Wow, very nice! Is this a single pass Runco LJR-II =(svideo)=> Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle clip? Or is it the median-of-three result?

This one? (at start)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPfAF-VTI0w (Cowboy Bebop - Faye videotape)
If so, I'm going to Earth!  :)

Nothing yet, but I'm always expecting it (short-term pessimist, long-term optimist).

It's probably just mini-wage gov-thugs poking around, thinking they're geniuses, tryin' to saving their new world order or something ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiiJKfsNxz0 (Cowboy Bebop clip on betamax)

I don't know if any YouTube video is a "new restoration" or an update of this first one I came across ..
Classic Cartoons - blog (Thursday, July 17, 2008) - The Return of Sunflower
http://classiccartoons.blogspot.com/2008/07/return-of-sunflower.html

It looks like there are a number of sources for pre-1969/censored Disney's Fantasia footage:

* an original 16mm print of the 1958 Disneyland TV show entitled Magic And Music, which aired The Pastoral sequence of Fantasia, along with 2 other musical Disney cartoons
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_and_Music

* an original 16mm print of the 1974 "educational short" of edited segments from that same Disneyland TV show (I don't know if The Pastoral sequence is here complete)
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_and_Music_%28short%29

* a taping (probably now a transferred-from-tape DVD) of a 1980's The Disney Channel rebroadcast of that same TV episode
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Disneyland_%28TV_series%29

But that's not the important part! Even Sunflower is miffed ..
.. that she gets all the glory of being a racially-discriminated-against centaurette by Corporate Disney political-correctness liberalism, while Otika gets quietly wiped from existence with none being the wiser!

WHERE IS OTIKA'S FIVE MINUTES OF FAME? Well, glad you asked ..

The Disney Wiki - Sunflower
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Sunflower

The Disney Wiki - Otika
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Otika

;)

Thanks, kypkalorian, but I was only requesting info for the thread -- especially since time seems to be of the essence with these electronics.

Nice thread! These links may be of some interest:

From Star Wars to Jedi The Making of a Saga (VHS) - Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathanpbutler/9329919714/
Anyone know which (of 5!) are best video and/or audio quality?

From Star Wars to Jedi - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzmHgxA0jOA
It's up to 720p (should look good down-rez'ed to 480p). No burned-in subtitles, so it's not the JP laserdisc.

From Star Wars to Jedi the Making of a Saga DVD - Times Forgotten DVD
http://www.timesforgottendvd.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=91
Looks like someone made a laserdisc transfer -- "NTSC Region 1 DVD ... HAS NON REMOVEABLE JAPANESE SUBTITLES".

That's awesome! Yes, definitely let us know which and from where!

From my above-mentioned forum, some posters mention particular sequences of turning on/off, plugging/un-plugging, required multiple plug-ins (like a card and a monitor), etc., to get their particular boxes to work. Would you also mention if any such gymnastics are required for your purchases?

Be sure to review the Speed Demos Archive forum for "How to bypass HDCP for use with Blackmagic Intensity (PS3 owners, read here!)". Best to read backward from the latest page (15). Their reports echo Amazon's on apparent production changes.

Coincidentally, someone there just bought a splitter, for use with his PS3, from an eBay seller and it works ... except on one 3rd-party software:
https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/how_to_bypass_hdcp_for_use_with_blackmagic_intensity_ps3_owners_read_here_352.html

It's cost is low and might be worth a test. (Let us know how you fare.)

Just passing by to reference Infognition's Video Enhancer website and their comparative examples from multiple resizers (including nnedi3):
http://www.infognition.com/articles/video_resize_shootout.html
"For this shootout we've gathered 17 different tools for image and video resizing. 10 high resolution video fragments were downsized 4 times and then upsized with different methods and tools. Upsized videos were compared with original hi-res ones and Y-PSNR metric was calculated for each of them."