The Aluminum Falcon

This sounds like a nice radical edit. Look forward to seeing it.

IcePrick said:

I would love to have those Kubrick monos :D

This would be a good preservation.

Jonno said:

As I mentioned, this track should be the default track for the BD25,
which includes the DTS Core, the PCM Laserdisc audio next and then the
dubs.

I disagree that it should be default however. A modern remix is automatically lower in the food chain than original theatrical audio, lossless or not. But it's Andrea's project so I'll leave that choice up to him...

Seconded. I think the theatrical stereo might be a better default, as this does seem to be a theatrical preservation (restored audio and color timing, etc).

I'm not holding my hopes out for Universal to do a better master of theatrical cut from the OCN. They've been using the same transfer for years, and I doubt they'll do anything different.

I'm not sure what source material MGM used for their Director's Cut transfer but I doubt it's the OCN. There is a possibility we might see that be rescanned but unlikely again.

DoomBot said:

use parts from the HDTV capture?

^agreed with the above. HDTV is cropped on the sides though, you know.

Anyone have a Photoshop or GIMP Criterion BD Cover Template? I'd like to make some custom fake Criterions, always loved their aesthetics.

If anyone could help, it would be much appreciated.

Unfortunately, I think I'll take the Colourmatch pill as well. It seems to be producing results more accurate to the DVD.

Kingherb said:

Would the hdtv rip be a better reference than the dvd in this case or not?

No, it's the same master as the DVD, so there shouldn't be any difference in color.

The Academy Awards Screener tape I have strongly resembles the DVD's pallette and I'm pretty sure it's a different telecine. It's pretty low quality though, I have to say.

While we're talking about missing members, anyone seen Ziggy Stardust? He hasn't been online since March.

Flexicon9 said:

RELEASES THAT LOOK *MUCH* BETTER ON HD DVD than Blu-ray
The Big Lebowski

Didn't know that this edition existed. Is it better than the Italian BD (with less DNR)? I haven't seen it in awhile and would love to see it looking good.

The Deer Hunter

The foreign Region A/B Studio Canal BD is better I believe; got a bigger file size. I haven't done any side by side comparisons though. The only thing is that the 5.1 is screwed up but the original theatrical audio (stereo) is fine and lossless so it doesn't bother me.

RELEASES THAT LOOK and SOUND BETTER ON STANDARD DVD than any HIDEF release
The Last Starfighter (1999 CE DVD - Blu-ray / HD DVD extremely DNR'd and has missing audio cue)

Spartacus would also got underneath this category. The color timing is not to Kubrick's intentions; it looks like a transfer straight off the negative. Criterion's DVD was color-corrected manually to a Technicolor IB's palette and looks all the better for it. Also, both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are hit hard with the grain reduction stick. The HD-DVD is technically slightly better because it doesn't have fake-looking, fake grain put over it after the fact like the BD does.

DoomBot said:

Very cool i'm liking the results

Ditto. Very exciting results. Looks pretty good.

I have the French AOD thanks to the recommendation of someone on the board. May have been you dvdmike... I've forgotten. Thank you if so.

Anyway, I was referring to the fact that the HD-DVD is superior to all versions of the AOD US Theatrical Cut out there— though all look terrible— (best of the worst as all are pretty bad). It also has the line not present in some BDs, "So I left her there," by Ash. Of course, the transfers of the International Cut and the Director's Cut blow the HD-DVD out of the water, as its just a different master.

FYI, for anyone concerned about AOD, the color timing of the HD International Cut and Director's Cut are more theatrically-accurate. Saw a print from the 90's projected and it looked very similar.

zeropc said:

update

the audio has been synced to the u.s. fullscreen blu-ray, which should also match the widescreen version *yikes*

special thanks to See No Evil for providing the audio and to jj666 for his outstanding syncing job.

PM sent.

Yeah, it is the best retail choice, but a better version could still be made with the US Remastered video. The Japanese version is sadly hampered by the age of its master.

Hello,

I’ve just been exploring the HD/BD history of the wonderful landmark movie Trainspotting (hope there are more fans here), and it’s such a mess! So, just to re-cap for courtesy, here are basically all the releases ranked from best quality to worst quality—

1. US BD/New CA BD- best video and audio—uses a newer, more recent HD master— BUT it’s cut (sex scene and shooting-up scene)- okay special features

2. JPN BD- decent HD release- uses the old uncut HD master (likely used for the DVDs)- okay special features- may have British alternative audio track(?)

3. Universal BDs (DE, FR, ES, etc.)- decent HD releases- uses the old HD master BUT is cut like the US BD (DE may be uncut for shooting up but sex scene is edited)

4. First CA BD- from Alliance- uses the old HD master and is compressed to fit a BD25- only 13GB and no English subs (somewhat necessary for making sense of the Scottish dialogue)

5. UK BD- most special features (including newly-made exclusive featurette with the cast in 2009 reflecting on the movie) and awesome steelbook BUT has worst video (some bizarre stuttering/encoding issues)- no lossless audio

Ideally, it would be the best to take the US BD and edit back in the unrated bits from the JPN BD (OOP but available) and then patch in the missing audio with the JPN BD as well. That would make the ultimate available Trainspotting experience.

That being said, any forum members up for the challenge? I may be able to provide the uncut footage if necessary.

Nice, do you already have a copy? I understand they're getting a bit hard to get these days. (Love your, The Thing project, by the way).

Interesting... very very interesting. Not only the project itself but the technology potential. I didn't know you could effectively and cleanly combine the chroma and luma so as to transfer the color timing of one release to another. I really look forward to this release, especially since it's using the HD-DVD video.

Would love to see all the most screwed up color-timing restored with other releases. Suspiria, the James Bond films, Aliens, the Matrix, Blade Runner... All restored to their color-glory. (Sorry to get off-topic).

Which HD-DVD is better than Blu-Ray?

The Thing, Army of Darkness, Terminator 2, and the Sting (especially!) are all better on the HD-DVD and I've got access to rips if anyone wants a preservation. Dragonheart and Apollo 13 seem to have already been mentioned.

Not having high hopes for a 3D BD. Wouldn't be surprised if it was heavily DNR'ed to improve the 3D effect. Just like Jurassic Park, unfortunately, though that wasn't DNR'ed so bad.

DTS Theatrical audio + color-corrected HD video = a wonderful HD Matrix experience.

jimjimmyjones85 said:

I may be in the minority, but i feel the Criterion Notorious is truly great.

Really, that's interesting. I have that disc. The video from the LD isn't that impressive to me despite the fact that it's supposedly taken from a negative (not sure why an IP was used for all the DVDs, if a negative exists). The audio, commentary, and the special features do rock though. Definitely feel there absence on MGM's BD.

The Criterion DVD has some better contrast than the BD interestingly enough. They're more accurate to the reissue 35mm prints I've seen.

^excellent news

Andrea, if you're considering a preservation of the CAV box set. It's well worth it, very nice.

The unrestored Snow White clip from last page looks more accurate to late 1930's-style animation. There's grain and the contrast and colors look less homogenized but not in a digital blown-out way.

Great releases coming out recently. Just got back from vacation so haven't had the chance to check them out yet. Will update/expand the original posts when I get the chance.

dvdmike said:

The German disc bar the extras has the same encodes as the French disc 

Handy information. Their theatrical cut looks bad (whites blown to hell), just like the Universal BD and the Optimum BD. The HD-DVD is the best of the worst, in terms of least filtering.

Oh is this going to accompany dvdmike's project? That'd be a perfect fix: video and audio. The commercial BD does leave a lot to be desired.

Jonno said:

Living Daylights is pretty much done now, subject to testing.

PM sent! Very excited.

Didn't we get the DTS sound discs for Goldeneye? If those are eventually synced, would it be smarter to sync them to the HDTV, which though cropped is not DNR'ed? Out of curiosity though, which has the more theatrically-accurate color-timing: the redder UE master or the greener SE/BD master?