What are John Alvin style covers? nevermind, those are the comic covers in my Set.
Here is my Set.
JohnStewart said:
It is September for me and I will spend the rest of the next few nights drinking plenty of beer and watching Project Blu on my 60 inch. As promised I will provide a review after each film (shhh it wil have to be from work though) as I will be too drunk to write afterwards........again TY for my early September. You rock my man!!!!
I am the proud new father of this:
Well I guess I would show you if I could get this image button to work......
[IMG]http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/3768/img1347tf.th.jpg[/IMG]
That is pretty cool, you used ABC's Blu-ray covers he did up for me for this Set, he would be very happy I am sure, thanks for posting the pic, it is neat to see what they look like in the actual Blu-ray cases.
looking forward to reading your reviews, and Thanks.
thedaner said:
Hello to all,
I'm new to the forum, but have been a viewer for a while and a frequent visitor to originaltrilogy.com (signed the petition long ago) and have been very interested in the pre-Special Edition DVD sets that have been discussed. Would love to get copies of the OT any way I can; MySpleen invite, or whatever.
If some are hesitant because I'm new I understand, but would love to be able to watch the OT the way I remember.
Thanks in advance
Invite sent, and welcome to the Forum.
Rehnquist said:
Radi0n said:
Well, just got past taking a good hard look at all three BDs myself, and while I don't own a surround sound system (yet), I can definitely vouch for the picture quality. It is unlike anything Star-Wars related I have ever seen before.
If my Star Wars Complete Saga box arrives, I can damn well guarantee you I will take this set over HD pink sabers any day.
Even coming straight from my television, rather than a sound system, the audio is still noticeably better than any other DVD release, and comes pretty damn close to ordinary run-of-the-mill BD audio master tracks.
I'm not going to go in extreme detail, since so many have done this before me. I can only say I totally approve their reviews, and embrace this set wholeheartedly.
These are keepers. Fine job DJ, damn fine job.
Any chance anyone who has received a copy could upload it or do something to redistribute it? With DJ's permission, of course, he said he's too busy to burn BRs for people, or to upload it to MySpleen. Anyone that receive a copy already care to push it out to the rest of us?
LOL, I do not have a ton of blank BD's lying around to burn every single person that PM's me a Set, I was busy at the time of your PM working on Conan and Night of The Living Dead, now those are done, I have also politely asked that the people that donated blanks do NOT get bothered by this kind of request, it is NOT their responsibility to share this Set, that is why they donated blanks, either they do not have burners themselves, or do not have the ability to download/upload 75+ GB's, or both, or neither, it is a bonus for them for their donation and being the final testers, but the point is, I WILL upload\share them when I am ready, I am still trying to figure out the best way to do this, just like with the kind people that donated blank DL DVD's for the V3 DVD Set, they did not have to do any kind of sharing either, it was their bonus for doing what they did and being final testers, and they eventually made there way out to the masses.
So no offense, but this kind of request really bothers me.
Looking at your profile, it looks like you just joined 10 days ago and have only made 2 posts, so what is wrong with a little patience?
The Aluminum Falcon said:
dark_jedi said:
So no, I do not need to hear about those, because I will just ignore them anyways.
As shall I... I just wanted to be a thorough reviewer. They're really not noticeable at all.
And you are 1 hell of a reviewer, and I really appreciate that very much, when we(people that do these projects) release something we would LOVE to have feedback, whether good or bad, it let's us know that what we did was worth it, and that it is being enjoyed, but at least some of you that have my BD Set have commented 1 way or the other, again, Thank you Aluminum Falcon for your GREAT reviews, I know I truly enjoyed reading them.
LOL, the ones now are not that noticeable, you should have seen it the first time, it looked like a damn strobe effect, I was getting dizzy LOL, but at first I could not figure out WTF was going on until I stepped through the scenes frame by frame and saw exactly what was going on.
Laserschwert said:
@dark_jedi:
That Blu-ray set appears to be really awesome, I'd love to get my hands on it :)
Do you think it would be at all possible to add German language tracks to the set, if I provide you with the German GOUT-tracks? Or is that too much hassle (or not even interesting enough)?
Sorry, but no, not by me, I have zero interest in any more Star Wars projects at the moment, and my BD is structured to be just exactly what it is, the way it is now, the only thing I would like to have done is add Foreign subtitles, because they don't take up much room at all, but I did not have any, so I did not even think of it, and no offense, but I would have never added those audio files anyways, what I have now takes up a lot of room on the Blu-ray disc that I could have used on the video, higher bitrate, especially SW.
I just recently got a PM from a member here wanting me to share my video files and re encode all my alien subtitle sections so there were no hard subs and wanted to add the German crawl and German end credits, but again, I have zero interest in this, none whatsoever, you have to understand, I am SO sick of these projects at the moment it is not even funny, I have done a TON of SW projects over the course of several years LOL, the next time I even look at anything SW related will be Sept. 16th.
I am very sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear, but unfortunately that is how I feel at the moment, please understand.
The Aluminum Falcon said:
I was watching ESB again and I noticed something. Sometimes when the angle of a scene changes, there's either a dark or light strip on the bottom of the end frame of an angle or the top of the beginning frame of one. To me it looks like some sort of glue used to stitch the film together; whenever it happens, it only lasts for a frame.
Did you want to know about these, dark_jedi? They're barely noticeable and I don't really think a necessary fix.
No I do not, those are the frames I was talking about when I went back and fixed a shitload of bad frames, but I already fixed well over 200 of them, ESB was really, really bad with these for some reason, just watch the V3 DVD and you can spot a ton of them, and it looked worse on the Blu version, that is why I went back and got as many as I could, but I am doing no more now, now it is what it is, unless someone else wants to fix them and make their own version, go for it, doing all these bad frames was more boring than doing ALL the audio I did for the V3 and Blu projects, although doing the audio for Return of The Living Dead and Conan The Barbarian were fun, maybe because it was not Star Wars and it was no release project of mine, it was just to correct my retail blu-rays.
So no, I do not need to hear about those, because I will just ignore them anyways.
I uploaded all 4 DVD's at Spleen a long time ago, looks like Discs 1 & 2 have been deleted and Discs 3 & 4 are dead, this was a really cool set.
Thanks Griff, there does not seem to be any interest in the Conan project or the NOTLD project, so what I will do is contact you by PM and let you know how it worked out, should be able to test NOTLD today after the Race, this is my first 1080p encode since way back when I did my own custom Star Wars Saga BD Set.
OH, and I am really glad you liked the new audio, this was a bitch to do, and took a few attempts before I got it to what it is now, a member at blu-ray.com was VERY helpful in this, so a BIG thanks to him, as well as our own Adywan, he told me about something that was very instrumental in this as well, so a HUGE thanks to him too.
Thanks for your interest, watch for PM's.
Erikstormtrooper said:
DVD-BOY, thanks for posting that info. I know everyone has a job to do. It sucks if someone works in a culture of "yes men", but I don't buy that as an excuse. Ultimately a poor release is still a poor release.
Like Frink said, the problems were a "deliberate creative decision". As you pointed out, this means they were aware of them, but let the discs pass anyway. "Ahh, good enough. It's just Star Wars." Everyone who saw those faults, realized them, and let them pass, is responsible.
It sounds like you're well aware of these problems in QC and the way the industry works. But you blame us for not being able to accept them. Curious.
So by you not accepting them is doing what exactly? is this going to make the powers that be change things? or are you getting a different Blu-ray Edition? Curious.
DVD-BOY, that was a nice post, thanks for the read.
JohnStewart said:
Well I am glad I read this thread before I purchased Conan!! This is one of my favorite films and I guess I will have to skip it now....
I have it fixed now, and it sounds MUCH better, but I used the FOX extended version NOT the US Universal release, so if you end up getting any of the FOX releases I can send you links for that version, I have Dolby Digital 5.1(not sure why anyone would want this LOL, but did one up anyways) DTS-HD MA 5.1, and a NEW DTS-HD MA 2.0 Isolated Score I did as well, and so far the feedback has been great, but have not heard back from everyone yet.
I am now onto fixing yet another Blu-ray release, it seems from ALL I have read and seen that Forgotten Films version of Night of The Living Dead is hands down the best "video" quality out there, less cropped, and much cleaner\nicer image, but it is missing like 30 seconds right at the 28 min mark where Barbara says it is hot in here, well I have found a great source for that missing section, and I am also removing the FF DD audio and replacing it with DTS-HD MA 2.0, now I am going to try and remux my new "fixed" video and the new audio track into the FF BD Structure to try and retain the Menu's and such, this movie looks way better than I thought it would on Blu LOL, I can't wait to test out my new and improved version though, I just hope I can keep the menu's and all, but if not, a movie only will be fine.
MrBrown said:
Ah okay, thanks for enlighten me.. I thought the HK release identical to the US release... and so I thought the uk version different. I am sorry for this.
At some point the whole Studio A and Studio B crap is confusing. Not forgetting dumb german release company Concorde, which not even known that there is a Conan Blu in the world... not even talking about that their german special Edition is the normal cinematic version, just with the international Special Edition Cover...
Yea HK is identical to UK and the rest.
The part I highlighted above, are you kidding me LOL?
MrBrown said:
You know whats with the UK Bd of Conan?
It seems to contain a different Video Version. So it might contain another audio mix, too.
In the Scene at about 104:36, when in the US Version the Women on the Stone is telling Conan that Thulsa will come, the UK shows instead a longer scene with Conan and Subotai preparing the Battlefield and talking about winds and storms before battles...
Here is a German comparison between UK and US BD regarding the different scene with pictures:
That scene is in ALL the FOX versions whether it be the UK, Australian, HK(which I also have) for some very strange reason Universal did not have that scene in our(US) release, but it is on the Universal Collector's Edition DVD, and as far as the audio, it has already been confirmed to be the exact same 5.1 audio used on ALL releases, all Countries, so ALL suffer from the same minor errors, because as I said, I have the FOX HK release, and the Universal US release, so I could do my OWN comparison, and not have to rely on internet drabble and hear say like other future releases coming.
The Griff said:
Got the PM.
Can't wait to get home and check this out. Very excited.
I must say that I'm surprised there isn't more interest in this project. Conan is a brilliant film and its score is one of the most memorable.
Will be back with my thoughts in a few day's time!
Thanks you so much for taking a listen, but please delete or don't download that version, I will PM you a new DD 5.1 track that is much improved(Thanks to some tips from Ady, so I learned something new in Vegas, love learning!) this new track is done, my oldest Son was over last night, and I did NOT want my youngest Son to watch the movie until I fixed the audio, well my oldest Son went over the parts when played on my system and he could not tell a difference at all, from retail to my edits, and he LOVES the choral parts being reinstated, he was also wondering how in the hell I was able to leave in all the sound effects as well on the left & right channels, He also told me he will not be buying Barbarian he wants a copy of mine LOL, but bought Destroyer.
I have had no luck getting anyone to want to listen and test for me so this is all being done by myself pretty much, which is OK, most of my projects are for myself and Family anyways, a lot of them don't even get a mention, but Thanks again for giving it a go and seeing what you think, just check for a new PM.
This new technique I learned from Ady sure made it take A LOT longer to do, but it was well worth it, but between my oldest Son and I, we have come up with some tweaks that will make the HD audio track even better, so I am planning on making a few more tweaks before final(well our final) because the file that you will test I believe is final, I am not sure if anyone else will like the tweaks we want to do LOL, but maybe.
*edit, for the lack of interest, I figure people are just holding out hoping the Studio will fix and offer a replacement(which I personally highly doubt because the 5.1 mix has been like this for years) or that some have no idea how to demux a Blu-ray and swap out the retail HD track for this new one and re burn it, or simply just don't like my work, but it really doesn't matter to me now, I LOVE it, both my Kids LOVE it, and the 1 person that did grab an earlier version really liked it to and asked me how I did it, so all is good.
The Griff said:
Great stuff, DJ. How did you go approaching those volume/mix issues you mentioned in your previous post?
I'd love to help out but I work away from home and wouldn't be able to test your samples out until mon/tues. I'd still be very keen to do so, however.
Somebody give the man a hand!
Thank you, and you are the only person to take me up on it so I can wait, I need input on this, like I said, especially need to see if it seems seamless to you, and volume levels, I just tested it and I am liking it very much, the only thing I would say is to turn your receiver down before you start it, I set the dialnorm to -31 so it is loud, I left it that way because I want to hear everything on these scenes, the final will have the dialnorm set to what it is on the retail DTS-HD MA track, which I assume is -27.
So no one else wants to listen to this DD 5.1 track and let me know what you think?
Griff, I will send you a PM with the links(2) for testing this 5.1 track, it is DD 5.1 @ 448 with -31 dialnorm, final will be the full DTS HD track.
OK, I think I have it, but I need people to listen to it and let me know if the blend sounds good and please listen to the volume levels, as I said, there are only 3 scenes that are affected by this, I only encoded a DD 5.1 file for testing, if everything sounds good, then I will encode the new DTS-HD MA track to replace the one on the BD, so if anyone wants to listen to this DD 5.1 tack and give me some feedback please let me know.
Thanks
the 3 scenes are,
Riddle of Steel\Riders of Doom
Recovery
Battle of The Mounds
The HK versions are region free, and all the extras are in NTSC, so for the money, this is your best bet, I have the US releases and the HK releases of both Barbarian & Destroyer and I definitely like the HK's better, I ordered them from a place called dddhouse, they take paypal, and they ship fast.
Believe me, I am really hoping that we get a disc replacement on this, but I am NOT going to hold my breath on it, because the 5.1 track has been messed up long before this BD release, so if it was going to get corrected, it should have been back then, but like I said, I SURE hope it gets corrected along with the missing scene on the US release.
I am still working on this, just slowly, but I have just 1 more scene to correct, I have the audio all lined up but I am having a couple of thoughts on just how I should do this, 1, do I just swap out the Left & Right channels? or 2, do I overlay them? because there are some sound effects in there also, but DAMN what a difference hearing these side by side with the score CD is, so I need thoughts on this.
1 more thing, does anyone here know if you can lower the sound\decibel on these new score parts so it is not SO loud, if there was no speech I would not care, but in some scenes there is some dialogue and I do not want to totally drown it out with the new score parts, after working on this, I wonder if that is why the choral parts are missing, or very, very muffled, who knows, plus I am doing this in Vegas.
Thanks
I am definitely going to give it a try once I figure exactly out how to go about it, and I will check the other tracks on the BD, but I would assume they are all going to be the same, because I agree that putting the original mono in sync with the BD is just NOT that great of an idea, I mean the NEW DTS-HD MA track just totally ROCKS! it really sounds great, except for a little bit of missing choir\singing in 3-4 scenes tops, and it is not even the whole scene LOL, because very honestly, the mono track does NOT do Basil's FANTASTIC score justice at all, so I am not sure if I am even going to spend much more time on the mono LOL, because if you have read any of my posts on audio, you will see I could care less for a mono audio file at all, especially on new modern HD Receiver setup I have now.
I will however finish my Iso Score project for both Barbarian & Destroyer in 2.0 and 5.1, because I just LOVE this score.
*edit, I just checked the other tracks, and it is just as I thought, it is the same on them to, looks like the only to fix it is to add it in from the CD.
The Griff said:
I'd be really interested in this.
I'd love to hear a 5.1 upmix. Apart from the missing choir, the Fox remix is pretty good. And, of course, mono just doesn't do justice to Poledouris' amazing score.
Any chance you could combine the CD score with the BDs soundtrack to fill in those missing elements?
You know, that is exactly what crossed my mind late last night while working on the score, cant that part of the CD score be laid on top of that audio section or will that not work? that way I can keep the GREAT audio that is there already and the sound effects and just add in what is missing.
and you are absolutely right, the mono is cool, but it certainly does NOT do Basil's score justice at all.
OK, so this last Tuesday Conan The Barbarian was released, well come to find out the US version is missing a scene that was present on the Collector’s Edition DVD, the scene is where Conan & Subotai talk about Blueberries and the spring wind before the battle towards the end of the movie, I also bought the HK version, but this one HAS that scene, so it is exactly like the CE DVD, however, ALL versions on BD are kind of messed up on the audio, especially during the opening when the Riders of Doom were raiding Conan’s village, the choir\singing is gone, there are more scenes like this to.
This is really messed up, for any Conan fans this REALLY sticks out pretty bad, well listening to the differences from DVD to Blu, I have realized something I must do now, I am taking the 2.0 mono from the CE DVD and putting it in sync with the BD, well that is done now, but I am going to go ahead and do something else to, I dug up both of my long out of print Varese Sarabande CD’s(Barbarian & Destroyer) and I am going to make my own Iso Score for each BD as well.
This is where I need advice, I am already half way through the Barbarian CD, and this Iso Score will be DD 2.0, but what I am curious of is this, would an upmixed Iso Score to DD 5.1 be a cool idea or not?
Hell, there might not even be any fans here of these movies LOL, I already got a PM at another site to do this same thing with The Terminator, I guess a lot of people really like that mono mix also.
Are you guys talking about that 5 star set? if so I have those too.
*edit, Yea you guys must be talking about the 5 Star Collection DVD9 SE Set, these claim to have English Dolby Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1 Digital Surround, and English Dolby 2.0 Surround, and I am reading that off the DVD case, I will look in to them.
That will be one of the audio options, it will have Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround and LPCM 2.0
DanishDVDfreak said:
WOW...just wow. That is AMAZING work. Please tell me these will be included in the eventually available bluray set !
Yes, ALL covers will be available with each BD when it is made available.
I really like the bottom Set to, that is the "vintage VHS" Style.
If this does happen, what special features should I add to this? since there will be only 3 audio options available for each film, I should have room for some extras to fill a BD25, my menu guy and I are already tossing around ideas.
Thanks
All I do is cap, crop, filter, resize, then add borders, and no offense to Ady, but I do not remember the 97 SE ANH looking like that at all, where it might look "natural" to some, that does not look right to me, these LD's look pretty damn close to how I remember the 97's looking(except for the pink part in ANH LOL) so if anyone wants color correcting done like that, you are going to have to do it yourself.
I do not want to get anyone's hopes up just yet, all I am doing is messing with this stuff a bit, trying to see if I were to do a 720P version, how should I approach this, can the LD footage even be used, and as I said, it SURE would be nice to have a partner or two on this one,because this shit gets tedious and very boring!
1 thing I would have to re sync all the 5.1 files again, and re do all subtitles, OH my.