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little-endian

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11-May-2012
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12-Jun-2023
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Post
#1391274
Topic
Info: Re-mixed audio tracks on video releases
Time

johnkimble said:

one flew over the cuckoo’s nest - another point less 5.1 mix w/ added foley.

Well, besides that any LFE is pure legacy to begin with and wouldn’t really be required in any PCM form, in case of such movies, that “.1” doesn’t make any sense at all of course. Given the dialog-heavy genre, here it boils down to being essentially a 3.0 mix disguised as marketing-friendly 5.1 as usual.

Anyways, since I recently acquired the LaserDisc mono track from a friendly member at fanres.com, I have to say that I actually prefer the remix to that one as the LD’s audio for some reason has a noticeable metallic/tinny/roary sound in the background in several scenes which I personally find awful. I have no idea what causes this as I’ve already noticed that in other, way more modern releases from time to time. Sounds a bit like the effect called “sleepy hollow”, like being played through an echoing metallic tube (also the newer mix of “Léon - the professional” has it as I reported here).

Apparent scenes are:

08:57 (McMurphy having a seat in the doctor’s office)
59:10 where they are on the boat

In both cases, the LD sounds very tinny with the sounds of the waves in the boat scene barely hearable whereas none of this happens with the 5.1 AC3 provided by the Blu-ray.

Since I cannot say for sure whether it is just the way it was originally recorded (and magically removed later on) or something which went wrong with the contact’s capturing, any other of your experiences to be shared would be appreciated.

Post
#1350958
Topic
Help: looking for... Léon - The Professional: a theatrical HD master <em>without</em> contrast boost
Time

My words about four years ago, when I had given it a boost as well. Nothing wrong in doing so, rather the opposite. 😃

Thanks a lot for providing those further details, even if they make any DTS release rather unlikely to have existed in the first place.

I’d say, it continuously is the stereo audio from the Japanese LaserDisc or alternatively the surround mix from the Japanese DVD then, unless any other promising source ever shows up.

Post
#1291832
Topic
Hackers (1995) - DTS 5.1 Restoration (* unfinished project - lots of info *)
Time

@sch4rk: after a few years since you’ve started the thread, it would be interesting to “round it up” with at least some consensus. 😉

So, I guess we can all agree that at Shout!Factory they were pretty pleased with themselves when they got the lameassed 2.0 mix and decided to “let it be”.

However, what do you guys now think about the Web-DL vs. Cinema DTS mix? Meanwhile, we also got two more versions on Blu-ray from the UK and Germany, both providing the English mix in 5.1 - the one according to Shout!Factory never existed.

Hence there should still be a few points left up for discussion, so wake up, old thread!

Post
#1290518
Topic
Help: looking for... Scream (1996) - Unrated Director's Cut
Time

Scream - also an all-time classic.

While I was searching for a HD variant of the unrated director’s cut myself a while ago, I have given up. The unofficial release might be a nice effort to combine the HD video with the missing scenes, but actually I wouldn’t bother with the Blu-ray video to begin with due to its awful sharpening and color-retiming.

Here, her face on the HD master looks somehow cheesy and pale:

https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=610&y=211&d1=6566&d2=6568&s1=61916&s2=61936&l=0&i=5&go=1

Whereas on this frame one can see that the - yeah a bit - higher resolution of the HD version is pretty much unraveled by the use of retarded filtering and sharpening:

https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=552&y=239&d1=6566&d2=6568&s1=61914&s2=61934&l=0&i=3&go=1

As for the Japanese DVD which I possess as well - skip that too because it has severe aliasing.

Hence overall, the German DVD by Kinowelt is the only way to go here so far.

Post
#1284027
Topic
Info Wanted: Anyone working on a color correction and re-graining of Terminator 2 - 4k mastered?
Time

Great attempt to revive a little rusty thread, I’d be interested as well and could throw the 5.1 “alleged” CDS mix in the AC3 container from the first US DVD onto the pile.

However, since you’re referring to the “detail” of the UHD-release which indirectly is hinted to only require some grain to be added for the theatrical experience, I want to put up the question about that detail in the first place, as exactly some of that very detail of course got lost in the process of the retarded filtering. Not that frequency-response-wise there wouldn’t be more to resolve compared to the former HD-variants, but for me overall it is somewhat a sad and frustrating “pick your poison” - case.

I predict already that True Lies will suffer a similar, silly fate, although I’d love to be proven wrong. I’ll never get how one can be (or become) so ignorant of one own’s formerly great work. But, yeah, the whole world is holding its breath for Avatar 17 … way more important.

Post
#1228144
Topic
Lolita (1997) Blu-Ray Color Correction/Matching to 1997 Masters (Released)
Time

Thanks for this thread, I’d definitely be interested in having a more faithful representation of the movie. I guess “faithfulness” works on several levels as also the version from 1997 is way more authentic in regard to the original story and in my opinion way better than the toned down and almost comedy-like Kubrick version.

I suppose you’re talking about the DVD versus the German Blu-ray, right? As far as I am aware, it’s the only official HD release so far. While overall it is definitely a decent upgrade, not only is the color grading different but also the contrast has been boosted a bit:

http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=442&y=188&d1=5198&d2=5199&s1=48485&s2=48496&l=0&i=2&go=1

Would be interesting to see a HDTV rip if it has been ever shown on TV.

Post
#1206173
Topic
Info: True Lies - Archival Project???
Time

I suppose we essentially agree. 😃

Of course, it’s a matter of taste. I’d welcome a bit more detail in darker areas but the gritty look is really neat and literally a nice contrast to the more video-like experience with the HD versions. Unfortunately (or luckily maybe as otherwise I’d be even older than I already am) I was too young to watch True Lies in the cinema, but I guess this was just the way it looked.

Will be interesting to see what they do with any official Blu-ray* release if Cameron ever cares to get it done instead of planning half a dozen Avatar sequels.

(*) considering how late they are, they could skip it right away and rather dump a 4K scan from the negative onto UHD. 😉

Post
#1206136
Topic
Info: True Lies - Archival Project???
Time

Well, while I am confident that the 35mm print was professionally captured as good as possible and probably virtually shows everything what the LPP film print had to offer, considering that the video releases (from whatever source they come from) show a lot more detail in dark areas, I think it’s fair to consider the blacks to be “crushed” compared to some original negative which must be lying around somewhere - at first independently of where that happened (during the film to video transfer or from film to film).

In other words - I didn’t mean to say that any dark detail was crushed on purpose within the scan project, all I am saying is - given the original negative - it should be possible to have all the grainy and cinematic look the current scan has plus the details in the dark areas (which would be nice). After all, one has to have dreams, right? 😉

Taking that aside, it is absolutely marvelous to have both versions so my highest respect to all who were involved creating that 35mm film scan.

Post
#1206133
Topic
Info: True Lies - Archival Project???
Time

In order to give this thread an update and hopefully a little boost as well - there is a parallel thread about True Lies, mainly about the 35mm film print scan.

In terms of HD versions floating around which have both advantages and disadvantages to the 35mm scan, I got three different ones at hand:

  • D-Theater with untouched MPEG2 1080i60/1.001 video stream, muxed to Matroska with a bunch of German DTS and AC3 tracks and English DTS, about 25.7 GB in size

  • Web-DL from Amazon with H.264 1080p24/1.001 open matte video stream, muxed to Matroska with E-AC3 audio, about 12.1 GB in size

  • HDTV from an unknown source with custom cropped H.264 1080p24/1.001 open matte video stream, muxed to Matroska with the same bunch of tracks like the D-Theater one, about 16.7 GB in size

Whereas the video streams of the Amazon Web-DL and the HDTV are roughly the same (the total size difference being only due to the muxed audio streams), the Amazon release has a slightly better sharpness and less data reduction artefacts after a quick check. Also the frame vertical stretch is slightly different.

Compared to the 35mm print, the SD and HD video versions have way higher detail in dark areas/scenes but on the other hand a little lower resolution and - risking to highly speculate here - probably not the color timing which was originally intended. Hence overall, the 35mm print of course provides a rougher cinematic experience, but at the cost of quite some severe black crush, a fact which can’t be embellished either.

Depending on the interest here, I’ll go ahead and provide screenshots for comparison later on.

Post
#1205578
Topic
Aladdin 35mm (Released)
Time

ScruffyNerfHerder said:
My point was that a near-field mix is created to sound better in a home. That’s all. 😃

Well, but you also put an assumption that the LaserDisc audio would have a near-field mix created to sound better at home.

And just in case I gave that impression unintendedly: I don’t know it any better for sure, so I am not claiming to know the truth here, just trying to get a discussion going to find it out.

Because from what I see and hear, and judging by the dynamics, the LaserDisc PCM track doesn’t feel like some compromised near-field mix to me so I would be interest why you guys apprently think so.

Post
#1204638
Topic
Aladdin 35mm (Released)
Time

ScruffyNerfHerder said:

Basically, as I understand it, a near-field mix is a remix of the theatrical audio for home theater. Near field because you’re near the speakers in a home theater, and in a far-field mix (i.e. a commercial theater) you aren’t. So, the Laserdisc audio is redone to sound better in a home, whereas the original optical track sounds better in a movie theater.

Maybe I am missing something here, but thanks to RU.08 I had the chance to listen to the “optical track” in comparison now and to my eyes and ears, the LD audio is technically better in every aspect.

Not that the optical track wouldn’t be worth being preserved due to the different sound and historical value alone of course, but the LD audio features a significantly higher dynamic range (just like DiscLord reported it) and is also “clean” whereas the (I assume analog) optical track has distortions which are especially noticeable during the dialog.

Thus I’d rather assume that it was in fact the LD audio which was originally created as the cinema master back then and not vice-versa. If they would have adjusted it to sound “good” on home theaters afterwards, normally that would have meant a reduction of dynamic range, not an increase as many nowadays low-end soundbar stuff (or worse) actually sound better with higher compressed sources. And given that it the mass market, no surprises here. However, the LaserDisc would predate that loudness-war era anyway so I wonder where the “near-field mix theory” comes from.

At least from what I’ve heard now, the optical track sounds like a decent attempt to reproduce the original master, however with all the limitations of these analog optical systems that time whereas the LD gives you the raw, dynamic deal.

Post
#1204518
Topic
Aladdin 35mm (Released)
Time

Ah, I see. However, I am then successfully confused in terms of your former comment which was “Also, the optical audio is better quality than the LD”.

Due to Disclord’s review, I thought that the PCM of the US THX-LaserDisc was the version to get:

Quote:

“The CLV used the 9db headroom limited Dolby Stereo SR soundtrack while the THX WS CAV used the 20db headroom SR master that was created for the Dolby Digital release prints. The CAV discs sound has a power and clarity that the CLV cant match with its more limited headroom.”

Post
#1204502
Topic
Aladdin 35mm (Released)
Time

@Superrayman3, RU.08, ScruffyNerfHerder

Since some of you keep mentioning the LD, can you please be more specific about what LD release you mean? There are plenty different ones including the 1662 CS which according to DiscLord is supposed to have the unaltered far field mix as PCM.

However, your mentioning of 48kHz suggests AC3 as this is the only format on the LD which uses that sample rate.

@Superrayman3: Maybe you mean the content which might in fact be different fidelity-wise but just in case you were referring to the technical aspects in general, a few remarks as this is very often stated wrong:

Superrayman3 said:

I’d like to try doing the same with the optical track as well but that one may be a bit trickier to work with since it’d be at a much higher bitrate and have a higher fidelity in comparison to a CD which would probably make such an edit noticeable when compared to the LD track which has a similar bitrate and fidelity to a CD but I’m open to trying it if it means I can help preserve a piece of Disney history).

What do you mean by ‘higher bitrate’ in comparison to “a CD”? If you refer to sample rates and bitrates, there is good news or bad news (depending from the point of view): there is no “higher fidelity” than what the good old, soon getting 36, CD provides. At least not as long as human beings don’t develop better ears. Much better ones as actually, the CD specs already exceed them severely in most situations. Both the sample rate and the bit depth in PCM provide such high quality (in theory, we better don’t get into nowadays charts music) than there is not a single blind test which has proven any high resolution audio to be discernible from it’s “old-fashioned” CD counterpart (given the same mastering of course).

I just ran some basic tests using the LD audio and restoring the original line is somewhat possible but there’s two caveats at play, first the LD audio will have to be down-mixed from 48000 to 44100 in order to keep a consistent quality with the CD audio (from what I understand if my research is correct, the audio track on LDs was originally encoded at the 16-bit 44100 sample rate prior to the introduction of AC3 so theoretically there should be little to no noticeable quality loss if my understanding of LD audio is correct)

With nowadays software, the conversion of 48 kHz to 44.1 kHz should be completely transparent and these few kHz one loses on the Nyquist frequency, virtually no one can hear anyway. AC3 is technically worse than PCM of course given the same source, but even here … at 384 kBit/s maybe, I haven’t had a change to really ABX them. At least it shouldn’t be entirely impossible. 😃

Post
#1204487
Topic
Before this becomes a thing (invites to Blutopia)
Time

While I perfectly understand the beauty of private trackers (higher chances of having active seeders, lower chances of attracting hyperactive lawyers) I somehow must have missed the part where it is still a neat idea to release such great projects like Aladdin in 35mm through rather inconvenient P2P-networks when there are way faster and more reliable one-click-hosters like Zippyshare available which don’t even require registration.

Maybe someone can enlighten me here, thanks.

Post
#1203711
Topic
The Matrix 35mm (Released)
Time

I’ve found the the second version of it on Share-Online. 24.22 GB, 50 parts, all up. However, without a premium account it takes ages to download it.

Update:

Alright, got it (again).

For anyone interested: don’t expect too much though. It looks different, but the scan result is far from being perfect as others already stated due to severe black crush and blown highlights which render the dirt and scratches being the least of a problem. Might be interesting as color reference source but overall I’d claim that both the DVD and BD are far superior until we get a copy of the 35mm in better shape.