none

Thanks link343 for tracking this down and VC for keeping it all these years.  The screen captures look great, let us know if you found anything of note when watching.  How bad is the switch point between sources, do they seem about the same quality, maybe same camera just different showing?

The video is 98% of the important part, it's just nice to see the inner workings of the files when we can, don't know what they might tell us.  A full version will hopefully turn up someday.  Will be interesting to compare these theater performance TPM recordings to the BR to see if they do return the 8% lost screen or if the theater recordings have more or less.

^ What ever you are doing seems to be working out great, Mielr.  Use the Forc...Facebook!

This came in from carstickers.com:

Your order number 98693 from 08/30/2011 07:46 has been updated from Payment Received to In Production on 09/01/2011 12:05. Your order will ship today unless you've requested a proof or have a large quantity order.

Hopefully this weekend we'll see if they are what we thought they once might be.  Problem is I don't have a car...  One issue at a time.

Tobar wrote: Could someone please explain to me what happened in this thread? I'm so confused.

I would stop replying to that person.  They are not being conversational.

ISOs are rolling out, so remember this quote from Kayleen Walters, Senior Director of Marketing:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/t/314096/lucasfilm-on-star-wars-the-complete-saga-blu-ray-hands-on-report

Each of those are 3 discs, we put one movie per disc to really optimize the picture and sound quality. And then there are 2 audio commentaries on each of the movies---one of them is actually an all-new commentary that has been constructed from archived material and there is a lot of never-before heard commentary that is a part of that, including a lot of the talent.

Details from MF.com

Star Wars: Episode IV  = 38.30 GB
Star Wars: Episode V = 40.15 GB
Star Wars: Episode VI  = 37.84 GB

A BD50 can hold up to 46.62gb: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD50

If each movie is not being restricted by disc size it is being restricted by the original scan.  Who knows about scanning at this size and what this info might inform us?  Seems odd that RotJ which is the longest is also the smallest disc.  Question for those who have authored a BR disc, are the compression settings not that sensitive, so maybe if they did jump a video compression level the GB would jump 6+ gb and thus be over the BD50 size?

More details:

ANH: MPEG-4 AVC Video 33502 kbps - Total bitrate: 41,92 Mbps
TESB: MPEG-4 AVC Video 32330 kbps - Total bitrate: 42.86 Mbps
ROTJ: MPEG-4 AVC Video 30589 kbps - Total bitrate: 39.27 Mbps

...and enjoyed themselves. Look what's become!!! Theee Horrrorrrrr.

The real problem is you people who saw these movies in the theater. 

Someone is attempting to move the discussion: (familiar discussion but bigger audience they'll reach.)

http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2011/08/31/the-blu-ray-menace-or-who-really-owns-star-wars/

xhonzi wrote: At what point does piracy of the special features become a "civil disobedience"?

Piracy never can be, but Willful Copyright Infringement certainly can.

Back in 2005 there was a p2p civil disobedience with the distribution of the civil rights documentaries "Eyes on the Prize" which hadn't been aired for many years because of a few copyright issues.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14801-2005Jan16.html

The same thing is happening with Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech:

http://motherboard.tv/2011/8/29/the-copyright-nightmare-of-i-have-a-dream--2

Like the Zapruder film, when does something become so important that the copyright owner gets out of the way so people can see and understand.

Similarly Archive.org is attempting to create a public archive of 9/11 video:

http://blog.archive.org/2011/08/24/understanding-911/

Problem is were dealing with an entertainment item, but the wave is starting that certain pieces of video are beyond the control of anyone.  But more importantly shouldn't be controlled by anyone.

doubleofive wrote: Fixed. I spent an hour typing this out, sorry that the formatting didn't instantly translate over here.

Internet, friend: http://www.free-ocr.com/  (requires proof reading of results, but it's good)

(or if you've got a full version of Acrobat, save as word does an OCR)

Bester wrote: The '97 Jabba was a big CG turdfest.

Today's turdfest, yesterday's triumph.  He's comparing a digital model to a Scottsman wearing a furry vest.  Technology builds, it took 50+ years of model making to get SW.

doubleofive wrote: The new angle is the fact that you cannot get Academy Award winning movies in their Academy Award winning forms. Fox releases a 75 DVD boxed set of some of their best movies, organized by decade, and one of the 70s movies is the 2004 version of Star Wars.

(being a hardass) Academy Awards are decided by critics and the insider Hollywood crowd.  I would say the masses 'feh' at this argument. 

Different topic, who's going to jail for this release?  It's not SW without piracy and jail time.  The MPAA has been going after locker storages of late, getting close to user data from Hotfile.  Could be this route or another torrent suit, i'd say early next week that'll start.

The leak, analysis, discussion and press are going to lead up to the latest statement from GL about the critics not getting SW which feeds right into sales.  The general public likes to bash critics with their wallets.  We need a new angle.

Angel wrote:

Not something new for you guys but its nice that gets more publicity

read George Lucas’ passionate words against George Lucas.

These words are hollow.  GL and Friends were trying to get the ability to have final say over derivative works.  This speech was a smoke screen, as they grabbed for more.  If they had won, GL could have prohibited Space Balls from ever being seen.

Sluggo wrote: I'd watch that once.

Tooooo kind, I wouldn't speak so loudly, someone might FORCE you to actually do it. heh heh heeeh.... *cough* hehehe BWAHHHHHAHAHHA Force you; get it?!

The final product should compress nicely.

ThrowgnCpr wrote: i would give this a watch too. It would be nice so that you could tweek it a bit so that only new additions show up. There are obvious slight color differences or minor shifts in the frame that will show up, but these really aren't changes. You can see this on your preview of R2D2 - all the lines around him. It would be nice if only the new boulders and shadow showed up in the print. just a thought.

All thoughts welcomed. New Additions Identification depends on the two sources used. Which could mean looking at looong stretches of blank black screen. (especially as i'm leaning toward HD and BR) Tweaking will happen, how it's applied is the 'art'. Which i'm not always the best judge of. Have a bunch of other screen caps to test with. For instance with the Ewok how do you pronounce the brown eyes out of the sea of black?

There's also a 'subtraction' blending mode.  The results lean to more blacks.  Here's a wikipedia explanation of the two:

Subtract

This blend mode simply subtracts pixel values of one layer with the other. In case of negative values, black is displayed.

Difference

Difference subtracts the top layer from the bottom layer or the other way round, to always get a positive value. Blending with black produces no change, as values for all colours are 0. (The RGB value for black is 0,0,0). Blending with white inverts the picture.

Trying a bit with the 2004s and a laser disc capture and I think this will be more benefitial and more successful results using the HD Broadcasts and the Blu-Ray. As on a pixel by pixel count they will be more alike for the difference to produce a true black.  The problem with these two sources is the HD broadcast might be the 16-236 (?) while the BR might be the full color range 0-255.

Also there's probably a different Difference which would leave white behind instead of black. The all black screen has it's appeal, but white might be easier to spot with.

Note: Starting to compare 2004 vs 2019 variations, jump to this post:
https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/DIF-Difference-tool-to-spot-visual-changes-Current-2004-vs-2019/id/13179/page/2#1340050

Previous DIF

Difference Blended Movie
aka Mechanical Approach to Spotting Visual Changes/Variations Between Film Versions

Currently : Star Wars Hexology 2004 vs 2011 Comparisons

Purpose : To identify visual changes made to the film, between these two versions.
Process : Two films version are composited using the ‘Difference Blending’ mode.  This renders pixels which are similar as black.  Areas which are dissimilar show up in color and stand out to varying levels.

Results: Comparison 2004 x 2011

http://www.archive.org/details/DIF-Star.Wars_2004x2011_480

WARNING Read full FAQ before watching.

FAQ Post: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/DIF-Difference-tool-to-spot-visual-changes-SW-2004-2011/post/538958/#TopicPost538958

Quick Pics Preview: http://www.archive.org/movies/thumbnails.php?identifier=DIF-Star.Wars_2004x2011_480

EDIT Previous First Post

Ok in my quest to make the most boring SW fan edit possible, I think i’ve stumbled across the idea. After seeing the side by side comparisons from the blu-rays of late:

(via: blu-ray thread)

This project will be named after the photoshop filter “Difference”. What this filter does is analyze two frame, where the information is the same it’ll return the color black, where there are differences it’ll return something else. So these edits will spot changes, and thus become more tools then edits. So i’ll use Tool from now on.

Example 1: R2 among the Rocks

Not the greatest example but you get a sense of about 50% of the frame being manipulated by the addition of the new rock.

Example 2: Ewok Eyes

This is where this Tool can pay off. It’s almost all black, the HD file is almost exactly the same as this supposed blu-ray leak file. The eye change being the noticable dissimilarity.

Here’s where I need help. No ones going to want to watch this whole thing, including myself. (I might, but doubtful) I need to find some video analysis program which has a feature which is a timeline and would show color peaks. Looking at this kind of chart it, should be able to identify some median line where no changes occur (ie the difference frame is mostly black) and the spikes would help us identify revisions.

Sound boring, yes it is!

“That’s the DIFFERENCE”

canned laughter

might want to add the facebook page to the first post.  More reports:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/08/31/140087582/rumor-has-it-george-lucas-changed-jedi-hey-think-anyone-will-mind

Cue the commenters! From the Badass Digest post:

"If this is real, it offends me more than any of the other changes [Lucas] made to the OT [original trilogy] up until this point."

"Good God. What is wrong with that man?"

"I don't have a Blu-ray, so I was never going to buy this, but now I wonder if there is a way to ANTI-buy something." [That one is my favorite.]

"That smarmy bastard will get no more of my money."

And so it goes, over and over, year upon year, as George Lucas makes everyone really mad, and then the new editions of the movies are purchased anyway, and the love-hate, push-pull, will-they-or-won't-they (oh, they will) relationship that he has with his fans continues to be one of our weirdest cultural phenomena.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/star-wars-has-george-lucas-tinkered-with-the-original-triology-again/2011/08/31/gIQANo2GsJ_blog.html

This person doesn't understand the difference between 'Original Trilogy' and...

And those aren’t the only alleged changes. (Using the word alleged here because I don’t have my copy of “Star Wars: The Original Trilogy” yet and cannot independently verify what the Digest blogger says he has confirmed.)

 

Of course, all of this fury overshadows the pre-existing fury about the fact that Lucas still refuses to issue the non-special-edition versions of the film on Blu-ray. But maybe Skywalker loyalists are so accustomed to their anger over that abomination that they’ve reached the acceptance stage and moved on.

(Just kidding. They totally haven’t.)

^ That's a fair criticism, but being someone who takes part in the thread, i'm in no way the right person to make this call.  Just throwing out ideas.

If you want to appeal to the audience which might be offended by the word boycott, this person phrases it nicely:

http://ww.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20888804#post20888804

I am not buying the Blu-rays; but I do not consider it a "boycott". I just don't want to watch them.

althor1138 wrote: I pre-ordered the saga last night after reading all of this stuff and then turned around and cancelled it and told them it was because of all the changes made to the films that have just surfaced online.  I think everybody ought to do it once lol.

That's a nice idea, maybe suggest that everyone order this week, then two/three days before... Mass Cancel.  Amazon must keep those stats.

Mielr, not sure how to guage when, but at some point the articles are going to start pointing out how there really aren't many changes for this blu-ray version, and that's a good time to start rolling out Doubleofive's SE comparisons.  To remind everyone it's not just this release but it's been building for almost 15 years.  The vast number of pics gives you one or two pics from each movie per day for at least a month.

Another thing people will mention or confront is the color changes for the 2004 and the crushed black/loss of detail issue.  The SaveStarWars youtube channel has a video which shows the differences: 

Star Wars: COLOR COMPARISON - Theatrical vs. 2004 DVD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWRs0ZD8ay4

lovely done.  I would save this as your ace in the hole for a couple days before release.

Could someone please check the version which supposedly has a Mandarin audio track for the new Krayt dragon sound effect in that Mandarin track.

MF.com poster checked:

I just checked Mandarin track. Krayt Dragon is old version and end of the ROTJ doesn't have Vader's "No! Noo!". I would guess that Mandarin track is from DVD.

Since Amazon.cn didn't list the blu-ray as forthcoming, China's not getting this so these versions are filling some market void.

Would you spend the time and resources to track down a leak source (or chain) by putting together a half completed blu-ray; order and print let's say 50k worth of copies (the MPAA pay pitch in), in the hope that it leaks so that you can then track down all involved?  Every Star Wars release from 1977 to now has had someone do some jail time, who's it going to be this time.

Another idea to make the facebook page interactive is to ask people to modify SW quotes to fit the topic.  One was recently posted in the BR thread:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Star-Wars-coming-to-Blu-Ray-UPDATE-August-30-2011-No-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO/post/529350/#TopicPost529350

SithTrooper wrote: "I'm altering the films. Pray I don't alter them any further." - Now I know exactly how Lando felt.

People like to riff.

*EDIT*

Hitler chimes in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW4W_95raHk&feature=player_embedded

^ I wouldn't play up the trilogy split, this campaign (at least to me) is about the idea that a group of films are being diminished with the anticipation of complete removal.  When LFL publicly says:

http://originaltrilogy.com/Lucasfilm_PR_response.cfm

The negatives of the movies were permanently altered for the creation of the Special Editions, and existing prints of the first versions are in poor condition.

That means the main resource for preserving the film is no longer with us.  Some of the PT awards are being modified for these releases as well.

To promote the facebook group an option is to contact the people who write articles related to the topic, they may update or write a new article/post. 

can find articles at news.google.com (search star wars) then view similar articles

A short press release type e-mail explaining the purpose of the group, why it exists and anything else you find relevant.  Who's got writing skillz good?

http://www.rte.ie/ten/2011/0831/lucasg.html

Famous Star Wars fan Simon Pegg has been tweeting all day about the changes. He's particularly angry about the change to Vader's redemption saying "Always loved Vader's wordless self sacrifice. Another ****ty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin's ghost. What a ****ing shame."

http://www.movieline.com/2011/08/is-darth-vader-screaming-noooo-really-such-an-insult-to-star-wars.php

It’s a possible change which raises the question: Is a two-second “Noooo” really worth getting that worked up over?

Those old Return of the Jedi copies are still floating around in a galaxy not so far away.

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/31082011/35/pain-star-wars-fans-0.html (the last line is a setup for the facebook page)

If the news does finally convince fans to stop buying these re-releases, maybe Lucas will stop his meddling once and for all. No?

http://wegotthiscovered.com/news/george-lucas-continue-fiddle-star-wars-bluray-release/

For the love of God, why can’t the man just give us the films the way they originally were for once? I have no interest in lining Lucas’ pockets any further if he can’t accept the fact he did a decent job the first time round. And it’s for that reason that I have no interest in purchasing the Blu-Ray release, I’m perfectly happy with my DVD copies.

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-bluray-controversy-george-lucas/

So here’s the thing: if these changes are legit and you think they’re awful, don’t buy the set. Please. People have complained for years that they don’t like what Lucas is doing to these films, but they generate so much money that his tinkering is financially validated. Stop doing that and he might (might) get the hint.

http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2011/8/30/two-audio-changes-in-new-star-wars-trilogy-blu-ray-cause-fan.html

I'm betting or at least hoping these clips are fake, because there's no reason to think these additions improve the films any.  And if they are real...maybe I won't finally upgrade to Blu-Ray to buy the series after all. 

http://io9.com/5835951/

And is this new tinkering a huge deal-breaker, or just one more head-scratching Lucas decision?

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/spike-tv-goes-deep-into-the-lucasfilm-archives-at-skywalker-ranch-during-star-warstm-labor-day-marathon-hosted-by-auction-hunters-allen-haff-and-ton-jones-2011-08-30

Spike TV Goes Deep Into the Lucasfilm Archives at Skywalker Ranch During Star Wars(TM) Labor Day Marathon Hosted By "Auction Hunters" Allen Haff and Ton Jones --Duo Provides Rare Look at the Original Props and Costumes Housed At the Lucasfilm Archives While Also Presenting Footage of Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray --Star Wars Labor Day Marathon Telecasts Saturday, September 3 (1:00 PM - 2)(1:ET/PT), Sunday, September 4 (12:30 PM - 2) and Monday, September 5 (9:00 AM - 1)(9:ET/PT)

 

 

NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- This Labor Day weekend, Allen Haff and Ton Jones, the charismatic stars of Spike TV's hit series "Auction Hunters," will take their peerless acumen in the world of antiques, collectibles and rare valuables to the Skywalker Ranch in California's Bay Area as they go deep inside the Lucasfilm Archives during the Star Wars Labor Day Marathon. For the first time, Spike gets access to the Lucasfilm Archives, one of the most historic collections of cinematic relics on the planet. Throughout the weekend, Ton and Allen go hands on with original props, costumes, models and artifacts from the Star Wars Saga, including an original R2-D2, Princess Leia's famous gold bikini from Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, Darth Maul's original costume worn in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, an AT-AT model from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and many more.

 

Additionally, the two will provide viewers an exclusive look at some of the bonus content that will be featured on the forthcoming Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray which will be available in stores and from online retailers on September 16.

Viewers can log on to spike.com to enter the Star Wars Labor Day Sweepstakes for a chance to win Star Wars prize packs featuring the Blu-ray set and Hasbro Lightsabers via the Stars Wars Labor Day Sweepstakes at spike.com.

The schedule for the Star Wars Labor Day Marathon is as follows:

STAR WARS LABOR DAY MARATHON

Telecasts Saturday, September 3 (1:00 PM - 2)(1:ET/PT), Sunday, September 4 (12:30 PM - 2), and Monday, September 5 (9:00 AM - 1)(9:ET/PT)

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

1:00 - 4:00 PM, ET/PT and 11:00 PM - 2:30 AM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999, Sci-Fi)

4:00 - 7:30 PM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002, Sci-Fi)

7:30 - 11:00 PM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005, Sci-Fi)

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

12:30 - 4:00 PM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002, Sci-Fi)

4:00 - 7:30 PM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005, Sci-Fi)

7:30 - 10:30 PM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE (1977, Sci-Fi)

10:30 PM - 2:00 AM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980, Sci-Fi)

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002, Sci-Fi)

12:30 - 4:00 PM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005, Sci-Fi)

4:00 - 7:00 PM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE (1977, Sci-Fi)

7:00 - 10:00 PM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980, Sci-Fi)

10:00 PM - 1:30 AM, ET/PTSTAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983, Sci-Fi)

^ Very nice.

Angel wrote: Its interesting that only the wicket/willow ewok got the eye treatment and not in all shots(even close ups) Some look good and some others dont.

How about the ewok who steals the speeder bike, he's got some close ups.  or how about the baby ewok shot, it's a big close up?  Or one of the Logray, Chief Chirpa shots, the shot where they've all got their spears pointed at them?

Puggo wrote: How exactly do we know that this is what will be on the blu rays?

I think the real tell is what we see from TPM, if that shows up.  You can't fake the extra frame information.

ESB Trampoline Luke did it get past quality control?