...wow...wow...W-O-W!!!
Resolution is GREAT! Now we need a bit of color... (^^,)
Keep up, you are making a wonderful job - our Star Wars PAL laserdiscs are patiently waiting to be captured using your software...
Zyrother said:
Personally, I would still go with SR7, just because the de-grained look of MagicUp looks waxy and unnatural to me.
Have you watched my last test clip - the soft upscale?
DrDre, thanks a lot!
I tried to do the soft upscale, after watching around some actual film captures; less details than BD, but also more... filmlike (of course!), maybe due to "roundness" of the lines, no jagged lines... don't know how to explain better... yes, photorealistic could be used for that kind of image!
Here you are the comparison:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124947
Meanwhile, I tried a "new way": upscale the GOUT using "smooth" settings; not nearly comparable to SuperResolution, but jagged lines are (almost all) gone; it seems more "filmlike", but I need some feedback from someone who could watch it in a full HD TV set...
GOUT HD "soft" upscale - 1080p, 2m04s, 20mbps, 300MB, no audio:
https://www.sendspace.com/file/srefc8
be rough, don't worry, this is only a preliminary test - it took 4 hours to encode it...
Credits: based on G-force GOUT stabilization script
towne32 said:
For TPM the HDTV has the same 8% (or I've heard 10%) cropping in many (but not all) shots that the DVD has. The other episodes don't have that problem.
Thanks for the info! You are right:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/99096
(third images seems to have both images from BD)
But... following this comparison:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/90179
it seems there is at least one shot which has more image on HDTV...
Someone could confirm that the Premiere German HDTV has tiny 8 pixel borders on both sides?
Thanks! Not useful for the *database*, but always interesting to know these info!
I found somewhere that the BD image is about 8% bigger (or the HDTV 8% cropped?) than the HDTV; someone could confim this? And what's about the other episodes?
Also, there was at least a D-VHS recording of a trilogy broadcast, made in 2003, so it was *not* the 2004 DVD version... maybe? (Thanks to Jetrell Fo for the info)
Happycube, eagerly awaiting your future tests with PAL! (^^,)
UPDATE: added some file size, plus the fact that EP1 was broadcasted in PAL 16:9 5.1 by German TV Premiere
Update: added a link to a post with some '97 screenshots.
Here you are...
MagicUpSR5 + MagiClean2 Vs MagicUp + MagiClean2 (1280x544):
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124716
first is based on SuperResolution, while second is not; as you can see, SR retain more details, but also it has a lot of jagged lines...
SuperResolution V7 Vs MagicUp + MagiClean (1920x816):
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124717
here SR has some more small details (lights, for example) but a LOT of jagged lines, too much for my taste... (^^,) plus, don't know why you have decided to crop some lines at the sides...
I think it could be possible to have "the best of both world" using a SR or not, based on the shot.
By the way, the best vertical size for 1080p should be 822 = 274 x 3!
DrDre, may you post frame 4584, using your SR7, both at 1280x544 and 1920x816? Thanks!!!
So it's a re-encode...
Nope, HDTV is 1080i MPEG2 29.97fps
Can't remember if it was in the HDTV as well...
Well, if it's "just" in few scenes, restoration job will be easier, at least... I hope...
Yes, DVB transmissions started around 2004 IIRC, and DVD recorders were available around that year...
The only way to have an high quality OT version - but I strongly doubt it was transmitted - is a D2MAC european satellite broadcast, and a S-VHS (or other high resolution tape recorder) or a MUSE japanese satellite broadcast (using an high def master) and a W-VHS recorder... well, dream is still free - for the moment!
I'm aware the OT was broadcasted, in Italy as like in all other countries, but it was before DVB... so, if we are lucky, the best we could find out is S-VHS copies, and I think they will surely not be better than GOUT; but you are right, I titled the thread "SDTV & HDTV..." maybe I must change it to "Digital SDTV & HDTV..."!
By the way... benvenuto! (^^,)
I agree that, when making a cleanup, some details are enhanced, while others are diminished or even lost - see the stars... (--_) - but I tried also to find the best way, that is FAR from perfection, of course, to make the upscaled version similar to the real HD; back to the soldier shot, if you see the hairs, in your versions there are "stairsteps", and also in the helmet strap... I hate that, I prefer "smooth" diagonals, even if, again, something will be lost...
About grain: I'm sorry to say that grain present in the GOUT - like in all other DVD, and laserdisc as well - is not the original one found in the movie, because it will be impossible to resolve fine grain with a standard definition video, with "old" MPEG2 codec, at low bitrates... it's mainly the "ghost" of the grain, what it remains after the encoding, and when upscaled you have an enlarged version that, I must admit, helps to increase the perception of fine details, but it's not the "real deal"... in my version, I scrub what it was supposed to be grain, and add a real 35mm grain plate; obviously purists will cry scandal, while I think it's better to have a good replacement, instead of a bad "reinterpretation"... do you agree?
Of course, there are always the ones who like the cleaned version, some others who like the raw version, and few others who like 1997, 2004 or 2011 Special Editions! (^^,)
Snake Burton, I see the blue line, thanks!
Is it present in all the movie, or just in some scenes/shots?
Waiting for moiré examples! (^^,)
Mike, the HDTV is... well, HDTV broadcast! (^^,)
It's the same master used for 2004 SE DVD, and I used it to have an HD version of the same shot (well, sort of) to compare, in particular to check small details placement and position; here you are another comparison
SuperResolution7 Vs MagicUpSR5 + MagiClean2:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124557
SuperResolution7 Vs HDTV:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124558
MagicUpSR5 + MagiClean2 Vs HDTV:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124561
I refined further my script - from now, simply MagicSR (that uses SuperResolution upscale + denoise/sharpen filters + grain plate); here you are a brief comparison clip (Vs Bicubic) - 1280x720, 34.50MB, 27s, no audio: https://www.sendspace.com/file/u3k865
Image is greatly enhanced, I can't believe how great the power of Avisynth is... and, I know, I know, stars are disappearing here and there... this is the worst problem so far, I'm thinking about how to solve it!
Going to sleep now, hope to read some feedbacks next time I'll come back!
Even if PAL has more vertical resolution as standard, NTSC GOUT EP IV and V are better, while EP VI PAL is better...
OK, guys, please continue to look for the shots which need to be fixed... I'll stay here, drinking some fresh beverage, waiting for that... (^^,)
@Snake Burton: may you post a frame with the blue line?
DrDre said:
@ Laserdisc Master
Very impressive cleanup! In the end (after some discussion about a cleanup I did) I decided to go for a faithful representation of the GOUT, without any cleanup. However, your cleanup version certainly looks pretty good :-).
Thanks!
We could always release two version, the "dirty" and the "clean"! (^^,)
Every episode is available in h264, while it seems there is no Episode I in MPEG2... anyone could confirm this?
I'm back!
SuperResolution7 Vs MagicUpSR5 + MagiClean2:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124415
loses some small details, but overall image is cleaner, less ghosting, plus it restores better few details - you could see it better in comparison with HDTV, resized to have the same size, more or less...
SuperResolution7 Vs HDTV:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124416
MagicUpSR5 + MagiClean2 Vs HDTV:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124417
again, it's always a trade-off, a compromise... you gain something, but lose other things... and, again, it's a matter of taste... "de gustibus non disputandum"! (^^,)
Last thing: thanks DrDre, to have "pushed" me to continue to improve my script!