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USHE Press Release: Back To The Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

Kevin EK

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Carl, with all due respect to the HD Room, I have seen these discs, and I can see grain in many shots. So the statement that the films have been scrubbed clean of any grain is simply inaccurate. There absolutely is grain visible, and it's not a problem. It's variable, depending on the amount of compositing and VFX work in the given shot. For example, in BTTF 1, the scene of Marty saying goodbye to George and Lorraine at the end of the dance has quite visible grain - simply due to the fact that this was not a VFX scene - it was just a scene of the actors on set playing a scene. The same thing applies to the scene of Marty seeing George and Lorraine walk into the dance after punching out Biff. On the other hand, in BTTF 3, many shots of the train sequence at the end, such as Doc on the front of the locomotive, had a lot of compositing done to them, so the picture quality is a bit softer. But other shots in that sequence, for example of the DeLorean on the tracks running in front of the locomotive, are quite detailed and you can make out the fine parts of the grill.
 

ManW_TheUncool

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RE: the HD Room comment, to be fair, we should recall that entire section being quoted, which actually says that film grain was missing at times, not all the time.


The films themselves underwent an extensive high definition remastering process for Blu-ray that was approved by Bob Gale. The result are transfers that have been scrubbed clean of any evidence of dirt, imperfections, or at times, film grain. Some scenes I sampled, such as when Marty and Doc gear up to first test the time machine, are so squeeky clean the actors look like mannequins and their environment like a digital creation. Other instances, including the openings of Back to the Future and Back to the Future III, are presented more naturally with film grain intact.

DNR (digital noise reduction) pundits will likely have a field day complaining about Back to the Future on Blu-ray for weeks or even months after its release. If you can get by a cleaner image that doesn't always reflect its age, the Back to the Future Trilogy on Blu-ray looks to be a ton of fun in high-def.



Also, it's clear that the HD Room commentator does not necessarily feel the DNR application was all bad based on the gist of that last part.


Now, I do not think transfer/encode issues should be downplayed. OTOH, I do agree that we need to not overreact either. I remain skeptical about the PQ of these discs, but OTOH, I'm glad to hear that it *might* not be as bad as some of us originally thought -- at least it might be fine enough for most of us w/out FP setups though I also agree it should be better, if at all feasible.


One thing I'd add is why should *ANY* of the scenes appear devoid of film grain at all? So far it *STILL* sounds/seems like the VFX scenes may have been overly DNRed even if the normal scenes have not been. It would also help if someone could provide a few screencaps showing the good PQ that we're being told about -- no, just having what appears like some film grain is apparently not enough since the PQ can still be mediocre in such cases (as can be seen in the blu-ray.com screencaps).


And before any screencap naysayers decide to post to dismiss screencaps as completely useless, please don't bother because that's pattenly false. No, they are not the end-all-be-all of evidence for PQ of course, but they are real evidence nonetheless and should simply be handled/understood properly w/in context is all, not completely dismissed nor taken out of context. Personally, I do think the blu-ray.com has not done due diligence w/ how they handled screencaps since their own screencaps disclaimer is somewhat contradictory (as if making up an excuse to say they should not be held accountable for any half-a$$ed screencaps even though they want to used them to give an idea of PQ).


_Man_
 

Kevin EK

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Man, I'll try to address this in my review, and I'll go back to recheck the exact shots that reviewer was talking about. I don't know that I even agree with his characterization of them. I don't recall any shots where the cast looked like waxwork. I also want to be careful about what we're saying about the VFX shots. I did not mean to say that the VFX shots have been overly DNR'd. Rather, I was commenting that those shots already have a fair amount of processing done to them, and are by their nature a bit softer than the non-VFX shots. I didn't see the same layer of light grain in every shot, but I didn't think I was looking at a sequel to Wall-E at any point either. It's that kind of language that concerns me, and I want to be careful with it.


One note re screencaps. The issues I've been having with some patterned jackets on some of these films do not occur when I freeze the frame. It's only in motion that I see a light shimmering effect, for example on Marty McFly's jacket as he plays "Earth Angel". This is likely a result of 3:2 pulldown as I was saying, but whatever the cause, a screencap will not reveal it.
 

ManW_TheUncool

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Thanks much, Kevin, for your extra diligence in following up on this despite your full plate. Regardless of what we actually get on the BD, your efforts are much appreciated.


_Man_
 

Zack Gibbs

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I viewed the first film tonight. There are some effects shots that have been scrubbed clean. The application is a bit strange because they really do target the opticals and it gets intercut with regular footage, bouncing the look back and forth. The images still hold up though, and don't take on the surreal quality of poorly DNR'd titles. I don't think it mars the release.


There's a lot of natural detail here, the old age make-up effects can be picked apart completely. Despite that, unfortunately, the whole movie has had a lot of sharpening applied to it. Contrast is pumped up too. It almost never lets up save for some of the darker night time scenes. This does mar the release, quite a bit.


Based on the early chatter I was expecting to be happy with the first films treatment, I wasn't. At least I can still look forward to Aliens. Good thing that's not one of Universal's.
 

Xenia Stathakopoulou

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Originally Posted by TravisR

I wouldn't spend the extra money on it but that stuff is pretty cool looking.

For me its not even 10 dollars more than the plain version on amazon usa. Heres why, it would cost me 47.99, plus 9.99 shipping for europe, that totals 57.99 on amazon usa. It costs me around 63 dollars us for the special blu ray collectors tin on amazon uk. I would be foolish to pass it up.
 

Nelson Au

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Kevin, were you putting together a review of this blu ray? I'm not seeing it, maybe it's right in front of me and I can't see it! Or maybe it's in an alternate reality?
 

Xenia Stathakopoulou

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My order for the Blu Ray tin, has now entered the shipping soon phase at Amazon UK. I should have it here in Greece by Friday.
 

Steve Tannehill

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My non-tin shipped today from Amazon in the US. With any luck, it will be delivered tomorrow or Monday.
 

Nelson Au

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Does Amazon ship before street date? Can't wait to hear your impressions of it Steve.


By the way, I hadn't had a chance to place an order for this at Amazon and checked Best Buy's price. It's less, by 3 dollars!
 

Adam Gregorich

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Originally Posted by Nelson Au

Kevin, were you putting together a review of this blu ray? I'm not seeing it, maybe it's right in front of me and I can't see it! Or maybe it's in an alternate reality?

I talked to Kevin the other day and he is just about finshed. He had posted some thoughts so far in this thread.


As to your other questions I have Amazon prime and with prime they usually ship it early so it arrives on street date.
 

Kevin EK

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I'll have the review up tomorrow. Sorry - been a very busy workweek.


But I've essentially been compiling my notes on all the various features and subfeatures of these Blus.


(My reviews normally wind up as a kind of clearinghouse of where the various special features came from, and what is actually new with this release)


I'll say again that I see grain in all 3 films. I did not notice the heavy contrast or sharpening Zack mentioned - just the additional detail I expect from Blu-ray releases. I did notice that BTTF 1 looked a bit brighter on Blu than it did on the standard DVD set. (I've been comparing between the releases - that's another reason for my delay here.)


They also scrambled the art/photo galleries between the old release and the new release. Looks like the same materials got recycled in different arrangements.


I'm still not a big fan of the U-Control features here, and the packaging manner is no fun. In trying to operate the "wings" at the bottom of the disc holder, I wound up breaking them in one case. The wings, that is, not the disc!
 

Steve Tannehill

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Originally Posted by Nelson Au


Does Amazon ship before street date? Can't wait to hear your impressions of it Steve.




By the way, I hadn't had a chance to place an order for this at Amazon and checked Best Buy's price. It's less, by 3 dollars!
<

I've got Amazon Prime, and they shipped it USPS/Fedex Smartpost. The last time they did that was for a book shipped on Friday and it arrived the following Wednesday.

But most of my recent USPS/Fedex packages have been shipped on Friday and delivered on Saturday. I can hope, although I have quite a backlog of blu-rays to watch if it doesn't show up.

Bottom line, Amazon Prime pre orders almost always deliver on street date, sometimes before.
 

Nelson Au

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Thanks for the replies guys. I had not known that about the Prime shipping service. I never thought I ordered enough to justify it.

I figured you were busy Kevin. Take your time!
 

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