DVD's Remastered, Ultra Resolution, From Original Source Elements... (1 Viewer)

[Damin J Toell]

That one, at least, is a grading issue, not a cleaning-up issue. Proper grading would have reduced this anomaly to its original noticeability.

DJ

 

[ScottR]

DVDBeaver says that the cropping may be due to digital restoration?

 

[Patrick McCart]

Well, to an extent. I usually watch the DVD with the contrast adjusted to get a more accurate black level, but the lack of grain in the shots I mentioned revealed a little too much. Grain helped hide the mattes in several scenes.

 

[Damin J Toell]

It should probably also be made clear that defects such as the ones described are not the result of overzealous removal of grain (say, by digitally removing its appearance via DVNR). Rather, these issues are caused by using early-generation source elements that were meant to eventually be printed on the stock of the period, which would have a certain grain structure that was known to hide those defects. It is my understanding that no amount of restraint in digital grain removal can stop this from happening when such elements are employed in the creation of a transfer.

DJ

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

This is true with hardware as well (displays, speakers, players, etc). When viewed/listened to on their own, even average equipment can seem quite good. Our brain, eyes, and ears are very good at compensating for minor flaws when there is nothing immediately available to compare them to. However, when you do precise A/B comparisons one can generally identify the differences between the two.
There are clearly deficiencies of these new releases that are identifiable when doing precise A/B comparisons, but on their own, they are certainly not objectionable, and in some ways, these new releases are superior.

What concerns me the most however is not that these new releases have issues, but that many reviewers, especially ones who have a large audience gloss over these issues with comments suggesting they are reference quality DVD's without any flaws within the limits of the technology, which in many cases is not at all the truth.

I think it is great that so many enthusiasts and a hand full of reviewers are willing to not gloss over these deficiencies. Their willingness to make a stand and bring these issues to the attention of others as well as the studios will encourage studios to improve their methods, pay greater attention to production details, and offer the most accurate presentation possible.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Agreed.

I try my best to do the opposite when I review...to try to tease out all the details good and bad...and even if I love the image quality and give it 5 stars...I still want to make mention of any "issues" that may be present.

I'm always let down when I read other reviews that just say "reference image" without any details for a DVD that shows a good picture on my system...but that also has flaws like EE, DNR noise, color-banding or over-filtering etc.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Just one of many reasons why I so look forward to reading your reviews and in-depth comments on DVD's you have scrutinized.

I really hope Torsten Kaiser at TLE (The Laser Examiner) will take a hard look at Wizard of Oz. I've always felt that TLE offers some of the best in-depth reviews of video releases with a strong emphasis on A/V performance and detailed technical insights that help explain the flaws they report on.

TLE was one of only a few review sites that offered sound insight into the problems associated with Warner's release of the new 4-Disc Collector's Edition for Ben-Hur. It certainly confirmed many of the issues I have with the release.

 

[Patrick McCart]

In that one Ben-Hur article, it's mentioned that it has incorrect color timing. That's a fine claim, but they don't mention what their reference is. How can you know what's incorrect without a reference? (Also, it's kind of annoying to see people pirate images from www.widescreenmuseum.org without giving credit )

To my eyes, the new DVD has a dye-transfer look. Vibrant reds, golden tint, perfect black levels, and better flesh tones. In the old DVD, the color looks too dull and brown-centered.

The AWSM has a good article on the Ben-Hur DVD: http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/special/ben-hurdvd.htm

On the fourth page, it has GIF animations of the title sequence, demonstrating the difference in image steadiness. The old one rides around the screen, while the new DVD is steady as a rock. Just from looking at the title sequence, you'll see that the typeface is sharper on the edges of the lettering.