Edge Enhancement: Which titles are the worst offenders? (1 Viewer)

[SteveA]

I recently discovered the horrors of edge enhancement when I watched "The Phantom Menace" on a 50" widescreen display. Simply put, this is one of the worst looking transfers in my entire library of DVDs.

I would like to avoid other titles that use this so-called "enhancement". What are some other titles that use edge-enhancement?

 

[Walter Kittel]

The recent Tomsbtone SE release is horrific. As someone ( Chris Maynard ? ) sagely suggested, the reason that Wyatt wasn't shot was due to his force field. Probably the single worst disc with regards to EE that I've ever witnessed.
- Walter.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Wings of Honneamise is the only one I've seen worth whining about Half inch halos on a 27" set

 

[Joseph Bolus]

The "5 Star Collection" Fox release of The Sound of Music was "shot through" with excessive edge enhancement.

When Julie Andrews spins around on that mountain early in the movie you feel like yelling for somebody to "adjust the rabbit ears!"

 

[Patrick McCart]

Gone With The Wind.

Although WB should release not-yet-on-DVD titles first, GWTW is in desparate need of a full-blown SE using the LDI-restored transfer.

 

[Thomas Koeberl]

Some time ago there was a digital presentation of the special edition star wars trilogy (ep 4-6) on German Television (Pay channelremiere digital). I watched them and was mesmerized by the clarity of the clean anamorphic wide-screen picture and the dd5.1 sound. After these three films I watched the ep1 dvd (on the same tv). The picture was much worse in comparison (edge enhancement, grain). I can't believe what they did to this dvd ! Did to us, actually.:frowning:

 

[Carlo_M]

Whether it's EE or another form of ringing, all current releases of Stargate (the film) in R1 are pretty bad. Hoping Artisan fixes it for the upcoming (yet another) SE release...

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Umm... there are a LOT of transfers out there that are far, far worse than Ep.1. I just don't see all the EE that's supposedly present on this disc, nor do I have any issues with EE in Tombstone. Usual Suspects SE on the other hand...

 

[HenrikTull]

Usual Suspects SE on the other hand...

Excuse me? This is one terrific transfer IMHO.

 

[Oscar]

Well. I could say Wings of Honneamise, The Phantom Menace, etc.
Anyways don´t you think you are exxagerating?.
Of course TPM has a lot of E.E. but it has a lot of great color and deep blacks. You name it.
But WOH and unfourtanely TPM are the things that make me afraid of buying my Panasonic 60inch Widescreen TV. :frowning:

 

[Bjoern Roy]

Steve,

What are some other titles that use edge-enhancement?

Well, i would have a hard time naming more than 5 US DVDs that have absolutely NO ringing/EE, so the answer to your question would be "basically every title", which doesn't really help, does it?
Some titles have more ringing, others less. Everyone has a different 'threshold' of what they think is acceptable. It depends on your preferences, your equipment, your seating distance, etc...
So every be his own judge, here are some examples with my two cents attached.

Note: To avoid confusion. Vertical EE (vEE) can be seen at horizontal edges. Horizontal EE (hEE) can be seen at vertical edges.
Note 2: All pictures are directly comparable crops (same scale-factor)

Undisputed king:

Die Hard 3 S.E. (new release)
The old DH3 had a lot of vEE and hEE. The new DH3 has almost no vEE, but at twice as much hEE. The biggest amount i have ever seen on any title.
Way too much:

Left: Phantom Manace
Terrible vEE, not so bad hEE.
Middle: Unbreakable
Not consistent thoughout transfer. Also much more vEE than hEE.
Right: Spy Kids
Very edgy transfer. Halos are not quite as 'thick', but very 'intense'.

Tombstone Vista (all 3)
acceptable vEE, but very 'wide', multi-ripple hEE. Not as 'intense' as some of the other contenders in this group, though. Rather unusual characteristic.
Too much:

Left: Mask of Zorro (both old and new release)
Some again-the-sky shots are terrible, even worse than the usual non-Superbit CTHV ringing. I could name dozens of CTHV titles here, but in MoZ i found it really distracting.
Right: Usual Suspects EE
Much better transfer than the old. Some scenes DO have quite a lot of ringing, though. Looks very CHTV-ish, probably same encoder and parameters.
.
.
.

 

[Bjoern Roy]

.
.
.
So, what do titles look like which do not have any EE?
Perfect!

Left: Remember the Titans
One of the very few titles with zero EE. Perfectly film-like transfer. Unbeleivably smooth, yet incredibly detailed.
Middle: Titanic
No EE whatsoever. Perfect.
Right: Fast and the Furious
No hEE at all. Only the very slightest amount of vEE in a few selected scenes. A non-issue.
Regards
Bjoern

 

[Dave Mack]

The new remastered 2001 has quite a bit and it's a shame because otherwise it's a pretty nice transfer.
Jay and Silent bob... had quite a bit.
And the New "Highlander 1" release is odd, some scenes are AMAZING looking and some.... EEEEK!!!!
D

 

[Dave F]

Why do I always feel like I'm in class when I read a Bjoern post? Nice post, as always.
-Dave

 

[Patrick McCart]

If I may add...

It's downright sad that major studios like Fox, Disney and Columbia have ringing artifacts on transfers. They should be painstakingly perfecting the image.

On the David Shepard-produced DVD of City Lights, you will not find one instance of edge enhancement throughout the presentation. Even Chaplin's bowler hat never rings in front of white backgrounds.

Every transfer should be looked over with a lice remover comb to find everything which could lead the picture to lack in quality.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Born on the Fourth of July likewise sucks in the edge-enhancement department, plus it's non-anamorphic. Other than being a great film, the disc has few positive features.

 

[Neil Joseph]

The worst I have seen beyond a shadow of doubt is Stargate, a truly aweful experience on the big screen.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

I will second The Sound of Music and also add Lawrence of Arabia!

 

[Rob Tomlin]

double post

 

[Larry Gardner]

Check out Mothman Prophecies.