The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD! (1 Viewer)

[Ric Easton]

That's funny, I thought that line was in there at the very beginning. Granted, it's been 29 years, but I seem to remember the payoff for that line getting a big laugh in the theater.

 

[RichardCrowther]

Right, I've had a word with a man who works in the restoration/remastering industry, and whose opinion I trust greatly, and he states that the ghosting is *definitely* a result of massive amounts of noise reduction.

His reply is here:

http://www.rtforum.co.uk/read.php?id=167505

He does go on to say that that doesn't mean that they are not standards converted, but merely that the ghosting in the screengrabs provided are not an indication of this, but of excessive noise reduction. I think the running time of the PAL version precludes the possibility of them being derived from ntsc masters in any case.

http://www.rtforum.co.uk/read.php?id=167509

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Great thread. I particularlly appreciate comparisons to the LDs (both picture and sound) by those with front-projection systems.

I think I'll pick these up used. That way I can get something that looks (but not sounds) better than my LDs without putting any $$ into Lucas' hands.

 

[Gruson]

Despite not being anamorphic, these look REALLY good.

I watched parts of all of them last night.

My video set up is a 119" screen, IF 7200 FP, Oppo, HD-A1 and Zektor DVI switch.

Both look VERY good and better than any bootleg out there, including Mothers and other higher resolution transfers. They look even better than the actual LDs as well (when I had them with my 704).

The image is sharp but there is some "grain" or "dots" that are more apparent than other releases..you do get used to it. That said, there is no LD "tearing" with these versions and colors look great.

As others have said, it is so nice to have the original colors back. I hated the '97 SE tints.

For $15 each, they are a must have. It's great to have an easy way for everyone to enjoy the TRUE Star Wars trilogy.




__________________

 

[Adam_WM]

Here's the catch, though. These are being presented as "bonus material", not primary features. That's how they can eek out the "poor" quality.

 

[Reagan]

Picked up Ep IV last night and watched most of it. This would have been a great DVD... in 1997.

-Reagan

 

[T-1000]

Another thing I have noticed on the PAL Star Wars DVD is zigzag lines in certain parts of the film where they should be smooth. One standout scene for me is where Obi-Wan first sees Vader holding his red lightsaber before they duel. Does this effect the US disc also too?.... I hate NTSC to PAL conversions that are not done correctly!... That's why I have to ask. I can live with it, if it affects the NTSC transfer also lol.

http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n...gAnch=imgAnch1

 

[RichardCrowther]

As I say above, it's almost certainly not an NTSC to PAL conversion.


What you are describing is probably "aliasing", very common on non-anamorphic discs, and even on some poorer quality anamorphic ones.

 

[T-1000]

Thanks very much for letting me know, you've been a big help to me Richard. Now I can sit down and enjoy the ORIGINAL film without wondering, "Is this a dodgy NTSC to PAL conversation?" ever again lol. Yeah I know, PAL has a 4% speedup too, surprisingly that has never really bothered me at all. To be honest I'd rather have a great film in properly converted PAL with the speedup then in standard NTSC. At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Bad PAL-NTSC conversion (and vv) can exacerbate aliasing because the horizontal scan-lines are being recalculated. Therefore, both answerws could be correct. If the PAL version aliases more than the NTSC and both were taken from the same source transfer/D1 then that's the case.


Fox did the same thing with the alternate version of Oaklahoma which looked even worse than the original non-16x9 DVD!

 

[T-1000]

I know exactly what you mean, Anchor Bay's first release of Halloween in PAL for example. The conversation method used was absolutely AWFUL. Far worse then this ORIGINAL Star Wars transfer. I trust Richard, and am convinced that this PAL transfer is fine in terms of the conversation.

Yes it would be nice to have the original trilogy with today's standards of remastering, but I am not going to loose any sleep over whether it happens or not. For now these transfers will suit me just nicely.

 

[TravisR]

There was different sound mixes for Star Wars (depending on the theater's sound capabilities) so you may have heard it.

 

[Josh Simpson]

That's what I'm doing.

 

[Chris Atkins]

You guys that are buying these used do realize that you are still indirectly putting money in Lucas' hands, right?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

How? Does Lucas get royalites from someone buying used copies?

If someone buys the disc and decides they don't like it or want to own it, then by purchasing it from them it's still just one sale for Lucas instead of two.

 

[Gary Seven]

Thanks for the review guys. I have the DC set and was always pleased with them. I used to have the original wide screen LD release and the DC set was far and away better.

Based on what I read, the image is marginally better but the sound is vastly inferior. I find "tinny" to be unacceptable since the LD is anything but. Therefore, I will hold off on this set. I would reconsider if these are later released HD, which based on the history of this trilogy release, is rather highly probable.


Agreed. That statement made no sense.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Too bad Fox didn't encode the 2.0 DD track at a 348 kbps datarate... or better yet... LPCM at 16/48 or 20/48... all of which are allowed for DVD-video!

 

[Jerome Grate]

This set gets a thumbs down for me, video marginally better than laser, inferior audio, just not worth it. I'll stick with the previous release, I love it and personally the nostalgia does not move me as I thought it would at least not in the same way that it's initial release to DVD did. Money towards an HD-DVD player, now about 200 bucks in towards it, well worth sacrifice.

 

[Richard Kim]

Has there ever been a DVD with a 2.0 track at 348 kbps? Also, PCM tracks on DVD are extremely rare due to space issues. Do the Right Thing (Criterion) is the only title that I can think of that has a PCM track.

 

[Brendon]

Agreed! Whilst I never had the OOT/OUT on laser, I did have the 97SE LD boxset. Lacking the RF out port for Dolby Digital meant using the PCM soundtracks via Pro logic and latterly PLII. Those tracks were astoundingly full and rich (as were the vast majority of PCM tracks on laser).

Has anyone been able to confirm that it is the 1993 THX mix being used on the current original Star Wars (ANH) disc?

Without wishing to digress too much, is there a good reason (ie other than the whim of studios) why PCM stereo isn't used much outside of music DVDs for stereo/matrixed surround material?

EDIT: Should have refreshed the page before posting! PCM I'd imagine is a serious consideration when extras etc are competing for disc space, but when the film & menu is the only thing on there?