The Twilight Time News and Info Thread (1 Viewer)

[trajan007]

Twilight time says there is no defect and that it is film grain Are you kidding me!. Parts of this film look as bad as a video tape.

If this is film grain, it is film grain out of control. It makes for a totally unacceptable film experience. You would think something could of been done about it the transfer process.

 

[TheSteig]

If this is film grain, it is film grain out of control. It makes for a totally unacceptable film experience. You would think something could of been done about it the transfer process.

You do realize that TT is simply the distributor and did not even create the HD master right? TT is a company that waits for the HD masters from Sony and Fox and then they release them..
Whether or not there is too much or too little film grain, it is part of the film. Film elements are part of the reason. It could be DNR'd out and then you'd get waxy faces !

 

[trajan007]

Yes I know that.I am talking about MGM where the transfer takes place. Many spots at the start look fine. Why the grain goes out of control later on is strange.

 

[Konstantinos]

So, announcements next weekend?

Sorry for asking, just anxious..

 

[3D Projectionist]

Another classic 3D Blu-Ray would be most welcome from Twilight Time I miss your great 3D releases. Thank you for what we have had thus far.

 

[Worth]

The problem with heavy film grain is that it looks much worse on digital than it ever did on film prints. With film you had generation loss going from the negative all the way to release prints, which tended to smooth out the grain. And when prints were projected, gate weave and the constant motion of the film running through the projector also added a softness to the image.

With digital you have perfect stability, which combined with fixed resolution and the need for compression, gives grain a much noisier look.

 

[Filmgazer]

Twilight time says there is no defect and that it is film grain Are you kidding me!. Parts of this film look as bad as a video tape.

I have the original DVD of "Stardust Memories" from MGM and that excessive film grain does NOT appear in those two scenes (nor anywhere else) in the transfer. The scenes appear totally smooth without any "mosquito noise". That's why I kept the DVD to sit alongside the otherwise fine TT Blu-ray. It sure looks like either something went wrong in the video transfer or MGM supplied TT with a defective print.

 

[TonyD]

Anyone check Amazon Prime’s version yet?

 

[Twilight Time]

I have the original DVD of "Stardust Memories" from MGM and that excessive film grain does NOT appear in those two scenes (nor anywhere else) in the transfer. The scenes appear totally smooth without any "mosquito noise". That's why I kept the DVD to sit alongside the otherwise fine TT Blu-ray. It sure looks like either something went wrong in the video transfer or MGM supplied TT with a defective print.

We released Stardust Memories over 14 months ago, in December, 2016. Until your and Trajan's complaints we have heard nothing but good reports on this transfer. Trajan notes above that the Region B, Arrow release is the same. Clearly, they haven't felt the need to recall their "defective" disc either. That is because the discs are not defective, and nor was the HD source element provided by MGM/UA. Now, you may not like the excessive grain prominent in this transfer, but that is purely a matter of subjectivity. Plus, you are looking at a master that has six times the resolution of a DVD - and consequently things show up in greater detail. An unfortunate consequence of HD. Another site recently complained about the clarity and detail in our recent release of DOCTOR DOLITTTLE because they regretted that wires are now visible in the frame where they weren't before.

 

[TonyD]

Has anyone noticed in STARDUST MEMORIES starting with the scene where Woody Allen meets his fans outside the film festival that there are a ton of video artifacts that continue on for several minutes and show up in later scenes.

You have a time code?

 

[Camps]

Nick, FWIW, if you succeed in getting Fox to provide you a 3D master and give us a 3D blu of Gorilla at Large, I promise you won't get any complaints from me about speckling or visible wires.

 

[Blimpoy06]

I resisted the temptation to blind buy purchase The World of Henry Orient. Even though it features Peter Sellers (and co-stars Angela Lansbury), everything I've read seems to indicate that the film's focus is less on Sellers and more on the annoying girls who dominate much of the trailer.

I would give in to temptation on this one. This is one of the best coming of age films of the 20th Century. The girls are written to act their appropriate ages and are far from being annoying IMHO. The print is spectacular and it contains one of the best audio commentaries Twilight Time has ever done. Informative and enjoyable. Well worth your time and money.

 

[BRAD1963]

I thought grain was a good thing. Isn't the idea to create the most accurate film-like experience with the transfer? IMO Stardust Memories looks spectacular on Blu-ray. Gordon Willis' beautiful B&W cinematography.

 

[trajan007]

I thought grain was a good thing. Isn't the idea to create the most accurate film-like experience with the transfer? IMO Stardust Memories looks spectacular on Blu-ray. Gordon Willis' beautiful B&W cinematography.

Some parts do look great,but other sections never looked like this in a theater where I saw it.

 

[Filmgazer]

You have a time code?

In response to the "time code" question posed by TonyD, the sequences with the heaviest noise in "Stardust Memories" were from the 12:25 to 13:28 mark, as well from 57:30 to 59:00, both of which exhibit a distinct downgrade from the surrounding video quality.

 

[Filmgazer]

We released Stardust Memories over 14 months ago, in December, 2016. Until your and Trajan's complaints we have heard nothing but good reports on this transfer. Trajan notes above that the Region B, Arrow release is the same. Clearly, they haven't felt the need to recall their "defective" disc either. That is because the discs are not defective, and nor was the HD source element provided by MGM/UA. Now, you may not like the excessive grain prominent in this transfer, but that is purely a matter of subjectivity. Plus, you are looking at a master that has six times the resolution of a DVD - and consequently things show up in greater detail. An unfortunate consequence of HD. Another site recently complained about the clarity and detail in our recent release of DOCTOR DOLITTTLE because they regretted that wires are now visible in the frame where they weren't before.

Thanks for you explanation, Nick. I certainly defer to your expert opinion that the digital artifacts in the Blu-ray of "Stardust Memories" may only be a hi-def amplification of noise that may not be visible in the standard DVD version of the film, but may be present nonetheless. It appears to be some sort of anomaly, but wasn't prominent enough for me to contact you at the time I purchased the disc. In fact, I had completely forgotten about it until Trajan inquired about it in this discussion thread. As a regular buyer of TT titles, I have no complaints. Thanks.

 

[Sadsack]

Maybe lowering the Sharpness in player or hdtv would minimize the artifacts. Works with the "snow" I've seen in other videos.

 

[RolandL]

Nick, FWIW, if you succeed in getting Fox to provide you a 3D master and give us a 3D blu of Gorilla at Large, I promise you won't get any complaints from me about speckling or visible wires.

Yes, please more 3D titles!

 

[JPCinema]

Isn't Twilight Time a bit delayed for their May releases?

 

[William Miller]

Film grain and video noise are not the same thing. But film grain can cause video noise or mosquito noise. But every time you see video noise, it can be caused by other factors too.

There are a bunch of Blu-rays that suffer from excessive video noise that have nothing to do with film grain. The Blu-ray of "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" suffers from video noise through parts of the film. It is very annoying to watch. But some Blu-ray players and TVs can handle noise better than others and that makes the problem more complicated. Most TVs have a noise reduction setting that can improve the picture. I have Toshiba TVs and when I play "It!", the noise is terrible even though I have my video noise reduction levels on my TV set to "High". But after several experiments, I found out that by changing the settings to "Low" and then immediately back to "High", the noise will go away for that viewing. Very strange.

If you want to see an example of excessive film grain, look at the Blu-ray of "Bell, Book and Candle". That is film grain at it's worst.

If you go to Google and search for film grain - video noise, you will see links to many articles explaining all of the complicated factors involved.

I have not seen "Stardust Memories" but it sure sounds like video noise to me and not film grain.

I really appreciate the small companies releasing classic films from the studios but if they give you a lousy master, that does not mean you have to release it. I am sick and tired of hearing the old excuse: "That's what they gave us". Yes, Blu-ray is a very demanding format and just because the transfer looked OK on DVD does not automatically mean the same transfer will look good on Blu-ray without any work done to the transfer.

I have had several problems with Twilight Time titles with video noise. "The Front" and "Birdman of Alcatraz" are 2 examples that have severe video noise in some scenes.

Video noise can erupt in scenes with a dark background or background opticals. I have found video noise usually occurs in black and white films. Criterion's "The Asphalt Jungle" is a beautiful Blu-ray transfer but there are a few moments of background video noise.

In my opinion, the only company you can always rely on now for great looking Blu-rays every time is Warner Brothers. I am rarely disappointed by their Blu-rays and the Warner Archive titles are always a pleasure to watch.