Star Wars Conversions-Hit me with your best shot...

[miked00]

@mythos2002...

That idea for the group page posting small MPEG clips is a good idea. I'd like to see where people are at. I'm surprised what I've been able to do with my VHS source, so it would be neat if others could see as well. You said that you've worked out your IVTC settings, I was wondering what they are...the ones I use seem perfect, and are as follows:

Telecide(guide=1,post=false)
Decimate()

[Mythos2002]

I've been doing this:
Telecide(guide=1,gthresh=30,blend=true)
Decimate(mode=0,cycle=5, threshold=2.0)

Some parts of it may be unnecessary as they may be the defaults.

Keep in mind that I've only experimented with a couple of clips from different areas. A good test would be that scene in Jedi where all of the TIE's come at the Rebel fleet. I'll have to try that myself.

Mythos

[Robster]

hope my LD's don't have rot.

Rot takes the form of speckling over the entire image, including the letterboxing borders.

[Mythos2002]

Thanks for the information. I don't see anything on the letterboxing borders, so I guess I'm safe (knock on wood).


I'm having some problems with my encodes being choppy on Windows Media Player 8. They are also that way on Real One Player. They do play fine on WinDVD though. Also, AVI files (including captures) play fine on Windows Media Player. Does anyone know how to resolve this? The same clips weren't choppy the other day. Thanks.

I've done it now. I had to go into the registry and get rid of the Main Concept Encoder. I didn't hurt the PC overall, but I can't play my files in Windows Media Player. Anyone know where I can get the Intervideo MPEG Encoder & Decoder? That is what is used on my Windows 2000 partition and my files play fine with Windows Media Player. I thought reinstalling WinDVD, WinCoder, & WinProducer would do the trick, but it didn't.

Mythos

[raldasec]

oh my. who let indolikaa in? this forum just went south, south, south...

i have been working on recording some ld's to dvd's. my discs were printed in 1989 and have no more imperfections in the signal than would be expected. i also use the dazzle dvc2 because i am raldasec, king of the newbies. all these software links, i have to read a lot in the newbies section just to understand what video and audio do.

i do have a question for the group. my star wars ld's have numbers imprinted on the inside ring where the disc info is. did they ever release the 1989 ld set in numbered editions?

radlasec

[indolikaa]

You say rot is generally indicated by speckling all over the screen?

Interesting. I recorded Side 1 of ANH two nights ago. On one of the recording attempts, I noticed intermittent speckles on my monitor when I played the clip back, even in the letterbox fields. But the LD plays just fine on the TV, no speckles.


(I will disregard your disrespect, young Jedi apprentice raldasec.)

[Robster]

Yeah, rot occurs when the reflective aluminium layer starts to oxidise. It's caused by poor manufacturing. Some of the SW Definitive LD boxed sets were affected as well as practically every Columbia disc pressed by Sony in the US (they were incapable of making a good disc). Rot manifests itself as a speckling pattern over the entire screen area. Usually the speckles are coloured and it gets worse over time, often to the point where the audio becomes distorted. Sometimes it will get so bad as to render the disc unusable.

Occassional speckles (especially white ones) are usually nothing to worry about. They're minor imperfections in the pressing or even from the film transfer itself.

[indolikaa]

Recently, it has come to the attention of management that the Dazzle box was sitting behind the computer case. Bad indolikaa! Wondering if the speckles were caused by hot chips. The LDs are playing fine on the LD player. Whew! A little concerned, these discs came from the Columbia House LD Club. Columbia=Columbia House?

Just finished Side 1/Disc 1 again. Read some words on this site regarding the advantages of CVD vs SVCD. Interested in seeing the finished product on the plasma-box. I wonder about SVCD: how can you have a pleasing final product from a format that is square (480x480)?

Another issue. These LDs have the Dolby Surround signal supposedly encoded in the audio tracks. If memory serves, Dolby Surround is hidden in the main stereo tracks. Are these signals captured during the encoding process? Wouldn't know right now, pre-amp is in the shop.

[Robster]

Columbia=Columbia House?

No. Columbia House is just a retailer.

These LDs have the Dolby Surround signal supposedly encoded in the audio tracks. If memory serves, Dolby Surround is hidden in the main stereo tracks. Are these signals captured during the encoding process?

Yes they are. The signal isn't 'hidden', just out of phase to the sigal intended for the front speakers. When the signal passes through Dolby processor the rear get separated and passes to the relevent speakers. The limitations of this are diminished frequency response (no low bass or high treble), mono signal (you need 5.1 for split surrounds) and lack of precision, which is why Dolby Surround tracks often seem to have 'more' surround activity.

[Mythos2002]

I fixed my decoder problem. It's amazing what reformatting and installing XP anew can accomplish. After I reinstalled it and WINDVD, my MPEG's played fine under Windows Media Player (no more choppiness). I don't know why reinstalling WINDVD wouldn't fix the problem without having to reinstall Windows.

I'll never use Premiere or Main Concept's Encoder again. Everything was fine until I installed them. I'm also glad I took Premiere back. That software costs about as much as a house payment. Seriously, I think Premiere has its uses. It just didn't suit my purposes.

Mythos

[indolikaa]

I always thought XP was short for eXtremely Poor. :P :P :P
Then again, isn't ME short for Mangled Edition...

CVD (352x480 @ 2520mb/s + 256kb/s @ 48kHz) completely blew away any SVCD transfer I have made up to this point. The movie was burned to a Memorex CD-RW and played just fine on the Apex. No problems with disc or signal recognition. A second disc was made of Game 7 New Jersey vs. Anaheim, streams guaranteed to piss off any encoder/decoder. Still looks great. I guess it's OK to accept CVD in the family right now since China isn't part of the Axis of Evil.

Hey Robster! I was reading over your previous posts. You wouldn't happen to be of English descent, would you? Just wondering...I see some spelling and grammar clues...

[Robster]

Born, bred and still here.

[mysticgohan17]

...

On this site are two tests from my long hours of toil and I want some opinions from the people that surf this board:

My FTP site:

robbins.dns2go.com l/p : vcdhelp/vcdhelp

im assuming these are down now, no?

[DivXExpert]

I couldn't get them to work.

[coyote]

You can simply buy the dvd's at link removed, no warez LINKs...it includes pirated movies (they have a dvd section - all dual layer discs). I think they are 15 each or something like that

You are in breach of the forum rules and are being issued with a formal warning.
/ Moderator Baldrick

[MJPollard]

You can simply buy the dvd's at (they have a dvd section - all dual layer discs). I think they are 15 each or something like that

As Lucasfilm has not released any Star Wars film on DVD except for episodes I and II, the only logical conclusion is that these DVDs are unauthorized (translation: illegal) releases. By purchasing them, not only are you taking your chances with their quality, you're also playing Russian roulette with the law.

I checked the site you mentioned. The DVDs are using artwork obtained from dvdcoverart.com, very likely without even crediting the original creators. The DVD artwork doesn't match the current episode I and II releases, and the DVDs themselves are region-independent. Any company that traffics in illegal products is a company I'd avoid like the proverbial plague.

All of this is why the topic of this thread concerns doing it ourselves, using our own sources for our own personal use. Anything else is akin to a game of chicken with the law, and against the rules of this forum.

[Robster]

They're all bootlegs.

I have the so-called 5-Star edtions. They are NOT 'enhanced' widescreen, just standard 4:3 letterbox. The 5.1 tracks are fake and the DTS tracks are nothing more than the same fake tracks fed through a DTS encoder (so they sound the same).

Admittedly, having the dual-layer is nice, but the way these things are sold is pretty brazen. I'm amazed the company is still able to do business.

[coyote]

Actually.....most of this discussion is in violation and most threads are....at least according to the MPAA.....according to them you are not supposed to store any movie on your hard drive....no matter where it came from (vhs, laserdisc, or dvd). At least according to the information on there website

[Robster]

Better close down the whole site then, mate.

[DivXExpert]

Who says everyone here is American? MPAA (Motion Picture Assosiation of America). Only applies to America.

[coyote]

In that case, those discs I mentioned would be completely legal if they were made in a country like malaysia.

[Robster]

Oooh I'm OK then

[Robster]

I highly doubt that since they're actually selling and profiting from copyrighted material.

[flaninacupboard]

only in malaysia. in any country where the original material is copyrighted, they are illegal.
As for whther backing them up to DVD for me to watch is legal, it is. it's fair use, and i'm not circumventing any kind of copy control to do so, so the DMCA doesn't apply. added to which i'm in the UK, so you americans can all go to hell!

[DivXExpert]

BTW, my post was not in reference to the legality of selling pirated DVDs, it was in reference to not having a movie on your hard drive. There seemed to be some confusion. I believe in most countries besides America, you can keep a movie on your hard drive, as long as it complies with fair use.

[dbaker6165]

If you have laser disc version then... try buying a standalone dvd recorder. They are about 500 bux now. I am not sure about the quality but imagine it is awsome. But thats what i would do.

[flaninacupboard]

dbaker,
while recording straight to DVD-R would indeed be very convenient and probably lok good thanks to the hardware encoder, the idea behind this thread is to get the best we can. i'm 100% certain the methods i've used are superior to any set top DVD Recorder effort

[dbaker6165]

you can still process the data that you record from a set top dvd recorder... I have a vcd standalone recorder and when i record home movies... I usually record it with my vcd recorder then process the data on my computer then recreate a new vcd... Would it be that hard to do this with a dvd recorder... NO... is it expensive... depends on your view towards money

[coyote]

I am not stating what we all "hypothetically" ahem......do....

but........

I believe in europe it violates fair use policies as well (I work in copyright by the way)

[Mythos2002]

The problem with the Malaysian DVD's, legality asside, is that they only did dual layered discs of the Special Editions. I don't want that. I want the original versions. They made the original versions too, but I've heard they are not dual layered, are not very good quality, and the sound is out of sync on Empire. Most of the original version DVD's from there had hard matted subtitles throughout the films. I've read reviews for the various versions on Digital Bits and a couple of other sites. The reviews were not very positive. No thanks.

I would prefer to keep going with my LD Conversion since it is fair use and not illegal. I won't have dual layered discs, but I should have some nice results by having each film split up over two DVD-R's. I don't mind having to switch a DVD out to finish watching a film. Hell, I have to switch out 3 LD's for each Star Wars film as it is now.

Mythos