Mars in 3D: Images from The Viking Mission (1979/2012) Blu-ray 3D [Region Free]

[Blu Tiger]

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mars-...Blu-ray/46735/

This came out yesterday and I want it because I LOVE astronomy. Has anyone seen it, and is the 3D any good?

And does anyone know if it is native 3D or is converted? I am thinking it must be a conversion because it seems like nobody is talking about this release.

[vertigo12314]

I was just about to post the same question.



I wonder if it's going to be reviewed.

[Jsmith82]

I'm interested in it as well. Searching around the internet it I'm getting a feeling (though I could be very wrong) that this will be a series of images backed by a music score and nothing more for the actual film, which looks to be about 45 minutes long.

There is a 15 minute extra with interviews from John Chowing, William Schottstaedt, and Michael McNabb. Chowing seems to be the one who oversaw the score creation - whether this is presented in 3D or not is not said. Here's a bit of info I found:

Mars in 3D Images from the Viking Mission video A historical production by Stanford University and the History Office of the NASA Ames Research Center presented in Blu-ray 3D video featuring footage from the 1980s NASA Viking 1 & 2 Missions to Mars. Mars in 3D Images from the Viking Mission film The soundtrack was created at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford under the direction of John Chowning. This disc contains bonus features including a 15 minute interview with John Chowing, William Schottstaedt, and Michael McNabb..

Studio: Naxos
Orig Year: 2012
Discs: 1
Running Time: 45 Minutes
Movie Details: 3D

Searching further, Naxos (Nashville based) is the company that AIX Records (actually behind the disc from what I can tell) signed with to distribute their products to North America. Researching what AIX has done in the past, they have put out a few 3d bluray discs to music scores, native 3d from what I can tell, like this one here

http://aixrecords.com/catalog/bd_3d/...ler_bd_3d.html

Both 3D presentations I've found from them were in 720p/60 3D MVC. Because of this, reviews say lots of cross talk, however the 3D has also been described as "non gimmicky". This looks like it is full 1080.

In conclusion! I can't tell you for sure but I'm putting my chips down that this is a disc of converted (possibly very cool looking) images from Mars, show casing an artists soundtrack.

Meh, I'm probably all wrong. I'll wait and see...

[BleedOrange11]

My guess is that it's a slideshow of native 3D photographs. NASA seems to do a lot of 3D space imaging.

[Blu Tiger]

Really? All the 3D fanatics on this site and nobody has picked this up yet? I can't find any reviews anywhere. I might have to pick this up this weekend...

Originally Posted by BleedOrange11

My guess is that it's a slideshow of native 3D photographs. NASA seems to do a lot of 3D space imaging.

Yeah, you are probably right since it says "images" from the Viking mission. I still think it would be cool though.

[WJWS Channel 13:Amity]

Originally Posted by Blu Tiger

Really? All the 3D fanatics on this site and nobody has picked this up yet? I can't find any reviews anywhere. I might have to pick this up this weekend...



Yeah, you are probably right since it says "images" from the Viking mission. I still think it would be cool though.

I had this pre orderd, and the day of release got the dread, we are sorry this is out stock email. then yesterday I got email saying it shipped, it arrived today, I haven't watched it yet as I am about to head to work.
However there is a pamphlet inside (or as TT would call it, a super cool booklet lol) and it has some more info

Bringing Life to the Red Planet,
Following the completion of the mission, 3D imagery from the orbital landers was transformed into a stereoscopic 16mm film by Dr Elliot Levinthal of Stanford University ,a member of the Viking Imaging team, the innovative musical soundtrack was created at the center for computer research in music.

here are some highlights from the pamphlet

Each Lander had two cameras separated by 0.8 meteres which when used togeather can be used to produce left/right stereoscopic images, ome of the purposes of this was to determine precise distances to nearby features for programing the soil scoop arm.

For the orbital views two images taken by the moving spacecraft at slightly different locations were used to produce the stereo images, to reveal topography of the large scale surface features

for this release the original 16mm film was scanned to 1080p video and processed and edited in Final Cut Pro 7, there were severe 3D issues due to the wide seperation of the orbital cameras, left and right images taken at different time of day varying shadows and lighting and jitter due to the 16mm film and the digital conversion process, color fading and left and right mis mastches. Sequences of scenes like this were overlapped with crossfades. It was critical to target all these problems, in an efficient automatable fashion.

For the restoration, each reel, (left and right eyes) was first processed according to the following steps
* Original 4x3 aspect 16mm film scanned to uncompressed 10 bit 4:2:2 HD (1440x 1080) by Deluxemedia
*Converted to Apple ProRes 422 HQ codec and imported into Final Cut pro.
*Final Cut Pros smoothcam filter applied to reduce jitter cause by both the original 16mm capture and the scanning process.
*Neat video noise reduction and CHV repair collection plugins applied to reduce innumerable scratches, tears, and dust
*Final geometic 3D alignment and color matching

[Blu Tiger]

Originally Posted by WJWS Channel 13:Amity

I had this pre orderd, and the day of release got the dread, we are sorry this is out stock email. then yesterday I got email saying it shipped, it arrived today, I haven't watched it yet as I am about to head to work.
However there is a pamphlet inside (or as TT would call it, a super cool booklet lol) and it has some more info

Thanks for the info!!! Please let us know what you think about the 3D and the program itself. If it was an IMAX movie, I would have done a blind buy.

But speaking of IMAX, astronomy, and 3D...they need to release this on blu-ray:

http://www.3dsunfilm.com/

[WJWS Channel 13:Amity]

I am going to start out by saying this is one 3D bluray release that is not for everyone. In fact, I can see quite a few viewers being frustrated with it.

ok so this is a roughly 30min presentation that is partialy 3D partially 2D.
Its not merely photos of mars set music, but something more akin to what you would find at a museum of science and industry back in the 1970s early 80s. The presentation starts with a intro narration over a blank screen instructing people to place their glasses on now, then comes a screen instructing you to start reading from the top row and as your eyes adjust to slowly move down, as you do this the writing appears to come down like a flight of stairs. after this the program goes to a 2D opening with the host explain what you are about to see, and explaining that any scene he is in will be merely in monoscopic 2D. he also explains how the 3D photos were created and a bit of the technical issues with how the cameras are angled.
here is where it gets frustrating the first 3D still comes on and its a bit jarring cause of how the cameras are angled your perception is thrown off. the voice over instructs you to start at the top of the picture and allow your eyes to relax and then the 3D will naturally appear.

there are a few more scenes like this. the best 3D comes into play with a sequence at the Jet Propulsion laboratory and you can actually see the rover in action in 3D, its a great sequence and the robotic arm comes right out at you from the screen.

As a science lover, I really appreciate this being made available, but at the same time this disc is not for everyone, the 3D imagery of mars is very crude, and will probably give more than a few people severe headaches.(at first I kept resyncing my projector cause I thought something must have been wrong with my glasses or projetor, cause of how out of sync the depth perception of the mars images were, but if you watch the special features you will see its simply due to the limitations of what they had to create with. but all things considered for me I am glad I bought it. I would definitely recommend you find someone you can borrow it from or rent from before buying this if you are on the wall about picking this up.
As I said its definitely not for everyone.

[vertigo12314]

Thanks for the update!

[koover]

Originally Posted by Blu Tiger

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mars-...Blu-ray/46735/

This came out yesterday and I want it because I LOVE astronomy. Has anyone seen it, and is the 3D any good?

And does anyone know if it is native 3D or is converted? I am thinking it must be a conversion because it seems like nobody is talking about this release.

I, like you, am an astronomy nut. I'd like to pick this up myself but it almost seems this would be best served as a 2D presentation. As soon as I can see some more reviews from people who've seen it, I'll make a decision. WJWS, that was a pretty good review though so im thinking you hit the nail on the head. Thanx for the info. Either way, for me, if it has anything to do with astronomy/space/science, I'm usually all over it. And if it's 3D, that's a bonus.

[WJWS Channel 13:Amity]

Originally Posted by koover

I, like you, am an astronomy nut. I'd like to pick this up myself but it almost seems this would be best served as a 2D presentation. As soon as I can see some more reviews from people who've seen it, I'll make a decision. WJWS, that was a pretty good review though so im thinking you hit the nail on the head. Thanx for the info. Either way, for me, if it has anything to do with astronomy/space/science, I'm usually all over it. And if it's 3D, that's a bonus.

Your welcome.

[jgabany]

I watched this disc on my 47-inch passive LG and was amazed at the 3D quality of the presentation. The film was originally produced at the end of the 70s for exhibition at astronomical gatherings and museums.

It consists of a series of still stereo photos taken by the Viking landers and orbiting spacecraft. The image's third dimensionality is exaggerated due to the large distance between the stereo cameras on the spacecraft. Therefore, the sense of depth is immediately obvious and striking.

Each of the photos were high resolution in nature therefore the presentation spends a lot of time zooming and panning while the narrator, a notable pioneering Viking imaging specialist from Stanford, explains what you are seeing and why it is scientifically, and now historically, significant.

Of course, these are over 30 year old images so they are not as clear as those produced by the recent Mars Rovers. But, they are jaw-dropping none-the-less.

If you have an interest in the space program and Mars exploration in particular, acquiring this 3D blu-ray will be a revelation.

[Jsmith82]

Thanks for the reviews fellas. Got to say, I'm proud to be wrong

We'll give this a go soon.

[Dr. AIX]

I just got back from a trip to the east coast and a side trip to Naxos, our distributor now. I'm back in production mode and moving ahead with two new 3D titles and some additional BD productions for the fall.

We do use 1280x720p MVC as our video format because I believe it works best with music and because the 3D spec doesn't allow for 1080 at 29.97...only 23.98 fps.

A rather distressing review this morning was passed my way and then I went out to search for other information about this disc and found this thread.

Here's the deal. John Chowning is a close friend of mine and an emeritus faculty member at Stanford where he used to head the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA was/is one of the foremost centers for computer music). He was originally involved in the production of the film with Elliott Levintal (also of Stanford). Elliott wrote and directed the film and John organized the music compositions that are the score.

The actual Viking footage was used to create the 3D film. The cameras on the landers were .8 meters apart and therefore the 3D is very challenging to converge. If you look at the horizon, then it's tolerable but I understand the critical evaluation some have expressed.

The orbiting footage was taken from different orbits and is also challenging due to differences in shadows etc. I went forward with the project because I'm a space nut, a composer of electro-acoustic music and a friend of Dr. Chowning. The world deserves to have this available in a digital format. This is not a typical Blu-ray 3D production...it is for dedicated fans of the space program and those intrigued by computer music. It is not meant as entertainment as we expect from Hollywood...or even from other AIX Records titles.

It does function in 2D mode so that you can avoid the headaches if you prefer and the interview of the participants (which is actually 40 minutes long) is very interesting. I know Michael McNabb spent a lot of long hours preparing the video and audio materials for this project but had only the original films (left and right) to use as sources.

This is an historically important project. Please keep that in mind in considering whether to purchase a copy.

[Jsmith82]

Originally Posted by Dr. AIX

I just got back from a trip to the east coast and a side trip to Naxos, our distributor now. I'm back in production mode and moving ahead with two new 3D titles and some additional BD productions for the fall.

We do use 1280x720p MVC as our video format because I believe it works best with music and because the 3D spec doesn't allow for 1080 at 29.97...only 23.98 fps.

A rather distressing review this morning was passed my way and then I went out to search for other information about this disc and found this thread.

Here's the deal. John Chowning is a close friend of mine and an emeritus faculty member at Stanford where he used to head the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA was/is one of the foremost centers for computer music). He was originally involved in the production of the film with Elliott Levintal (also of Stanford). Elliott wrote and directed the film and John organized the music compositions that are the score.

The actual Viking footage was used to create the 3D film. The cameras on the landers were .8 meters apart and therefore the 3D is very challenging to converge. If you look at the horizon, then it's tolerable but I understand the critical evaluation some have expressed.

The orbiting footage was taken from different orbits and is also challenging due to differences in shadows etc. I went forward with the project because I'm a space nut, a composer of electro-acoustic music and a friend of Dr. Chowning. The world deserves to have this available in a digital format. This is not a typical Blu-ray 3D production...it is for dedicated fans of the space program and those intrigued by computer music. It is not meant as entertainment as we expect from Hollywood...or even from other AIX Records titles.

It does function in 2D mode so that you can avoid the headaches if you prefer and the interview of the participants (which is actually 40 minutes long) is very interesting. I know Michael McNabb spent a lot of long hours preparing the video and audio materials for this project but had only the original films (left and right) to use as sources.

This is an historically important project. Please keep that in mind in considering whether to purchase a copy.

Well glad to hear the distress signal didn't come from our neck of the woods! And thank you for your in depth description and comments regarding the disc, not everyday you're lucky enough somebody from the team actually drops a line.

I still haven't bought a copy though it has my interest... One of those "on the list" flicks..

Your 2 new 3D titles, will these also be space oriented or something completely different? (for the sake of asking.....)

[Capt. Spaulding]

Michael McNabb here (restorer of Mars in 3D and one of the composers). Allow me to add a couple of comments.

First, the film is a scientific historical document. Therefore I did not correct the convergence, or even the color and contrast, as much as I might have if viewing comfort or current video standards were the only concern. Had I done so, some of the detail and/or imagery would have been lost. In fact, though, the original convergence and ghosting of the film was much worse, and the video is a distinct improvement. The Viking project was the next great US space success to follow the Apollo moon landings, and this production is intended to help preserve its legacy.

Second, please note that we got started on this because the of music. It is as much a music disc as anything. With that in mind, we have included extra tracks which present each of the two original 15-minute music suites in TrueHD. All of the music was re-synthesized in 32-bit resolution, and represents some of the best music ever produced at CCRMA. You can just close your eyes and enjoy the surround - no glasses required!

[Dr. AIX]

I'm an avid space and airplane geek (I just spent an afternoon at the Air and Space Museum by the Dulles Airport...wow!) and would love to wallow in all things related but alas my first love is music.

We have the following available on Blu-ray 3D:

Goldberg Variations Acoustica - The AIX All Star Band (CNET "World's Best...")
Mozart - The Old City String Quartet (A+ HDVDarts.com)
3D Music Album Demo - Various
Bryan Pezzone - Piano Pieces
Mark Chesnutt - Your Room
James Walker and Free Flight - Threads

and of course,
Mars in 3D

They are all available through our web site...

Mark

[WJWS Channel 13:Amity]

Originally Posted by Dr. AIX

I just got back from a trip to the east coast and a side trip to Naxos, our distributor now. I'm back in production mode and moving ahead with two new 3D titles and some additional BD productions for the fall.

We do use 1280x720p MVC as our video format because I believe it works best with music and because the 3D spec doesn't allow for 1080 at 29.97...only 23.98 fps.

A rather distressing review this morning was passed my way and then I went out to search for other information about this disc and found this thread.

Here's the deal. John Chowning is a close friend of mine and an emeritus faculty member at Stanford where he used to head the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA was/is one of the foremost centers for computer music). He was originally involved in the production of the film with Elliott Levintal (also of Stanford). Elliott wrote and directed the film and John organized the music compositions that are the score.

The actual Viking footage was used to create the 3D film. The cameras on the landers were .8 meters apart and therefore the 3D is very challenging to converge. If you look at the horizon, then it's tolerable but I understand the critical evaluation some have expressed.

The orbiting footage was taken from different orbits and is also challenging due to differences in shadows etc. I went forward with the project because I'm a space nut, a composer of electro-acoustic music and a friend of Dr. Chowning. The world deserves to have this available in a digital format. This is not a typical Blu-ray 3D production...it is for dedicated fans of the space program and those intrigued by computer music. It is not meant as entertainment as we expect from Hollywood...or even from other AIX Records titles.

It does function in 2D mode so that you can avoid the headaches if you prefer and the interview of the participants (which is actually 40 minutes long) is very interesting. I know Michael McNabb spent a lot of long hours preparing the video and audio materials for this project but had only the original films (left and right) to use as sources.

This is an historically important project. Please keep that in mind in considering whether to purchase a copy.

You guys did a great job with this release. And I am glad that it was made available. And as i mentioned in my post above inspite of the technical challenges faced by how the original 3D was done in the first place, I think the bluray turned out great. And I have watched it seveal times since then,

[WJWS Channel 13:Amity]

Originally Posted by Capt. Spaulding

Michael McNabb here (restorer of Mars in 3D and one of the composers). Allow me to add a couple of comments.

First, the film is a scientific historical document. Therefore I did not correct the convergence, or even the color and contrast, as much as I might have if viewing comfort or current video standards were the only concern. Had I done so, some of the detail and/or imagery would have been lost. In fact, though, the original convergence and ghosting of the film was much worse, and the video is a distinct improvement. The Viking project was the next great US space success to follow the Apollo moon landings, and this production is intended to help preserve its legacy.

Second, please note that we got started on this because the of music. It is as much a music disc as anything. With that in mind, we have included extra tracks which present each of the two original 15-minute music suites in TrueHD. All of the music was re-synthesized in 32-bit resolution, and represents some of the best music ever produced at CCRMA. You can just close your eyes and enjoy the surround - no glasses required!

All of your guys work on this is very much appreciated.

As i said in my post I am glad I bought it when it first was released.

[Blu Tiger]

Originally Posted by Dr. AIX

A rather distressing review this morning was passed my way and then I went out to search for other information about this disc and found this thread.

Dr. AIX? That is the same username of the person that gave the movie 5 stars on amazon, haha. Was that you?