The Anime Blu-ray Video Quality Thread

[sagadego]

Originally Posted by Kyle15

Called it, Kon's movies keep getting the short end of the stick. Who knows when anyone will attempt to undo this garbage.

maybe if discotek got'em the be treated better, shrug.gif

[Naiera]

I ordered the Kizumonogatari bundle MVM put on sale for £50 the other day. Should be an AoA clone, but we'll see. Shouldn't be too hard to sell if it isn't.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by Naiera

I ordered the Kizumonogatari bundle MVM put on sale for £50 the other day. Should be an AoA clone, but we'll see. Shouldn't be too hard to sell if it isn't.

One way to tell: 96kHz audio.

[Naiera]

[NLScavenger]

Space Runaway Ideon movie disc - Maiden Japan

The movie disc targets the same bitrates as the TV discs and so almost 10 GiB of unused data went wasted.

I finished the entire series and the masterpiece Be Invoked (skipped A Contact because it's a pointless compilation). Compression could have been a bit better sometimes, but it's not a bad release by any means. Actually, it's one of my personal favorite releases of 2019. A western home video release of Ideon seemed like a pipe dream for a very long time.

The Ideon: Be Invoked

Be Invoked is 35mm, but the footage in the first 16 minutes is for the most part taken from the final TV episode.

Reused footage (16mm)


TV BD


Some shots were redrawn.
Be Invoked (Left) | TV (Right)


35mm footage


BDInfo:

Disc Label: Ideon BD-6
Disc Size: 38,244,291,556 bytes
Protection: AACS
Playlist: 00063.MPLS
Size: 18,852,470,784 bytes
Length: 1:39:29.964
Total Bitrate: 25.26 Mbps
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 21953 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /  1912 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /  1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitle: English / 50.141 kbps

The Ideon: A Contact

Only one screenshot here because I don't care about this one

A Contact (Left) | TV (Right)


BDInfo:

Disc Label: Ideon BD-6
Disc Size: 38,244,291,556 bytes
Protection: AACS
Playlist: 00004.MPLS
Size: 16,198,588,416 bytes
Length: 1:25:33.128
Total Bitrate: 25.25 Mbps
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 21947 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /  1892 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /  1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitle: English / 56.452 kbps

[professorwho]

Lupin III Part IV (Japanese Cut)
(Discotek, USA)

From Episode 4 to match Yuripa's screencaps of the UK/FR release:




UK/FR:




Discotek bitrate:

Disc 1 (Episodes 1-13)

Japanese LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)

Sorry the caps aren't frame perfect, but it's close enough to get an idea of the quality. They look nearly identical, banding and all. I wish that one of the releases had applied filters to try and reduce banding, but only if there would be no side effects in new artifacts.

My only complaint is that both discs of the Discotek release are about 36 GB in size- the bitrate probably could have been increased 1 or 2 mbps if more disc space was used. That said, it does show Justin's ability in matching the picture quality of the UK/FR release with HALF as many discs.

[jsevakis]

Thanks for the screenshots and the kind words. We didn't feel the banding was severe enough to add a debanding filter, which can cause some other issues. However, the team felt it was necessary to re-translate huge chunks of the show (including some bits of Italian), whereas I believe the UK discs just used the Crunchyroll scripts as-is. So if our release has any significant advantage, it's that.

[UseY0ur1llusi0n]

Originally Posted by klasma

Huh, I can't see it. Is it in the blacks? Or in the warp lines? If you (or someone) could mark some of the macroblocks on the image that would be neat.

Believe me, you won't notice it in motion unless you watch it on your PC like I do and pause at the wrong time (during fast sequences, etc)

The DNR is the real offender here.

[SexySamSosa67]

Really dumb of DBZ not to be in 4K. It would benefit so much.

[sagadego]

Originally Posted by SexySamSosa67

Really dumb of DBZ not to be in 4K. It would benefit so much.

4k isn't that big in japan and knowing funimation, they'll take the widescreen sets up date to 4k, slap on HDR update the English Dub with Japanese audio to Atmos and call it a day

[Logan Jones]

I've noticed there are two Blu-ray releases of Macross: DYRL. I'm trying to decide which one to get. What are your opinions on which one is better?

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by Logan Jones

I've noticed there are two Blu-ray releases of Macross: DYRL. I'm trying to decide which one to get. What are your opinions on which one is better?

The 2016 release is uncut, so buy that one.

They both kind of have bad PQ. The 2012 BD remaster has a lot of harsh noise (caused by bad color correction or a bad scan) and weird DNR artifacts. The 2016 BD is based on that remaster, but some additional color correction and filtering were done to make the harsh noise less visible. Some blurry shots have also been sharpened in the 2016 BD.

2012 BD


2016 BD


2012 BD


2016 BD


Source: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topi...omment-1251477

[Logan Jones]

So the 2016 version looks *slightly* better, huh.

This movie is in dire need of a 4k remaster. A GOOD one.

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by Logan Jones

This movie is in dire need of a 4k remaster. A GOOD one.

Yep. I'd even take a Q-Tec'd 4K remaster over the existing releases.

[professorwho]

Galaxy Express 999 (1979 Movie)
(Discotek, USA)


Korean BD (Nova Media) screenshots by NLScavenger:













KR Bitrate

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   00001.MPLS
Length:                 2:08:15.688 (h:m:s.ms)
Size:                   40.003.805.184 bytes
Total Bitrate:          41,59 Mbps

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description     
-----                   -------             -----------     
MPEG-4 AVC Video        32885 kbps          1080p / 23,976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
LPCM Audio                      Japanese        1536 kbps       2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Dolby TrueHD Audio              Japanese        1515 kbps       5.1 / 48 kHz / 1515 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB)
Dolby Digital Audio             Korean          192 kbps        2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
LPCM Audio                      Korean          1536 kbps       2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

SUBTITLES:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
Presentation Graphics           Korean          17,920 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Japanese        45,587 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Korean          1,087 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           English         29,057 kbps

Discotek screenshots:













US Bitrate

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   00000.MPLS
Length:                 2:11:15.742 (h:m:s.ms)
Size:                   42,364,502,400 bytes
Total Bitrate:          43.03 Mbps

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description     
-----                   -------             -----------     
MPEG-4 AVC Video        29874 kbps          1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
LPCM Audio                      English         2304 kbps       2.0 / 48 kHz /  2304 kbps / 24-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio             Japanese        3991 kbps       5.1 / 48 kHz /  3991 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /  1509 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM Audio                      Japanese        2304 kbps       2.0 / 48 kHz /  2304 kbps / 24-bit
LPCM Audio                      Japanese        2304 kbps       2.0 / 48 kHz /  2304 kbps / 24-bit

SUBTITLES:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
Presentation Graphics           English         22.444 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           English         22.437 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           English         1.994 kbps

I'll be having these be added to Caps a Holic, as I've added shots there (like the remastered Apocalypse Now BD).

The screenshots speak for themselves- it's a massive improvement over the Korean and Japanese BDs.

I know some may not like the look of the fake grain, but you miss out on other things- like the improved subtitles (more on-screen text has been subbed than previous releases)- of which there are two tracks. From what I remember, the 5.1 mix has different dialogue sync in certain moments, so having 2 sets of subs (one for the original mono and one for the 5.1) was needed. Not sure to which audio track the KR BD's subs are synced.

My recommendation is to watch the film with its original Japanese (dual) mono audio and subs synced up to it, as it provides the most accurate experience, and has the best clarity of all the audio tracks. It seems like Toei actually kept a high quality audio source, and it shows- clarity is perfect. The second LPCM 2.0 track is actually the isolated score in dual mono, and it sounds just as good as the main dual audio (though I consider it an extra). The dub sounds really good in terms of clarity despite (I believe) being sourced from a VHS. Lastly is the Japanese 5.1 mix- don't watch it that way, as it's not as good as the mono audio, but that's just the purist in me.

Until this gets a 4K restoration with HDR on UHD (and it should, come on Toei! You know this movie deserves it), this is the best GE999 has looked and sounded on home video worldwide. 10/10 Must watch and own film.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

Yep. I'd even take a Q-Tec'd 4K remaster over the existing releases.

That’s like saying you’d rather get hit with a metal baseball bat than a wooden one.

[NLScavenger]

The fake grain plate is a very nice improvement. Two of the nastier shots, cap 07 and 11, look a lot less offensive to my eyes now.

I'm not sure if caps 08 are the exact same frame.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

I'm not sure if caps 08 are the exact same frame.

Looks the same to me...

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by professorwho

Looks the same to me...

There's a tiny speck of dust above Tetsuro's thumb in the Discotek screenshot and Tetsuro's cell is positioned slightly higher.

Screenshot 13 is also slightly off. :-P

[professorwho]

Damn, I couldn't even tell when I took them. Several shots were a b*tch to get frame perfect, but I think this one being 1 frame off can slide by most.