The Anime Blu-ray Video Quality Thread

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

I usually check the reviews for the list of extras. The screenshots in the anime reviews tend to be kind of bad.

btw, Sentai's Vinland Saga BD uses Prime Video version with dimming (also affects FR and DE BDs).

Dimming?

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by Naiera

Dimming?

Darkening of scenes that are potentially harmful to people who suffer from photosensitive epilepsy.

[BigOnAnime]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

Darkening of scenes that are potentially harmful to people who suffer from photosensitive epilepsy.

This happens to many anime, Fate/Zero did it, My Hero Academia did it, and so many others. The industry took the Porygon Pokemon episode incident very, very, very seriously and have taken measures to make sure it never happens again.

This is also one reason why lots of anime used to have the "don't sit too close to the TV and have the lights on" and such. Relevent Answerman on that.

Originally Posted by Justin Sevakis

It's true, these days the little "please watch this anime in a well-lit room and sit far away from the TV" warning really only gets displayed with shows meant for young children, rather than all of the anime being broadcast. The warning was pretty much voluntary, added by TV broadcasters after the Pokémon incident, which I'll get to in a minute.

The incident in question, which became known in the Japanese press as "Pokémon Shock," made international news back before anybody outside of Japan knew what Pokémon was. Near the end of episode 38 of the original Pokémon series ("Electric Soldier Porygon"), Pikachu stops some "vaccine missiles" inside of a computer with his Thunderbolt attack. The big explosion that followed was animated with a red and blue strobe effect.

The combination of Pokémon being a new, hot kids' property, and the visual of kids in hospitals whipped the Japanese press into a lather. Schools rounded up their kids, asked them "who saw Pokémon last night, and if so, are you feeling sick? If so, you can go home." The show's producers were interrogated by police, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare held an emergency meeting, Nintendo's stock price dove 5%, and the show was yanked off the air for four months. Video stores also yanked everything Pokémon off shelves for a time.

Which isn't to say that TV Tokyo and the show producers overreacted. The episode did send 685 kids to the hospital, although only a small number ended up diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy. Regardless, the anime industry met with doctors and other experts and ended up with a few new guidelines: First, flashing images that were red could only flash a maximum of 3 times per second, and only for two seconds total. (Non-red images could go up to 5 times per second. The Pokémon Shock effect was 12 Hz for six seconds.) The industry also steered clear of filling the screen with things like concentric circles, stripes and whirls. The warning screen you noted also began cropping up at this time. Pokémon's return to TV was preceded by a documentary special to calm down nervous parents, and also to show that kids really missed the series.

All of these precautions were not legally enforced, mostly because the show's producers (and the anime industry at large) were really going out of their way to show everybody how seriously they were taking the problem. But that was 1998. Today most TV anime isn't even aimed at kids (it's late night content, after all), and with no other incidents occurring in the last 15 years, it seems that the TV networks have relaxed a little bit. However, to this day, if there's concern about a particularly action-filled shot causing problems, it will get dimmed in the broadcast version of that episode. (The home video releases are generally as-intended.)

In case you're interested, 4Kids did dub that episode (and slowed down the flashing to make sure it wouldn't cause a problem) but Nintendo insisted that it not be released again. It hasn't seen the light of day since.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ans...-06-21/.117773

[Revy Two-Hands]

Has anyone compared the picture quality for Sentai's newer Canaan or Moribito sets? I'd like to upgrade Canaan, especially, but not if the new discs look as bad as the old ones.

[One-Eye]

↑
Don't know about Canaan, but Moribito should at least be an improvement over the Viz in audio. Moribito was originally done in 5.1 for Japanese, but Viz release was only 2.0 for both English and Japanese. Subs and video should look better than Media Blasters/Anime Works release, they had some issues handling interlaced video. All the releases has had some issues with video (I think the Viz release had some dropped frames?), but the MB release was the most problematic.

Canaan was a very early release. There were some translation errors and it was from a time when Sentai were doing very fast translation and dub work. I would expect it to have some improvements at least in the subs. I have the old MB Moribito release plan to pick up the Sentai one at some point.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by Revy Two-Hands

Has anyone compared the picture quality for Sentai's newer Canaan or Moribito sets?

Originally Posted by One-Eye

(I think the Viz release had some dropped frames?)

If the Sentai BD is actually 1080p like the back cover says, it may have them as well.

Moribito is VFR (Variable Frame Rate), and has some content (usually panning shots or some CG elements) at a higher frame rate, so 1080i is usually the best option unless the higher frame rate content can be conformed down to 23.976 fps well. Considering Sentai's apparent track record with interlaced BDs, perhaps conforming it to 24p was the best choice.

I haven't seen Moribito in years, so I don't remember what was higher frame rate to begin with.

[Jackson_H]

chronoclast shared some thoughts on Moribito last year

Originally Posted by chronoclast

I've started watching Sentai's Moribito BDs and I'll give my take. I don't have a BD drive so this is simply my observation and opinion.

Moribito was produced with a mixed frame rate, the large majority of it is 24fps with some scenes having 30fps portions. Sentai chose for their release to deinterlace it to 1080p/24 and drop frames. This results in choppiness during the 30fps portions. Videophiles will notice it but it's not unwatchable by any means. In contrast, Viz for their BD blended the frames resulting in ghosting during those same scenes which IMO is more distracting.

Compression is at Sentai's typical standard being solid and noticeably better than Viz's BDs. The Viz discs are not compressed well, I recall there being artifacts around the text in the OP for an example. Sentai's discs are much cleaner with the only thing I've seen really is some minor banding which looks source inherit.

The audio is also a clear upgrade as Sentai's BDs have the native 5.1 audio tracks that Viz's were missing. The show's sound design makes strong use of the surround and LFE channels.

[AreaFive]

I remember comparing the two when Sentai's release came out last year. Sentai's was definitely an improvement (in addition to being much more readily available) with better contrast, slightly richer colors, and suffering from little to none of the aliasing which was an issue with the previous release.

[Xenonas]

Originally Posted by Rosenkreutz

Also, was there any comparisons done between the previous BD release of Angel Cop with the more recent Remastered Steelbook?

I was bored so I made this:

https://screenshotcomparison.com/com...2574/picture:0

[Tylerfan]

Originally Posted by Xenonas

[Show spoiler]I was bored so I made this:

https://screenshotcomparison.com/com...2574/picture:0

Looks like Justin took notice:

Originally Posted by Justin Sevakis

Haha very cool, someone made a screenshot comparison between the new Angel Cop BD and the old one.... JUST A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT EH https://screenshotcomparison.com/com...2574/picture:0

https://twitter.com/worldofcrap/stat...74426920108041

[jsevakis]

It’s true, he did

[Naiera]

Oh shit

He did

[Kriztoffer Swank]

Sorry to bring up Patlabor again, I've just been pondering whether to get the complete box set, especially with the news that Maiden Japan is disappearing and their stuff will likely all go OOP soon. (Whether it gets re-released under Sentai or whoever, who knows.) I think ultimately I'll stick to my individual releases.

I took NLScavenger's screencap comparisons and put 'em through the ol' Screenshot Comparison machine just to have an easier back-and-forth, and it really shows how poorly compressed the Ultimate Collection is. The older 2013 release isn't without its issues (incorrect gamma, more noticeable combing artifacts, oversized pixelated subtitles), but the encoding just seems better overall and appears to represent the raw scans more closely. I guess I just like that it has better grain retention and doesn't turn into a blobby mess on black backgrounds.

https://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/22589

That said, if I had the box set, I wouldn't feel the need to track down the single versions.



I've heard there's a remaster of Votoms that came out recently. Think it's worth getting Maiden Japan's complete box even though it's mostly upscaled, or will the remaster come out in the US at some point? Never seen the show, just wondering what I might like to get from MJ before their stuff's unavailable.

[The Collector FX]

Originally Posted by Kriztoffer Swank

Sorry to bring up Patlabor again, I've just been pondering whether to get the complete box set, especially with the news that Maiden Japan is disappearing and their stuff will likely all go OOP soon. (Whether it gets re-released under Sentai or whoever, who knows.) I think ultimately I'll stick to my individual releases.

I took NLScavenger's screencap comparisons and put 'em through the ol' Screenshot Comparison machine just to have an easier back-and-forth, and it really shows how poorly compressed the Ultimate Collection is. The older 2013 release isn't without its issues (incorrect gamma, more noticeable combing artifacts, oversized pixelated subtitles), but the encoding just seems better overall and appears to represent the raw scans more closely. I guess I just like that it has better grain retention and doesn't turn into a blobby mess on black backgrounds.

https://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/22589

That said, if I had the box set, I wouldn't feel the need to track down the single versions.



I've heard there's a remaster of Votoms that came out recently. Think it's worth getting Maiden Japan's complete box even though it's mostly upscaled, or will the remaster come out in the US at some point? Never seen the show, just wondering what I might like to get from MJ before their stuff's unavailable.

Yes, there's a remastered Blu Ray Box set of Votoms - and it's very, very expensive.

The Maiden Japan BD singles that were released on behalf of Sentai are now OOP. The South Korean movies that have English subs are OOP. The JP Bandai Visual blu ray releases are OOP as well.

If I were you, I'd get the Patlabor Complete Collection on Sentai's website the next time it goes on sale. Who knows if it'll get licensed again with a physical release now that steaming is becoming a main priority.

[BigOnAnime]

Just to note, Maiden Japan has never released something on behalf of Sentai except for Redo of Healer (which also scrubbed all the English credits from the simulcast which recently were scrubbed from HIDIVE). Maiden Japan is legally a separate company owned by Matt Greenfield and their releases just like Sentai's are distributed by Section23 Films. The only Sentai involvement is Sentai's production arm Sentai Studios works on the releases.

Who knows if we'll get another release of Votoms, so I'd grab the complete set sooner rather than later. Nearly all of Maiden Japan's releases are listed in RightStuf's "Last Chance" section and many things went OOP quickly.
https://www.rightstufanime.com/categ...me:asc&show=96

[Kriztoffer Swank]

Originally Posted by The Collector FX

If I were you, I'd get the Patlabor Complete Collection on Sentai's website the next time it goes on sale. Who knows if it'll get licensed again with a physical release now that steaming is becoming a main priority.

I have the Maiden Japan singles for the original OVA, TV series, New Files, and WXIII; and the Bandai JPN Blu-rays for the first two movies. Once I heard the TV series (and likely the two OVA series) was reauthored for the Ultimate and Complete Collections, I wanted to see if there was enough of an improvement to buy the entire series again, but I think I'm good with what I own. Then again, the Complete Collection is pretty cheap and it might be nice to grab since it's going OOP.

[CrashOveride95]

Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo - Discotek Media BD

Overall another great Lupin release, can't wait for whatever comes next

Video:

Video's based off the JPBD, NOT the 4K master used in recent theatrical reissues or the UHDBD.

An important distinction, as the JPBD master is IMO, really good.
I really don't have any issues with video quality, everything's great across the board
Overall the best Mamo's ever going to look, unless TMS stops making bad 4K masters (this will never happen)

BDInfo for main feature

[Show spoiler]

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   00000.MPLS
Length:                 1:42:00.572 (h:m:s.ms)
Size:                   28,158,448,704 bytes
Total Bitrate:          36.80 Mbps

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description     
-----                   -------             -----------     
MPEG-4 AVC Video        24988 kbps          1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
DTS-HD Master Audio             English         1898 kbps       5.1 / 48 kHz /  1898 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /   768 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             English         860 kbps        2.0 / 48 kHz /   860 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             English         763 kbps        2.0 / 48 kHz /   763 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             English         846 kbps        2.0 / 48 kHz /   846 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             English         699 kbps        2.0 / 48 kHz /   699 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             Japanese        1879 kbps       5.1 / 48 kHz /  1879 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /   768 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             Japanese        850 kbps        2.0 / 48 kHz /   850 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             Japanese        721 kbps        2.0 / 48 kHz /   721 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             English         664 kbps        2.0 / 48 kHz /   664 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)

SUBTITLES:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
Presentation Graphics           English         1.455 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           English         1.448 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           English         1.401 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           English         1.315 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           English         25.228 kbps

Main feature bitrate

[Show spoiler]

Movie Gallery





Comparisons between Geneon/Pioneer DVD and Discotek BD: 1 2 3

(I don't own the Discotek DVD so I can't compare with that, sorry)

Audio:

There are a whopping NINE audio tracks:

JP Theatrical (Mono)
JP 2019 Remix (Stereo)
JP 2019 Remix (5.1)

1979 Toho English Dub (Mono)
1995 Streamline English Dub (Stereo)
1996 Manga UK English Dub (Mono)
2003 Pioneer English Dub (Stereo)
2003 Pioneer English Dub (5.1)

Music Only/Isolated Score (Mono)

All are DTS-HD Master Audio.

Some notes about them:

1. IDK where that stereo mix of the Pioneer dub came from, since my DVD has only a 5.1 mix
2. I believe the 2019 remix is the remix used on the JP UHD BD, but I can't really confirm
3. All tracks seemed fine to me. I don't have a surround setup so I cannot reliably review the surround mixes, but both are at least "real" mixes (i.e not a mono/stereo track with phasing tricks to appear as if the audio elements are seperate)

Minor nitpicks (these really aren't that serious of issues):

1. Whatever materials Discotek got for the TV spot, some trailers, and clean ED aren't the greatest
2. I'm not the biggest fan of the main menu music, its a little bit too new for the movie (of course there could have been factors such as rights issues that affected that decision though)

[professorwho]

Some opinions on audio going off of it:

The JP mono track is rather good, with no egregious filtering applied. A solid, clean track.

As for the JP stereo and 5.1 tracks, they’re a weird case. The dialogue and music sound great, and have debatably better fidelity than the mono, but the sound effects, and sound effects only, are terrible. It’s strange that only they are excessively filtered and with some added reverb. The best examples are the thunder clashes in the opening sequence, and the explosion after the helicopter chase- listen to the sound effects in comparison to the mono, and you’ll notice how much worse they sound. Had it not been for the filtering on the SFX, the stereo track would probably be the best JP track overall.

The English tracks vary in quality, as expected, with none sounding outright bad. Dynamic range is good across the lot when considering the sources, so it’s hard to declare an outright winner, which is good, because they all sound good, so all are an easy listen on the ears.

[Show spoiler]These are a few things I wrote in my absurdly long review on the disc I was writing. which I’ve summarized, but since the essentials have been covered in a much shorter span, I see little reason to post it since it was covered more concisely, so I just gave my 2¢ on the audio specifically, as there’s little more I could add about the video.

But yeah, good disc. A must own.

[CrashOveride95]

Originally Posted by professorwho

I see little reason to post it since it was covered more concisely

Sorry, heh

When Part 1 comes out is when I'll probably get more lengthy, primarily because of all the background stuff surrounding the video

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by CrashOveride95

Sorry, heh

When Part 1 comes out is when I'll probably get more lengthy, primarily because of all the background stuff surrounding the video

Nah man, it's all good. Very concise and to the point with good caps and all the needed technical info.