The Anime Blu-ray Video Quality Thread

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by professorwho

Dynit Akira is getting a small upgrade.

They’re dropping the JP Hypersonic mix, and using the “classical” 5.1 mix at 24-Bit 48kHz. As a result, the max Bitrate is increasing from 35 to 37, and the average from 32 to around 35 mbps. A huge upgrade over the FUNi version which had an average of 20 mbps due to all the audio options.

Interesting.

Here's a list of music changes that I've spotted (there may be a mistake here and there):

[HunterKIller]

Any information about Aria from Nozomi?

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by professorwho

Dynit Akira is getting a small upgrade.

They’re dropping the JP Hypersonic mix, and using the “classical” 5.1 mix at 24-Bit 48kHz. As a result, the max Bitrate is increasing from 35 to 37, and the average from 32 to around 35 mbps. A huge upgrade over the FUNi version which had an average of 20 mbps due to all the audio options.

So, Dynit plus subs is the ultimate Akira?

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by Naiera

So, Dynit plus subs is the ultimate Akira?

Yeah. I intend to mux in the other audio mixes, subtitles, and the English dubs to make the definitive Akira.

It’ll be well over 50 GB. Maybe close to 60...

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by HunterKIller

Any information about Aria from Nozomi?

All I know is the audio. (Person didn't say what the bit depth was, but Nozomi only does 16-Bit, at least to my knowledge, and at the same bitrate)

Japanese LPCM Stereo 2.0 16-Bit 1536 kbps
English LPCM Stereo 2.0 16-Bit 1536 kbps
English LPCM 5.1 16-Bit 4608 kbps

That's assuming it's the same bitrates they always use. Video should probably be 30+ mbps, but as for how it actually looks? No idea. Don't own it.

[Blazing-star]

Originally Posted by professorwho

I don't have either, but I can say this- the Universal EU release is a completely different encode using 2 BD-50s per set, but has more audio and subtitle options, so it may not have higher bitrates. I have Universal's Owari no Seraph, and it looks phenomenal- I went into more detail here.

I'm sure the Japanese release is the best, but I've never seen any screenshots from any BD release of the show, so I can't say if it's a source issue, or just FUNi being lazy. I'd like to say the latter, but unless I (or someone here) can see what the releases look like, we won't know for certain.

I remembered about this German review of the Universal EU vol. 1:

http://www.blurayreviews.ch/reviews/...ray-review.htm

Which states (Using google translate) "Often highly visable banding and compression block artifacts" and "Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of this presentation is compression, as banding and block artifacts often occur and are so pronounced that they can not be overlooked".

Don't know how the severity of the banding compares to the funi one but it's looking more likely to be source related.

[Blazing-star]

Originally Posted by omarchafa

I just finished watching all the Sound of the Sky BD from Nozomi. Flawless encode indeed, and worth buying it all the way. Those very dark murky scenes were simply stunning, free from any color banding at all.

I did notice a critical error during two scenes in episode 13. Either there was something wrong with the disc or something went horribly wrong with the encode. I can't really described it, so I'll post pics later.

Did Nozomi issue a replacement disc 2 or am I just imagining things?

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by Mangaranga

Stupid question I suppose, but does the Bluray format actually support 2.1 lossless audio? I seem to recall in Psycho-Pass's case at least that the audio was bog standard DTS. I also seem to have it in my head that the complete BD Box later on had Stereo PCM audio instead.

Sorry to bump, but the Italian Dynit BD has a DTS HD-MA 2.1 track. So it may be the best sounding version- if the JP BD was standard DTS.

Also, if you check my update history, I’ve been adding in tech specs from Dynit releases I could find. I was actively searching for them, but not knowing any Italian was hard. Luckally, I came across one on random and things just went from there. I recommend checking them out.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

Interesting.

The 5.1 JP mix on the disc is the same as the Dolby Digital 5.1 track on the Japanese Blu-ray, according to mp3dom.

Is that the 2001 mix? If so, now lossless versions of all 3 exist.

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by professorwho

The 5.1 JP mix on the disc is the same as the Dolby Digital 5.1 track on the Japanese Blu-ray, according to mp3dom.

Is that the 2001 mix? If so, now lossless versions of all 3 exist.

Yep.

[SirYodaJedi]

Originally Posted by professorwho

All I know is the audio. (Person didn't say what the bit depth was, but Nozomi only does 16-Bit, at least to my knowledge, and at the same bitrate)

Japanese LPCM Stereo 2.0 16-Bit 1536 kbps
English LPCM Stereo 2.0 16-Bit 1536 kbps
English LPCM 5.1 16-Bit 4608 kbps

That's assuming it's the same bitrates they always use. Video should probably be 30+ mbps, but as for how it actually looks? No idea. Don't own it.

Technical nitpick:
The bitrate for any uncompressed audio stream will be identical given the same bit-depth, sample rate, and channel count (5.1 counts as 6 channels).

Formula:
Sample Rate * Bit Depth * Channel Count = Bitrate

So as long as it is uncompressed, you don’t need to worry about bitrate!

[SpaceDandy]

Originally Posted by professorwho

Dynit Akira is getting a small upgrade.

They’re dropping the JP Hypersonic mix, and using the “classical” 5.1 mix at 24-Bit 48kHz. As a result, the max Bitrate is increasing from 35 to 37, and the average from 32 to around 35 mbps. A huge upgrade over the FUNi version which had an average of 20 mbps due to all the audio options.

A whopping 3mbps gain… I'd rather keep the Hypersonic 24bit-192kHz track (if people have the proper audio setup).
The french site lesnumeriques reported that they had never heard such good audio track on a blu-ray also pointing out the amazing use of the surround sound, giving a total immersion when watching the movie. They even said it was godlike (and suggested, half-seriously, that it should get 6 stars out of 5).

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by SpaceDandy

A whopping 3mbps gain… I'd rather keep the Hypersonic 24bit-192kHz track (if people have the proper audio setup).
The french site lesnumeriques reported that they had never heard such good audio track on a blu-ray also pointing out the amazing use of the surround sound, giving a total immersion when watching the movie. They even said it was godlike (and suggested, half-seriously, that it should get 6 stars out of 5).

Originally, the Dynit BD was going to have it be 96kHz 24-Bit, and mp3dom said it would be virtually indistinguishable from the JP BD in AQ. But, I'm fine with this, as it's an Italian release, and I'd have to add in subs already, so why not add in all the audio options as well?

Also, by this choice, they are now providing a lossless mix of the 2001 surround mix for the first time, so now it's possible to make a truly definitive Akira.

Also, while I have heard hypersonic mix and it sounds INCREDIBLE, it sadly has revisionism. On the top of the page, NLScavenger pointed out all the musical cue changes in the 2001 and 2009 (hypersonic) mixes from the original in 1988.

[mp3dom]

The japanese "hypersonic" track sounds good because it's a completely different mix, it doesn't depends on the so-called hypersonic frequencies.

[Dragon Ranger]

Please excuse me if this is the wrong thread as this isn't so much to do with video quality but style of animation. I'm watching Death Note for the first time (I know I'm late to the party) and around episode 18/19 (after three characters who are incarcerated are released) the animation seems to have changed a bit. The character designs appear to be a bit cutesier and everything moves a bit more frantically.

Am I imagining this or was there a change in style/direction/design around this part of the series?

[professorwho]

Almost every episode had a different director and/or storyboarder. And almost every episode had a different animation director

I just checked (by skimming through that episode on Netflix), and you’re thinking about Episode 18, which has Masaki Hinata as animation director. (I had the ANN page for the series open and looked at the staff) Looking at his work, I’m not sure what happened. I can’t seem to find what stuff they’ve done as key animator, so I can’t say if it was them, or perhaps it was because of the key animators in the scene going uncorrected? In the scene where Misa complains about L being there, the “cuter” drawings work well. But that’s just my opinion.

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by mp3dom

The japanese "hypersonic" track sounds good because it's a completely different mix, it doesn't depends on the so-called hypersonic frequencies.

Music/sound effect revisionism aside, the "Hypersonic" track is mixed too hot and there's a lot of clipping present. That's not exactly deserving of being called "good".

I've pre-ordered the steelbook, but once it arrives I'm going to remux it with the original audio.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

once it arrives I'm going to remux it with the original audio.

Once you do, please tell me the timing- I’m doing something similar.

[Dragon Ranger]

Originally Posted by professorwho

Almost every episode had a different director and/or storyboarder. And almost every episode had a different animation director

I just checked (by skimming through that episode on Netflix), and you’re thinking about Episode 18, which has Masaki Hinata as animation director. (I had the ANN page for the series open and looked at the staff) Looking at his work, I’m not sure what happened. I can’t seem to find what stuff they’ve done as key animator, so I can’t say if it was them, or perhaps it was because of the key animators in the scene going uncorrected? In the scene where Misa complains about L being there, the “cuter” drawings work well. But that’s just my opinion.

Thank you for the detailed response; I agree about the scenes with Misa they did work well but overall it was a little jarring as the previous episodes were all very similar in appearance to my eyes. I'll be watching episode 20 tonight, looking forward to seeing where the story goes next.

[mp3dom]

Originally Posted by professorwho

Once you do, please tell me the timing- I’m doing something similar.

I kept the exact same timing of the previous japanese bluray, so everything made in the past will perfectly work without any additional editing.