The Anime Blu-ray Video Quality Thread

[professorwho]

I checked to make sure, because even though I believe mp3dom, I had to check- it has the same timing as the JP BD. Now I need to get a copy. Those screenshots are enough to sell me.

Also, now we have lossless versions of every mix of Akira.
1988 has an LPCM 2.0 mix; 2001 now has a DTS-HD MA mix from Dynit, and 2009 has the Hypersonic TrueHD.

[klasma]

^ Does GNXA-1005 contain all three mixes?

I watched Akira in 1991 when it was released in local theaters (barely old enough back then to be allowed to see it) and was deeply impressed, then started to read the manga. I don't think I've watched the movie again since (despite buying at least three copies over the years), so this will be interesting.

[professorwho]

The 2009 BD has all 3. But the 2001 mix is Dolby Digital 5.1
The FUNi BD has only the hypersonic mix.
The Dynit BD only has the 2001 mix. Dynit BD has same timing as 2009 BD.

[klasma]

Thanks. I own the 2011 jp reissue so that's why I was asking. So combining it with the Dynit BD should give the best version of both video and audio.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by klasma

Thanks. I own the 2011 jp reissue so that's why I was asking. So combining it with the Dynit BD should give the best version of both video and audio.

Yup. It took years, but now we have the definitive Akira.

(I might as well add the dub because it's in sync, because why not? Might as well preserve the best version available right now...)

Mine would be as follows:
Video- Dynit

Audio:
JP LPCM 2.0 16-Bit (1988 mix- JP BD)
JP DTS-HD MA 5.1 24-Bit (2001 mix- Dynit)
JP TrueHD 5.1 Hypersonic 24-Bit (2009 mix- JP BD)
EN TrueHD 5.1 16-Bit (2001? mix- JP BD)

Subtitles from JP BD

[NLScavenger]

[professorwho]

What's the file size and total bitrate?

It's probably really big...

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by professorwho

What's the file size and total bitrate?

It's probably really big...

File size : 52.9 GiB
Overall bit rate : 60.9 Mb/s

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by professorwho

It's probably really big...

That's what she said.

I want a non-steelbook release of that Italian Akira.

[pikagreg]

Started Strawberry Panic and wasn't expecting much since it is MB but the hardcoded subs are kind of blurry and makes me wonder if they just upscaled their old DVD with the subs on lol

[Yuripa]

Cowboy Bebop : the movie

Screencap and BDinfo : https://fandompost.vbulletin.net/for...e41#post715543
Thanks to Sensuifu.

[Dailyan]

Oh, man that is some stanky encoding.

[Show spoiler]

[professorwho]

What a bunch of idiots. They should be ashamed, but they don’t care.

[svenge]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Oh, man that is some stanky encoding.

[Show spoiler]

Indeed. I see no need to investigate further, lest our corneas become even further corroded by Funi's incompetence...

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by svenge

Indeed. I see no need to investigate further, lest our corneas become even further corroded by Funi's incompetence...

I popped in my Image disc and that shot is much better on Image. If somebody doesn't own this I'd recommend getting the Umbrella release. It's region free, the encode is about on par with Image, 5.1 audio (though lossy) and the extras are included.

[Kyle15]

Come on, it's Funimation magic! Who doesn't love a heaping helping of macroblocking in the morning?

[Ccharmanderk]

I think Justin undersold the encoding issues here. That's really rough. Like something you'd normally see in the early days of the format when companies didn't quite know how to encode their discs properly.

[professorwho]

Area 88 DVD
(Discotek)

Movie 1:


Video:
480i MPEG-2
29.97 fps
1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
6675 kbps AVG (6.67 mbps)
9803 kbps MAX (9.80 mbps)
4.62 GB

Audio:
Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 224 kbps
English Dolby Digital 2.0 224 kbps

Movie 2:


Video:
480i MPEG-2
29.97 fps
1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
6519 kbps AVG (6.51 mbps)
9512 kbps MAX (9.51 mbps)
4.42 GB

Audio:
Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 224 kbps
English Dolby Digital 2.0 224 kbps

A lot of screencaps

Okay, I can kind of understand why this is a DVD only release. At first glance, it looks nearly HD levels of quality. By that, I mean a high quality scan with good colour, and not a dirty telecine scan. But, there is a kind of major issue- aliasing. There's quite a bit of it. I viewed it deinterlaced, which helps clean up the picture, but it's more noticeable without. It's kinda distracting, to be honest.

Otherwise, it's as good as you can get from a DVD. Grain is present, but it's an old scan- however a good one, so it's inconsistent scene-by-scene. Detail is good, and so is just about everything else. Other than the aliasing, it's near perfect for a DVD of an old scan of an 80s OVA.

Audio is basically flawless. No audible compression. The dub, the ADV one, is more full and clearly the better sounding in terms of audio quality. It's from the 2000s, so it has a richer sound with better defined lows and highs in pitch and clarity. The Japanese track, which is from the 80s, is in very good condition and I have no complaint, but because it uses an analogue master, as compared to the ADV dub's digital audio, it sounds worse.

The extras are great, too. Mike Toole has some liner notes that are very well detailed and researched, and the interview with the mangaka to which this OVA is based on is very cool. The best part is the OVA cuts of Acts 1 and 2.

Area 88 was originally a 3 episode OVA. Episodes 1 and 2 were about 50 minutes each, and Episode 3 was 97 minutes. Episodes 1 and 2 were recut into a film, which is on disc 1, and Episode 3, or Act III, is left unaltered. The versions of Acts 1 and 2 for the OVA cuts are basically the same in terms of picture quality, but the credits and the opening logo are really, really bad. It looks like a capture of a Laserdisc (maybe that's where it actually came from!). Regardless, you loose only like 1 scene by watching the Movie version of Acts 1 and 2, so just watch that.

This is probably my worst worded write-up yet, but at least I'm telling you what's actually on the disc! Pick it up if you're curious, or if you've seen it before- the quality is really good, and it's worth every cent in my book.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Ccharmanderk

I think Justin undersold the encoding issues here. That's really rough. Like something you'd normally see in the early days of the format when companies didn't quite know how to encode their discs properly.

Or a Shout Factory disc.

[LordCrumb]

Fairy Tail Banding/Posterization Samples:

[Show spoiler]

Hit and miss depending on the Disc (or 'Part'). Some are perfect, some are not.