The Anime Blu-ray Video Quality Thread

[NLScavenger]

Golgo 13 - Sentai Filmworks (1080i)

Disc #1


Disc #6


-Audio-
Japanese: DTS-HD MA 2.0 / 48 khz / 24-bit
English: DTS-HD MA 2.0 / 48 khz / 24-bit

-Subtitles-
English (Optional)

Bitrate viewer report - episode #05

AVG: 20001 kbps | MAX: 47785 kbps

[professorwho]

I emailed Bandai Visual about the UHD of Akira and their use of DNR, and if there would be “subtitles”,
And their reply was “we’ll send it along to the relevant people”. Standard response.

For those curious on what I actually sent, in the spoiler is the text (in Japanese). Not sure how Google Translate will butcher it;

[Show spoiler]ごめんなさいバンダイさん。「アキラ」のUHDについていくつか質問があります。

あなたはディスクに含まれている英語字幕に言及します。英語字幕は日本語の会話の翻訳ですか。あなたの以前 のBlu-rayは、英語の音声からの会話の転写を持っていました。英語の音声は日本語の音声とは異なる対話をします 。このように、俺は日本語の対話の英語への翻訳が含まれることを望みます。

また、俺は修復について心配しています。「オリジナルのカメラネガ」の代わりに「インターポジティブ」が使 われた理由は興味があります。俺は「オリジナルカメラネガ」が最も細部を作り出すと信じていま す。

将来的には、「キュー・テック」へのアウトソーシングをやめてほしいと思います。キュー・テックのFORS プロセスはフィルムグレインを破壊します。1980年代の映画は細部を保存するためにフィルムグレインを保 持する。フィルムグレインを取り除くと、細部が失われます。また、見た目が悪いです。その結果、多くの外国 人はキューテックが働いていたレトロアニメを買わないことにしました。キュー・テックは嫌いです。彼らは私 たちの好きなアニメを破壊します。

フィルムグレインを取り除かないでください。

俺は日本語を話しますので、俺の意見をあなたに知らせることができます。俺は俺に同意する他の多くの人々を 知っています。

このメールを読んでいただきありがとうございます。

[kevers7290]

Anyone care to comment on a more obscure release? Looking for a comparison between the US (NISA) and UK (@anime) release of Fuse: Memoirs of a Huntress/Hunter Girl. Thanks!

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by kevers7290

Anyone care to comment on a more obscure release? Looking for a comparison between the US (NISA) and UK (@anime) release of Fuse: Memoirs of a Huntress/Hunter Girl. Thanks!

Every NISA Disc is a Justin Sevakis encode, at least, I think, so it’s a very high quality release, but I have no clue about the AL discs, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re the same, and it’s equally possible they’re different.

[NLScavenger]

FWIW, the UK and FR BD share discs.

----------------------------


Here's a review of the Spanish Selecta Vision BD of Serial Experiments Lain. Also includes a comparison with the JP BD. Looks like Selecta Vision tinkered a bit with the colors.

[NLScavenger]

Screenshot comparison Venus Wars JP BD vs US BD vs Kids Station Broadcast vs US DVD

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by cfx

So the JP BD has had the grain wiped out? Or is there something weird with the US one where there's more grain than on the original and a new scan fixed that?

I assume the former, but the linework doesn't seem to be worse in any way as would be expected from DNR, especially at that level, so I'm overall puzzled.

The JP BD was probably sourced from an interpositive and the US BD from some kind of film element a generation or two away from the interpositive, hence the contrasty and grainy look of the US BD.

Still, the JP BD most likely has some DNR applied to it like other Bandai BDs from recent years.

EDIT: Correction, the JP BD is sourced from the original camera negative.

[TThomas]

The first Blu-ray ever of "Rainbow" (Ep 1-6) was released today
(Region B, not English-friendly)

Ep 1:

[Show spoiler]

General
UFormat                                  : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 2
File size                                : 6.02 GiB
Duration                                 : 22 min 47 s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 37.8 Mb/s
Movie name                               : Rainbow


Video
ID                                       : 1
ID in the original source medium         : 4113 (0x1011)
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.1
Format settings                          : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 4 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 22 min 47 s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 35.5 Mb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 40.0 Mb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.715
Stream size                              : 5.66 GiB (94%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
ID in the original source medium         : 4352 (0x1100)
Format                                   : DTS XLL
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                          : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 22 min 47 s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 1 126 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Stream size                              : 184 MiB (3%)
Title                                    : Stereo
Language                                 : German
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
ID in the original source medium         : 4353 (0x1101)
Format                                   : DTS XLL
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                          : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 22 min 47 s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 1 119 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Stream size                              : 182 MiB (3%)
Title                                    : Stereo
Language                                 : Japanese
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Text #1
ID                                       : 4
ID in the original source medium         : 4608 (0x1200)
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 22 min 28 s
Bit rate                                 : 28.4 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 480
Stream size                              : 4.56 MiB (0%)
Language                                 : German
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Text #2
ID                                       : 6
ID in the original source medium         : 4609 (0x1201)
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 22 min 11 s
Bit rate                                 : 4 944 b/s
Count of elements                        : 82
Stream size                              : 804 KiB (0%)
Language                                 : German
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Text #3
ID                                       : 7
ID in the original source medium         : 4609 (0x1201)
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 22 min 9 s
Bit rate                                 : 4 952 b/s
Count of elements                        : 80
Stream size                              : 804 KiB (0%)
Language                                 : German
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Various Eps:

[NLScavenger]

Screenshot comparison Castle of Cagliostro 4K UHD vs various BD/DVD releases and TV broadcasts: https://catalina.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2019-07-23-2

[Ccharmanderk]

Unless a newer transfer without excessive DNR rolls around, best to just stick with the Discotek release. Improved from the likes of Cobra and Mamo though it may be, UHD Cagliostro is still not worth the upgrade imo. Too much in the way of compromises to the natural look of the feature.

[professorwho]

I was getting some screencaps of my JP BD of A Silent Voice for NLScavenger's comparison, and boy is is bad. Like, pretty bad. Bitrate is pathetic for a Japanese release, and the compression is poor. Though the major issues are apparently on a source level- the banding. Every KyoAni production has banding in the master to some degree, but this is especially bad. Combine that with a terrible filter used to emulate film grain (and a bad one at that- if you wanna see a good one, look at Justin Sevakis' work on Galaxy Express 999) and GLITCHED FRAMES, and it's bad.

Yes, it has glitched frames, ala the UK replacement disc of Your Name. Except here it was 2;



So while the video is utter a$$, the audio is perfect, but also the reason the video sucks. Pony Canyon uses an LPCM 5.1 mix at 24-bit and it sounds glorious. Now if it was just that and a lossy commentary track, the video could average like 36 or 37 mbps and be practically perfect, but NOPE. There's a DTS-HD MA 2.0 downmix of the 5.1 mix, the commentary track is lossless, and there's an alternate mix called "Inner Silence", which is also in LPCM 5.1 and DTS-HD MA 2.0, so as you can see it's bloated. Even if the "Inner Silence" mix was lossy DTS or Bolby Digital, it would barely effect the video bitrate, but NOPE. Pony Canyon does this stupidity.

They've also done this with Liz and the Blue Bird, and the Attack on Titan compilation movies. The issue isn't that they're using LPCM 5.1 at full 24-bit, as you can do that and still have a very high bitrate of 36-37 mbps which I'd consider well optimized, but rather the downmixes and optional tracks are lossless and strain the video quality.

So yeah, I can't wait for Scavenger's comparison, as I need the Dynit BD and its superior encoding over this piece of crap.

That said, I'm glad I have it, as it meant I got to see this film legally before almost everyone else here in America, as Eleven Arts is a pi$$poor distributor.

[Naiera]

I've seen the movie twice and haven't noticed those glitched frames.

I don't think the video is ass, either.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by Naiera

I don't think the video is ass, either.

I went frame by frame in sections to match Scavenger's screenshots and there's an insane amount of banding. There's one sequence that gets close to Re:Zero levels of terrible. That said, the majority of the banding isn't THAT bad, but noticeable if you know what to look for- I found it very distracting. Check around the 100 minute mark and it's horrible.

The UK BD by Justin also has it, so it appears to be a source issue, sadly.

[Naiera]

I know about the banding. I still don't think it's ass.

[sagadego]

i own the king off ass on dvd! Legend of zelda cartoon, 13 episodes on one dvd compression and also bad video quality

[BigOnAnime]

I don't recall the US BD having those glitched frames during my dubbed rewatch a few months ago. What's the timestamp on it? Also are there any caps of the US BD around that can be added to the upcoming comparison? I'm curious how it compares. I have the US BD, but sadly no BD drive for use on PC and no way of getting BD caps.

[Dino-Killer 912]

I noticed Eleven Arts uploaded a re-release trailer of Millennium Actress:

Millennium Actress - In Theaters August 13 & 19 ONLY - YouTube

It seems to be made from the restored source.
I made some comparisons between this trailer and Taiwanese Blu-ray, which uses the same remaster as the Japanese Blu-ray. Download here.

[NLScavenger]

I think those "glitched frames" appear because VD2 doesn't like it when the frames aren't indexed. If those frames pop up, I usually just jump a few frames back and try again. If you index the video, these "glitched frame" should not appear but indexing takes time.

One possible solution is to install avisynth, place ffms2.dll in the plugins folder, create this script in notepad and save as an .avs file:

Loadplugin("PATH TO ffms2.dll")
FFmpegSource2("PATH TO VIDEO")

Then load the .avs script in VD2 and wait a few minutes until the indexing is done.

[Sylontack]

Originally Posted by Dino-Killer 912

I made some comparisons between this trailer and Taiwanese Blu-ray, which uses the same remaster as the Japanese Blu-ray. Download here.

If this is what the more recent 4K transfer looks like I think I prefer the colours on the BD, but this is one of my favourite movies and at this point I'll take it in any capacity, certainly won't be the last time I spend money on it anyway

[PissedOffPeoN]

Originally Posted by professorwho

I was getting some screencaps of my JP BD of A Silent Voice for NLScavenger's comparison, and boy is is bad. Like, pretty bad. Bitrate is pathetic for a Japanese release, and the compression is poor. Though the major issues are apparently on a source level- the banding. Every KyoAni production has banding in the master to some degree, but this is especially bad. Combine that with a terrible filter used to emulate film grain (and a bad one at that- if you wanna see a good one, look at Justin Sevakis' work on Galaxy Express 999) and GLITCHED FRAMES, and it's bad.

Yes, it has glitched frames, ala the UK replacement disc of Your Name. Except here it was 2;



So while the video is utter a$$, the audio is perfect, but also the reason the video sucks. Pony Canyon uses an LPCM 5.1 mix at 24-bit and it sounds glorious. Now if it was just that and a lossy commentary track, the video could average like 36 or 37 mbps and be practically perfect, but NOPE. There's a DTS-HD MA 2.0 downmix of the 5.1 mix, the commentary track is lossless, and there's an alternate mix called "Inner Silence", which is also in LPCM 5.1 and DTS-HD MA 2.0, so as you can see it's bloated. Even if the "Inner Silence" mix was lossy DTS or Bolby Digital, it would barely effect the video bitrate, but NOPE. Pony Canyon does this stupidity.

They've also done this with Liz and the Blue Bird, and the Attack on Titan compilation movies. The issue isn't that they're using LPCM 5.1 at full 24-bit, as you can do that and still have a very high bitrate of 36-37 mbps which I'd consider well optimized, but rather the downmixes and optional tracks are lossless and strain the video quality.

So yeah, I can't wait for Scavenger's comparison, as I need the Dynit BD and its superior encoding over this piece of crap.

That said, I'm glad I have it, as it meant I got to see this film legally before almost everyone else here in America, as Eleven Arts is a pi$$poor distributor.

woah O.O.