The Anime Blu-ray Video Quality Thread

[professorwho]

Turn A Gundam
(Nozomi Entertainment/Rightstuf, USA)

I'll just cut to the chase, I am pretty disappointed here with the Blu-ray release of Turn A Gundam.

First, a little background. It was the last entry in the franchise to be finished on film (the next- Seed- was done digitally in standard definition). Turn A was finished on 35mm and the cuts with hybrid digital/CG were most likely printed to film like other Sunrise shows of the era. On which, most of the big Sunrise series from the mid to late 90s were finished on 35mm and look superb. Turn A is a weird case.

Now to the stats and audio:


Episode 1


Episode 2


Episode 3

Audio:
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)

Due to good disc space optimization, Nozomi has encoded the series at a high bitrate. The episodes are divided by a 8-8-9 split for each half's Blu-ray release. Disc 1 is 45.2 GB which is fantastic.



The audio is flawless- clarity is great, and there are no issues to report. Subtitles are yellow, and the translation is pretty good, though I would change some diction. The size of the font is too big for my liking, but it's a small issue. (Note, the screenshot above was taken with VLC to show off subs, while all the other ones are from Virtual Dub 2)

Now for the video. For a title finished on 35mm, you'd expect a well defined layer of grain, however, that's not the case here. In fact, I'd say that most of it has been eliminated completely. In close ups, the use of DNR is less noticeable, however in more pulled back shots it becomes very noticeable. There are moments it does pop up (like when Loran is underwater), but then it shows up frozen in backgrounds and it looks really bad. There is still a fine amount of detail, but as there are no images of the raw scans, I can't say how much is lost.





When doing research, I found out that on a certain company's website, they used a certain process to clean up the audio. If they did the audio, it's more than likely that they worked on the video as well. That company is obviously Q-Tec. Because of course it is.

Now onto the other issues. For some reason I can't understand, there is noticeable throughout many scenes. It's harder to convey in screenshots, but in motion it's a bit distracting. However, the bigger issue is that of compression.





Despite a high bitrate which is more than enough to produce a great image, there is more artifacting than I'd like. Most of it is macroblocking in darker areas, but occasionally some banding appears as well. With some BDs that have blocking, it can be hard to spot in motion, while obvious in screenshots (many Criterion BDs are that way)- here that is not the case. Almost all of the artifacting you see in the screencaps can be seen in motion, and even when sitting far away from the screen. Most of the image is free of major artifacting, but when it shows up, you notice it.

Overall, I'm disappointed. This is nowhere near the worst anime Blu-ray release, but with Q-Tec ruining one of the best Gundam entries and Nozomi not having flawless compression, it's a shame Turn A doesn't have the release it deserves. It still beats any DVD release in terms of quality, but for a Blu-ray remaster originally released in 2014 in Japan, it does not live up to expectations. This is the best looking release with English subs, so if you're curious about the series, or love it already, you should get it- but know what you'll be getting in terms of quality.

I ended up taking over 100(!) screencaps for this, so the album with them all is here.

[jd213]

Originally Posted by professorwho

Turn A Gundam
(Nozomi Entertainment/Rightstuf, USA)
Now onto the other issues. For some reason I can't understand, there is noticeable throughout many scenes.

Looks like you left out a word in this sentence, what's noticeable?

I watched through the JP releases several years ago, and definitely remember a lack of grain, but don't think I noticed any macroblocking.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by jd213

Looks like you left out a word in this sentence, what's noticeable?

I watched through the JP releases several years ago, and definitely remember a lack of grain, but don't think I noticed any macroblocking.

Aliasing. It’s rather distracting.

As for the macroblocking, it’s most likely you didn’t notice it due to better compression on the Japanese release.

[Logan Jones]

Originally Posted by cfx

The removal of any/all film grain on that gives the faces, especially those darker-skinned ones, that ugly "we used the Photoshop paint bucket to color this" effect that the Lupin Mamo UHD has. The linework isn't as clobbered as that, but this, based on your screens, is probably borderline unwatchable for me.

I'm not a Gundam fan so I won't be missing out, but it still sucks to see releases of anything look like this.

What these companies like q-tec are trying to do is make classic anime look like modern anime, in hopes of making it appear more appealing to a wider demographic. It shouldn't be this way, and I don't want to accept it...

But SO MANY old anime are being given this treatment.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by cfx

OTOH I think the Lupin Mamo UHD is unwatchable destroyed garbage
There was an earlier 4K mastter blu-ray that I can't find the video for, and it looked fine to me unlike this trash.

That earlier “4K master” was footage from the original Japanese Blu. It’s decent but it shows it age (still better than that excuse of an “HD” master of Cagliostro around that time); I posted some caps a while ago (funnily enough, that master was also done by Qtec). The degraing is ass but the UHD’s color grade I’m more bugged by considering they changed the color of Jigen’s suit (there’s at least two scenes that they forgot to regrade his suit).

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by cfx

That's probably the one I was thinking of, but I couldn't find the promo video. I'll take old over "new" when new is what they're doing on these UHDs. I just hope they don't start doing the blu-rays the same way.

I can't veiw the caps because I get risky ads from imgbox so I won't go there.

It makes me wonder what master Discotek will use for their eventual Blu (when that happens). A thing I dislike about the Mamo Blu (it’s also in Nostradamus and DoA) is the brightness seems a bit too high for my tastes at default. Luckily, I have a custom setting on my TV, I use p rimarily for older Kino discs, that combats “brighter” discs. It’s sad that the more fogtten Lupin Films (Babylon, Nostradamus, and DoA) have better masters than the more popular ones.

[professorwho]

The sad part is that Q-Tec is so commonly used, in many cases, it's impossible to find out beforehand what release of what show is good or not. Plus there's the issue that pirate release groups often will de-grain an image, so if it's spread around, then what may be a fine release will be perceived as a DNR'd mess because of the spread of piracy.

I had no clue what Turn A Gundam would look like before I got it. There were screenshots online, but being of "rips" from release groups, it's not a good source for seeing what it looks like. Had I known, I would've waited until Turn A was on sale. (I did get it for $60 total due to that Gundam code- thanks cfx!)

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by professorwho

The sad part is that Q-Tec is so commonly used, in many cases, it's impossible to find out beforehand what release of what show is good or not. Plus there's the issue that pirate release groups often will de-grain an image, so if it's spread around, then what may be a fine release will be perceived as a DNR'd mess because of the spread of piracy.

I had no clue what Turn A Gundam would look like before I got it. There were screenshots online, but being of "rips" from release groups, it's not a good source for seeing what it looks like. Had I known, I would've waited until Turn A was on sale. (I did get it for $60 total due to that Gundam code- thanks cfx!)

I felt that way when I went to go buy Kino’s remastered “For a Few Dollars More”...listed that thing off immediately after I finished it.

[Logan Jones]

I remember a few months ago seeing a trailer for a theatrical re-creening of Lupin III Mamo of the original master from the same channel. I guess they removed it, for fears that people would say, "Hey, this new version looks like crap!"

And like cfx said, its a matter of degrees for me, too. The smeary, blobby look of the Dirty Pair BD set insults my eyes. It seems like after they DNR'd the image to all hell, they noticed it looked too pixelated, and applied a smoothing filter over THAT. Mild DNR SOMETIMES is not too bad for me, but the smoothing I have a very low tolerance for.

Here's the thing, I WISH that all great anime would be given the same treatment as most great movies in america have received, (proper restoration, correct color timing, great encoding). Unfortunately, in order for me to not become a constantly depressed person, I have to put up with these weird-looking, smeary, anime releases.

Except Akira. No forgiveness. The comparison screenshots reveal that the 4K release has LESS detail than the 1080p Blu-ray! ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by Logan Jones

Except Akira. No forgiveness. The comparison screenshots reveal that the 4K release has LESS detail than the 1080p Blu-ray! ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

It's from a compressed 1080p YouTube video. While it gives a clue as to what to expect, I wouldn't judge it entirely based off of a web video. Not saying it isn't disappointing, but it's unfair to judge based on a compressed YT video that isn't even at 4K resolution, so if there was more detail, it would be harder to notice.

[Logan Jones]

Originally Posted by professorwho

It's from a compressed 1080p YouTube video. While it gives a clue as to what to expect, I wouldn't judge it entirely based off of a web video. Not saying it isn't disappointing, but it's unfair to judge based on a compressed YT video that isn't even at 4K resolution, so if there was more detail, it would be harder to notice.

Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't expect the worst from this UHD release, but I certainly don't expect the best.

[NLScavenger]

Patlabor on Television BD

Ultimate Collection caps are from the JP audio version. The JP audio is the SS-Remix version (in stereo) that was released on LD/VHS between 1990-1992. Apparently the Labor sfx are different from the original mono broadcast mix. The original mix has never been released on home video.

2018 Ultimate Collection BD


2013 BD - source: Blu-ray.com review


2018 Ultimate Collection BD


JP BD - source: hissatsu


Bitrate viewer episode #1 - 2018 Ultimate Collection BD:

[professorwho]

Outlaw Star
(Anime Limited, UK)


Episode 1 bitrate

Audio:
Japanese LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)





Outlaw Star is of reference quality on Blu-ray, simply put. This is easily the best I have ever seen a 35mm TV anime on the format, or any for that matter. Sunrise pays big money for good restorations and it shows here, outside of a few specs here and there, there is nothing wrong with the master. It is flawless and until a 4K or higher scan is created, this is the definitive release.





Now, it's been stated that the UK release of Outlaw Star is a 1:1 clone of the Japanese release, with just the inclusion of English subtitles and dub. That is the case for the limited edition's packaging, and the disc art is identical with only English text and logos added. As for the A/V presentation...

It isn't.

Now, if that upsets you, don't fret, as we're given probably the second best thing- a Justin Sevakis encode. Yes, this is a MediaOCD joint and as expected compression is amazing. Outside of some very minor compression artifacts which aren't even noticeable in motion, there are no issues to be had with the presentation whatsoever.





All screencaps were taken with Virtual Dub 2 with the exceptions of the ones containing subtitles- those were taken with VLC to show off the font and colour.

I've only ever seen Outlaw Star in its original Japanese, and the LPCM 2.0 track here is flawless. No issues to report here. Now, I've heard that one of the western BD releases has audio problems with the English dub. I sampled the dub here and heard no such issues in the spots I tested it.



Yes, subs are yellow, but I have no issue with it. Would I prefer white subs? Sure. Worth complaining about? Nope.

Overall, a must own release. Up next from me is Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex from Manga Entertainment in the UK.

[professorwho]

Additional caps are in this gallery here

[NLScavenger]

Remastered from the 35mm negative. They usually take an old or a newly printed interpositive for remasters.

I need to rewatch Outlaw Star someday.

[professorwho]

Outlaw Star is a really good show. Even if the PQ wasn't as great as it is, I'd still say it's a must own show.

I ordered Giant Robo along with Galaxy Express 999 TV Vol 1, and as we know, Giant Robo is in stock. A day or two ago, I ordered Discotek's DVD release of Game Center CX (known here as Retro Game Master)- an awesome Japanese TV show- and they included Giant Robo with it. As such, I'll be doing a huge Giant Robo post when it arrives- that includes breaking down all the audio options, extras and more. It'll be fun.

[NLScavenger]

Space Runaway Ideon - Maiden Japan BD

A reminder that Ideon was almost released on SDBD for no effin good reason.



Episode #1 bitrate


Episode #2 bitrate

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by professorwho

Now, it's been stated that the UK release of Outlaw Star is a 1:1 clone of the Japanese release, with just the inclusion of English subtitles and dub. That is the case for the limited edition's packaging, and the disc art is identical with only English text and logos added. As for the A/V presentation...

It isn't.

Now, if that upsets you, don't fret, as we're given probably the second best thing- a Justin Sevakis encode. Yes, this is a MediaOCD joint and as expected compression is amazing. Outside of some very minor compression artifacts which aren't even noticeable in motion, there are no issues to be had with the presentation whatsoever.

Justin told you this? The JP release is also on four discs.

[Naiera]

The UK release is so friggin' awesome, and it just adds to the hilarity that the inferior US release comes in a dumbass-type ugly box, while also being more expensive.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by Naiera

Justin told you this? The JP release is also on four discs.

I asked if it was a clone and he said he was pretty sure the materials given were Apple ProRes files.