The Anime Blu-ray Video Quality Thread

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

Megazone 23 JPN and AnimEigo 2021/2022/2024 BD comparisons

Part 1: https://slow.pics/c/wuQ5gq0j
Part 1 NSFW scene where compression struggles: https://slow.pics/c/kHQ4KbjA
Part 2: https://slow.pics/c/VfDHDwZK

Part 3 and BDInfo will follow later

Part 3 - episode 1: https://slow.pics/c/0f7MVzw6
Part 3 - episode 2: https://slow.pics/c/KeWOO0Mc

The 2024 and 2022 encodes are a mixed bag. There is more grain than the Japanese release, but because of the low bitrate there's a lot more artifacting in Part 1 and 2 (still better than the Kickstarter BD encode though). Part 3 suffers a lot less due to the cleaner image. The filtered Japanese BD encode is more stable. The worst scene that I remember while watching the 2022 BD is the super grainy sex scene in Part 1 where the image pulses from good to bad frames.




BDInfo
Part 1 2024

Disc Title:     Megazone 23
Disc Label:     MEGAZONE 23
Disc Size:      49,339,799,459 bytes
Protection:     AACS
Playlist:       Part 1
Size:           13,875,877,440 bytes
Length:         1:20:49.219
Total Bitrate:  22.89 Mbps
Video:          MPEG-4 AVC Video / 16,477 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz /  1993 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /   768 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   860 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          Japanese / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   878 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / Dolby Digital Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   384 kbps / DN -31dB
Audio:          Japanese / Dolby Digital Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   192 kbps / DN -31dB
Audio:          English / Dolby Digital Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   192 kbps / DN -31dB
Subtitle:       English / 3.39 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 45.48 kbps
Subtitle:       German / 51.95 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 54.23 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 50.69 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 93.46 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 73.70 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 49.96 kbps

Writing library                          : x264 core 164 r3108 31e19f9
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=30 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=4 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=1 / weightp=1 / keyint=24 / keyint_min=1 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=24 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=16500 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / vbv_maxrate=31000 / vbv_bufsize=30000 / nal_hrd=vbr / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00

Part 1 2022

Disc Title:     Megazone 23
Disc Label:     MEGAZONE 23 2022
Disc Size:      49,613,294,218 bytes
Protection:     AACS
Playlist:       Part 1
Size:           14,263,182,720 bytes
Length:         1:20:49.219
Total Bitrate:  23.53 Mbps
Video:          MPEG-4 AVC Video / 16,934 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz /  1993 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /   768 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   860 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          Japanese / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   879 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / Dolby Digital Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   384 kbps / DN -31dB
Audio:          Japanese / Dolby Digital Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   192 kbps / DN -31dB
Audio:          English / Dolby Digital Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   192 kbps / DN -31dB
Subtitle:       English / 66.24 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 72.81 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 69.86 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 74.65 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 79.96 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 93.85 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 121.18 kbps

Writing library                          : x264 core 161 r3048 b86ae3c
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=34 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=4 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=1 / weightp=1 / keyint=24 / keyint_min=1 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=24 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=17000 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / vbv_maxrate=31000 / vbv_bufsize=30000 / nal_hrd=vbr / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00

Part 2 2024

Disc Title:     Megazone 23
Disc Label:     MEGAZONE 23
Disc Size:      49,339,799,459 bytes
Protection:     AACS
Playlist:       Part 2
Size:           14,337,107,520 bytes
Length:         1:22:11.635
Total Bitrate:  23.26 Mbps
Video:          MPEG-4 AVC Video / 16,643 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz /  2192 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /   768 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   938 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          Japanese / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   829 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   932 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitle:       English / 4.33 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 38.47 kbps
Subtitle:       German / 40.53 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 44.75 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 40.57 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 48.64 kbps

Part 2 2022

Disc Title:     Megazone 23
Disc Label:     MEGAZONE 23 2022
Disc Size:      49,613,294,218 bytes
Protection:     AACS
Playlist:       Part 2
Size:           14,566,933,056 bytes
Length:         1:22:11.635
Total Bitrate:  23.63 Mbps
Video:          MPEG-4 AVC Video / 16,928 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz /  2192 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /   768 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   938 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          Japanese / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   829 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   932 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitle:       English / 50.63 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 56.47 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 54.84 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 60.19 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 67.96 kbps

Part 3 2024

Disc Title:     Megazone 23
Disc Label:     MEGAZONE 23
Disc Size:      49,339,799,459 bytes
Protection:     AACS
Playlist:       Part 3
Size:           17,211,608,448 bytes
Length:         1:42:52.166
Total Bitrate:  22.31 Mbps
Video:          MPEG-4 AVC Video / 16,623 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz /  2085 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /   768 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   882 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          Japanese / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   856 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / Dolby Digital Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   192 kbps / DN -31dB
Subtitle:       English / 3.90 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 51.12 kbps
Subtitle:       German / 57.23 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 51.25 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 54.53 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 50.54 kbps

Part 3 2022

Disc Title:     Megazone 23
Disc Label:     MEGAZONE 23 2022
Disc Size:      49,613,294,218 bytes
Protection:     AACS
Playlist:       Part 3
Size:           17,346,715,008 bytes
Length:         1:42:52.166
Total Bitrate:  22.48 Mbps
Video:          MPEG-4 AVC Video / 16,998 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz /  2085 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /   768 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   882 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio:          Japanese / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz /   856 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /   256 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitle:       English / 75.00 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 79.37 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 65.58 kbps
Subtitle:       English / 74.67 kbps

[Glorian]

Originally Posted by theberserker22

Has anyone checked out the princess tutu steelbook? I just want to know if they fixed that release as the original Sentai bluray was a ghosting and interlace combing filled disaster

Not sure if this still matters to you; but I had the old BD release of Princess Tutu, and I bought the steelbook version off Sentai's Black Friday sale to compare and see if it's an improvement.

And the answer is...yes, it is! The steelbook does not have the ghosting present in the prior BD release, and looks a bit better overall even beyond the lack of ghosting; it's maybe a bit sharper/clearer? I just did an A/B comparison of episode 1, and the differences were very noticeable. I'd call it a dramatic improvement overall.

[Glorian]

Does anyone have the Japanese Soul Eater box set? I'm wondering if there's any significant difference in video quality vs the US release that would justify the cost of tracking it down. Or is the US release good enough to not be worth bothering with the import?

[Foxwing59]

I'd have to do a comparison and not sure if i'll get to it, but in case you were wondering it does indeed have both subs and dub

[Glorian]

Originally Posted by Foxwing59

I'd have to do a comparison and not sure if i'll get to it, but in case you were wondering it does indeed have both subs and dub

I did know about the English options, which is a big part of the reason I was wondering. You certainly don't have to go to the trouble, but if you happen to have the chance, I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts.

You may not remember this either without checking, but were the subs easier to read than Funi's? Funi's early BD release had these white subs without much of a border, so they tended to blend into the background; one of the other reasons I was considering the import was in the hopes it would have more visible, easier to read subs.

[BigOnAnime]

FUNimation didn't change the font on their Blu-rays until late 2012, so anything released before that will have the hard to read subs, which includes Soul Eater as that was 2011. The Crunchyroll-branded re-release most likely will have the same hard to read subs.

[Glorian]

Originally Posted by BigOnAnime

FUNimation didn't change the font on their Blu-rays until late 2012, so anything released before that will have the hard to read subs, which includes Soul Eater as that was 2011. The Crunchyroll-branded re-release most likely will have the same hard to read subs.

That I realized, but I was wondering if the subs on the Japanese set were a decent improvement in readability. I would think so off hand, but I've seen a couple of import releases, like the first Little Witch Academia OVA, that do not have very readable subs.

Trying to gauge whether the Japanese import set would be a decent improvement from the Funi set I have, or just a more expensive version of virtually the same thing.

[Mangaranga]

Originally Posted by Glorian

Does anyone have the Japanese Soul Eater box set? I'm wondering if there's any significant difference in video quality vs the US release that would justify the cost of tracking it down. Or is the US release good enough to not be worth bothering with the import?

Pre-existing comp.

As per the description, the Funi BD suffers from the gamma bug which is fixed in the comps. JP BD has random QTEC'd scenes (e.g. #27).
Since you already own the Funi BD it's a definite do not bother from me.

[Foxwing59]

Originally Posted by Glorian

I did know about the English options, which is a big part of the reason I was wondering. You certainly don't have to go to the trouble, but if you happen to have the chance, I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts.

You may not remember this either without checking, but were the subs easier to read than Funi's? Funi's early BD release had these white subs without much of a border, so they tended to blend into the background; one of the other reasons I was considering the import was in the hopes it would have more visible, easier to read subs.

To my eyes, the subs look easier to read. I am familiar with how Funi has those hard to read subs too.

[NLScavenger]

Comparison (not mine) between various Blu-ray releases of Suzume: https://slow.pics/c/WmpNaFaX

Hong Kong BD appears to be a poorly tonemapped downscale of the 4K?

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

Hong Kong BD appears to be a poorly tonemapped downscale of the 4K?

Ew

[SpaceDandy]

Courtesy of K.

Yohane the Parhelion (United Kingdom / France - All The Anime)
Authoring: Com'On Screen
Gallery
Bitrate (Avg 19.68 Mbps)
English script use CR subs as-is with the occasional typesetting. French subtitles are butchered and bland.

Mosquito noise, banding, and overall mediocre compression. 2x BD50, discs are only filled to ~75%.
The extra are not subtitled at all (neither english or french), while they are on the German BD which is... also by Plaion.

[NLScavenger]

Waiting for Yohane the Parhelion to pop up on Mandarake for 9000 yen or less.

All the main Love Live! anime productions are edited at Sony PCL, but spin-off projects like Nijigasaki and Yohane the Parhelion are edited at IMAGICA. Even with IMAGICA's involvement, the Blu-rays were still authored by Sony PCL until Yohane the Parhelion. The SBMV logo isn't present on the packaging and disc, and iirc it shares their subtitle font. Even with IMAGICA's lowpass filter, it should still be a lot better than what we're seeing on the Com'On Screen disc.

I was relieved to see the SBMV logo in the Superstar S3 vol 1 packaging contents picture. No disc picture shots of the the Yohane compilation film and Nijigasaki trilogy part 1 yet, but they have PCM 5.1 according to specs. Could indicate Sony, but I hope the PCM is a mistake and that the actual discs have TrueHD.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

Even with IMAGICA's involvement, the Blu-rays were still authored by Sony PCL until Yohane the Parhelion. The SBMV logo isn't present on the packaging and disc, and iirc it shares their subtitle font. Even with IMAGICA's lowpass filter, it should still be a lot better than what we're seeing on the Com'On Screen disc.

I'm willing to bet that KSM's encode will come out on top, then (whether that be from Plaion internally via x264 or LSP Medien). Cost is in the same region the UK/FR release, which makes the lack of subbed extras on the latter even more inexcusable.

[kk1]

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

Waiting for Yohane the Parhelion to pop up on Mandarake for 9000 yen or less.

All the main Love Live! anime productions are edited at Sony PCL, but spin-off projects like Nijigasaki and Yohane the Parhelion are edited at IMAGICA. Even with IMAGICA's involvement, the Blu-rays were still authored by Sony PCL until Yohane the Parhelion. The SBMV logo isn't present on the packaging and disc, and iirc it shares their subtitle font. Even with IMAGICA's lowpass filter, it should still be a lot better than what we're seeing on the Com'On Screen disc.

I was relieved to see the SBMV logo in the Superstar S3 vol 1 packaging contents picture. No disc picture shots of the the Yohane compilation film and Nijigasaki trilogy part 1 yet, but they have PCM 5.1 according to specs. Could indicate Sony, but I hope the PCM is a mistake and that the actual discs have TrueHD.

You can buy the first few volumes of Yohane for less the $5 shipped at Sugura-ya if you want to check the quality.

[Jackson_H]

Any feedback on the new Kaiji Season 1 Blu-ray release from Sentai would be appreciated. Would like to know if the interlacing judder issues from the 2021 release have been corrected or are less distracting

I don't put much faith in the site reviews...

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Kaiji...371223/#Review

[BigOnAnime]

Originally Posted by Jackson_H

I don't put much faith in the site reviews...

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Kaiji...371223/#Review

I wonder why...

The release comes in a standard Blu-ray case. The release does not include an o-card slipcover. The release does not include any additional collectables or bonus pack-ins for fans.

On disc supplements:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 00:52)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:13)

Unfortunately, the bonus features on the release are somewhat disappointing. The release only includes some standard cookie-cutter supplements. The release could have benefited somewhat by adding some exclusive audio commentaries, making-of documentaries, roundtable discussions, cast/crew interviews, comic-con panels, and featurettes- perhaps a new and exclusive featurette about the development of the brand-new English dub would have been appreciated by dub fans. Alas, the set only comes with standard offerings. A nice supplemental package sometimes helps sway some potential buyers to a purchase over simply opting for a one-time stream. Potential purchasers will want to weigh the pros and cons when making a buying decision.

Yes, a very significant portion of people will go "I see the Blu-ray has barebones video extras, so I'll stream instead." He's still very ignorant.

My purchasing decisions weigh way more on "Do I care about this series?" than "Are there video extras?" And I do very much appreciate when there are video extras (Ex: I'm watching His and Her Circumstances, decent extras on those DVDs), but it won't dissuade me from a release entirely because at the end of the day, the main content is what matters most. Though in the case of Planetes, I'll be getting the UK release instead of the US one, the UK one having more of them being one reason why.

[Citizen Bane]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but I noticed that the US Discotek release of Konosuba S1 only has one disc. I don't recall seeing a bluray with 11 episodes at 1080p on a single disc before, though I'm still pretty new at this so maybe it's more common than I'm assuming. I saw some earlier discussion about it HERE but i'm not savvy enough yet to really understand all the technical details.

From what I gathered it's fine but not as good as the JPBD release I'm assuming? Does cramming that many episodes onto one disc necessarily hurt the quality? I was curious how good a quality the Discotek prints of Konosuba S1 and S2 are and if they're worth picking up, or if one of the other prints are better. It's one of my favorite shows and I've been looking to add it to my collection.

[BigOnAnime]

Many Discotek Media releases put 10-13 episodes on a single disc. A few examples off the top of my head (and I own all of these except Berserk, Giant Gorg, and Kaiba, though I've watched only Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! and NieA_7 (which were blind-buys), have yet to rewatch the others through the Discotek BDs)... In fact, it's rare when they don't do that, they try to use as few discs as possible.


Sentai Filmworks also used to do that around 2014-2016 on subbed-only releases, the results were't too bad, though I wouldn't trust them as much. The folks at MediaOCD on the other hand, while I'd prefer around 6-7 episodes a BD-50, they know what they're doing and are among the best in the business so I'm not too worried about it.

[SpaceDandy]

Some of these do suffer from the excessive episode count per disc. Berserk, for example. I am not saying it's bad, but it could be better. Evangelion is also good as a whole but patches of textures have smoothed out grain on dynamic scenes. It does not happen on the ITA BD which was less greedy with the bitrate and number of discs.

Bitrate is definitely not everything, but it's still one of many relevant metric. Flat animes like Konosuba and upscales can absolutely be fine at 10-13 episodes per disc. But grainy content isn't forgiving, especially with two lossless audio.