Wonder Woman Complete Collection TV Series Blu-ray July 28th 2020

[Benoit Blanc]

It's just Blue Batman all over again.

[Bobbyjoe766]

Originally Posted by VonterVoman

I watched the episode on DC Universe (this new remaster) and there was no bent turret. But there's no jump cut in the music (I have the soundtrack on CD and the track plays the same as well), nor anything at the bottom of the screen. She just jumps on the tank and steps on the hatch. Are you sure you aren't misremembering it?

Some screenshots from my 2004 Australian R4 DVD Season 2 Wonder Woman set:

[Show spoiler]



The bent tank gun

[whiteberry]

Originally Posted by moviebuff75

The Deadly Dolphin, Stolen Faces, The Man Who Could Not Die, and one other that I can't think of the title right this moment. Also, they totally screwed up the Season 2 openings. They used the Season 3 images, with the Season 2 sound, and it was all out of sync and just incorrect all the way around. Hot Wheels was even missing the main guest star's opening credit. They also freeze framed the closing credits for Seasons 2 and 3, where Lynda was smiling. Instead of moving, she was simply frozen. A lot of commercial break fades were cut, as well...resulting in missing footage on either side of the cut. These episodes played as one film, instead of having the appropriate acts. Season One fared the best, with just the teasers, Part 2 previews, and Part One recaps missing.

Also, the episodes on the DVDs were missing the orignal Warner Bros Television closing logo:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=189

[thorr]

The good news is the color can easily be fixed for anyone who wants to take the time to regrade it and burn new blu-ray discs. The grain removal can't be fixed, and again this was done as well as one could hope for. What you CAN do is add noise back into the picture to give it the illusion of texture back. I will work on and post a quick example (don't criticize it too much as it is just a quick example)...

Before:


After with quick color correction and grain added back in:


And here is the color correction and then sharpened with Topaz Denoise AI (and no grain added back in):

[Benoit Blanc]

Originally Posted by thorr

The good news is the color can easily be fixed for anyone who wants to take the time to regrade it and burn new blu-ray discs. The grain removal can't be fixed, and again this was done as well as one could hope for. What you CAN do is add noise back into the picture to give it the illusion of texture back. I will work on and post a quick example (don't criticize it too much as it is just a quick example)...

Before:


After with quick color correction and grain added back in:

What did ya use to do the colour correction?

[thorr]

Photoshop. There are lots of other tools for color correction as well. Davinci Resolve is supposed to be great for color correcting videos, but it is not easy to use in my opinion. Every time I try to learn it, I just give up and use something else that is easier to use and gives me better results.

[Benoit Blanc]

Originally Posted by thorr

Photoshop. There are lots of other tools for color correction as well. Davinci Resolve is supposed to be great for color correcting videos, but it is not easy to use in my opinion. Every time I try to learn it, I just give up and use something else that is easier to use and gives me better results.

Is Photoshop easy to use? I don't have a lotta patience for these kindsa things.

[thorr]

It is once you know how to use it. It takes practice to get the hang of it. Photoshop is designed to be used with single frames, but you can do batch jobs with directories. If you are serious about wanting to color correct an entire Blu-ray set and want something easy to use, I would recommend Virtualdub with its 6-axis color correction filter. It sometimes can take a bit of work to get set up correctly, but it is easy to use once you get it working. Another option is to learn Davinci Resolve. It would theoretically give you the best results and most control over correcting the color, but be prepared to watch lots of tutorial videos to learn it. I haven't gotten that far with it because I know other tools already.

Here is a screenshot of me playing with the sliders in Virtualdub's 6-Axis Color Correction. Virtualdub is free and you can download it and try it for yourself. Just drop a photo onto it and go into the filter menu and add the 6-axis filter.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/vdfiltermod/



After adjusting this, you can add another filter to boost the contrast...


When working with videos, you can click on the Blending... button when your filter is selected and put in frame ranges. That way you can have different adjustments for different frame ranges as needed. When you are all done, you can set the compression to x264 8-bit with CRF 18 and it will work with blu-ray players. You can remux in the original audio with mkvtoolnix. Virtualdub likes to convert the audio to PCM which takes up more space, so you can just replace the audio with the original afterwards. You then need to convert it to blu-ray format and burn it to disc using something like TSmuxer and ImgBurn.

[slimjean]

Originally Posted by WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW

doesn't seem like some, seems like insane amounts of DNR
and why? they already had it great BEFORE they spent money and DNR with DNR crap. Thinking of cancelling.

I try to save my judgment until I get the product in hand.

An example with the "teal" hate.

Midnight Cowboy is without question for me a better transfer on the Criterion bluray. It actually knocks me out with how good it looks. Yet from screenshots and reading endless discussions you would think that it was a travesty.

While I was skeptical based on DVD Beaver screenshots and capsaholic as well, I was pleasantly surprised after I got product in hand. The picture detail and yes color was outstanding to me.

Much like 2001, the way we have enjoyed a movie for years on home media doesn't make it right.

I cannot attest to Midnight Cowboy being right or wrong, but I do know what is there, is miles above the MGM bluray for me. There is a cinematic flare that is completely absent from the original bluray (and yes Laserdisc that I owned too) and I believe that has been rectified from the cinematographer. I truly was floored, and you can count me in the crowd of people that decry change. There have been weird color issues with companies through the years, and there are many that just scream foul. Midnight Cowboy for me is not the case, and that has made me skeptical with forming conclusions early.

For Wonder Woman, perhaps it is screwed up, but from the screen shots I don't see any Predator style DNR wax work going on. Actually with many of the shots I find it quite pleasing. I am reserving my judgment for when I get the bluray and play it. Screenshots only tell a part of the story, and paired with how we all look at it be it a laptop, phone, through software, etc, that is only part of the story.

I will keep my DVD's and compare it thoroughly, but even if colors are wrong and there is a bit of DNR (which I am sure there is), I am not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I am with you on hating digital manipulation, and color changes because of some idiot not knowing what he is doing is also an issue. I am not sure yet if that is an issue yet with this release until I see it with my own eyes. I hope for the best.

[moviebuff75]

My set will be here tomorrow. I can't wait! This show, along with The Brady Bunch and The Flintstones, was such a big part of my childhood. I was obsessed with it. When Columbia House released the vhs versions, I snapped them up. Then came dvd. I waited so many years for the blu-ray. Now, I can sit back, enjoy, and become a kid again for an hour or two an afternoon.

[do.wayne.ClassicFilm]

Originally Posted by moviebuff75

My set will be here tomorrow. I can't wait! This show, along with The Brady Bunch and The Flintstones, was such a big part of my childhood. I was obsessed with it. When Columbia House released the vhs versions, I snapped them up. Then came dvd. I waited so many years for the blu-ray. Now, I can sit back, enjoy, and become a kid again for an hour or two an afternoon.

I hear you. I used to sprawl across my dad on the floor in our living room when I was little and I used him for a pillow when watching shows like Wonder Woman, and Saturday morning cartoons before he'd go outside to do carpentry. Both my parents are gone now. These old television shows bring 'em back in memory. My mother didn't approve of Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman attire very much but she still allowed me to watch the show. If you haven't already done so, check out the original Jonny Quest series on blu-ray. This was one of those cartoon favorites my dad and I enjoyed watching together back in the day.

[VonterVoman]

Originally Posted by Bobbyjoe766

Some screenshots from my 2004 Australian R4 DVD Season 2 Wonder Woman set:

[Show spoiler]



The bent tank gun

Very interesting, never knew this. And looking at the other shots in retrospect, it really is a prop turret made to be bent.
But the music really sounds the same to me compared to the official soundtrack, without jump cuts.
Anyway, if the blu-ray is the same as the new streaming versions, then the scene of her bending the turret is not there either, but now that I know what to look for, it does show the bent turret. It's very quick.

Strange that this was cut. It would be a cool feat. I wonder if it was ever aired or if it's a original cut?

[do.wayne.ClassicFilm]

Originally Posted by do.wayne.ClassicFilm

I don't have the blu-ray in hand... I need to see the video in motion to make a better assessment.

Originally Posted by slimjean

I am reserving my judgment for when I get the blu-ray and play it. Screenshots only tell a part of the story...

This is so true. I admit, I'm not impressed with some of the blu-ray screenshot uploads from the cover review but I really won't know how it measures up to other WB blu-ray releases in my library until I have the discs in hand.

[Bobbyjoe766]

Originally Posted by VonterVoman

Strange that this was cut. It would be a cool feat. I wonder if it was ever aired or if it's a original cut?

Perhaps the music has been fixed for the new versions? The music jump cut is very noticeable on my DVD - it’s what drew my attention to the scene originally.
The screenshot of the bent turret is the very first frame for that scene, so you have to be quick to notice the cut.

If the scene was originally cut in post-production the music score wouldn’t have been affected. This may be something that was cut after post - but before its television airing?

[moviebuff75]

Most likely.

[UniSol GR77]

WELL:

At least, they preserved the 35mm film footage on HD forever. I guess they keep the un-DNRed, uncontaminated, pre-production digital files of the episodes somewhere in the vaults.

The DNR and the color timing are strictly related to the blu-ray presentation only. Thank God. I just love that the series has been properly preserved on digital.

[DawnShadow]

Originally Posted by UniSol GR77

WELL:

At least, they preserved the 35mm film footage on HD forever. I guess they keep the un-DNRed, uncontaminated, pre-production digital files of the episodes somewhere in the vaults.

The DNR and the color timing are strictly related to the blu-ray presentation only. Thank God. I just love that the series has been properly preserved on digital.

I thought all the digital versions got updated to include the new colour timing and the 4x3 aspect ratio?

[WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW]

Originally Posted by thorr

The good news is the color can easily be fixed for anyone who wants to take the time to regrade it and burn new blu-ray discs. The grain removal can't be fixed, and again this was done as well as one could hope for. What you CAN do is add noise back into the picture to give it the illusion of texture back. I will work on and post a quick example (don't criticize it too much as it is just a quick example)...

yeah I was thinking it could be recolored and since it has no fine detail and grain to begin with you won't lose anything much upon recompression

could also overlay some Cinegrain 35mm over it, might help a touch, but it seems they DNR'ed so crazily they did rob lots of subtle low contrast fine frequency detail and even some high contrast fine detail that won't come back, even on your processed ones still looks soft, but with Cinegrain 35mm could look a bit better. Kind of a pain to have to regrade tons of it though and recompress and so on, that many episodes, talking quite some time....

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by thorr

The good news is the color can easily be fixed for anyone who wants to take the time to regrade it and burn new blu-ray discs. The grain removal can't be fixed, and again this was done as well as one could hope for. What you CAN do is add noise back into the picture to give it the illusion of texture back. I will work on and post a quick example (don't criticize it too much as it is just a quick example)...

Before:


After with quick color correction and grain added back in:


And here is the color correction and then sharpened with Topaz Denoise AI (and no grain added back in):

But those are just single still shots. The color grading seems to be all over the place, form scene to scene and episode to episode, so it won't be as easy as just finding the settings that restore the color balance and apply it to all the pisodes. This would be a major undertaking for anyone to attempt.

[ACalica917]

Well, it’s decent...enough. Maybe if we all write Warner Home Video, they’ll give it enough respect to hand it over to Warner Archive for a future 4K/8K re-release in a tie-in for Wonder Woman 2024.