The Sinbad Trilogy (1958 - 1977) - Indicator / Powerhouse

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by Porco Azzurro

I think the Australian ratings logos might be the only ones I've seen that are as objectionable as our (UK) ones, so it was a joke post made in 'gallows humour' as it were.

Yeah mate, I understood the humour, so apologies if my reply sounded a bit serious!

Just occasionally our logos are a sticker, but that's rare; but steelbooks (fortunately!) often have a j-card, and the logo is on that and not on the artwork of the steel itself, so it's kinda mixed.

The Kiwis (i.e. New Zealand) if anything get it worse -- their logos are the same size as ours, so just as intrusive, but often have different terminology, so a lot of Kiwi releases I've seen have the logo as a sticker stuck directly over the Aussie artwork on the slick inside the case -- sometimes haphazardly, not always covering the Aussie logo cleanly, and as a result often looking pretty scrappy, like price tags in a clearance sale.

[Porco Azzurro]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

Yeah mate, I understood the humour, so apologies if my reply sounded a bit serious!

Oh I know, I wasn't assuming otherwise, just making sure for the avoidance of doubt, for anyone reading.

Originally Posted by Aclea

The Germans would disagree - so violently, in fact, that most DVDs and BDs come with reversible 'wendecovers' that have the same artwork but don't have the large blue ratings square while digibooks have the rating square as a sticker that can be carefully be removed. I'm surprised Australia hasn't followed suit.

Well, fair enough, but then it sounds like they sensibly solved the problem! Typical German efficiency!

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by stratford

StingingVelvet, ref the 4K scan, we shall see if it offers a visable improvement.

I mean... how could it not?

[Ben_C]

I suppose one thing in the Aussie releases favour is the fact that it's been out since Aug 2015, so plenty of fans may have imported that set already.
I'm not sure I like the films enough to double dip, plus I probably wouldn't get around to reading the book either. Also, if I did buy the Indicator version, I'd want to sell the Aussie set, which would then mean re-buying Jason.
Looks like a nice release though.

[hammerfan2]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

I mean... how could it not?

There are 4k scans and even 4k discs that offer varying levels of disappointment.
By all accounts the current disc of Jason and the Argonauts comes from a 4k scan. Could have fooled me.
I have several UHD 4k discs where the improvement over the Bluray is almost non existent although I suspect that is because the UHD is upscaled 2k but having got into 4k the expected picture upgrade is not guaranteed as it was 99.9% of the time with the switch to Bluray.
So much so I've banned myself from buying anymore catalogue titles on UHD for the time being until we get genuine 4k all the time

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by hammerfan2

There are 4k scans and even 4k discs that offer varying levels of disappointment.
By all accounts the current disc of Jason and the Argonauts comes from a 4k scan. Could have fooled me.
I have several UHD 4k discs where the improvement over the Bluray is almost non existent although I suspect that is because the UHD is upscaled 2k but having got into 4k the expected picture upgrade is not guaranteed as it was 99.9% of the time with the switch to Bluray.
So much so I've banned myself from buying anymore catalogue titles on UHD for the time being until we get genuine 4k all the time

Jason and the Argonauts looks great except for the transitions and effects shots. I'm not expert but I believe there's not much they can do about that. 7th Voyage will end up with similar issues, but all other shots should look great.

The main upgrade with UHD is HDR, which is a revelation on some titles and especially in certain scenes. I agree the detail improvements aren't that great, but that's just because 4k downscaled to 1080p is already pretty great. The main reason to get into the format is HDR, which is great IMO.

[hammerfan2]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Jason and the Argonauts looks great except for the transitions and effects shots. I'm not expert but I believe there's not much they can do about that. 7th Voyage will end up with similar issues, but all other shots should look great.

The main upgrade with UHD is HDR, which is a revelation on some titles and especially in certain scenes. I agree the detail improvements aren't that great, but that's just because 4k downscaled to 1080p is already pretty great. The main reason to get into the format is HDR, which is great IMO.

(This comment is not aimed at you - I quote for clarity)

I find it quite amusing that after years of experts plugging the dull images of plasma sets that now the bright colours and contrast that's always been available with LCD/LED is what the experts want us to buy.

I tried a plasma set for one week after an LCD and it was appalling. I couldn't actually get the brightness and contrast to levels that I wanted so it went back.
HDR offers even more startling images but for me 4k was all about the definition.
I guess many of those on other forums lapping up 4k discs that are actually upscaled 2k are enjoying HDR after years of watching the dull plasma pictures

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by hammerfan2

(This comment is not aimed at you - I quote for clarity)

I find it quite amusing that after years of experts plugging the dull images of plasma sets that now the bright colours and contrast that's always been available with LCD/LED is what the experts want us to buy.

I tried a plasma set for one week after an LCD and it was appalling. I couldn't actually get the brightness and contrast to levels that I wanted so it went back.
HDR offers even more startling images but for me 4k was all about the definition.
I guess many of those on other forums lapping up 4k discs that are actually upscaled 2k are enjoying HDR after years of watching the dull plasma pictures

It's a fair point, I remember saying the same stuff early on. I remember someone talking about Mystique in the X-Men movies having blue that "pops off the screen" on UHD, and I was like "uh shouldn't it NOT pop off the screen? Shouldn't it match a calibrated color level?" A loooot of people in the UHD section are people who use vivid settings and cool color modes and sharpening too, and their opinions are all skewed.

Really though, now having watched 30 or so UHD discs, it's mostly a more subtle effect. Especially on catalog movies like Ghostbusters. It's not the bright purple ray guns that impress, more the generally better contrast and dark/light variance in the whole image. For example one of the most impressive HDR scenes for me so far is the campfire scenes in The Revenant, which used to brighten the whole image but now look more realistic, like fire at night would, only illuminating the faces and such of the characters while their surroundings remain black.

It's a subtle upgrade overall though, and calibrating it is a wild west of who knows what, so it's not for everyone.

[hammerfan2]

The Revenant is one UHD that does not disappoint

[joy-division]

I saw this while looking at Eureka's Easter sales on Amazon. £60 is a bit too much for three films but I will order it for now & see if it goes down in price

[joy-division]

zavvi have it for £45

https://www.zavvi.com/blu-ray/the-si.../11446228.html

[moviegeek1992]

Originally Posted by joy-division

zavvi have it for £45

https://www.zavvi.com/blu-ray/the-si.../11446228.html

£40.99 direct from Indicator (£44.94 with shipping included), although payment is taken immediately.

http://www.powerhousefilms.co.uk/pro...ad-trilogy-dfe

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by moviegeek1992

£40.99 direct from Indicator (£44.94 with shipping included), although payment is taken immediately.

http://www.powerhousefilms.co.uk/pro...ad-trilogy-dfe

I get cashback through quidco with zavvi

[CrockettandTubbs]

I'm not going to buy another boxset from Zavvi (if I can help it).

They're definitely my last resort for box related blu-ray

[joy-division]

It's not up yet at HMV. Waiting (if it does) for it to go up there

[David M]

Originally Posted by hammerfan2

I find it quite amusing that after years of experts plugging the dull images of plasma sets that now the bright colours and contrast that's always been available with LCD/LED is what the experts want us to buy.

That's because HDR is designed to be viewed at high levels of brightness. SDR isn't, and involved taking an 8-bit signal that was originally designed for less bright viewing and stretching it across a very wide range of output luminance.

I don't personally think that all displays in people's homes need to be set at low luminance, if the viewing environment is bright. But in dimmer living rooms, plasma was definitely a better choice in my opinion. It's only dull if your room is too bright.

No argument that plasma isn't (wasn't) suitable for bright rooms though. That was probably a key factor in its unfortunate demise.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by David M

No argument that plasma isn't (wasn't) suitable for bright rooms though.

Movies aren't suitable for bright rooms.

Can't say I've ever heard someone refer to a plasma image as 'dull' before, I've been enjoying the gorgeous images on my Panasonic plasma for five years now. (Though I'll likely be in the market for an OLED in the fall.)

[StingingVelvet]

It's a different tastes thing. Some people reply to calibration articles saying anything lower than 80% backlight on an LED is too dark, even at night. Some like that bright "pop," and indeed HDR is at least to some degree marketing itself on giving people that pop without ruining the darker scenes, which a super high backlight on an LED can do.

I'm somewhere in the middle. I definitely like a higher backlight than most calibration articles suggest, but not anywhere near 80%. Also I often turn on a bias light behind the TV.

[NoirFan]

Unsurprisingly, Indicator were not able to license the unreleased Harryhausen commentaries.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Jason and the Argonauts looks great except for the transitions and effects shots. I'm not expert but I believe there's not much they can do about that.

In simple terms that's because lap dissolves were created in an optical printer, which means you move one generation away from the original negative. For older films - particularly colour ones from the 50s and 60s - the technology resulted in tell-tale grain that tipped you off that a dissolve was coming. (When working on the restoration of Giant this was a big problem because almost every scene ends with a lap dissolve.) It's basically the same problem you have with photocopying a photocopy: it emphasises the grain structure and flaws while losing finer detail.

It's also a notable problem on some of the effects shots in Harryhausen films: unless carefully graded there can be a big discrepancy between the grain in the live action footage and the animation, with the live action often looking flatter and grainier than the animation because of the way Harryhausen worked (rather than relying on optical printing, Dynamation would photograph the animation against back-projected live action a frame at a time, which effectively had the same result of moving a generation away). Because the budgets were fairly low they weren't able to take the approach of other big effects pictures where they'd film the live action elements in higher definition systems like Vistavision or 65mm to take account of the degradation when they went through so many generations to mix all the optical elements together.

If you have the original camera negative you can print it from the A and B rolls to allow for a smoother transition rather than going from the single duped section with the optical, but in most older films the neg footage no longer exists, isn't in good enough condition or it's simply not economically viable.