The Anime Blu-ray Video Quality Thread - Blu-ray Forum

Naiera · 01-07-2015, 02:01 AM

Some of y'all might have noticed that I don't much respect FUNi's ability to master a good Blu-ray Disc. A while ago, I received and watched their first Arise release, and noticed that it had a very high bitrate. Still variable, but it never dipped into single digits or something silly like that. It was almost constantly in the mid to high thirties, which is Japanese anime Blu-ray territory.

The other day I got A Certain Magical Index season 2 part 1 and with this, I also noticed a high bitrate. I put the disc in my computer and ran episode 1 through MediaInfo. The result is in the spoiler. The disc was 49.22 gigs

The episode is a total of 5.5 gigs, with two language tracks, and most episodes are the same size, with two or three at 5.9.

[Show spoiler]

While this isn't Japanese anime Blu-ray territory quite like Arise, it's much better than your run-of-the-mill US anime BD release

Clark Kent · 01-07-2015, 02:19 AM

I noticed much the same thing on their more recent releases.

UseY0ur1llusi0n · 01-07-2015, 04:20 AM

Always got a good laugh outta this.

neoz · 01-07-2015, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UseY0ur1llusi0n

Always got a good laugh outta this.

That was an interesting read. So no truth behind any of it or maybe some partial truth?

Naiera · 01-07-2015, 11:09 AM

I don't know if Japanese licensors actively ask American companies to worsen the quality. I think FUNi just loves to tinker with stuff they shouldn't.

I can't say if Index is brighter than in Japan as I have never seen their Blu-rays. It certainly is a bright looking show, and "soft" as well.

Xenonas · 01-07-2015, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naiera

The disc was 49.22 gigs

I'm sorry, but how is that possible?

neoz · 01-07-2015, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xenonas

I'm sorry, but how is that possible?

Dual layer probably.

Naiera · 01-07-2015, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xenonas

I'm sorry, but how is that possible?

Blu-rays don't have safe zones?

Clark Kent · 01-07-2015, 06:40 PM

I am well versed in the mastering issues. Most American anime distributors have little idea of what they are doing on Blu-ray with the exception of Aniplex. Aniplex does not have these issues.

One big problem that frequently leads to wash-out and brightness issues between Japanese and American BDs is the native difference in Video IRE levels. If you don't account for it, the American set will naturally look inferior from Japanese video masters.

The problems are due to myriad reasons, including the ignoring of dithering issues in the video encode.

GenPion · 01-07-2015, 06:53 PM

Yes, Funimation has shown some improvement on some of their recent releases. Arise was especially impressive, as you noted. I would think it is almost identical to those JP Blu-ray releases for that show.

UseY0ur1llusi0n · 01-07-2015, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Most American anime distributors have little idea of what they are doing on Blu-ray with the exception of Aniplex.

It's true. I'm also in agreement on this, I think the North American companies are just incompetent, and f*ck with stuff when they shouldn't.

Japan literally encodes anime like Hollywood encodes their movies: 35+Mbps video bitrate regardless of whether the material needs it or not. This usually results in 7.5-8GB per 25min episode. Even in the archive releases of many-episode shows you'll be hard pressed to find more than 6 episodes per disc in Japan. That is what you need for uncompromising quality. The west on the other hand is 100% about cutting corners and costs and screw them for that.

There are already plenty of examples showing how western releases usually look worse than Japan's. You can look through the Fandompost forums or Mania (which is sadly gone now).

alvarez468 · 01-08-2015, 01:03 AM

i wouldn't mind buying all my anime straight from japan but i wish they would put english subtitles on all their releases instead of some classics and some small amount of newer shows.

Naiera · 01-08-2015, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alvarez468

i wouldn't mind buying all my anime straight from japan ...

Not many people would be able to afford that.

alvarez468 · 01-08-2015, 02:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naiera

Not many people would be able to afford that.

im not saying for funimation to stop selling(that would be terrible) but like the shows that get dvd only over here for example waiting in the summer is one of my favorites but a complete blu ray set is coming out in japan soon but no english subtitles

if it did i would buy it in a heartbeat.

Mangaranga · 01-08-2015, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naiera

Some of y'all might have noticed that I don't much respect FUNi's ability to master a good Blu-ray Disc.

What about everyone else? Sentai's releases are terrible in pretty much every way, and Viz is pretty hit and miss (Accel World looked good but Gargantia was pretty terrible). HAL/Index I + II/AoT and ARISE all showed an improvement from Funi though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Most American anime distributors have little idea of what they are doing on Blu-ray with the exception of Aniplex. Aniplex does not have these issues.

Funny you say that considering AniplexUSA's releases are authored in Japan, usually by Imagica or QTec...

Naiera · 01-08-2015, 09:19 PM

Gargantia was pretty terrible? I don't think there's widespread agreement on that subject. The UK release I have is fine, and it's probably the same video as Viz.

Sentai can be downright terrible, yes. Their one-disc releases aren't as terrible as could be expected, but the morons will still put 12 eps on one disc and leave 10 gigs unused.

UseY0ur1llusi0n · 01-08-2015, 09:43 PM

Anyone else notice this on Funi's website awhile back?

GenPion · 01-08-2015, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UseY0ur1llusi0n

Anyone else notice this on Funi's website awhile back?

... and as they show two DVD editions on the design of the ad.

Mangaranga · 01-08-2015, 09:51 PM

I thought it was pretty terrible. I just did some random screens comparing a JP BDrip to the Viz BD.
Excuse the filesizes. I thought it'd be a better idea not to use .jpg to show things like this. I actually found the issues with the video more noticable in motion. Not sure whether it's crap encoding or dodgy masters from the JP Licensor.

chronoclast · 01-08-2015, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mangaranga

I thought it was pretty terrible. I just did some random screens comparing a JP BDrip to the Viz BD.
Excuse the filesizes. I thought it'd be a better idea not to use .jpg to show things like this. I actually found the issues with the video more noticable in motion. Not sure whether it's crap encoding or dodgy masters from the JP Licensor.

It's very bad encoding. Gargantia was authored by the clowns at Subatomic Digital, the same company responsible for the Sailor Moon BDs. That's why it looks terrible.

They also authored Viz's Moribito BDs which are poorly compressed with ghosting because they don't know how to do inverse telecines correctly.

01-07-2015, 02:01 AM	#1
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:24	The Anime Blu-ray Video Quality Thread Some of y'all might have noticed that I don't much respect FUNi's ability to master a good Blu-ray Disc. A while ago, I received and watched their first Arise release, and noticed that it had a very high bitrate. Still variable, but it never dipped into single digits or something silly like that. It was almost constantly in the mid to high thirties, which is Japanese anime Blu-ray territory. The other day I got A Certain Magical Index season 2 part 1 and with this, I also noticed a high bitrate. I put the disc in my computer and ran episode 1 through MediaInfo. The result is in the spoiler. The disc was 49.22 gigs The episode is a total of 5.5 gigs, with two language tracks, and most episodes are the same size, with two or three at 5.9. [Show spoiler] While this isn't Japanese anime Blu-ray territory quite like Arise, it's much better than your run-of-the-mill US anime BD release Last edited by Naiera; 03-31-2015 at 11:22 AM.

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01-07-2015, 02:19 AM	#2
Clark Kent Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Metropolis Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:183	I noticed much the same thing on their more recent releases.

01-07-2015, 04:20 AM	#3
UseY0ur1llusi0n Banned Top contributor Member since:Oct 2013 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Trading Score:4	Always got a good laugh outta this.

01-07-2015, 11:09 AM	#5
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:24	I don't know if Japanese licensors actively ask American companies to worsen the quality. I think FUNi just loves to tinker with stuff they shouldn't. I can't say if Index is brighter than in Japan as I have never seen their Blu-rays. It certainly is a bright looking show, and "soft" as well.

01-07-2015, 06:40 PM	#9
Clark Kent Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Metropolis Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:183	I am well versed in the mastering issues. Most American anime distributors have little idea of what they are doing on Blu-ray with the exception of Aniplex. Aniplex does not have these issues. One big problem that frequently leads to wash-out and brightness issues between Japanese and American BDs is the native difference in Video IRE levels. If you don't account for it, the American set will naturally look inferior from Japanese video masters. The problems are due to myriad reasons, including the ignoring of dithering issues in the video encode.

01-07-2015, 06:53 PM	#10
GenPion Blu-ray.com Reviewer Top contributor Member since:Feb 2009 Location:Texas 4K collection:683 Blu-ray collection:4578 Blu-ray reviews: 3 Trading Score:250	Yes, Funimation has shown some improvement on some of their recent releases. Arise was especially impressive, as you noted. I would think it is almost identical to those JP Blu-ray releases for that show.

01-08-2015, 01:03 AM	#12
alvarez468 Power Member Member since:Dec 2011 Location:The Room of Space and Time Blu-ray collection:1202 DVD collection:75 Trading Score:58	i wouldn't mind buying all my anime straight from japan but i wish they would put english subtitles on all their releases instead of some classics and some small amount of newer shows.

01-08-2015, 09:19 PM	#16
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:24	Gargantia was pretty terrible? I don't think there's widespread agreement on that subject. The UK release I have is fine, and it's probably the same video as Viz. Sentai can be downright terrible, yes. Their one-disc releases aren't as terrible as could be expected, but the morons will still put 12 eps on one disc and leave 10 gigs unused.

01-08-2015, 09:43 PM	#17
UseY0ur1llusi0n Banned Top contributor Member since:Oct 2013 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Trading Score:4	Anyone else notice this on Funi's website awhile back?

01-08-2015, 09:51 PM	#19
Mangaranga Senior Member Member since:Oct 2014	I thought it was pretty terrible. I just did some random screens comparing a JP BDrip to the Viz BD. Excuse the filesizes. I thought it'd be a better idea not to use .jpg to show things like this. I actually found the issues with the video more noticable in motion. Not sure whether it's crap encoding or dodgy masters from the JP Licensor.

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