Podcast HTF Podcast Episode 5: Visiting Criterion Collection (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

Criterion is releasing NOW VOYAGER! I'm so happy. But why are they releasing ALL ABOUT EVE? Is this really going to be better than the Fox version at more than double the price?

Perhaps, that last Blu-ray of "All About Eve" was at least from a 2010 transfer, so it's very possible that it could be a noticeable improvement. Also, when the Digibook was first released on 02-01-11, the MSRP was $34.99 which is five dollars cheaper than Criterion's MSRP of $39.99. This title is coming out in November which is when Barnes & Noble usually have their 50% off sale. Amazon price matches those sale prices, but it won't be $19.99 like it will be at B & N, but more like 22.99 at Amazon.

 

[funbeasts]

This is just a wonderful Blog, thanks for the great insight and tips. We really appreciate your effort! Keep up the awesome work!

 

[Sam Posten]

Episode 6 is in the can! Look for it in a few weeks

 

[tenia]

OK, I'm going to summarize a few critical facts.
I first looked for these artifacts on my plasma display. There are some important items to point out with that.
1) It is calibrated
2) The process of calibration demonstrated that is does not display anything that is blacker than black.
3) Calibration also confirmed it displays a distinction between black and even one level above black.
So, nothing is visible that shouldn't be, and everything that should be visible, is.
The artifacts under discussion are not visible, ever. This made me doubt their presence.

I won't repeat the demonstration Michael did about Criterion's recurring encoding issues (note that macroblocking is visible on Pan's Labyrinth elsewhere than in the black areas). I just wanted to add / remind a few things :

- You most likely know macroblocking is not linked to the display but is 100% down on what is on the disc or not, hence why it's visible on Pan's even if it's mostly in black areas and shouldn't be visible with a proper calibration. But such a reasoning begs the question : why then Hiventy's or David Mackenzie's (for instance) encodes aren't blocky this way in such areas ? Because they treat the cause and not the symptoms by avoiding blockiness altogether, not assuming it'll be hidden in the shadows (which it isn't completely).
- The issue doesn't happen with EVERY (or even most) Criterion releases. It's linked to sourcing more and more restorations containing tons of high frequencies. Their authoring houses clearly aren't very good at handling these very fine content, hence why it's happening more visibly than when they were using HD or 2K restorations, or even 4K restorations from DataCine scans.
- People often dismiss the issue on Pan's as negligible since it mostly happens in black areas, or because they deem it "pixel peeping". (more on that below) As shown above, not only it's visible elsewhere in the movie, but on many other Criterion releases, the blockiness is very visible, and in plain light. I hope people don't think this is not blocky enough to be beyond "pixel peeping".
But if you don't see this macroblocking on your display : all the best for you. Enjoy ! But not seeing it clearly doesn't mean it's not there. As shown above : it is there, whether you can detect it or not.

- I happened a few months ago to be at a professional conference performed by Peter Becker. I chatted with him about this (and then with Fumiko Takagi) : it turned out I wasn't the first one to tell them their compression could and should be better. I actually wasn't even the first one ON THAT day. Of course, I advised them to go and chat with David once back in NY, especially since he's actually in NY himself. Considering how premium their products are and their dedication to preserving these movies, it was clear to me during this quick talk that they were aiming at having releases being more than just "FINE for the vast majority of viewers" (the vast majority of viewers not being, by definition, a challenging and knowledgeable audience) or that it's "pixel peeping". Macroblocking is actually even more of a letdown since Criterion is the customer who pays the authoring house and choose this kind of results to be OK while they factually could and should be better. They're not dependant on a restoration they licenced or some deteriorated elements to work. It's 100% into their own hands to reject the encode and say "hey, you know what ? This can be better, so please, try it again."


It doesn't prevent me to find the podcast fascinating (especially since Criterion only rarely open their doors to this kind of things), and all these remarks never prevented me to own almost 400 of their BD releases. But still. Things can (and thus should) be improved.