Are Some of the Scenes Upscaled?

[SausageofPower]

So, I finally got my copy today and love the changes that were made. While I'll be holding onto my original LE version, the Blu-ray definitely seems to improve upon it in every conceivable way. However, I noticed that the film appears to mix native HD footage (the new scenes and those that were redone) with upscaled SD footage.

Look at the scenes that weren't touched (one example being Kadaj talking to Rufus at Healin) vs. the new or redone scenes (shortly after, the scene with Moogle Girl and her brother). The newer scenes are sharp and perfect, whereas the older scenes look about the same as watching the old DVD release and upscaling it to HD.

What do you guys think?

-Corey

 

[Cthulhu]

I'm pretty sure they just did a full re-render of all the scenes in the new resolution - which would be perfectly possible, considering they should still have all the original materials and they would need to do a full re-render for the movie.

The scene with Rufus and Kadaj has had a re-render, since the materials and extra details are all present there - shimmering dust and whatnot.

I think that the new scenes look prettier because they've all been built from the ground up, allowing a lot more artistic originality and coloring and details and whatnot. I'm pretty sure it'd be noticeable if it was just upscaled, considering the original's 720 by 480 / 576 and this version is 1280x720. They'd have to fill up the blanks somehow, which would result in visible artifacts - runny colors, blurry bits, the works.

So nay, no upscaling, just re-render with minor detail alterations, and the new scenes were given more attention. Keep also in mind that the artists' skillz probably increased by over nine thousaaand during and after they made the original, translating into much more skillz in the new version.

 

[Max Payne]

Seeing as how many of the scenes have had new details added to them, don't see how they've just been upscaled.

 

[SausageofPower]

I'm pretty sure it'd be noticeable if it was just upscaled, considering the original's 720 by 480 / 576 and this version is 1280x720.

This version is actually 1920x1080 in Blu-ray form.

So nay, no upscaling, just re-render with minor detail alterations, and the new scenes were given more attention. Keep also in mind that the artists' skillz probably increased by over nine thousaaand during and after they made the original, translating into much more skillz in the new version.

I actually thought about this. My main problem isn't so much the difference in the quality of the CG itself, but the sharpness of the picture. Also, I notice some aliasing in the older scenes (the scenes in the church, for instance, that weren't touched up).

Seeing as how many of the scenes have had new details added to them, don't see how they've just been upscaled.

Notice my original post though. I was referring to the scenes that weren't touched up. I've noticed from looking, also, that I'm not the only person who wonders if Square merely upscaled a select few scenes.

-Corey

 

[Max Payne]

I don't see it at all. And most of the scenes where touched up in some shape or form.

 

[SausageofPower]

Try looking at the screens at the bottom of this page:

http://blurayblog.blog79.fc2.com/blog-entry-308.html

These are JPG's at full resolution, so they're not flawless, but even with them you can see the difference between the older scenes and the newer. And I'm not talking about quality of CG. Look at Tifa and how blurry she looks. Now, look at the final shot (a new scene) and see how it looks noticeably clearer.

I wish I had the capability to do full res screens on my PC, I'd show you the scenes I'm referring to in particular.

-Corey

 

[Max Payne]

New scenes look blurry too if that site is any indication.

I'd need to see comparison HD shot from the BluRay proper to make a good judgment.

 

[SausageofPower]

New scenes look blurry too if that site is any indication.

I'd need to see comparison HD shot from the BluRay proper to make a good judgment.

True, and I'm trying to find better screen shots, however surely you can agree that there is a definite difference in clarity between the old and the new (even though none of those shots is crystal clear).

-Corey

 

[Max Payne]

From the rip I've got, most of the scenes all look the same. It's hardly at optimum quality though.

 

[SausageofPower]

From the rip I've got, most of the scenes all look the same. It's hardly at optimum quality though.

Watching the Kyou version? Yeah, you definitely need to see the BD version. The differences really stand out on an HD setup.

On the plus side, I'm glad to see it looks like the Crisis Core scenes were rendered in HD (judging from Cloud's flashback of Zack giving him the Buster Sword).

-Corey

 

[Cthulhu]

This version is actually 1920x1080 in Blu-ray form.

Just shows how much I know about HD, . My version was 1280, so downscaled to reduce filesize, probably.

I'm glad to see it looks like the Crisis Core scenes were rendered in HD

They were, . Although it's still a rather vague collection of flashbacks from those that don't remember the bit from FFVII (or never seen it) or who've never played CC.

Also, we need to do a proper comparison of some of the old AC scenes to the new ones, put them side-by-side, and do a comparison. I probably could do one, but I'm limited to rips and other downloaded content, which is less-than-optimal quality and wouldn't do the comparison much justice besides the obvious.

 

[CloudStrife1992]

Also, we need to do a proper comparison of some of the old AC scenes to the new ones, put them side-by-side, and do a comparison. I probably could do one, but I'm limited to rips and other downloaded content, which is less-than-optimal quality and wouldn't do the comparison much justice besides the obvious.

I'm actually working on this right now, as I have my own self-ripped version of AC on my computer. I'll post a new thread when I have a good amount done, as it's going to be many pages long. I'll try to take some screen caps of both versions too. I'm using a downloaded copy of ACC, but believe it or not, the downloaded ACC is clearer than my DVD rip of AC.

 

[Cthulhu]

If it's good enough, we could give you a Contributor user account on the frontpage so you can post it there - if you'd like to, that is .

 

[CloudStrife1992]

If it's good enough, we could give you a Contributor user account on the frontpage so you can post it there - if you'd like to, that is .

Thanks. I think it would be a bit long to put on the front page, though.

 

[Max Payne]

Fuck man. I think you're right.

These are taken from a 1080 rip I found. The one on the top is an old scene, the one on the bottom from a new one. The picture is noticably sharper with better lighting and picture.

This is ghey.

 

[RPG Tony]

You're definitely not the only to notice this. I actually purchased this along with FFXIII (Trial Version Set), so I have the original BD. I watched it in 1080p on a 40" HDTV. Many of the original (untouched) scenes have only been upscaled. There is also one scene in particular, the tunnel part of the bike chase sequence, which contains compression artifacts (so if you see that in a rip from a torrent, it wasn't the uploader), which I thought I would never see on a Blu-Ray Disc. But I have seen the contents of the disc (I'm working ripping it, but BD encryptions are being stupid ), and can confirm it just about makes full use of the disc's capabilities (49.5 GB).

Don't get me wrong though, I love this film and have already watched like 7 times. XIII's great too btw.

 

[I Am Not Me]

Oh, I noticed that too.

It's pretty easy to spot too. In the new ACC scenes, you can see the textures and all much clearer. The recycled ones look more softer.

Also, sometimes Cloud's clothes change color from dark blue to black... I think.

 

[Archer]

But that's not all.... You can tell which scenes are added , just by seeing the animation and facial expressions in the new ones.

Even if I didn't watch the original for 5 years I would be able to tell which are new , which are remade, and which were left unchanged. The improvement is just too dramatic to not spot it.
And for somone who tried animating in 3d(Years ago, really) I can tell there is a heaven and hell of a difference.

 

[jkoz]

I was so pissed when I watched my Blu-ray last night. Square can't pass this off on us and expect us to take it... a petition needs to be started to get a full re-render of the movie. This is unacceptable; I don't know how they thought people wouldn't notice. It's the difference between day and night to me on my 50" Sony SXRD 1080p set. While the movie was awesome and kicked ass.... I have no clue why they couldn't re-render all the rest of the scenes. Did they like, trash the original files or something? That's all I can think of. The quality difference is glaring and I'm really disappointed.

This was misadvertised... Class action lawsuit...?

 

[Makoeyes987]

Right, I'm sure people are going to be happy buying the same movie, three times now.

 

[Cthulhu]

Thanks. I think it would be a bit long to put on the front page, though.

Well, the new scenes article is 'a bit long', too, . Just let me know when you're ready and whatnot. It might take a bit of practice to get to know the systems though, but at least the image management is good - i.e. you can upload all your imagery (if any) in one go.

Also, Dacon's post is pretty conclusive, lol . The new scenes do look a lot more detailed and pretty and whatnot than the original ones, really.

 

[SausageofPower]

Yeah, that was one scene were it was real apparent, with Cloud's flashbacks and all. It's a damned shame Square couldn't just re-render the film at 1080p, as the difference in quality between the new and old scenes wouldn't be nearly as jarring (even with the obvious improvements in CG).

-Corey

 

[Max Payne]

Fucking lazy if you ask me, given all the time they had to do it.

 

[jkoz]

Fucking lazy if you ask me, given all the time they had to do it.

I tried contacting Square and couldn't find an English part of their Japan website so I talked to a live rep from the NA site and expressed my disgust, and unfortunately he said that since it's only released in Japan, they're unable to comment on it. Guess we'll have to wait until June to get any sort of retribution... or it'd be nice if they re-rendered it for America which I highly doubt would happen. He gave me a phone number in Japan that Square has for customer support but he doesn't know if they have English interpreters and I don't know how much it'd cost to even find out. Either way, I think some sort of action needs to be taken against Square so they know that they can't pull this shit over on us. I'm really pissed.

 

[Max Payne]

Lawl, I don't think I care enough to write to SE about how enraged I am, considering they probably don't care