Enigmo's Remasters

[Enigmo]

(Previously titled: "What do you guys think of fan "remasters"?". But, from very early on it was a thread about my stuff. People are still welcome to post their/others' stuff.)

So yeah, obviously not remasters, but what do you think of fan attempts at HD-ing the original DBZ series? Something like this must have been discussed by you guys already but i'm not around here much and wanted to see what you thought.

They're all over youtube, i'm sure most of you guys have seen fan attempts to improve the video quality of DBZ. In my opinion FUNimation's Bluray season sets didn't look too different from them. But do you guys ever feel pleased with what some fans do in their vids? I, myself, do it lol I've been doing it for a few years now, always thinking of new filtering strategies to upscale the Dragon Boxes and make them look like the ideal 1080p version of DBZ. I honestly don't know why though...unless I somehow magically gain the editing and distributing rights for DBZ, my time is being wasted.

Nevertheless, tell me guys what you think and just to...show off ... lol here are some examples of what I've been doing. let me know what you think of this stuff in general, and then what you think of what i've managed to achieve up to now.

Upscale + CC + filtering, no DNR: http://www.screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/165234

Upscale + CC + filtering + DNR + more filtering lol: http://www.screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/165235

Same as last one, different pic: http://www.screenshotcomparison.com/com ... /picture:0

Filtering and everything is great and all until you get to those far-distance shots, but I think mine isn't as bad as FUNi's blurays: http://www.screenshotcomparison.com/com ... /picture:1

God-level (a.k.a. Enigmo-level) colour CORRECTING: http://i.imgur.com/cIgNvRz.jpg

Am I allowed to upload a small 55-sec sample video clip to a file-sharing site and post the link? Or is any kind of file-sharing not allowed?

[clutchins]

I like the first one better than the one with more filters.

Personally, I know people on originaltrilogy.com who would appreciate this kind of discussion and work.

[Enigmo]

haha bring them over

i personally--like, right after posting this--started to really like the 3rd one. Something about it just looks like FUNi's bluray movies. Obviously not as clean, but the way the lines turned out just have the look...I hope it's not just because that frame was originally drawn well lol

[Iberian_Saiyan]

Hi Enigmo, to be sincere, that looks even worse than Funimation's Season Blu-rays remastering. I'd rather just have the picture quality unaltered as all of its details are kept even if that means that it could look blurry and old age but we all have to remember Dragon Ball Z is a 27 year old show so it might never look as good as modern series do. However, the Level Blu-rays would prove me wrong because they look amazing.

Spoiler:

This is how Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball GT and the Movies/Specials should be remastered if possible.

[Enigmo]

Yeah, just give me the film masters--even funimation's one--and watch me do something 100000000000000000000000000000000x better than the level sets

[clutchins]

The pros of the level sets are obvious but there are glaring imperfections like low contrast and saturation levels. It needs tweaking to really shine.

[Enigmo]

that looks even worse than Funimation's Season Blu-rays remastering.

Damn man, you've really got to establish your sanity right now by explaining exactly how FUNi's season blurays look better than this http://www.screenshotcomparison.com/com ... /picture:0

[Iberian_Saiyan]

that looks even worse than Funimation's Season Blu-rays remastering.

Damn man, you've really got to establish your sanity right now by explaining exactly how FUNi's season blurays look better than this http://www.screenshotcomparison.com/com ... /picture:0

The Season BDs did frankly look like water paint works of art but at the very least it still looked like a cartoon show (with defects) whereas your remastering went to the complete extreme of what Funimation did. At that point it's hard to see it as a 'show'. Also, I'll admit that could look nice as full framed posters.

Spoiler:

[Enigmo]

The Season BDs did frankly look like water paint works of art but at the very least it still looked like a cartoon show (with defects) whereas your remastering went to the complete extreme of what Funimation did. At that point it's hard to see it as a 'show'. Also, I'll admit that could look nice as full framed posters.

See? Now this whole message of yours was ten times more sincere than the one you actually professed to be sincere in. But...I still don't get you..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIaUE--ACbM this is what it looks like when you take it to the extreme.

In my screenshots, I haven't increased the brightness & contrast or saturation like FUNi did. My DNR hasn't erased lines.... lol i know i sound too self-admiring, but i can't believe your comment about the season blurays

[Ajay]

It looks pretty terrible, honestly. Outside of the obviously god-awful DNR, the colours are far too muted and dark, and the line-darkening you've done looks very bad. Nothing is even remotely close to resembling the intended pallet, nor does it look aesthetically pleasing on its own.

While that may be harsh, it's very true. You should be aiming to produce this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RpMnvxSfYI

That's about as close to perfect as you'll get. Some extra leveling and competent DNR is certainly down to personal taste, but those colours match the appropriate references.

[Enigmo]

It looks pretty terrible, honestly. Outside of the obviously god-awful DNR, the colours are far too muted and dark, and the line-darkening you've done looks very bad. Nothing is even remotely close to resembling the intended pallet, nor does it look aesthetically pleasing on its own.

While that may be harsh, it's very true. You should be aiming to produce this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RpMnvxSfYI

That's about as close to perfect as you'll get. Some extra leveling and competent DNR is certainly down to personal taste, but those colours match the appropriate references.

m8, the main point here isn't colour correction. that was my last thread where I showed my colour changing can breathe about 20 years of life into DBZ: http://i.imgur.com/cIgNvRz.jpg
That video you keep showing me...it's got CC I achieved several years ago with my video player's colour settings lol (it's got RGB levels control). With my filter scripting, I've found I can do a lot more than that and so I've expanded my colouring horizons to fit my own taste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT4NAE_ubScg And the colours on this thread's screencaps, I did them while thinking of the level sets. i didn't look at the level sets for reference while doing the settings, I just in my mind remember the level sets have crushed blacks, are slightly dull in colour compared to other DBZ releases etc etc

You've got to understand what it is I'm doing in this thread's screencaps. I've bloated the 480p videos to 1080p where it's all blurry, and i'm trying to sharpen it. You're not gonna see something that looks like it's been scanned at 1080p, obviously.
But then again, just look at something like this at first glance and you'd think it was scanned in HD: http://www.screenshotcomparison.com/ima ... 953862.png

[Ajay]

No, I understand the thread. Your colour correction is equally as inaccurate. That image also looks nothing like it was scanned in HD. Just looks like what MadVR achieves with its upscaling algorithms on playback.

If you can achieve the results in that video through simple RGB level controls, then do so and stop there. What you're showing me right now is not good.

If they're to your tastes, then that's fine, but they're nothing like what the show was intended to look like.

[thejeremymenace]

But then again, just look at something like this at first glance and you'd think it was scanned in HD: http://www.screenshotcomparison.com/ima ... 953862.png

The edge enhancement in this example is kind of lousy. There is a lot of haloing around the black lines and it looks unnatural and jagged (stair-stepping). It also looks like there is some uneven blur too (under the eyes for example).

That said, the Funi DBox isn't a great reference to start with, it's got quite a bit more MPEG noise than the JP box.

[Enigmo]

brother, i've been in the game to make some serious enigmodifications. Not fulfil the intendedness of the animators of a bad animation studio lol

Spoiler:

I've been making stuff much better looking than the original cellulites


My enigmodifications not only deal with video quality...I change the soundtrack too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_qB8Zp-0Y

[gokaiblue]

So, you're basically changing everything about Dragon Ball Z? You do realize this forum is mainly populated by purists, correct?

[Ashura]

There's nothing wrong with doing fan remasters. You're learning a skill. You can then apply it to real work later on. People on this forum know how much I toyed with the Dragon Box footage 3 or 4 years back and I learned a lot in that process.

Neat to look over your pics! I will say, though:

-The line darkening and sharpening technique you're using is too aggressive; you can see all the aliasing it's introducing into the picture around the lines.
-The color correction looks pretty good, even if it's a bit aggressive (loss of too much red in the skintones, among other places.)

Curious what your color correction method is! Do you mind sharing?

[jjgp1112]

A lot of the ones on YouTube are almost uniformly terrible. I cut them some slack since they're learning, but most of the time it's awful. Just way too much filtering that just makes everything look so much worse. If you must do DVNR, make it light, a la Yu Yu Hakusho blu-rays and the DBZ movie double features.

Worst of all, they're not "remasters." It's just a bunch of dumb filters.

And U'm gonna have to agree with Ajay. Nothing against you or anything, but these screencaps look pretty bad.

[TheBalishChannel]

Your examples are terrible and I resent your pompous attitude. You seem to be really proud of your work but it's likely that you feel that way only because you're modifying the picture to your own liking. How you can honestly sit there and say that your "remasters" rival FUNi's Season Blu-rays is beyond me. Get over yourself and your "Enigmodifications."

Also, I find it hilarious that you purposely reduced the image quality of the original Dragon Box screenshot here just to make your "remaster" look better by comparison.

[Enigmo]

No, I purposely did downsize the original Dragon Box to 240p and then upscaled it to 480p with my filters because my PC was being too slow to render 480p to 1080p conversion and I didn't mind because the main purpose of that screenshot was the colouring, not the quality. There wasn't any quality reduction other than downscaling.


I am still baffled as to how you guys say the season blurays are better. sure, they're cleaner....but isn't that why most of you hated them :/ Someone said I've reduced the reds too much..aside from the boosted contrast, mine are pretty much like the blurays.

I mean, all in all, you guys have not actually seen my quality in video.Screencaps, especially comparisons to the original, will scream the errors at your face, let alone having you scrutinise with all your might. When I get time to upload a small video, I'll post it.

And I'd share my CC method, but #Kei17ColorCorrection4lyfe

[Luso Saiyan]

The pros of the level sets are obvious but there are glaring imperfections like low contrast and saturation levels.

Where? I don't see any problem with contrast and saturation.