Indiana Jones transfer too dark?
 

I've watched the first 30 minutes of Raiders and I noticed the picture seems very dark. I checked my TV's contrast and it was actually turned up higher than usual. Has anyone else noticed this, or am I just crazy? I don't recall any of the reviews mentioning it.

I know the beginning of Raiders is pretty low lit, but I don't recall it being <i>this</i> dark. Maybe I'm just used to watching my old washed out VHS copy.

It's not dark...it just has the color put BACK into it...the VHS and laserdisc versions were always so washed-out.

what spooky said, looks perfect to me :)

ya wanna talk about a transfer being dark, just check out "The Godfather" DVD Collection. So many scenes were filmed in dark boardrooms, offices, and men wearing black suit coats. I think I had the brightness turned all the way up during most of these films.

But as far as "Raiders" goes, I did also think it looked a bit dark. I saw it not too long ago on some cable channel (AMC???) and it definitely looked much lighter than this. Then again, I only have a 27" Sony Trinitron. But I did have to turn the brightness up a little bit.

I find this to be the case on a lot of DVDs. But it doesn't bother me. I just turn the brightness up when I watch the disc, then turn it back down again for regular TV. No fuss, no muss.

I agree, the transfer looks fantastic on my TV.

i'm with you caiman.. i thought <b>Raiders</b> was very dark too.. first time i've ever changed my tv's settings. it seems to be intended to be that dark though, i suppose since the whole film isn't as dark as the opening.

Looked great on my TV, didn't even cross my mind that I might want to change any of the settings. Can't remember what I was watching, something a couple of weeks ago made me pick a brighter setting, but Raiders didn't bother me at all!

It looks great to me on my 65" Mits.

It IS dark in the jungle and inside the temple. The light hitting the idol was pretty bright though. I think we're just seeing it the way it was supposed to be seen.

I thaught the transfer and sound were oustanding!

Another fantastic job by Lucas & company :up:

Actually, when Indy and Marion were trapped in the Well of Souls, I didn't think it was dark ENOUGH. Where the heck was all that light coming from?

I think the brightness or darkness level is perfect.

Caiman, I suggest buying a copy of Avia to adjust your TV's black level. If you are seeing the picture as too dark, it is unlikely to be a contrast issue; it is more likely a brighness issue (as brightness affects black level) although the two do interact so to speak. At minimum, use the THX optimizer on the Indy disc.

My only nitpick is the picture is just a bit on the soft side - particularly in the first 45 minutes or so of the movie. I have a 61" (ISF'd) Sony and this softness may not be noticable with smaller screens.

Overall, for a movie of this age, it looks quite good.

I thought the beginning was just a tad too dark too, but it still looked great!

I thought they always have looked dark...

The beginning of Raiders was very dark, but after that it gets much better.

What's wrong with dark?

Since this thread is talking about things being dark, I figured that it was the place in which this comment would be the least off-topic.

jough - I can't tell you how much I appreciate your "Location" . . . it makes me laugh everytime I see it.

:lol:

Yes, always 1 move away from being "hungrily devoured." Those old text adventures occupied too much of my adolescence.

At the risk of "hungrily devouring" your adult life as well . . .

hee :D

The transfer in my opinion as well, looks great.

Raiders looked fine to me. But watching Temple of Doom last night, I did feel it didn't look as good. The color seemed a little faded and definitely looked darker to me.

Maybe what you guys mean about TEMPLE OF DOOM being too dark is that the movie has too much black in it.
It's like when you take a photo in PHOTOSHOP and add more black to the picture.
That's what they seem to have done to the transfer.
Having seen the movie at the theater in 1984 it sure didn't look like this or on laserdisc or commercial t.v.