Veronica Mars, crap transfer or just me?
 

I was watching today disc one and i noticed that many scene's that included alot of movement, there was a little bit of motion blurring. Also, certain epsidoes (at least episodes 2 and 3 on disc 1) are not set properly for progressive scan, so those episodes are interlaced. I noticed as well that many scenes that contain limited light, have a significant amount of grain. When i watched the pilot in hd on cbs, there was a slight amount in night scenes, but no where near as much as seen in the dvd's.

And the sound isn't too great either. Its mixed way too low, and there is hardly any dynamic range at all. the songs come in weak, and certain effects like punches have no life what so ever.

I think warner screwed up and ruined what is a fantastic show, and outside of the shitty video and sound, this is a must have.

All DVDs are interlaced. Progressive scan is a function of the DVD player or TV, not the disc. It sounds like you're using a DVD player with a simple flag-reading deinterlacer chip, which is the worst kind. Upgrading to a better DVD player may solve some of these problems.

I noticed there was somthing that looked like hair or dirt on the camera in many episodes. Other than that no probs!

its mainly the dark scenes with a shit load of grain.

Transfers can be made interlaced or progressively. I'm sure that's what he means. Incorrectly flagged Interlaced transfers ARE an issue that certain players deal with better than others. Try the defective first pressing of "Monty Python's The meaning of Life" on a progressive setup.

i do have that title, but how would i know if i have a first pressing or not.

I heard the first few eps were shot differently....

I think the first few eps were shot differently, because disc 1 looked like BALLS when i watched it too... Disc 2-6 were fine though and the transfers definitely were an improvement over disc 1, so don't give up yet! (and all my equipment is calibrated properly...so it's not a technical issue)

MATT

On a progressive setup, you would see severe "jaggies" artifacting with any motion between frames. On an interlaced setup it looks normal, so it's a good idea to try it out on a prog. setup to make sure it's not the bad run. They will still replace it, from what I hear.

This is a very rushed release from Warner Brothers, all around that can be seen. It is actually really sad because this is an awesome show and the packaging and menu's are awesome... this really could have been a special DVD... but now us fans are screwed with a delayed release date, crappy transfers, spars features, and a commentary that we have to download off the web....

what the fuck???

They really should consider re-releasing this. I read they had to rush it together and omit extras they wanted to include so they could have it out before Season 2 began. And then it came out after Season 2 premirered, anyway. :P

If they can re-release the first season of C.S.I., why can't they put a little extra effort into this one?

i have a question, regarding calibrating a dvd, the way i currently have it set, is a way that i like it, now would i to get a better picture buy a calibration kit.

Other than a few minor player tweaks (black level, etc.), you generally tweak your monitor, not the DVD player. To do it yourself, yeah, you'd want a calibration DVD, such as Avia.

No, they can't. All DVDs are interlaced. Every single one.

The DVD does contain flags in the data stream that instruct some deinterlacing chips how to assemble the frames, but the problem with this is that 95% or more of all DVDs have at least some bad flagging. The whole process of flag-reading is so unreliable that good motion-adaptive deinterlacers ignore the flags altogether and instead analyze the cadence of the video. With a decent progressive scan DVD player, how the disc is flagged is a totally irrelevant concern.

You can buy Digital Video Essentials for less than $20. There's no excuse not to own a calibration disc. Many people who think that they can eyeball their settings based on personal preferences are shocked to find out how far off from correct their settings were once they finally do a proper calibration. I had someone tell me that he liked to have his TV's sharpness all the way up to 100% and he thought that was just peachy. It's horrifying.

I didn't say the dvds themselves were anything but interlaced. I'm talking about the transfer process before it ever makes it to a dvd. Others will have to explain it better than I can, but whatever causes the (infrequent but real) problem, it HAS happened, and the Python disc mentioned above, it was a problem regardless of the quality of the player.

i looked at that one on amazon, but many reviewers mention that that particualar version is complicated and doesn't mention or tell whats right or not.

Would one of hte thx dvd's be acceptible?

The THX Optimizer program is flawed by design. Plus, you have to mail away for the required blue filter. I wouldn't recommend it.

If you can find a copy, the Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up is a useful tool geared towards beginners, with easy to understand instructions. I believe it's out of print now, but your local Best Buy may still have copies in the Special Interest section. It also should cost less than $20. If the price isn't a concern, Avia (from the same makers as the S&V disc) is an excellent calibration tool, but it will cost closer to $60.

Failing that, there are other perfectly good calibration discs out there that should be reasonably priced. Just don't put much faith in THX Optimizer.

Digital Video Essentials is poorly organized and a little confusing for a beginner, but it's cheap and you should be able to figure it out once you get used to it. Just be prepared for a little frustration in finding the content you need.

Here's a detailed technical explanation of how progressive scan works:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...e-10-2000.html

The commentary wasn't recorded until after the DVDs had been manufactured.