Aerothorn on 27/8/2010 at 17:11
Yeah, I was under the impression that the NTSC-only DVD players really were NTSC-only. I can check, though!
Of course, for the next year my "dvd player" will be my PS3, which apparently is region-locked in the USA, so...yeah.
Sulphur on 27/8/2010 at 17:40
PS3? That's an easy enough recipe, though a tad inconvenient.
Ingredients needed: A PS3, a region-locked DVD, a PC, One USB Stick (>6GB, preferably), and DVD Decrypter.
Directions: Put the region-locked DVD in your PC and set DVD Decrypter to decrypt it in stream processing mode, with a 4GB file size split for the .VOBs. Decrypt the DVD - it should take a couple of minutes. Drink one cup of coffee/tea/glass of beer meanwhile.
Copy the resulting files over to the USB stick. Continue drinking your beverage whilst this happens.
Take the USB stick and insert it gently into the PS3. Scroll over to 'Video', choose 'Show All' on the USB stick and voila! Viewable DVD with no quality loss whatsoever.
Best served whilst hot. Garnish with friends, a big-ass TV, and drinks on the side.
old toro on 27/8/2010 at 19:07
I'm sad. Life is not fair.
Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers were very good. Paprika didn't click with me. But the man was already a classic in the anime industry. Fuck.
Aerothorn on 28/8/2010 at 19:31
Thanks much, Sulphur! I'll definitely do that.
Oh, wait - I just realized that the largest USB flash drive I have is 4GB. Would this work with that (uncompressed)? Could I use a USB hard drive? Obviously I can buy a larger flash drive if necessary, but I already have so many...
Sulphur on 28/8/2010 at 19:56
Of course. Feel free to use the USB hard drive instead. I just use the USB stick m'self because it's more convenient to cart around.
Aerothorn on 28/8/2010 at 23:35
Quote Posted by Sulphur
Of course. Feel free to use the USB hard drive instead. I just use the USB stick m'self because it's more convenient to cart around.
Definitely. It just depends on how big the given DVD is, if I'm correct in my assumption that some DVDs don't use the full space of the disc. Thanks much - I just ordered the series from Amazon UK, and while it's a little more expensive for me due to the cruel exchange rate, it's still a deal!
Now to convince my housemates that this is worth watching.
EvaUnit02 on 29/8/2010 at 10:22
The large majority of R2 European and R4 anime releases feature disgusting NTSC->PAL converted transfers. This results of this IS awful motion blurring. Of course you may not notice it, so it may not be problem. This is precisely why I sold my R4 boxset of Paranoia Agent yonks ago.
Also I highly recommend up scaling to a HD resolution. Viewing PAL DVDs hard converted in real time to NTSC results in stuttering framerate, which can be quite distracting. This isn't a factor with HD resolutions though.
Enchantermon on 30/8/2010 at 01:50
Heard about this fairly soon after it was announced publicly. I've only seen Millennium Actress (and I loved it), but I now own a brand-new copy of Paprika and will (soon, hopefully) watch it in his honor. RIP. :(
Aerothorn on 31/8/2010 at 22:12
Eva - Yikes, I had no idea, and knowing me I almost certainly *will* notice it. Why on earth they do such a poor transfer is beyond me.
Unfortunately, my only HD TV is my PC monitor and my only upscaling player is my PS3. While I have the capacity to connect them, will the PS3 upscale the USB-file, or only the disc proper?
Edit: On the upside, the one R2 review I found said that "there are signs of an NTSC to PAL transfer, but it's a good one - there is little evidence of unintentional blurring on movement." Yay.
Not really sure why they need to "convert" it though. Can't they just use a region-free master that they then region-lock, rather than converting from a region-locked version? Clearly I just don't understand the technology.
ZylonBane on 31/8/2010 at 23:36
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
Also I highly recommend up scaling to a HD resolution. Viewing PAL DVDs hard converted in real time to NTSC results stuttering framerate, which can be quite distracting. This isn't a factor with HD resolutions though.
Changing the resolution fixes the frame rate? Buh?
