Vol 3 problems

[notundercovercop32]

So I just bought the re-release of volume 3. I popped in Sidehackers and the print looked awful. It looked like it was taken off of a youtube rip based on how low the bit rate was. I thought it was my DVD player, but when I switched to the bonus footage from the same disc on the same player it looked great. Does anyone else have a problem with their version of Sidehackers?

[CrowTrobotfan92]

Oh, jeez....

Looks like we got another season 2 master tape that wasn't stored properly post 2000. *cough* Lost Continent being the other *cough*

Well, that's unfortunate, for Sidehackers (along with Wild Rebels, being a biker film as well) are probably 2 of my favorite season 2 Joel episodes.

When you say the source looks like it came off a youtube rip, by any chance do you mean something like this?

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hmf7z_mst3k-202-the-sidehackers-uncut-1-2_tv

(This came from my own personal collection; I'm the uploader of this copy of the episode, and while it does have "Comedy Central" logos popping up and out to cut to commercial breaks, I know Shout has used fan copies off YouTube like the Mst3k sci-fi documentary and the episode commercials and could have possibly did a "cover up" using another source, I'm guessing the Rhino version, where it shows the Comedy Central logos? Just a guess).

[notundercovercop32]

Ironnically the version you posted looks better than the one on the re-release. Popped in the Rhino version and it looks miles better. Anybody else have vol 3?

[gerswin]

I have it. It's not the best transfer but it's not that bad. Here are some screencaps I made:

[Udvarnoky]

Shout!'s version is plainly, unsurprisingly superior to the internet upload. Anyone got comparison shots of the Rhino release?

[CrowTrobotfan92]

Oh hey, thanks for using my upload (based on the coloring of the internet video).

Well, I'll say Joel's face does look a little blurry, but otherwise it looks fine to me. I'd have to buy it to see myself.

[leeharveyosmond]

Those screen shot comparisons make it look better than it actually does in motion. The Rhino DVD is much sharper. The Shout! DVD uses the same transfer that's up on the Vimeo On Demand site (that version has a lot of blank space left in where the commercial breaks are supposed to go for some reason). Before Vol. 3 was re-released I made a custom DVD of the digital version (with the blank parts edited out) and that looked really similar to the official DVD.

[Deleted]

To be fair, Rhino's print did leave out the spaghetti ball bumpers during the movie segments (they had a strange habit of doing it prior to Vol. 4). I wonder if the master tape deteriorated over time like with Lost Continent.

[leeharveyosmond]

Feb 10, 2017 12:42:39 GMT -5 @packer said:

To be fair, Rhino's print did leave out the spaghetti ball bumpers during the movie segments (they had a strange habit of doing it prior to Vol. 4). I wonder if the master tape deteriorated over time like with Lost Continent.

The Gizmonic Insitute bumpers, actually. They almost never cut the spaghetti ball bumpers.

Is it more so the master tape possibly being worn out or the way it was transferred/digitized for the reason why this new edition doesn't look so hot?

[gerswin]

Feb 10, 2017 12:23:53 GMT -5 leeharveyosmond said:

Those screen shot comparisons make it look better than it actually does in motion. The Rhino DVD is much sharper. The Shout! DVD uses the same transfer that's up on the Vimeo On Demand site (that version has a lot of blank space left in where the commercial breaks are supposed to go for some reason). Before Vol. 3 was re-released I made a custom DVD of the digital version (with the blank parts edited out) and that looked really similar to the official DVD.

Interesting. Now I want to find a copy of the Rhino Vol 3 DVD so I can do some comparisons. There's one on eBay for $50 but that's a bit steep since I have the re-release. I'll keep my eyes open.

[Udvarnoky]

I think if the master tapes had deteriorated the consequence of that would be "hit"-like artifacts rather than a general fuzziness. What's being described here sounds like the video was starved by a low bit rate during the digital mastering process, as the OP suggests. I always found the Rhino transfers were extremely un-generous in this regard as well, and that the Shout! releases were something of an improvement (although they still apparently use single-layer DVDs for some reason).

I'd be interested in further comparisons.

[Afgncaap5]

I can't contribute much of anything here since Volume 3 is one of the ones I never picked up (I already had most of those through tape trading and, in the case of Sidehackers, a Rhino VHS), but I like the comparisons. Don't know much about the process, but I'm suddenly thinking to a couple times when I had questions about the quality of some releases.

[gorncaptain]

If, (goodness forbid!) a master tape got trashed beyond repair, and the episode had already been released by Rhino before the damage, couldn't they just rip the existing DVD, restore any missing bumpers, and author a new disc from there? Shouldn't there be Rhino era video masters lying around somewhere, presuming they haven't been erased or thrown out?

[notundercovercop32]

Yeah it looks like it was taken directly from the VIMEO version of the episode and then put on a DVD. I emailed Shout factory and they said the release was sourced from the best available masters. I question that since the RHINO version looks way better.

[CrowTrobotfan92]

Feb 10, 2017 20:13:59 GMT -5 notundercovercop32 said:

Yeah it looks like it was taken directly from the VIMEO version of the episode and then put on a DVD. I emailed Shout factory and they said the release was sourced from the best available masters. I question that since the RHINO version looks way better.

I mean, from watching the DVD, it's clear they just used the VHS tape they released as a source (considering the bumpers were still taken out), so for all we know, the master could have been damaged post 2000.