eureka ftw
CtrlHD
EuReKA
REFiNED
iLL
PerfectionHD
ESiR
CHD
BLiND
CiNEFiLE
SiLU
SZ
SiNNERS
ESiR
hd-unit3d
they only do 720p but their work is just amazing, considering the size of the files
ESiR
like everyone say esir and majority give u the best answer
ESiR is the best
I think ESiR is the best for me
Okay, I've been d/l'ing a whole bunch of stuff the last month+ since I got a PCH box (fooled around with pc-based players, plug-in's, and the like for a couple months before that, to varying results), and when I first started looking around was very hyper about sizing (dvd5/9), but slowly have gravitated toward higher sizes/bitrate, DTS + multiple audio commentary tracks, etc.
But of course it's all eating up disc space at a rather atrocious rate! 5/1.5TB drives already chuck full of 'crud'! I've been trying to get quotes on a unRAID box/system for several weeks, and usually have to explain in depth to the local vendors on what it is, how to build, etc.
The other way to go is a 'standard' RAID5 array, I've got a box with a older Asus MB that will do RAID5 on 6-sata drives, and I'm thinking about that as a lower possibility. But like I noted in another thread here, many x264 encodes are just over DVD9 (or dvd6) sizes, not 'throw caution to the wind' 12-15GB ones.
But most of those in that size range are noticeably superior in picture quality to stuff well below 8GB/DVD9 sizing. The Groups? I've got several examples from lots of them, but I really like the occasional recode that has the multiple audios (commentaries). I really prefer DTS (5.1 or better), but wonder exactly why 'full-rate' 1.5mb/s rather than half-bit-rate 768Kb/s; most commercial std-def DVD's with DTS are at that rate, not the 'full' rate, and even with a top-notch audio system, I'd be hard pressed to ever hear much of a difference between the two. Lot's of bits eaten up there.
Again, from what I can see, not much of a 'standard operating procedure' from any, if at all, of these groups. Maybe I simply haven't tripped over any, but the postings seem to really run the gamut, except for those that 'specialize' in AVCHD aimed at the PS3 crowd.
For the 'best' without regard to much of anything (bit-rate, sizing, etc.) CtlHD, Esir, Cinefile, and occasionally Sinners seem to be okay. But there simply hasn't been enough examples of something were all the groups 'jump' on it, and provide enough of a differentiation between them.
Lots of the 'early' stuff (about a year or so old) seemed to have various audio/video problems. But it can probably be laid at the early software difficulties (DTS dropouts in particular).
And oh, quite a few from 'Don', add me be the 'surprised' that it isn't 'on the group list'.
Last edited by Beck38; 08-19-2009 at 08:12 PM.
A few more thoughts...
I haven't seen any 'marching orders' from any of the people/groups doing any of these postings. The wild swings in sizing/bitrate between them, even in the same 'group' release, tells me it's simply the re-coders 'preference'. Nothing like 'Replica' in the early days of DVD, that toed the line pretty strictly on 3kb/s, although it has been my opinion that 4Kb/s was a more 'reasonable' target.
A couple of the posters seem to put their target at the 10kb/s level, or thereabouts, and it does make a difference, particularly when a/b'ing the result to efforts in the sub-5k region.
I simply haven't seen a really good technical write up of where the 'slippery slope' is on x264 encodes, like there were with mpeg2 (again, in the 'early days' 10 years ago). Part of the problem may be the plethora of really bad mastering/transfer 'efforts' by some/most of the studios, or the companies they hire to do the BR discs themselves.
Of particular note alone these lines is a 'franchise' of inestimable cash cow, is the 'Bond' series (Connery through Moore through...). I was just re-reading some of the BR reviews (both from web sites and 'high-end' mags like 'Widescreen Review'), and taken as a whole, it's simply appalling. Yes, many of these titles are well over 30 years old. Yes, they've already been 'cleaned up' at least one or more times. And so now, you're going to skip that step in a mad race for a quick buck?
I find myself 'falling back' on earlier comments, that the BR 'slope' is following almost precisely the same track as DVD's followed 10 years ago. It's going to take at least another 5 years + until they really 'clean up' their act, both from the film side AND the player side. The fact that here we are over a decade into the BR era, and the almost universally regarded as the 'best' player out there is a GAMING CONSOLE!?!?!?!
Although I was a VERY early adopter in HD/digital display technologies (fed by both up-converted SD DVD's and HD satellite transmissions), I kept waiting for the BR players to get the kinks ironed out. I'm still waiting. That song 'Common Disaster' (Cowboy Junkies?) rattles through my head.
And, here's yet another 'complaint'; why oh why do a LOT of these folks, after going through the trouble of ripping the BR, jumping through the various hoops and machine grinding time, seem to REFUSE to post even a bare minimal nfo...???? Those who consistently refuse to do so.... need a headspace adjustment.
Last edited by Beck38; 08-21-2009 at 07:24 PM.
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