(DVDfull pro-shot DL)
Journey - Escape Tour, Tokyo (Snivlle Remastered, Dual Layer Edition)
DATE: July 31, 1981
VENUE: Koseinenken Hall, Shinjyuku-Tokyo, Japan
VIDEO QUALITY: (8.85/10) Nice digital remastering. Vibrant colors and clean, clear picture quality throughout. Sits well in the "A-" class, but not quite clean enough to make it to a strong "A" grade. Overall, this release is a nice improvement over the source disc with much richer color and contrast and much less analog video noise.
AUDIO QUALITY: (9/10) Rich, clean stereo sound without too much analog noise or hiss. Encoded in Dolby 2.0 Tru-stereo @ 448 kbps.
VIDEO BITRATE: 8000 KB/s Upper Field First (Encoded with CCE SP2)
AUDIO BITRATE: 448 kbps (Dolby 2.0 Tru-Stereo)
MENU: Yes (motion menus w/ audio)
CHAPTERS: Yes, by song
LINEAGE: 1st Gen VHS -> DVD-R (OnFire Version) -> DVD Decryptor -> Elementary Streams -> Professional NLE and Video Editing/Remastering software -> Frame-served to CCE SP2 -> DVD Chaptered/Authored
SNIVLLE'S PRODUCTION NOTES:
This project was a massive undertaking, but well worth every bit of the effort. There have been 2 or 3 versions of this concert in circulation, but until recently, the "OnFire" release was considered to be the most desirable. This remastered version was sourced from the "OnFire" version.
This release is actually the 3rd revision of the project. It was important to me that this "Snivlle Remastered Edition" remained out of circulation, until it was the best that I could do. It is an unfortunate fact of "video-geek" life that there are only 240 lines of resolution inherent in VHS recordings. This number can obviously not compare to the more the 540 lines of resolution seen in commercial DVDs. The motivation behind all "Snivlle Remastered Edition" DVDs is not to compete with commercial DVD quality; rather, it is to get older VHS footage as close as possible to the quality of S-VHS or Laser Disc.
[Video Noise Reduction]
The mpeg-2 and AC3 elementary streams were extracted from the source disc. The streams were then imported into Pro-grade NLE (Non Linear Editing) Video/DVD production software. Various video noise samples were captured and analyzed from the original footage. Careful video temporal de-noising was applied to remove a substantial amount of analog VHS noise and mpeg-2 artifacts. This portion of the video processing was carefully calculated to ensure that maximum results would be achieved WITHOUT disturbing the integrity of the original picture. I use the "NeatVideo" noise reduction plug-in in Highest quality/High resolution mode.
[Color & Contrast Correction]
The lack of color vibrancy and contrast depth is one of the most noticeable unwanted effects readily seen in the previously circulated versions of this show. This is no longer the case. Using one of the industry's most formidable color correction NLE plug-ins, I was able to increase the color depth by more than 50 percent! White balance correction and black level correction were also applied. This color and contrast correction was performed without the use of built-in NLE color correction tools. In most NLE's, the built-in color/contrast tools utilize less accurate math-rounding calculations. The color/contrast correction plug-in used for this project is a true 32-bit floating point color corrector, not just "floating point capable".
The color and contrast quality is now vibrant, rich and consistent throughout the 97 minutes of footage. Stage lights, skin tones, chrome reflection, etc., are now much more appealing and natural looking.
[Video Encoding]
Snivlle Remastered Editions are never mpeg-2 transcoded! All of my DVD projects are frame-served and encoded with Cinema Craft Encoder SP. The Cinema Craft Encoder is recognized within the DVD Production industry as the leader in high quality mpeg encoding. In order to maintain compatibility with a broad range of SA DVD players, bitrates are kept at 8000 KB/s or lower. I use standard GOP settings (N=3/M=5), higher than average quantization settings, and tweaked picture quality parameters within the encoder itself.
[Audio Remastering]
Many of the audio editing software tools that I use are older versions that I've owned since years. They have proven themselves to be fast, accurate, extensive, and reliable. I use CoolEdit Pro 2, WaveLab 3.04c, SoundForge 4.5d and a collection of very high end DirectX/VST plug-ins.
The AC3 files were level-normalized and converted to 32 bit PCM files with BeSweet. All audio editing and remastering was performed using 32 bit samples as opposed to standard 16 bit files. Audio noise samples were captured and hiss reduction applied using Waves Z-noise plug-in. Audio fidelity and frequency range was improved with Aureal enhancement to increase harmonic structure without resorting to traditional analog EQ methods. Sub sonic frequencies below 26 hz. were removed and that frequency energy was applied to the more necessary 40 - 220 hz. range. The resulting audio is now much better balanced with increased fidelity and a tight, full bottom end. The 32 bit PCM files were then encoded with the SurCode Dolby encoder as Dolby 2.0 Tru-Stereo: 448 KB/s, 48, 000 Khz., 16 bit.
01 - Line Of Fire
02 - Don't Stop Believing
03 - Stone In Love
04 - Keep On Runnin'
05 - Band Jam / Who's Crying Now
06 - Lay It Down
07 - Jonathan Cain Solo
08 - Dead Or Alive
09 - Turnaround In Tokyo
10 - Lights -> Stay Awhile
11 - Too Late
12 - Dixie Highway
13 - Loving You Is Easy
14 - La Do Da
15 - Drum Solo
16 - The Party's Over
17 - Wheel In The Sky
[ENCORE]
18 - Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
19 - Anyway You Want It
This DVD is unauthorized by the artist and is considered to be a historical video document only. It is illegal to buy or sell this DVD. The sale of this DVD may result in severe fines or imprisonment. If you bought this DVD unaware of the legalities involved, please report it.
