Mulholland Drive Cinema DTS

[BDgeek]

Great! Thanks a lot Turisu!

In my previous response, we posted about the same time. So I hadn't read your comments by then.

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Despite only mentioning DD in the credits and Lynch's specs sheet, I'm pretty sure Universal made some US prints with a DTS 5.1 track. The first
Universal DVD also had a DTS 5.1 mix (made from the master mix Lynch finalized) and some reviews believed it was from a theatrical mix since it sounded louder than the DD.

[zoidberg]

There was a SC blu ray prior to the Criterion remaster, came in a digibook, it might be worth checking if the mix is different on that disc

[Turisu]

I'll see what I can do about digging up older audio tracks

On the video transfer I'm torn. The SC has more visible grain and probably best resembles what is on the original negative. But it almost looks too sharp to me. The Criterion (supposedly approved by Lynch) has the more velvety look of a projected print.

[alexp2000]

Yeah I went for the Criterion UHD as it has that more natural appearance like you say.

[BDgeek]

Curious, I'm particularly more fond of the SC UHD. Though I've only seen both on HDR no DV.

The Criterion has actual information on the DV layer, not just lightness parameters like SC.

[Turisu]

Criterion BD




Original SC BD




UHD

[SpookyDollhouse]

I'll see what I can do about digging up older audio tracks

On the video transfer I'm torn. The SC has more visible grain and probably best resembles what is on the original negative. But it almost looks too sharp to me. The Criterion (supposedly approved by Lynch) has the more velvety look of a projected print.

Yeah I went for the Criterion UHD as it has that more natural appearance like you say.

The Criterion was given slight DNR at the authoring stage for ease of encoding. This is very visible side-by-side. The SC disc is just better compressed all around. There's been no additional tweaking done to it unlike the Criterion. That sharper look is literally better encoded grain at the source. It was done by Fidelity in Motion who typically do fantastic work like that. The Criterion doesn't look bad but pitting the two side by side, the SC is better representation of the source material and by extension more natural.

By the way I'd love to check out this sync once it's done. Shame the audio was given a soundbar remix.

[Turisu]

Original SC BD




Criterion BD




UHD

[little-endian]

Actually I don't understand the attempt of the "preboost" within the source here - doesn't this 3dB adjustment affect all channels anyway? Then it is up to the listener to set the whole "gain" (and depending on the source then effective "volume").

This would only make sense for me if everyone at home would listen to a precalibrated system (including ideal room acoustics) - which I highly doubt - and expecting everything to play according to director's/mixing engineer's "vision". Otherwise, it is selected to personal taste anyway and easily changed at the AVR if necessary.

So I don't see why driving a source into clipping (and by that making it technically worse* as Turisu correctly pointed out) is even an option worth considering. Same is true by the way for the Cinema DTS decoding. Some LTE tracks for instance clip if the official gain recommendations are applied but the actual cleaner way would be to simply reduce the level of all other channels accordingly.

* I am aware that some clipping, especially in the case of the LFE will probably not be noticed but on the other hand, there is no good reason to provoke it even for one sample. PCM's performance at 16 bit already (properly dithered) is so good that even staying 6 or 12 dB below fullscale the whole time when in doubt and effectively reducing it to 14-15 bit, is far from being audibly apparent, not so speak of 24 bit where clipping is even more idiotic.