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I was goofing around on Toei Video.co.jp and came across the page for the Kuuga Blu-Rays. Imagine my surprise seeing a comparison between showing the original SD masters and the new version made for Blu-Ray. There was also a blurb with Toei talking about what they did. Here's my translation of (a Google Translation of) the blurb (Seriously, if anyone can do a better job, please do).
They posted before & after images of the process. The 1st of each pair is from the original SD master, the 2nd is from the upconversion on the Blu-Ray.
[HIDE]
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What do you think? For me, it's clearly not HD quality, no matter what process Toei put it through. However, I can definitely see an improvement. Anyone with Blu-Rays of the other Heisei Rider shows (Ryuki, Faiz, Blade) or Dekaranger, does this comparison jibe with what's on those discs? Make you willing to risk getting one of those upscaled sets? (For me, yes: the 3rd volume of Dekaranger, as that'll have the 1st episode of Sentai I ever seen).
The main SD video was upconverted with the latest HD technology
At the time of Masked Rider Kuuga's production, it had been shot on HD cameras. However, as it was not possible to broadcast in HD at the time, the video was downscaled on to a D2 tape and broadcast master tape. For the upconversion work, Kuuga was put through a high-quality mastering system.
The original SD master had its jagged edges smoothed and the color was upgraded to a HD color gamut to achieve a high quality image.
They posted before & after images of the process. The 1st of each pair is from the original SD master, the 2nd is from the upconversion on the Blu-Ray.
[HIDE]
What do you think? For me, it's clearly not HD quality, no matter what process Toei put it through. However, I can definitely see an improvement. Anyone with Blu-Rays of the other Heisei Rider shows (Ryuki, Faiz, Blade) or Dekaranger, does this comparison jibe with what's on those discs? Make you willing to risk getting one of those upscaled sets? (For me, yes: the 3rd volume of Dekaranger, as that'll have the 1st episode of Sentai I ever seen).