Monday, April 22, 2013

1080p hardsubs? 720p softsubs?

Idol Densetsu Eriko Blu-Rays are scheduled to be released in Japan on the 26th. 

This actually will be the very first time a series that we're working on has a Blu-Ray source, and it has brought about some discussion on how we will handle the encoding.  Assuming that the material is 1080p, we've decided at a minimum we will do the following:
  • 1080p 10-bit h.264 softsubs
  • 720p 8-bit h.264 hardsubs
  • 480p XviD hardsubs
However, this leaves us with two other possibilities that we might consider.
  • 1080p 8-bit h.264 hardsubs
  • 720p 10-bit h.264 softsubs
Basically, I would like to ask the following:

1.  Would there be any benefit to encoding a 1080p hardsubbed version, considering the potentially very limited subset of people who would want it?  The subset of folks who might want this is even smaller than those who want XviD encodes.

2.  Would a 720p softsubbed version make sense with a 1080p softsubbed version?  I'm not aware of a situation where someone who would prefer a 720p softsubbed version versus a 1080p softsubbed version, but there might be situations where there might be such a preference.

Please keep this discussion civil; if you need to insult someone, insult me instead of your fellow commenters.

12 comments:

  1. Soft or hard are fine by me, as long as there is a 720p option. My computer is a little older, and doesn't always like 1080p.

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  2. Thanks again Licca for your excellent devotion to old school anime! I think softsub are a good option for 720p and 1080p! Old school shoujo in glorious HD!

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  3. I'm wondering whether the 1080p BD Disc will be an upscale, since it is an older series. I'm really interested in a comparison between the current DVD release and future BD releases!

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  4. 1080p 10bit and 720p 8bit is a good combination imo; computers that can play 1080p in the first place can usually handle 10bit but for those who need 720p (assuming it's not because of filesize) it might not go as smoothly. You seem to have 10bit+softsubs and 8bit+hardsubs inseparable in these options but I'd go with softsubs for both of the above, though that's up to you to decide. 480p BDrips certainly don't look bad if the source is good (see neo1024's first Lupin 480p rips for example) so having hardsubs for that only wouldn't be a bad option if you want to cut down the number of releases, but that might be too snarky "lol hardsubs" thinking from me.

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  5. 1080p doesn't work too well with my laptop, so I always get 720p. Even if I could play 1080p, I'd prefer 720p for 2 facts: smaller size and not upscaled. I really dislike upscales (thus I prefer 480p over 720p upscales). Also softsubs > hardsubs

    Well... people watching 1080p desire the best they can get (as they have the necessary hardware), so they want 1080p 10bit with softsubs.
    720p you should do whatever you think is right. Most people can play 10bit and softsubs, but others still prefer 8bit and/or hardsubs. After all, 720p is for middle performance.

    My tip:
    1080p 10bit softsub
    720p 10bit softsub/hardsub OR 8bit softsub
    480p 8bit hardsub

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  6. Regarding the possibility of an DVD to Blu-Ray upscale, that's typically not done with older releases; most of these older series are typically remastered instead of merely upscaled.

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  7. As long as the 720 is 8bit and the 1080p is 10bit, I don't think anyone would complain. This is a really good combination, regardless of soft/hard subs, though I prefer hardsubs on 720p

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  8. I would normally prefer 720p 10-bit h.264 softsubs. Though I would settle for 1080p if 720p is hardsubbed.

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  9. I want: 1080p 10-bit h.264 softsubs

    Thanks.

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  10. I think the 3 options should be 1080p 10bit softsubs, 720 softsubs, 480 hardsub.
    The others are not needed at all. The above is the best combination to have.

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  11. Anon above is right. The only thing one can be in doubt about is whether to make the 720p 8bit or 10bit.
    Check Nyaa and you'll see that 720p soft-sub is always the most popular download and there are few or no hardsubs above 480p.
    Most people dislike hardsubs and will only use them if absolutely necessary, like on limited portable devices.

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    Replies
    1. Personally, I despise softsubs, and if it were up to me, I would have done it all hardsubbed. However, since this is a joint project, I do not have that option.

      The main problem with doing 2 softsubbed/1 hardsubbed version versus doing 1 softsubbed/2 hardsubbed version is actually a matter of logistics and how often a file gets shuffled around. The fact that we are dealing with 1080p and 720p video does not help matters...

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