Macross Frontier Episode 1 Talkback Thread *READ 1st Post*

[Holocause]

WHY? WHY? WHY?

WHY does it have to be mp4?

Still waiting for the avi...

please clarify I'm inquiring Is there anything in particular why mp4 is bad? Not so techie so I don't know. I'm not really picky as to what extension a vid is release (avi, mp4, mov, mkv, ogm) as long as either VLC or MPC can play it then I'm fine. Is there a particular video effect that is missing from mp4 which is why you don't like it?

I kinda am happy that the one being released is mp4... I'll be able to load it up and play it on my i-phone Now I can take Nyan-nyan wherever I go

[Gubaba]

I need to update my computer or get a new one...the newest version of VLC that will play on my Mac (without the picture being all green and purple, that is) won't play mp4 or 264.

Even the HD XviD stuff makes it run slow.

So don't worry...it's not that the file is bad, it's just that I can't watch it yet.

[Project Phoenix]

I just finished watching AIA-IZ's sub of the first episode. I think I'll wait for Shinsen to release their version. They do a WAY better job. But that's just my opinion. At least we won't see the "Brief-25" reference here.

[Cowboy17]

I just finished watching AIA-IZ's sub of the first episode. I think I'll wait for Shinsen to release their version. They do a WAY better job. But that's just my opinion. At least we won't see the "Brief-25" reference here.

lol oh wow. Never thought I'd see "Shinsen" and "better job" in the same sentence, unless it was "x does a WAY BETTER JOB than shinsen".

[wolfx]

Shinsen is ok as speed subbers since they mostly translate from the chinese subs (that come out practically immediately) into english ones. At least they're not "Mass naked child events" bad.

[UN Spacy]

I"m at 16% with another 50 mins to go.

[Graham]

WHY? WHY? WHY?

WHY does it have to be mp4?

Still waiting for the avi...

Just change the file extension from .mp4 to .avi, that's what I did. Seems to work fine.

Graham

[Kamion]

The extensions .mp4 or .avi or .mkv are just indicative of the file containers. They do not actually tell you what codec the video is actually encoded in. The video codec could be MPEG2, MPEG4, H.264, DIVX etc. The harder to decode (on your processor) codec is the H.264, and also the higher resolution videos (720p HD).

AFAIK, VLC will play .mp4 files no problem.

Edited April 8, 2008 by Kamion

[Graham]

lol oh wow. Never thought I'd see "Shinsen" and "better job" in the same sentence, unless it was "x does a WAY BETTER JOB than shinsen".

Shinsen did a pretty good Job of the Deculture vesion subs. I think most people here were pretty happy with it. It was certainly light years better than the Seiyan subs version.

Graham

[Sergorn]

Shinsen is ok as speed subbers since they mostly translate from the chinese subs (that come out practically immediately) into english ones. At least they're not "Mass naked child events" bad.

I don't think they're "speed subber" anymore though. They used too, but they tend to take their time to do good subs now. The stuff I've seen from them lately (Code Geass, Gundam 00) was really good.

As far as Macross Frontier goes both AiA and Shinsen Sub were pretty good. The dialogues in the AiA version tend to flow better (Shinsen's subs are probably a tad TOO litteral) but there were a couple of glaring mistakes in the AiA one ("Up toward the heavens" becomoing "A round of applause please" - come on !)

I'm dl the AiA version of the Broadcast edition for now - though I hope there will be a avi version too, I tend to archive stuff in AVI.

-Sergorn

[Kamion]

I'm dl the AiA version of the Broadcast edition for now - though I hope there will be a avi version too, I tend to archive stuff in AVI.

I've just d/led the AiA version and the video is encoded using H.264. As, I said, it doesn't matter whether the extension in .mp4 or .avi because that's the container. It's like coke in glass bottle or coke in a plastic bottle.

[Kamion]

Anybody noticed Sheryl has a birthmark on her left leg?

You can see it as she's floating towards the "artificial gravity" area.

[veffidas]

Anybody noticed Sheryl has a birthmark on her left leg?

You can see it as she's floating towards the "artificial gravity" area.

I doubt it's a birthmark since it's a set of hearts.

[Radd]

Anybody noticed Sheryl has a birthmark on her left leg?

You can see it as she's floating towards the "artificial gravity" area.

Heh, that was brought up when the Deculture edition was released. The mark is noticeable in a few scenes.

[Sorata]

13.6% done about 28-27KBs per second...Looks like an all night job....

Dont want to sound like I am bragging but what is your ISP up and downspeed and torrent program? I am getting 96-125 KBs using Bitlord and a 6mb download and 512 up speed (thats what i pay for but dont always get).

[Graham]

Damn, burnt the file to DVD, but none of my three standalone DVD players will play it. Codecs not right I guess.

Have to watch it on my office laptop, as the DVD drive on my ancient, creaking home PC is shot also.

Graham

[VFTF1]

You can see it as she's floating towards the "artificial gravity" area.

I think everyone was "seeing" something else when she was floating towards that area

VFTF1

[Sergorn]

Damn, burnt the file to DVD, but none of my three standalone DVD players will play it. Codecs not right I guess.

Yeah, most standalone DVD/DIVX player don't read MP4/H264 files/codec. That's why I usualy stick with DIVX/XVID Avi or sometime reecondes the videos.

-Sergorn

[ieh4f]

More likely it's because they are encoded in high definition. Traditionnaly anime were enoded in standard definition like 640x480. With with HD being more common more and more anime are encoded in high definition like 1280x720.... which require a lot more processing power (even more so if it uses newer codecs like H264). Usually though most fangroup will release Standard Definition fansubs as well and HD ones

-Sergorn

could anyone tell/pm me where the standard definition like 640x480 can be found?, all l can find are high definition avi, mp4 or rmvb....

ps wolfx, does your P4 2.0 Ghz laptop run dvd movie(dvd disc not dvdrip) perfectly? what is the minimum cpu speed and ram to watch a dvd movie in a notebook smoothly, without running other programmes at the same time, just like a dvd player? and what software can be used to play dvd movies besides powerdvd?

[Lorindor]

Okay, now I have seen the whole Broadcast Edition (I waited till a sub came out). I can't agree with some of the earlier complains.

The OP is just great. Really cool animation (I mean, Battle 25 rocks!) and the music is growing on me after a few listening. I think the lyrics of Triangular can be very suiting for the show.

The pacing of the editing is faster, but not too fast I believe. You can still clearly understand what's going on. As previously said in this thread, some events that was previously shown (e.g. the Ghost fighter scene) as well as other things that might not have been understood in the raw is explained through dialogue. Even the paper plane is shown prior to when Alto pick it up high in the skies (though I know it was just far in the background and that it's still pretty confusing).

The ending music was just MEH in comparison with the new "Oboete imasu ka". But I can't agree with those who say that it doesn't fit the feeling of the show. How can we know that for certain with just one episode behind us?

And most important - the Nyan Nyan ad was hilarious!

But there's also one more thing worth remembering when judging this new edit. When we saw the Deculture Edition last year it was totally fresh and thus left a bigger impression. It's not the same this time around and therefore we shouldn't judge it too hard. Still, I agree that the Deculture Edition was better. But this Broadcast Edition isn't too horrible and I can't imagine that the show will lose many viewers for any of its minor faults that mostly we hardcore fans can discover.

Though, I actually do have the dilemma not knowing which version I should show my boyfriend when I'll be introducing him to the show. More in-depth character scenes that could be important as the show goes on or spectacular action scenes coordinated to music? It IS a tough choice.

Oh, yeah, when it comes to Sharyl's birthmark that's get mentioned all the time... I just can't find it. I watched the concert scene once again (I thought, with so much skin that she's showing it gotta be there somewhere), but with no luck spotting it. Is there a clean shot of it, and where?

Edited April 8, 2008 by Lorindor

[veffidas]

Oh, yeah, when it comes to Sharyl's birthmark that's get mentioned all the time... I just can't find it. I watched the concert scene once again (I thought, with so much skin that she's showing it gotta be there somewhere), but with no luck spotting it. Is there a clean shot of it, and where?

It's not a birthmark; it's a fashion statement.

[Lorindor]

It's not a birthmark; it's a fashion statement.

Oh... I see.

Edited April 8, 2008 by Lorindor

[Zinjo]

MP4 is a high compression container. If it were an AVI file it would probably be at the 600MB mark, since that container it "lossless".

For standard DVDs you will need to down convert it to 720x480 for it to properly play on a standard dvd. However coming from an HD source the video quality will be outstanding compared to a source from a standard resolution DVD. The other alternative is to burn it to a PS3 Bluray compliant format and then burn to a DVD (whether it will fit on a DVD 5 or DVD 9 is another question).

VSO's ConvertXtoDVD does a pretty good job of creating DVDs with H264 codec sources, not sure if it handles the audio files, but I suspect it should be fine.

[Duke Togo]

Oh wow, how about that, they are hearts.

[Vinnie]

Just saw the subbed version of Ep1 and I'm impressed. I didn't watch the deculture edition a million and three times, so I didn't have as much of a bias about how the first episode should be. That said, I'll have to agree with some of the earlier comments that the deculture edition had a much more epic feel to it. However, the impression of massive scale in storytelling that the deculture edition present had the unfortunate side-effect of marginalizing the characters. I remember most comments about that edition being about how bland and one-dimensional most of them were. Now I think they may actually be likeable.

I guess the bottom line is that the deculture edition will truly be a "for fans only" whilst the broadcast version will be much more suited to the casual anime viewer. I'll view it as a SDF:M vs DYRL and a Macross Plus OVA vs Movie: "The truth lies somewhere in the middle."

EDIT: Opening Animation and song was great. It's no Evangelion - Cruel Angel's Thesis (which probably ranks as one of the best and even most parodied TV openings ever) but a winner.

Credits Animation and Song...somewhere below Macross Zero but above fingernails on a chalkboard. I tolerate it only so I can see what's on next week. I mean, I know Y.Kanno has it in her to do a closer. Come on, where's After In the Dark or Real Folk Blues?

Edited April 8, 2008 by Vinnie

[azrael]

For you kids that don't like torrents, there's a MegaUpload present in the first post.

I can tolerate the opening a bit more, but I'm still meh on the ending theme. And I still prefer the characterization in the broadcast version.

[mikeszekely]

Yeah, most standalone DVD/DIVX player don't read MP4/H264 files/codec. That's why I usualy stick with DIVX/XVID Avi or sometime reecondes the videos.

-Sergorn

That's actually one of the prime reasons I built a Home Theater PC. Too many fansubbers out their using the mkv file container. I don't think it's an HD thing; DivX supports HD video. Rather, I think fansubbers like that an mkv container can hold a subtitle file. AFAIK, DivX supports subtitle streams, but as a separate file.

Regardless of the container format, is there a consensus on who does the best subbing for Macross Frontier? I noticed that AIA seems to be the only group with the broadcast version of episode 1 out, and I noticed that Seiyan fairly sucks. I guess a lot of people here are just anxious to see MF, and are grabbing the first available, but in the long run do most people here like AIA or Shinsen? Are there any other groups out there that are tackling Frontier?

Edited April 8, 2008 by mikeszekely

[azrael]

Regardless of the container format, is there a consensus on who does the best subbing for Macross Frontier? I noticed that AIA seems to be the only group with the broadcast version of episode 1 out, and I noticed that Seiyan fairly sucks. I guess a lot of people here are just anxious to see MF, and are grabbing the first available, but in the long run do most people here like AIA or Shinsen? Are there any other groups out there that are tackling Frontier?

Word on the street is, most groups, if any, will start with episode 2, so no comment on who's better as of yet.

[MisaForever]

I have to say that after watching both the Shinsen and AiA subs of the Deculture edition, the Shinsen subs were much better IMO. There were quite a few spelling errors with names and mistranslations in the AiA version including naming Alto "Altoh". I also preferred the Shinsen fonts better, but that's just me. I digress back to the topic at hand now.

[Duke Togo]

Ugh, another disappointing sub release. It would have taken them 10 seconds to google the Lyrics to Don't Be Late, I mean, come on, they're on the gabrielarobin.com for christsakes! They use the same poor translation of the song they used in the Deculture edition. And the rest of the work isn't that hot, either. I'm nowhere near fluent in Japanese, hell, I barely am in English, but come on. Just sloppy work.

[Tobi54]

Word on the street is, most groups, if any, will start with episode 2, so no comment on who's better as of yet.

If true, that's certainly good to hear, I was worried we were going to be stuck waiting for a few days every week, being thankful to fan-subbers goes without saying, but I'm as impatient as the next guy.

[Shouta]

but there were a couple of glaring mistakes in the AiA one ("Up toward the heavens" becomoing "A round of applause please" - come on !)

So that's what it was? I couldn't figure it out myself so we put something random in. Not like it's a major issue because it isn't a very key dialogue. It wasn't anything distinguishable in Japanese OR English as far as I can tell.

Ugh, another disappointing sub release. It would have taken them 10 seconds to google the Lyrics to Don't Be Late, I mean, come on, they're on the gabrielarobin.com for christsakes! They use the same poor translation of the song they used in the Deculture edition. And the rest of the work isn't that hot, either. I'm nowhere near fluent in Japanese, hell, I barely am in English, but come on. Just sloppy work.

The only parts I didn't get in the actual song is the awful English. The Japanese I actually got. If you're nowhere near fluent in Japanese, I wouldn't comment about sloppy work, in general.

It should be noted that the lyrics on that site aren't necessarily official. They seem to be transcribed from Japanese fans as far as I can tell The Triangler Lyrics I grabbed off that site were incorrect in a number of areas, at least to my ear. So it's a rather useless point to complain about until the actual discs are released and the official lyrics pop up.

Edited April 8, 2008 by Shouta

[Zinjo]

The OP is just great. Really cool animation (I mean, Battle 25 rocks!) and the music is growing on me after a few listening. I think the lyrics of Triangular can be very suiting for the show.

The whole song is pretty amazing. The video is on youtube Japan.

Though, I actually do have the dilemma not knowing which version I should show my boyfriend when I'll be introducing him to the show. More in-depth character scenes that could be important as the show goes on or spectacular action scenes coordinated to music? It IS a tough choice.

It's a no brainer. Show the Deculture edition as Episode 1A and "First Contact" as Ep 1B. I suspect if there wasn't a need to allow time for commercials, all the scenes would have been combined into one episode.

I am hoping BW & BV release the first episode on DVD completely edited together, because both give keen insights into the characters. DEC centered more on Alto and Lanca, while FC centered more on Sheryl. Combined they give a complete first impression of the 3 main characters.

EDIT: Opening Animation and song was great. It's no Evangelion - Cruel Angel's Thesis (which probably ranks as one of the best and even most parodied TV openings ever) but a winner.

Tru dat!

"Triangle" is becoming a close second for me though...

[veffidas]

"Triangler" and "Don't Be Late" have both been transcribed at gabrielarobin.com :

Don't be Late: http://gabrielarobin.com/165/macross-f-web...-be-late-lyrics

Triangler: http://gabrielarobin.com/186/what-bout-my-...riangler-lyrics (with improvements in the comments)

However, a more serious flaw that I find with the recent AiA I-Z release, is that it doesn't seem to be properly encoded/contained.

Using a Mac, Quicktime with Perian can't open it, and MPlayer has issues seeking and representing the the full length in the time bar. I don't use VLC on either Windows or Mac OS X, and my view is that a file should work on all media players. On the other hand, the Deculture edition from AiA I-Z plays fine. It's somewhat amazing the I took that screenshot using the boradcast sub.

[Duke Togo]

Also, the release refers to Michel as both Mikhail and Michelle, and that's going to confuse a whole heck of alot of people.