There are more issues with Animal Trainer #15 than you are aware of. At some point during the course of this thread, Tricia Devereaux e-mailed me with concern over AT15. Apparently, EA used the same author on AT15 that PXP uses for their discs. She asked me if I'd take a look at AT15 for her to see if there are any halos.
There are. And they are not just in the scene that Brandon shot (although they are most common in the scene that Brandon shot as well as the first scene (which was also shot outside).
The ones in the first scene are less apparent in the first scene than in the Jewel scene. I think that's due to more camera movement in the first scene than in the Jewel scene. Brandon tends to hold the camera as a set location, so the place on the screen where the halo occurs tends to stay in the same location. When the camera is moving, the halos are harder to see.
On the Monique scene, there were only a couple of short moments when the halo appears. The first is at 27:00 into the movie (for about 5 seconds), when Monique is posing outside next white doors with glass in them. The halo is visible on the door and around Monique's leg.
The second spot was at 54:50 (also for about 5 seconds). A blue halo appears around Promise's head when she's in front of a window.
In the Jewel scene, there is one that lasts for about 20 seconds at 1:14:00. By far, that is the most apparent halo in the whole movie.
I haven’t watched the last scene yet. So I have no idea whether it has the same problems or not.
To be fair, if I weren't watching the movie looking for the halo problem, the only time that I think I would have noticed it was at the 1:14:00 point. Every other occurrence was either a very small halo or it lasted for a very short period of time.
Compared to the size and duration of halos on PXP discs, the problem on AT15 is miniscule. I wouldn’t consider the problem at this level to be a reason not to buy AT15.
Given the inclusion of the same Author into the mix and that I don’t think that Brandon shot the entire movie, I still don’t think that Brandon or the camera can be blamed for the problem. I think that the answer keeps narrowing down to what some of us have been saying for months. There is a problem with the author.
No surprises there then. Anyway, perhaps you don't have to squint till you go crazy looking for the problem. If you can watch the DVD on your PC, you just need to wait for an area with skin colour somewhere down the left side of the screen. Then you should see exactly the same symptom as in Ingenmann's post:
If the problem was limited to one studio (e.g. PXP) I'd be a happy camper, but it isn't. I've seen it in Evolution's Butt-A-Bang , Metro's Pussy Whipped #2 (but not #1) and, which annoys me most of all, Wicked's Space Nuts .
Perhaps we ought to start a thread listing the afflicted titles.
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Spew Deactivated User
Bend over for the rod and staff of Jesus! 334 Posts 7/04
Posted - Jul 30 2004 : 5:44PM
yeah Ive had probs with RLD as well.
white dicks black chicks 2 doesnt play on my DVD player on my tv...but will play on my computer
Patience is a virtue, but who wants to be virtuous? 4283 Posts 4/00
Posted - Aug 2 2004 : 2:54PM
I spoke to and received an email from the authorer today. This is his email, which he OK'd me to post...
Here is what the problem was: When looking at the masters that were reported to have halos we directly hooked up a professional monitor to the tape deck and noticed that there was some inherent problems on the master or compositing effects that otherwise would be hard to see. Later we discovered that the Pre-Processing Equipment (Digital Vision) that we use on one of our encoders took those problems and caused a chroma shift on them and that made it more noticeable. We then found out that the Pre-Processing equipment was doing this because of a conflict with a newer software version that was given to us that runs the pre-processor. We have since taken the pre-processor out of the encoding loop until we are confident that it has been fixed.
He told me on the phone that the firmware for the Pre-Processor was not compatible with their encoder, and that until they find a solution, they will not use that pre-processor. Red Light and Platinum X and Wicked have been notified of the situation.
Patience is a virtue, but who wants to be virtuous? 4283 Posts 4/00
Posted - Aug 2 2004 : 4:03PM
Oh, and one more clarification... Michael Stefano and Erik Everhard and Brandon Iron and some others were all talking with the authorer for quite some time. It took them quite awhile to find the technical source of the problem.
Thanks for all your efforts helping to get this fixed Tricia. Gives me a warm feeling (Thinking about you usually gives me a different warm feeling - but I'll save that for another thread!).
It's good to know this issue is being addressed and on its way to being remedied. It'll be great to see the hot scenes that RLD, PXP and EA continue to shoot without the halos and color issues. These 3 companies are putting out just about the best stuff right now as it is.
So, is this authorer going to go back and redo that work that they did incorrectly the first time and then cover the cost of re-replicating these titles?
I just saw the first 2 scenes of Broken English. I can honestly say that the halo effect was not so noticable in scene 1 with Monica unless you're really looking for it. And it was practically non-existent in scene 2 with Sue but the lighting was much brighter.
According to her post, there were problems in the master , and these problems were further compounded by weakness in the encoding chain. This is an important point. Every step, even in an all digital image chain compounds whatever flaws exist in the previous step.
Presumably this encoder/authorer (two difference disciplines) hasn't been having problems with other programs running through their wonky pre-processor, or they would have noticed it a long time ago. Only when their sub-optimal encoding was feed a flawed master did the effect of the encoding chain get big enough for folks to start noticing.
The lessons?
1) Until you look at your field tape/edit masters/DVD on calibrated, professional equipment, you don't know what you have. Consumer monitors are purpose built to hide/accomidate problems with image.
2) Shoot as clean as you can on the best equipment you can afford. The image is never going to look better than it does on the field tapes, every step is going to make it look worse. Codecs (whether DV, MPEG2) are designed around clean shooting; crummy shooting stresses them and that stress is passed along every step of the way. What might have looked good enough playing field tapes back off the camera through your 42" plasma monitor may very look like shit by the time it's gone through all the steps to make it a DVD.
They're noticeable periodically in the first scene. But for very brief periods of time. In the second scene, they only occur once during the scene for about 5 seconds. In the Jewel scene, they occur a few times for 20 seconds or so. I don't know about the last scene.
Based on what I saw, I wouldn't let the halos in AT15 stop me from buying it, much less renting it.
PXP needs to hire someone that knows how to get a movie from the orginal tape to the finished disc without making it look like you're watching it through a dirty window. So many good scenes and so many good movies wasted. I would have bought quite a bit of their stuff if it didn't look so bad.
I don't believe so. How many PXP, RLD and Wicked titles have had this problem without them noticing? The problem is that this company apparently isn't doing any QC at all (at least not on appropriate equipment, they're not).
This thread is almost 5 months old and the cause of the problem is just now being discovered. If it weren't for this thread (or another one like it, here or somewhere else, that would have inevitably been written), I don't think that the problem ever would have been found.
Doesn't look like it has been found! Interracial Lust 3 has apauling picuture, the halo's are prob the worst i've seen! This was suppose to be the title that had the problem fixed, thats why i purchased it! Fuck you PXP!
Patience is a virtue, but who wants to be virtuous? 4283 Posts 4/00
Posted - Aug 5 2004 : 3:27PM
The problem specifc to the halos was not their replicator, it was their authorer, and as said in my previous post here, the authorer discovered what the problem was and eliminated it a few weeks or a month ago. So the appropriate question would be: what were the first PXP titles done by the authorer AFTER the authorer disconnected the pre-processor?
Continuing theories that "it's the replication" point to a fundimental misunderstand as to how digital replication works.
When there are problems with digital replication, what you get are coasters or if the disc will play unreadable sections on a disc. You do not get halos, glowing, or other analog-like artifacts. Also, presuming a digital image chain it is nearly impossible to introduce such artifacts into the image during the process of encoding or authoring.
Low quality or flawed encoding can greatly enhance pre-existing defects on a master – defects that may have gone unobserved if the field tapes or edit masters were only ever screened on consumer equipment, or if the person watching just isn't very observant.
Sell off all the current equipment. By some new cameras (Panasonic 24fps? I think they go for about $3000), new lights, new equipment, new dvd authorer, new relicator. Change EVERYTHING, start all over again. If they don't this will go on forever, it'll never end. Go rent one of PXP's vhs tapes, they look equally as shit as the dvd's, exactly the same.
He would have to be nearly blind not to spot it on Space Nuts. The colour shifting of the sci-fi lighting makes some of the scenes damn near unwatchable. I know I'm being obsessive, but I well and truly will never forgive Wicked for releasing such utter crap. They should be glad that porn watchers are nowhere near as anal about picture quality as anime fans. If Space Nuts had been an anime there would have been a mob with torches and pitchforks outside Wicked HQ long ago.
I'm really surprised Wicked has had problems with this too. I don't watch any of their current stuff, but I did pick up all of Jenna's Wicked titles on disc and they're all top notch from what I can recall, except for maybe Wicked Weapon. Something is off with that title, blurry picture. Weren't they once considered to have some of the best dvd's (picture quality wise) on the market at one time?
I was one of the first people to say that it must be an authoring problem. Needless to say, the next day I got an hate e-mail from their authorer. The problem started and finished with the encoding process. It has nothing to do with the replication process. the image you give to the replicator from the authorer will end up on the DVD disc. But, what do I know, I only authored thousand of DVDs.
If that's true. That means that the authorer has known about this problem since early March. Based on Tricia's comment, and giving them the benefit of the doubt, let's say that they uncovered the problem a full month ago.
That's 4 months that they spent making defective discs after they knew a problem existed (apparently without saying anything about it to any of their customers). I can't imagine that this is a company that I would want to do business with if I were selling DVD's.
I did belive you Bill but i'm sure somewhere in this long ass thread, Jewel De Nile said it would be fixed on Interracial Lust 3. Turns out its one of the worst titles!
Just watched "Tease Me then Please Me" & the halo problem is still there...Wonder when this will be solved. I've Watched many other recent & older DVDs from Red Light, Ana/Dia & other companies & their picture are fine.
If the authorer identified the problem approximately a month ago, as Tricia indicated, then the problem will probably be on PXP titles for at least until mid-September or so.
Tricia identified the right question when she wrote:
That question will need to be answered either by the authorer or someone from PXP. Until that happens, everything else is speculation.
Exactly. My 3 fav companies are RLD, PXP and Evil Angel for kick ass movies. However, PXP have pissed me off with video issues and Redlight with their shit burnt in logos! Evil Angel are now the only ones left who haven't ticked me off...I doubt it will happen either because Evil Angel know exactly what they are doing! Tricia has showed she's on the ball with pretty much the whole goings on at Evil Angel, kudos to her!
Supposedly, the equipment with the problem is no longer being used. So, the the problem should disappear. However, there are still titles in the pipeline that will have the problem.
As has been stated multiple times, we just need to know what titles were the first ones produced after cause of the problem was identified. Once we know that, we will know when it will be safe to watch PXP, RLD and Wicked DVD's again (my understanding is that Evil Angel hasn't used this authorer for anything after AT15, so there should be no problem with any more of their discs).
It sure wasn't done for one of PXP newest release, "Tease Me then Please Me". Ruined one of their better casted DVDs. & got me PO'd when I bought it. I'll know better & rent first!!!
It hasn't been fixed for any of PXP's recent releases. The problem will still be with us for at least another month or so. If you're someone who is affected by the halo/chroma problem, it would be wise to avoid purchasing any PXP discs until someone else who has the problem confirms that it has been rectified.
Well, there are some people in this world who's word you take for gospel and other people where you need to confirm everything they say before believing it.
I was about to take a chance & spend some $ on "Full Anal Access 4" & "Cum Guzzler". Knowning that the problem is still there, I guess I'll wait. Both DVDs have great casts & It's damn frustrating!!! Get things going, PXP!!!
I just don't care anymore. PXP doesn't seem to care about their own product, why should we the consumers care? When I'm scanning the shelves at my local video store and I see a brand new PXP title, I don't even look at the back of the box to see who's in it. What's the point? I know it's going to look like shit no matter what the cast is, why should I waste my rental money on something that I know is going to look bad? I refuse to rent their stuff anymore, let alone buy it. I can't be like sanchez_1960 who after being burned keeps going back. Once I see that there is a consistent problem with a companies titles, I don't rent or buy from them anymore. I work too hard for my money to throw it away on shit. Just when RLD looked like it was getting their act together with quality picture, they went and started putting watermarks on their dvd's. If it's not one thing it's another. It seems to me that these companies just can't help from shooting themselves in the foot. They'll fix one problem yet create another. It's always something.
I'm Wit M.B., My last PXP dvd was Bakers Dozen...Have not ordered any other PXP titles since then; I've been keeping an eye on this Thread ; When the Halo and colour problemo is resolved/////// I will start to order PXP titles Again.. Kind of Sad 2 me :their product is {other wise }top shelve. Oh' Well''''''''''''''''''' Later,Guys
Man, I haven't watched any of their stuff since they butchered Mason's Riot Sluts. That was the last straw for me. Mess with the rest of the titles I don't care, but when they fucked up Mason's flick it pissed me off. PXP? never again.
Broken English had the same problem but not as evident as previous titles. I was hoping that the issue was fixed as stated by Jewel. Still, I'm picky about a/v quality and sold it on the trading forum. No more PXP for me.
Don't worry guys. Jewel is all over this problem. This time, she's going to fire the company that prints the box covers. The problem is just as likely to be their fault as was likely the fault of the replicator.
After that doesn't work, they'll put the discs in green cases to see if that fixes the problem.
I just rented Julian's POV All Stars, and I have good news and bad news...
The good news is that the Halo is gone!
The bad news is that I was disappointed by the movie.
I can live with a disappointing rental, but the fact that I didn't have to look at that disgusting halo effect for most of the movie was a major relief.
Let's hope the problem is fixed once and for all - especially since Throat Yogurt hits the streets soon!
That's very weird! I've been absolutely plagued by the freakin' halo in most of the latest PXP releases. The lack of the halo in (my copy, at least) POV All Stars was very noticeable.
Look in the distance on the background objects and you can still see it. For me its not the halo's which are the biggest problem, its also the damm color, it looks so washed out.
