Author Topic: [FF7PC-98/Steam] New High Quality FMV Project (2013-05-10)  (Read 47088 times)

cmh175

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All future updates moved to this thread. ~Covarr



This fmv mod now supports the 7thheaven mod manager. The fmv pack contains all 102 regular videos I did, and has the various ending videos you can configure. You can now easily and quickly swap from the original resolution ending videos to the full screen versions, and use either option for ending3, or use the HD ending3 video I made. Advantages to this pack other than being able to swap videos is you no longer need to keep a back up of the mod. Instead of copying all 105 videos into your game file and keeping a backup encase you need to re-install the game or rerun bootleg, you just drop this .iro into your 7thheaven mod library. I even erased all the videos in my games movies file since I don't need them now. The links below are for the .iro file, I divided it up into smaller downloads so it's faster. Should only be about a ten minute download depending on your connection speed. Just unzip .001 and pull out the .iro. The original download links for the avi videos are still available below.





https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7cHp4MXdqSVNYaEk/edit
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7VWZIZGNaenRLM2M/edit
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7blFLdlJFcjRJRFU/edit
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7RlBSU3VjUThEU28/edit
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7RmJ4RmU5MVc5aG8/edit


If there are any custom videos you want to use just add an extra folder to your 7thheaven library, and inside add a "movies" file. Just place any particular video you'd rather use inside. When you activate the file in 7thheaven put it at the top of the list of mods, that way every extra mod you're adding has top priority.

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The cmh175 Remastered FMV project uses the videos Square Enix enhanced themselves for the 2012 release, and the audio from the psx videos. The original videos have a higher resolution than the 1997 videos, resulting in much more detail. Download the files below and add them to your movie folder. You should make a copy of your new movie folder though as rerunning Bootleg will wipe these videos out unless you set your fmv option to no change. The Ending videos have been converted to full screen to remove the black edges. Ending3 was done as well but it's always been the lowest quality video. I recommend the HD Ending3 video I made, I'll include the link below. I also made links available for remastered ending videos that are original size for those who want them.


Remasterd FMVs
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7UndkTnQwdjlZbWc/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7d0I5VjJWdnNHLVk/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7Zk41TEp5QW9XOFE/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7NWhjTE56WVU1Zlk/edit?usp=sharing


Original Size Ending videos
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1ZlTwoAa_q7M3daVTNSNjRPdE0/edit?usp=sharing


HD Ending3 video
http://www.mediafire.com/watch/gm0g5hwqu9pahsc/ending3.avi


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I was looking around at the available movie options and who's done what so far. From what I can tell it looks like the best option is DLPBs FMV restoration project. Which turned out pretty great but as a direct quote it was like polishing a turd. I just finished my first Bootleg play through, and was impressed by a lot of what's been done, but somethings need fixing. Particularly videos where the whole bottom half of the screen is black. The ending video with meteor was really distracting, and it's about eight minutes long.

I'm going to use the videos from the rerelease as source material. They have better video quality than the pc or psx versions. I agree that during their restoration the audio took a hit and is total crap now so I'm going to remove it and use the audio from the psx. I plan on enhancing the audio and really bringing out the bass so they have more punch. The color was effected too so I'm going to restore it as much as possible. I haven't seen all of them to compare but I think I can fix these to make them better than what's currently available. I've done some testing already and it looks promising. I was planning this for myself and would release it for those who are interested but with the sheer size of this project I thought I'd see what input others have while it's in progress.
« Last Edit: 2014-07-19 18:18:34 by Covarr »

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #1 on: 2013-05-11 18:26:50 »
Soon for an update already but the project's moving pretty quickly. Doesn't require too much work to resize the videos resolution. Restoring the color hasn't been too difficult, most of them weren't too effected. The original audio has been horrible though, even on videos like the Golden Saucer monorail. The psx audio has been working great though and through enhancements sounds even better than before. After working on them last night and this afternoon there's about 30 completed videos that are ready. At the current pace I could finish this a lot quicker than expected depending on unforeseen complications, such as the ending2 video requiring two hours for optimization (meaning it'll be left for last lol). If things continue like this I'm hoping to be done and have these uploaded by Tuesday.

LeonhartGR

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #2 on: 2013-05-11 18:29:36 »
Looking forward to this! Please post some samples while progressing! Thanks!

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #3 on: 2013-05-11 19:08:26 »
Good idea. The link below is the canon.avi video. It includes my version and DLPBs, which I've been using for comparison. You can either watch them using a video player, or rename the files to eidoslogo.avi and sqlogo.avi to see them back to back when starting the game (make backups of the originals first to restore your movies file)

http://www.mediafire.com/?8oeco2uyudnhqh7

LeonhartGR

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #4 on: 2013-05-12 09:46:31 »
I like DLPB's contrast levels more... I know you can't see all details but I usually prefer higher contrast images.
« Last Edit: 2013-05-12 09:56:07 by LeonhartGR »

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #5 on: 2013-05-12 18:13:33 »
Damn you're right, I didn't even notice that. Luckily most of the videos actually aren't that dark so it's hardly noticeable. I'll adjust the Canon and Opening videos and double check the others. A higher contrast level maybe a good idea, but after working with these videos I think the others are a little too dark. A strong contrast between light and dark gives the image a better sense of depth, but too much just drowns out detail. They may also be darker to help mask the imperfections in the image, since the original videos were at a much lower resolution. I'll make some alterations, but mine wont be as dark.

Covarr

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #6 on: 2013-05-12 18:25:57 »
The rerelease's videos tend to be washed out. You could definitely add contrast without losing detail, just don't add too much.

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #7 on: 2013-05-12 19:41:57 »
Yeah I've been doing some more comparing between the two versions and do see a big difference in contrast. I tested some new settings on the Biglight video and have an idea of what needs to be changed. I was about half done with the editing before encoding the videos, so I'll have to go back to make changes. Will no longer be done by the beginning of the week since I need to darken these more, and cant put in the same amount of time during weekdays. I did manage to fix the washed out look they had, so otherwise they should be good. 

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #8 on: 2013-05-15 16:09:51 »
Just a quick update. I've gone back and have now completed about 30 videos. The color's been corrected and increased the contrast. They now look comparable to the released FMV projects, but have crisp and clear images with a lot more detail. I converted the videos to a format that's a lot easier to use and edit so the process is speeding up.

LeonhartGR

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #9 on: 2013-05-16 01:33:33 »
I'm following this thread... looking forward for any updates.

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #10 on: 2013-05-16 13:38:17 »
Ok cool, well I'm glad to say ending2 is now one of the completed videos. I had planned on doing it last since it's over eight minutes long, but the new format made it less time consuming. Originally it would take over an hour to import for editing, but with .mov it was about ten minutes. After I finish the first 50 videos I'll upload them for peer review while I work on the remaining videos. Probably later today or tomorrow.

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #11 on: 2013-05-19 02:40:09 »
Ok this update is a little late but the samples of the first half are done. A few things to note though. These are not ready for the game and will not work. I'm coding videos after all of them are done encase I need to go back to make changes. They are also currently bigger than the games resolution. I was able to convert them without causing any real distortion to the image, and they look fine after they're encoded. I already tested this on the canon video I posted before. Their format will probably only play using VLC or Quicktime. So check them out and let me know what you think while I finish the other half of videos.

Edit: Sorry guys. I actually stayed up and was editing for several hours and finished the second half of the videos. I had to pull the link for the samples to make room for the completed project. The codec is the easiest and fastest part, so look for a final download link either tomorrow (sunday) or monday.
« Last Edit: 2013-05-19 07:36:31 by cmh175 »

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #12 on: 2013-05-21 12:08:15 »
The Project was completed and posted late last night. Forgot to actually do an update. Info and links on first post.

LeonhartGR

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #13 on: 2013-05-21 12:48:36 »
Thank you! I'm downloading!

dkma841

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #14 on: 2013-05-21 16:42:31 »
Just checked 1pt of the downloads, the best fmv's out by far in picture and sound :)

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #15 on: 2013-05-21 18:34:11 »
Thanks I'm glad to hear it. If you want to checkout a few to get an idea of how they look try pt2. It has more of the real videos instead of stuff like the junon elevators. I think that's the pack that has the Golden Saucer videos with all the fireworks and stuff and they came out really well. They all look good at the default bootleg resolution but I play and tested these at 1920x1080 on my tv and unchecked "preserve aspect ratio" and they look awesome full screen on a screen that big.

dkma841

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #16 on: 2013-05-21 20:17:57 »
Think there are a few niggles dlpb has mentioned on your fmv's see if you can maybe improve on it based on his notes maybe (dlpb is like a master when it comes to fmv perfection and such lol :D):

Quote
Unfortunately his FMV are duplicating frames.  This will give a very choppy effect.  A lot of the frames are duplicated, probably by accident.  Inform him. 

In fact... hes made them 25 fps instead of 15.... thats a HUGE mistake.

he has encoded at 1280*960, which will disrort the image.  It should be 1280*896 for all FMV except the credits explosion and ending FMVs.

ok lets just round this up in 1 post

1.  he has reencoded the 2012 versions, which means that they are not as good as the 2012 upscales.
2.  He has reencoded to a rogue resolution.
3.  he has reencoded to the wrong framerate.
4. He has got the contrast wrong.

These videos are useless.  Thats a shame

2012 versions are pretty good though!
To dlpb: it seems i can't send/reply your messages only receive
« Last Edit: 2013-05-21 20:25:06 by e1sunz »

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #17 on: 2013-05-21 21:01:11 »
Well if you pick anything apart there's always something wrong with it. I can do a test video at 15 fps for comparison. I set the resolution to 1280x960 because it's worked before and looked fine. Again my pc is connected to a tv instead of a monitor so maybe that changes things, but the videos fit and play fine and don't show any signs of stretching or anything. Unless you're looking for absolute perfection I think the color and contrast levels look good. I even compared them to his and another while doing each video. Either way that's a subjective call, I started this project so I had videos I personally liked. I shared them encase anyone else does too, and no one else had edited the 2012's yet.

You named off quite a bit but to square it all up: try 15 fps at 1280x896. That's really not much to come back all the way from useless. I kept the pre-encoded videos I edited just encase. It took around 15 to 20 seconds to encode each video so if a new batch are needed I'll get those up by tomorrow and just call this a beta release. Look for v1.01.

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #18 on: 2013-05-21 23:47:56 »
Ok so I checked it out and I have to say, I have to disagree with just about everything. 15 fps may have worked for you but for me it skips noticeably. 25 seems to work the best and looks fine in the game. If it's "choppy" it's nearly unnoticeable. 1280x896 looks practically the same as 1280x960. I'm redoing them anyway encase it makes a difference for gamers using computer monitors but for me there's no difference. I'm also reducing the black edges on the ending videos. They're the main reason I wanted to do this in the first place, and if it distorts the image it's not enough for the naked eye to notice. For those interested in an upgraded 2012 release with better audio the new uploads will be ready later tonight or tomorrow morning.

LeonhartGR

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #19 on: 2013-05-21 23:51:25 »
Put some more sharpness if possible...

Rundas

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #20 on: 2013-05-21 23:57:27 »
Yes, sharpness would be good, they seem a little . . . blotchy(?). Overall good work though.

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #21 on: 2013-05-22 00:01:18 »
That's pretty much the only thing I see that's off, and has been fixed as much as possible. The 2012's have a clear image that's not as pixelated and looks better on larger screens but it's smooth where the restored originals look a little sharper. When I corrected for that sharpness the pixels that they do have start becoming clearer. In the end it's basically a trade off, more detail or sharper image.

Rundas

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #22 on: 2013-05-22 00:02:28 »
Either way I will be using them.

cmh175

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #23 on: 2013-05-22 00:50:49 »
Thanks glad to hear it. About half way done with the new codec now. Takes longer to package them for uploading than anything else lol. Finishing the ending videos now. I removed the black edges and they look pretty good. Ending3 was the hardest though, it was the smallest to begin with. It came out pretty well, but it always seemed like it was weaker in quality compared to some of the others. Unless you prefer the classic videos I recommend the HD video I made.

LeonhartGR

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Re: New High Quality FMV Project
« Reply #24 on: 2013-05-22 01:03:41 »
I prefer your modification actually!