Live data from Hacker News

Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

backlothelp.netflix.com

11–20 of 247 posts

Re: Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

#12
post #3

This likely gives them confidence that if they were to remaster for a different color-space or higher resolution, that they could. For a 4K original shot in 8K, Netflix could send it back through the production process for a more reasonable cost and be able to launch the title quickly. I'm surprised they don't ask for VFX sources to be archived though. ST:TNG and Babylon 5 both suffered badly from loss of the origina…

>I'm surprised they don't ask for VFX sources to be archived though. ST:TNG and Babylon 5 both suffered badly from loss of the original VFX. What do you mean by this? Is it common practice to "remix" a show when it's rebroadcast? I just assumed they more or less press play on a .mp4.

Both ST:TNG and B5 took their original source material and brought it down to SD and added the visual effects in at that level. So, we still had higher resolution original source material, but it had no effects in it. And these shows have a LOT of effects. When it came time to release ST:TNG on Blu-Ray, they had to recreate the effects and apply them back to the original material, which was a large and costly undertaking. Since it didn't make enough money, they have no plans to do this things like ST:DS9, unfortunately.

Re: Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

#13
post #3

This likely gives them confidence that if they were to remaster for a different color-space or higher resolution, that they could. For a 4K original shot in 8K, Netflix could send it back through the production process for a more reasonable cost and be able to launch the title quickly. I'm surprised they don't ask for VFX sources to be archived though. ST:TNG and Babylon 5 both suffered badly from loss of the origina…

>I'm surprised they don't ask for VFX sources to be archived though. ST:TNG and Babylon 5 both suffered badly from loss of the original VFX. What do you mean by this? Is it common practice to "remix" a show when it's rebroadcast? I just assumed they more or less press play on a .mp4.

I think it's not about re-broadcasting, but about providing the show in a better format. The originals were shot on 35mm film, and then that was "mixed down" with the visual effects to some lower-definition format (maybe SVHS, but I'm just guessing) and the result sent to TV stations to broadcast.

To make a high-definition format (e.g., blu-ray or HD streaming) they'd go back to the original 35mm masters and re-convert them. But then all of the visual effects had to be re-added on top.

There are various articles that mention quality issues with the remastering:

http://trekcore.com/blog/2015/08/netflix-brings-vfx-fixes-to...

http://trekcore.com/blog/2012/11/review-star-trek-the-next-g...

Re: Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

#14
post #3

This likely gives them confidence that if they were to remaster for a different color-space or higher resolution, that they could. For a 4K original shot in 8K, Netflix could send it back through the production process for a more reasonable cost and be able to launch the title quickly. I'm surprised they don't ask for VFX sources to be archived though. ST:TNG and Babylon 5 both suffered badly from loss of the origina…

>I'm surprised they don't ask for VFX sources to be archived though. ST:TNG and Babylon 5 both suffered badly from loss of the original VFX. What do you mean by this? Is it common practice to "remix" a show when it's rebroadcast? I just assumed they more or less press play on a .mp4.

I'm not sure about Babylon 5, but I believe TNG was shot on film, but the effects were all done at broadcast resolution due to cost. This meant that when they released the DVD version, it was not difficult to create HD versions of all the "real" footage, but the effects were all in standard definition, so they looked awful. For the Blu-ray remaster, I believe they redid all the effects with modern CG, so they no longer look like crap.

Re: Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

#15
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

60 FPS is undesirable for most movies/shows, as opposed to 24 FPS which creates a certain feel that most people prefer.

I think that's why he said "in the future", when people might eventually realize that 60FPS is good.

All 3 hobbit movies where released in the high frame rate format (albeit 48 frames not 60) and the general complaint was that they felt "soap opera"ry due to the way people felt about them. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarcher/2014/12/16/hate-the-... Is a decent commentary on the issue

Re: Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

#16
post #11

Wow, this is pretty scanty. For comparison, the BBC's technical requirements: http://dpp-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/specs/...

These two specifications are for different use-case. Netflix's is about having consistent quality of ordered works and preserving the ability to do lossless-ish conversions, while BBC's is technical specification of what can be broadcast without excessive additional conversion steps.

Re: Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

#17
post #7
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

60 FPS is undesirable for most movies/shows, as opposed to 24 FPS which creates a certain feel that most people prefer.

Most people prefer it because they're used to it, and that's what they feel is "movie like"

Is 24FPS the video equivalent of vinyl's so-called "warm" sound?

Re: Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

#18
post #16
post #11

Wow, this is pretty scanty. For comparison, the BBC's technical requirements: http://dpp-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/specs/...

These two specifications are for different use-case. Netflix's is about having consistent quality of ordered works and preserving the ability to do lossless-ish conversions, while BBC's is technical specification of what can be broadcast without excessive additional conversion steps.

True - the equivalent Netflix spec is this one;

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9DJydDVOVKKLVdCdlF2cFVDVEE...

...again, a bit less detailed.

Re: Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's why he said "in the future", when people might eventually realize that 60FPS is good.

All 3 hobbit movies where released in the high frame rate format (albeit 48 frames not 60) and the general complaint was that they felt "soap opera"ry due to the way people felt about them. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarcher/2014/12/16/hate-the-... Is a decent commentary on the issue

My complaint about the 48fps (after going in hyped to see this Spiffy New Format) was that everyone looked like they were speed-walking all the time, which was really distracting. It was like a sped-up silent film. Nothing else I've seen in higher framerates has had that problem, though—just The Hobbit.
Post reply on HN