Perfect Collection vs Platinum Collection Explanation

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Perfect Collection vs Platinum Collection Explanation

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Postby chacamacaman » Mon Dec 03, 2012 7:46 pm

I just bought all the dvd's from the perfect collection. I'm really happy I finally have a physical release of the series, but I'm kinda disappointed about the video quality. The image is really shaky. I know it's an old series but the first time i saw it online I don't remember it being so shaky. Especially when it switches scenes it shakes a lot. Anyone here who owns the dvd's and wants to tell me his/her opinion about it? Do you get used to it?
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Postby Hyper Shinchan » Mon Dec 03, 2012 8:07 pm

Nope, they didn't get used to it, they just upgraded to Platinum. Why did you buy the Perfect Collection instead of Platinum? It's also quite cheap right now from what I can see on Right Stuf.
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Postby Replicator » Mon Dec 03, 2012 8:07 pm

Isn't the Perfect Collection pre-Platinum remaster? The Platinum sets are supposed to include the video source based on the Renewal of Evangelion JP DVD, and the Director's Cut episodes.

SPOILER: Show
But weren't there also several versions of the "Platinum"-based DVDs that have different contents?

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Postby FreakyFilmFan4ever » Mon Dec 03, 2012 9:44 pm

I always kinda wanted the older releases of NGE, shaky footage and all. Not that it would be my opinion of the definitive version of NGE, I just like collecting things that look different for whatever reason.

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Postby The Eva Monkey » Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:44 pm

The Perfect collection was the first domestic DVD release. The image quality is sub-standard because the encoding technology wasn't very good at the time, and the masters were produced with wet docking as opposed to dry docking, which produced a noticeable jitter between cuts of animation. The domestic release also overtook the Japanese DVD release, so the later episodes used broadcast masters instead of home video masters. The Renewal/Platinum release corrected this. I recommend the thinkpack version, which is only 6 discs, as opposed to 7 discs like the other three versions of Platinum. It has no extras, but the episodes have a higher encoding rate, so you get a better image. The extras are just fluff, they're not that great.

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Postby AR-99 » Tue Dec 04, 2012 12:50 am

As someone who has the Perfect Collection and given what I know now about the subsequent releases I would have waited for something that also includes the directors' cut versions of the episodes, but at the time I was excited that all of the individual DVDs were being packaged together. Then got annoyed when I found out about the first followup release and the Paul Champagne box. As the PC lacks the directors cuts I got them separately (Ressurrection and Genesis Reborn). Probably the only good thing about the PC is the black cardboard box which has a reflective red finish for the Nerv logo on both sides and Eva-01's eyes on the spine. The latter provides a nice, striking effect on a shelf.
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Postby chacamacaman » Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:51 am

View Original PostHyper Shinchan wrote:Nope, they didn't get used to it, they just upgraded to Platinum. Why did you buy the Perfect Collection instead of Platinum? It's also quite cheap right now from what I can see on Right Stuf.


I bought it from a seller at a buy and sell site. I live in Belgium and we don't have EVA dvd's here, and the platinum collection from the UK is pretty rare and expensive i heard. So this would by far be the easiest way to get NGE dvd's for me. It cost 50 euros (70 dollars) for the whole collection plus the End Of Evangelion dvd. You think I made the right choice?
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Postby Hyper Shinchan » Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:07 am

View Original Postchacamacaman wrote:I bought it from a seller at a buy and sell site. I live in Belgium and we don't have EVA dvd's here, and the platinum collection from the UK is pretty rare and expensive i heard.

Do you speak French? The French Platinum is really cheap (too cheap, the Italian one still costs almost 3 times that).
It doesn't look like they have a Renewal-based edition of the movies though, I guess that only Dynit released them in the west, I can only see an expensive (as new) Mangle edition of D&R+EoE.
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Postby chacamacaman » Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:17 am

View Original PostHyper Shinchan wrote:Do you speak French? The French Platinum is really cheap (too cheap, the Italian one still costs almost 3 times that).
It doesn't look like they have a Renewal-based edition of the movies though, I guess that only Dynit released them in the west, I can only see an expensive (as new) Mangle edition of D&R+EoE.


No, I speak some French, but not good enough to understand a complex series like NGE. And the EoE dvd is region 4, so australia
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Postby Hyper Shinchan » Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:27 am

View Original Postchacamacaman wrote:No, I speak some French, but not good enough to understand a complex series like NGE. And the EoE dvd is region 4, so australia

It says Region 2 in the description and the cover is in French, what are you referring to? Also, isn't your Perfect Collection Region 1? Is there a British one too? Either way that EoE is a Mangle edition, this is already a good enough reason to avoid it.

@Staff: we seem to get several threads related to the availability of the home video releases in the US and Europe, it could be a nice idea to make a sticky thread about it in order to reduce topics' fragmentation.
Last edited by Hyper Shinchan on Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:35 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Postby chacamacaman » Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:30 am

View Original PostHyper Shinchan wrote:It says Region 2 in the description and the cover is in French, what are you referring to? Also, isn't your Perfect Collection Region 1? Is there a British one too?


The Perfect collection I have is region free actually, could be there's a Region 2 version as well. EoE definitely has a UK version as well.
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Postby Hyper Shinchan » Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:34 am

View Original Postchacamacaman wrote:The Perfect collection I have is region free actually, could be there's a Region 2 version as well. EoE definitely has a UK version as well.

This almost sounds like a bootleg to me in this case, I think that no legit retailer was distributing region free DVDs. Maybe this thread could help you to identify it, if you're interested in knowing whatever this is a legit release or not.
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Postby chacamacaman » Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:45 am

View Original PostHyper Shinchan wrote:This almost sounds like a bootleg to me in this case, I think that no legit retailer was distributing region free DVDs. Maybe this thread could help you to identify it, if you're interested in knowing whatever this is a legit release or not.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neon-Genesis-Evangelion-Collection-Episodes/dp/B000050IL8/ref=pd_sxp_redirect/278-1840307-2698032 This is a link to second dvd of the series, basically the same as the region 1 version, except for the regio it can be played in of course.
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Postby Ringworm128 » Thu Dec 13, 2012 6:44 am

On the subject of encoding, extras and picture quality, that's one of the main reasons I want a Blu Ray release of the TV series. That way there can be a release that has commentary, interviews and whatever else they can come up with while still having top notch picture quality.

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Questions about Platinum Collection

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Postby chacamacaman » Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:31 am

Hi, I have two questions about the Platinum Collection(s).

I have the Perfect Collection, but since I'm not that happy about the video quality (there's a noticeable jitter) I'm thinking about buying the Platinum Collection. However I'm not sure what the best version is: The Platinum Perfect collection or the thinpack? After searching the forum, I think the difference is the PPC has extras, and the thinpack doesn't, but has better video quality, is that right?
Also i'd like to have the R2/UK version, but this topic: http://forum.evageeks.org/thread/795/Region-2-Platinum-Issues/ says it has some video issues. Am I better off with the R1 version?
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Postby Hyper Shinchan » Tue Dec 18, 2012 8:23 pm

If those screenshots were done correctly flee from the R2 UK like the devil from holy water, those kind of conversions are the worst nightmare of any PAL user, "PAL speed-up" is a bliss in comparison, at least the video remains fluid and crisp. Generally old Manga sub-licensed releases suffered of this issue, although I also saw it in other releases like the R2 ITA FLCL release.
Recently in another thread Eva Monkey mentioned what you said about the two different R1 editions, so it's your choice but probably the thinpack is really preferable.
So let’s make a wish.
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From the book “All About Nagisa Kaworu: A Child of Evangelion”.

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Postby The Eva Monkey » Wed Dec 19, 2012 3:26 pm

I highly recommend the six disc Thinpack version.

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Postby Sailor Star Dust » Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:09 pm

View Original PostHyper Shinchan wrote:@Staff: we seem to get several threads related to the availability of the home video releases in the US and Europe, it could be a nice idea to make a sticky thread about it in order to reduce topics' fragmentation.


Thread stickied at request.
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Postby Hyper Shinchan » Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:23 pm

Thank you SSD, hopefully this sticky thread will make things easier for new users who have questions about the various releases of the series.
So let’s make a wish.
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From the book “All About Nagisa Kaworu: A Child of Evangelion”.

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Unofficial Evangelion DVD rankings

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Postby svenge » Thu Dec 20, 2012 8:54 am

Since I own quite a few domestic (i.e. American) releases of Eva TV myself, I thought it might be useful to give my unofficial ranking for them. It takes into account several factors such as quality, extras, availability, price, and shelf appeal (but not necessary in that order). Obviously everyone has their own criteria, so please don't take it as gospel.

1) Platinum singles + artbox - Out of print, going rate is between $75 and $150 on eBay
Why do I rate this number one? For me, it's the complete package. It has a couple nice (if somewhat non-essential) on-disc extras including the "AR rush video" (aka "animatic") versions of 7 full episodes and the textless version of the OP/ED videos. Also included is a beautiful cardboard outer box, silvery slipcovers for each of the 7 discs' standard-width cases, and excellent informational booklets for each volume (which are directly translated from the Japanese "Renewal" release, so thankfully no English cast/crew misinformation to be found!) There's really nothing else quite like it.

On the downside, the video bitrate is somewhat lower than the Platinum Complete "thinpak" set (but still has the greatly-improved subtitles and soft-subbed sign translations, as well as the Dolby 5.1 @ 448 kbps Japanese and English audio tracks in common with all the other Platinum releases). Also, the consensus is that the other on-disc extras (such as the episode commentaries) created by the English cast/crew are inane nonsense at best, misinformation at worst, and are best avoided. Of course that's not surprising, considering that these same people brought us the "Commentary of Doom" on the DVD for The End of Evangelion.

All that said, I feel that it is the best Evangelion release to pick up even if it is a bit pricey on the secondary market these days. If it's out of your price range, you can at least read a transcript of the booklets at The Eva Monkey's site.

2) Platinum Complete (aka the "thinpak" set) - In print and available for $40 at Rightstuf.com
If you're looking solely for the best value and/or video quality, this is the set for you. This set removes all the on-disc extras and puts the 26 TV episodes on 5 discs (plus a separate 6th disc for the DC versions of Episodes 21'-24') which have a higher average video bitrate than the Platinum singles from 2004-2005. The box does look pretty good as well, even if the spine is a bit spartan. The thinpak cases for each disc do save quite a bit of shelf space which is a plus, and the price is right. The only downsides are that it lacks the "AR rush video" episodes and clean OP/ED on-disc extras, and the booklets from the original Platinum singles aren't included either. One more thing: The Eva Monkey swears by this release, and he does know his stuff.

3) Platinum Holiday Edition (aka the "brick" set) - In print and available for $50 at Rightstuf.com
This release takes the original 7 discs from the Platinum singles and puts them in one plastic "brick" case, without any booklets included. Only preferable to the Platinum Complete set if you really want the clean OP/ED or "animatic" episodes. At least the price is reasonable, even if it's still $10 more than you'd pay for the "thinpak" set.

4) Platinum Perfect (aka the "tin" set) - Out of print, going rate is between $75 and $150 on eBay
This release takes the original 7 discs from the Platinum singles, puts them into individual thinpaks without any booklets, and places them into an easily-dentable metal tin. At this point, I seriously doubt that many have survived the years without being damaged. Even if you can find one in mint condition, the price that it commands on the secondary market is most certainly not worth it for what you get.

5) Perfect Collection (Paul Champagne Metal Box) - Out of print, going rate is between $60 and $80 on eBay
Identical to standard release of the Perfect Collection box, but with a very nice aluminized box to hold the 8 full-width DVD cases. Includes the "remastered" MOFC version of Volume 1, which removes the sign overlays and goes with hardsub translations in its place. See below (under "original singles") for details regarding the discs included.

6) Perfect Collection (standard release) - Out of print, going rate is between $35 and $50 on eBay
Includes a black cardboard box to hold the 8 full-width DVD cases as well as the "remastered" MOFC version of Volume 1, which removes the sign overlays and goes with hardsub translations in its place. See below (under "original singles") for details regarding the discs included.

7) Original singles (without box) - Out of print, going rate is between $30 and $40 on eBay
Anyone who bought the DVDs as they first came out in 1999 had this release. While the original DVD release was OK for its time, the years have not been kind to it. The video quality was poor (largely due to re-using the same masters from the 1996-1998 VHS releases), the Dolby 2.0 @ 192kbps audio (available in Japanese, English, Spanish, and French) wasn't all that great, the subtitles were relatively unrefined, the full-screen Japanese text telop screens were replaced with English text, and all on-screen signs had hardsubs translating them. That might've flown back in 1999-2000 when it was first released, but not in the modern era.

If you plan on picking up the singles for whatever reason make sure that you get the "remastered" copy of Volume 1 released in 2002; it greatly improves on the highly flawed original pressing from 1999 that had terrible video quality as well as overlays over all Japanese-language signs. The easiest way to tell the difference is that the original pressing has the "Neon Genesis Evangelion" logo on the top half of the cover, whereas the remastered pressing has it on the bottom half of the cover (much like Volumes 2-8).

NOT RANKED: Director's Cut DVDs (Volume 1: Resurrection and Volume 2: Genesis Reborn) - Out of print, going rate is between $5 and $10 each on eBay.
These discs reflect what the original 1999-2000 DVDs should have looked like if ADV had an ounce of patience or competence back then. Released in 2004 just before the Platinum discs were introduced, these 2 discs contain the Director's Cut versions of 21'-23 (Resurrection) and 24' (Genesis Reborn) and essentially replace Volumes 7-8 of the original DVD release.

The video is greatly improved and comparable to the Japanese pre-Renewal DVD releases (KIBA-1 ~ KIBA-7), but that also means the infamous "Gainax jitter" between scene transitions is still present and the audio is still only in Dolby 2.0 @ 224 kbps. That's an artifact of the original source material and wouldn't change until the release of the Japanese "Renewal" version and its US "Platinum" counterpart.

Note that what is billed by ADV as the "Director's Cut" of Episodes 25-26 on Genesis Reborn are merely the original Japanese pre-Renewal home video masters used on Gainax's KIBA-7 DVD release (as ADV used the broadcast masters for 21-26 on their DVD releases of Volumes 7-8 back in the day; Gainax hadn't completed their updated Japanese home video masters at the time that the corresponding US VHS releases were put out in mid-1998, so ADV got impatient and as such put out a release with whatever master they could get their hands on).


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