Lately me and PDB talked about the "pink tint" problem (provisional name, until someone would bring up a better one!); so, without further ado, let's talk about
THE "PINK TINT" PROBLEM
What is it?
It was noted that some releases, often from 1990s and 2000s, present a pink blanket that was not obviously present in the theatrical version.
Why does it happen?
It is still not clear if it was a problem arised during the telecine tranfer, a byproduct of color regrading process, due maybe to get natural skin tones always, even when it's not the case, or something else... who knows? Do you know it? Please post a comment!
Which titles are affected?
At the present, it seems any title could be affected.
How can I find if a title is affected?
Sometimes is so clear you have not to look for, you will be able to say that a given title has the pink tint problem few minutes after you start to watch it... but it's not always the case; as our brain is a great tool, we adapt what we watch to "balance" the wrong colors, and we interpret them as right... that's why, often, you have watched a pink tint prolematic title without knowing it (me included!).
The most easy way to find it out is a direct comparison between different editions; in this case, usually it's quite easy to find it out. But it's always possible to desume it even without a direct comparison; just look for some clues:
How can I get rid of it?
You can always get another edition - if it exists, or make a color correction to remove or reduce it; probably there is also a good method to fix it "on the fly" using your display/player saturation/tint/brightness/contrast/gamma/color levels settings.
Can you list some titles?
The following is a short list just to get an idea of what a pink tint problem could appear; few notable titles could be added in the future, if someone would like to note them in the comments.
Star Wars trilogy GOUT DVD/HDTV
Star Wars trilogy 2004 DVD/HDTV (less severe than GOUT)
Star Wars trilogy preque DVD/HDTV(low)
Star Wars trilogy 1997 G'Kar and TB DVB (higher in Mos Eisley)
Alien 3 DVD/BD box sets (low)
Alien Resurrection DVD/BD box sets (mild)
Event Horizon BD/DVD SE (mild)
waiting for your feedbacks!
THE "PINK TINT" PROBLEM
What is it?
It was noted that some releases, often from 1990s and 2000s, present a pink blanket that was not obviously present in the theatrical version.
Why does it happen?
It is still not clear if it was a problem arised during the telecine tranfer, a byproduct of color regrading process, due maybe to get natural skin tones always, even when it's not the case, or something else... who knows? Do you know it? Please post a comment!
Which titles are affected?
At the present, it seems any title could be affected.
How can I find if a title is affected?
Sometimes is so clear you have not to look for, you will be able to say that a given title has the pink tint problem few minutes after you start to watch it... but it's not always the case; as our brain is a great tool, we adapt what we watch to "balance" the wrong colors, and we interpret them as right... that's why, often, you have watched a pink tint prolematic title without knowing it (me included!).
The most easy way to find it out is a direct comparison between different editions; in this case, usually it's quite easy to find it out. But it's always possible to desume it even without a direct comparison; just look for some clues:
- bright lights: flashes, explosions, fire, flames, spaceship engines; if not directly pink, you can spot it in the halos
- bright objects: white walls, that's the best choice... but also water, that, instead of blue, cyan, green, it could have a magenta, violet color; sky as well, could be violet instead blue
- too natural skin tones: even when they should not have natural color (the one you can get in a bright sunny day), in the pink tint titles often they have it... or, at least, they seems more natural than what it should be... a face under a blue light should have a colder tone, why a face in front of a torch should have a warmer one; instead, in a pink tinted title often they look natural under both circumstances
How can I get rid of it?
You can always get another edition - if it exists, or make a color correction to remove or reduce it; probably there is also a good method to fix it "on the fly" using your display/player saturation/tint/brightness/contrast/gamma/color levels settings.
Can you list some titles?
The following is a short list just to get an idea of what a pink tint problem could appear; few notable titles could be added in the future, if someone would like to note them in the comments.
Star Wars trilogy GOUT DVD/HDTV
Star Wars trilogy 2004 DVD/HDTV (less severe than GOUT)
Star Wars trilogy preque DVD/HDTV(low)
Star Wars trilogy 1997 G'Kar and TB DVB (higher in Mos Eisley)
Alien 3 DVD/BD box sets (low)
Alien Resurrection DVD/BD box sets (mild)
Event Horizon BD/DVD SE (mild)
waiting for your feedbacks!
Sadly my projects are lost due to an HDD crash...
Fundamental Collection | Vimeo channel | My blog
Fundamental Collection | Vimeo channel | My blog