The cinematographer defended his work. One of the Rifftrax/MST3k guys
responded.

https://twitter.com/billcorbett/status/1123353896406192128?s=21


On Wed, May 1, 2019 at 11:07 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have read about the compression issues. Two things about that: 1) I
> watched on my TV, streaming HBOGO via my FireTV. Not sure if that is better
> or worse than other options. 2) while I don’t expect producers to make tv
> optimized for streaming on an IPhone, I do think they should deliver a
> product that can be enjoyed by a standard user. If a significant percentage
> of viewers could not see what they are supposed to be seeing, that is a
> production fail, and it is unseemly for the cinematographer to blame
> unsophisticated viewers.
>
> I know there were portions of the middle part that were supposed to be
> confusing and hard to see; but the impact of that is lost when so much of
> what we are supposed to see is equally confusing and opaque.
>
> On Wed, May 1, 2019 at 9:54 AM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, May 1, 2019 at 12:20 PM Adam Bowie <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> I suspect that there are a number of issues here.
>>>
>>> One is compression and re-compression. HBO distributes the show to its
>>> partners globally, and probably in a fairly high definition version. But
>>> the local carrier than re-compresses that for delivery to homes. Different
>>> carriers do very different things. I think it can be particularly bad if
>>> you're watching a streamed version of a video - and especially if it's
>>> live. The compression algorithms are just set to work "averagely" and that
>>> can lead to bad compression.
>>>
>>> I watched a recorded-as-live version from Sky in the UK in HD and there
>>> was lots of blockiness in the dark scenes. Sky's picture is decent, but
>>> they compress too much. I remember seeing the same years ago watching Das
>>> Boot on DVD with submarines floating around in murky waters. Compression
>>> just does a really bad job unless someone spends a lot of time doing it
>>> well. When the BluRays of GOT come out (I've been buying them all), the
>>> picture will undoubtedly look better.
>>>
>>> I think that as well as for artistic reasons, they chose darkness to
>>> cover up CGI issues. Since this was such a CGI-heavy episode that in full
>>> brightness I suspect that it wouldn't look as good. But add darkness and a
>>> snowstorm, and you hide a lot of the joins.
>>>
>>> But this was definitely a dark episode. I watched in a darkened room
>>> with the curtains drawn and didn't have too many problems. I could see what
>>> was  happening when I was supposed to. I think some sections, they were
>>> trying to convey confusion in the heat of war. I have a circa 2012 Samsung
>>> TV - so nothing too high end. I definitely wouldn't want to watch on a
>>> shiny laptop screen or an iPad. But yes, this would look awesome on an OLED
>>> screen. But those screens are four figures.
>>>
>>> The sound, by the way, is exceptional. If you have a separates system,
>>> it really makes a difference. I invested in a Denon Atmos enabled receiver
>>> a few months ago, and I can feel the room shake!
>>>
>>
>> I read a comment on Monday from someone who thought the battle as shown
>> on HBO was too dark due to compression and switched to watching a streamed
>> version from HBO Go cast to his TV. He said the picture was much better and
>> he had no trouble following what was happening.
>>
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Kevin M. (RPCV)

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