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NEWS: Crunchyroll Launches 1080p High-Definition Streams


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Hotaru99



Joined: 12 Jun 2007
Posts: 40
PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:24 pm Reply with quote
I just started my free trial on a Roku Box yesterday, and I plan on keeping it so far. Definately much better than paying 400 bucks to see Fate/Zero in HD.
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isoge



Joined: 27 Nov 2010
Posts: 64
PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:30 pm Reply with quote
won't this just mean that they are upscaling it from 720p?
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Kougeru



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 5521
PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:34 pm Reply with quote
isoge wrote:
won't this just mean that they are upscaling it from 720p?
they are upscales, you are right. pointless IMO. the bitrates are also pretty bad from what I saw on my buddy's trial account
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LordRobin



Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Posts: 354
Location: Akron, OH
PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:36 pm Reply with quote
I just wish they'd update their iOS app to allow pushing the video to an Apple TV. My understanding is that this is pretty simple in iOS 5, but there hasn't been an update to the app since last July.

------RM
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whoisfriend



Joined: 06 Oct 2006
Posts: 369
PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:52 pm Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
isoge wrote:
won't this just mean that they are upscaling it from 720p?
they are upscales, you are right. pointless IMO. the bitrates are also pretty bad from what I saw on my buddy's trial account


They've said that they aren't upscales. Just because Japanese TV broadcasts in 720p doesn't mean a 1080p source isn't available.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:02 am Reply with quote
That Daiz character did a breakdown on which shows it benefits slightly and which it makes laughably horrendous. Nisemonogatari's is comparable to the transport stream, but CR's starved bitrate and lack of filters don't really benefit it much in the end. Ano Natsu's was a travesty.

No TV anime is actually made in 1080p (540p to 800p in reality), BDs don't suffer from upscaling because of the much higher bitrates afforded compared to what TV stations and CR will air.
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agila61



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
Posts: 3213
Location: NE Ohio
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:12 am Reply with quote
isoge wrote:
won't this just mean that they are upscaling it from 720p?

Crunchyroll is not doing any upscaling for their 1080p streams ~ remember that they get most of their material on HDCAM which is 1080i or 1080p format in any event. Unlike pirates, Crunchyroll does not have to source their material from digital TV broadcast, so they are not limited to Japanese digital TV broadcast or narrowcast standards

... (and speaking of Japanese digital TV broadcast and narrowcast standard, I'd heard that cable, at least, maxes out at 1080i, but does terrestrial broadcast max out of 720p, or is it that the broadcasters just don't bother with 1080i for anime?) ...

Bleach is reported to be frame animated at 540p with backgrounds and post-processing at 1080p. Something similar is likely to be the case for many seasonal simulcasts, though some seasons simulcasts are reported to be produced in 1080p. Neither is surprising, given the growing importance of BD for the Japanese anime market ~ over half of the physical media market now.

walw6pK4Alo wrote:
That Daiz character did a breakdown on which shows it benefits slightly and which it makes laughably horrendous. ... Ano Natsu's was a travesty. ...

Crunchyroll got the occasional bad transfer from Japan before ~ it would be silly to set what is obviously a bad transfer from Japan down to the 1080p stream.
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BigOnAnime
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Posts: 1219
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:29 am Reply with quote
Hotaru99 wrote:
I just started my free trial on a Roku Box yesterday, and I plan on keeping it so far. Definately much better than paying 400 bucks to see Fate/Zero in HD.
You do realize most of the people who want that Fate/Zero Blu-ray box (Like me) want to own it physically on Blu-ray, get those extras, and premium packaging, not just to see it in HD right?

If I wanted to just watch it in HD, I could stick with the 720P streams Aniplex USA is offering people still on Crunchyroll if I had the Anime Membership (I want one, I just don't have a Paypal, debit card, or credit card currently, and I know my dad wouldn't use his stuff for something like the Anime Membership on CR. Online shopping he'll use it (Even though the money comes out of what I worked for.), not CR.).

Anyway, glad to see this finally happen. Maybe more might go with CR instead of torrents, but you'll still have the "Why pay $5 a month for HD, no commercials, and an hour after the Japanese airing when I can download fansubs for free a few days later?" mentality.
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RyanSaotome



Joined: 29 Mar 2011
Posts: 4210
Location: Towson, Maryland
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:47 am Reply with quote
ShanaFan852 wrote:
Anyway, glad to see this finally happen. Maybe more might go with CR instead of torrents, but you'll still have the "Why pay $5 a month for HD, no commercials, and an hour after the Japanese airing when I can download fansubs for free a few days later?" mentality.


They already got 1080p rips out, so I don't see how it changes anything. It just gives pirates slightly better quality subs to download.
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agila61



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
Posts: 3213
Location: NE Ohio
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:56 am Reply with quote
ShanaFan852 wrote:
... If I wanted to just watch it in HD, I could stick with the 720P streams Aniplex USA is offering people still on Crunchyroll if I had the Anime Membership (I want one, I just don't have a Paypal, debit card, or credit card currently, and I know my dad wouldn't use his stuff for something like the Anime Membership on CR. Online shopping he'll use it (Even though the money comes out of what I worked for.), not CR.). ...

You could get a $20 Rixty card at 7/11 or fill an online Rixty account with a $20 deposit at a Coinstar machine and use it to get an anime membership. The rixty promotion for a free customized Crunchyroll card is over, but they still take Rixty.
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superdry



Joined: 07 Jan 2012
Posts: 1309
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:44 am Reply with quote
walw6pK4Alo wrote:
That Daiz character did a breakdown on which shows it benefits slightly and which it makes laughably horrendous. Nisemonogatari's is comparable to the transport stream, but CR's starved bitrate and lack of filters don't really benefit it much in the end. Ano Natsu's was a travesty.


It's an apples to orange comparison though. If CRs 1080p streams are overall comparable to transport streams...then great! That means overseas viewers get roughly the same quality as a Japanese fan watching it on TV via broadcast.
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LUNI_TUNZ



Joined: 28 Apr 2010
Posts: 809
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:17 am Reply with quote
Here's the comparison images they used.

720


1080


put side-by-side like that, I can't say I see what the big fuss is in the fight over 720 and 1080.[/img]
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:52 am Reply with quote
As mentioned already, they don't do any upscales. That's why not all shows are 1080p. Fate/Zero is but Majikoi isn't for example. They've also increased the bitrate 2x.

@LUNI_TUNZ
first, the pics you post here severely downscaled, which is pointless for comparision.
Second, some shows benefit more than others and some scenes benefit more than others within the same show. The differences will be in stuff like detailed backgrounds, textures, CG, small text and character outlines. Even Nisemonogatari benefits from sharper edges and less noise.
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Actar



Joined: 21 Nov 2010
Posts: 1074
Location: Singapore
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:10 am Reply with quote
ShanaFan852 wrote:
Anyway, glad to see this finally happen. Maybe more might go with CR instead of torrents, but you'll still have the "Why pay $5 a month for HD, no commercials, and an hour after the Japanese airing when I can download fansubs for free a few days later?" mentality.


You're forgetting the and not available in my territory.
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Sacto0562



Joined: 12 Jun 2010
Posts: 288
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:10 am Reply with quote
Here's the problem: nobody I know of broadcasts over the air in 1080p, even in over-air terrestrial broadcasting. I believe in the USA (using ATSC) and Japan (using ISDB-T) the maximum resolution is 1080 interlaced (1080i), and I believe many Japanese broadcasters use 720p as their HD broadcast resolution standard.

As such, it's way overkill to offer 1080p. Also, unless you have cable Internet that can do at least 12 megabits/second sustained download speed or Verzion FIOS, the bandwidth requirements for 1080p is too much for most broadband users here in the USA.
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