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Macs Behind The Star Wars DVD Magic

Macs Behind The Star Wars DVD Magic

by , 9:00 AM EDT, September 8th, 2004

When you shell out $70 later this month to purchase the new DVD box set of the original three Star Wars episodes, you can thank Lowry Digital and its 600 Power Mac G5s for the clean images you are watching on screen.

John D. Lowry and his staff of 80 employees spend their days poring over original master copies of films, many of which have sat in vaults for countless years but have nonetheless collected dirt, dust, and scratches over the years. The result can be on-screen artifacts, washed out colors, and other elements that detract from an ideal viewing experience.

Lowry, who in 1972 was hired by NASA to clean up the broadcast feeds from the Apollo 16 and 17 missions to the moon, has become the leader in the field of movie restoration in recent years. His company's credentials include the Indiana Jones trilogy, which made him the obvious choice for LucasFilm when it began work to release Star Wars to DVD.

Using proprietary software and a computer network packing 379 terabytes of storage, Lowry begins by analyzing the film and noting its problems, then sets parameters for the restoration software, which identifies flaws and applies fixes to frames based on neighboring film frames. Lowry and his team then pore over each modified frame one by one to ensure the corrections are of the highest quality.

Those of you seeking to learn more about Lowry can turn to Tuesday's USA Today story or a feature Apple published last year. At that time, the company employed 100 Power Mac G5 and 300 Power Mac G4 systems with 100 terabytes of storage.

The Mac Observer Spin:

It shouldn't come as much surprise that Macs are the muscle behind such high-end video work. Now if only movie studios would begin adding a "Made with Mac" icon to the back of the DVD cases...

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:Guest
Subject: Editor!

"...for the clean images your..."

You mean "you're."

"...credentials include the Indian Jones trilogy..."

Not familiar with that one. Ever seen "Indiana Jones?" It's quite good.

I know it's early, but come on, guys. don't make me link to Bob the Angry Flower.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: cool!

hehe spelling poopoo

Close Name:Dave -   TMO Staff Posts: 227 Joined: 11 Jun 2001
Subject: Re: Editor!

Quote
Anonymous wrote:
I know it's early, but come on, guys. don't make me link to Bob the Angry Flower.


Thanks, Guest! We appreciate the note and have patched it up for ya!

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Re: Editor!

Might as well add to the thread - "pouring" should be "poring".

Close Name:AFCdtLoeb Posts: 2533 Joined: 20 Jul 2004
Subject:

Oh get off of it.... I'm just amazed by the 379 terabytes of storage

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Good Catch, by Jove!

I hang my head in shame. I'm not the Grammar Nazi I thought I was. I shall from now on be a 'Grammer" Nazi. I love Frasier.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Pour Vs. Pore

Hi guys--
You mean "poring," as in "gazing intently," not "pouring" as in filling up another pitcher of beer before filing a web story.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: LOTR

Presume you've all seen the Apple / Shake logo in the LOTR credits? (Two Towers onwards atleast_

Close Name:randompro42 Posts: 236 Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Subject:

reword the article bryan

this is unfortunatly NOT THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY, but rather the special edition versions of the movie

for more information on this, you can visit www.originaltrilogy.com for more information, and the some 61000 people who think that the original versions of star wars, the empire strikes back and return on the jedi should be sold on dvd

once agian, this is the special edition version, not the original trilogy

sorry for the harsh tone, but i felt it necessary

now, if only lucas would make the original theatrical cuts available on DVD

Close Name:Guest
Subject:

its Lucas's film its up to him how he wants to portray it, get over that original trilogy crap!

Close Name:randompro42 Posts: 236 Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Subject:

im sorry if i believe the original theatrical cuts are an excellent piece of theatrical history. i also pity the person who cannot see that to be true, even if they were deemed incomplete.

im just asking for an accurate representation from a media outlet.

while perfection should be sought at every possible instance, it was a pure mistake that led to the discovery of some of the mathematical and scientific principles that are commonly used today.

to you guest, should we then throw out all history merely because the creator changes his or her mind

TRO

Close Name:Guest
Subject:

"<i>you can thank Lowry Digital and its 600 Power Mac G5s for the clean images you are watching on screen</i>"

Yeah ... because the quality of the images has soooo much to do with the operating system they were edited or rendered on.
If they were edited on IA32, *gasp* HEAVEN FORBID a Non-Apple branded product, the images would be so horrible, completely unviewable .. they'd just never look right on any 23" Apple screen now would they ?

Close Name:Guest
Subject: remove spy ware

<a href=http://demonwolfe.net/figure/and-best-online/detection.html>spy remove</a>

Close Name:Small White Car Posts: 1960 Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Subject:

Quote
Anonymous wrote:
"<i>you can thank Lowry Digital and its 600 Power Mac G5s for the clean images you are watching on screen</i>"

Yeah ... because the quality of the images has soooo much to do with the operating system they were edited or rendered on.
If they were edited on IA32, *gasp* HEAVEN FORBID a Non-Apple branded product, the images would be so horrible, completely unviewable ...


lol...so like, when someone brings you a drink you don't say 'thank you' to them? After all, ANYONE could have brought you a drink, so why thank the one guy who did?

Come on...what's wrong with praising the equipment that got the job done? No one's saying another computer COULDN'T have done the job...do you think praising one thing is the same as critisizing everything else? geez...

* "I like crackers."

* "Dude, why do you hate cookies!??!"

Close Name:Guest
Subject: lesbians ebony

Thanks, it was very interesting

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