This article intends to evaluate the visual properties of Pocket Monsters movie 13 DVD. Content such as story, extras and other non-technical elements will not be discussed in this document. For episode specific information, the episode guide entry for this movie provides more detail on the non-technical aspects of the movie. Below are the basic stats of the reviewed retail DVD from the DVD databases entry for this movie.

DVD Information
Title 劇場版ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド・パール 幻影の覇者ゾロアーク English: Theatrical Edition Pocket Monsters Diamond and Pearl The Ruler of Illusions Zoroark Audio Track(s) Japanese Publisher Media Factory / ShoPro Catalog # ZMBS-6060 Release Date 2010-12-17 Release Lang Japanese Aspect Ratio 16:9 Region Code Video Format NTSC DVD Size DVD9 Closed Caption? Yes Rental Only? No DVD DB Entry: Click here

Interlacing

No interlace artifacts were observed throughout the movie.

Frame fill

Unfortunately not the entire usable video area is covered by the film transfer. There are black borders around at least two edges and an edge enhancement artifact is visible on the right. While this is not visible on most CRT TVs, it may frustrate PC viewers or those who prefer the to disable overscan on their flat screen televisions or projectors.


Click on images for higher resolution
DVD vs HD TV trailer. While the HD trailer has a narrow black bar on the right, it also shows that a slight cropping on the DVD would have avoided the top/bottom black bars.

Encoder Performance / Transfer Quality

Video bitrate is very high throughout the entire feature. Scene changes and high-motion scenes do not exhibit visible block artifacts. Most dark scenes have visible banding which become especially visible whenever a fade in involved. Brightness levels are balanced, none of the scenes show signs of over/underexposure.

Bitrate Distribution

Edge Enhancement

The film transfer is plagued by the ever popular edge enhancement. While this video filter is intended to enhance viewing experience, it merely tricks the viewer’s eyes into seeing an image that appears sharper while actually certain image details are lost in the process. This technology also introduces ringing artifacts around contour lines. The movie being animation makes this effect a lot more pronounced. The effect is literally present on every single scene, resulting in a rather unpleasant viewing experience, especially on a large display/screen.
A comprehensive explanation here.


The left picture is taken from the DVD and magnified so the ringing artifacts become more visible on a PC monitor. The picture on the right is taken from a HD TV trailer, downscaled to DVD resolution, then magnified again for easier viewing. This is how the DVD would look like if edge enhancement was not applied.

Red Shift / Color Accuracy

The disc also exhibits a red shift which is intended to compensate white balance for certain Japanese TV sets which have a very high white point of 9300 Kelvin (the industry standard white point for DVDs and television broadcasts is 6500 K). While this red shift will make the movie appear warmer or more cinema-like on these legacy sets, the red tone is apparent on all other modern displays, further discomforting the viewer. This also impacts how colors are reproduced upon playback: reds are overblown and white surfaces appear reddish.


Click on images for higher resolution
The picture on the left is straight from the DVD, while the picture on the right was taken from a HD TV trailer. Note the red shift is not present on the HD trailer.

Conclusion

A good transfer, ruined. This is how this DVD release could be characterized. While it seems the involved company possesses the technology to produce a decent film transfer, the disc is simply ruined by the application of edge enhancement and red shift.

Future Outlook

The recent boom of flat screen displays demands movies to be released on high definition media, such as Blu-Ray. The publisher (Shogakugan) has currently no intentions to release anything in this format, so the chance to get Pocket Monsters movies in high definition is bleak.

Equipment Used

Dune HDI Smart B1 multimedia terminal with internal Blu-Ray drive set to 24fps@1080p, with deinterlacing disabled.
Panasonic TX-P50V20E plasma display on ‘Professional 1’ setting, sharpening turned all the way down, overscan disabled.