I just realized why the better series tend to have crappy-quality-video fansubs while the shitty series tend to have sharp fansubs.
Not all of them, but some at least. Most notably Clannad and ef for the more recent ones.
It kinda piss me off to see that the Animes with good artwork get blurry video, yet those with sharp lines tend to have a lack of details and color gradients between those simple lines.
This statement from an undisclosed source (to protect the privacy of the source) pretty much sums it up and gave me a clue as to what is happening:
"Clannad has this (censored) approach where first, an ugly 4:3 release is aired, and then several weeks after that, an ugly 16:9 release.
I'm afraid there won't ever be real 1280x720 releases, simply because the sources are too crappy. Unless a total miracle happens, the 16:9 release coming out in 2-3 weeks will be 1024x576, and that's already pushing it. The source itself - even from digital Transport Stream - is riddled with ugly dotcrawl and rainbowing. So, if you'd go any "crisper" in the video, you'd have colorful grey lines and wobbling checkerboard patterns (check scenes with blue sky in the background)."
Not just Clannad has this 4:3-release-first approach, I know of a few other series with this strategy. Because I watched them of course.
It's not about SD vs HDTV, for as mentioned, the 1024x576 is already pushing it for the source, even from digital Transport Stream. And I agree with that, for I've seen the first season in 1024x576 and know it isn't 1024x576. And I've seen super-sharp SD encodes. DVD is the best for SD video, but a good broadcast comes close to that.
Bottom line is, if a DVD rip can beat the quality of the "HD" broadcast, the broadcast is not of HD quality. Not even good SD quality in fact.
I'm not saying that all HD broadcasts do not beat DVD quality; it should've been the other way round. A few series have a special or OVA chapter on the final DVD that is not aired, and comparing the quality of that with the HD broadcast, the HD broadcast will look sharper thanks to the higher resolution. Some fansub groups did mention this as the reason they don't produce DVD-subs for certain series.
So what the heck is going on?
If this is an isolated case, then maybe we can conclude that the production studio is just unlucky to have its masterpiece broadcasted in horrible quality.
But it happened for both seasons of Clannad and ef.
And on more than one channel. Even on HD ones.
One possible reason is that they did it on intention. But why would they want to do that?
Because this is a conspiracy to get people to buy the DVDs and/or BDs when they come out. Apart from getting the censored and special stuff, and I'm not talking about ecchi things you sick mind.
I did mention the broadcast raws are not even of DVD quality?
So if you want to watch and keep the Anime in its full glory, you need to buy the disc.
And for some hardcore series, some hardcore followers will do that.
Face it, producers - state-owned, affliated with broadcasting stations and private don't get a lot of money from TV, judging from their time slots, and using logic that TV is a non-rivalrous good (i.e. one person watching does not reduce the quantity that others can watch), especially for free-to-air television which is a public good. Even if you don't understanding the meaning, it means they are not going to get any extra money whether you watch it or not, and whether you watched it in Japan or over the internet. They just needed something to fill the slots. And if they cared about viewership of the general population (since hardcores don't care the time slots) they would air them on more humane hours.
If it is possible to get more people to buy the DVD to increase the profit, why not?
And you notice that unlike O***, the people over at Japan don't care too much so as long as it isn't used for illegal profiteering, and some even released English translations, for free. Free English translation, for use in a country that cannot speak English well? (this is despite the compulsary education) Heck it, for use in a country that speaks the language in Anime (and various alternative worlds so it seems)? Yea right.
This is just a conspiracy.
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