Restoring a RCA 21CT55

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by Pete Deksnis

Just now catching up with his thread. It's been years now since I heard an explanation for the 2-second 'fuzz' scene in Oz. It seemed plausible then, and I have always accepted this -- albeit now sketchy -- explanation. It simply was 2-seconds that had been recovered from a crappy old 16-mm print found somewhere in Europe . Again, details may suffer, so if this sparks a recollection, please update.

Pete

I just tried looking at the DVD in still frame mode. Unfortunately, the data rate must be somewhat low in order to get the special features on the disc. This means that the grain doesn't show very well, and comes and goes in blocks of artifacts. So, I looked at the Blu-ray version. The Blu-Ray shows the grain in all its glory, and it doesn't seem to change character on her face in that shot. (By the way, I am surprised at how much grain is in the highlights, as I thought most photographic processes are grainiest in the mid-tones.) Also, when she holds her head still momentarily, there seems to be full resolution in her features including the catchlights in her eyes. Her costume is a bit darker than in the surrounding scenes, but I think that's due to the oblique lighting also (the whole movie looks darker on the Blu-Ray than on the DVD on my setup).

So, to my eyes, it still looks like a process shot with very oblique lighting to prevent shining on the rear projection screen.