Star Wars Holiday Special Gormaanda Hybrid V2 Release Info

Star Wars Holiday Special Gormaanda Hybrid V2

Once again, I would first like to thank G-force, Tasjo and Zion for their amazing work that made this release possible.

The goal of Gormaanda V1 was to simply take the two most popular Holiday Special releases and combine them into one package. However, I always felt that the finished product had the side effect of feeling a little disjointed and unprofessional as a result. That being the case, I decided that the goal of Gormaanda V2 would be all about bringing the various materials in line with each other to further achieve a store-bought look and feel. The resulting changes are based on extended testing of V1, as well as feedback and suggestions from numerous sources.

Changes from V1

(1) The existing Rifftrax sync has been remixed to emulate a more professional MST3K mix, without sacrificing the dynamic range found in modern Rifftrax commentaries
(2) VHS tape hiss reduced with maximum care taken to not introduce a metallic sound or eliminate any natural high frequency noise
(3) All DVD audio attuned to the industry standard of -10dB with a CBR of 384 to achieve a cohesive quality and volume level between the various sources
(4) Opening Zion text scroll now fades out completely before beginning the special
(5) After initial main menu startup animation, all navigational jumps to the main menu go directly to the menu loop point for faster navigation (Like Zion's original hybrid)
(6) Added the ability to use the 'title' or 'top menu' button for jumping to the main menu loop point in either menu
(7) Added an appropriate John Williams musical loop over the Falcon sound effects in the Falcon play options menu
(8) Various cosmetic changes to the Falcon play options menu to more realistically simulate the Falcon cockpit display

Legacy features from V1

(1) Tasjo's WHIO V2 source (Used in all presentations)
• Video bitrate - 8000 CBR
• Audio bitrate - 384 CBR
(2) Optional WMAR commercials (Sourced from WHIO V2)
(3) Spanish audio track (Sourced from WHIO V2)
(4) Newly edited Rifftrax (Accurate to the original LakE VIDEOGoogle Video presentation within a few possible 100ths of a second)
(5) Zion's animated hybrid menus (Gormaanda additions are accessible from the new Falcon tactical display menu when 'Play' is selected)
(6) Improved branching (Rewind & skip backward from any point of any presentation)
(7) Chaptered Commercials (Skip to or away from any commercial)
(8) Isolated WHIO V2 Star Wars toy commercial
(9) Original WHIO V2 & Zion presentations as easter eggs
(10) G-force's remastered animated segment (The 480p Blu-ray bonus feature given new life)
• Video bitrate - Somewhere between 6000-8000
• Audio bitrate - 384 CBR
• Stabilization
• Anti-aliasing
• Sharpening
• Levels
• Some DVNR'd frames fixed
• Unbordered

Some DVD players may exhibit a slight pause when scenes branch. Anyone who is familiar with branching DVDs, like the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set, knows that this can be a minor inconvenience on certain players. However, I have minimized this issue here in three ways. First, I made sure that no two branch point locations are very far away from each other to minimize read time. Secondly, I made sure that all branch points occur when the audio and video have faded out completely, to reduce awareness. Lastly, I prioritized the Rifftrax presentation to play without branching at all. This was necessary above all other presentations, as the dialog track almost always continues between fadeouts and would have otherwise been too disruptive. All-in-all, this shouldn't be too big of a problem, no matter what player you have.

In closing, I'll leave you with an optional recipe, worthy of the chef herself. And as always, don't forget to whip, beat and stir.