06-16-2014, 03:15 PM
Sometimes they're just upscales, and not necessarily any better than what your viewing hardware or software can do. Sometimes they've been remastered. You've just got to look for reviews to see if it's worth it -- or in some cases, actually worse, because of the filtering that's been applied. Filters may make something look better, but information is inevitably lost in the process.
If it's old enough to be cell animation, and they still have the original cells, they could theoretically record them at a higher resolution. However, anime cells tend to be lost, stolen, or sold. Japanese companies haven't historically been very good at keeping track of and holding onto production assets. There's a lot of outsourcing, and the people or companies they outsource to often keep the production assets.
I took a quick look through the Blu-Ray section of RightStuf's online catalog, and saw a number of older series and movies, and some of them specifically mention being remastered. Others are probably upscaled. I usually just Google for the title and "blu-ray review", but often the reviews on www.blu-ray.com will tell you the technical details, and whether the blu-ray release has any added value to it.
Although the Sailor Moon Blu-Rays have yet to be released, it would appear that they're expected to be remastered, and a good collector's item. That's not going to necessarily help the low-quality animation that was common in that era, however. Really depends on how much you enjoyed the original.
If it's old enough to be cell animation, and they still have the original cells, they could theoretically record them at a higher resolution. However, anime cells tend to be lost, stolen, or sold. Japanese companies haven't historically been very good at keeping track of and holding onto production assets. There's a lot of outsourcing, and the people or companies they outsource to often keep the production assets.
I took a quick look through the Blu-Ray section of RightStuf's online catalog, and saw a number of older series and movies, and some of them specifically mention being remastered. Others are probably upscaled. I usually just Google for the title and "blu-ray review", but often the reviews on www.blu-ray.com will tell you the technical details, and whether the blu-ray release has any added value to it.
Although the Sailor Moon Blu-Rays have yet to be released, it would appear that they're expected to be remastered, and a good collector's item. That's not going to necessarily help the low-quality animation that was common in that era, however. Really depends on how much you enjoyed the original.