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Final Fantasy XIII HD Full Motion Videos (English language only)
This mod aims to improve the visual quality of the Full Motion Videos (FMVs) through modern image processing techniques. The initial videos were in the 720p format, encoded using Bink 2 compression. This mod improves the original video to 1080p, however it will now be encoded in the Bink 1 format as Bink 2 requires licensing. The Bink 1 format has a lower visual quality compared to Bink 2 at identical bit rates. To offset this, the bit rate has been increased to compensate for the compression as well as the larger image size. However, the videos now require significantly more disk space. Of all the FMVs, the opening credits are probably the worse due to the poor quality of the original, but all of them are improved, and some gain significantly from the process.
File size is set to around 6 GB each due to the download speed limitation for some users (13+ minutes of video). All videos are encoded at the same bitrate other than the final ending sequence and credits. The game has a 4GB limitation for file size on the FMVs (probably due to the Bink library being used) and unfortunately the last one exceeded that limit (by over 1 GB) due to its length, so the bitrate had to be reduced.
Installation:
Unzip the mod (main program as well as the FMV files) into a directory of your choice. If you install in the same directory as the Gameplay Tweaks mod, the initial installation will be a bit quicker as it can use some of the already available files. However, this is not necessary and the mod can be installed as a stand-alone. Once unziped, run the batch file "_Install_HD_Movies_English.bat", and select the HD Movie option. Once it is complete, any available videos should now be viewable in game. If you wish to remove these videos, just run the batch file again selecting "Original". This mod does not overwrite your existing movies, it just adds to the directory and modifies the game database to point to the new videos. Beginning with version 1.0.5 of the main installer, it is no longer necessary to keep your movie\ subdirectory to reinstall the FMVs as long as you don't delete your XIII game directory. This will allow you to recover about 90 GB of disk space.
Images:
Several split images are available showing the new processed image along with the original 720p image (scaled to 1080p). This should allow a reasonable comparison of the old FMVs vs the new ones. However, in actual practice, some of this additional detail is not visible during high motion scenes at 30 frames per second.
Optional File:
Kimi ga Iru Kara - Subsitutes the Japanese "Kimi ga Iru Kara" for the English "My Hands" in the ending scene/credits. Requires both the English and Japanese language versions of the game as well as RADTools for editing Bink files (Installer provided with the mod). It's not perfect as there is not a "dedicated music track" but it's not too bad. Use the RADTools version included in the zip file as newer versions of RADTools do not have the same utility programs that the mod requires.
Note:
The game has a known bug that causes it to crash on the first cutscene in Nautilus at certain resolutions. This crash occurs independent of this mod. Should this happen to you, see the information at this link.
A few people have had issues downloading the larger files using Chrome. The download aborts early and the full file is not received. These files are then unusable. Switching to another browser (like Firefox) to download solves the problem.
These files were zipped using 7-Zip. Other applications may not work correctly when unzipping (like WinRAR).
This mod aims to improve the visual quality of the Full Motion Videos (FMVs) through modern image processing techniques. The initial videos were in the 720p format, encoded using Bink 2 compression. This mod improves the original video to 1080p, however it will now be encoded in the Bink 1 format as Bink 2 requires licensing. The Bink 1 format has a lower visual quality compared to Bink 2 at identical bit rates. To offset this, the bit rate has been increased to compensate for the compression as well as the larger image size. However, the videos now require significantly more disk space. Of all the FMVs, the opening credits are probably the worse due to the poor quality of the original, but all of them are improved, and some gain significantly from the process.
File size is set to around 6 GB each due to the download speed limitation for some users (13+ minutes of video). All videos are encoded at the same bitrate other than the final ending sequence and credits. The game has a 4GB limitation for file size on the FMVs (probably due to the Bink library being used) and unfortunately the last one exceeded that limit (by over 1 GB) due to its length, so the bitrate had to be reduced.
Installation:
Unzip the mod (main program as well as the FMV files) into a directory of your choice. If you install in the same directory as the Gameplay Tweaks mod, the initial installation will be a bit quicker as it can use some of the already available files. However, this is not necessary and the mod can be installed as a stand-alone. Once unziped, run the batch file "_Install_HD_Movies_English.bat", and select the HD Movie option. Once it is complete, any available videos should now be viewable in game. If you wish to remove these videos, just run the batch file again selecting "Original". This mod does not overwrite your existing movies, it just adds to the directory and modifies the game database to point to the new videos. Beginning with version 1.0.5 of the main installer, it is no longer necessary to keep your movie\ subdirectory to reinstall the FMVs as long as you don't delete your XIII game directory. This will allow you to recover about 90 GB of disk space.
Images:
Several split images are available showing the new processed image along with the original 720p image (scaled to 1080p). This should allow a reasonable comparison of the old FMVs vs the new ones. However, in actual practice, some of this additional detail is not visible during high motion scenes at 30 frames per second.
Optional File:
Kimi ga Iru Kara - Subsitutes the Japanese "Kimi ga Iru Kara" for the English "My Hands" in the ending scene/credits. Requires both the English and Japanese language versions of the game as well as RADTools for editing Bink files (Installer provided with the mod). It's not perfect as there is not a "dedicated music track" but it's not too bad. Use the RADTools version included in the zip file as newer versions of RADTools do not have the same utility programs that the mod requires.
Note:
The game has a known bug that causes it to crash on the first cutscene in Nautilus at certain resolutions. This crash occurs independent of this mod. Should this happen to you, see the information at this link.
A few people have had issues downloading the larger files using Chrome. The download aborts early and the full file is not received. These files are then unusable. Switching to another browser (like Firefox) to download solves the problem.
These files were zipped using 7-Zip. Other applications may not work correctly when unzipping (like WinRAR).