Historical film arts on HD-DVD/BR...How good will it be really?
07-15-05, 03:29 PM
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Historical film arts on HD-DVD/BR...How good will it be really?
First, allow me to apologise as I'm sure this has been discussed before but I am a working Mom of 3 (ages 2-5) and don't have the time to search through a few thousand threads for this discussion. For anyone out there who really knows the answer, please tell me....
Newer material (recent films & TV shows) aside, just how can the picture and sound quality and clarity be better than it is now? Many of us will want to upgrade our discs on a lot of our presently owned product when the new format launches, especially for example if it means we can replace a huge mega-set of THE AVENGERS television series with a couple of HD discs, or if it can give us much more in the way of bonus material. But will the picture and sound be any better than it is now? I don't understand how it could be considering the age of the source material and also the technology used to originally film classic movies and television.
Please explain what I'm missing.
???
Newer material (recent films & TV shows) aside, just how can the picture and sound quality and clarity be better than it is now? Many of us will want to upgrade our discs on a lot of our presently owned product when the new format launches, especially for example if it means we can replace a huge mega-set of THE AVENGERS television series with a couple of HD discs, or if it can give us much more in the way of bonus material. But will the picture and sound be any better than it is now? I don't understand how it could be considering the age of the source material and also the technology used to originally film classic movies and television.
Please explain what I'm missing.
???
07-15-05, 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Kimiakane
I don't understand how it could be considering the age of the source material and also the technology used to originally film classic movies and television.
07-15-05, 04:35 PM
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The short answer to your question is that the resolution of the film that was used for older movies/TV shows is still greater than HDTV's resolution. So, even older material can take full advantage of the resolution/clarity benefits that HD offers.
NTSC video -- what you are currently watching on your DVDs -- is pretty limited in what it can offer. There's tons of room for improvement, and it isn't limited to new programming.
NTSC video -- what you are currently watching on your DVDs -- is pretty limited in what it can offer. There's tons of room for improvement, and it isn't limited to new programming.
07-15-05, 04:55 PM
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People act as if decent cameras and lenses were just recently invented. Not true.
And while film stocks have changed over the years --- sometimes for the better, sometimes not --- 35 mm film has always had far more resolution than standard-definition video.
Let's not even get started on all the films shot on a larger format film, such as "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Ben-Hur."
So, yes, get over this notion that 480p NTSC DVD is the best thing since sliced bread. It represents the best you can get from a 50+year-old television format, but HD-DVD and Blue-Ray will blow it off the screen.
And while film stocks have changed over the years --- sometimes for the better, sometimes not --- 35 mm film has always had far more resolution than standard-definition video.
Let's not even get started on all the films shot on a larger format film, such as "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Ben-Hur."
So, yes, get over this notion that 480p NTSC DVD is the best thing since sliced bread. It represents the best you can get from a 50+year-old television format, but HD-DVD and Blue-Ray will blow it off the screen.
