Starz HD question
 

I just switched over through my cable provider to receive more HD channels, one of them being StarzHD and I noted in their monthly schedule that some of the films are being shown in what they call True HiDef (1080i) while some are not... like 'The DaVinci Code' 'Dawn of the Dead (2004)' 'The Legend of Zorro, et al, what's up with that? I would have thought newer movies like these would be 1080i at least?

Beats me. Starz HD is showing a lot more movies in high-def than they used to, but they still have fewer than any of the other HD movie channels. What I don't get is the lack of consistency -- movies from the same studio and from the same approximate time period will sometimes be in HD and sometimes in SD.

From their site (it ain't pretty):

What is the difference between Up-converts and True HD?
A "true" HD movie is one that is mastered in HD in 16x9 wide-screen format and contains a picture in 1080i or 720p resolution. An up-converted movie is a standard definition 480i resolution movie that has been up-converted to an HD signal. It may or may not be a wide-screen version.

Why are some movies up-converted?
Some movies are not available to Starz in true HD format. Where possible, Starz obtains and transmits the HD version. If it is not available, a wide-screen SD (standard definition) or 4x3 SD version is up-converted to an HD signal for broadcast.

that's what surprised me about 'Dawn of the Dead' (2004) how could Universal not provide a 1080 source when there has to be one for the upcoming HD-DVD edition?

their catalog of titles seems comparable to HDNetMovies - which I like, lots of repeats so if I miss it or my DVR is full, I can tape it/watch it at a later date.

that seems to be the trend for HBO-HD, I thought 'Last of the Mohicans' a few months back would have been a new transfer - nope, it was letterboxed but not shown in HD - what a disappointment. On the whole I think HBO is the worst in terms of catalog and new titles as well as cropping a majority of the 2.35 films to 1.78:1.

HDNet Movies is a lot heavier on classics, though, which is neat. I'd rather watch Charade or All the President's Men than the schlock on HBO and Cinemax.

that's very true, I seem to toggle between the two, Starz for the new stuff, HDNet Movies for the classics. I wish though a station existed that could show more foreign films, showcasing some of the stuff Criterion has been mastering/transferring film to HiDef, back to standard DVD

I don't get HDNet but I get INHD (now Mojo). They show a lot of movies, some even from the 50s and 60s. Universal's HD channel is pretty good too.

how has the Mojo films looked, Any films stand out as looking stellar? I loved how saturated and vibrant the colours looked on HDNet Movie's airings of Bye Bye Birdie and West Side Story.

Starz will update a movie to HD in a later showing, sometimes in the same month.