I am having a hard time deciding what "regular" DVD's to sell in my collection to make way for HD versions. What about pre 1980 things like Godfather and Ben Hur.

What about cartoons like Southpark and Simpsons. Will all these be done in hd soon or ever?

Who, and how to they decide what can be redone in hd or blu ray?

The elves somewhere deep within the studio walls decide.

Seriously, don't sell until you hear about it coming out. And even then you should wait until you see some reviews.

Godfather is rumored for next year. Ben Hur seemed likely before now since it's WB, but so has a lot of their classic library. Good news is they strongly support classic film on high def.

Re-buying Simpsons and Southpark on HD seems to expensive for me. I wouldn't even look for those for years but day and date for newer seasons should be the norm - yeah wishful thinking I know. The Simpsons movie is coming to Blu Ray.

Classics look so bloody amazing in HD

Wonder if African Queen will make it to HD, skipping right past SD? Either way highly anticipating it's release.

Will anyone honestly be able to tell any difference in South Park between SD and HD versions (when the latter even exists)? There really seems to be no extra detail to pull out of its very basic form of animation.

I think somebody at the studio just gives a thumbs up or down when a title comes up for review.

For example, for The African Queen:

I have to agree, I'm not sure what major difference I'm going to see with this on HD. Other animation titles can benefit, but it depends on the detail, and South Park, as we know, is not know for its elaborate artwork. Well, at least not in the normal sense.

I gave my DVD copy of Collateral to my brother. I was really hoping that Paramount/Dreamworks deal would yield Collateral as one of its first releases.

I'm on the verge of giving on high def media for now if the studios won't release more (hell, any, in the case of some studios) classic and [good] catalog titles. It's terrible to look at the release listings and see almost nothing I'm interested in month after month. Universal seems to be doing the most random selections and practically nothing pre-'80s. Paramount has missed multiple opportunities recently with new DVD editions of Titanic, Chinatown and Braveheart that should've been available alongside HD-DVD versions (espeically since HD masters are already made for all three, I believe).

Warner does phenominal work on the small number they put out, but none have apparently sold worth a damn aside from some of the Kubricks and presumably the forthcoming Blade Runner. I expect they'll continue to throw us a bone once in a while, but when no one buys, there certainly isn't a lot of incentive for them to bother.

You do realize that HD versions of South Park are already available right? Comparison pics can be seen at this thread:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread....21#post7719521

Personally, I think the recent "Imaginationland" trilogy would look incredible in HD, since they packed those eps with an abundant bounty of characters.

It seems like Warner has backed off on the catalog releases. That's Entertainment and Twister are the only future releases that spring to mind (plus T3 on BD).

you're forgetting that WB's just announced 'Bonnie and Clyde' and the Dirty Harry flicks are supposed to come out next year.

I'm hoping MGM (Fox, Sony, WB however the studio deal is), will be more ballsey and release alot of popular catalog titles... um say like the James Bond films. Seeing what they're playing on their HiDef channel has me salivating.

I know that Criterion is holding out for a HiDef winner, but it's a shame since I'd love to see a feature of theirs in HiDef since they master them as such.

And to answer the OPs question, it's the FSM that decides.

I think it's fair to say that Warner is the ONLY studio doing anything pre-80's. Paramount still hasn't released The African Queen on DVD.