HDTV

[mysts]

DVD's recorded in high definition are beginning to show up in rental stores now and I was wondering if hdtv will become a subject covered here.

[erayboul]

I was not aware that the existing DVD format could support a high-definition (such as 720p) video track. Unless the disk says ATSC (the North American standards committee for high-definition TV) on the back cover.or uses a disk such as the Blu-Ray disk, which I don't believe is out yet, I would be skeptical. Some movie titles (Panic Room comes to mind) are Superbit titles. Superbit is just some companies' trademark for a disk that gets rid of a lot of the extra features to leave more room for the video data. On the packaging it might say High Definition, but only as a marketing ploy.

Of course, maybe it is a HDTV disk. I haven't seen any though.

[GabeB]

I've recently noticed some DVD's that have 'Mastered in HD' posted on the back. I believe it just means that the picture quality is higher but still not true high definition.

[djmattyb]

Ok, in terms of resolution:

DVD 720 x 480
HDTV 1,920 x 1,080

A huge difference! So a DVD can not be HD! Maybe the compression of each 720 x 480 frame is not as much, but the resolution can't be higher... so in fact they are lying. I am tired of the marketing people getting away with labeling every TV 'Hi-Def' when it doesn't even have 1,920 x 1,080 resolution.

[Baldrick]

http://www.audioholics.com/ces/ces2004/CES_2004_day3.html

[Ste]

I think the DVD's that list something about HDTV mean that the film was shot in HD (with an HD camera), rescaled, and then transfered over to DVD digitally.

From what I remember, Lucas filmed Attack of the Clones in 1080p and when the DVD of the movie was about to come out, the TV commercials said something like: "...the first one in the series created from a high definition digital transfer..." This isn't an exact quote, but that's how I think it went.

[djmattyb]

Baldrick - great story. It talks about how they are going to make DVD's that can hold more data. It doesn't say what kind of resolution they will support. I suppose we will have to buy new HiDef DVD players that will support the HD resolution. As far as Attack Of The Clones, I seem to remember some cheesey line such as "the first perfect clone".

[mysts]

Since I'm the one that started this thread I would like to refer you to a website which indicates that there is a lot of interest in HDTV.
Go to: http://www.midwinter.com/~bcooley

[CubDukat]

I think the DVD's that list something about HDTV mean that the film was shot in HD (with an HD camera), rescaled, and then transfered over to DVD digitally.

Actually, what that means is that instead of using D1 (?) tapes to master the film, the film is instead transferred to video in HD, allowing for a much more detailed master.

The key word there, however, is "film." The majority of feature films nowadays are originated in 35mm, and, God willing, that will continue to be the case. Admittedly, "AOTC" was a stunning example of how good the technology can be at its best, film still blows HDTV out of the water. Film is capable of far more resolution than HDTV can handle--at least right now.

"AOTC" was the first live-action (if it could be called that) film done as an all-digital production. The honor for first all-digital transfer period was taken by one of the Pixar films (Toy Story, I believe it was).

[GabeB]

I agree with you that film kicks HDTV's ass. I would compare the difference to the following:

Records (LP) to CDs
Film Cameras to Digital Cameras
35mm film (movies) to HDTV/DVD

Records have a certain warmth and quality that CD's don't. I have yet to see a digital camera that is as high in quality as a good film camera is. Well, and 35mm film (movies) also have warmth and resolution that hasn't been duplicated by HDTV or DVDs. In my opinion the direction that this technology seems to be moving is portability over quality. Maybe once digital compression technology further improves the differences will be unrecognizable.

[holistic]

Some light reading ....
http://www.atsc.org/standards.html

][

[mysts]

holistic,

Thanks for the reading reference. Some great stuff there. Wish I could afford to join.