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Definition Transition - Are YOU HD?

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I was pretty amazed when I first saw a Blu-Ray film, and now I pretty much refuse to watch a film until I've gotten the Blu-Ray version. And it downright pains me to watch certain SD television channels, because in the UK some seem to have awful compression such as FX. Good job FX does a HD channel too that they show The Wire on or I'd be well annoyed.

Of course a critical factor here is the size of your TV — the smaller it is, the less you'll be impressed.

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As far as I can tell, plasma screens handle upscaling SD images better than LCD TVs, but still. DVDs look like they've had a watercolour filter applied to every frame. CGI in adverts can also become super obvious :)

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I have had the same experience as GDF recently, except on my TV itself. I use a 720p TV for my consoles, and at this point I'm so accusted to high-res (usually 1920x1200) gaming on my PC that when I'm playing a console game I'm now much more aware of the individual pixels, particularly when anti-aliasing is light or nonexistent.

I don't have this problem with older games. It's only with current-gen 3D ones that my brain can identify are roughly at the same level of fidelity as the current PC games I'm playing, just with fewer, larger pixels. It's the worst at press events, though, because there we're frequently playing on HDTVs standing right up close at a kiosk, where the resolution and pixel density is extremely evident.

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I have seen Blu-ray before and it definitely is a huge difference, but at least with my example of Star Wars, those movies are so old I'm not sure BR could do much with it. I'm thinking about getting a PS3 now that the slim is out and they are more affordable and if I did I would probably start to buy BR only. Not sure if that will happen anytime soon but HD movies are not as big a deal to me as gaming, which was the main reason I bought the tv.

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I have seen Blu-ray before and it definitely is a huge difference, but at least with my example of Star Wars, those movies are so old I'm not sure BR could do much with it.

I see this misconception all the time and it is completely untrue. Film is film. It's of enormously higher "resolution" than standard definition or high definition or whatever else. It's not a pixel resolution. That goes for old film as well as new film. Film stock has improved over the years, but it isn't dealing with pixel resolutions like we are with electronics.

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I see this misconception all the time and it is completely untrue. Film is film. It's of enormously higher "resolution" than standard definition or high definition or whatever else. It's not a pixel resolution. That goes for old film as well as new film. Film stock has improved over the years, but it isn't dealing with pixel resolutions like we are with electronics.
I know you're right about the actual film being capable of much higher resolutions than we are stuck with, but watching the movie I just meant visually it looked so clear that I couldn't see how it would be improved, if that makes sense. I had never watched a regular DVD on an HDTV w/ hdmi before so it was much better than I had expected. That said, I'd still buy BR releases of Star Wars in a heartbeat (if I had a BR player).

But yeah, I see what you mean.

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Haven't played the Wii on it yet, guessing I will need to pick up the component cables for it to look any good.

It's not gonna make much of a difference. 480p starts looking vaguely fuzzy when the screen is big like that (at least, on my TV it is).

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I have a 37" 1080p TV but have yet to actually see anything 1080p working on it. I imagine it's great as I have seen a channel or two at an older apartment with a different cable company that had 720p channels that really made a difference in appearance, but have not enjoyed it since. I imagine I'll get a PS3 and play blu-rays any day now. Supposedly the original Xbox, which is the only type of Xbox I have, outputs certain games in 720p (I guess through the component cables? Is that possible?) but I guess none of the games I have support that resolution.

I did get the VGA box for my Dreamcast and it sure makes the console look better than it has ever looked before, so that was a very pleasant surprise.

For now I still get really giddy watching DVDs in 480p with the screen fit to the OAR though, considering the TV I was dealing with before was this bulky Zenith from the 70s that cut off the edges off of everything (I couldn't read the text for the NES Maniac Mansion on it) and had a weird warp going on in the middle.

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720p (I guess through the component cables? Is that possible?)

Yes, component cables support HD resolutions. I run my Xbox 360 through component.

And yeah, there are a few dozen Xbox games that support 720p (and a few that support 1080i), but I don't think I owned many of them (nor did I have an HDTV until I owned an Xbox 360).

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Yes, component cables support HD resolutions. I run my Xbox 360 through component.

And yeah, there are a few dozen Xbox games that support 720p (and a few that support 1080i), but I don't think I owned many of them (nor did I have an HDTV until I owned an Xbox 360).

Soul Calibur 2 and Half Life 2 were a couple that did.

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I ended up buying a Sony blu ray player instead of PS3, because I know I'm saving a lot of money simply by not having access to PS3 exclusives and PSN games. Plus, straight BR was $100 cheaper and for some stupid reason, it just feels classier to watch Blu Ray on a regular player than through a game console.

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I ended up buying a Sony blu ray player instead of PS3, because I know I'm saving a lot of money simply by not having access to PS3 exclusives and PSN games. Plus, straight BR was $100 cheaper and for some stupid reason, it just feels classier to watch Blu Ray on a regular player than through a game console.
The PlayStation 3 is not just a game console, it's a Computer Entertainment System.

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I ended up buying a Sony blu ray player instead of PS3, because I know I'm saving a lot of money simply by not having access to PS3 exclusives and PSN games.

I'd pay €110 extra just for Wipeout HD

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it just feels classier to watch Blu Ray on a regular player than through a game console.

I felt the same way about DVD, but once I got a remote for my PS3's blu ray player, it became moot. Especially if you have it set to boot automatically if there's a disc in the drive. (I don't, but I'll do that for a week or so at a time if the girlfriend is watching a series or something s she doesn't have to mess around with it.)

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I suppose I've been HD ever since I got my 360 at launch because I've been plugging it into my monitor. I didn't but a proper "HDTV" until a year or so ago and it's only a 32" 720p deal, but I can't complain. I remember the first time I plugged the 360, though... up until that point, I was just running an Xbox original through a 20 inch fat TV... and the difference was staggering. <3 HD.

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I ended up buying a Sony blu ray player instead of PS3, because I know I'm saving a lot of money simply by not having access to PS3 exclusives and PSN games. Plus, straight BR was $100 cheaper and for some stupid reason, it just feels classier to watch Blu Ray on a regular player than through a game console.

Man, you've clearly not used the updated XMB interface! Even using it makes me feel like some kind of aristocrat.

In all seriousness though, the PS3 works really well as long as you have the Blu-Ray remote that I had no idea existed for a while. I can see how you'd look like the biggest dolt ever sat there with your girlfriend holding a gamepad to cycle through the film, so it's pretty much a must-buy for film-watching purposes.

While we're on the subject, has anyone noticed that the PS3's new integrated iPlayer doesn't seem to show the HD broadcasts, or am I missing something? If it doesn't, WTF?

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I'd pay €110 extra just for Wipeout HD

Well we're not talking pounds, Lord British. We're talking about God's-People money. It's like comparing apples to sleek, black luxury cars.

I'm totally kidding.

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In all seriousness, though, you guys are right...I mean...I'm definitely down with the PS3; I'd love to have one, but I can't afford to be tempted by all the additional games I could buy. I've gotten over missing Little Big Planet and I'm on the right side of the Fable III fence, so in my own book I'm doing ok. Plus, a hundred dollars isn't a big jump relatively speaking, but for me, it's sizable, and I have to factor in the inevitable software purchases...that extra one hundred sets me up nicely to start my blu ray collection off well.

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I see this misconception all the time and it is completely untrue. Film is film. It's of enormously higher "resolution" than standard definition or high definition or whatever else. It's not a pixel resolution. That goes for old film as well as new film. Film stock has improved over the years, but it isn't dealing with pixel resolutions like we are with electronics.

I could be wrong here (and probably am), but its my general impression that for alot of films, the release to BR is oftentimes not a back to the film release. Its actually my impression that alot of times once a studio sets a film for release, any subsequent "releases" will just use that original release-spec, rather than going back to the film masters. I understand that under a re-mastering, or a going back to the film, one would see a difference from BR as compared to the DVD version, however I've noticed that alot of BR films are just the original DVD edition, maybe scaled down with extra black space for the extra resolution or some other gimmick. Black Hawk Down is a good example of what I think this is. I do own some DVD's that are back to the film re-masterings, but its my impression that the work and money to do this is usually something that is prohibitively expensive.

Like I said, maybe I'm wrong, but I just wonder if studios are really going back to the film for these BR re-releases...

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I could be wrong here (and probably am), but its my general impression that for alot of films, the release to BR is oftentimes not a back to the film release. Its actually my impression that alot of times once a studio sets a film for release, any subsequent "releases" will just use that original release-spec, rather than going back to the film masters. I understand that under a re-mastering, or a going back to the film, one would see a difference from BR as compared to the DVD version, however I've noticed that alot of BR films are just the original DVD edition, maybe scaled down with extra black space for the extra resolution or some other gimmick. Black Hawk Down is a good example of what I think this is. I do own some DVD's that are back to the film re-masterings, but its my impression that the work and money to do this is usually something that is prohibitively expensive.

Like I said, maybe I'm wrong, but I just wonder if studios are really going back to the film for these BR re-releases...

That sucks, and is too bad. The Blu-ray releases I own (not that I own tons) definitely were not simply upsampled. But in any case, that's just an issue of a lack of proper transfer, not anything inherent to older films. The problem you describe would apply equally to more recent films not initially released in HD.

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I could be wrong here (and probably am), but its my general impression that for alot of films, the release to BR is oftentimes not a back to the film release. Its actually my impression that alot of times once a studio sets a film for release, any subsequent "releases" will just use that original release-spec, rather than going back to the film masters. I understand that under a re-mastering, or a going back to the film, one would see a difference from BR as compared to the DVD version, however I've noticed that alot of BR films are just the original DVD edition, maybe scaled down with extra black space for the extra resolution or some other gimmick. Black Hawk Down is a good example of what I think this is. I do own some DVD's that are back to the film re-masterings, but its my impression that the work and money to do this is usually something that is prohibitively expensive.

Like I said, maybe I'm wrong, but I just wonder if studios are really going back to the film for these BR re-releases...

Hmm... Black Hawk Down on blu-ray is supposed to have decent image quality

SDHD_005.jpg

(not my image - ripped from some google image search)

If you're seeing little to no difference between dvd and blu-ray, I would check your setup first. I can sort of see small indie houses using the same low-res digital master they used for DVD for blu-ray releases, but I seriously doubt that big distributors would do that.

digital remastering used to be an expensive process but it's gotten a lot cheaper, and - in case of recent films- eliminated thanks to readily available digital intermediaries (except colour adjustments for TV standards of course). In any case, if a film was already re-mastered for DVD, then chances are they already have HD version all ready to go for HD broadcasts (which has been around loooong before HD DVD or blu ray).

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Yeah... I'm going to need to apparently re-evaluate my thoughts on Blu-Ray. I think my issue with Black Hawk Down (and this would actually apply to the movie irregardless of format) is the aspect ratio does not work well for me. I think that was my main disappointment factor. Also, revising my earlier statement, upon further reading around today it sounds like alot of studios do the remastering needed to get good Blu-Ray editions released.

So my interest in Blu-Ray is a little more piqued now.

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I just decided to watch Serenity again (on HD DVD). and I forgot how good HD films looked, Damn.

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I just decided to watch Serenity again (on HD DVD). and I forgot how good HD films looked, Damn.
HD DVD ;_;

Still wish that had won.

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