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Hi,
A few dummy questions regarding HD. Please humour!
Would normal DVD's look better with a normal DVD player connected to a HD ready TV? Or would you require a HD DVD player? Or are normal DVDs SD only?
If I get a HD channel i.e. via SKY and I'm connected to a normal SD TV would I see a complete SD picture or would I see a portion of the HD picture in SD?
Thanks
nwgarratt
06-04-2006, 14:20
Hi,
A few dummy questions regarding HD. Please humour!
Would normal DVD's look better with a normal DVD player connected to a HD ready TV? Or would you require a HD DVD player? Or are normal DVDs SD only?
If I get a HD channel i.e. via SKY and I'm connected to a normal SD TV would I see a complete SD picture or would I see a portion of the HD picture in SD?
Thanks
From my limited knowledge.
Normal DVD's are only SD (standard definition). You cannot make the DVD's into true HD. A DVD player with upscaling can "fake HD" but it isn't the same and can actually look rubbish compared to proper HD.
If you connected HDTV into a SDTV. I woulde expect the TV to downscale to the TV's resolution (720 x 576 or 704 x 576 usually).
pjclark1
06-04-2006, 16:06
Would normal DVD's look better with a normal DVD player connected to a HD ready TV
A "HD Ready" TV is not the same as a "HD TV"
nwgarratt
06-04-2006, 16:18
A "HD Ready" TV is not the same as a "HD TV"
Surely it is? A HD Ready TV means it can accept and display HD signals such as from HD DVD, Blu Ray and HDTV properly and not downscale them.
1)Would normal DVD's look better with a normal DVD player connected to a HD ready TV?
2)Or would you require a HD DVD player? Or are normal DVDs SD only?
3)If I get a HD channel i.e. via SKY and I'm connected to a normal SD TV would I see a complete SD picture or would I see a portion of the HD picture in SD?
1) Look better than what? Better than connected to a SDTV? Probably not. A DVD needs to be scaled up to HD resolutions which the tv should do but upscaling DVD players might do better. I suspect that most upscaling is probably equivilent to watching a DVD on a SD TV
2) DVD's are SD only. If they weren't we wouldn't need a new format
3)You would see a complete picture. It would be SD since you can't see HD pictures on a SD TV
Hope that helps
Perfect. thanks for the clarification
One last question...
Can content thats available in SD be made available in HD or would it have have to be origionally recorded in HD i.e. are most source (films) captured in a HD resolution?
Thanks guys...
nwgarratt
06-04-2006, 22:57
A film source can easily be made in HD as film has more resolution than HD.
Stuff that have a master made from videotape willl likely make no or little improvement when turned into HD. Star Trek TNG and DS9 is an example of that as even though it was originally on film. It was transferred to video for the visual effects editing. However, the original series of Star Trek was edited on film so it should look even better in HD.
Yep like nwgarratt says if something was recorded in HD (not much) or on something better than HD (like 35mm film) then it will be available in HD. Most films and american TV shows are made with 35mm film and have been since the 50's and before. British TV shows are almost exclusively recorded on SD video tape although they're slowly moving towards HD tape now.
I've heard the "video tape" master arguement before but it doesn't really make sense when you think about it. A new master can be made as long as the 35mm footage exists. Some people argue that SFX is created for SD which could be a problem but there are several solutions. Worst case scenario is that it needs some work doing before release.
A lot of people seem to think that HD video actually looks better on a HD display than 35mm film. Live events like sport tend to look better than films.
One thing that springs to mind is how much degredation there is between film and VHS. We've put up with a huge drop in quality for a long time without realising it.
xraystan
07-04-2006, 07:52
Surely it is? A HD Ready TV means it can accept and display HD signals such as from HD DVD, Blu Ray and HDTV properly and not downscale them.
Don't worry about it nwgarratt, it's just a tech snob attention, seeking post. Some people think that the current range of HD sets aren't true HD as they think it needs to have a 1080p vertical resolution to be HD.
but Sky HD (and other HD tv channels - which is what most people will spend most time watching) won't be transmitted in 1080p? So why do we need 1080p television sets for a good few years?
Or have I been misinformed?
nwgarratt
07-04-2006, 13:53
I heard it will be 720. There should be some HD DVD or Blu Ray DVD's capable of 1080p.
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa117.html#grid
Some people think that the current range of HD sets aren't true HD as they think it needs to have a 1080p vertical resolution to be HD.
I think the poster meant that a HD ready tv must have a HDCP connection while a HDTV doesn't neccessarily have to have one. HD ready is a specific definition while HDTV is a bit more vague.
Sky will transmit 720p and 1080i (as do US broadcasters)
Blu-ray discs will be 1080p24 unless the source material is lower than that (mainly sports and SD video)
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