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Author
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Topic: Death Knell of HD-DVD?
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Alan Paterson
Film Handler
Posts: 70
From: Hants, UK
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted January 07, 2008 03:36 PM
Chaps,
I have the good fortune to own Blu-ray and HD-DVD players as well as a 1080p HD projector. I use a 7 foot screen and I love the picture quality. I'm being given the chance to see movies like 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' in HD and it looks superb - the three strip Technicolor leaps off the screen. It's like watching a very good 35mm print.
'The Searchers' as you know was shot originally in Vistavision and the HD disc makes the most of this. '2001- A Space Oddysey' looks fantastic.
Now, I already own around 500 standard definition DVDs, which can be projected using the same equipment. The player and/or projector upscales the DVD to achieve close to HD quality.
While it looks good, there's still absolutely no doubt that a HD or Bluray disc is of better quality.
You may find it hard to spot the difference on a 42 inch plasma screen, but on a 7 foot projection screen (just like you'd use for film)it's hard not to notice it.
The best HD-DVD I've seen in terms of quality is Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' and the best Blu-ray would probably be 'Casino Royale'. So as with any format, if you have a good 'print' it makes all the difference.
We'd all like just one format, but I can't help feeling sorry for the HD-DVD camp. Their format was fully developed, while Blu-ray is still ironing out it's bugs.
I could have said that I'd hang on to see which format wins, but then I'd have lost out on the pleasure of seeing wonderful quality versions of films that I love.
Whenever I've bought a 16mm print recently, I've been disappointed in the colour/condition/sound. With HD, I'm looking at pristine new transfers which delight me.
So, if you haven't seen it yet, I'd say go along for a demo of Blu-ray with an HD projector. Trust your own eyes and no-one else's.
Alan
--------------------
If God had meant us to run, we'd have been born with spikes in our feet.
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Graham Ritchie
Film God
Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted January 08, 2008 01:51 PM
Was looking at a Sharp Blu-ray player not a bad price considering I payed a lot more for our first VHS back in the 80s even the early DVD players cost more, no doubt the price will come down further, what did catch my eye was the Panasonic PT-AX200E video projector that was running, looked good and at reasonable price, but just below this projector, and this is where I started drooling was a heavily reduced and new PT-AE1000E ![[Eek!]](eek.gif) well I was ![[Smile]](smile.gif) , the salesman was , but my wife wasen't so that was the end of that, ![[Frown]](frown.gif) however I can see the move to include Blu-ray in the future, oh! the salesman also told me he had the later model I think its the PTAE2000E out the back, very impressive specs on this one and not a bad price either ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
There are a few Warner DVDs of old films that are good value what stands out here is that they include a newsreel, a short, and a cartoon of the time, and are on the front of the feature clever stuff from Warner home video, some of the titles are,
Angels With Dirty Faces 1938
The Petrified Forest 1936
Little Caesar 1930
Graham.
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