Old movies that say they're HD DVD movies (1 Viewer)

Hi All

I have the complete HD DVD movie setup system. Now i have a couple of the latest HD DVD movies which are great quality. Now do i buy some of these movies i have seen before in such as The Thing and other older movies that have been released as HD DVD movies. Will these movies be worth it, will i see a difference or is it just a money spinning process from the movie studios.

Let me know your thoughts please

KR

Rosslyn

Film has a higher resolution capability than that used on DVDs, so yes, even older films can benefit greatly from HD. However, not all HD transfers result in remarkable improvements. Depends on the condition of the source materials or the quality of the video transfer. You should read reviews of the specific HD DVDs you're interested in here and elsewhere (such as at highdefdigest.com) and go from there.

FWIW, The Road Warrior HD-DVD looks absolutely fantastic. And, the Blazing Saddles HD-DVD is quite nice. But, to be fair, I have not seen these on SD-DVD so I can't compare.


Mitch

I've read great things about The Adventures Of Robin Hood and that's nearly 70 years old. Even if you're not interested in that movie, it's a good example of how even older movies can look great because of the increased resolution of high definition (like Glenn was saying).

Thanks everyone for your feedback, i will update my old dvd library to HD dvd as and when i can

KR

Rosslyn

The Adventures of Robin Hood and Casablanca are revelatory. I actually think the HD DVD of Robin Hood has more detail in it than a pristine three-strip Technicolor print that I saw many years ago. Viewing Casablanca on my 720p front projector (which STILL doesn't show all the resolution available in the HD DVD), there is little difference between that image quality and a theatrical print of the film.

For any content originating from film, the difference between DVD and HD DVD is the difference between watching really good TV and watching an actual film screening at home.

I would also add "Searchers" and "Grand Prix" to the revelatory list. To me the best films in HD are the oldest films as far as looks go. Today's modern films have them beat in the audio world but visually it's the opposite.

When I conducted an "A" versus "B" test with "Casablanca" in comparing the latest SD DVD release to the HD DVD release, it brought tears of joy to my eyes, the improvement video-wise the latter had over the former. It wasn't even close and forever opened my eyes to the level of improvement a HD 1080p presentation has over a standard 480p presentation. The same applied to the "A" versus "B" tests I've done with "The Searchers" and "Grand Prix".

Voom ran "A Hard Day's Night" and it looks amazing! I'd like to see the HD release of that really soon! I recently saw "Paths Of Glory" on HDnet and was just blown away with how good it looked.

Both of these titles are B/W and the HD treatment is stunning. The titles that have already been mentioned...Casablanca...Searchers, are must haves. I am enjoying seeing films of age in HD.

Seriously, who can resist Bogie in HD?

Crawdaddy,

How did you manage to do A vs B comparisons between SD and HD?

Everytime I have tried to do this (I have an SD DVD player and an HD DVD (a1) connected to my Samsung DLP) I get the dreaded HDMI error on my HD A1 when I switch between sources. That is, when I switch the TV over to the component input, the HD A1 loses the HDMI handshake and fails. Literally fails too as I have to shut the HD a1 down and starta again.

Not sure which HD DVD you have (or maybe you have blu ray and this isn't a problem) but I wuold love to know if you have found a way around the HDMI problem.

Thanks,

Dave

"The Searchers" has the most pleasing picture I've seen. Sure, discs like Kong look fantastic for detail and clarity, but the former has a sumptuous, film-like look to it that makes it beautiful.

Robin Hood and Casablanca are marvelous. Grand Prix is astonishing.

Searchers didn't bowl me over like these did (there's too much unnecessary edge enhancement for me) but tastes vary.

Dave,
I'd used HDMI connections with both players. The SD DVD was played on the Oppo-970 set at 480p and the HD DVD was played on the XA2. I have two HDMI inputs on my display. I had no handshaking issues.

Do you have the latest firmware on your HD A1? This is a Samsung issue--their HDMI implementation is very unreliable with regard to the handshake, and not just with the Tosh players. It sometimes is a problem even with Samsung upconverting players.

I recently purchased Robin Hood thanks to Mark Zimmer's advice and I must say it looks great.

Ahh, that would do it. My TV only has one DVI connection (i know, that is so 2003!!)... oh well, guess I won't be able to do any a to b comparisons. I don't have the time anyway!


"Do you have the latest firmware on your HD A1? This is a Samsung issue--their HDMI implementation is very unreliable with regard to the handshake, and not just with the Tosh players. It sometimes is a problem even with Samsung upconverting players"

I tried to go to 2.2 but that caused problems with the Samsung as well. Had to revert back to 2.0 to get everything working again. Never heard whether you can update software in the TV, I suppose it is possible. There is an RS 232 jack on the TV but I have never heard of it being done and would not know how to do it anyway!

BTW, Robin hood does look superb. Great rainy sunday afternoon flick! I just got the Cowboys and Rio Bravo to add to my sunday afternoon cinema choices... Gotta love those older flicks in HD, they look simply spectacular. Grand Prix, Mutiny on the bounty, the Searchers are a few others that I picked up... and will enjoy once the weather turns and I can justify a Sunday afternoon in doors!

Dave