Is D* PPV-HD actually HD?

[veander]

I have wondered about this for a while now. I watch some movies on HDnet Movies and while they look great, they don't always look like HD (rather 480p).

What are people's experience with DirecTV's Pay-Per-View in HD? I wonder if these films are even in HD or if we are getting some upconverted feed that isn't much better than a progressive scan DVD.

If there is somewhere i should be going to learn about this on the net, please do tell.

 

[ckudrna]

Well i would think it would have to be at best the same as a progressve scan DVD.

No way those movies could be shot in HD in the first place, so they are not going to look Discovery HD.

 

[Darin]

Well i would think it would have to be at best the same as a progressve scan DVD.

No way those movies could be shot in HD in the first place, so they are not going to look Discovery HD.

The vast majority of movies are shot on film, which has much greater resolution than "HD". A DVD will NOT look as good as an HD video transferred off the same film (at least not one done properly).

The only DirecTV HD PPV I've ever bought was LOTR ROTK. It was indeed HD, better than DVD. But it was not OAR.

 

[ckudrna]

Anyone know what methods are used to transfer from film to HD?

 

[veander]

Hmm, good point. i know some movies were shot in HD. For instance, Once Upon A Time in MExico. The director is a hige supporter of HD actually. Watch the features on the DVD and you will see what I mean.

I know that The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was filmed mostly in HD, thus I am wondering if I should even rent the movie on HD PPV.

 

[veander]

The only DirecTV HD PPV I've ever bought was LOTR ROTK. It was indeed HD, better than DVD. But it was not OAR.

Ah, yes while was writing the other response you chimed in. So what does OAR mean? In any event, I think I will buy the PPV of this movie.

What is the difference with film and those "HD cameras" then? I am confused.

 

[shappyss]

OAR stands for "Original Aspect Ratio". Some channels change the ratio so that it will fill a 16X9 screen perfectly when the movie was really shot in an even wider aspect ratio that would still require black bars on a widescreen tv.

 

[Darin]

I know that The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was filmed mostly in HD

LOTR was shot on film. "Filmed in HD" is kind of mixing some terminology. HD refers to a resolution level, and is generally applied to video. Therefore, "HD" doesn't really apply to film. Film is film, and exceeds the resolution of HD video. Getting film to HD video is no different than getting film to video for DVD, with the exception of the resolution of the video generated. Telecine machines read the image of the film frames, and generate an electronic image (640x720 for DVD, 720x1280 or greater for HD). The process also has to convert the typical 24fps rate of film to 30 interlaced fps (or 60 progressive, in the case of 720p).

OAR is original aspect ratio. IIRC, LOTR was presented in theaters in a 2.35 aspect ratio, but the HD PPV on DirecTV is formatted to fit a 16x9 screen. The difference between film and HD cameras is that film is the same way movies have been made forever... film is exposed in individual frames. HD cameras are basically professional level camcorders with higher resolution that transfer optical information directly into electronic video onto magnetic tape in a digital format. It's the moving equivelent of "what's the difference between a digital camera and a film based camera?".