Movies on High Def TV
highhopes
Posts: 1,358MI6 Agent
The other day I was strolling through a local department store when I stopped to watch a familiar scene from Batman Begins (the Batmobile rooftop chase).
Is it just me, or does HD/Blu Ray, whatever you want to call it, give too detailed a picture? So detailed, in fact, that it looked as it I was watching a live broadcast more than a film. It was kind of eerie and kind of spoiled the look of the film, in my view. I didn't really like it, to tell the truth. And I think some films, because of the way they are shot, won't be well served by the hi-def process. Anyone else feel the same way, or disagree?
Is it just me, or does HD/Blu Ray, whatever you want to call it, give too detailed a picture? So detailed, in fact, that it looked as it I was watching a live broadcast more than a film. It was kind of eerie and kind of spoiled the look of the film, in my view. I didn't really like it, to tell the truth. And I think some films, because of the way they are shot, won't be well served by the hi-def process. Anyone else feel the same way, or disagree?
Comments
I'm pretty sure that what you saw was one of the new 120mhz hi-def TV's in action. Unlike most TV's that display stuff at 60 frames per second (FPS), the 120mhz models display at 120FPS. Since films are shot at 24FPS, the TV uses a process called interpolation to basically create new "frames" to pad the action. The result is a much smoother image, but it has also been derided by many as looking unrealistic and many people have in fact compared the end result to watching a soap opera shot on tape. The process works better for live events like hockey and football where you want that clean motion to be able to follow the action; it doesn't perform as well with movies and videogames. All TV's that support 120mhz let you shut the feature off thru the TV's menu. Also, most TV's in department stores are set to what is often referred to as "torch mode", a vivid setting that makes everything brighter and sharper (so it stands out more in the store).
I have a hi-def BluRay player connected to a hi-def TV that displays at the normal, industry standard 60FPS. Interpolation still occurs, but it gives me a very sharp image without any of the "fakeness" of the 120mhz sets. By the way, this same 60FPS interpolation process is what has also been used on standard def TV's and DVD players for years.
You're right that hi-def can sometimes make a movie look worse because any imperfections and shoddy camera or effects work are amplified. But with newer films and properly mastered older catalog titles, the visual upgrade can be striking. I bought Bladerunner Final Cut and 2001: A Space Odyssey on BluRay because I'd read that they had been very well mastered, and having seen them in hi-def I can't go back to the standard def versions (which I also owned) anymore. Same goes for lots of other films that I have in my library.
Hi-def is not a gimmick and it can yield a more satisfying viewing experience; but it requires the studios to invest the time and money to put out good masters of their films and the end user must also invest the time to properly calibrate his TV to get the best image. Once you've done that, there's no going back.
One problem is that, unless one has near perfect vision in real life, the new high def picture will look unrealistic!
Watching the football, you can see each person in the crowd - but I don't actually want to see that, it's a distraction!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
There is a solution for that...eyeglasses. B-)
Oddly enough, I take the opposite view. The more realistic and defined the image, the more drawn in I am. Having watched lots of sporting events in hi-def, I absolutely hate it now when I'm forced to watch something in standard def; it looks all blurry and fuzzy to me.
But when you go back to standard DVD you will notice the difference.
When picking out a new HDTV we had the store clerk put in a Blue-Ray Casino Royale, just to see if the difference was worth it .... IT IS!
The only disadvantage so far is that both DC and Jeffrey Wright have pierced left ears ... it's a bit worrysome, but after all its only a movie!
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
You're probably right, because that's just what it looked like -- a taped soap opera. Thanks, Tony.
That makes sense, too.
Which TV did you decide to buy ? I'm told that any screen size under 46" does not do Hi-def pictures justice - I have a Sony 40"W2000 at the moment - and some of the pictures are stunning, imo - but will probably upgrade in the coming months.
The max distance I'll be watching from is 7'
Will the 37" be too big at this short distance?
I don't think a 37" TV viewed at 7 feet is too big at all; if anything, I'd actually go a little bigger (maybe 42" or 46"). I watch a 52" TV from a distance of about 8 feet without any eyestrain. If you google "calculate viewing distance" you'll get lots of sites with charts and calculators (you can find one such site here: http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html). Just remember that these are broad guidelines and not hard and fast rules. Ultimately, only you can decide what works best for you.
Also, with regard to the whole 720p vs 1080p thing, there are a lot of factors involved: quality of the TV (and especially the scaling technology used), its size, the distance you're sitting from it. If you can afford it, I would suggest always going with 1080p just to be as future-proof as possible. Just be aware that right now the only true 1080p material available is BluRay movies and a few Xbox 360 and PS3 videogames (most games and TV broadcasts are either 720p or 1080i). Also, unless you get a larger set (at least 46") or sit very close to the TV, the difference in going from 720p to 1080p is not that dramatic.
As to what brands to buy; for plasmas I would strongly recommend Panasonic; they put out a beautiful picture and are very resistant to image retention and burn-in (I've owned a 42" Panasonic plasma for almost 4 years and it continues to be a workhorse for me). I would stay away from Samsung plasmas; I owned one briefly last year and while the image was beautiful, the set had a horrible case of image retention.
For LCD's, I'd go with Samsung or Sony. Samsung actually manufactures LCD panels for Sony, who then mates them with their own electronics. Both are a little pricier than other brands but have very colorful pictures with nice, deep blacks and absolutely unmatched image tweaking options. I own both a 52" Sony and 26" Samsung and both look great.
A couple of other brands I'm considering are the 37" 720 LG, Toshiba, and Sanyo models. Mostly I'm comparing contrasts, and refresh rates. This TV might one day be used for the main outside view for my 727 simulator.
Still rather up in the air about selection, but leaning toward the Samsung.
I'm trying to balance specifications against size and price.
Good choice but I'd prefer to spend that little bit extra on a plasma and get a 50" Pioneer Kuro -- 60" if you feeling very generous
I'm probably going to upgrade to the 46" Sony 46X3000 - although the new Samsung LE46A656A1 has had great reviews.
Not sure if you're aware Sir Miles, but Pioneer is no longer making their own plasma panels for their Kuros. They have entereded into an agreement to have their panels manufactured by Panasonic.
The REALLY neat thing is that when the Blue Ray is on the TV it doesn't matter how close you get to the screen - the image is still crystal clear. This is a distinct advantage when making notes on Watchbands, Walthers, Casino Plaques, Cigarette, and Eva Green!
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
No, I wasn't aware that that was the case - thanks for the information.
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
I did a quick bit of surfing and comparing and as far as I can tell, the only real difference is that the LE37A 559/558 P4FXXU Series has a higher dynamic contract (15000:1 compared to the LE37M87BDX/XEU's 8000:1). Generally speaking you want as high a contrast level as you can get as it will lead to deeper blacks overall better contrast.
So based on the specs, I'd go with the LE37A 559/558 P4FXXU; although I really think you'll be fine with either TV as the Samsungs really have a ton of settings you can use to tweak the image to your liking (right down to red/green/blue offets).
To paraphrase - Samsung make poor tv's ! His words not mine {:)
The new Pioneer 5090 is an absolute beauty - I said was it true that pretty soon Panasonic would make Pioneer's panels ? He said "yes", but to a spec that Pioneer would provide - thus they will be superior to a standard Panasonic panel even though they come from the same factory.
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
Samsung's plasma TV's however are another story. I owned one briefly and it was plagued by a horrible case of image retention retention and burn-in. I wound up returning it after a couple of weeks.
In addition to enhanced specs, I've also read that Pioneer will be mating the panels with their own specialized electronics, differentiating them even further. I'm sure they still make fantastic TVs (the videophiles over at AVSForum.com swear by them), but their premiums can be a bit hard on the wallet.
When it comes to TV's I'm something of a Sony bigot as well. I own a 52" Bravia XBR2 LCD and have been very happy with it. The XBR2 has since been discontinued so its contrast ratio isn't the best among LCD's anymore but it does put out a beautiful picture, very bright and colorful.
I've had a Samsung LCD too and I found it perfectly adequate
That is correct - Pioneer will provide and fit all the gubbins that go behind the screen.
The Pioneer's are expensive - but you get what you pay for
Now that the format has died I can get a drive for my xbox360 for less that £30 and thought that I might stock up HMV are selling what ones they have left for £2.99! and some other sites are selling imports for about the same.
I know that BLU-ray doesn't have any encoding but i'm not sure about HD-DVD
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According to the wikipedia page for the HD-DVD standard - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hd-dvd - HD-DVD does not have any region encoding so you should be able to play any HD-DVD.
The potential downside of course is that if your drive and/or 360 stop working down the road, you'll be left with a lot of discs and nothing to play them on.
I used to have the 360 HD-DVD player and it was a nice little piece of hardware as it put out a very sharp and colorful picture. About the only real downside was that the 360's processors were really chugging to decode the data on the discs and as a result the 360 itself got pretty noisy once the fans kicked in to dissipate the heat.
HD-DVD's are not region encoded - I've bought a truck load off ebay recently for very little money !
Blu ray, however, IS region encoded - well, most are ;% When the format launced one or two film studios decided against region encoding but most did - I think they all region encode now though.
For my money, I find the picture from HD-DVD's to be better than blu ray.
Now I wonder if i can convince the wife to visit her folks up north for a few days
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
We always welcome more women up here in the north
Enjoy your films -{