Video University: Video University Forums: HDV: Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete?

VideoUniversity.com
Home	Free Library	Store
Free Catalog Please support VU by making your B&H purchases and links through this B&H ad. Doesn't cost a penny more.

See The New VU Postcard Catalog

To post in the forums see the Forum Guidelines.

Join or Renew Today.
New Benefits for all VU Members

Forum Guidelines and FAQ
Main Index	Search Posts
Who's Online	Log In

Home: Video University Forums: HDV:
Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete?

David L
User

Mar 18, 2005, 11:38 AM

Post #1 of 21 (3011 views)
Shortcut

Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete?	Can't Post

This is somewhat OT, but with all of the talk about HD, I was wondering ... will my collection of classic Hollywood movie DVDs be obsolete when everything goes HD? Are the DVDs I buy today just a waste of money, because I'll want to upgrade to an HD DVD in a few years?

Or will present day DVDs look decent enough on HD TVs to be acceptable?

I've already gone through this turnover a couple of times, when LPs went to CDs, and then when VHS was replaced by DVD ... please don't say it's going to happen again ...

John K.
Veteran / Moderator

Mar 18, 2005, 11:51 AM

Post #2 of 21 (3004 views)
Shortcut

Re: [David L] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Depends. How important is the picture image to you, do you think you will notice a change large enough to warrant buying new equipment and hardware? I find the current DVD format to be plenty for my tastes. Don't think HD-DVD (when available) is the final stopping place for video formats for the rest of your life - it too will change in the future. That is the nature of technology. Whether you wish to re-buy your favorite movies to keep up with the current or new format is one's individual preference. Just remember how long it took (in years) for the current DVD format to be at the volume and level they are. They are not going away anytime soon. And, further, even if you have an HDTV, you can still watch your current DVDs anyway - so, for me, it doesn't bother me what happens, I'm fine either way.

David L
User

Mar 18, 2005, 11:57 AM

Post #3 of 21 (2995 views)
Shortcut

Re: [John K.] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I guess I'm wondering if HD DVDs will be a big picture improvement over regular DVDs ... in other words, will Casablanca look better in HD, or is a DVD of Casablanca giving me pretty much the best picture possible?

What about Saving Private Ryan (to take a more modern flick)?

I realize that content that has actually been shot with HD equipment will be noticeably better looking on an HD-DVD, but I'm not so sure that Hollywood movies shot on film will look better on an HD TV.

harman
User

Mar 18, 2005, 12:41 PM

Post #4 of 21 (2956 views)
Shortcut

Re: [David L] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yes.

whzkid
User

Mar 18, 2005, 12:48 PM

Post #5 of 21 (2953 views)
Shortcut

Re: [David L] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

David

Back to reality here, the only flick that would possibly fit that category is a movie that is not even in the can yet, that would be the up and coming, soon to be the sixth installment of the StarWars saga Episode III, which was filmed completely in HD and has to be converted to film for theatres. So when it is ready for Blue Ray Disks then they are ready with the HD format. The rest of Hollywood doesen't think like George does. He likes to take risks.

Best,
Rob
Cool

Asus P4C800 Deluxe 3.0Ghz, 1.0 Gb ram, Matrox RTx.100 Extreme, Premiere Pro 1.51, Encore DVD 1.51, Audition 1.5, Nikon Coolpix 8800

szerangue
Veteran

Mar 18, 2005, 1:05 PM

Post #6 of 21 (2942 views)
Shortcut

Re: [whzkid] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I don't think that is exactly true... Collateral was shot in HD. I think a few others also, but I cannot think of them off the top of my head.
Miracle Pictures
"If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle!"

"Life Productions, coming out of the dark, into the light"
4EVER GROUP AFFILIATE

GmElliott
Veteran

Mar 18, 2005, 1:26 PM

Post #7 of 21 (2911 views)
Shortcut

Re: [David L] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

That really depends on your own interpretation of "acceptable". I for one feel that the image quality of my DVDs in SD are fantastic. The compression methods used for Hollywood movies are second to none. That's not to say I won't swap my SD favorites for the HDV versions when available.

On another note- an HDTV isn't going to help your image in regards to current DVDs. I have a Sony WEGA XBR HDTV, but a DVD player is only going to send an SD signal. I think they look just as good on my girlfriends cheaper 27" Flatscreen CRT TV.

If you want subcribe to digital cable- check out INHD1 and INHD2 channels they replay all sorts of movies reformatted in HD. They look fantastic! But not enough to make my SD versions on DVD "obsolete".

Glen Elliott
http://www.GmElliottVideo.com

Robert
Enthusiast

Mar 18, 2005, 2:04 PM

Post #8 of 21 (2891 views)
Shortcut

Re: [whzkid] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

But that doesn't necessarily mean that Casablanca wont be re-formatted to HD standards. I can see 'HOLLYWOOD" taking the time and effort to rerelease a lot of classics in a high definition standard.

Just don't expect to see "Pretty in Pink" or "Attack of the Killer Tomatos" transfered too quickly.

RickRyanProd
Novice

Mar 18, 2005, 4:14 PM

Post #9 of 21 (2825 views)
Shortcut

Re: [whzkid] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Actually most Hollywood movies are transferred to HD when they make the DVD. The DVDs are encoded from a fancy Hi-Def master. Titanic is a good example. They are releasing a new fancy version of Titanic later this year, and one of the new features is a fancy new Hi-Def transfer. So when they want to release the HD version, it is ready.

Episode II was also shot on HD cams. As was Once upon a time in Mexico and Spy Kids 3 (anything Robert Rodriquez does is digial now).

--rick

Jordan O.
Veteran

Mar 19, 2005, 1:20 AM

Post #10 of 21 (2770 views)
Shortcut

Re: [RickRyanProd] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Also, since HD is has a much larger resolution, the film can be converted to that resolution (1080p) instead of the lower resoltion of current DVDs (720x480) Its just a matter of compressing the film.

Jordan

memorytracks
Veteran

Mar 19, 2005, 3:27 AM

Post #11 of 21 (2762 views)
Shortcut

Re: [David L] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Like many said here I concure:
-MANY movies were filmed in HD, and of course film is going to convert over to HD just fine.
-All the new Blue-ray/HD-DVD players are going to have to be backward compatible dude so all of your "old" DVD's will still play in the new players.

But overall...I would have to say yes. The new format WILL replace the old, but it's going to take a LONG time for all the studios to re-release in HD...years for sure. AND I would imagine that A LOT of those movies won't look any better than the standard DVD version.

-Dave Graton
MemoryTracks Films

Mathew
Veteran

Mar 19, 2005, 10:22 AM

Post #12 of 21 (2730 views)
Shortcut

Re: [harman] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Yes.

What happens with Blu-Ray, HD-DVD is still up in the air. By the time those formats are readibly and in-expensively in the hands of consumers I will bet there will be even more options as far as delivery formats.

Truth is that SD DVD's look pretty good on HD sets. There is a definate difference in quality vs. good HD but not enough for most to toss their collections. Again, repeat this is not like DVD vs. VHS. That battle was won because VHS is tape. A shiny compact disc excited the public and they bought into DVD. HD doesn't offer anything as exciting because it's still just a disc. Also remember to a lot of people sound quality ranks right up there with the picture. The HD formats don't really offer anything more exciting than the current surround sound that can be found on SD DVD's

In a few years I forsee movies that will be streamed to your home HD set perhaps even released on the same day as they hit the theaters. Convergence is the word, not format.

(This post was edited by Mathew on Mar 19, 2005, 10:26 AM)

DVman
User

Mar 19, 2005, 1:44 PM

Post #13 of 21 (2697 views)
Shortcut

Re: [David L] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

The film negative packs thousands more lines of resolution than the best HD format. Film is the ultimate High Definition format. Your DVD-HD discs will definitely take advantage of that increased resolution in image quality. They will still not deliver the best possible image you can get from the film negative but it will be a big improvement over standard DVDs. Remember the movies you see in a movie theater are amplified hundreds of times of the tiny little film negative plus they are a release print, a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy.

You bet current DVDs will become obsolete. But that's the nature of the beast. Technology always gets better and better. Remember laserdiscs? Purists were buying them like crazy. Then everyone turned to DVDs. It will happen, and it will happen again when HD-DVDs become obsolete also.

In Reply To

David L
User

Mar 19, 2005, 2:03 PM

Post #14 of 21 (2693 views)
Shortcut

Re: [DVman] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Ah, thanks, very interesting info.

That's what I feared.

No more DVD purchases for me. It's hunker down and wait for them to come out with HD media.

Bob Hudson
User

Mar 20, 2005, 12:04 PM

Post #15 of 21 (2615 views)
Shortcut

Re: [David L] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

"No more DVD purchases for me. It's hunker down and wait for them to come out with HD media."

So no new DVD's for a couple of years? That's a little radical.

DVman
User

Mar 21, 2005, 12:12 AM

Post #16 of 21 (2571 views)
Shortcut

Re: [Bob Hudson] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Well .... he can always rent.

In Reply To

"No more DVD purchases for me. It's hunker down and wait for them to come out with HD media."

So no new DVD's for a couple of years? That's a little radical.

Bob Hudson
User

Mar 21, 2005, 1:15 PM

Post #17 of 21 (2537 views)
Shortcut

Re: [DVman] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Well .... he can always rent.

Do people still do that????

mjeppsen
Veteran

Mar 21, 2005, 3:24 PM

Post #18 of 21 (2517 views)
Shortcut

Re: [Bob Hudson] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Well .... he can always rent.
Do people still do that????

Netflix & Blockbuster.com are subscription DVD "rent" services that are flourishing. I've used the blockbuster service, and if you watch DVD's on a regular basis it's a fantastic deal!

Matt Jeppsen
www.FreshDV.com

Bob Hudson
User

Mar 21, 2005, 4:13 PM

Post #19 of 21 (2505 views)
Shortcut

Re: [mjeppsen] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Well .... he can always rent.

Do people still do that????

Netflix & Blockbuster.com are subscription DVD "rent" services that are flourishing. I've used the blockbuster service, and if you watch DVD's on a regular basis it's a fantastic deal!

Ever since I got "movies on demand" as part of my digital cable service i have not rented. I will buy some new DVD's for my son and I'm a real fan of those 99 cents to 5 bucks DVD's of old movies and Tv shows.

DVman
User

Mar 21, 2005, 4:27 PM

Post #20 of 21 (2501 views)
Shortcut

Re: [Bob Hudson] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I got movies on demand also as part of my digital cable service but most of them come in 4x3. They are not offered in letterboxed version, I believe. Or maybe they, are but I have not seen any option for that.

In Reply To

Well .... he can always rent.

Bob Hudson
User

Mar 21, 2005, 4:38 PM

Post #21 of 21 (2498 views)
Shortcut

Re: [DVman] Are my Hollywood DVDs going to be obsolete? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Time Warner here in Kansas City offers a choice for many movies.