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HD Movies.....

TangoJuliet

TangoJuliet

Diamond Member
Me and a co-worker got into a discussion about hi def movies. Can somebody explain to me how older movies are hi def?

Since the high definition format is relatively new how can older movies now be hi def? Are they converted from their original format making them not a "true" high def resolution? Or is the film they were originally shot on a higher resolution to begin with?

Sorry for the n00b questions
 
Almost all films are shot on analog film media (usually 35mm but in some cases 70mm). There are some recent examples of full-length feature films shot using digital cameras (Star Wars Episode III is one), but traditional film is still the medium of choice.

Older films must be converted to digital, and the quality of this conversion can depend on a number of things, including the quality of the original film reels (how well they were stored/preserved), the equipment used to convert/restore the film, the skill of the technicians performing the conversion/restoration. Newer films generally look better than older films because the media is in better shape, but a great restoration can make a 40 year old film look like it was shot months ago.
 
Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
Film has roughly the same resolution as HDTV so it's easy to convert.
Click to expand...

I thought it was actually much higher res. I read a few years back that a still film camera was equal to like 40-60mega pixels in digital. 1080i HDTV is only 2.1MP.

Edit: It might even be higher.. closer to 100MP comes to mind for some reason.
 
so film's resolution is 1920x1080? (1080p) or is it 1080i

so what you guys are saying is that the older stuff has to be converted to digital. and from there the quality will depend on the how the film was stored. say the film was in perfect condition it could then be converted into 1080p? could it be converted into a higher resolution (in the future)?
 
Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
so film's resolution is 1920x1080? (1080p) or is it 1080i

so what you guys are saying is that the older stuff has to be converted to digital. and from there the quality will depend on the how the film was stored. say the film was in perfect condition it could then be converted into 1080p? could it be converted into a higher resolution (in the future)?
Click to expand...

Most film is much higher than HD resolution. In digital terms, film is usually scanned at either 2k or 4k pixels (1080p is roughly equivalent to a 2k film scan).
 
Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
so film's resolution is 1920x1080? (1080p) or is it 1080i

so what you guys are saying is that the older stuff has to be converted to digital. and from there the quality will depend on the how the film was stored. say the film was in perfect condition it could then be converted into 1080p? could it be converted into a higher resolution (in the future)?
Click to expand...

Film is 'p', though it doesn't have a 'resolution' per se. Most film movies could be converted to considerably higher than 1080p. Note that there have been a few threads recently on 1080p/i differences, and the answer is either one *should* contain the same information. But film, being full-frames, is definitely 'p'.

Things like this always get said, and are too general, but going higher than 1080 in the near future would be overkill. Until there is a substantial user-base running full-wall screens, there will be little benefit to higher resolutions.
 
cool, so I was right.

he was claiming that since the movies were not shot with a high definition camera they then had to be converted to a high def standard making it not "true" high definition.

he also said that todays digital cameras had a higher resolution then film cameras...but im guess he was wrong with that as well.
 
Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
so film's resolution is 1920x1080? (1080p) or is it 1080i

so what you guys are saying is that the older stuff has to be converted to digital. and from there the quality will depend on the how the film was stored. say the film was in perfect condition it could then be converted into 1080p? could it be converted into a higher resolution (in the future)?
Click to expand...

It's an apples to oranges comparison, in a way. HD resolution (or any digital resolution) is measured in pixels (length x width). "i" or "p" denotes how the pixels are drawn on the display device (interlaced vs. progressive).

Film isn't digital; there are no pixels. There are limits to how much detail can be captured in a film cell, and therefore one can try an approximate how much resolution can be captured via film.
 
Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
so film's resolution is 1920x1080? (1080p) or is it 1080i

so what you guys are saying is that the older stuff has to be converted to digital. and from there the quality will depend on the how the film was stored. say the film was in perfect condition it could then be converted into 1080p? could it be converted into a higher resolution (in the future)?
Click to expand...

Film doesn't have a resolution, it's analog. It's quality is better than 1080p though in most cases.
 
Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
cool, so I was right.

he was claiming that since the movies were not shot with a high definition camera they then had to be converted to a high def standard making it not "true" high definition.

he also said that todays digital cameras had a higher resolution then film cameras...but im guess he was wrong with that as well.
Click to expand...

You may have to explain the difference between Analogue and Digital to him lol.
 
Just saw Casablanca (black and white movie) on HD-DVD...they did a nice job cleaning it up considering it came out in 1942.
 
Originally posted by: ntdz
Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
so film's resolution is 1920x1080? (1080p) or is it 1080i

so what you guys are saying is that the older stuff has to be converted to digital. and from there the quality will depend on the how the film was stored. say the film was in perfect condition it could then be converted into 1080p? could it be converted into a higher resolution (in the future)?
Click to expand...

Film doesn't have a resolution, it's analog. It's quality is better than 1080p though in most cases.
Click to expand...

You can equate it to resolution based on grain size and density.
 
If got some free DVDs from Toshiba as part of a deal when I bought my HD-DVD player. It's a shame that Chronicles of Riddick looks so good on HD-DVD, but is terrible in everything else (script, acting, set and costuming design, actors (with the exception of the female mercenary. Rowr.)...)
 
OP, it's called a digital intermediate. It's a digital scanner for film. Remember scanning the old-style, 35mm printed photos to get them into a digital format? Similar thing.

OP, do you know how you can take a digital picture and then save it as a different quality .jpg, .bmp, or .gif? As quality goes up, so does file size, right? Just because you've been watching home movies in a lower quality (DVD) doesn't mean that a higher quality (HD DVD or Bluray Disc) is non-existent or incapable of being made.
 
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