Showing old movies in HD - Sky+ HD

ray_01 · 29-10-2009, 17:12

In laymans term how can I explain to a non believer that old films can be shown on tv in HD?

BKM · 29-10-2009, 17:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by ray_01

In laymans term how can I explain to a non believer that old films can be shown on tv in HD?

"Old movies" were filmed in 35mm (or sometimes 70 in recent years) and the Movie Studios are busy scanning them in from the best negatives they have. I think this is normally done at 4096 scan lines which is "better than current HD". They can then colour correct and fix defects to create a "digital master". BluRay and HDTV masters are then created from this.

When done well it can produce a very good result!

Simon Cow · 29-10-2009, 17:39

I've just seen a 1080p version of "Grease" (1978) and it looked amazing.
I have also seen a 1080p version of "The Dam Busters" and again even though it is black and white, the crispness of it is sunning!

So if you want to see your old movies in the best you can at home, (Should you not have a spare Imax projector under your bed) then blu-ray or HD is the way to go.

There are many many many old film favourites that I'm just waiting to get the HD treatment.

Premiere HD · 29-10-2009, 17:50

Sky Germany showed all Indiana Jones movies in HD a few weeks ago. The picture was amazing all the time, I wouldn't even say that the new one looked superior to the others, they were all stunning.

lawrenma2 · 30-10-2009, 11:38

My sister in law is a gadget freak like me, and fully subscribes to HD everything but she goes nuts when things like the original Terminator movie is shown on Sky Movies HD and claims they can't possibly be HD, because HD technology wasn't around back then. Surely looking at the picture quality would suggest otherwise!

BKM · 30-10-2009, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Premiere HD

Sky Germany showed all Indiana Jones movies in HD a few weeks ago. The picture was amazing all the time, I wouldn't even say that the new one looked superior to the others, they were all stunning.

They are presently being shown on UK Sky Movies HD as well (two of original trilogy were even shown by BBCHD last year!) and are looking good!

derek500 · 30-10-2009, 11:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by lawrenma2

My sister in law is a gadget freak like me, and fully subscribes to HD everything but she goes nuts when things like the original Terminator movie is shown on Sky Movies HD and claims they can't possibly be HD, because HD technology wasn't around back then. Surely looking at the picture quality would suggest otherwise!

It's the broadcast technology that has evolved into HD. Films are mainly still shot on film as they have always been.

Simon Cow · 30-10-2009, 12:21

The trouble is that many judge 35mm film by the rushed out copy that is sent to the cinema and has been run through the projector 3 (or more) times a day by a projectionist who can't even be bothered to focus the bloody thing!

That is far away from the original negatives that never get rattled through a projector with it's sharp surfaces many times a day. They are treated like gold and are insured for millions!

They used to be slowly advanced through an optical printer to make a set of master prints and each took about 2 days to scan. It was then that the masters prints were edited and assembled into the film. Then copied again to produce the copies that are sent off to the cinemas. (On a machine that run faster and mass produced the copies)

Nowadays of course, it's all digital and they slowly scan the master print (or somethings even go back to the original negatives) into a state of the art computer that it many times higher quality than current HD. Advanced programming can then remove any problems (scratches, dust, etc) colour correct and contrast and brightness balance the whole thing.

It can then be electronically copied straight to the video tape and downscaled to the current HD specs.

Also, 70mm film* has been around a long time now and of course the picture you get from that is out of this world! And then, IMAX takes 70mm film and turns it sideways giving twice the frame size again and run at 60 frames a second instead of 24 frame in a normal cinema.

*70mm is a projector standard as the film is actually 65mm wide in the film camera as sound is recorded separately and then all transfered to 70mm stock. (65mm for the picture and 5mm taken up with the multiple soundtracks running down the film strip.

Simon Cow · 30-10-2009, 12:24

PS: All movie lovers are reminded that Screen 1 and maybe screen 1 HD are alleged to be FREE from 6pm TONIGHT and all weekend!

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Sat afternoon 3:15)
and
West Side Story (Sunday 6am)

Take my fancy.

I'd like to see them in HD.

Willie Wontie · 30-10-2009, 12:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by ray_01

In laymans term how can I explain to a non believer that old films can be shown on tv in HD?

In layman's terms - 35mm film is much higher definition than Blu-Ray or HD television, so simply needs downscaling to TV format. Just tell them that the picture is having detail removed and being dumbed down to allow it to be broadcast in high def.

Automan · 30-10-2009, 13:05

Don't miss the 1939/40 "Thief Of Bagdad" on CHN4 HD this afternoon.

No doubt shot using the three roll technicolor system.

Automan.

Simon Cow · 30-10-2009, 14:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Automan

Don't miss the 1939/40 "Thief Of Bagdad" on CHN4 HD this afternoon.

No doubt shot using the three roll technicolor system.

Automan.

Ooooooooo! Saturation overload! Love it!

Automan · 30-10-2009, 16:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Cow

Ooooooooo! Saturation overload! Love it!

Just watching now and for its age it looks pretty good.

http://thethunderchild.com/Movies/Fa...ingBagdad.html

Automan.

Simon Cow · 30-10-2009, 16:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Automan

Just watching now and for its age it looks pretty good.

http://thethunderchild.com/Movies/Fa...ingBagdad.html

Automan.

Yes I watched some of it and as you say for its age HD certainly crisps it up.

I love technicolor - it made movies when I was young. (Not as old as that film thought!)

_ben · 30-10-2009, 16:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by ray_01

In laymans term how can I explain to a non believer that old films can be shown on tv in HD?

If they can't even grasp that 35mm film can support a higher resolution than 2 megapixels then I wouldn't bother, you're wasting your time.

Simon Cow · 30-10-2009, 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by _ben

If they can't even grasp that 35mm film can support a higher resolution than 2 megapixels then I wouldn't bother, you're wasting your time.

How friendly and helpful NOT!

You sound like a HD snob - We can't all be as wonderful as you think you are!

deesee · 30-10-2009, 17:09

If you want to see a really great old movie in hd look out for the 1938 Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn, a real masterpiece, also the best robin hood ever.

_ben · 30-10-2009, 17:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Cow

How friendly and helpful NOT!

You sound like a HD snob - We can't all be as wonderful as you think you are!

Not an HD snob, just tired of explaining this to people myself when it seems so obvious

Simon Cow · 30-10-2009, 17:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by _ben

Not an HD snob, just tired of explaining this to people myself when it seems so obvious

Then don't!

Automan · 30-10-2009, 21:03

Two more classic HD movies are on CHN4 HD next week...

Quote:

FILM: The Black Tent
On: Channel 4 HD (140)
Date: Tuesday 3rd November 2009
Time: 12:35 PM to 2:20 PM (1 hour and 45 minutes long)

Based on a script by Robin Maugham and Bryan Forbes, The Black Tent is a wartime romantic mystery starring Anthony Steel as British officer Capt David Holland, who finds war and love in the Libyan desert. When Holland doesn't return to reclaim his vast estates in Britain after the war, his family presume he is dead and his brother Sir Charles travels to Libya to find out what happened to him. His investigations lead him from the British embassy in Tripoli to a Bedouin camp, where he is given a diary by the sheikh's daughter and begins to piece together his brother's strange story.
(Widescreen, High Definition, Subtitles, 1957, U, 2 Star)

Director: Brian Desmond-Hurst
Starring: Donald Sinden, Anthony Steel, Anna-Maria Sandri

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marked By: 'Category:Film CHN4 (HD)' marker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=69933

Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

and

Quote:

FILM: Sailor of The King
On: Channel 4 HD (140)
Date: Thursday 5th November 2009
Time: 12:40 PM to 2:20 PM (1 hour and 40 minutes long)

Roy Boulting's action drama stars Jeffrey Hunter as Canadian Andrew 'Canada' Brown, serving in the WW2 Royal Navy, who is taken prisoner by the German raider Essen which has sunk his ship. The Essen then puts in to a remote island for repairs. Brown manages to escape, taking with him a rifle and ammunition. From the island's cliffs, he snipes at the sailors working on repairs, delaying the ship's departures long enough for British forces to arrive and sink her. But at a very very personal cost... With Michael Rennie, Wendy Hiller and Bernard Lee. The film was shot with alternate endings, both of which will be shown.
(Black and White, High Definition, Subtitles, 1953, 15, 3 Star)

Director: Roy Boulting
Starring: Jeffrey Hunter, Michael Rennie, Peter van Eyck, Wendy Hiller, Bernard Lee, Victor Maddern

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marked By: 'Category:Film CHN4 (HD)' marker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=69933

Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

The film with two endings

Also on but not so classic...

Quote:

FILM: The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain
On: Channel 4 HD (140)
Date: Monday 2nd November 2009
Time: 12:35 PM to 2:20 PM (1 hour and 45 minutes long)

English cartographers Reginald Anson and George Garrad arrive in a Welsh village to determine the status of the local vantage point, but declare it 16 feet too short to be a mountain. Holding an emergency meeting, two traditionally warring villagers - the minister Rev Robert Jones and publican Morgan the Goat - unite and devise a plan: the locals must add 20 feet to the hill/mountain, bucketload by bucketload, while the two Englishmen are otherwise detained, sending for Betty of Cardiff to act as the alluring distraction in Christopher Monger's charming comedy. Edited for language.
(Widescreen, High Definition, Subtitles, 1995, PG, 3 Star)

Director: Christopher Monger
Starring: Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, Colm Meaney, Ian McNeice, Ian Hart, Kenneth Griffith

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marked By: 'Category:Film CHN4 (HD)' marker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=69933

Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

Happy Viewing

Automan.

Automan · 31-10-2009, 19:20

Just been watching "The Battle Of The River Plate" which was on a few weeks back on CHN4 HD.

It was filmed in VistaVision (like the Searchers and special effects for Star Wars and The Postman).

Thus for the most part the picture is excellent.

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingvv1.htm for more on the marvels of the VistaVision film format.

Automan.

bond,jamesbond · 31-10-2009, 21:17

Italian Job is awesome in HD, seems like a different movie.
Some of the Hitchcock movies were on the other week which were great in HD.

DenizenOfSW3 · 31-10-2009, 21:54

Breakfast at Tiffany's was on in HD today... It looked phenomenal.

Weigh-Man · 01-11-2009, 00:37

Lawrence of Arabia looked fantastic.

Automan · 01-11-2009, 09:20

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes looks pretty good from 1953.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentlem..._Blondes_(film)

4:3 frame format BTW with mono sound.

Automan.

29-10-2009, 17:12	#1
ray_01 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 263	Showing old movies in HD In laymans term how can I explain to a non believer that old films can be shown on tv in HD?

29-10-2009, 17:39	#3
Simon Cow Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1,774	I've just seen a 1080p version of "Grease" (1978) and it looked amazing. I have also seen a 1080p version of "The Dam Busters" and again even though it is black and white, the crispness of it is sunning! So if you want to see your old movies in the best you can at home, (Should you not have a spare Imax projector under your bed) then blu-ray or HD is the way to go. There are many many many old film favourites that I'm just waiting to get the HD treatment.

29-10-2009, 17:50	#4
Premiere HD Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Henstedt-Ulzburg, Germany Services: sky Germany and FTA channels on Astra 2 Posts: 292	Sky Germany showed all Indiana Jones movies in HD a few weeks ago. The picture was amazing all the time, I wouldn't even say that the new one looked superior to the others, they were all stunning.

30-10-2009, 11:38	#5
lawrenma2 Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Scotland Services: PS3, PSP, 20mb o2 broadband & Sky+ HD Posts: 2,834	My sister in law is a gadget freak like me, and fully subscribes to HD everything but she goes nuts when things like the original Terminator movie is shown on Sky Movies HD and claims they can't possibly be HD, because HD technology wasn't around back then. Surely looking at the picture quality would suggest otherwise!

30-10-2009, 12:21	#8
Simon Cow Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1,774	The trouble is that many judge 35mm film by the rushed out copy that is sent to the cinema and has been run through the projector 3 (or more) times a day by a projectionist who can't even be bothered to focus the bloody thing! That is far away from the original negatives that never get rattled through a projector with it's sharp surfaces many times a day. They are treated like gold and are insured for millions! They used to be slowly advanced through an optical printer to make a set of master prints and each took about 2 days to scan. It was then that the masters prints were edited and assembled into the film. Then copied again to produce the copies that are sent off to the cinemas. (On a machine that run faster and mass produced the copies) Nowadays of course, it's all digital and they slowly scan the master print (or somethings even go back to the original negatives) into a state of the art computer that it many times higher quality than current HD. Advanced programming can then remove any problems (scratches, dust, etc) colour correct and contrast and brightness balance the whole thing. It can then be electronically copied straight to the video tape and downscaled to the current HD specs. Also, 70mm film* has been around a long time now and of course the picture you get from that is out of this world! And then, IMAX takes 70mm film and turns it sideways giving twice the frame size again and run at 60 frames a second instead of 24 frame in a normal cinema. *70mm is a projector standard as the film is actually 65mm wide in the film camera as sound is recorded separately and then all transfered to 70mm stock. (65mm for the picture and 5mm taken up with the multiple soundtracks running down the film strip.

30-10-2009, 12:24	#9
Simon Cow Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1,774	PS: All movie lovers are reminded that Screen 1 and maybe screen 1 HD are alleged to be FREE from 6pm TONIGHT and all weekend! Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Sat afternoon 3:15) and West Side Story (Sunday 6am) Take my fancy. I'd like to see them in HD.

30-10-2009, 13:05	#11
Automan Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: South Coast, UK Services: Sky+ HD 500G, FoxSat-HDR, TH-46PZ8BA, TX-SR806, BD-35 Posts: 4,064	Don't miss the 1939/40 "Thief Of Bagdad" on CHN4 HD this afternoon. No doubt shot using the three roll technicolor system. Automan.

30-10-2009, 17:09	#17
deesee Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: harrogate n`yorks Services: sky+ tivo itv digital -ic24 Posts: 665	If you want to see a really great old movie in hd look out for the 1938 Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn, a real masterpiece, also the best robin hood ever.

31-10-2009, 19:20	#21
Automan Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: South Coast, UK Services: Sky+ HD 500G, FoxSat-HDR, TH-46PZ8BA, TX-SR806, BD-35 Posts: 4,064	Just been watching "The Battle Of The River Plate" which was on a few weeks back on CHN4 HD. It was filmed in VistaVision (like the Searchers and special effects for Star Wars and The Postman). Thus for the most part the picture is excellent. http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingvv1.htm for more on the marvels of the VistaVision film format. Automan.

31-10-2009, 21:17	#22
bond,jamesbond Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Co.Durham (England - Not USA) Services: Sky +HD, Sky Broadband MAX, Random model Goodmans 26"HDTV... Posts: 503	Italian Job is awesome in HD, seems like a different movie. Some of the Hitchcock movies were on the other week which were great in HD.

31-10-2009, 21:54	#23
DenizenOfSW3 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: London, SW3 Posts: 184	Breakfast at Tiffany's was on in HD today... It looked phenomenal.

01-11-2009, 00:37	#24
Weigh-Man Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: South Yorkshire Services: Sky HD, VM Broadband and Phone Posts: 1,376	Lawrence of Arabia looked fantastic.

01-11-2009, 09:20	#25
Automan Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: South Coast, UK Services: Sky+ HD 500G, FoxSat-HDR, TH-46PZ8BA, TX-SR806, BD-35 Posts: 4,064	Gentlemen Prefer Blondes looks pretty good from 1953. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentlem..._Blondes_(film) 4:3 frame format BTW with mono sound. Automan.