I'm a little confused about programs availability in HD.

A couple weeks ago, on Comcast On Demand service, they had Johnny Mnemonic supposedly in HD. It looked like it could have been HD, but I couldn't tell for sure.

To me, true HD means 1920x1080 pixels of resolution or at least 1280 x 720.

Either way, the best available version of Johnny Mnemonic that I have seen is the SuperBit DVD version, which is still only 720x480 pixels of resolution.

I am wondering is Comcast using the same DVD (superbit version) as the source for their broadcast?

Or are they using some other version of Johnny Mnemonic that really has a resolution of 1920 x 1080, or 1280 x 720?

How do I find out? It is my understanding that Johnny Mnemonic is not available on HD-DVD or Blu-ray, so how is it that Comcast can say the film is in HD?

They don't mean that lame format of 480P do they? I have seen references to 480p sometimes being referred to as HD, even though in my mind, true HD means 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720.

Any thoughts?

I was able to find this other thread from avsforum that is kind of related. Perhaps Johnny Mnemonic on Comcast is just the superbit version stretched?


"Confirmed films in HD:

- Hardball
- the Score

Confirmed Stretch-o-vision...

- Blade,
- Drumline,
- Eraser,
- Good Morning, Vietnam,
- Johnny Mnemonic,
- Windtalkers

I also caught a few minutes of Forrest Gump, which is listed as Stretch, but looked fine to me. Someone else should confirm that though, since I didn't dwell on it.

- Tim"

If its on the HDnet movies channel its true HD, remastered in HD, not just a DVD upconvert.

I did find it on HDnet.

So that must mean that it is a real 1080i or 720p movie.

Now the question is, how do I purchase it?

Or is the only current option to use a service such as bit torrernt, etc? I'm curious. Or do I just have to wait until it makes its way to Blu-Ray or something?

I've heard of people transferring them off of their comcast dvr's, etc. but that seems like a pain. I'd rather just purchase it somehow.

There's a vast difference between a movie being available for air on TV and it being available for purchase on disc. There are plenty of movies that have HD transfers that aren't available on HD home media. Heck, HBO has had an excellent transfer of "Amazing Grace and Chuck", yet that movie isn't even available on DVD, much less Blu-Ray.

At any rate, patience is essential, my friend. You don't build a library overnight with a new format. The transfers you see on TV are on professional HD tape formats, not HD-DVDs or Blu-Ray discs. Also, TV networks DO NOT use DVD to play back movies, either. It can be years between a TV transfer and a home video transfer being made.

So I found the movie on HDnet, but how long will it be until it is released on this format?

http://www.amazon.com/WMV-HD-Store-High-Definition-DVDs/b?ie=UTF8&node=196948011

The format is WMV HD.

For viewing on my PC.

It's on HDNet Movies. I find Keanu's storage capacity of 160GB in the year 2021 hilarious. They sure missed the ballpark on that one.

It's on HDNet Movies. I find Keanu's storage capacity of 160GB in the year 2021 hilarious. They sure missed the ballpark on that one.

And that was after he used a "doubler" to double his storage capacity. :)

So I see the Japan version of Johnny Mnemonic is now out on bluray.

Anyone know when the US version will be released? Do the US releases usually follow right behind, or could we be talking another year or so?