Have been wondering if HD dvd's of not-so recent-films have a better picture quality than just a regular dvd. I'm thinking of the OTA situation where if it's not recorded in HD, it's basically the same as 480i.

Any thoughts? Rob

Yes, because they were recorded on film, which has nearly 5 times greater native resolution than HD DVD or Blu-ray (about 5k). So they will as much improved upon as any newer movie. However older movie prints will have more flaws and those will show up too, unless they clean them up before releasing (which usually removes some of the fine detail and grain). Casablanca and The Adventures of Robin Hood of two old movies that look great in HD and much better than the DVD counterparts.

It's almost a given that HD DVD versions of older movies or any movies will look better than a DVD. You might want to look at the PQ link below, most of the titles will look good until those near the bottom rated less than 3 stars, which aren't much of an upgrade over DVD.

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/reviews_video.html

Some of the older titles are very well done... Star Trek TOS, Casablanca, Bonnie and Clyde, Robin Hood, Forbidden Planet, Deer Hunter, Reds, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Sting, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Scent of a Woman and many others. All are way better than a DVD.

And The Battle of the Bulge, 2001, The Dirty Dozen, Reds, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, Animal House, and a few more I have cant remember the titles to.

And The Battle of the Bulge, 2001, The Dirty Dozen, Reds, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, Animal House, and a few more I have cant remember the titles to.

OMG... 2001... how could I have forgotten that? One of the best!

Casablanca looks awesome on HD DVD.

Yes forgot that title too....

I feel more educated now about the original source film being kind of like a super hi def, and the studios or whoever can clean them up to varying degrees. The link to hidefdigest is cool, and everyones' advice will be helpful in deciding what titles to take a look at buying. I better get Casablanca before it goes away on hd...
Great info as always.

Grand Prix...

Casablanca looks awesome on HD DVD.

Casablanca is 4:3 right?

There's a whole sticky at the top for PQ and AQ ranking: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=942015

larry

Mutiny on the Bounty!