Kind of hard to go back to the dull color of regular DVDs after going hi-def.

What I wonder is why they look so much more vibrant. I know its looks sharper because there are many more pixels to work with, but it's still 8 bit color with 4:2:0 sampling. Does the increase of resolution capture more color than wasn't possible before?

Yes it all looks great, I just don't understand really/

Its still 4:2:0 but since the luma res increases so does the color res.

So its 1920*1080 with 960*540 (Color)

vs

720*480 with 360*240 (color)

Also the improvment in mastering and encoding also helps.

Its still 4:2:0 but since the luma res increases so does the color res.

So its 1920*1080 with 960*540 (Color)

vs

720*480 with 360*240 (color)

Also the improvement in mastering and encoding also helps.

I see, so those extra pixels really do make a difference in taking n so much more information.

Personally think the colour just screams "video" on HD. Its not any better than SD to any significant degree. All the main benefits of HD are resolution.

NO, colors do not look much better on HDM compared to SD DVDs, if a SD DVD is well authored. They share same color space, as noted.

However, colors do look a lot better on HD video compard to SD video since HD uses different color sampling, and HD cameras are a lot better. SD video does look very dull.

Personally I think it's just the masters...

I read a post a while ago talking about how DVD's are improving in quality due to mastering things for HDM.

The Evil Dead II thread on the BD section showed a broad array of differences betwen masters of the title. It was rather interesting and shocking in a way.

I used to buy movies thinking nothing of it, and when some release got labeled as 'remastered', I just passed it off as a marketing gimmic.

NO, colors do not look much better on HDM compared to SD DVDs, if a SD DVD is well authored. They share same color space, as noted.

However, colors do look a lot better on HD video compard to SD video since HD uses different color sampling, and HD cameras are a lot better. SD video does look very dull.

So are you saying if the source is shot in HD but encoded to SD we should not see a pronounced difference in color?

I certainly percieve a significant difference in color between SD and HD right now so I assume must be attributed to something.

...
I certainly percieve a significant difference in color between SD and HD right now so I assume must be attributed to something.
Are you talking abut film or video? As I said clearly, there is huge difference in video every time I turn on my TV, for example, between Discovery SD and HD.

As for films, I have not noticed much difference, say, KK/Troy between DVD and HD DVD. You have to compare the same movies (from same master if available), obviously.

DVD/HDM/ATSC use 4:2:0, NTSC video uses 4:1:1, IIRC.

HD-DVD/Blu-ray is based on the ATSC standards and DVD is based on NTSC. ATSC uses a different color space (REC709) versus NTSC (REC601) which allows for better color gamut.

HD-DVD/Blu-ray is based on the ATSC standards and DVD is based on NTSC. ATSC uses a different color space (REC709) versus NTSC (REC601) which allows for better color gamut.

The difference is best described as a difference rather than a significant improvement.

It also seems that chroma subsampling plays a bigger(?) role than color space difference. Not sure why 4:2:0 would be that much better than 4:1:1, due to more pixel horizontally than vertically?

Do people in PAL land see huge difference between SD/HD video? 4:2:0 seems more popular in PAL format.

HD-DVD/Blu-ray is based on the ATSC standards and DVD is based on NTSC. ATSC uses a different color space (REC709) versus NTSC (REC601) which allows for better color gamut.

that explains a lot more

If it looks that much different, then something is wrong. Likely saturation it cranked up to high ;)

If it looks that much different, then something is wrong. Likely saturation it cranked up to high ;)

no the tv is calibrated just fine. And I can switch between sources back and forth rather easily

no the tv is calibrated just fine. And I can switch between sources back and forth rather easily
Which movies have you compared ?

I have compared Troy, KK, and PE and not seen much a difference in colors.