I'm a classic silent movie fan, things like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, etc. Haven't seen any classic silent films yet in BD. Would it even make sense to transfer them to BD? I'm thinking the the films normally are grainy and have a strange ratio.

I'd love for some in HD. Grainy what's wrong with that? I've see many misc films that just looks fabulous, but loose a lot more detail when in SD. But I guess most will claim "It looks like an upcovert" when released on BD. Why will aspect ratio be a problem?

I would like to see something with a 5.1 audio, maybe with a newly recorded score mixed in 5.1. Also would be nice to have a removable tint option. If space is available, maybe two versions one with and one without tint.

Sorry, I don't know how to say it. Am I used to seeing old silent films trimmed in width for TVs or were they actually wider?

Good point about sound. Some of the scores would sound great.

Sorry, I don't know how to say it. Am I used to seeing old silent films trimmed in width for TVs or were they actually wider?

Good point about sound. Some of the scores would sound great.

Even if many were in something like a 1.33:1 ratio, it would still benefit from HD. Warner Brothers has released a few classics such as Casablanca and Adventures of Robin Hood that retain their OAR and are incredible restorations. Sure there's black bars but, for myself, its easily overlooked.

FOX recently released their John Ford films on DVD. It would have been nice to have had that on Blu-ray. They included some of his silent films in this collection.

I doubt FOX thinks anyone wants anything older than Robocop on Blu. I'd love to even see the original Planet of the Apes set released, but we know that ain't gonna happen, much less films released pre-'50s. That's just too bad.:(

We definitely need more classic films.

The adventures of robin hood looks amazing on HD-DVD. That was what the mid 30's.

If they put some work into it many older films could look great. Prehapps just a collection with several short films silent or otherwise on 1 or 2 BD 50's.

Catalog sales have been so poor, I'm not sure we will see many older films any time soon. :mad:

All catalog films should be BOGO'd then or BOGO pricing at least.

It's amazing to scroll through available BDs at DVD Empire or on Netflix...the vast majority seem to be movies produced after 2000. I think as blu-ray becomes more mainstream we'll see lots of "classic" films available. My wish-list is a long one.

TA

The day Kino or Criterion gets into the Blu-Ray game will be a happy day indeed.

Catalog sales have been so poor, I'm not sure we will see many older films any time soon. :mad:

I get that, but there is a market for them. Hopefully, when the format debate settles down, we'll start to see more of these come out. I RENT new titles...I BUY classics.

The problem with all of the non-wide screen movies is that today's sets underscan, instead of CRTs which overscanned. (Or is it the other way around?)

So, even if you were to seed a full frame silent movie, you could never be sure that you are seeing the whole complete frame.

It drives me nuts watching a movie like "Them" (1959, I believe) which shows more on CRT than on my 42" Pani. Sure, it's only 5%...

If they come out for HDM they should ensure that you see all of the full frame and not have the TV cut off parts of the frame.

To clarify...virtually all CRT sets will overscan by virtue of the fact hat the frame around the diplay overlaps at the periphery thus cutting off 2-5% of the transmitted (or pre-recorded, i.e. DVD etc.) signal.

It is worth noting that several terrestrial (and cable) transmissions carry information/data (not quite sure what for) at the periphery of the signal, which is not intended for viewing, and was never historically an issue given the 'natural' overscan of CRT displays, which prevented this peripheral information from being displayed.

Most of the older fixed pixel displays (plasmas, LCDs etc.) also overscan in order to emulate the 'blocking' effect of CRT displays and avoid displaying the extra data which would otherwise show up as a sparkly whitish line at the edge of the display.

Many (if not most) of the newer fixed pixel displays allow for two display modes - with and without overscan. While the former is useful insofar as it avoids displaying otherwise annoying data, the latter allows for two key advantages in media that do not include the extra data as part of the signal (eg. most Hi Def transmissions and of course Blu-Ray and HD DVD):

i. Allows ALL of the data being transmitted (or on the disc) to be displayed

ii By directly 'passing through' all of the data 'as is' one avoids redundant upscaling/processing, thus preserving the signal in as pristine a shape as possible.

I don't think underscanning is a factor (or feature) on most displays (CRT or fixed pixel).

I'd kill to get some silents on HD, there are still many that look like they were shot yesterday an would really be magnificent in HD.

Metropolis
Passion of Joan of Arch
Nosferatu
King of Kings
Pandora's Box
Phantom of the Opera
The Last Laugh
Faust
Gold Rush

Bring'em on!
Actually, I believe many would fare much better in HD as several of the US versions of European restorations are clearly from beautiful prints, but are let down by sloppy PAL-NTSC conversions.
If I'm not mistaken the great-looking NOSFERATU DVD just put out by Kino (and Eureka! in Europe) was taken from a HD master. So there is hope!

I get that, but there is a market for them. Hopefully, when the format debate settles down, we'll start to see more of these come out. I RENT new titles...I BUY classics.

Same here, and I hope you are right.