How do I know if a movie is High Definition?

[bobcarla]

I got a Pansonic DMPBD10AK player yesterday and was very disappointed to play two blu-ray discs from Netflix (The last waltz and 28 Days Later) which were not near to being high definition.

I went down to Blockbuster where the clerk told me that Closer and 3:10 to Yuma would play much better and they did.

Apparently some blu-ray discs are just reformatted from standard DVD format (I am not sure whey).

Is there a way to know when ordering from Netflix or do I need to check with the recommendations onf Blu-ray.com?

Thanks
bobcarla

[groovyone]

For 28 Days Later, it was filmed on a lower resolution camera. The movie was not 1080 to start with. Someone posted the exact details of resolution and camera used. You can probably search for 28 Days Later and find it.

[BStecke]

Originally Posted by bobcarla

Apparently some blu-ray discs are just reformatted from standard DVD format (I am not sure whey).
Thanks
bobcarla

Not the case. Certain Blu-rays, like certain DVD's, are going to look better than others. As the poster about me stated, 28 Days Later was not shot in HD or on film, so it's not going to be HD quality.

Last Waltz is 30 years old. Even if the master was perfect, it's not going to look like an HD film from recently. Film stocks and the like play into that.

To answer the question posed in your thread topic, all Blu-ray films are high definition.

[CptGreedle]

Because HD media shows so much more information than DVD ever did, you can see the imperfection better and sometimes they just stick out like a sore thumb. Also, some movies were filmed with lower resolution cameras, but luckily not many. The real issue is why release something like that to BD so early if it is so bad to begin with.
BDs are not just reformatted DVDs, they are resampled from the original film for higher resolution and quality, for both video and sound.
You shouldn't have any trouble finding HD sources, as most films are made for theaters at either 2k or 4k, which are both higher resolution than 1080.

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by bobcarla

I got a Pansonic DMPBD10AK player yesterday and was very disappointed to play two blu-ray discs from Netflix (The last waltz and 28 Days Later) which were not near to being high definition.

I went down to Blockbuster where the clerk told me that Closer and 3:10 to Yuma would play much better and they did.

Apparently some blu-ray discs are just reformatted from standard DVD format (I am not sure whey).

Is there a way to know when ordering from Netflix or do I need to check with the recommendations onf Blu-ray.com?

Thanks
bobcarla

What kind of TV do you have, and what connection cables are you using? Hi-def requires component or higher.

Some TVs have a resolution detector, so you can check that too.

[Elandyll]

Yeah to make sure you are receiving a HD signal (most likely if you connected your TV with HDMI, could go either way if component -RGB-, and definitely not HD if composite -yellow-), most TVs include a "Display" button that let you see what signal you are receiving.
If your TV shows 1080p or 1080i, you got HD going (should be 1080p normally).

If your TV show 720p, you got HD too, but that shouldn't happen, something's weird.

If it shows 480i/480p, you are not seeing HD, most likely you have a setup in composite or something else is amiss.

This being said, as others have pointed out, 28 days later was shot in low def video to give the film a certain "aspect", which is definitely low def.

If you want to see a good punch in HD, try out some of those:

Die Hard 4
Spiderman 2/3
PotC films
Cars
Ratatouille

Those titles have some of the best pictures ever made on HD discs.
With that, most of the other titles you would get (except old movies with a master that's not too good, cf the Last Waltz or "weird" movies filmed in low def/shakey cam -aka 28 days later, or more recently Cloverfield-) will give you a great HD experience.

[theNothingComes]

Originally Posted by bobcarla

Is there a way to know when ordering from Netflix or do I need to check with the recommendations onf Blu-ray.com?

Thanks
bobcarla

Long before ever becoming a member to Blu-ray.com I would come here to not only get information about what was going on with releases, technology etc. but mainly to read the reviews. I have found it extremely helpful when trying to make a decision on buying or, in your case, renting films. Not saying I always completely agree with the reviews but they really have not steered me wrong yet and it's a good place to start.

[JasonR]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=40504

You could try your original post....

[milou6]

BC,
28 Days Later was indeed a bad example of HD. But on BD all movies you watch will look as good as their transfer possibly can.

What kind of TV do you have? You might not see a lot of difference between BD and DVD on a smaller set. And be sure you have everything setup to take advantage of HD -- some people are running players to their HD sets via composite video cables!

I just upgraded sets and I can't beleive how good BD now looks compared to DVD. Before it was just better, now it's a world apart.
Lastly, read reviews like the ones on HiDefDigest.com -- they rate video quality.

Go blu!

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by CptGreedle

either 2k or 4k, which are both higher resolution than 1080.

Captain, 2k is 1080

Scan a Super-35 negative with 2048 pixels across the Full Aperture you end up with 1080 x 2000 pixels for the 13 mm x 24 mm 1.85 image.

Most displays/theaters overscan much more than the 2% difference in area you might "calculate" from that.

[ryoohki]

Well they have release 28 days later , because 28 weeks later was being released.

28 days later was filmed on a Digital Camera at 720x576(PAL), then postprocessed in a computer and put to film.. so it's really one the of worst example their is for HD (altought the DTS HD MA 5.1 track is awesome and i bought it because it had Loseless audio)

[actionhank]

Originally Posted by bobcarla

Is there a way to know when ordering from Netflix or do I need to check with the recommendations onf Blu-ray.com?

If you're just renting from Netflix, then the cost of renting a BD and a DVD is the same so I don't understand why you would have to check if the movie is in true HD or not, simply get it on blu if available. Now if you're actually buying then it's important to get HD for your HD cost.

Of course, if you're basing your renting decisions on pure eye candy then I understand.

[Maxell]

Look at the blu-ray reviews such as those posted at this site as well as highdefdigest.com
These reviews will tell you the quality of video and audio.

[bobcarla]

I must admit that HD eye candy is a major attribute for me.

[HDEF1080P]

I find that so far the only movies to really catch my eye as far as PQ goes are Cars and Live Free or Die Hard, both spectacular in both the video and audio departments!