Are there high definition masters for every movie on DVD?

[diamondfoxxx]

I was just listening to William Friedkin talk about the DVD transfer of Cruising and he talked about how it was made from a nice high definition transfer. So that would mean they mastered the film at 1080p and downscaled it to 480i, right?
What I want to know is that if HD masters exist for every movie out on DVD? If they do, releasing a Blu ray disc of a older movie wouldn't take that much long would it?

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by diamondfoxxx

I was just listening to William Friedkin talk about the DVD transfer of Cruising and he talked about how it was made from a nice high definition transfer. So that would mean they mastered the film at 1080p and downscaled it to 480i, right?
What I want to know is that if HD masters exist for every movie out on DVD? If they do, releasing a Blu ray disc of a older movie wouldn't take that much long would it?

HD master are not necessarily available for all DVDs. For new Hollywood movies probably yes but not for the others (e.g. Bollywood movies).

If there is a HD master, it would be quicker to release blu-ray rather than not having one. But still it takes time to author in addition to making exclusive HD features (if there are any).

[diamondfoxxx]

I'm interested in the Hollywood process mainly. Yeah, many new films benefit from a HD master but what about if you want to bring an old film that was never released on a digital format for the first time in DVD? Do they go back to a release print and scan it in HD?

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by diamondfoxxx

I'm interested in the Hollywood process mainly. Yeah, many new films benefit from a HD master but what about if you want to bring an old film that was never released on a digital format for the first time in DVD? Do they go back to a release print and scan it in HD?

I hope they would do a HD transfer from the original. However, in reality, anything could happen if no rigid guidelines are available. What happens could depend on the budget and the mindset of the makers (if no rules/guidelines are given).

This is a good point to ask an industry insider. Have they already set guidelines on DVD/blu-ray movie transfers?

[WickyWoo]

Yes they scan a print at HD, but not usually a release print. often a new one will be struck specifically for this purpose. Then that print is often put into the reperatory circuit

How much the resulting master is digitally cleaned is usually budget dependant

There are no guidlines on transfers whatsoever, beyond what each company has set for their own internal use

DVDs are 480p BTW

[diamondfoxxx]

I'm not exactly sure I got what you said. If as you said they make another print for home video release nowadays, what about the process they go through when bringing an old movie that's not even released on DVD to Blu-ray. So a new digital master would have to be made from the film, right? In order to do that, do they go back to a release print that ran in the theaters or do they have a specifically preserved print in the vault for this purpose?

[Deciazulado]

Hopefully, used theatrical prints would be the LAST resource used to transfer a film, when no other better elements existed, could be found, or were faded/damaged beyond redemption: Original negative, interpositive made from that, internegative made from interpositive, low con/reference answer prints, b/w separation elements, CRIs, fine grains, etc etc, all depending on how the film was shot (color/b/w, Technicolor, etc) and what survives. Each duplicating step reduces resolution, lowers sharpness, adds grain, distorts colors and modifies contrast, specially compressing shadows and highlights.

Sometimes the look of what's on the earlier film elements might differ dramatically from what the director/cinematographer/producer finally printed, and a theatrical print can be helpful as a reference.

[Daredevil666]

Digital intermediate are now the norm in Hollywood, so there's probably a HD transfert of every movie made since around 2000/2001.

Howewer, this shouldn't be taken as "good" and "HD port ready", since technology evolves in bound. I believe the DVD forum should rule that no transfert older than 24 months is allowed onto blu-ray ie they all should redo them because older transferts don't look as good as recent one, due to the evolution of scanning technology, as well as screens technology.

Let's say you take 2000's Gladiator transfert, and port it direct to Blu, it will look like the SD upscaled. Obviously, the HD version doing the rounds on HDTV is brand new, the colors don't match the old and it looks way better. Transferts like the Die Hards being ported to HD when they are obviously at least 7 years old is a joke. What next, Mac selling brand new G5 with OS6 on them ?

Ban all transferts older than 24 months, or else I see HD not being as spectacular as it claims to be on every release, hence slow mass adoption. Plus we should have the best when we buy, not some 8 years old transfert ported onto HD.

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by dvdvision

Digital intermediate are now the norm in Hollywood, so there's probably a HD transfert of every movie made since around 2000/2001.

Ban all transferts older than 24 months, or else I see HD not being as spectacular as it claims to be on every release, hence slow mass adoption. Plus we should have the best when we buy, not some 8 years old transfert ported onto HD.

Agree. When consumers purchase a blu-ray disk, they expect some quality standard due to market hype etc. If that quality is not there, the consumer confidence on blu-ray will be damaged. It will take some time to rebuild that confidence.

Therefore, world-wide standards or at least guide lines should be established in the area of content transfer for blu-ray. If sub-standard content is stored on blu-ray, that should be clearly indicated on the packaging.

[richieb1971]

1080p is like the slogan "digital quality sound" was in the 80's.

Hype doesn't mean a damn thing unless the source was great to begin with.

[blu_world]

CGI from the 90's is too easy to notice now with HD 1080P



'Twister,ID4"

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

1080p is like the slogan "digital quality sound" was in the 80's.

Hype doesn't mean a damn thing unless the source was great to begin with.

Yes agree. In some cases, the original content is on film and the problem is the transfer process rather than the quality of the original content. This is where some guidelines would help to make transfer process consistent and maintain blu-ray quality where ever it is possible.

If the content is sub standard, then indicating that fact on the packaging would help. Otherwise consumer confidence on blu-ray-quality could be damaged and it will not be trivial to restore it.