"DVDs remastered in high-definition"

[thedownfall]

I was just at my local Hastings and they had Funny Face and Roman Holiday both were part Centennial Collection and said they were remastered in high-defintion. Does anybody have them and if so how do they look and are they worth buying or should wait until they are released on blu-ray or if they ever released on blu-ray?

[drtre81]

alot of dvds say that. especially early ones. rumble in the bronx says the same and it's a horrible transfer.

[helius]

So... you are asking people to compare released DVDs "mastered in high definition" to the quality of hypothetical blu-ray releases? Umm... yeah. I'm going to take a leap of faith and guess that the blu-ray versions will look better.

[GGX]

Sounds like he made a good point to me.

[Afrobean]

A lot of DVDs will say they're remastered in "high definition", but the fact is that the disc can only support standard definition picture. They might have remastered in HD, but the picture you're getting will only be 480i.

It's funny actually. My mom was watching Robinson Crusoe on Mars earlier and I was reading the back cover and they made a big deal about remastering in high definition. I would've thought Criterion of all folks would know better than to try to mislead consumers like that, but I guess not.

One point I'd like to make though: remastering can be a good thing regardless of their attempts to mislead you. For example, Dragon Ball Z box sets make a big deal about how they rescanned the film source at 1080p, but fail to make the consumer aware that the 1080p gets lost when put on DVD. But even so, the picture looks the best it ever has (ignoring the cropping situation). Cleanest and best, and considering it was remastered in HD, there are now digital HD masters which can be used to broadcast in HD (and actually, the show is running in HD in Japan now, recut to improve the show's terrible pacing).

[BStecke]

I don't think I'd go so far as to say that advertising that a film was remastered in high definition is misleading. It's not the studio's fault if someone doesn't understand what that means.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by BStecke

I don't think I'd go so far as to say that advertising that a film was remastered in high definition is misleading. It's not the studio's fault if someone doesn't understand what that means.

I think they're taking advantage of common misconceptions...... it's because of this and "1080p upconversion" etc... that people think blu-ray is of no benefit to them

personally I don't care though.... if someone thinks their DVD is the same quality as a Blu-ray.... so-be-it.

[helius]

Originally Posted by BStecke

I don't think I'd go so far as to say that advertising that a film was remastered in high definition is misleading. It's not the studio's fault if someone doesn't understand what that means.

To agree with Beta Man, I also wouldn't call it misleading. I certainly would call it confusing though, at least to the average consumer. As movie studios continue to promote Blu-ray as the standard for high definition content, I would be surprised if they keep advertising regular DVDs as "mastered in high definition."

[Beta Man]

Standard DVDs will throw "HD" out there as a marketing tool.... just like High Definition counter-tops, and High-Definition Sun-glasses......

"HD" is the new "extreme"