How Do They do That?

[admin_exported]

Just wondering how do old films become HD?

 

[Anonymous]

Simple. They already are.

 

[Clare Newsome]

This recent thread explains more

 

[Anonymous]

Octopo:Simple. They already are. Oh I see. So we owe it to our HD ready gadgets then.

 

[Anonymous]

liujol:Octopo:Simple. They already are. Oh I see. So we owe it to our HD ready gadgets then.

Uh-huh, and HD+ and HD++ and HD+++.ÿ

 

[Clare Newsome]

Yep! I love the fact that digitised 35mm movie film is so high-res that it has to be downconverted to create an HD transfer

 

[Anonymous]

How I wish that all films and tv programs be shown in hd? When will this happen?

 

[Anonymous]

When they have the time, money and endorsement to make the transfer.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! Just added sky movies HD on my package. Brilliant!. Now, everytime I watch films in SD, I feel like I am going back in the olden times.

 

[digigriffin]

I might have this wrong but (from my school days and pin hole camera!)

A photograph does not have a resolution as such as it is captured on continous tone photographic emulsion?

So this contains no pixels and so is not restricted in resolution as it was always intended to be optical in presentation.

I think this is why if the original on film, is still in good condition, it can produce an excellant HD version?

 

[Anonymous]

Photographic film has resolution, it's just not pixels.

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:Yep! I love the fact that digitised 35mm movie film is so high-res that it has to be downconverted to create an HD transfer

So does that mean that 1080p is not future proofed? Will there be a better resolution out sooner or later???

 

[Anonymous]

It's already being demonstrated, I wouldn't worry just yet though.

 

[professorhat]

Ginder:So does that mean that 1080p is not future proofed? Will there be a better resolution out sooner or later???
The thing of course with even higher resolutions is, you need even bigger screens to get the benefit of them (most people agree that you can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on a 32" set). So I think we're almost at the limit as far as TVs are concerned (NB - almost!).

 

[southdownswolf]

Ginder:Clare Newsome:Yep! I love the fact that digitised 35mm movie film is so high-res that it has to be downconverted to create an HD transfer

So does that mean that 1080p is not future proofed? Will there be a better resolution out sooner or later???

Computer monitors already are much higher resolution. 2560 x 1600 is quite common on higher spec large monitors. However, just because they are good for computing, does not mean that the higher resolution is needed on TV's.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, films do have resolution, its based on the ISO rating of the film. 50 or 100 ISO is very smooth and fine grain whereas 1600 ISO is very grainy (not unlike digital noise, but different). So when taking pics using film if you want to get a smooth, non grainy, A3 print you need to use slow film (ISO 100 or so). If you use fast film and enlarge it to A3 it becomes quite grainy. My comments are based on my experience using 35mm film and making prints in my darkroom.

I'm therefore assuming that film makers used slow 35mm film when making their movies hence the incredible quality that is available from original movies many years old. Remember they were projected huge distances in cinemas, so they had to have high resolution to remain smooth and sharp.

For the still photographers amongst us the new Nikon digital cameras D3 and D700 have an amazing ability to produce grainfree A3 prints at ISO speeds of 1600 or even 3200!! Something that simply was not possible with any traditional film at that speed. These cameras have revolutionised sport and low light photography. By the way I don't work for Nikon, just impressed with the amazing results I'm getting from these cameras.