True High Definition Versus Imitation HD – Don’t Be
Fooled!!!
When
innovations in the past were introduced that changed entertainment, they’re
benefits were more obvious, like stereo, color TV, 3-D films and
videogames. The connection with the
audience was instant and a big hit. When
DVD arrived over ten years ago, most people only knew VHS and bad cable,
missing the better 12” LaserDiscs and how good they could look, so the DVD boom
happened, raising standards for home video playback, even if the Dolby Digital
mixes were a step backwards from the best sound out there. They were a compromise because of the DVD’s
limited room.
High
Definition video has been talked about for many years, experimented with at
first, originally in over a dozen versions, a few of which were analog. Despite the several forms of compression
signals now used, all hardware machines, cable and satellite systems handle all
of them, yet there is mass confusion about what HD is and why it is so much
better than anything downloads or DVD can offer today or downloads will offer
for many years to come.
Part of
the problem is a series of misconceptions.
They include:
1)
Regular
DVD are not HD, never will be HD and machines that “upscale” to HD are just
stretching low definition out by repeating lines and adding noise and artifacts
that are not part of the intended picture.
Upscaling was a gimmick to stretch out the life of cheap DVD player
sales, but it is almost as much of a rip-off as chains selling analog TVs when
they knew permanent HDTV was just around the corner as analog TV would be shut
off in 2009.
2)
Earlier
versions of HD that were not perfected (720p, 1080i) that were better than
DVD’s meager 480 lines, but not as good as the signal was capable of
being. They still had aliasing issues,
artifacts, mesh, small moiré pattern and edges on the image that did not need
to be there. Since much HD equipment was
produced with cameras that could not do 1080p (p for progressive) or higher, it
is no wonder the more involved and those willing to spend more money) were only
marginally impressed.
3)
Cable
and satellite do not deliver the best HD either, though you do get some good
live and prerecorded materials that make it out of the studio looking pretty
good at this point. In most cases, you still
get errors and other problems, while some cable companies (et al) pass off
cheaper, older, lamer, junkier HD boxes as state of the art when they are awful
and even over-compress the image to the point of defeating HD in the first
place. Some even feel some were designed
to do that to kill HD by certain forces who hate innovation.
4)
Electronic
chains and some lesser mom and pop stores have done an awful job of showing how
good HD can look. To save money, Circuit
City fired all their experts at the worst possible time (instead of increasing
training) and their profits fell further, proving they have learned zero about
the massive amounts of money they lost on the idiotic pay-per-view DVD system
called DIVX (not to be confused with a new digital system that uses the same
initials) and Best Buy highly undertrained their workers. Instead of showing the best HD-DVD and
Blu-ray titles in the best possible set-ups, they just talked about it being
better, could never explain themselves or the system properly and instead would
spout in know-it-all mythos too often about how much better HD was without
backing it up. If they supported
Blu-ray, they just kept telling everyone how great Sony was, which is
complementary, but not enough to get people to spend money. It is another example of “talking to the
heart” as poor substitute for talk to someone.
In all this, as much as the format war itself, both chains and their
equally lazy “mom and pop” and smaller chain equals (some of which folded in
the last few years) caused as much trouble in confusing the consumer by talking
down to them. It is amazing how many
people got paid for so little work.
5)
The
basic failure of manufacturers and media to allow “Digital” and “High
Definition” not to have distinct, separate identities instead of making it
severely clear that they can be as different as night and day has also cost the
industry a few billion dollars and counting.
Digital video has been around for years and not in high definition,
while some early high definition was analog.
Most of the public does not know this and by simply understanding it in
a few sentences, would then understand how digital HD has arrived and why it
should be so very good after years and billions of dollars of research.
Yes, we
are talking about ignorance all around, though Blu-ray outlasting HD-DVD is a
step forward. However, with the prices
HDTVs cost, consumers need to understand that the reason Blu-ray machines and
titles cost so much is because they are now THE premium way to see programming
on these expensive TV sets. Even as
prices drop, they will still be on the high end, as it is to be expected with
the next big thing.
Fortunately,
Blu-ray at its best can deliver picture and sound so stunning, the picture can
rival lesser movie theaters and the sound at its best can outdo them (unless
they have DTS or SDDS) and that is why this site took on the initiative
immediately when high definition arrived on disc to cover all the software we
could get. When you see and hear the
best titles on the market, you finally start to realize why the fans are so
fired up about Blu-ray. It is the
replacement for DVD for the serious fan and collector, though all Blu-ray
machines play DVDs, so you can focus on the high performers to add to your
collection or buy titles that way you never got on DVD to begin with if
interested.
But until
everyone else gets on the same page in the Summer of 2008 with all the studios
now releasing titles in the Blu-ray format and set up the highest quality
playback in locations across the country, too many people are going to be left
out of the fun and awesome performance.
If you are unimpressed so far and the major chains have not impressed
you, go out of your way to find an upscale home theater store and see if they
have Blu-ray to show you.
As for
the best software, we have covered as many titles as just about anyone
anywhere, so look on our sidebar, search of a specific title or enter “Blu-ray”
in our search engine, or try this constantly updated link for highlights in HD
software:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4249/Highlights+of+software
- Nicholas Sheffo
