| Video Noise June 2002
Progressive-Scan DVD and
High-Definition Video at Home -- The First Weeks
Last month I talked about the process of getting a
high-definition (HD) direct-view monitor. It was the worst experience I’ve had making
a purchase of a relatively expensive item like that, and there have been plenty of
those for comparison over the last 30 years. Now that there is a properly functioning HD
monitor in my system, a Sony KV-36XBR450, it’s time to get into the excitement of
progressive-scan DVDs and actual HD programming.
Progressive-scan DVD
Using a Panasonic DVD-RP56 DVD player, just recently
discontinued, progressive-scan DVDs took the movie-watching experience to a whole new
level. The image is so together, so seamless, and lacks flicker in
horizontal lines. There are all but no jagged edges on angled lines. It was
addictive and riveting to sit and watch all my reference DVDs. I usually skip from scene
to scene in these reference discs to get a handle on the performance of DVD players and
monitors, but when the lights went out and I would put one in, all I could do was sit
slack-jawed in amazement at the degree of improvement over the conventional interlaced
27" and 32" monitors I was used to viewing.
Everything about the image was better. The vertical
compression mode of the 36" monitor puts the horizontal lines right up against each
other so there are no gaps. The interlacing artifacts are gone. Everything is better from
the opening credits to special effects to detail in night shots to the saturated colors of
the Austin Powers movies.
I found myself putting a movie in at 11:00 p.m. and
watching it straight through without falling asleep, then wanting more but having to give
up for the night! Concert DVDs shot on video were reach-out-and-touch real. The effect
seems subtle at first glance, but as you watch the images they are just so clean and clear
that you get into the performance and forget your surroundings.
The Faroudja DCDi chip in the Panasonic DVD player was just
stunning in operation compared to other progressive-scan chips. It is a complete shame
that more products do not contain this chip. If Panasonic can put it in a DVD player that
sold for $230, it can be in virtually any DVD player. But not even Panasonic has
used this chip in any other DVD players they make. This $230 DVD player produces better
progressive-scan image quality than $1200 to $1800 DVD players I have compared it to. You
can really appreciate this on high-quality video displays.
High-definition programming
I happen to live in an area where exactly zero of
the local broadcast channels have begun digital or HD broadcasting. My only choices for HD
programming are cable and satellite services. Satellite’s standard-definition
channels are so massively compressed that the MPEG artifacts become distractingly obvious
to me when viewing a 36" monitor from 8’ away. As bad as standard cable can be,
digital satellite’s standard-channel problems are just as bad, though different in
character.
We have had "digital cable" in our area for some
time. When I finally got a properly working HD-capable monitor in the system, the cable
provider started offering HD programming in the form of one HBO channel and one Showtime
channel. Currently these channels mirror what is on the "main" HBO and Showtime
channels. If the program is not shot in HD, you get a 4:3 version of it with black borders
around all four sides of the screen. It looks sharper than the full-size image on the
standard digital HBO or Showtime channel, but it’s smaller. You have to decide
whether to view the full-size 4:3 image or the slightly cleaner looking, but smaller HD
version. I was hoping The Sopranos, Sex in the City, and Six Feet Under
would be presented in HD but they aren’t -- at least not so far.
Band of Brothers does appear in HD. The increased
detail makes this powerhouse drama even more riveting, almost too much to take at times. Stargate
isn’t shot in HD either, but it is shown in 1080i widescreen upconverted from 480i
letterbox. This was a bit disappointing, though the semi-HD version of Stargate
was unquestionably better than the 480i letterbox version on the standard Showtime
channel. Even some of the movies aren’t really HD. When there isn’t an HD
transfer, they upsample the standard 480i version of the movie and show it in widescreen.
Like Stargate, the results are better than the standard-definition channel, but not
as good as true HD transfers. Most of the newer movies are shown in true 1080i HD
resolution. The HBO and Showtime websites indicate what format each program on the HD
channel is being shown in, so you can check to see whether you want to watch a favorite
movie again to see it in full HD glory.
Titan A.E. is a heck of a good reference DVD and I
know much of it by heart from repeated viewings on a wide range of equipment. When it ran
in 1080i HD, I thought I’d catch 20 minutes of it just to see the difference. I ended
up watching the whole movie -- it was completely stunning. The sharpness of edges
and complete lack of color smearing is remarkable. Text is so incredibly perfect that
progressive-scan DVD, as good as it is, seems softly focused in comparison. There is a
dimensionality in HD that progressive-scan DVD can only hint at. The sequence in the scrap
yard in space where a scooter is taken on a brief but wild thrill ride on the way to lunch
is absolutely remarkable in HD -- an animation masterpiece. Scene after familiar scene
unfolds to eager eyes yearning to see everything that has been missed.
X-Men in HD was quite a bit more interesting than
the DVD, mostly because of all the detail. Rebecca Romjin-Stamos’ Mystique character
is a fascinating study in detail: the shades of blue in the body, the eyes, the fringes,
etc. Her character was visually interesting on DVD, but visually stunning in HD. I found
myself watching the actors’ faces much more closely during the HD version. There is
so much more nuance to see, things you can’t see with 480-resolution images.
Switching back and forth between the HD channel and the
standard channel showing the same movie is quite revealing. My wife was watching an HD
movie and I asked if she liked HD image quality. She shrugged and said she really
didn’t notice a difference. Then I switched to the standard-definition channel
showing the same movie. She literally lifted an inch off the couch when she saw what we
had been watching before the HD channels were available. The difference was obvious. The
opening credits for the movie we were watching had a pink fancy-script font. The HD
version reproduced the finest details and the edges were razor sharp against the dark
background. On the standard-definition channel, the pink was washed out, the characters
were fuzzy, fine detail in the font was lost, and the text generally looked out of focus.
This held up for regular images also -- sharper, cleaner, detailed, better than DVD in
every way but one: you can’t pause, back up, or skip ahead.
Here’s the rub
Alas, HD programming clearly provides the best image
quality for your new-generation video display. But in the audio arena, HD audio is only
Dolby Digital 5.1 or digital stereo (perhaps Dolby Pro Logic encoded). This means many
DVDs have higher-quality soundtracks or more up-to-date soundtracks than the HD
programming on HBO, Showtime or broadcast channels. Getting the best picture quality and
the best sound quality in a single program source is probably reserved for the just
recently available D-VHS (digital-VHS tape) D-Theater format. Several movie studios have
pledged support for this copy-protected format, albeit at laserdisc-like prices: $35 to
$40 per movie. An HD optical-disc format does not exist yet, but work is getting underway.
When there is time to watch an entire movie, I find myself pondering the unanswerable
question: rent a DVD or watch an HD movie? Maybe next time they run Titan A.E. in
HD, I can sync the DTS soundtrack from the DVD with the HD video!
...Doug Blackburn
db@hometheatersound.com |
