Movies Broadcast in HD

[sarusk]

Help me understand.

ASSUMPTION: Live events such as sports, awards shows, etc. use HD cameras which is why they can be broadcast in HD.

QUESTION: How are movies on HBO HD able to broadcast in HD without them being filmed that way originally? If they need not be filmed that way why do sporting events appear in SD?

[Kevin Arnold]

Originally all these movies are on film stock, i.e. 35mm or 70mm.  Film by its very nature is HD.  All HBO or Showtime needs to do is have the movie transferred to tape or disk in HD for broadcast.  Thats why some of the old television sitcoms and series can be shown now in HD, because they were originally shot on film.

[gyoung]

How come I can see a difference between a live HD broadcast and a HD movie broadcast on HBO?  Is it because when the movie was filmed they used filter or some other editing techniques?

It just seems that HD broadcasts (Tonight Show for example) are much more lifelike than and HBO HD broadcast.  The HBO HD broadcasts are much softer to me.  I just assumed it's because the filmmakers process the film when editing.

[Gregg Lengling]

It has to do with the source material.  HD movies (for the most part) are film and need to be transferred to Digital...here's where the difference is:

Films are 24FPS (frames per second) and when you transfer that to digital there are some problems encountered.  In 1080i you have a full 30FPS (every other line per scanned every second) in 720p or 480p you have every line scanned every second.  There is a process out there that is going to start repairing some of the jagged edging and other problems..but so far the only DVD players I know of that include the Farouda chips are the Panasonic Players.  If you go watch a movie done in pure digital////ie:  StarWars Episode 2...you'll notice it is much nicer on HBO than a Film to Digital.

[johnmark]

Just to add my two cents.  One of the other differences between shows shot in HD and film is the film stock used.  Many directors use a grainy stock on purpose for "artistic" reasons.  Also fast film for low light situations tend to have more grain.

So often a movie in HD is shown the way the director wanted it seen.

John