LOTR DVD vs. HD

Post by **BrianIsSmilingAtYou** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:46 am

http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html

Move your cursor over the pictures to see the difference.

HD is clearly superior, but is the difference sufficiently noticeable?

BrianIs

AtYou

Post by **Impenitent** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:07 am

Oh, yes, very noticeable to me! Vastly superior in detail!

But...I don't understand enough about the way the shots were taken to understand whether it is due to inherent superiority of the technology (I read through the explanation twice, but I still don't really understand it).

Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:00 am

My goodness, extremely noticable. Though I'm not sure how much I would care watching the film that I could see every hair in Gandalf's beard.

But the picture of Rivendell really makes a big difference.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:39 am

Having seen HD on my parents' 60-inch plasma set, I have to say that the difference is even more noticeable at full size. I haven't seen this exact comparison, as they don't have an HD-DVD player, but programs shown in HD have an astonishing level of detail.

Someday. . . .

Post by **Inanna** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:47 am

We just bought a 46" HD-compatible TV and then watched ROTK using one of those HD-upsclaed DVD players. And it was awesome. And watching normal TV now, that "feel" is just not there. And the larger the TV, the more evident the difference.

Though did anyone notice how the DVD and HD were not from the same shot but consecutive ones? Its fun to see Aragorn's head moving. tick-tock, tick-tock.

Post by **yovargas** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:19 pm

The detail looks astonishinh but is it just me or are the colors duller?
It could just be the way he transferred or something but I wouldn't trade color for detail.

Post by **Inanna** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:23 pm

I thought the colors were duller in the DVD sample... look at the Bag End one.

Post by **truehobbit** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:47 pm

The HD shots were a lot darker. More focussed, yes, but at the expense of brightness.
Not sure where the improvement is.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:16 pm

Well, brightness is adjustable on any TV set. I don't think HD is inherently dark, and it is certainly not less colorful, based on the HD broadcasts I've seen.

The increased sharpness and realism is especially striking in natural landscapes. I find it makes a huge difference in my appreciation; regular television now seems blurry, as if I need to clean my lenses!

Post by **axordil** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:55 pm

The shot in the Emyn Muil is strikingly better in HD.

Post by **Rowanberry** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:46 pm

Mahima wrote:Though did anyone notice how the DVD and HD were not from the same shot but consecutive ones? Its fun to see Aragorn's head moving. tick-tock, tick-tock.

Yes, and Gimli jumping to and fro...

But, there's a clear difference in the quality.

Post by **Alatar** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:10 am

When did the HD version come out? Is it just on TV or was it released on Blu-Ray or HDef?

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:06 pm

I thought I had read either an actual announcement, or a rumor so convincing I accepted it as fact, that New Line would be releasing the theatrical (!) versions in HD, with minimal extras. And everyone was disappointed—who wants to buy the theatrical editions again? I remember posting that they weren't getting my money with this one.

Sorry—I must have dreamed it.

Post by **Alatar** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:14 pm

But who gets the Extended Edition? Find out…

It’s not something I’d normally blog on, but I’m a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and would naturally prefer the Blu-Ray version to be the best having just bought a PS3 (and don’t own a HD-DVD player).

Well, yay for me:

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will be released on both Blu-ray and HD-DVD on November 23, 2007.

As a gesture of good faith over the Matrix release, New Line/WB will be releasing only the Extended Editions on Blu-ray at this time, while HD-DVD will get only the Theatrical Versions.

The Blu-ray version will be on a BD50 in VC-1 with PCM. It will also showcase a lot of the neat features of BD-J.

I’m hoping this is a credible source. It’s certainly not a press release, but the source (link below) seems fairly sure…

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:31 pm

Thanks, Alatar. I hope it works out.

But I was leaning toward HD-DVD, not Blu-Ray. Not that it matters; I won't be buying an HDTV anytime soon, so I can afford to sit out this format war.

Post by **Padme** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:03 pm

HD is better, sort of. A friend of mine moved and left me a HD plasma TV, it’s a small 42 inch one, so it’s not all the bells and whistles. Anyway I was watching RoTK on TNT and was sort of wowed by the big stuff, but the close up shots where you can see the pores on peoples faces kind of is not a bonus in my opinion. I have noticed that with other stuff too, I am fine with everything but close ups, I guess if I wanted to see bad pores I could look in the mirror.

Post by **Alatar** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:07 pm

Only in America could someone describe a 42" plasma as "small".

Post by **Padme** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:13 pm

Well it is the smallest plasma around, I think. I would perfer the 50 or 60 inch job, but I ain't complain' too much as it was given to me because moving it to San Antonio could ruin it.