Prerecorded Hi-Def Movies
In your magazine, and from other soures, I've found some gushing references to prerecorded Hi-Def movies, akin to the Second Coming. I recently had my first opportunity to see a hi-def transfer, of one of the Terminator movies, this one at a private residence home theater equipped with a $44,000 Runco CRT projector, a D-VHS machine(used for the display in question), an expensive scaler, and just about every other expensive toy on the market. Afterward, we put on my SuperBit version of The Fifth Element, played on the same display using an $1,200 Denon DVD player. I would say that while VERRRRY good, the hi-def D-VHS transfer just wasn't that much better than the SuperBit of The Fifth Element. So if D-VHS transfers are a portend of what HD-DVD prerecordeds will look like, I think a lot of people are going to be as disappointed as I was. I was ready to shell out more than $750 for a D-VHS machine and some $35 for D-VHS tapes, but not after seeing it in person. In fact, JVC was supposed to have D-VHS demos all over the place from the first week in April to the first week in May, and I have yet to see ONE - anywhere here in LaLa land, the movie capital. If my experience is any indication, I think I may know why: HD film transfers just aren't the quantum leap the electronics companies and movie studios would have us believe, when compared to current-generation reference-quality DVDs. (To further compare, I didn't even bother to bring my copy of 'North By Northwest' to my friend's fancy home theater because that darn thing is almost 3-dimensional, and to my eyes anyway is actually BETTER than the D-VHS of the Terminator hi-def we watched.) So, I'm not sure what you guys are talking about, unless my supposed 20/20 eyesight is somehow lacking. Hi-Def movie transfers really good? Yup. But a giant leap forward from what we've had up to now? Hardly. Keep up the good work.
Milt R. Smith
Editor-In-Chief Gary Reber Comments:
Milt, Thank you for your letter. The first rule in A/B comparisons is to compare the same title on DVD (whether Superbit or more compressed) and the D-VHS D-Theater version. If you had compared "Terminator 2" on DVD with the D-Theater version I think you would have been impressed with the difference in resolution and color fidelity. In our experience, every single D-Theater release we have reviewed has been superior to the picture in standard-definition. That is not to say that some D-Theater masters are better than others; they are and so is the case with DVDs. I personally think it is way to early to close your mind on high-definition. To your success
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