McCallum blurb: no SW HD disc for now, maybe not ever

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2007-07-31 11:41am

From Digitalbits.com, in the comic con report:

While we're talking Fox, you may recall how we mentioned a few days ago that Lucasfilm producer Rick McCallum told audiences at the Star Wars Celebration convention in Europe recently that the Star Wars films wouldn't be released in high-definition until one format emerged a winner. Industry sources have informed us that McCallum also added that if the high-def format war isn't resolved soon, the company might skip high-def disc altogether and release the films in HD via download only. Yikes!

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocent ... tml#panrep

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2007-07-31 01:46pm

Wow, just the film and no wrapping? Fine by me.

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2007-07-31 01:51pm

Seems pretty silly to me...

I mean they released the first four Star Wars movies on both VHS and LD format (and if I'm not mistaken betamax too while it was still alive), even though LD was a niche market... and then they released all of the movies on VHS except ROTS (except in Australia and the UK).

Why suddenly go cheap with a pay download? Will people then just burn it onto the format of their choice (Blu-Ray or HD-DVD)?

Not everyone wants to watch a movie on their PC, and the large file size will limit it practically to those with broadband connections... but whatever, I guess!

Jedilaw · Post by **Jedilaw** » 2007-08-01 12:59pm

They may be able to add more DRM to a downloaded video than would be possible with HD-DVD or Blu Ray content. Obviously, they aren't gonna just sell an unencrypted file download. That would be all over the various torrent networks almost instantaneously.

bilateralrope · Post by **bilateralrope** » 2007-08-01 05:03pm

Jedilaw wrote:They may be able to add more DRM to a downloaded video than would be possible with HD-DVD or Blu Ray content. Obviously, they aren't gonna just sell an unencrypted file download. That would be all over the various torrent networks almost instantaneously.

Can you name me even one DRM scheme that wasn't cracked ?
The DRM will just get stripped before it spreads over the torrent networks.

Also were the films recorded with a high enough quality that HD disks actually show detail that the other formats can't ?

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2007-08-03 12:39am

bilateralrope wrote:Also were the films recorded with a high enough quality that HD disks actually show detail that the other formats can't ?

AOTC was filmed in the resolution 1440x1080 while ROTS was filmed in 1920x1080. However, when filming in 2.35:1, only 817 of the vertical pixels were used.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2007-08-03 12:48am

Mange wrote:
bilateralrope wrote:Also were the films recorded with a high enough quality that HD disks actually show detail that the other formats can't ?
AOTC was filmed in the resolution 1440x1080 while ROTS was filmed in 1920x1080. However, when filming in 2.35:1, only 817 of the vertical pixels were used.

Additionally, 35 mm movie film (for those in the series shot non-digitally) has a grain content equivalent to about 4000 lines of resolution.

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2007-08-03 12:48am

Hmmm. Paramount is going to totally rape Star Trek fans for TOS in HD while Lucasfilm isn't going to do HD at all for Star Wars, giving a big "fuck you" to the format and it's war. Interesting.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2007-08-03 06:04pm

Wait a minute, I just realised a kink in the whole question:

The Star Wars films are distributed by 20th Century Fox.

20th Century Fox is supporting the Blu-ray format exclusively.

So why is there even an issue over what format the films would be released on? Shouldn't it be a no-brainer that they'd be released on Blu-ray?

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2007-08-03 06:30pm

Because the rights to the films belong to Lucas (thus technically making them "independent films") I think he can decide whether or not to go with the system of choice.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2007-08-03 11:16pm

Exactly, FOX is just the distributor.

Jedilaw · Post by **Jedilaw** » 2007-08-07 08:00pm

bilateralrope wrote:
Jedilaw wrote:They may be able to add more DRM to a downloaded video than would be possible with HD-DVD or Blu Ray content. Obviously, they aren't gonna just sell an unencrypted file download. That would be all over the various torrent networks almost instantaneously.
Can you name me even one DRM scheme that wasn't cracked ?
The DRM will just get stripped before it spreads over the torrent networks.

Also were the films recorded with a high enough quality that HD disks actually show detail that the other formats can't ?

Didn't say "perfect" DRM or "impervious" DRM. Said "more."

And having watched these in HD already on HBO, yes, it's noticeable.

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-08-08 01:13am

The lack of HD hardly matters. I have seen almost no advantage in HD over standard, so releasing it on HD just seems a little pointless.

apocolypse · Post by **apocolypse** » 2007-08-08 09:18am

chitoryu12 wrote:The lack of HD hardly matters. I have seen almost no advantage in HD over standard, so releasing it on HD just seems a little pointless.

Um, no offense but you must have a really small and/or old TV then, because I see a fuckload of difference between the two on mine.

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-08-08 10:28am

apocolypse wrote:
chitoryu12 wrote:The lack of HD hardly matters. I have seen almost no advantage in HD over standard, so releasing it on HD just seems a little pointless.
Um, no offense but you must have a really small and/or old TV then, because I see a fuckload of difference between the two on mine.

My TV is no more than about a year old and has around a 38'' screen. I've also used HD TVs of similar size and I see hardly any differences worthy of buying a new format. When HD becomes the standard, I'll buy it. Until then, there is no point.

apocolypse · Post by **apocolypse** » 2007-08-08 12:17pm

chitoryu12 wrote:
apocolypse wrote:
chitoryu12 wrote:The lack of HD hardly matters. I have seen almost no advantage in HD over standard, so releasing it on HD just seems a little pointless.
Um, no offense but you must have a really small and/or old TV then, because I see a fuckload of difference between the two on mine.
My TV is no more than about a year old and has around a 38'' screen. I've also used HD TVs of similar size and I see hardly any differences worthy of buying a new format. When HD becomes the standard, I'll buy it. Until then, there is no point.

Perhaps it is the TV size then. A friend of mine has a similar sized TV, and to be honest you're correct, the differences aren't as noticible. However, I can definately see it on mine, and have switched formats predominately. It's all good though.

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-08-08 12:59pm

Untill HD becomes the standard, I have no need to change format. I've also found that with some games, especially Guitar Hero, changing to HD requires recalibrating the game to prevent audio lag.

Darth Cicada · Post by **Darth Cicada** » 2007-08-08 03:29pm

Star Wars in HD is not comparable to SD.

I have all 6 captured in 1080i, check out this several second clip to really see the detail.

http://rapidshare.com/files/35575940/sample6.ts.html

Even, if your 38"er is HD, you may not have it hooked up correctly as you need a minimum of component cables to stream HD.

Ypoknons · Post by **Ypoknons** » 2007-08-10 08:37am

A 480p DVD looks sloppy (grainy) on my 15.4" Macbook Pro, although it didn't seem to on my Asus. The MBP has a much brighter screen, so the difference is much more apparent. 720p is plenty good, though (edit: given the screen's 1440x900 resolution).

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-08-10 10:33am

Even, if your 38"er is HD, you may not have it hooked up correctly as you need a minimum of component cables to stream HD.

I should clarify. It wasn't MY TV. It was a different one of roughly similar size that I found on vacation.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2007-08-10 12:17pm

Well, in the meantime, I imagine the HD cable channels will be happy to show such movies in high-def.

ROTJ in 720p screenshot

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-08-10 06:39pm

I don't see why anyone is surprised by this. Doesn't anyone remember how long Lucasfilm jerked us around before finally releasing the official DVD set?

Jade Falcon · Post by **Jade Falcon** » 2007-08-12 02:19pm

Darth Wong wrote:I don't see why anyone is surprised by this. Doesn't anyone remember how long Lucasfilm jerked us around before finally releasing the official DVD set?

Didn't Lucas say at one time that he wasn't convinced that DVD would take off as a popular format? And this was at a time when DVD was increasing rapidly in popularity, not just a rack of a couple of dozen titles in your local shop.

Jedilaw · Post by **Jedilaw** » 2007-08-13 01:47pm

It's worse than that. Lucas originally wanted Star Wars to premier on Divx machines, the ones that only read time-limited discs. Basically, he wanted us to buy the discs once, then have to pay him again to re-activate the discs after a certain limited number of viewings. It would've been Star Wars: the Subscription Edition.

Thankfully, no one outside of Circuit City ever gave Divx machines any play, and the format completely tanked.

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2007-08-13 01:58pm

Uraniun235 wrote:Well, in the meantime, I imagine the HD cable channels will be happy to show such movies in high-def.

ROTJ in 720p screenshot

Nice, but perhaps a little more work is needed for a HD release (the matte lines really stands out).