Originally posted by: zombie84
HD is currently recorded onto tape. In the case of Star Wars II and III it was shot on HDCAM tape, so after the tape is done it duplicated and then the original is put into an HDCAM deck and captured to the computer. Then after the edit is done, it is printed back onto film, an IP which the release prints are then duplicated from. And this is starting from 1K resolution. So there is your generational loss.
HD is currently recorded onto tape. In the case of Star Wars II and III it was shot on HDCAM tape, so after the tape is done it duplicated and then the original is put into an HDCAM deck and captured to the computer. Then after the edit is done, it is printed back onto film, an IP which the release prints are then duplicated from. And this is starting from 1K resolution. So there is your generational loss.
Where? I see camera to digital tape (no loss); digital tape to computer (no loss); computer editing (no loss); digital projection. That's how I saw Ep II, for example. The only generational losses you have indicated are film based. Without introducing crappy old film back into the equation (like Lucas wants to avoid, for example), it's lossless until it's projected.