Originally posted by: RichKS

HDTV hasn't really caught on in the UK the same way it has in the US, mainly I suspect because digital PAL transmissions over an RGB Scart cable look damn fine. While I'm not saying that the RGB signal we get to our sets is better than HDTV, it's not enough worse to warrant changing.

Glad I was helpful!

Rich

The TV usually (and I stress usually) will auto-adjust itself to fit each video source. It actually only works perfect 100% of the time for HDTV but it's a nice feature.

I read on BBC news last month that HDTV is indeed going to begin rolling out in the UK later this year. I imagine that digital PAL is similar to EDTV (enhance definition) which is quite fine, but it does pale in comparison to HDTV. A good HD broadcast in the 1080(?) format is almost three-dimensional...it will blow you away. I can't even go to the cinema anymore (except for one night this May) because the video quality is so disappointing. HDTV does have the tendency to make one become spoiled.

I recorded Hellboy in HDTV on my DVR (probably the best HD transfer yet IMO) and compared it will the retail dual-layer DVD of Hellboy and the HDTV broadcast has so much more resolution it was almost shocking. I did one better, I compared the look of the film between my 4:3 and my 16:9 (running back and forth was a drag though) and I honestly didn't see a difference in aspect. It's hard to tell because you can actually see the 'lines' in the 4:3 TV whereas you really can't on the 16:9. The one fault may have been I have the retail DVD on the 4:3 and the HDTV broadcast on the 16:9.

This leads me to wonder, what does Lucas have in store for the saga when the next-gen of DVDs (blu-ray or HD-DVD) come out? Will he release a legacy set with both the newest incarnations of the films along with the original renditions or will we have to wait until his kids inherit the business?

One more thing, I did try to notice the difference between anamorphic and letterboxed and to tell you the truth I cannot see much of a difference on the TV at 16:9 zoom. Letterboxed have a slightly lighter black at top and bottom, but that's all that I can see with my untrained eyes.

Anyways, thanks for the info and advice Rich!

D.O.