What does the classic trilogy look like on an HD Tv?

I really want to know. Does the VHS look worse, are the blemishes more apparent or does it look better? Has anyone hooked up a laserdisc player and seen it that way? God, I would love to see what it looks like just to satisfy my imagination. I know its been broadcasted, but not in HDTV probably.I'm debating buying the laserdiscs, they are cumbersome and expensive, and I don't think I have time to watch them in college...

 

To my knowledge the VCR would just send an ordinary video signal to the HDTV, which would be received that way, and it would look like on a regular set. One exception would be if the HDTV has any filters to convert the interlaced signal to a progressive or edge enhance it, which would indeed make video noise more obvious.

Regarding laserdiscs I'm not very knowledgable, but the quality should be slightly lower than that of dvd. Can anyone else comment on this?

 

Sorry, double post. Got a database error message.

 

What is HD TV?

 

I got the Original Trilogy on VCD, which you can play on most DVD players and PCs. The picture quality is ok (equivalent to VHS) and CD quality surround sound. The picture format is pan and scan and I reckon that this is probably the best format to view the movies on until the DVD release.
You can order these movies in a box set online.

 

I have the VCDs. The quality is worse than VHS, and the audio is a little high-pitched, but you can get used to it. I'll be fine with it until the DVD release.

 

Ah, the VCD. To me it seams like a downgrade, because the picture is worse than DVD. To what degree is it worse than the VHS? Well, at least I don't have to wonder what the VHS would look like on HDTV. I think I might get the VCDs so I can watch the OT in college.

 

Ok, I don't know about the actual SW VCDs, but I know some things about VCDs:

- They are compressed like DVDs, but at a much lower bitrate, which is forced to around 1000 kilobit per second. I believe max bitrate for DVDs is about 8000 kilobit per second and average is 4000-6000 kilobit.
- Resolution is 352x288, about the only video format to actually have lower horizontal resolution than the TV standard (which is 480 for NTSC and 576 for PAL).
- When film is transferred to PAL (which most VCDs are) they are sped up for smoother playback (film is 24 frames per second, PAL is 25, NTSC is 30 frames but uses a different method which alternately duplicates frames)
- Sound is in stereo, with two discrete channels.
- Each disc only stores 74 minutes of film, so you have to swap them. As they are stored on CDs, they won't degenerate as tapes do.
- I believe VCDs has slightly softer but less noisy image than VHS.

 

The picture quality of a VCD is roughly equivalent to VHS. Where as a brand new tape is probably better than VCD, as time passes the tape's quality deteriorates, where as the VCD stays the same. I reckon that after about three viewings, you can see the drop in picture quality in VHS, so the money spent on the VCDs is better value in the long run. You can get the Trilogy on VCD for about $25- $30 online.
The're a good stop-gap until the DVD release and at least they can be played on your DVD player.