[Shaun666]

Surprised no-one's flagged this one up yet. I know it's a bloody stupid film but it should look amazing !

[reckless]

I'm waiting to see if they show it in the correct aspect ratio - when it was on Sky the opening credits were in 2.35:1 and then as soon as the film proper started they cut it to 1.85:1

I haven't seen this film for years and have been waiting for it to appear correctly on HD so here's hoping

[Starburst]

Originally Posted by reckless

I'm waiting to see if they show it in the correct aspect ratio - when it was on Sky the opening credits were in 2.35:1 and then as soon as the film proper started they cut it to 1.85:1

It would have been the supplied master not SKY.
The credits would be left untouched (legal issues for the studio) but once the movie started it was either decided to cripple a HD master to improve a potential Blu-ray release (where is it??) or it was just policy at the time to not offer OAR.

For years while watching movies on TV as a kid I always wondered why people were so tall during credit sequences thanks to widescreen being squeezed into a 4:3 frame broadcast.

[reckless]

Originally Posted by Starburst

It would have been the supplied master not SKY.
The credits would be left untouched (legal issues for the studio) but once the movie started it was either decided to cripple a HD master to improve a potential Blu-ray release (where is it??) or it was just policy at the time to not offer OAR.

For years while watching movies on TV as a kid I always wondered why people were so tall during credit sequences thanks to widescreen being squeezed into a 4:3 frame broadcast.

Yep, I should have noted that it wasn't Sky's fault but rather the master they were given. If I'm being honest, I assume that the BBC will have the same version and so the same problem will exist. Be nice if I was wrong though

[mattclarkie]

My box failed to record this on BBC3 the othernight. And I was pleased when I noticed the HD version on BBC HD.

Maybe my box knew there was an HD screening in a few days and did it deliberately.

[Disco_Stu360]

I saw it on Sky Movies HD whenever it was on and thought it looked great!

[rovex33]

Thanks for the heads up! Cheesy film, but should be nice in HD and 5.1.

[bekko]

Not seen this film for years and looks good on bbchd to.

[Rob100]

So what aspect ratio was it shown in?

I know it's a bit daft, but I really like this film and long to see it in HD in the correct aspect ration (2.35:1) rather than the butchered version that most broadcasters seem to use.

[bekko]

2.35:1 is without the black bars at top and bottom of the screen ?

[tvdavid]

I was going to watch it on BBC3 but they said its on HD to and the picture looks very good and I have had no sound drop outs yet.

[LFCRules]

Originally Posted by bekko

2.35:1 is without the black bars at top and bottom of the screen ?

Yep....and BBC HD is showing in basic 1.85:1

[flipfella]

It's on now

Wrong aspect ratio, Why oh Why?

I'm trying to decide to continue watching the pan & scan HD version or break out the DVD with the correct ratio

and to all the people who complain about having black bars with their new tv and such - go back and buy a bigger one

Oh the BBC HD Dog is annoying as ever, how come bbc 1 and 2 don't need a dog to remind me which channel of the uniquely funded bbc I am watching?

[bekko]

This could get confusing lol.

[kbfern]

The quality looks pretty poor on my tv, very soft picture not at all sharp as other movies have looked on BBC HD.

I was watching Battle of Britain earlier or C4HD and that looked a better picure even though the film was 30 odd years old.

[derek500]

Originally Posted by flipfella

Oh the BBC HD Dog is annoying as ever, how come bbc 1 and 2 don't need a dog to remind me which channel of the uniquely funded bbc I am watching?

Because some of the BBCHD PQ, Britain From Above comes to mind, is so poor, that they have to remind you that you are actually watching HD!!

[Rob100]

Originally Posted by bekko

2.35:1 is without the black bars at top and bottom of the screen ?

Just to clarify...

On a 16:9 (1.78:1) screen, 1.85:1 movies will have a very small border top and bottom (unless "lost" by the overscan on the display) and 2.35:1 movies will have a bigger border top and bottom, thus making the width 2.35 times the height.

Ok so not in OAR and a detail free DNR mess, worst film quality I have seen on BBC-HD.
The Criterion DVD looks better upscaled when A-B compared

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by dvdmike007

Ok so not in OAR and a detail free DNR mess, worst film quality I have seen on BBC-HD.
The Criterion DVD looks better upscaled when A-B compared

Just got a HD sat card and this was the first film I've watched on BBCHD - and what a let down!

I suppose it could have been the master they were supplied (although the BBC have claimed previously that they have refused to show substandard stuff) - but I have to agree with the previous poster!
Personally I don't think it was HD at all - more like upscaled SD, in the wrong aspect ratio, with a DOG and 256k stereo sound (for a film like this too ).


People who are interested in HD are interested in picture and sound quality, and clearly this was way below standard on both counts - if this is what the BBC call HD, then they may as well give up and use the bandwidth to boost the bitrates on BBC1 and 2 - this was just a waste of time!

The Olympics look OK though!

[IanMerseyside]

Originally Posted by MikeK

Just got a HD sat card and this was the first film I've watched on BBCHD - and what a let down!

I suppose it could have been the master they were supplied (although the BBC have claimed previously that they have refused to show substandard stuff) - but I have to agree with the previous poster!
Personally I don't think it was HD at all - more like upscaled SD, in the wrong aspect ratio, with a DOG and 256k stereo sound (for a film like this too ).


People who are interested in HD are interested in picture and sound quality, and clearly this was way below standard on both counts - if this is what the BBC call HD, then they may as well give up and use the bandwidth to boost the bitrates on BBC1 and 2 - this was just a waste of time!

The Olympics look OK though!

I didn't watch this on BBC HD but seem to recall Sky HD showing it last year and I wasn't particularly impressed with the PQ. Sounds like the master isn't great.

[reckless]

Yep. Thought it was lacking in detail, even in the initial scenes where the correct aspect ratio was shown.By the time we got the cropped/pan&scan section of the film I thought it wasn't at all good.

Tomb Raider 2 was shown in the wrong ratio but even that looked more detailed than this. I can only assume they're keeping/preparing a better version for the Blu-ray release (whenever that's due)

[Racquel Darrian]

Originally Posted by MikeK

Just got a HD sat card and this was the first film I've watched on BBCHD - and what a let down!

.......I don't think it was HD at all - more like upscaled SD, in the wrong aspect ratio, with a DOG and 256k stereo sound (for a film like this too ).


People who are interested in HD are interested in picture and sound quality, and clearly this was way below standard on both counts.......

It was in DD 5.1 and sounded pretty good to me.

[Glenn01]

Also amazed at how poor this looked

The aspect ratio looked rediculous and was a joke

I caught this on Sky anytime in HD last year and I am sure it was 2.35:1 and it looked (and sounded) great

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by Racquel Darrian

It was in DD 5.1 and sounded pretty good to me.

Yes, it may have been - I've only just found out that the Beeb transmit two audio streams, MP2 stereo and AC3, and guess which stream Powercinema picks up by default! (Going to try DVBDream next, as I can't seem to get Powercinema to pick up ITV HD either!)

Even with AC3 5.1 though, it seems it's 384k - which, although not that bad per se, isn't exactly HD either.
Maybe I'm just expecting too much, but with 16.5Mbps to play with, they can surely do better than what they transmitted on Saturday night!
If the master isn't up to standard (and it appears it wasn't), then they should be telling the distributor that it's substandard and not fit for broadcast on a HD channel, and refuse to pay for it!

[mattclarkie]

I watched it last night.

The sound was quiet had to turn it upto 70db, but it was a fairly good 5.1 mix.

The PQ was good, not great for 12% of the HDD, but more than acceptable as just about HD IMO. I have seen far worse on BBC HD.