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MillimeterHigh Definition DVD: Who Needs It?
Oct 26, 2005 3:45 PM, Barry Braverman
We've all heard it a hundred times: I just bought a new super-size LCD-DLP-plasma -LCoS flat screen and it's just fantastic being finally able to see my DVDs in HD. Huh? What's this? Absurd, you say? Never mind the currently raging high-definition format war, the fact is there are a great many folks out there who think DVD is already a high-definition format.
After all, if it looks like HD and sounds like HD, it must be HD, right?
For some reason, this point tends to be overlooked in the current HD-DVD versus Blu-ray discussion. Truth is, most viewers at a normal viewing distance from their TV can't distinguish between HD and SD resolution images. Even at a relatively huge 62-inches, today's displays are invariably too small for most Americans to see any difference, sitting on average about 9-10 feet from their screens. It is a different story in Japan of course where living rooms and family rooms are substantially smaller.
Ditto for the viewing distance in your local mega electronics store where gawking customers in the aisles routinely pass within inches of the mammoth TVs. You'd have to be blind to miss HD's superior resolution under these conditions. All of which supports my point: under typical television viewing conditions especially in the U.S., the actual resolution of DVD images above a certain point is moot. From every indication, standard definition in the home environment is good enough if viewers can't tell what is HD resolution and what (like DVD) is not.
There are other factors as well that may contribute to viewers' misperception of standard definition DVD. The brighter plasma and flat panel displays are certainly a major factor with measured contrast ratios in some sets up to 3000:1. The heightened brightness along with the improved contrast helps explain the public's erroneous perception of standard DVD as an HD resolution medium.
HD cameras fitted with 1440 x 1080 imagers make a related point as contrast falls off sharply approaching the 1440 horizontal pixel resolution. Destined for ultimate 1920 X 1080 display, the diminished contrast at the 1440 cut-off obviates the need to capture additional detail up to 1920 because viewers are unlikely to perceive any additional detail beyond 1440 horizontal resolution anyway.
If the industry can accept limits on viewer's perception of resolution in HD cameras, why can't it accept comparable viewer limits in perception of resolution in the DVD context? Aren't viewer's perceptions or misperceptions regarding "high definition" DVD just as valid?
The public's apparent confusion over DVD's presumed resolution can be attributed also to the consumer format's 16 x 9 aspect ratio, which many viewers associate automatically with high definition. This is made a bit more understandable if one looks at the history of 16 x 9. Raphael's School of Athens in the 16th century recognized the seductive power of the "Golden Rectangle".
Centuries later in 1958, American Express arrived at the same realization, adopting the "widescreen" format for its newly introduced credit card. Widescreen 16 x 9 in whatever context, be it in the arts, personal finance or television, has always been a hot seller, its appeal synonymous with the cutting edge and most recently at least, in the public's perception, with high definition.
And then there is the sound issue. In the last few years, DVD viewers in increasing numbers have abandoned the tiny single speaker in the TV cabinet that used to be good enough. Today, with the proliferation of elaborate home theatres, audio reproduction has achieved astounding fidelity and clarity, with potent 5.1 playback systems linked to larger and more competent speaker arrays approaching in many ways the auditory experience of commercial cinemas.
It's no secret that improved audio can elevate the perceived quality and resolution of the associated images. Perhaps this is what is happening here to some degree as audiences feeling more immersed in the audio experience, extend that intensity to DVD's visual experience as well.
The bottom line is, for a variety of reasons, much of the public believes they are already watching high-definition DVDs. The industry can try to convince them otherwise, but it's going to take some doing and massive marketing.
Powerful interests on both sides of the HD-DVD/Blu-ray divide are currently engaged in a rough-and-tough epic struggle. But if consumers can't perceive any difference or advantage in a true HD-resolution DVD, will they actually spring for the new players and discs of whatever format prevails and ultimately becomes available?
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
