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The resolution loss is more than a "pinch". Ever notice how much better old edited-on-film TV shows look when they're remastered? No dirt and scratches from the neg, pin-registered transfers for no "swim", etc.? They go back and transfer it on a wet-gate HD film-to-tape transfer device with decent color grading and NR algorithms. They also skip the pan-and-scan, and come back with a product that looks quite good at HD resolutions. When 8k or better resolution comes around, (which will be accompanied by significant improvements in color palate, too) the quality improvement will be such that it will be worth re-transferring from original film again -- to extract all that is in the film. While the NTSC downconverted product will also look nice, it will leave lots of improvement on the cutting room floor, as it were.
Doesn't mean NTSC is bad, etc. It's just that "it is what it is".
The biggest hits to digital quality are poor compression (caused by not spending time to optimize settings) and artificial bandwidth restriction (scrunching sat and cable channel bandwidth to allow more shopping channels and PPV offerings of the same movie playing every five minutes). Analog usually wins on lack of banding artifacts because of 8 or 10 bit digital choices. That will likely change, too. (It's what bugs me the most about digital.)
I had the occasion to see all-analog HD (Sony) at an NAB convention many years ago. Really nice looking stuff -- best of both worlds -- but you could only get about 20 minutes on a 14" reel of 1-inch tape.
Chip
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01-08-2016, 10:13 AM
Hybrid Mode
