Has TV Land Snubbed Us?

[Phil]

Are you sure about Monsters HD? I read an article about how they were remastering the 1987 film From Beyond to show on the channel. The SIGNAL they broadcast is in HD, but I don't think all their source material is. It'd be a good excuse to clean up those films, that's for sure.

[Gothick]

For reasons unknown to me, I got an email a few days ago about Amazon (which I prefer to call amazombie--it's what Quentin Collins was heard chirping outside Rachel Drummond's window during a certain storyline:  "amazombie! amazombie! amazombie!" yeah, I know I have WAY too much time on my hands) starting up a "store" on their site where one could "buy" episodes of Star Trek for upload onto their laptops.  I have a friend who has been watching a current series called Heroes this way, buying episodes at the Apple Store and then watching it in his car in the bumper-to-bumper traffic of the LA mega-glopolis.

I can already foresee classic TV shows such as DS getting this treatment.  If I had access to the software to do it, it would depend upon the fidelity of the upload.  I am of the opinion that a lot of the stuff that's shared online winds up looking or sounding utterly wretched.  Maybe the quality of the hardware you play the thing on enters into all of this.

G.

[Darren Gross]

Are you sure about Monsters HD? I read an article about how they were remastering the 1987 film From Beyond to show on the channel. The SIGNAL they broadcast is in HD, but I don't think all their source material is. It'd be a good excuse to clean up those films, that's for sure.

Yup.

The Monsters HD presentation of FROM BEYOND and all their other films are High Definition video transfers from 35mm film. 35mm film is a higher resolution format than HD. HD is a video format.

When a show is presented in HD, doesn't mean it was shot in HD-- it means it's being presented in HD from an HD master. 90% of the shows and films you'll see on HD channels are HD channels from film, whether it's LOST or DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES or a movie. I believe Discovery HD uses a lot of HD video as their source material.

[Phil]

I know. So why would that preclude the DS movies? It's a matter of remastering them, which I know you've had troubles with, but from a technical standpoint, it could be done.

Or were you saying there's no way MGM would spring for such a thing?

[Darren Gross]

I never mentioned the movies, just the TV show.

Of course, the movies could be shown in HD. They'd look glorious.

[joe integlia]

thats right, the only hd ds broadcast we could hope for would be of the films and maybe the 91 series?. since ds was shot on standard definition video, i dont see anyway it could be converted to hd video. it has something to do with the lines of resolution. ntsc only has 525 and pal 625. hd has like 1000 or more and so does film. so not only will there be no hd upgrades for ds but none for any other show shot on tape before hd came along.

[Darren Gross]

They could do the 91 series- the source of the 91 series (cropped and botched) DVD release was from HD remasters.

MGM wouldn't have anything to do with the feature films. Warners owns them now.

[Phil]

I never mentioned the movies, just the TV show.

Of course, the movies could be shown in HD. They'd look glorious.

Oh! I assumed were talking movies; I didn't think Monsters HD showed anything but movies (I don't hvae the channel). Sorry!

[Patti Feinberg]

This is true, but I'm sure that if I had to sit down and come up with the 10 most important episodes of DS, for a 5 hour marathon, I could probably do it. Here are a few that spring to mind:

1. Barnabas' introduction (1967)
2. Barnabas' curse (1796)

Anyone care to add to the list?

BC...how about
Angelique v. Alexis in the masoleum 1970PT?    A phenomenal ep, IMHO.

I too now have Fearnet....but only on the Digital converter box TV, which is $4.00/month EACH TV, so we only have one. They also have taken GameShow network and made it only available with Digital

I say we sick Nicholas Blair on 'em!!

Patti