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Author Topic: Finally! HD Turner Classic Movies Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 10-28-2009 05:32 PM                        Turner Classic Movies is finally available in High Definition. I do not know how widespread the coverage but it became available in Honolulu about a week ago. I watched NOSFERATU and DIABOLIQUE on Sunday night and the picture quality in HD was fantastic. I watched NOSFERATU many times on scratchy 16mm film and once on Super 8 and seeing it for the first in HD with an image almost free of scratches was a treat. The French film also looked gorgeous in HD. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 10-28-2009 06:27 PM                     We have had it for a few months now here. It was a welcome upgrade to the channel line up.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 10-28-2009 10:27 PM                     I'd really like to have TCM HD on my satellite TV subscription. Unfortunately, it looks like neither DirecTV or Dish Network offer it. Both companies have been launching new satellites to add more HD capacity. But it looks like both are playing games trying to milk their customers for as much money as possible while providing as little programming as they can get away with providing until too many customers leave. This is especially true for Dish Network. The only reason why I'm still a Dish Network customer is my options here in Lawton are shit. I have a "grandfathered" Dish HD Absolute package which costs me less than $60 per month. That's about 70 or so HD channels, including 8 HBO channels and my local channels in HD, plus the nice DVR/receiver. DirecTV doesn't have anything remotely comparable in that price range, plus they don't carry ANY of our local channels -not in SD or HD. The local cable company, now owned by Fidelity, is a freaking joke. If the company was Cox or Time Warner then the offerings might be more credible. But with Fidelity you'll spend well over $80 per month for extended SD cable and get a mere sprinkling of less than a couple dozen HD channels, not the many channels in HD you get from DirecTV, Dish Network or the largest cable companies.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-29-2009 02:21 AM                        Quite often, I'll be channel surfing and land on a great movie on TCM or one of the other channels. But they always lose me during the commercial breaks, which get thicker and thicker as the movie goes on. No thanks. I'd rather watch a regular old DVD than HD with commercials.  |  IP: Logged Paul Linfesty Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1383 From: Bakersfield, CA, USA Registered: Nov 1999 posted 10-29-2009 02:39 AM                     TCM doesn't run commercials during movies.  |  IP: Logged Joe Tommassello Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 547 From: Coatesville, PA, USA Registered: Jan 2008 posted 10-29-2009 10:51 AM                  Comcast in my area started showing TCM in HD about the same time as Claude got it in Hawaii. It is great. Everything is in it's original aspect ratio with no fish-eye effect to fill the screen with 4:3 material. Some stuff is obviously upconverted but still it's beautiful to watch compared to most other "free" cable movie channels. We also got MGMHD at the same time which has limited commercials...maybe one brief one per hour promoting an upcoming feature. Best of all is both of the above mentioned channels do not run annoying ads across the bottom of their screens constantly.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 10-29-2009 12:27 PM                     It's been nearly a couple years since I had TCM (on my SD subscription package), but if I remember right TCM would show movies uncut.  |  IP: Logged Richard P. May Expert Film Handler Posts: 243 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Jan 2006 posted 10-29-2009 01:06 PM                     TCM's policy is to run pictures uncut, uninterrupted, and in their original aspect ratio. I'm glad to hear about the HD. I haven't noticed it particularily in L.A., but often record for later viewing which would end up standard def. The quality is still excellent. I'll have to take a look at a "live" broadcast to see if we are getting HD. I should think so. DM  |  IP: Logged Joe Tommassello Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 547 From: Coatesville, PA, USA Registered: Jan 2008 posted 10-30-2009 10:51 AM                  Richard - the HD signal is on an entirely different channel. Both SD and HD are digital channels. Do you work for Turner? Your name sounds familiar.  |  IP: Logged Richard P. May Expert Film Handler Posts: 243 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Jan 2006 posted 10-30-2009 11:18 AM                     Joe, I was with Turner for its entire existence, 1986-96, then taken over by WB 1996-2005. I am now with Film Technology Co., a restoration lab. Thanks for the info. I looked at TCM last night, and thought the R. Osborn intro material looked very good, but couldn't be certain of HD. The program itself was the 1932 film PROSPERITY, which will never be anywhere near HD. Dick May  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 10-30-2009 11:26 AM                     I've had TCM-HD for several months now. It does not appear that they are showing true HD 1080i transfers, but the channel does look better than the non-hd tcm. There is far less compression artifacts, and widescreen films now fill the width of my 16:9 screen without zooming the picture.  |  IP: Logged Karl Borowski Expert Film Handler Posts: 161 From: Sulking in GameFAQ Forum Registered: Sep 2009 posted 10-31-2009 06:40 PM                     There are many older classic films that probably are not commercially available in HD. The only thing that makes SD look a little bit better on HD signals is less compression, and sometimes no interlace depending on the source format. I don't have TCM in HD here yet, but boy am I envious!  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 11-02-2009 01:28 PM                        I had recorded several TCM movies last week on my HDDVR including Ken Russell's VALENTINO, YOURS, MINE & OURS, TO SIR WITH LOVE, TARGET with Boris Karloff and the 1936 version of SHOW BOAT and viewed them all during the past couple of evenings. Although I love classic films, I seldom watched regular TCM telecasts because of the substandard image quality and prefered DVDs and Blu-Ray. I am very happy TCM is finally showing movies in HD and have found the image quality superb! All of the TCM HD movies I have seen so far appeared like I was watching beautiful upconverted DVDs on my Bllu Ray player and looked like film. As a person who had loved the cinema all his life, I never thought the day would ever come when I would enjoy watching fims at home with an image quality that is identical to the way I remember seeing them in a theatre with a HD television set. I have found Blu Ray is a wonderful way to watch and enjoy recent films as well as many classics such as THE WIZARD OF OZ , SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFF, and NORTH BY NORTHWEST which will be available on BD tomorrow. Now with TCM in HD, I am a very happy camper! -Claude  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-02-2009 11:17 PM                        quote: Paul Linfesty TCM doesn't run commercials during movies. I guess I got it mixed up with AMC. I think it used to run movies uncut, maybe? I guess this shows how much TV I watch (not much). And Claude, if you type "SEVEN DWARFF" once more I am going to go out of my mind. So you'll have that on your conscience.  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 11-03-2009 09:00 AM                     Yes, Once upon a time AMC did show movies the right way uncut.  |  IP: Logged

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