Hd questions

[manthing]

all,

i'm new to the whole hd stuff. would like some info if possible.

i know that we'll get more pixels and better colours and better sound and i've seen the demo clips.

here goes with the questions:

will old/current tv shows look better? ie those filmed without the use of a hd camera.

will old/current cartoons look better?

has anyone started recording hd tv?
do you keep the dimensions as broadcast?
or do you capture at 720x576 via s-video/composite? and if you do "scale down" can your eye detect the differences?

what's the best method of recording hd shows at "full resolution" and storing it at present time?

if much of this is covered elsewhere, please point me in the right direction.

also, any lab-test/review centre of hd equipment out there?

cheers up front.

[markatisu]

I dont know much about HD but I do know from what I see

-Old TV shows and toons in HD look about the same, I mean it depends on what channel. If anything they look similar to what a DVD release would be, but at the same time given a good satellite channel it will look the same. No "super" benefits I have seen

-Current HD shows are far superior to their regular versions, they are also all in widescreen and show that regular TV has cropped the image (numerous instances have been shown for My Name is Earl and LOST where something was missed in the regular broadcast vs the HD one)

-Cartoons are not designed and will not be designed for HD, there is just nothing in the HD format that benefits cartoons for the most part, some anime has been hinted at being designed for HD but that is far and few in between

-The "best" method for recording HD is using a DVHS which is specifically designed to capture HD recordings at their full native resolution, however the format failed and so until the HD recorders hit mass market (I think TIVO has one and maybe DirecTV) there is no standalone unit that records HD perfect. I know ATI and some other cards have advertised HD recording and since you can control the specs I would gather PC Capture cards right now are the easiest way to go

[manthing]

good man markatisu. i thank you for the info.

cartoons are my 1st choice of recording and since we won't get any "real" benefit from hd, i may skip it when i get around to upgrading my equipment.