Show me HD!
Blu-ray Movies
Not forgetting movies on the Blu-ray, we also have some screen captures from the movie XXX from Columbia Picture starring Vin Diesel. However, there are apparently some issues with the first generation of Blu-ray movie titles because of the different format and transfer used. As a result, we can still notice noise (grains) visibly all over the screen and it doesn't live up to HD movie viewing standards such as what we've seen with HD DVD (which thankfully worked very well). Our first encounter with this issue was over a month ago in a previous article where we tested the House of Flying Daggers, Stealth and Ultra Violet. To showcase the noise we observed on the Blu-ray movie evidently, we chose this darker scene where XXX jumps off from the roof with a mountain bike.
Take note that the screenshots shown on this page are not exactly what you would experience first hand because these are snapped from a DSLR camera and the quality reproduced is dependant on the camera's lens and setup parameters (both physically and the camera's own setup). Nevertheless, since we've snapped the pictures in the exact same conditions (apart from the differing media used), it is clear that the high-definition video from the HD DVD looks much clearer and detailed. Viewing the DVD version of the same movie on the HDTV looked disappointing after experiencing HD DVD and we have no doubt that you would concur with us once you start to get pampered as well.
Show me HD Games!
There are currently two gaming consoles that are capable of rendering / projecting HD resolutions. Microsoft's Xbox 360 launched a year ago was the first console to push gaming resolution to 720p with titles like Ridge Racer 6, Dead or Alive 4 and the recent Gears of War. Today's focus is naturally centered on the newer Sony console that was just launched in USA, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is capable of rendering games and Blu-ray movies at 1080p natively. 
To show you the capabilities of the PS3 in gaming, we have some screenshots below of the new games like Ridge Racer 7 and Resistance: The Fall of Men. Unfortunately, since we do not have an older display panel dating back to before the HD days and neither can we force this brand new 1080p display to adapt to a lower resolution game mode (as it automatically syncs with the game's best supported option), we can't perform any HD versus SD cross referencing in this section. However we believe that the screenshots below have enough details to relay that this experience can only be had in a proper HD setup:-
Show me HD Home Videos Captured with HD Camcorders!
Now that you have seen 1080p gaming and movie playback, the last part of this article focuses on home videos captured in HD format compared to the SD format most camcorders support. Currently, the latest consumer HD camcorders can only capture at 1080i resolution, but that's still a big leap up from the capabilities of regular video camcorders. Shown below are some screenshots of the difference between SD and HD video capturing on Sony's HDR-SR1:-
Closing Thoughts
Using the latest equipment in the market available now to play games, watch movies and capture home videos in HD formats, our test run on these various aspects has unanimously conceded that the era of HD has dawned upon us. To sum it up, the HD experience is all about bringing clarity, details and sharpness that was previously lacking on SD resolutions. This is especially evident on large screen displays these days.
However for HD movie viewing, Blu-ray and HD DVD haven't really taken off in many parts of the world yet. To-date, most of the early adopters are shipping their players and movie titles from U.S. online stores. We estimate that it would probably take a few more months before we can see the paradigm shift from SD to HD in other parts of the globe. Also, the first-generation Blu-ray titles are still present in the channel as we obtained a new copy of the movie XXX, but it was still marred with noise and graininess. On the other hand, we got off to a good start with the sole HD DVD title we've tested.
For gamers, the visuals in the latest consoles also took a leap with games and hardware supporting HD resolutions, allowing the game designers to pack in far more detailed models and environments for a more immersive gaming experience. Expect more titles to come with full HD support as this is just the beginning.
Besides ready content from the above-discussed forms, you can now also indulge in creating home videos in high-definition format with camcorders supporting 1080i resolutions like the Canon HV10, Sony HDR-SR1 and HDR-UX1. Based on our experience as we've shared, the image quality of HD camcorders undoubtedly supercedes those taken with regular camcorders as the details and clarity have notched up notably. Our personal choice where possible would of course be capturing videos in HD resolutions for the rich details, but beware that they eat up more space as well. That's something you would need to plan and balance out before shooting.
Without a doubt, HD is the next big upgrade trigger thing that will change the way we watch and play content in the future, but the rate it which it's penetrating worldwide isn't uniform yet as the equipment are generally still new and pricey. Thus not all regions would be able to bring in these goodies for consumers. Of course as with all technology, when it matures to become more affordable, it would reach an inflection point where the masses are willing to splurge for their justifiable benefits of HD. Once they ride the wave of HD technology and especially with HD content, it would be hard for them to fall back to SD content. Looking at how buying trends have been prevailing in developed and some of the developing countries, 2007 might be the year when HD capable hardware really takes off as people are getting more aware of the theoretical benefits; If HD content and variety does spike in the same year, this would surely be the case. After all, we are pretty sure this mini HD showcase we've put together has enticed you to venture into the HD world, if you've not already done so.