WWIIinHD
- Thread starter mjarrels
- Start date
- Views: 2687
JB4310
Super Member
Not sure if this is a new series or not that your talking about but I do watch anything WW2.
I've been fascinated with WW2 history since a fairly young age, what amazes me is that as much as I've seen they are always coming up with footage I've never seen before.
I watch History channel so much My wife gets mad, she says the H logo in the bottom corner of the screen should stand for the ****** channel!!! not History channel, due to the amount of WW2 programming on.
Western
Super Member
It is a new show, with some new footage. I am dvr-ing every one. I like the added part where they follow a couple of service members through their tour..
I would love to be able to go to Europe and walk some of that hallowed ground..
Excellent show so far
I would love to be able to go to Europe and walk some of that hallowed ground..
Excellent show so far
JB4310
Super Member
Sounds like I'm missing a good series, I'm sure they'll show it again, this seems to be the time of year that they feature alot of WW2 history programming.
When you say you'd like to walk some of that hallowed ground I'm sure you mean western Europe where our boys fought. Well I've been on some of the hallowed ground but on the other side, My wife is from Poland and has immediate family still there, I've been there 3 times, each time for a month.
The Eastern front came right thru Poland, my parents in law were teenagers at the time and I heard some interesting stories when I was there in the early nineties. My wife had to interpret for me but I would interview any older person that would talk to me.
Always took time from visiting family for side trips to historically significant sites like the wolf's lair where they tried to kill ****** during operation Valkyrie, Auschwitz 1 and 2, along with many bunkers and tunnels that are throughout the countryside.
Was at Auschwitz 2, also called Birkenau at the end of a late Fall day. this is the camp where the infamous picture of ****'s gate is from. When we first got there a few people where still touring the camp, by the time it got dark I realized we were the only ones there. The place was wide open, hard to describe the feeling but very memorable.
Heard about this statue in Warsaw but had to search for it since it's not that well known, not a good picture on this site but it was very moving as well Photos of Warsaw - Images of Warsaw, Poland - VirtualTourist.com
Western
Super Member
Your to lucky. I would like to stand on the beach in Normandy, just to get a "feel" then go to the top for the reverse. I would really like to go to the area where Audy Murphy won the CMoH, There is supposed to still be the remnants of the Tank killer and allot of 50 cal. cases left after that fight.
I don't know if a living human could comprehend the horror of a "death camp" but I would like to see Auschwitz, It would be strange to stand, where years ago most people in the same spot would have wanted to be any where else.
buckeyefarmer
Epic Contributor
N80
Super Member
I've been watching it too and enjoying it. I've seen most, but not all of the footage. Just curious though, but how is this "HD". I imagine most of that footage was 16mm film, maybe some 35mm but I doubt it. How can you make something high definition that wasn't high def to begin with. In other words, you can't improve on resolution that isn't there. Unless I'm missing something the "HD" thing is a gimmick.
(Don't get me wrong, that doesn't detract from my enjoyment....I'm still watching TV on a 27" CRT!)
(Don't get me wrong, that doesn't detract from my enjoyment....I'm still watching TV on a 27" CRT!)
JB4310
Super Member
Must be some kind of computer enhancement, I have an hd tv with hd cable box but I haven't seen any of these episodes yet so I can't comment on how it looks. They also had that ww2 in color series awhile ago, don't know for sure but I think that was mostly redone with computer program. They did have color back then didn't they (Wizard of OZ)
N80
Super Member
Yes, there was color film and from what I understand all the footage in the WWII in Color was original color film. Ted Turner had a number of B&W movies and war footage "colorized" but that was an artificial process and looked really bad. The actual color film shot in WWII is really remarkable. I tend to think of that war in B&W. Seeing it in color seems to bring the reality of it home for those of us who grew up with 'color'. (We got our first color TV when I was 7).
Anyway, yes, the think the HD process is computer based. Some sort of scanning technique. I guess that if previous scans of the tiny 16mm film frames were only done to suit the resolution of average TV screens (72 pixels per inch or less, I'm guessing) then I suppose scanning at higher resolution for the higher resolution HD TVs would give better results.....but still, 'high def' seems like a stretch.
Regardless, I love watching any old WWII footage.
Anyway, yes, the think the HD process is computer based. Some sort of scanning technique. I guess that if previous scans of the tiny 16mm film frames were only done to suit the resolution of average TV screens (72 pixels per inch or less, I'm guessing) then I suppose scanning at higher resolution for the higher resolution HD TVs would give better results.....but still, 'high def' seems like a stretch.
Regardless, I love watching any old WWII footage.
Western
Super Member
I thought color did'nt come till the 60's? or was that just the tv technology?
N80
Super Member
I'm not sure when color film came out but it was prior to 1939, which is when the Wizard of Oz came out. A quick trip over to Wikipedia shows that the topic is complicated. The Wizard of Oz was film in Technicolor which is a three strip film process. However, Kodachrome 16mm film came out in 1935 and was probably what was used in WWII, but that's just a guess.
Interestingly, there are color still images from WWI. So the process has been around for a long time. I imagine that in WWII the film, film handling and storage and processing was expensive and difficult. So it is clear that someone felt that it was worth the effort and money....and it was.
Also, on these TV series, they show a fair amount of color film shot by the Germans and a small amount shot by the Japanese.
Today is a great day to be thankful for what all of our WWII vets did for us and what our current troops are doing for us now. Happy Thanksgiving.
Interestingly, there are color still images from WWI. So the process has been around for a long time. I imagine that in WWII the film, film handling and storage and processing was expensive and difficult. So it is clear that someone felt that it was worth the effort and money....and it was.
Also, on these TV series, they show a fair amount of color film shot by the Germans and a small amount shot by the Japanese.
Today is a great day to be thankful for what all of our WWII vets did for us and what our current troops are doing for us now. Happy Thanksgiving.
jimmyj
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2007
- Messages
- 4,126
- Location
- Ontario Canada
- Tractor
- Allis Chalmers 616 (Two) and a Kioti CK30 HST with loader and backhoe
A frighteningly accurate statement that sadly does not seem to change over time.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
For some reason I have not watched this series. 
My first guess when I saw that the adverts for the show was that a good bit of the film used was Kodachrome due to its archival qualities. But I don't know but I want to know.
I do know that Kodachrome was used during the war. Seems like I read a reference to it in the back of a book about Tarawa. Since I extensively used Kodachrome for years, Kodachrome is Dead, Long live Kodachrome, the tid bit of information about Tarawa stuck out to me.
The last batch of Kodachrome was made last summer and should be mostly gone from the stores at this point.
But I still use my Nikon lenses from my film cameras on my DSLRs!
Later,
Dan
My first guess when I saw that the adverts for the show was that a good bit of the film used was Kodachrome due to its archival qualities. But I don't know but I want to know. I do know that Kodachrome was used during the war. Seems like I read a reference to it in the back of a book about Tarawa. Since I extensively used Kodachrome for years, Kodachrome is Dead, Long live Kodachrome, the tid bit of information about Tarawa stuck out to me.
The last batch of Kodachrome was made last summer and should be mostly gone from the stores at this point.
But I still use my Nikon lenses from my film cameras on my DSLRs!
Later,
Dan
Chuck52
Veteran Member
The resolution of film can be amazing. I wouldn't think that a high definition TV would push the film limit. They probably mainly just worked on the steps to transfer the recorded image to the broadcast format, and didn't need to enhance the actual recorded images all that much, at least for the films that had been well taken care of.
Chuck
Chuck
twarr1
Bronze Member
"HD" itself is the gimmick. Real film has essential unlimited resolution. It's when the film is "digitized" that losses occur. There is just less "loss" with HD.
I agree with you if the new show was re-recorded from the original broadcast tapes there can't be any improvement. But if the are digitized from the original films then they can achieve "HD" quality. (Which is still way lower "resolution" than the original film)
JB4310
Super Member
Supposedly the Russians got alot of footage from their angle, most of which has never been seen. Don't know if any of that is in color
