Jul 2, 2007 - 2:12:48 PM -
To get that true cinema experience you only need to download Toshiba's latest HD DVD firmware update that support movies 24 frames per second (fps) playback speed.
Although not set to become available in the US until September and only suitable for two of its HD DVD players, the HD-XA2 and HD-A20, the firmware promises to support a 1080p HD image resolution running at a frame-by-frame display rate that matches the speed at which film is traditionally shot.
UK HDTVs more commonly display 720p and 1080p images at 25fps, while US screens run to 30fps. In each case, the result is a movie that plays faster, with sound at a higher pitch, than it would in the cinema. With so-called '24p' playback, there's no such distortion.
Theoretically because a "3:2
pulldown" process is used to convert from 24p up to speed for TV and DVD, which duplicates frames to use as fillers and can introduce frame stutter. Europeans can still see a 4% speed up of the movie on some titles. Either way, there is a quality loss of some kind.
