Rumor Has It
Rumor Has It HD-DVD Review
Opening on a bright green banner and pulling out to a yellow dress and white tux, the HD version of Rumor Has It shows that the format can display as vibrant a range of colors as any HDTV programming. On my 720p JVC HDTV, it makes me long to see the extra 360p available in higher end models.
The wavy beach and coastline scenery provides more detailed vistas, but when it comes to the actors, there’s a softish focus and dull skin tone. Mark Ruffalo actually looks better than Jennifer Aniston, which should never happen. Costner’s close-up shows detail in his distinguished face. Maybe the ladies are just too perfect for the format.
Flip over to the regular DVD side and you’ll notice the difference between an HDMI conversion and true HD-DVD. The image is fuzzier with more grain visible and the colors are less bright. Cos’ is still sharp though.
Now, I did one final test here. After playing the normal DVD side on the Toshiba HD-DVD player, I popped it in my $100 Toshiba progressive scan DVD player. I think the $100 player made a slightly better HD conversion. It’s still a noticeable difference from the HD version, but it suggests that backwards compatibility with the HD unit isn’t perfect.
Of course, Rumor Has It probably isn’t the best movie to compare. I’ve played normal DVDs of King Kong and Lord of the Rings to perfect effect. We’ll have to see the HD-DVD versions of those for a true comparison. And who knows, maybe Warner Brothers scrimped on the normal DVD version of Rumor in order to promote the HD-DVD format.
Stay tuned for updates.
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