http://www.history.com/content/wwii-in-hd

For anyone interested, this series begins airing Sunday night.

DARKNESS FALLS
Airing November 15

As Europe falls under Nazi control, America is unprepared for war and the attack on Pearl Harbor. The first bloody battles are fought on Guadalcanal and in North Africa.

HARD WAY BACK
Airing November 15

The Allies take on the daunting forces of the Axis, with victory far from certain. Charles Scheffel battles Rommel's forces in Tunisia and Jack Werner faces bitter combat in the northern Pacific.

BLOODY RESOLVE
Airing November 16

The Marines assault Tarawa in one of the bloodiest battles yet waged. MacArthur island-hops and Italy's front lines claim a casualty.

BATTLE STATIONS
Airing November 16

The Allies lay plans for the invasion of France; Bert Stiles and the 8th Air Force attempt to clear the skies over Normandy, while the Pacific remains a quagmire. D-Day arrives.

DAY OF DAYS
Airing November 17

The Allies are bogged down in Normandy's hedgerows in the aftermath of D-Day, while on Saipan, victory turns to horror.

POINT OF NO RETURN
Airing November 17

The Allies race toward Germany as American Marines battle for ground on Peleliu and across the bloody Pacific.

STRIKING DISTANCE
Airing November 18

American forces storm the Philippines while Shelby Westbrook is shot down over Europe. Jack Yusen battles the dangers of the deep when his ship is sunk after a heroic duel.

GLORY AND GUTS
Airing November 18

The Marine assault on Iwo Jima brings horror and glory. Pilot Bert Stiles engages a German fighter with disastrous consequences. Reinforcements arrive in Europe to push the Allies toward victory.

EDGE OF THE ABYSS
Airing November 19

The Battle of the Bulge pushes the Allies to the brink, and Rockie Blunt barely survives the fight. Okinawa erupts as the Japanese make their last stand. Hitler is handed a final ultimatum.

END GAME: Series Finale Episode
Airing November 19

With the end in sight, Okinawa is a bloody obstacle to victory. The third Reich ends with a single gunshot. America delivers the final blow to Japan and the world celebrates the fall of the Axis.

So... How do they make 60 year old footage into HD?

They take the footage from film, then digitize it, so I assume they can make it whatever resolution they want. I doubt there will be much gained from being HD, but we'll see. :D
American film footage of the Second World War was captured primarily by motion picture cameramen assigned to Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard signal photographic units. While this footage was captured mainly in black and white, some combat cameramen shot large quantities of color footage.

Some people may be surprised to learn that 16mm color film of the 1940s offers resolution that rivals the quality of today's high definition. Yet locating this footage for use in WWII in HD was often a challenge.

Many of these materials have changed hands over the years. They were in private collections or were donated to military museums--stored and forgotten.

Ultimately, the two-year, worldwide search paid off. Hundreds of hours were obtained of rarely- and never-seen footage, documenting activity in every theater of conflict for the war. Now they can be seen for the first time in decades, and in many cases, for the first time ever.

The material used for WWII in HD now represents one of the largest military film collections in the world. Footage in poor condition was painstakingly cleaned, digitally transferred, detail-logged and stored in preservation canisters. Even film in near-pristine condition could be improved (scratches removed, color corrected, detail enhanced) using modern technology.

The result is a treasure trove of unforgettable imagery, from pulse-pounding aerial combat sequences over Europe to heartwarming shots of a GI sharing water from his canteen with a frightened Japanese child to the truly chilling sight of Hitler playing with children and tousling their hair. It's all there onscreen: history reassembled, history preserved.

With WWII in HD, HISTORY has created a vividly presented canvas that paints the definitive portrait of World War II.
http://www.history.com/content/wwii-in-hd/preserving-history

After seeing some of that footage, I can say with confidence that war is a terrible thing!

I swear, if all you ever watched was the History Channel, you'd think that nothing ever happened before World War II.

No, the History Channel makes it quite clear that there was at least six years of the Third Reich before WWII even began.

i like this kind of stuff :) i mean, i think it's a great service to posterity to put these HD things together. sure the history channel leaves something left to be desired. however, to update and modernize the footage is admirable imo.

I can't believe how amazing the film looks.

I swear, if all you ever watched was the History Channel, you'd think that nothing ever happened before World War II.

There's also the American Civil War and UFOs/Conspiracy Theories. Honestly, after all the wacko "specials" on Nostradamus or 2012, I'm all for the History Channel going back to WWII.

There's also the American Civil War and UFOs/Conspiracy Theories. Honestly, after all the wacko "specials" on Nostradamus or 2012, I'm all for the History Channel going back to WWII.
Yeah, its pretty sad that history has somehow got conflated w/ pseudo-science and alt-history (kinda like this sub-forum)

There's also the American Civil War and UFOs/Conspiracy Theories. Honestly, after all the wacko "specials" on Nostradamus or 2012, I'm all for the History Channel going back to WWII.

Indeed. Are they done with the "Nostradamus Effect" nonsense? If they are, I may be willing to give it another try.

I just pity poor Plotinus when they went through their "Da Vinci code" phase.

Don't worry, I don't get the History Channel, on account of not being very interested in tanks.

Yeah, I watched both of those "specials" on Nostradamus and the Da Vinci one, and they are fairly pathetic. This footage does look good though, so I'll be sure to watch it tonight.

The footage is really nice (I've watched it every night since Sunday), even though I'm not able to take advantage of the HD. Plus it's also really nice to see the History Channel return to actual History, even if it is more WWII.

Wow, the History Channel is bad over here in Australia, but it sounds much worse where you guys are from. Here it's basically Hitler, Romans, and tanks.

and the bible.

and the bible.
Oh yeah, forgot about the bible. We get plenty of that too.

arctic drivers, gangs, and dudes who cut down trees...oh, and big machines too :)

Don't forget Monsterquest. What does a sasquatch have anything to do with history?

yes, i believe the folks over there have jumped the shark.