I think I mentioned this before in one of the Lost threads, but it deserves its own topic.
Why is it that some HDTV-taped shows are broadcast EVERYWHERE in widescreen, but some are cropped for low def signals? Among the widescreen-everywhere shows are Las Vegas, ER, The Office, Conan O’Brien, pretty much every HBO series, and for the first time, SNL. Among the cropped shows are Lost (which SUCKS…I can’t watch cropped Lost at all!), CSI, Jay Leno, My Name Is Earl, and practically every sporting event.
There seems to be absolutely no pattern to it. Live, drama, comedy, talk…some will crop, some will letterbox. And when it comes to sports, it seems like the director is catering to the low def watchers so that they can do a steady crop of the sides, rather than panning the crop points, which in turn means that the extra resolution on the sides get wasted anyway. It makes me wonder if the cameramen even get to SEE what the sides of their cameras are picking up.
I, like any entertainment enthusist with at least half a brain and a 20"+ television, prefer my TV, just like my movies, in the original aspect ratio, ESPECIALLY if they are being taped with 16:9 in mind (again, the cropping on Lost absolutely ruins the show for me to the point that I have to wait until I can watch the HDTV on a friend’s tivo rather than see it live)
Well, if it is any consolation, I have a 42" widescreen plasma and I have a similar problem…many shows are broadcast in widescreen, but do not fill the screen from top to bottom. As plasma’s are very sensitive to long periods of black stripes, I have to “zoom” the screen so even though it is broadcast in so-called “wide screen” format, and I have a widescreen television, I wind up having to watch it in pan and zoom!
In HDTV it works just fine, but on regular broadcast (ie TNT or AMC or other stations) when they show widescreen films, the ratio is off. I have to fiddle with the television to find a fit, but usually wind up cutting off about 5-10% on each end. Not only movies…shows like West Wing that are filmed in some form of widescreen just don’t fit right on a true widescreen television.
You’re saying that some shows are broadcast in widescreen in HD and letterboxed for SD (and you’re OK with that) but you’re also saying that some shows are broadcast in widescreen in HD but 4:3 cropped in SD (and you don’t like that). Am I right?
I’m not quite sure I understand the problem exactly. I have an HDTV and it’s the only set I watch any show that’s broadcast in HD. I’ve got a Time Warner DVR that has two HD tuners, so if I’m going to be at a friend’s house when Lost comes on, I’ll just wait and watch it at home in HD. Honestly, there’s no reason for me to watch a cropped version of Lost on my 27" 4:3 SDTV upstairs when I can watch it on a 42" HDTV downstairs.
As far as sports goes - I can only speak for football here - you are indeed correct that they are framing the picture for SDTVs. In most football games, HD only adds a bit to each side (and, of course, much better picture). My guess is that they HAVE to do it this way - perhaps because the cameras provide both the HD & SD feeds. I say this because occasionally the network will lose the HD feed and switch to SD, and the camera angles, onscreen artwork, etc. will be exactly the same as the HD version. Perhaps it’s just too complex at this point - or expensive - to have separate HD feeds for football games? Maybe we’ll see better HD football coverage once everyone has a 16:9 set?
What I’m asking is why is it that SOME show produced in HDTV are cropped for SD broadcasts, and others are letterboxed. Not all of us can afford a new HDTV right now, and it just annoys me how with some broadcasts (Lost, Football, etc) I’m forced to watch a cropped version, even though with some other shows (SNL, Conan, etc) they still letterbox for the SD feed.