I am sure this is a thread bound to get about no replies, but I will give it a shot anyway.
PBS has made a show called “The Face - Jesus in Art”, it is showing in HD in my local PBS station KERA 13 in Dallas. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
Ok, a couple comments. I am not religious in the slightest. None the less, this was a fabulous use of the HD format and was some of the most impressive art work I have ever seen.
My PBS station offers 13.1 which is general digital simulcast of what is on the analog channel and 13.2 that they are demo-ing HD on.
You can get the show on VHS through www.thirteen.org (which is the website of the PBS station in NY), but it wouldn’t be the same at all.
Could you describe this show a little? i have no Idea what HD is but I am familiar with art. . . What is the subject of the program and what’s the technical gimmick? I am interested but lost.
Thanks.
The show - It is all about Christian art history from 200 A.D. to present. In particular, it is the history of representations of Jesus in art. There were no contemporary portraits or descriptions of what Jesus looked like. It was also considered taboo to create a likeness of a God or deity in Hebrew and Islamic cultures and in some times and places in Christianity. The history of this and how the appearance of Jesus changes through the history of his appearance in art is fascinating. Many of the works of art were simply stunning as well. (Many? Practically all is more like it.) As most of you probably know, many of the finest people of art were religiously inspired, and this show seemed to contain many of the best of these.
What is HD - HD is High Definition digital television. HD screens are 16:9 (similar shape to a theatre screen) instead of the 4:3 like regular TV. In theory, regular TV has a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 (the same as VGA)… in reality what is typically delivered by broadcast is closer to 320 x 240. An HDTV screen is 1920x1080. What that means is that an HDTV screen can hold 12 “typical” TV screens of info (4 across by 3 high) with a little room left over. In English, the amount of detail on HD is tremendously higher. Watching HD compared to regular TV is like getting glasses for the first time when you never had them before (if you are near sighted that is). You look and go, “Wow, there are LEAVES on those trees, not just green fluff…” Also, the color accuracy is much better as well. Standard TV was designed to be black and white. Color was shoehorned onto the old standard. Color saturation and contrast always suffered. The only way to really “get” the difference is to get down to a TV retailer that has some of the sets on display and take a look for yourself.
Generally shows on TV that deal with artwork or the beauty of nature tend to fall a bit flat. HDTV really makes a HUGE difference and truly feels like you are there. This subject in this format was simply fantastic.
I’ll have to try to catch that sometime-- I’m not religious either but I study Flemish Renaissance/ Medieval art so it’s up my alley. I like these shows.
PS-- in the middle ages and on for a while Europeans THOUGHT they knew what JC looked like, due to a forged letter that claimed to have been written by a Roman centurion (or something) named Lentulus that described Jesus, the troublemaker in Judea. Brown hair, hazel eyes, etc etc.