When will TV be exclusively high definition?

[Musicat]

@Drum_God

As to old programs, like I Love Lucy, you run into a different situation. Many programs were shot on film. This is “HD”, after a fashion. The aspect is 4:3, but the resolution is clearer than programs recorded on tape. You can even tell this on an SD television. Filmed programs appear sharper and have greater color depth than programs shot on tape.

So shows which were originally recorded on film, assuming the film is still around and in good condition, will probably be re-digitized with a resulting boost in quality, since film stored more data than standard video does.

The shows that will suffer most are filmed color ones (where the color may degrade seriously) or ones like Cheers, which were (I think) recorded on standard videotape. If converted to HD, they won’t gain anything.

[BrandonR]

@Spectralist

The problem with that is that often the HD channels don’t play the same shows as their SD versions.

I know this was a problem at first but I’m seeing more and more stations playing the same content as their HD station… Especially since more and more new programming is being filmed in HD.

@Spectralist

And i don’t know about you but i often watch the SD shows on my HD TVs. Especially on A&E who does generally show the same show on both channels but stretches SD shows when showing them on the HD channel. So i end up watching the SD version so i can see it at the proper aspect ratio.

I’m the opposite. To me, SD stations on a HDTV look like total shit for some reason… Even worse than SD stations on a non-HDTV. Improper aspect ratio is something I can deal with, but blurry TV (probably due to the increased resolution) is something I despise…

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

@SeaDragonTattoo

So true, FoieGras. The first time I watched a Cubs game after I got my HDTV, I thought it was really incredible. I didn’t watch the game so much as marvel at what I could see in the stands. I was like “Whoa, I think I can read that guy’s watch from here!”, and I don’t even like CSI:Miami, but it’s really beautiful in high definition.

I know! I think the first revelatory moment for me was watching Tiger play golf in some tournament on my Dad’s 160" HDTV projection screen in his darkened media room, and I was like “Whoa, I can pick out individual blades of grass, and Tiger has a pimple!”

[SeaDragonTattoo]

@Spectralist

The problem with that is that often the HD channels don’t play the same shows as their SD versions. And i don’t know about you but i often watch the SD shows on my HD TVs. Especially on A&E who does generally show the same show on both channels but stretches SD shows when showing them on the HD channel. So i end up watching the SD version so i can see it at the proper aspect ratio.

Doesn’t your TV have a “toggle switch” on the remote that you can use to change the aspect ratio yourself? I sometimes feel like it’s a hassle, but I’d rather toggle an HD channel than just watch an SD if I had the choice. It goes between “full”, “pillar”, and “zoom”, so the ones that stretch the screen can be changed by me to the pillar format and the picture looks normal again. I hate the stretching I wish they would just stop it.

[Fuzzy_Dunlop]

@Markxxx

Most likely you won’t ever get high def. Let’s face it, there are tons of old programs which are not high def and most likely will never be converted. High def is a gimick. I mean is Seinfeld any funnier because it’s clearer. Did Eli Manning make a catch because you can see it better? Outside of nature shows, what is the point of seeing things clearer? And in that case it’s probably better to go outside and look for real.

Shows like I Love Lucy are popular but will merely be upconverted. In fact cable and dish compress their high def as compared to OTA (over the air) so the channels that are High Def on your cable and dishes are not actually high def. Well they meet the legal definition but they are compressed compared to OTA signals.

And even OTA signals are starting to be compressed more.

So beware even when you are getting high def, make sure you’re paying for high def and not merely upconverted formats.

There are tons of old programs which are not in color and most likely will never be converted. I mean is Seinfeld any funnier because it’s in color? Did Eli Manning make a catch because you can see the colors? Outside of nature shows, what is the point of seeing things in color? And in that case it’s probably better to go outside and look for real because the colors are more vibrant. For all these reasons and more, broadcasters continue to and always will broadcast in black and white as well as color.

[Spectralist]

@SeaDragonTattoo

Doesn’t your TV have a “toggle switch” on the remote that you can use to change the aspect ratio yourself?
…
It goes between “full”, “pillar”, and “zoom”, so the ones that stretch the screen can be changed by me to the pillar format and the picture looks normal again. I hate the stretching I wish they would just stop it.

That only works on SD channels. None of my TVs can do that on HD channels showing SD shows stretched to 16:9. I guess it may be possible that some TVs can but then you’d have the station stretching the image and your TV squeezing it. At which point you’d be better off watching the SD version of the channel to not have all that clumsy image manipulation ruining the end product.

@SeaDragonTattoo

I sometimes feel like it’s a hassle, but I’d rather toggle an HD channel than just watch an SD if I had the choice.

I don’t see why… An SD program on an HD channel isn’t going to look better then the same program on an SD channel. If i’m not mistaken it’s typically just the SD copy upscaled to fit the HD resolution. The TV(or the cable box) should automatically do that on the SD stations. Although it may be possible that the station is using better upscaling algorithms then the TV since it presumably doesn’t have to do it in real time. I don’t know if that’s ever actually the case though.

In some cases the original might have been shot at higher resolution than you can see on SD and so the version shown on HD may be better looking but not widescreen but i’ve never actually seen that happen. And if it did i’d hope the station would have the wherewithal to not stretch the image into the wrong aspect ratio.

[Richard_Pearse]

@SeaDragonTattoo

Doesn’t your TV have a “toggle switch” on the remote that you can use to change the aspect ratio yourself? I sometimes feel like it’s a hassle, but I’d rather toggle an HD channel than just watch an SD if I had the choice. It goes between “full”, “pillar”, and “zoom”, so the ones that stretch the screen can be changed by me to the pillar format and the picture looks normal again. I hate the stretching I wish they would just stop it.

If the show has been stretched by the broadcaster then you won’t be able to change it back. That’s why I’m surprised that stations are doing this, it takes away options for the viewers. Just send it as is please, if I want to stretch or zoom it I can do that with my TV, but if I want to leave it with pillars, I can do that too. Luckily Australian broadcasters don’t seem to do anything silly to 4:3 aspect programs.