[mythtv-users] MythTV and the state of US HDTV

[Jay R. Ashworth]

On Sat, Feb 18, 2006 at 11:03:12PM -0500, Michael T. Dean wrote:
> On 02/18/2006 10:27 PM, Yeechang Lee wrote:
> > Jay R. Ashworth <jra at baylink.com> says:
> >   
> >> Scrubs [is not avaiable in HD].
> >>
> >> And that parents of teenagers vehicle for the redhead from Boston
> >> Public was so in 4:3 that cutting to 16:9 was an *effect* for them.
> >>
> >> In fact, I'd almost go so far as to say that *no* sitcoms are shot in
> >> 16:9, or at least aired that way, at the moment.  Note: almost.  :-)
> >>     
> > . . . Just as I also used the word "almost." That said, of the
> > 30-minute sitcoms I am currently watching or trying out--"How I Met
> > Your Mother," "Out of Practice," "Four Kings," "Courting Alex," and
> > "Freddie"--I know that all except "Out of Practice" (and possibly that
> > one, too; I don't have an episode on my MythTV box at the moment to
> > check) are in HD. It's possible the fact that they are all new this
> > season may have something to do with it.
> 
> According to Jim isn't new and is in high def.

Since we don't tune HDTV, let me qualify what I said, to better make
the point I was trying to make: while many sitcoms may be filmed in
16:9, they're aired on the SD network feed in 4:3.  The dramas, in
general, tend to be the things that air in letterbox on SD.
`
> > NBC has broadcast "The Tonight Show" in HD
> > since 1999, back when there couldn't have been more than a handful of
> > sets capable of fully depicting the quality anywhere in the country.
> 
> I completely agree that there weren't many HDTV sets in use back then, 
> but I would actually go so far as to say that even now--with 1080p sets 
> available--no (commercially-available-in-the-US*) set is "capable of 
> fully depicting the quality [of HDTV]."  Sampling theory says that 
> output resolution *must* be greater than input resolution to fully 
> depict the signal--remember the old rule of thumb for printing:  2 
> pixels per dot?  Until we start seeing 3840x2160- and greater-resolution 
> sets (the rule of thumb isn't exact and the math is too hard for me to 
> do), we won't be "fully depicting the quality [of HDTV]."
> 
> (Sorry for ignoring your point--with which I completely agree--and 
> focusing on an aside ;)

:-)

We do that a lot.

> > In sum, I see no substantial reason to amend my original statement:
> > Almost all first-run half-hour comedies, one-hour dramas, and
> > theatrical movies on the broadcast networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, WB,
> > and UPN), with the notable exception of most reality shows, have been
> > shown in full widescreen HDTV for some time.
> 
> That seems to agree with my observations, too--with "almost" being an 
> important part of the statement.  But I was wondering if it seems that 
> many of the theatrical movies look more like upscaled DVD-quality than 
> HDTV-quality to anyone else.  Some are obviously HDTV, but I've seen 
> several that seemed a bit grainy.

Indeed.  But while I didn't phrase my point as well as I should have,
I'm going to stand by it as well: if the network airs something in
letterbox 4:3 instead of "full-screen" 4:3, it's probably a drama.

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                                                jra at baylink.com
Designer                          Baylink                             RFC 2100
Ashworth & Associates        The Things I Think                        '87 e24
St Petersburg FL USA      http://baylink.pitas.com             +1 727 647 1274

	A: No.
	Q: Should I include quotations after my message body?