[mythtv-users] DTV: It Has Begun

[Brian Wood]

David Brodbeck wrote:
> Brad DerManouelian wrote:
>> I'm pretty sure they're comparing the reaction of seeing HD over SD to  
>> the reaction of people seeing color after watching black & white TV  
>> for years. They're trying to convince people to upgrade, that's all.
> 
> They have to "sell" HDTV to the public so they see the switch as 
> benefiting them in some way.  The changeover was mostly driven by a 
> desire to sell off the old spectrum, not because the public was 
> demanding it; except for videophiles and sports fans with bigscreen TVs, 
> most people were perfectly happy with NTSC.

Most people were quite happy with VHS tape. Certainly the public was
never clamoring for better resolution, they didn't even understand what
that was.

I witnessed the reaction of many people to early HDTV demonstrations,
and the most common comment I heard was "Wow, it's wide", or something
like that. The change in aspect ratio with 1080i is the most obvious
change to most people.

As for sports, the lack of quality in the decoders in most TV sets, as
well as limitations all along the distribution chain, make most live
sporting events in 1080i an excellent demonstration of macro blocking
whenever there is any serious action, though the crowd shots and
commercials look better :-)

Hogan's Heroes was no funnier in 720p then it was in NTSC, though the
detail on the uniforms was more obvious.

But the bottom line is that the changeover has to be promoted as
something better, not as a way to make money for the government.

beww