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

[Michael T. Dean]

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.

> 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 ;)

> 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.

Mike