03.22
Ever notice how all those HD channels on TV/cable aren’t really HD?
No? Of course, I’m speaking anecdotally.
Actually, on my cable system, there are a bunch of channels they call HD. They broadcast content on them in “HD” (aka 720P or 1080i at 16:9 (ratio of width to height of the screen aka Widescreen TV)- the standards for HD digital broadcasts in the US. What about 1080P (for those of you who bought 1080P HDTV’s (Mine’s 720P/1080i because I bought it before 1080P was cheap.))? If you want 1080P, you’ll need Blu-Ray. No cable system in the US broadcasts in 1080P as far as I know.) Standard def (pre-HDTV/digital) is 480i and 4:3.
So, what’s the problem? A LOT of television programming in the US is still broadcast in 4:3. It MIGHT be filmed in widescreen but often the only way to get it that way is to get it on DVD. And the old stuff? Don’t bother.
So, all those HD channels? That are duplicates of standard channels? What do they do? Broadcast widescreen/HD versions of the standard def stuff?
Not exactly.
A lot of them, like FoodTV, take the standard def (4:3) shows (like “Good Eats”) and crop/stretch/zoom them to fit in a 16:9 screen. (My tv can do that by itself. I don’t NEED to pay extra for it.) Which distorts the picture. Everything looks wider/fatter.
For those channels/shows? I’d rather watch it in standard def. And have people look like people.
And just imagine what it’ll be like when they start throwing in that faux-3D stuff.
(Oddly enough, BBC America broadcasts (almost) everything letter-boxed (16:9 in a 4:3 shaped box.) on their SD channel. (the exception being US commercials in 4:3). I’m assuming this is because European tv standards are a bit saner/advanced. Too bad I don’t get BBC America HD.
