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Greg2600
join:2008-05-20
Belleville, NJ

Greg2600 to itguy05

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to itguy05

Re: New HD channels coming anytime soon?

said by itguy05:

Depends. A lot of those shows were probably shot on 35mm film. If they do the transfer right you can get HD out of it as 35mm film has tons of resolution.

Only really old shows like from the 60's. Most of the 70's stuff through the 90's is on video tape. Converting like that would be done for a Blu-Ray release, and it's very expensive. Only shows like Seinfeld and Star Trek have gotten that kind of treatment. The point is TV Land has very little true HD right now. We're still waiting for first run networks like BBC America, G4, H2, and sports networks like CBS College to be added.

dcowboy
join:2012-05-10
Pequannock, NJ

dcowboy

Member

said by Greg2600:

said by itguy05:

Depends. A lot of those shows were probably shot on 35mm film. If they do the transfer right you can get HD out of it as 35mm film has tons of resolution.

Only shows like Seinfeld and Star Trek have gotten that kind of treatment.

They also converted "Friends" to 16x9.
+ an SD show on an HD channel still looks better than an SD show on an SD channel.

Greg2600
join:2008-05-20
Belleville, NJ

Greg2600

Member

said by dcowboy See Profile
They also converted "Friends" to 16x9.
+ an SD show on an HD channel still looks better than an SD show on an SD channel.

Yes, them too. I watch all of those on WPIX, WGN America, and TBS in HD.
itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Carlisle, PA

itguy05 to Greg2600

Member

to Greg2600
said by Greg2600:

Only really old shows like from the 60's. Most of the 70's stuff through the 90's is on video tape. Converting like that would be done for a Blu-Ray release, and it's very expensive.

I don't know I'd be so sure on that - I've been watching old 80s shows (Knight Rider, A Team) on Netflix now and they look pretty darn good on our 50" TV. Not HD but a lot better than any SD i've seen. They must be getting some of that resolution from somewhere....
quote:
We're still waiting for first run networks like BBC America, G4, H2, and sports networks like CBS College to be added.
The only one I care about of that list is BBCA (would love to see Top Gear in HD). The rest could stay stink-o-vision for all I care.
ksalper
join:2002-11-15
West Orange, NJ

ksalper to Greg2600

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to Greg2600
I'm fairly sure that the vast majority of prime time programs aired in the US have always been shot on film. There might be the occasional show shot on video -- anything that aired live, like a variety show, for sure, or things like soaps with their short turnaround time -- but the "flat" and cheap look of video means that very little in the way of quality television is made with it. Look at how "different" it looks when you see something like a 30 Rock live episode, even in today's HD -- I'm sure someone will find a couple one-off examples, but film was always the standard, not video.

bull3964
@verizon.net

bull3964

Anon

said by ksalper:

I'm fairly sure that the vast majority of prime time programs aired in the US have always been shot on film. There might be the occasional show shot on video -- anything that aired live, like a variety show, for sure, or things like soaps with their short turnaround time -- but the "flat" and cheap look of video means that very little in the way of quality television is made with it. Look at how "different" it looks when you see something like a 30 Rock live episode, even in today's HD -- I'm sure someone will find a couple one-off examples, but film was always the standard, not video.

The biggest issue with most shows in the '80s and '90s is that they were edited on video. So, the may have been shot on film, but the final episode usually only exists as an SD video master. Any HD restoration of the show is going to require they go back to the original film, scan it, and re-edit the episode. If any special effects were used, they would have to be redone or at least recomposited. That doesn't mean it can't be done (look at the HD re-masters for Star Trek: TNG), it just means it's more expensive and less trivial to do many much older TV shows or films.

My hope is that most "landmark" shows get the treatment in one way or another. Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek, Friends, Cheers, and Sienfeld are good examples of that. I really hope that Fox goes back and does the X-Files some day. It wouldn't need quite the level of work as Star Trek:TNG since there are fewer special effects shots, but it would be a bit more complex than a sitcom. It would be amazing though.