HD channels not HD?

[VaDavid]

When i go to some HD channels like CMT, Nick, abc family they look to be in SD or not upscaled at all. Is this because the show was never in HD to begin with? even so shouldnt it be up scaled?

 

[SlyFerret]

They may still be "upscaling" the image to help it look a little bit better, but the fact remains that the original picture was in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which will leave the black bars on the right and left sides of the screen (pillarboxing).

If the image is stretched to fill the screen, it distorts the image, making it look like crap. If the image is zoomed to fill the screen, it cops quite a bit of the top and bottom of the frame.

Leaving the program pillarboxed is usually the best thing to do, as viewers see the image as it was originally created.

-SF

 

[mrlaugh]

They may still be "upscaling" the image to help it look a little bit better, but the fact remains that the original picture was in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which will leave the black bars on the right and left sides of the screen (pillarboxing).

If the image is stretched to fill the screen, it distorts the image, making it look like crap. If the image is zoomed to fill the screen, it cops quite a bit of the top and bottom of the frame.

Leaving the program pillarboxed is usually the best thing to do, as viewers see the image as it was originally created.

-SF

nobody ever told A&E that, almost all of the old stuff they show is stretch-o-vision

Discovery networks tend to crop and upscale.

some of the networks show 16:9 content in 4:3 letter box, because they're too cheap to have bought rights to distribute HD of the shows they air, so you get black bars on all sides

 

[SlyFerret]

The "postage stamp" format doesn't bug me too much, since it will zoom nicely to fill the screen.

The channels that choose to stretch the picture for me drive me nuts. I can't stand watching a distorted picture like that.

-SF

 

[whatchel1]

Many

nobody ever told A&E that, almost all of the old stuff they show is stretch-o-vision

Discovery networks tend to crop and upscale.

some of the networks show 16:9 content in 4:3 letter box, because they're too cheap to have bought rights to distribute HD of the shows they air, so you get black bars on all sides

Really many people have told them they just don't listen.

 

[TNGTony]

The interesting thing is that when A&E first hit Dish in HD, it didn't do stretch-o-vision. They started doing this shortly after they first went on the air. When i e-mailed a complaint about it, they told me that surveys showed people prefered this. I e-mailed back that they lost a viewer because I had no way to "undo" stretch-o-vision.

TNT, TBS, A&E Networks, Food, Lifetime HGTV are all unwatchable.

For those that want to stretch the image on Dish, there is a button on the bottom left of your remote labeled "format" (the * key). Press it until you get the image just the way you want it. If you are not a Dish subscriber and have HD through something else, your TV has this feature as well labeled "format" or "Aspect" or something else.

Once a picture is distorted, stretched, cropped or whaterver by the programmer, there is no way for those of us that cannot stomach stretch-o-vision to get the picture back to a "normal" setting.

See EKB: Aspect ratio comparison. Why the black bars?

See ya
Tony

 

[vurbano]

doesnt Dish change the resolution to 1440 or something?

 

[allargon]

doesnt Dish change the resolution to 1440 or something?

Yes, they took notes from D* changing it to 1280. Fortunately, D* decided to retake the class and went back to 1920.

Both play games with the bitrates. However, that's to be expected.

 

[SlyFerret]

Speaking of bitrates, is there a way to get my receiver to display the current bitrate of the program I'm watching?

-SF

 

[whatchel1]

No, you need additional equipment to do that.

 

[RobMeyer1]

There is a way to undo linear stretch-o-vision by changing your HDTV settings. On my 2 displays, changing the HDTV setup to 480p shrinks a 16:9 image down to 4:3. I don't like using it, but do use it occasionally to watch a stretch-o-vision program. You have to change it back to your previous setting (720p or 1080i) to properly display true HD channels.

 

[sam_gordon]

Where's hideffjeff to explain this is a problem with signal strength?

 

[Petrovich]

A lot of so called HD channels chose not to bother spending money on HD. They are just stretching, or zooming, or otherwise distorting an SD source to pretend it's HD and make me and other viewers pay a premium for their cunning innovation. Unfortunately, I don't have a choice to turn those channels off - so I simply never watch them.

 

[Jim S.]

There is a way to undo linear stretch-o-vision by changing your HDTV settings. On my 2 displays, changing the HDTV setup to 480p shrinks a 16:9 image down to 4:3. I don't like using it, but do use it occasionally to watch a stretch-o-vision program. You have to change it back to your previous setting (720p or 1080i) to properly display true HD channels.

This of course doesn't help with the channels that are non-linear. (I'm assuming there still are a few. I don't watch anywhere near all the "HD" channels that Dish has.) It's a sad commentary on the state of intellect in the world today that anyone could've thought that this was a sensible way to broadcast a picture. Hell, it's a sad commentary on the state of intellect in the world today that anyone could've thought there was any reason to even build hardware to do that!

 

[whatchel1]

He don't want to get spanked

Where's hideffjeff to explain this is a problem with signal strength?

I think hideffjeff is less apt to be saying that anymore. Iceburg and I kind of gave him the proof that he was full of BS on this recently. Give him some time before he starts spouting more BS . He just loves to push his pseudo-science on line.

 

[ercjncpr]

They may still be "upscaling" the image to help it look a little bit better, but the fact remains that the original picture was in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which will leave the black bars on the right and left sides of the screen (pillarboxing).

If the image is stretched to fill the screen, it distorts the image, making it look like crap. If the image is zoomed to fill the screen, it cops quite a bit of the top and bottom of the frame.

Leaving the program pillarboxed is usually the best thing to do, as viewers see the image as it was originally created.

-SF

To me pillarbox looks like cfap. Even if stretching the picture does make some people look fat, I prefer video filling the whole screen

 

[whatchel1]

but why everyone

To me pillarbox looks like cfap. Even if stretching the picture does make some people look fat, I prefer video filling the whole screen

But why should everyone be subject to your feelings? That's what stretch-o-vision does. If it isn't stretched then you can zoom we can't un-zoom.

 

[Bobby]

But why should everyone be subject to your feelings? That's what stretch-o-vision does. If it isn't stretched then you can zoom we can't un-zoom.

100% agree!!!

 

[SandFarmer]

What's really annoying is . . .

. . . the History Channel's programming is mixed. I have noticed that a good portion of the docs are mostly 16:9, but all the "interviews" within the program are Stretch-O-Vision". So you go from a gorgeous 16:9 panorama to a stretched interview. It's really annoying especially when it is a close up and you have this pumpkin on the screen.

If they don't have it in 16:9 footage, why can't they find a creative way to present it without stretching it. With some of the incredible things they have produced I am amazed that they do this.

And I have noticed and am glad that the Platinum HD Package was added for free. I would not pay for it. Several channels are clearly SD in all aspects including record time.

 

[Pepper]

Stretch-O-Vision is the spawn of the devil.

There is a way to undo linear stretch-o-vision by changing your HDTV settings. On my 2 displays, changing the HDTV setup to 480p shrinks a 16:9 image down to 4:3. I don't like using it, but do use it occasionally to watch a stretch-o-vision program. You have to change it back to your previous setting (720p or 1080i) to properly display true HD channels.

Might do the job but keep in mind at 480 you are not watching HD anymore.

Where's hideffjeff to explain this is a problem with signal strength?

LOL!

To me pillarbox looks like cfap. Even if stretching the picture does make some people look fat, I prefer video filling the whole screen

I disagree with your sentiment so utterly and completely that I used it as the inspiration for a recent blog post.