Question

I don't think it is in HD proper in my market. They'll show movies in SD.

depends on the market
If the station is O&O the -1 (main Ion) is in HD
if the station is an affiliate then its a crap shoot

Ohio shows 2 Ions...Cleveland is in HD (O&O) whereas Dayton is not
 
Tulsa ION has been HD for a couple of years. There are some decent movies on there occasionally. I don't take the sat receiver to the lake much anymore, so I channel surf the locals a lot more here recently. ION must have just had some contracts expire or something as I noticed lately they've become more like the cable channels just showing a marathon of certain shows each day and movies at other times. Seems like they only have 6 or 7 series at the moment.