old tv shows in 16:9

[NotaStalker]

so King of Queens has made its way to bluray and to my surprise was in 16:9 aspect ratio. Im not sure if this was the case for the dvd release as well? but regardless, the idea of MacGyver in hd and 16:9 simply boggles the mind. Anyone with info on this?

[indiephantom]

I know Homicide: Life on the Street was one of the first shows to shoot in 16:9 but was never broadcast that way. It debuted in 1993. The DVDs are full screen as I recall. The show is brilliant, though.

[Joe Cain]

Originally Posted by indiephantom

I know Homicide: Life on the Street was one of the first shows to shoot in 16:9 but was never broadcast that way. It debuted in 1993. The DVDs are full screen as I recall. The show is brilliant, though.

It was pretty brilliant. First I've ever heard of it being shot for 16:9, though. Where'd you come across that little nugget?

[Spymaster]

4x3 shows should never EVER be cropped to 16x9 for HD presentation. Bad, bad, bad.

[NotaStalker]

the thing is they werent cropped. there was added to the sides instead.

[Spymaster]

Originally Posted by NotaStalker

the thing is they werent cropped. there was added to the sides instead.

Really? Well that's certainly an interesting twist!

[Red Hood]

Originally Posted by NotaStalker

the thing is they werent cropped. there was added to the sides instead.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...D16x94x3-1.jpg

You can see that some is added to the sides while a good deal is lost from the bottom and some from the top.

[Zaranyzerak]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

4x3 shows should never EVER be cropped to 16x9 for HD presentation. Bad, bad, bad.

+infinity

If a DVD/Blu-ray release of a 4x3 show (meaning filmed, shown, and intended to be viewed 4x3) is released is anything other than 4x3, I don't buy it. I'm not paying full price for 60% of the original image. *coughKung Fu Season 1 and Dark Shadows Revivalcough*

It's infuriating. First, we beg and plead for Pan and Scan to go away so we can enjoy our movies in widescreen. Now that we finally have widescreen as the norm, we're getting our old 4x3 TV shows cropped. Same poop, different pile...

Just leave the dang aspect ratios ALONE, already!

[#Darren]

Originally Posted by Zaranyzerak

+infinity

If a DVD/Blu-ray release of a 4x3 show (meaning filmed, shown, and intended to be viewed 4x3) is released is anything other than 4x3, I don't buy it. I'm not paying full price for 60% of the original image. *coughKung Fu Season 1 and Dark Shadows Revivalcough*

It's infuriating. First, we beg and plead for Pan and Scan to go away so we can enjoy our movies in widescreen. Now that we finally have widescreen as the norm, we're getting our old 4x3 TV shows cropped. Same poop, different pile...

Just leave the dang aspect ratios ALONE, already!

^^^^^^^^^ THAT

[toef]

Originally Posted by Joe Cain

It was pretty brilliant. First I've ever heard of it being shot for 16:9, though. Where'd you come across that little nugget?

One of my favorite shows, though I never knew about the 16:9 thing either. I think I actually might not want to see it that way, because then it might lose some of its gritty/home-video'ish look, which might take away from the show.

[DCJuggler]

Originally Posted by toefer

One of my favorite shows, though I never knew about the 16:9 thing either. I think I actually might not want to see it that way, because then it might lose some of its gritty/home-video'ish look, which might take away from the show.

You think?

King Of Queens S2 BluRay Screenshots...










This show was shot in 16:9 and cropped to 4:3 for TV.

[hanumang]

Originally Posted by NotaStalker

but regardless, the idea of MacGyver in hd and 16:9 simply boggles the mind. Anyone with info on this?

For the most part, old TV shows were shot on 35 or Super 35 film, so they can be re-telecined - in shorthand, output to video from the original footage - as 16:9 transfers. I stress can because much depends on how the images are framed because, in most cases, you're gonna lose a little bit of picture off the top and bottom.

The 'best' example of this was the 1980's version of Knight Rider when it was broadcast on Universal HD back in 2006 - they re-telecined the 4:3 show to 16:9 to create those HD masters, cropping top and bottom a bit.

However, there is a serious cost involved in doing all this, not mention that you need to have Edit Decision Lists (telling you which pieces of film you'll need) for all episodes. Plus, depending on how well the film elements have survived over the years (of course, film degrades rapidly) they might need significant frame-by-frame restoration for them to look acceptable. That's only been done, at least to this point, for flicks that studios know will make serious coin (The Godfather films, for instance). Considering how much folks complain about grain on a $150 million film made 5 years ago, I can only image how much whining they'll be about a low-budget show from the 80s if its not restored and remastered.

All this puts Blu-ray at a huge disadvantage when compared to DVDs, which were typically created from broadcast [tape] masters. So studios, probably understandably, will only work (that far back in) the catalog once Blu-ray is a proven, everyman technology. Think DVD circa 2004...