4:3 Cartoons ... On Blu-ray?

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by Tyrindor

I have a huge collection of 4:3 cartoons such as Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy, South Park...

South Park Studios has kept all of the digital files and they are currently in the process of remastering every episode in true high-definition. Matt Stone and Trey Parker did say that this will be a long process since they will be re-doing and re-rendering the episodes to 1080i. None of the framing will be cropped to 1.78;1 widescreen, instead entire shots will be recomposed for the 1.78;1 screen. Its the reverse of what Pixar does to modify thier films for 1.33:1 televisions.

They already started work in 1080i/30f so unfortunately, they would have to go back and do another pass for 1080p/24 which is cost prohibitive for them.

And yes, you can remaster The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad in HD but they will be 4x3 pillarboxed like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs & Pinocchio. Also, due to the filmstock used for the earlier seasons of The Simpsons, even remastered in HD, they would look rather poor.