Comedy Central HD and Vertical Black Bars

[Riff Magnum]

So is that why these shows don't look nearly as high def as other HD channels like ESPN, etc? I guess since they were the last major cable network to go HD their still a little behind the pace.

[OARmaster]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

So is that why these shows don't look nearly as high def as other HD channels like ESPN, etc? I guess since they were the last major cable network to go HD their still a little behind the pace.

It depends on the filming equipment being used, the ability of those using said equipment, and the quality of your provider. If you have cable...Comedy Central might be under more compression that ESPN.

[Riff Magnum]

i have Dish, but comedy central programming looks the worst of all my channels, except for the South Park episodes.

[iori]

I just hate when hd channels show widescreen movies in 4x3 format, at least show it widescreen even if its not hd.

[shuah]

Originally Posted by JHM

I just hate when hd channels show widescreen movies in 4x3 format, at least show it widescreen even if its not hd.

They might be showing non HD programming in 4x3 format, in the hopes that you program your settings to show that program with the black bars on the sides of your screen, so the picture is smaller and the lower quality of the resolution is, thusly, less noticeable.

That's the only technical reason I could think of that they'd do that. It's probably what I would do, if I were a programmer that was worried about my audience filling their HD screen with a low res picture.

[toef]

I don't know how much of this is true, and I don't know the terms for much of it, so believe any or none of it, but...

I read somewhere, maybe here, that HD programming can be affected on syndicated TV shows, depending on your local channels. In my area, even though I don't watch them, Ellen and Oprah are not on at the normal times that they're on in most other areas, and when the local affiliates decide to air them at their later times, they use the SD/4:3 version, even though both shows have been available in HD/16:9 for a year now.

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by JHM

I just hate when hd channels show widescreen movies in 4x3 format, at least show it widescreen even if its not hd.

I can agree that this is terrible, but they simply may have never received a widescreen version of the film to air back when they made the deal to air it. Especially for older movies, they may well have not even been broadcasting anything in 16:9 when the deal was struck.

In time though, I'm sure that all movies on TV will be shown to fit a 16:9 screen better. Might be pan-and-scanned to 16:9 instead of 4:3, but it'll still be a better presentation than pillarboxed 4:3 pan-scanned pillarboxed inside a 16:9 screen. At the very least, 1.85:1 and 1.78:1 productions will look just fine, even if they end up cropping 2.4:1 ones.

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Exactly. That's all that needed to be said. If it's in 4:3, it's not HD.

It's possible (albeit unlikely) that a show could be produced in HD, but aired in 4:3 aspect ratio anyway. I have a sneaking suspicion that once Family Guy comes over to HD, it might do this. Look at Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy (from Seth McFarlane, the creator of Family Guy). Produced with enough fidelity for a 1080p picture (even though it was originally made to be shown on Youtube), but it's framed in 4:3 (and Youtube uses a 16:9 screen, don't know if they did when these shorts first popped up on there though).

[shuah]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

So is that why these shows don't look nearly as high def as other HD channels like ESPN, etc? I guess since they were the last major cable network to go HD their still a little behind the pace.

Yeah. The upside of HD technology is that it makes HD broadcasts look beautiful. The downside is that it makes all the flaws in standard broadcasts look really awful. When I lived in New York, my sister and her roommates would DVR all the episodes of Law and Order SVU. The episodes from NBC HD looked great, but the reruns they air on USA looked like a bootlegged DVD. There were compression glyphs all over the picture. Especially noticeable in night shots. I guess the lower definition of regular TV's, in conjunction with the little, nearly invisible grid of the screen hide those glyphs. But HD TV makes normal broadcasts look way worse (unless you're using an upscaler, which the NYC roommates didn't have)