The Wire Question

[Majoran]

Originally Posted by JadedRaverLA

In the case of the Wire, it was preferred by the show's creators (not the various directors) that the show be framed for a 4:3 standard-def presentation to give it a more gritty, documentary feel. Even the last seasons on HBO HD were upconverted from SD and left at 4:3 to maintain that look. For all the promos and weekly recaps, though, they were edited and broadcast from the widescreen masters. The film was always shot with an intended AR of 4:3, though, so many will have issue with 16:9 transfers even if it is additional material on the side.

Exactly, the same holds true for "The Shield"...There are 16:9 dvds of it, the show looks "off" in that aspect ratio.....You can tell that the show is supposed to be 4:3.

Simon made the decision to keep the entire series in 4:3 SD to keep the look of the show "fluid" from season 1 to season 5. I would NOT call his move stupid at all, it was more of a creative decision that IMO works for this show.....If he had gone HD 16:9 at Season 4 when he could have, I think the look and feel of the show might have been thrown off a bit.

For showing on HBOHD, HBO uses a line doubling method that upscales the picture of the show and makes the picture look great, but it is still the same source material.

While I would have loved to have this show in HD, I dont have a problem with how it was done.