Scrubs: 16x9 vs 4x3 comparison - Blu-ray Forum

DigitalfreakNYC · 05-25-2009, 07:11 PM

So...

With the announcement of Scrubs season 8 on Blu-ray, there has been some debate as to whether the other 7 seasons would benefit from a blu-ray transfer. I took my HD capture of the last eppy (which began with flashbacks of the very first episode) and compared it to the DVD version. The results are below.

There is some slight cropping at the top and bottom but there is definitely more information on the sides. I wonder if this means HD versions of all 7 seasons could follow? 8 comes out in November.

monkeyjb1988 · 05-25-2009, 09:11 PM

Obviously, widescreen Scrubs from seasons 1-7 can work, although I personally don't need them to be widescreen. They were originally broadcast in fullscreen, so fullscreen Blus would be fine.

steve_dave · 05-26-2009, 12:28 AM

NBC did not give them the budget to shoot all episodes in high-definition. They were able to film one episode in HD and it was broadcast as such. John Inwood, the cinematographer, decided to frame for 4x3 but shoot 16x9 safe so that the show could be remastered into true HD without major composition issues.

Afrobean · 05-26-2009, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monkeyjb1988

Obviously, widescreen Scrubs from seasons 1-7 can work, although I personally don't need them to be widescreen. They were originally broadcast in fullscreen, so fullscreen Blus would be fine.

Even if the creative staff planned from the beginning for the show to be watchable in 16:9? Yeah, it was originally released in 4:3, but the creative staff clearly had a desire for it to work in 16:9. Even if cropping were required, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Look at The Shining; 4:3 version shows more on the top/bottom, but does that mean that's the version I want to see?

Depending the exact nature of the differences in framing between the two, I wouldn't mind seeing an option to matte the 16:9 to 4:3 though. I just want to be able to see it in 16:9 if the creative staff decided that the show should be exhibitable in that format (regardless of "original airing"). I mean, theatrical cuts are often denounced in favor of director's cuts released later on, so why would someone be so rigid in preference of watching something else the way it was "originally released". I mean, I can understand preferring the "way it was originally", but I don't think one should be as rigid as that as to circumvent the creative process and force the "original released" format on all viewers. Can you imagine a world where only theatrical cuts of films are available?

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve_dave

NBC did not give them the budget to shoot all episodes in high-definition. They were able to film one episode in HD and it was broadcast as such. John Inwood, the cinematographer, decided to frame for 4x3 but shoot 16x9 safe so that the show could be remastered into true HD without major composition issues.

Do you know which "one" episode this is? Wasn't the last season shot on digital in HD though? Or was the last season shot on film just like normal, and it's only the presentation in 16:9 HD that differs here?

KubrickFan · 05-26-2009, 02:41 PM

The season 5 finale 'My Transition' was filmed in HD, according to the producer.
And I guess Scrubs was shot for both, so either version would be good. And although it was shot on 16mm, it was edited on video, so I don't think it would benefit much from a Blu-Ray release.

steve_dave · 05-26-2009, 03:49 PM

Actually, the show is shot on 16mm which is a higher resolution film format than high-definition. The cinematographer already tested the 16mm footage wth My Transition and was extremely happy with the results. The Blu-ray can be even more spectacular since the ABC broadcast is 720p for Season 8 while the BD would be 1080p.

KubrickFan · 05-26-2009, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve_dave

Actually, the show is shot on 16mm which is a higher resolution film format than high-definition. The cinematographer already tested the 16mm footage wth My Transition and was extremely happy with the results. The Blu-ray can be even more spectacular since the ABC broadcast is 720p for Season 8 while the BD would be 1080p.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I said. BUT most tv shows are edited on video, so they would have to redo all of that again.

Afrobean · 05-26-2009, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KubrickFan

Yeah, that's pretty much what I said. BUT most tv shows are edited on video, so they would have to redo all of that again.

If they documented everything correctly, it would be rather easy for them to do. And if they were planning on rescanning in 1080p eventually, I'm very confident that they documented all the cut information. They may well have even cut the masters as film, then transferred from the film master to video for air. Probably not I guess, but if they were planning on doing it in 16:9 HD eventually, that seems like the smart way to handle it.

Either way, look at what they did for Star Trek. Should be MUCH easier than that process, no remastering needed, no new special effects needed. Or look at Seinfeld. They rescanned that stuff a long time ago apparently just to air it in syndication. I just hope it doesn't take them too long to put the stuff together, because frankly, this is one show I wouldn't mind rebuying completely for an upgrade.

singhcr · 05-26-2009, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve_dave

Actually, the show is shot on 16mm which is a higher resolution film format than high-definition. The cinematographer already tested the 16mm footage wth My Transition and was extremely happy with the results. The Blu-ray can be even more spectacular since the ABC broadcast is 720p for Season 8 while the BD would be 1080p.

If 35mm film is approximately 4k, wouldn't 16mm film have a resolution essentially equal to BD, as it is 2k?

that1guystudios · 05-27-2009, 02:59 AM

As this is one of my favorite shows, I would rebuy the entire season on Blu-ray.
The 16mm stuff is more than adequate for Blu-ray. The quality difference between the DVD of Season 1 and the clips used in the HD finale are major, and that was just 720p. I would assume that 20-30 shots would either need to be redone in HD (special effect shots) per season, or they could just upconvert those shots specifically like they did with Firefly. This show is one of Buena Vista (Disney's) top sellers and it runs in syndication on multiple channels, so I could see this one getting a release someday, if season 8 on Blu sells well.

monkeyjb1988 · 05-27-2009, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by singhcr

If 35mm film is approximately 4k, wouldn't 16mm film have a resolution essentially equal to BD, as it is 2k?

Blu-Ray is not 2K. 2K is 2048x1556, BD is 1920x1080. Close, but not quite.

that1guystudios · 05-27-2009, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monkeyjb1988

Blu-Ray is not 2K. 2K is 2048x1556, BD is 1920x1080. Close, but not quite.

So it's basically pretty close to 2K. Like he said originally. 16mm would benefit from a Blu-ray release. Take a look at Pride & prejudice from BBC. Looks great.

-Sandro- · 05-27-2009, 07:53 PM

The shots from ABC 720p seem like 480p upscaled to my eyes. If that's true they didn't scan all seasons from film yet. It would be just the 16x9 SD master (cropped in broadcasting)

DigitalfreakNYC · 05-27-2009, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Sandro-

The shots from ABC 720p seem like 480p upscaled to my eyes. If that's true they didn't scan all seasons from film yet. It would be just the 16x9 SD master (cropped in broadcasting)

Please don't use my capture as a judge. Lord knows i may have screwed something up. It was a re-encode from the 720p to AVC using the Hauppauge box.
There could also be additional compression from the pic capture.

-Sandro- · 05-28-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monkeyjb1988

Blu-Ray is not 2K. 2K is 2048x1556, BD is 1920x1080. Close, but not quite.

Isn't 2K 2048x1080?

Edit: sorry that was only for digital

typ44q · 05-28-2009, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by that1guypictures

As this is one of my favorite shows, I would rebuy the entire season on Blu-ray.
The 16mm stuff is more than adequate for Blu-ray. The quality difference between the DVD of Season 1 and the clips used in the HD finale are major, and that was just 720p. I would assume that 20-30 shots would either need to be redone in HD (special effect shots) per season, or they could just upconvert those shots specifically like they did with Firefly. This show is one of Buena Vista (Disney's) top sellers and it runs in syndication on multiple channels, so I could see this one getting a release someday, if season 8 on Blu sells well.

Same here, I love this show and would repurchase every season again on blu especially if they added more extra content over what the DVD's had

cathexist · 05-28-2009, 08:22 PM

I'm going to hold off a bit longer on purchasing the older seasons on DVD...I really want to get them, because I know it's a show that I will watch over and over.

But with the announcement of season 8 on blu-ray, I'm going to wait until after I purchase that just in-case I get some other blu announcements.

JTH182 · 05-29-2009, 10:42 AM

Thanks for the post DigitalfreakNYC!

16x9 Scrubs is so yummy

remlap · 06-09-2009, 05:31 PM

Hi, thank you very very much for the comparison shots in the framing at least.

I would like to see a comparison with the closet scene with J.D. and Elliot, it looked heavily cropped from my memory.

Have Season 1-7 on 720x576 DVD and 640x480 Season 8 DVD already on Order, but will order Season 8 when it arrives on Blu-Ray in the UK or if its region free.

I once again thank you.

-Sandro- · 07-02-2009, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigitalfreakNYC

Please don't use my capture as a judge. Lord knows i may have screwed something up. It was a re-encode from the 720p to AVC using the Hauppauge box.
There could also be additional compression from the pic capture.

Was it real HD then?

05-25-2009, 07:11 PM	#1
DigitalfreakNYC Banned Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Astoria, NY Trading Score:9	Scrubs: 16x9 vs 4x3 comparison So... With the announcement of Scrubs season 8 on Blu-ray, there has been some debate as to whether the other 7 seasons would benefit from a blu-ray transfer. I took my HD capture of the last eppy (which began with flashbacks of the very first episode) and compared it to the DVD version. The results are below. There is some slight cropping at the top and bottom but there is definitely more information on the sides. I wonder if this means HD versions of all 7 seasons could follow? 8 comes out in November. Last edited by Deciazulado; 06-09-2009 at 06:19 PM. Reason: centering

05-26-2009, 12:28 AM	#3
steve_dave Blu-ray Duke Member since:Nov 2008 Trading Score:21	NBC did not give them the budget to shoot all episodes in high-definition. They were able to film one episode in HD and it was broadcast as such. John Inwood, the cinematographer, decided to frame for 4x3 but shoot 16x9 safe so that the show could be remastered into true HD without major composition issues. Last edited by steve_dave; 05-26-2009 at 12:34 AM.

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05-25-2009, 09:11 PM	#2
monkeyjb1988 Expert Member Member since:Aug 2008 Blu-ray collection:188 Digital collection:11 Blu-ray reviews: 16	Obviously, widescreen Scrubs from seasons 1-7 can work, although I personally don't need them to be widescreen. They were originally broadcast in fullscreen, so fullscreen Blus would be fine.

05-26-2009, 02:41 PM	#5
KubrickFan Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Mar 2009 Blu-ray collection:319	The season 5 finale 'My Transition' was filmed in HD, according to the producer. And I guess Scrubs was shot for both, so either version would be good. And although it was shot on 16mm, it was edited on video, so I don't think it would benefit much from a Blu-Ray release.

05-26-2009, 03:49 PM	#6
steve_dave Blu-ray Duke Member since:Nov 2008 Trading Score:21	Actually, the show is shot on 16mm which is a higher resolution film format than high-definition. The cinematographer already tested the 16mm footage wth My Transition and was extremely happy with the results. The Blu-ray can be even more spectacular since the ABC broadcast is 720p for Season 8 while the BD would be 1080p.

05-27-2009, 02:59 AM	#10
that1guystudios 3D Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place... 4K collection:289 Blu-ray collection:1219 DVD collection:223 MA collection:1219 Digital collection:343 iTunes collection:145 Blu-ray reviews: 30 Trading Score:117	As this is one of my favorite shows, I would rebuy the entire season on Blu-ray. The 16mm stuff is more than adequate for Blu-ray. The quality difference between the DVD of Season 1 and the clips used in the HD finale are major, and that was just 720p. I would assume that 20-30 shots would either need to be redone in HD (special effect shots) per season, or they could just upconvert those shots specifically like they did with Firefly. This show is one of Buena Vista (Disney's) top sellers and it runs in syndication on multiple channels, so I could see this one getting a release someday, if season 8 on Blu sells well.

05-27-2009, 07:53 PM	#13
-Sandro- Active Member Member since:Aug 2008 Blu-ray collection:8	The shots from ABC 720p seem like 480p upscaled to my eyes. If that's true they didn't scan all seasons from film yet. It would be just the 16x9 SD master (cropped in broadcasting)

05-28-2009, 08:22 PM	#17
cathexist Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Aurora, CO 4K collection:302 Blu-ray collection:1253 DVD collection:73 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:8	I'm going to hold off a bit longer on purchasing the older seasons on DVD...I really want to get them, because I know it's a show that I will watch over and over. But with the announcement of season 8 on blu-ray, I'm going to wait until after I purchase that just in-case I get some other blu announcements.

05-29-2009, 10:42 AM	#18
JTH182 Active Member Member since:Dec 2007 4K collection:132 Blu-ray collection:457	Thanks for the post DigitalfreakNYC! 16x9 Scrubs is so yummy

06-09-2009, 05:31 PM	#19
remlap Member Member since:Aug 2008 Location:South Wales. Blu-ray collection:83	Hi, thank you very very much for the comparison shots in the framing at least. I would like to see a comparison with the closet scene with J.D. and Elliot, it looked heavily cropped from my memory. Have Season 1-7 on 720x576 DVD and 640x480 Season 8 DVD already on Order, but will order Season 8 when it arrives on Blu-Ray in the UK or if its region free. I once again thank you.

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