matcarl
join:2007-03-09
Franklin Square, NY | reply to VZ Mark
Re: New HD Channels?
They may have some shows that are in HD, better to have it than not, I say! |
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Fyos
@army.mil
| reply to Greg2600
said by lcjawhit  :Is SYFY new? I don't remember seeing it...
Sci-Fi Channel is being renamed (stupidly) to SyFy. Thank the boobs at NBC. That's just genius! i used to check my listings and ask "What's this Skiffy (SciFi) channel about?" Now I can phonetically figure it out!  |
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Baff
join:2007-12-05
Murrieta, CA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to VZ Mark
said by VZ Mark :I'm curious about the Cartoon Network since Nick HD, which VZ recently added, didn't seem to be worth it? Don't know much about cartoon production but are HD cartoons really worth the BW? My kid was thrilled to see the "HD" in the logo but I didn't see a major difference...anyone agree/disagree? I want CN for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Very noticeable difference to me. |
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VZ Mark
join:2009-06-22
Basking Ridge, NJ
| Thanks for the feedback, besides this show are there any others that would also be noticeable? Part of the discussion on this thread is 'part-time' HD on full time HD channels. Seems to me like VZ is adding some of these HD channels faster than the providers can add HD content? |
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darcilicious
Cyber Librarian
Premium
join:2001-01-02
Forest Grove, OR
·Verizon FIOS
 ·Comcast
| I have noticed that programs in SD that are broadcast on HD channels almost always look better than they do on their original SD channels.
(At least if they don't do stretch and the like  ) |
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VZ Mark
join:2009-06-22
Basking Ridge, NJ |  Spongebob did look better in HD, just not sure it was as good as watching sports in SD and then switching to the HD feed of the same game and getting that 'WOW!' factor. Maybe I just watch too much damn TV??? |
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darcilicious
Cyber Librarian
Premium
join:2001-01-02
Forest Grove, OR | Well, if you're watching SpongeBob then yeah, you're probably watching too much TV |
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FiOSinVA
@verizon.net
| reply to VZ Mark
said by VZ Mark :Subjective indeed! For example munson15 wants TCM in HD and I don't blame him. But in reality Turner CLASSIC Movies are all shot prior to HD technology and quality would not be the same as Discovery HD Theatre just for one example. Junk for one could be gold to another but to me the dot tv's are just plain crap...good discussion... No, this is wrong. Assuming that HD Theater shoots most of its footage on digital video rather than film, it's maximum resolution is 1080p. Anything that TCM airs that was shot on 32 mm film has much, much higher potential resolution.
Now, it's been stated at AVS that TCM will be upconverting for the next year, so that might cut against adding it in the short term. But given how these carriage agreements generally work, adding TCM, HLN, TruTV, and Cartoon Network would seem well worth the effort. These are four channels that, until recently, were standard fare for analog distribution by cable providers. They all have high exposure, particularly Cartoon Network. |
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URFloorMatt
join:2009-07-08
Fredericksburg, VA
| reply to VZ Mark
said by VZ Mark :I'm curious about the Cartoon Network since Nick HD, which VZ recently added, didn't seem to be worth it? Don't know much about cartoon production but are HD cartoons really worth the BW? My kid was thrilled to see the "HD" in the logo but I didn't see a major difference...anyone agree/disagree? I think Nick HD has a fair amount of HD during the daytime, and I have seen at least one teen sitcom airing during the day that's also HD. The problem is Nick at Nite covers 8pm to some early hour and there's not yet any HD during that time, though George Lopez repeats could be. |
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VZ Mark
join:2009-06-22
Basking Ridge, NJ
| reply to FiOSinVA
I am aware of the ability for old movies to be digitized and the potential for them to be aired in high resolution. What I don't think will happen for quite sometime is that the extensive library of classic movies to be upconverted for HD channels. Maybe it's a case of 'build it and they will come' and by adding the channels it will push the movie companies, but some of these classic movies are in black and white...
And I was watching Spongebob in HD, but with my kids. That cartoon is pretty funny even for adults at times! |
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matcarl
join:2007-03-09
Franklin Square, NY | Spongebob isn't in 16:9 though, but I notice that for the HD channels that show 4:3 content, the screen does get filled up slightly more than the SD version, maybe 1 inch on each side. |
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darcilicious
Cyber Librarian
Premium
join:2001-01-02
Forest Grove, OR
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| said by matcarl :Spongebob isn't in 16:9 though, but I notice that for the HD channels that show 4:3 content, the screen does get filled up slightly more than the SD version, maybe 1 inch on each side. Interesting -- I've never seen that myself. My TV is typically set at 1:1 mode and my 6200 is set with SD override off... |
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Greg2600
join:2008-05-20
Belleville, NJ
| reply to RBost
What's very ironic is that Verizon's SD quality on a channel such as TCM is so good, that TCM HD (upconverted) looks about the same on an HDTV. Whereas someone like Comcast almost has to have TCM HD for HDTV's because their SD quality is so horrible. So in line with what VZ Mark is saying, Verizon doesn't really need to add the HD version, because the SD is just as good. But it makes Verizon look weaker because they don't have the HD version. |
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zer0future
join:2005-09-14
Jersey City, NJ
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| reply to RBost
From what I've seen Nick HD doesn't really have many HD programs yet, perhaps they will start animating some of their cartoons in HD now that they have a HD channel. I guess they could try and get HD broadcasting rights on the shows they have on nick at night (if available). From what little I've seen there isn't a noticeable difference between regular Nick and NickHD. |
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harrylime
join:2000-11-19
Tarrytown, NY
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to VZ Mark
said by VZ Mark :Some of these classic movies are in black and white... The masters for the most important movies in the Warner Bros. library -- ADV. OF ROBIN HOOD, CASABLANCA, etc -- are scanned from film at 4K resolution. (So is drek like CATWOMAN, but that's beside the point.) That's about six times as many pixels as your HDTV set. 
(4096×3072 pixels compared to 1920x1080.)
I think TCM HD could max out your screen all right, even in black and white. The main question is how much high-frequency detail you lose to the MPEG-2 compression. |
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JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE
·Verizon FIOS
| Nice to see competition heating up...
Comcast in my area will be moving 41 analogs to digital in the next two months...granted, for them that means a possible 123 HD channels with that awful 3:1 QAM ratio they use....
Hopefully that rumor of a "nice chunk of new HD's" in Q4 comes true for us...
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" |
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