stretch-o-vision
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Poll: What's the worst mistake HD channels make?
We've discussed it again and again, the ills done by so-called HD channels against perfectly good content, whether it's passing off SD as high definition with Fox Widescreen, vomit-inducing stretching on TNT & TBS or the inexcusable cropping, zooming and pan & scanning of movies broadcast on AMC and HBO. But which one is the worst? Let your voice be heard, and if we forgot anything drop us a line in the comments.%Poll-33001%
TBS-HD gives the stretching a little break
A few sightings of non-stretched 4x3 content has finally showed up on TBS HD today, but the bad news is that so far it has only been during commercials. We can only hope that this is a prelude to no more stretch-o-vision on TBS-HD, but given the track record of TNT and TBS, we aren't holding our breath. As you can see, when it comes to stretching content, we don't see eye to eye with our Time Warner siblings.[Thanks, Alan]
HD 101: Why there are black bars on HDTVs
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/hardware/HD_101_Why_there_are_black_bars_on_HDTVs';It never fails, one of the first thing just about every new HDTV owners asks is; why are there black bars on my new widescreen TV? And this is the reason why just about every HD discussion forum has a sticked thread at the top of the forums explaining why this still happens. So in this edition of HD 101, we figured we'd have our go at trying to give a simple answer to an age old question. The most basic explanation is because the image you want to watch isn't the same shape as the your TV. Of course that seems too obvious and now you're thinking; but why not, they're both widescreen? But rather than getting into the why are there so many shapes -- called aspect ratios from here on out -- we'll show you the various formats and the different ways they might be displayed on your HDTV.
TNT's Leverage is the latest stretch-o-vision victim
Anyone watching Tuesday's episode of Leverage (The Wedding Job) probably quickly noticed that instead of the crisp 720p image we've become accustomed to, it was being delivered in TNT's disorienting stretch format, taking a 4x3 picture and adjusting whatever it thought we weren't looking at to fill the gaps. Why TNT still uses this at all in 2009 is beyond us, but we got in contact with Executive Producer (and blogger) John Rogers to find out what happened. We still don't know the details, but he let us know via email that it was a simple case of someone transmitting the wrong version, so we should be able to look forward to properly formatted TV for the rest of its run (let it be known: if someone screws up The Closer, there will be consequences & repercussions.) Read - AVS Forum Read - Kung Fu Monkey
Windows commercial gets wrong message across on 4:3 sets
We can't say we spotted this one in person (sorry, Chuck lost its luster after about six episodes), but we'll still join in the chorus of laughter. The image spotted above was an advertisement for Microsoft's little 'ole operating system, known around the underground as Windows Vista. What you're supposed to see there is "Windows: Life Without Walls," but instead, you're missing the final "s." In fact, Michael Smith points out that most 4:3 set owners actually saw even less than that (think "Windows: Life Without"). The capture was taken from a locally broadcast 4:3 NTSC feed of the show, and amazingly enough, it wasn't the only commercial aired that night with some of the critical information hanging off in no man's land. Have any of you spotted this recently, or was this just a one-time screw up?
Hotels feverishly upgrading rooms with HDTVs, casually forgetting HD programming
Surely you've noticed this by now if you happen to end up in hotels often -- there's an HDTV there on your wall, thought nary a single HD channel appears when you flip it on. It's an unfortunate trend that's sweeping the lodging industry, as more and more chains cave to the pressures of having sexy, thin TVs all while disregarding the need for HD programming. Of course, most are playing the cost card as the reason why they have yet to offer up any HD channels on those wasted HDTVs, although not all hope is lost. At Hilton, you can expect each and every room to have a flat-panel TV and HDTV service by June of 2009, and LodgeNet, which began offering high-definition service in 2005, expects to keep up the good work in the future (though no definitive numbers were given). Please, travel venues -- don't force us to watch stretch-o-vision while away from home.[Thanks, Ben]
TNT Serie aims to rival FOX in Germany -- starting in 2009
While we knew both FOX and TNT were destined to land in Germany at some point, the latter won't be arriving until January of 2009. For those unaware, FOX has actually already launched in Deutschland, but you can bet your bottom dollar, er, Euro, that TNT is hoping to be a formidable competitor. TNT Serie, as it will be dubbed, will unfortunately be aired in 16:9 24 / 7, which likely means at least some content will be shown in stretch-o-vision. Still, we're hearing that the programming lineup will be quite robust, with re-runs of US favorites 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Everybody Loves Raymond, Monk, King of Queens and quite a few others. As for carriers, it seems as if discussions are ongoing with a number of cable and IPTV providers, but nothing definitive has been uttered just yet.[Thanks, Chris]
TBS HD shedding its stretchy skin, showing more true HD?
Watching baseball in high-def on TBS HD is a beautiful thing, but witnessing nearly everything else in unflattering stretch-o-vision isn't exactly enthralling. Thankfully, it seems as if the channel notorious for abusing its "HD" suffix may be coming back over from the dark side, as more and more content of late has shown up in actual 1080i. For instance, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle was aired over the weekend in true HD, and more recently, episodes of The Office have been broadcast sans the stretch. Heck, even the TBS watermark and on-screen graphics have been tweaked to signify the apparent coming out party. Surely we aren't the only one noticing an influx in actual HD content on TBS HD, right?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Timing, money among reasons for channels getting HD treatment
Pixel for pixel, we'd take MOJO HD over TBS HD everyday of the week. Why? Because 100-percent of the content aired on the former is in gorgeous high-definition, while the vast majority of material shown on the latter is in ghastly stretch-o-vision. For those that have wondered why certain channels get HD treatment and some don't, Sound and Vision has taken an in-depth look to unearth the reasons why seemingly worthless networks such as QVC have an HD channel lined up while scores of HD junkies can't get their carrier to land SciFi HD, USA HD or dozens of other channels with worthwhile high-def programming. Needless to say, timing and money rank pretty high on the list, but other conveniences such as simulcasting and having loads of "pretty" content available helps nets "jump the line." Hit the read link for the full spill.
PBS baby-steps towards HD
We come down pretty hard on stations that try to push stretch-o-vision off on us (upscaled SD is a lesser offense), but we might cut not-for-profit PBS a little slack. A little. Suffice it to say that between costs for production and satellite bandwidth, PBS is feeling the crunch. Only about 20-percent of PBS programming is headed to HD this year, and even then you may not be able to actually view it. PBS is strapped for satellite bandwidth, so three of the five time zone feeds (Mountain, Central and Alaska/Hawaii) will be getting the axe to make room for the HD streams. This means affected affiliates which do not have the ability to time-shift HD will be out of luck. The result for customers of said affiliates is, you guessed it, stretch-o-vision. Our advice -- if your local affiliate doesn't have the HD programming you want, donate some money or look into alternative ways of getting your PBS-fix.
Just say no to stretch-o-vision
This issue never stops bothering us, and every time a new HD channel is launched and they decide to try and alter their non HD content to make it look more like HD; it makes us sick -- literally. While local stations have been doing this for years, the original national so called HD channel to do it was ESPN HD. After years of complaints and ridicule from their peers, they finally wised up and added side bars. Unfortunately, other networks can't learn from their mistake and now we have a whole slew of channels bringing us hours of stretch-o-vision everyday . The reason to not stretch is very simple; every TV and HD STB made today has it's own stretch/zoom modes, so if your viewers want to watch 4:3 content in it's altered state, they can. But when you stretch on your end, there's no way for anyone to unstretch it -- especially when a network uses advanced non-liner stretches with a taste of zoom. To make things worse, many times they mark this content as HD in the guide, almost as if they think that just because they upconvert/crop/stretch SD, that makes it HD -- hey guys you're not fooling anyone. Here's the list of offenders, click thorough to the read links for details. TNT HD TBS HD A&E HD History Channel HD Discovery Channel HD The Learning Channel HD Animal Planet HD Science Channel HD [Via DBSTalk]
