Basic HD programming question

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Greetigns all. I just got i/o cable installed and I enjoyed my first
HD in home experience (still have direct tv as well to compare but that
is for another thread).

Here's my question...

If I'm watching, say a NBC HD channel (704 or somethign like that), am
I to assume that everything that I view on that channel is HD or are
there just select shows being broadcast in HD?

Thanks in advance.

Joe (caught between wanting to buy the TiVo HD box, but it's too damn
expensive and wanting to do the Radio Shack antenna thing but now I'm a
slave to the DVR world)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

If you are good negotiator, you can get DTV to give you about $250 towards
the HD TiVo, and get the box for about $850 (inc shipping w/no tax) on the
web, so you get it for about $600. When I priced cable versus DTV, it worked
out that cable was about $30 a month more for the an equivalent package
(digital cable+HBO+2 DVR's worked out at about $90pm, the same on DTV is
$60pm, but has the up front cost of the TiVo's - one is SD and cost $50 a
few years back).

About 1/2 of what is on the networks appears to be HD, news programs, early
evening show etc all seem to be SD, the major prime time series are mostly
HD. Having said that, the SD shows seem to look marginally better from the
HD feed. One thing I find cute is that on some shows the opening and closing
credits are SD while the show is HD - for example on NYPD Blue, the lead in
is HD, then it switches to SD for the credits and back to HD for the show,
then at the end the closing banner comes up on HD, then switches to SD for
the credits!


<joew@vca.com> wrote in message
news:1107456172.162239.263020@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Greetigns all. I just got i/o cable installed and I enjoyed my first
> HD in home experience (still have direct tv as well to compare but that
> is for another thread).
>
> Here's my question...
>
> If I'm watching, say a NBC HD channel (704 or somethign like that), am
> I to assume that everything that I view on that channel is HD or are
> there just select shows being broadcast in HD?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Joe (caught between wanting to buy the TiVo HD box, but it's too damn
> expensive and wanting to do the Radio Shack antenna thing but now I'm a
> slave to the DVR world)
>

 

[Joe]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Thanks for the info. That's about what I thought. I noticed when I
was watching american idol last night (yes I watch it like the rest of
america) that the show was in 16:9 but commercials were in 4:3

I'm assuming the switch to commercials was in SD. I'm think I'm goiong
to get an indoor antenna this weekend and see what that brings in.

Thanks

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

You can get program/schedule information from www.titantv.com. It is a free
site, you input your signal sources (I have analog, digital cable, and
Directv set up) and customize the channels you want the site to show. All
available to your provider(s), for your zip code, are displayed by default.
BTW (I stopped my TV Guide subscription after using TitanTV). Among the
customization option is an icon to indicate whether a particular show is in
HD. Not 100%, but they are generally pretty good on times and show
descriptions. Like Tivo and D*, sudden program changes are often missed. The
web site www.antennaweb.org will display the OTA signals you should be able
to receive and their relative strength (red, yellow, green) to help you
decide among antenna models.

YMMV

--
"Sleep is a poor substitute for coffee."
- Anon
"joe" <joeweissjr@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1107462529.174365.120210@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for the info. That's about what I thought. I noticed when I
> was watching american idol last night (yes I watch it like the rest of
> america) that the show was in 16:9 but commercials were in 4:3
>
> I'm assuming the switch to commercials was in SD. I'm think I'm goiong
> to get an indoor antenna this weekend and see what that brings in.
>
> Thanks
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Technically all of the stuff is broadcast in HD, even though the source may
be upconverted standard definition. Still gives a nicer picture with no
visible scanning lines.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

joe wrote:

> Thanks for the info. That's abovt what I thovght. I noticed when I
> was watching american idol last night (yes I watch it like the rest of
> america) that the show was in 16:9 bvt commercials were in 4:3
>
> I'm assvming the switch to commercials was in SD. I'm think I'm goiong
> to get an indoor antenna this weekend and see what that brings in.
>
> Thanks

Rvle of thvmb is that almost all the "scripted" shows on the big 4 are
now in HD, with I think Scrvbs on NBC as the last SD show I know of on
the big 3. Repeats from earlier seasons may be in SD. SD shovld show vp
as pillarboxed.

Only a handfvl of reality shows are in HD becavse the point of reality
shows is that there are cheap to prodvce. Expect more of these to go HD
in the next several years.

Network news shows are all SD, except for special broadcasts. For
example, the State of the Union was in HD on ABC, CBS, NBC, InHD bvt Fox
had lovsy looking downconverted widescreen SD. If was a great
opportvnity to compare pictvre qvality between the networks. ABC
presented the Inavgvration in HD, so they be moving towards doing the
news in HD.

Late night only Leno is in HD at the moment. Conan is svpposed to go
to HD in the spring (?), Letterman annovnced his show will switch to HD
in September. Almost all commercials are SD, althovgh there have been a
few HD commercials starting to show vp. No reason movie ads covldn't be
in HD.

Alan F