HD vs. Widescreen: Dirty Little Secret?

[chasfh]

If this has been discussed here before, feel free to answer just with a link to the thread.

I am watching the Red Wings/Rangers game, on the New York HD NBC station (DTV channel 82). It's definitely taking up the whole 16:9 screen, but it sure doesn't look like HD.

I have noticed this on other programming over the last couple years during which I have watched my Sony 50" Grand Wega, both filmed and live TV. The detail just doesn't look so sharp -- in fact, I am watching a commercial in 4:3 now, and the resolution does not look noticeably worse than during the game.

This seems to occur even when the program is touted as being HD. Is this a sort of "dirty little secret" -- that programming advertised by networks as being HD is actually SD Widescreen? If so, how prevalent is this circumstance? Or is it possible the hockey broadcast was actually in HD, but my standard for clarity is just too high?

Chuck

[badchad]

Do ALL your HD channels look this way (lesser quality?).

Compare your HD channels amongst themselves. This will determine whether it's simply a horrible signal, or your hardware.

Make sure your connected via component cables as well (at the least).

[57U]

Assuming appropriate STB/TV and connections, the following are possible.

1. It is widescreen. If you get PBS, they always mention whether a programme is WS or HD.

2. It's mostly HD, but they use some WS cameras (for example the main camera would be HD while some shots like the end-zone or "hand held" may be WS). This has been done a fair bit.

3. Sometimes HD "production values" are simply not up to snuff and don't look as good as they should.

[chasfh]

Do ALL your HD channels look this way (lesser quality?).

Compare your HD channels amongst themselves. This will determine whether it's simply a horrible signal, or your hardware.

Make sure your connected via component cables as well (at the least).

No, they do not all look that way. I failed to clarify that this happens only occasionally, on some broadcasts.

HDnet and Discovery HD consistently look great. I am talking about certain programs that tend to run on the network channels.

So, is what I'm talking about common?

Chuck

[57U]

Chuck, check out post 3 which was added roughly the same time as yours.

[HDTV-NUT]

Give us a specific network and a specific show so we can tell you if we have the same thing or not. I can tell you that 99.9% of my programming in HD is just that HD, no widescreen. Seems to me like you may have a setting on your TV or STB box wrong. All of the new primetime shows should fill the full 16:9 screen in HD. All the NFL playoff games on the networks will fill the screen also. I would bet that its a setting you have on your tv or box.

[Bubba]

I live in the Detroit area and the game was in HD on NBC but I also can get Toledo NBC and the game was in SD with bars. HD Sports Guide has all the games listed as regional.

[dons459]

I don't usually watch the Wings but their wasn't much on tv so i did watch the third period and it was in ws hd. Looked good to me on Comcast channel 232

[chasfh]

Give us a specific network and a specific show so we can tell you if we have the same thing or not. I can tell you that 99.9% of my programming in HD is just that HD, no widescreen. Seems to me like you may have a setting on your TV or STB box wrong. All of the new primetime shows should fill the full 16:9 screen in HD. All the NFL playoff games on the networks will fill the screen also. I would bet that its a setting you have on your tv or box.


I said, very clearly, that the game was in widescreen. There were no bars on the sides of the screen. But the resolution was so poor that I doubted whether it was truly HD, but rather I thought it might instead be SD widescreen.

Note what 57U says, above: sometimes a broadcaster will run a program in SD widescreen. Just because a broadcast is in widescreen does not automatically mean it is HD.

My question was whether this is very common -- that a broadcaster runs a program in SD widescreen, even if they appear to tout it as HD. (It would not at all surprise me that sometimes, as marketers, broadcasters use similar trademarked language, such as "HighRes", to mislead viewers into thinking the broadcast is true HD, when in fact it is not.)

This is not a cable connection issue with me, so please, don't suggest this again. Discovery HD (channel 76) looks awesome, and I can definitely tell it is HD. The Wings game on NBC, however, did not look crisp and clear as though it were HD, even though the game definitely was in widescreen.

Chuck

[puck71]

I have to agree. I was watching that game too and it was definitely in widescreen but didn't look to me like it was in HD. What was interesting is that after the Wings game ended, they switched to coverage of the Stars-Bruins game, and THAT game was pillarboxed 4:3.

[terryfoster]

Chuck,
If the game was advertised in HD and was available in HD in your area, then it was probably HD. I am only aware of FOX broadcasting baseball in widescreen SD.

You shouldn't get defensive here, we're just trying to get more information as we've heard similar complaints that end up being an affiliate problem such as stretching SD content or forgetting to turn on the HD feed.

It was probably a low quality HD production. An example would be the difference between this year's Orange and Rose Bowls. The Rose Bowl looked much better than the Orange Bowl and that is due to the equipment used, lighting, camera placement, and other various things.

Personally I have not seen a show that was supposed to be HD, end up in SD widescreen.

Keep in mind that this is an NBC sporting event. They are notoriously bad at covering sporting events.

I have done some searching on issues related to WMAQ and found that this affiliate is not well respected by the HD community in Chicago land. You may want to do some digging on the subject.

Here's a forum discussing the NBC coverage of the game:
Click HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=631050)