View Full Version : "24" TV Series ... covered in widescreen?
Lowpro
10-28-2003, 06:35 PM
I have never watched 24 on FOX. I have watched all of Season 1 & 2 on DVD. Season 3 starts tonight and if it is not in widescreen I am just going to wait till Season 3 comes out on DVD. Anyone know if it's given the widescreen treatment or not during the regular season? Guess it's a little late to be asking. :-P
BTW ... I vote we change this section of the "HD Programming - What's on??" forum to "FoxED Programming". They don't deserve the HD designation in my opinion.
24 was EDTV widescreen last season and will be this season if that's what you're asking.
Lowpro
10-28-2003, 06:48 PM
That is what I was asking. Thanks for the intel 57U! 16:9 pillbox or worse yet, full frame just won't cut it for me. I've never seen the show during the regular season on my local digital broadcast to know. It's good to hear I can enjoy Season 3 like I have Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD. Well except for the commercials, but it will be presented tonight without commercial interruption which will rock!
Hopeless
10-28-2003, 09:44 PM
Originally posted by Lowpro
I have never watched 24 on FOX. I have watched all of Season 1 & 2 on DVD. Season 3 starts tonight and if it is not in widescreen I am just going to wait till Season 3 comes out on DVD.
I watched seasons 1 & 2 on DVD as well, I had exactly the same idea. After watching it tonight in ED widescreen, I might wait for the DVDs again. Maybe it's the settings on my tv or cable stb, but it really looked awful. There was no detail in facial textures, and when objects moved, there were trailing shadows. Especially in faces, parts of the objects seemed to trail behind. Fox ED always looks bad.
I have a Samsung 50" dlp and a motorola 6100. Any suggestions, or is that what Fox is going to be like til they start HD broadcasts?
When I watched bits of 24 last year the quality was pretty good. If you haven't done so, check out the FAQ "What you need to do to your new HDTV". Some of the stuff mentioned (like convergence) is not applicable to DLPs, but even they benefit from a proper setup.
It's on in a few minutes from Seattle. I'll have a look and report back.
I watched the Ford commercial and the first 15 minutes. There was minor "graininess" in some of the darker sequences, however, the outside shots were crisp and clear (as crisp and clear as EDTV can get). No trailing shadows seen. Just like I remember it from last year. I would certainly not call it awful since it's better than anything 480i can do.
Problems could be with your affiliate, if you don't encounter these issues with DVDs or HD programmes.
Hopeless
10-29-2003, 07:05 AM
Originally posted by 57U
I watched the Ford commercial and the first 15 minutes. There was minor "graininess" in some of the darker sequences, however, the outside shots were crisp and clear (as crisp and clear as EDTV can get). No trailing shadows seen. Just like I remember it from last year. I would certainly not call it awful since it's better than anything 480i can do.
Problems could be with your affiliate, if you don't encounter these issues with DVDs or HD programmes.
Thanks.
Everything else looks great, and I can't think of any more adjustments I could try.
Lowpro
10-29-2003, 11:35 AM
Looked awesome from FOX out of Washington DC! Actually looked better than my Season One and Two on DVD. My little InFocus X1 just keeps rockin on!
I learned one thing however after watching 24 last night. As soon as the episode is over I'm changing the damn channel. I don't need to see the cliff notes for next weeks episode. I want to watch each episode in real time for the first time with no previews of what's ahead. Even though I changed the channel real quick when the previews for next week started it still pisses me off as I caught several key snapshots of next weeks episode. What fun is that? I enjoy being suprised hour by hour with 24. As if the only way we will tune in next week is if they give us a sneak peek at what's to come. I know every show out there does that, but it just turns me off. I'll just have to be quicker on the clicker next time I guess. :-P
sillygoose
10-29-2003, 04:06 PM
<rant>Argh comcast is starting to annoy me. I want my 24 in widescreen. They need to start carrying the other local digital channels. </rant>
It looks like another interesting season.
faceoff
10-30-2003, 09:44 AM
All,
I have NEVER seen this show on TV> We got the Season 1 DVD set when it came out. When we got hit with the blizzard, we watched the entire series within about a week. To me, that's a more enjoyable experiance.
GREAT SHOW!
David
martinR
10-30-2003, 08:33 PM
It's the fasted hour on TV, the time just flies by. My wife & I can't wait for the next episode each week. We recorded 3 episodes last season when we were on vacation & watched them all at once. The action was just amazingly intense.
Terrific picture last night (for ED that is). The Ford commercial was a great tie-in.
sillygoose
11-03-2003, 08:15 AM
wouldn't you know it right after I complain about not being able to watch 24 in widescreen comcast goes and adds the channel this weekend. so I only had to suffer for one week with stretched 4:3
spaceman_spiff
11-03-2003, 09:01 AM
What channel is FOX ED on comcast here in MD ?
sillygoose
11-03-2003, 12:02 PM
It showed up as 183 in Montgomery County. I was able to watch the Redskin's in widescreen on Sunday.
Lowpro
11-03-2003, 06:30 PM
I bring my locals in OTA and constantly run into either the Washington or Baltimore station for a given network not offering sports coverage in ED/HD when they should be. One market will have a given sports event in ED/HD while the other is only showing it in 16:9 pillbox. Sometimes both markets will start showing ED/HD, but then one market losses its ED/HD feed forgetting to bump it back out of 16:9 pillbox after a commercial break. You either get the ED/HD coverage back eventually, not at all, or it keeps going between ED/HD and 16:9 pillbox several times throughout the broadcast. Very annoying.
For people that plan on using only locals provided by your cable provider you may want to see what kind of OTA reception you get. It would be worth trying just to see. Your cable company can only provide you with the networks out of one market and you don't have a choice which one that is. Just something to keep in mind as Comcast eventually gets to the point where they will offer all the networks for whatever market designation you live in. It's nice to have the alternative of watching the same network out of a different market when the station you are watching screws up. This has happened to me so many times I've stopped counting. If you can pull the stations in the investment in an ATSC OTA tuner is well worth it.
sillygoose
11-04-2003, 10:36 AM
some counties get locals for both cities. for instance howard county gets baltimore and dc channels. btw do you get both in HD spaciest? unfortunately for me montgomery county only gets the dc channels which is why i have considered get an ota receiver of some sort (stb or pci card) but have held off due to cost.
Lowpro
11-04-2003, 11:28 AM
It is nice to hear that some counties in Maryland with Comcast are crossing over with regards to both markets and getting a little from each. I have a few friends in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County where Comcast only provides Baltimore networks to. One in particular was getting all the DC networks at first, because Comcast had his box programmed wrong. He was living high on the hog and then they realized what they had done and reprogrammed it taking away all his DC networks and now he gets less network stations an only from Baltimore.
