GET-TV- Showing Pan and Scan with LETTERBOX BARS!

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by drmark7, Nov 13, 2014.

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  1. drmark7

    drmark7 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Is there not an industry standard??? Ten years after the beginning of replacing analog OTA with a digital signal? As I go through the 30 or so digital channels I receive OTA, every 3rd or 4th one is different in the way they broadcast standard (vintage) tv and movie images for widescreen TVs.

    As for the recent Me-TV shift. The first day, they were not completely ready and some shows were still window/pillar boxed, but others seemed "transferred" to widescreen.

    They must be using some sort of (algoritythm?) that indeed squeezes CERTAIN AREAS of the screen. Whatever they are doing, it's not a crude top of heads and feet cut off. I believe all the original image is there- just electronically re-shaped.

    I was almost *impressed* with how striking tonights STAR TREK looked in widescreen!
    Even CAR 54 which I'm viewing now looks watchable. I'd love to see an A-B comparison of what we're seeing with the original.

    And it's crazy, locally (Columbus, Ohio) THIS-TV is still showing widescreen movies (like THE GREAT ESCAPE) in windowbox! My local ION TV channel is still showing (after nearly a year) their image widescreen- but it's squeezed down top to bottom. A local PBS channel (for 2-3 years) is broadcast most of the time in windowbox and THAT image is squeezed in from the sides! There's nothing your average older TV with a ZOOM button can do with these images.

    Side note- several weeks ago- DECADES TV showed KUNG FU letterboxed. I looked online and apparently the 1st season DVD set was sold this way!

    All in all- I'm tolerating the Me-TV monkeying with the image- because it's done so well. I just hope they never sell future DVDs of vintage stuff as letterboxed.
     
  2. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    That is correct. In addition to just "fattenizing" the entire picture, there is also an "edge-stretch" mode where only the extreme sides are stretched to fill the 16x9 frame. You could all it a "Fun House Mirror" effect, since if somebody walks horizontally across the frame, they'll shrink or expand depending on where they are in the image. It's pretty F'd up.

    More than 10 years ago, when HDNet started operation, owner Mark Cuban dictated that they would never air 4x3 aspect ratio shows and demanded that everything fit the 16x9 HD frame. However, they made a deal to buy Hogan's Heroes and a few similar old TV chestnuts. Rather than just blow them up completely, they hit upon a "compromise format" of 14x9, which zoomed in slightly and had mild black borders on the left and right. The BBC was also fond of this format during that last 10 years. I think it's lame and idiotic, but that's me.
     
    MikaelaArsenault and Sneaky Pete like this.
  3. drmark7

    drmark7 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Where would this "algorithm" be applied to the various shows? On each actual video print or just as the final broadcast signal? On the "new" Me-tv (everything letterboxed), until tonight, I've yet to be able to find anything look bad or out of place. Even the CBS EYE logos on the end of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW looked OK- not an oval. But seeing tonights broadcast of 2 episodes of THE RIFLEMAN- The images seemed (not "fat" but) notably "squashed" down from top to bottom. And also time compressed as all action scenes seemed oddly too fast. If you just ran everything thru one signal process- wouldn't they all end up looking the same? Wonder why THE RIFLEMAN is off???
     
  4. drmark7

    drmark7 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Curiously, for the last month or so, I've noticed Me-TV has reverted to showing STAR TREK in its original aspect ratio. No letterbox bars! At least since they have started the series episodes back from the beginning. I've tried to google an answer. Was there a purists uproar to show it in it's original aspect again?
     
  5. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    I believe so. I've noticed the same thing, but it started quite a few weeks ago. Same thing with sister network H&I where the Trek shows are all OAR.
     
  6. goodiesguy

    goodiesguy Confide In Me

    Location:
    New Zealand
    Hey, at least you guys get these channel's (on I supposed Free-To-Air).
     
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