NCIS picture quality on CBS

I've been surprised that this TV show is often quite grainy and hazy looking on both my current Uverse and my prior DirectTV dish. Does anyone else have this problem?

I find it odd since Hawaii 5-0 and CSI Miami look terrific.

It seems to be worse with this show, even the commercials are fine.

Are they shooting NCIS at a lower resolution still?

 

It's bugging me more now since everything else so much better. I must have missed your thread Steve. Will look for it.

 

Did 3 searches. Could not find it? Do you have a link or remember the title?

 

Most of those police procedurals look atrocious to me - boosted contrast, weird color timing, etc.

I don't think H50 looks good, but for a different reason. The colors seem to be exaggerated and cartoonish overall, but I don't notice the teal/orange games.

Doug

 

The colors are that way on CSI Miami as well but it is an intended effect and kind of works for Miami.

 

Lee, just for curiosity's sake, try comparing your U-Verse feed to WGCL-46's OTA signal (if you have antenna capability). I dumped Comcast last year, my TV viewing is strictly OTA, and I've noticed a positive difference in picture quality.

 

NCIS looks the same on my OTA and Comcast. Not the best looking HD program by any means. NCIS LA looks great, but LL Cool J kills it for me.

 

I cant find the thread steve mentioned either but I think they make it look that way intentionally for most scenes. Its a digital "Soft focus" effect or haze look done after filming.

Not all scenes look this way if you really watch the entire show, but almost anything with actors does. Sometimes they will do a close up of some item or screen and it looks truly good.

 

Why?

 

ya really if anything hes a reason I like the show!!

I think the only character I have an issue with (( as far as realism for sure..)) is...Linda Hunt as Hetty.

Shes a good actress for sure, but I just constantly keep thinking, "Wow in reality she would never be in this position".

 

I'm not sure if they're using a pro-mist on the lens or doing digital defocus to the highlights in post, but they are deliberately adding diffusion for that "haze" effect.

It's a creative choice. Me personally, I only like things like this in small doses, like in flashbacks, dream sequences, or some weird POV. To me, the whole show should have more of a degree of normalcy, but that's me. We work in service of the directors and the producers, so it's their call. Many of them are afraid that if their dramatic show looks "too normal," viewers will get bored and tune away.

 

I love her. She's a huge reason for my watching the show (I never liked the original NCIS).

I think the entire cast works beautifully together.

So there ((...))

 

I agree, the whole cast is great. I'm glad to see Chris O'Donnell working again; his career kinda went down for awhile, and he's too good not to be acting frequently.

 

Hey.....


No, dont get me wrong, I really like "HER" and her acting, just find it somehow farfetched I guess. Shes great, but I dont see an elderly 4'9" woman getting in that position in reality ever.

I feel the "Real world" would be composed of honestly a lot more typical White male characters. Not saying its wrong, or bad, but just the reality (( from my years in our armed forces and "other" branches of government work)) tend to mostly be middle aged white men as a huge majority.

 

(( MORE 00 Middle ]]] aged ((white men )) {would} !!!!be SOOOOOOOO!!!!! ((BORING.))

{Why do you do that thing with double (( )) s?}

 

Why.....? (( Why not ))


Honestly, its something I started doing a while back, it makes it stand out more I guess. No real reason. Got me thinking though.....

 

NCIS-LA is shot using the ARRI ALEXA digital camera. Some of the best looking HD in prime time. Not sure what the other NCIS is shot on.
I haven't seen it, but I'm curious now, based on the comments here.

 

Good point, Lee. I've noticed the color scheme on Miami, but to me, it's too much. I can't stand it...or maybe I can't stand the show overall and just use the image quality as an excuse.

Doug

 

Slightly off topic, but does anybody notice how dark 30 Rock is? When Outsourced comes on after, it's as if someone flipped on the color switch.

 

NCIS looks soft to me also OTA or Direct TV, then when NCIS LA comes on everything clears up

 

I've been a copy editor. Stuff like that just clangs. There's another guy here who has you beat, though. He puts things in quotes that don't belong there, which makes him really hard to read.

 

Agreed. NCIS:LA, too.

I don't care as much about NCIS. I never was able to get into it. I like everybody but Gibbs and Abby, but it's not enough.

 

No OTA capability.

The whole show looks this way on my Uverse and like others NCIS:LA clears up.

Steve, do you have a link? Still cannot find.

 

Thought I would revive this thread so I could complain some more.

It's a given that the broadcast image quality of NCIS is not the best. But I was shocked when I checked out NCIS Season 8 DVD set from the library. It is all on 6 single layer discs. 4 episodes plus a special feature crammed into 4.35GB. Not only that but the mastering is just atrocious. Pixilation, smearing of motion, lack of sharpness. Whoever did this should never work in DVD mastering again. It's the video equivalent of what Norberg did to the Sinatra tapes. Literally the worst image quality of a television show DVD set I have ever seen.

I can barely stand to watch these. I recorded the shows in HD when they were broadcast, then compressed the transport stream down to 720x480 and saved them. But my files don't have subtitles, and a family member is hard of hearing, so that's why I resorted to the official DVDs. But it is really tough to watch, knowing that my own recordings are quite a bit better.

If you think the image you're getting from cable or broadcast is bad, just wait until you've seen the box set. Bleah!