techs
Lifer
So I guess most people have seen TBS HD with their bizarre stretch-o-vision.
However, there is another wacky screen type I get on a number of stations. It only happens on certain shows or even only at certain times (usually times that are not primetime). It looks sort of like letterbox, but there are black areas on the top and the sides. The picture is not 4:3 and not 16x9. It is more rectangular than 4:3. I saw it for the last few years on my local Fox HD affiliate on the Stargate SG-1 series which they showed repeats in the early morning hours over the weekend. This mode actually stretches nice with the Zoom feature on my cable box, presenting a picture somewhere between HD and a regular def picture that is letterboxed and then Zoomed.
My questions for the video types are:
1) What is this mode? Is there a name for it? Is it the equivalent of tv shows on standard def, like Stargate SG1 that were shown on standard def with letterboxing and just looks better because its has more bandwidth on the HD channel?
2) Why do some HD channels show some movies and shows in HD and some not in HD (for shows I am talking about those that were shot in HD)?
I am scratching my head as to why a station would not show a movie or show HD when they could unless:
1) The studio or show producer charges more for the rights?
2) The cable company charges more for bandwidth, or the cable company has limited HD capacity and each HD network has to pay for how much HD time it uses?
However, there is another wacky screen type I get on a number of stations. It only happens on certain shows or even only at certain times (usually times that are not primetime). It looks sort of like letterbox, but there are black areas on the top and the sides. The picture is not 4:3 and not 16x9. It is more rectangular than 4:3. I saw it for the last few years on my local Fox HD affiliate on the Stargate SG-1 series which they showed repeats in the early morning hours over the weekend. This mode actually stretches nice with the Zoom feature on my cable box, presenting a picture somewhere between HD and a regular def picture that is letterboxed and then Zoomed.
My questions for the video types are:
1) What is this mode? Is there a name for it? Is it the equivalent of tv shows on standard def, like Stargate SG1 that were shown on standard def with letterboxing and just looks better because its has more bandwidth on the HD channel?
2) Why do some HD channels show some movies and shows in HD and some not in HD (for shows I am talking about those that were shot in HD)?
I am scratching my head as to why a station would not show a movie or show HD when they could unless:
1) The studio or show producer charges more for the rights?
2) The cable company charges more for bandwidth, or the cable company has limited HD capacity and each HD network has to pay for how much HD time it uses?
