annoying question regarding tv broadcast resolutions and how they are done

[deadrats]

how's that for an annoying title? seriously though, i have a question concerning broadcast resolutions that i didn't know which sub-forum to ask it in, so it's in this one (btw, i'm already annoyed at how i'm starting this post and am seriously considering kicking my own ass).

here's the question: when a tv show is shot, is it shot on film (as i'm assuming) or is it shot on some kind of high quality dv? if it's dv, then at what resolution is it shot on?

furthermore, how exactly is it decided at what resolution it will be broadcast at?

basically i'm trying to understand what exactly is going on with some of the shows i watch, "family guy" being a perfect example. where i live, my cable company (time warner) has 2 versions of some channels, for instance fox is channel 5 and fox hd is 705, both show the exact same content, only 705 has hi def versions of the same programs and said programs seem to run a few seconds behind their standard def counterparts (this is true even with so-called "live shows", like "american idol", if you have 2 tv's one set to 5 and one set to 705 you will see that the hi def broadcast is about 10 seconds behind the standard def broadcast.

ok, getting back to "family guy", the new episodes are shown on sundays, no matter what channel i view the show on, it seems that it's being broadcast in standard def resolution, as evidenced by the thick black (get your mind out of the gutter) pillar bars on either side of the image shown, other shows like "the simpsons" and "the cleveland show", shown right before "the family guy" are shown as one would expect a hi def broadcast to be shown, taking up the entire screen of my hi def tv.

the weird part is that when the re-runs are shown on tbs hd (774 where i live), they are broadcast in proper hd format, i.e. they fill up the entire tv screen, even the ones that are old from before there were hd channels.

the same holds true for the re-runs of "seinfeld", even though they are old and from a time before hd and originally where broadcast in sd, the re-runs are in hi def.

what exactly is going on? why would a new show, intended for broadcast on an hd channel be in sd and when broadcast on a different hd channel be in hd and how is it that the old sd shows are broadcast in hd?

basically i want to know if the shows were originally shot on film (perhaps some kind of hi end tape) that is played back with a machine that allows them to be broadcast in any resolution desired, are they shot on film, scanned into a hi def digital format like pro disk and this allows them to be broadcast in any resolution one chooses, where they shot on film scanned in sd formats originally and now being rescanned, are the original tapes being upsized and if so how is it done, you get the idea, basically i'm hoping someone can explain to me why i am seeing what i am seeing and it would be nice if the explanation didn't center around me needing to lay off the drugs or my needed eye surgery.

spank you very mucho.

[jagabo]

Some shows are shot on film, some are shot digitally. Broadcasters upscale or downscale as they wish.

[kimco52]

Not all things are what you think. Just because it is 16X9 does not necessarily mean it is HD. Just because it is in HD on one station, does not necessarily relate to a different station or source. The delays between the regular CH5 and their HD 705 on your cable have nothing to do with the resolution. If you compare your cable channel to your OTA of the same channel, you will see further delays. Delays on your cable channels is due to processing at your cable company. Additionally, it further may depend on how your cable company gets those feeds from the station. Some stations give their cable companies two separate feeds, some only the HD feed and the cable company cuts the sides to make the 4X3.
Some stations can only do network HD and upconvert their local stuff. Some cannot delay or originate HD, only SD. Many stations are still in a transitional stage.
Don't try to analyze as you have as it means nothing in your evaluations. You need info about each station and what they are capable of and not capable of. You also need info on how the cable company gets and handles their feeds. It is not worth the time to do all the investigations unless you don't have a life or are snowed in and can't get out. Just accept what you got and worry about more important things, such as calculating the value of pi out to 492 places.

[jagabo]

I think he should search for the next mersene prime.

[joecass]

I agree with Deadrats that all this ...... SD TV, HDTV, black bars, full-screen, is pretty annoying. Nothing seems consistent like back in the day when there were no flat screen TV's and no HD broadcasts. I guess some of it depends on how the original programs were shot, like Seinfeld from the 1990's, must have been recorded in widescreen format, for it to play now 16X9 on Fox HD. In my area, Fox broadcasts it's HD programming in 720p format. CBS and NBC HD are 1080i. This same complaints apply to OTA ( free Over The Air Digital TV). I think the broadcast stations themselves are at fault. They manipulate bandwith to accomodate as much programming as they can fit on one channel. I also would assume those shows with the "black bars"
on the sides use less bandwith than those broadcast in full screen 16X9 format.

Another nitpick of mine is, my HDTV's show broadcast resolution, i.e., 480i, 720p or 1080i. Some programming, especially older shows, are obviously in no way 1080i high definition. IMHO, all this nonsense is attributable to the fact that the public always seems to be manipulated and forced into new technology, and the technology reminds me of old computer software that never ran quite "right"...... they did this with CD, DVD, HD DVD, Blu Ray, and now trying to sell us the idea of streaming Internet TV & Movies on a 3-D television. Where does it end ?

[handyguy]

My LG TV displays SD with gray sides, not black. Interesting concept, quite viewable. It was nice when there was just one resolution, now there are so many to adjust to.

Funny thing is, I just have basic cable but when I scan I pick up 200+Ch so who needs a dish or a box?

[jagabo]

TBS HD is one of the worst offenders. They distort everything (that's not 16:9) to fit a 16:9 screen.

[kimco52]

No, Joecass, it is not a conspiracy. You have it all wrong. It does not take less bandwidth to broadcast those old shows with black bars on the side. That is the same as full screen 16X9. It just has either nothing there or side bars. It is still transmitting in 16X9. What I said above is still true.
We upconvert our SD sources to fit the 16X9 frame. No, it is not HD. Remember, 16X9 does not mean HD. We don't stretch or expand the sources to fill the screen. The video is still in it's original format. Some may expand the image to fill the screen and cut off the excess. We do get some syndicated programs in standard definition that are in 16X9 and will fit the entire screen but are still not HD. Some programs you think are in HD are not.
It is only annoying because you let it be. No reason to get stressed about it. You will also notice some commercials running in an HD program may not fill the screen, also. They may have the correct aspect ratio but are pulled in on all sides.

HD can be in 720 or 1080. CBS and NBC are using 1080 and ABC is using 720. Your TV should automatically adjust for whatever it is getting.

When you go to the theatre, do you complain if the movie does not fill the entire screen or spills over the sides? What really annoys me is when a show comes on the screen and has a note that it has been modified to fit a standard screen. That is an instant turn off for me. I don't watch a movie that has been modified. It must be in the original aspect ratio. (widescreen). The bars at the top and bottom don't bother me one bit. But, I have not had a tv for viewing less than 62 inches for almost 30 years. My current HDTV is a 65" and that is too small. I find it annoying to alter the display to fill the screen such that people look short and fat or stretched and thin. Many people do that on their HDTV sets, just to fill the screen. I had a video presentation for a group of people and asked them how they wanted to view it. They unanimously did not want it stretched.
We used to put filler on the sides of our SD video but viewers called and complained so we took them off. We just leave it black.

[TBoneit]

TBS HD is one of the worst offenders. They distort everything (that's not 16:9) to fit a 16:9 screen.

Ding, Ding, Ding, We have a winner! How anyone can stomach what TBS does to the video the broadcast is beyond me.