TNT HD Looking GOOD

[summerfun]

Just been watching the basketball game on our new TNT HD channel. WOW, the picture and sound looks great and guess what, the commercials are in HD too. Widescreen commercials and digital 5.1. These people may be coming in late, but they are doing it right.

Thanks TWC for not holding out on this one. Still like to see ESPN HD someday.

[borghe]

lol... TWC sucks for not having ESPN. DirecTV sucks for not having TNT. Yet neither channel is really great IMHO anyway... sigh...

c'mon 7s....,

[gparris]

TNT HD is great. Thank you TWC!!!!

There are things I couldn't stand about the analogue version on cable like its bad sound and picture. :D
Now I can watch some shows I enjoyed, even though repeats, that are in HD now with 5.1 DD sound and these look and sound way different, almost like watching for the first time.

The only thing I can't stand is the white TNT circle logo on the bottom right corner of the screen because on a CRT projection screen you can get burn-in, although they do have commercials when they remove it, still it seems too bright and large :p

So Dish has TNT-HD as does Voom and TWC.

The "Murdoch network" (Directv) is absent (big surprise).
Gotta get those SD locals up, you know.:D

[gparris]

Administrator/Moderators:

Time to add the TNT-HD to the list of available channels on the main web page for his forum (along with the Bravo HD, INHD,etc. listings).

Just a helpful suggestion...:)

[Snard]

Okay, maybe I shouldn't be complaining about TNT-HD, because I appreciate all the HD content I can get... but am I the only person who is turned off by their decision to stretch 4:3 content to my 16:9 screen? There doesn't seem to be any setting on my Pioneer cable box to override this for a HD channel (and my TV won't let me change the stretch mode for HD modes either).

I will say that the NBA games looked superb, but I was watching bits of a few movies, including Ghostbusters, and I was disappointed that they couldn't have at least broadcast the wide-screen DVD version. Maybe they are still in the learning curve? (I hope so).

Thanks for listening,

[borghe]

Originally posted by gparris
The "Murdoch network" (Directv) is absent (big surprise).
Gotta get those SD locals up, you know.:D
Kind of an ignorant comment given that they haven't put any locals up in almost a year..

though we will definitely see who leads HD offerings in the Milwaukee area when 7s is put into operation in about two weeks (HD to follow in July).

In the meantime at least I know for certain I'll have NFL Sunday Night in HD. :P

[akitakoi]

Did I miss something? what is 7's?:confused:

[Snard]

Originally posted by akitakoi
Did I miss something? what is 7's?:confused: http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3382

[akitakoi]

OK, so I did'nt miss anything:drink:

[gparris]

Quote from borghe:
"Kind of an ignorant comment given that they haven't put any locals up in almost a year.."

What you took out of context is that Directv did not follow up with the TNT-HD channel like the the rest of the providers in our area did as in TWC, Dish, and Voom. :mad:

All I ever read in the Directv news on their website are the locals that they are attempting to provide with the new 7S satellite and nothing at all about HD channel additions. It seems to be very important to them and not a "marketing secret" (like HD channel additions) by their own admission of these local-channel additions.
Either Directv does not care about the HDTV set owner by mentioning these HD channel additions, or it is so secret and so competitive that these are advertised only when they are about to appear on their system. Actually, I find this a compliment to all us HDTV set owners as we are such a coveted group to be spared the HD channel selection in secrecy and not the SD locals.:)

Hope this clears up any "slights" on Directv...it just seems that they are more anxious to show off the SD locals than new HD channels to be offered. ;)

It can be looked at either way: I look forward, too, to what Directv has up its HD-channel "sleeves".:cool:

[borghe]

DirecTV said in their annual shareholders metting (quoted places too numerous to list) that they plan on doubling or tripling their HD output by the end of this year, that they plan on having HD locals showing in the Top 30 markets by the end of 2005, and that the first HD additions won't go up until after July 1st after they get the 30 or so local markets up that they have had to postpone for almost 9 months now as SSL has delayed, attempted to sell, and otherwise stopped DirecTV moving ahead with any of their plans.

DirecTV has fallen behind, but it has nothing to do with local markets or lack of interest in HD... they needed to get 7s launched whose delays were entirely out of DirecTV's hands. Unless you honestly feel that SSL's bankruptcy, attempt to auction off the 7s contract to Echostar, and investigation into the failed solar panels on Telstar14 are all somehow DirecTV's fault.

[gparris]

I don't blame Directv for a its satellite launch nightmare.:(

It doesn't make sense that they can tout their local channels coming out and not the HD ones.

As far as HD LOCALS- from Directv-I'm not holding my breath.:o

I don't know which city metro area is considered to be "in the Top 30 markets by the end of 2005", but I can lay bets in won't be Milwaukeeland.

Maybe being so close to the Illinois state line, I can get a waiver for their HD locals, including the WB in HD, since Sinclair won't carry it.:D
Which cities ARE considered the "Top 30 markets", anyway?

[borghe]

they aren't touting locals instead of HD.. the problem is that as of last summer when they announced these locals, they had all of the HD programming that was out.. so the locals were the only thing to tout.. now it has gone from touting the locals to running past deadline after deadline.. it is no longer of them wanting to show off their new locals but instead coming through on those flyers they have been sending out for 9 months now... HD has taken second fiddle to be sure... but just in what they've been announcing, not what they've been working on. They need to get those locals out because they promised them.. they haven't promised HD, though that'll be coming also.

as for HD locals from DirecTV, I would be excited... while we aren't in the Top 30 (just out at 33) the point is that just like SD locals, once the ball gets rolling Milwaukee will come soon after.

Top 30 is determined by Nielsen DMAs (http://www.nielsenmedia.com/DMAs.html)

It is what I say whenever you hype up TWC.. DirecTV has been in a very bad place for the last year because of this 7s snafu on SSLs part. Don't compare the last year of DirecTV's progress when talking about the future... Look at their current plans and what SSL is actually finally doing now that they are out of bankruptcy. 7s launched already. 8s launching next spring.. 9s launching spring 2006. Spaceway going up as well. The move to DVB-S2 and H.264. DirecTV's ability to provide HD will scale just right with new stations announcing there move to it. TWC's current 3 channel lead over DirecTV is insignificant compared to what's coming down the pike.. The fact that TWC is only 3 channels ahead despite the fact that DirecTV has been virtually starved for bandwidth since before News Corp bought them 2004Q4 says a lot right there.

The future will be interesting, I agree with you on that.. It just appears it is turning into the present a lot faster than you were aware. ;)

BTW, SportsCenter goes HD two weeks from today.

Peace.

[Joseph S]

Other than the basketball what else is in HD?

The other shows I flipped by have been nothing but stretched 4x3 which I don't ever plan on watching.

[The Law]

Chicken and egg...somethings got to come first.....

[Joseph S]

Chicken and egg...somethings got to come first.....

Stretching doesn't come anywhere in my book. It's not HD, it is SD. Show it upconverted in its OAR along with what HD content they have.

[gparris]

Quote:
BTW, SportsCenter goes HD two weeks from today.

ESPN-HD, right? Great.

Now TWC can get going by adding this channel as it seems as
though it will be enough HD to satisfy TWC, finally.

Dish, Directv, even Voom have it, including many cable companies, ones bigger and smaller than you, TWC!:D

[borghe]

actually it is very hard to criticize ESPN-HD in my opinion.. not like that will stop people though... :rolleyes:

ESPN-HD shows more HD sports in a year than has been shown in HD since, well, since HD began.. They are showing sometimes as many as 5 or more games a week in HD... While they still have a lot of stretched SD (which I think might be the only real complaint people have), at the same time they show more HD sports than possibly all other networks combined..

and the future will only bring more.

[borghe]

hehe.. back on topic, apparently TNTHD is not without its flaws.. there is quite a bit of evidence on AVSForums showing that the shows are not only not in HD, but SD upconverts and stretched to 16:9 to boot (Law & Order, X-Files, and Charmed have all been spotted so far).

To make matters worse, TNT-HD is still showing the High Definition banner on these shows and is still passing the HDTV flag in their guide data. So the only way you can tell if a show is truly HD or not is to either know what the show originally posted in (TNT has apparently done no remastering like HDNet has) or take a REAL good look at what you're watching.

Looks like I won't be too jealous for now. :D

[summerfun]

I have been watching a lot of TND HD since it came out. They just have the kind of programming I like to watch. They have a real mixture of old SD stretched stuff and new HD stuff. Since they stretch the SD, it makes it real hard to know the difference except for PQ. Most networks go to the 4:3 format for the SD material so it is easy to tell.

For example, old ER before HD is still SD stretched. New ER episodes in HD will be shown in HD. Same for Law and Order and so forth. New stuff, like live basketball is HD. I have seen some of the movies as stretched SD and some have looked like HD.

Now if we can get UPN and WB to move to HD, I would have all the networks I need.

[Skipjack]

I've yet to catch anything not stretched on TNT HD.

I turned on "Line of Fire" the other day and it had this "non-uniform" stretch mode. It was an obvious attempt to make the stretching not so apparent.

It looked terrible.. any character whose head was towards the edge of the screen (which is very common since it's originally a 4:3 pan & scan presentation), had a head shaped like the creature from Alien.

I'd say, if you can't find anything good to show, don't show anything at all.

[mhz40]

All I have seen in HD so far was a basketball game...
I really wish the would transmit 4x3 unstretched... for those who want/need it for certain reasons could do it on their own.

[borghe]

AVSForum is saying the exact same thing.. The only thing that has been HD so far are literally a handful of shows (and not even consistently) and basketball...

So far their is more on ESPN-HD, which really isn't saying a lot for either channel.