Anybody know why certain shows are in HD and others not when clearly they originate in HD?

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › Anybody know why certain shows are in HD and others not when clearly they originate in HD?

lchiu7

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#97638 18-Feb-2012 10:19

I am guessing it's cost but it's interesting to see both TV3 and TVNZ have a mish mash of HD programming of the US shows they air when clearly they all originate in HD.

I suspect it could be cost, or perhaps the provider has elected not to provide a HDi 50Hz version of their programming?

I didn't do a lot of data collection but examples include

TVNZ - Once Upon a Time - 16:9 but SD, American Idol ditto (but could be because they don't want to send the HD version over the satellite), Desperate Housewives(!) - SD and that is a surprise given presumably how popular the show is and the vibrant colour palette it's shot in

TV3 - House 16:9 SD, could be others.

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#583140 18-Feb-2012 12:02

I am quite sure it is because of the cost and also the HD version may not be available for licensing in our region yet.

dontpanic42

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#583151 18-Feb-2012 12:30

The mind boggles as to why TVNZ didn't buy Frozen Planet in HD. I asked them on twitter and they said that they weren't offered it in HD.

I find this hard to believe considering BBC would surely want people to buy the HD version.
And formats shouldn't be a problem with content coming from the UK which uses the same video format to NZ.

They have lost a viewer because of that. I will be seeking out the Blu-ray!

xarqi

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#583242 18-Feb-2012 17:19

dontpanic42: [TVNZ] have lost a viewer because of that.

Hands up those who are left. C'mon, both of you! ;)

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#583257 18-Feb-2012 17:58

bcos they didnt pay the $ to buy the hd version

bcos they didnt think they could recoup the $

bcos ..

JimmyH

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#583261 18-Feb-2012 18:03

xarqi:
dontpanic42: [TVNZ] have lost a viewer because of that.

Hands up those who are left. C'mon, both of you! ;)

Sadly, while humorous, that's not too far of the truth. About the only program I watch regularly on FTA at the moment is Qi, and catch maybe one other random program every other other week (but I will be watching the Top Gear India special). In virtually all cases, on the limited occasions I watch FTA I record them first to zip through the ads. I might have seen some TVNZ once in the last month, I think there was something on the news that related to my employer, and I don't think I watched TV3 at all in the last month.

There's simply virtually nothing worth watching - tired content, bizzare (re)scheduling of what there is, endless re-runs and cheap-ass reality TV, with what little viewing enjoyment might conceivably be able to be squeezed out of this dreck ruined by advertising saturation bombing and endless self-congratulatory promos.

Of the main FTA channels, TVNZ is the worst, closely followed by TV3, with Prime ahead by a nose. Prime's viewing experience is just as bad as the others (actually marginally more awful as they slap ads over programs while they are still running), but I give it a slight win as unlike the others it occasionally has the odd bit of interesting content (eg Qi).

xarqi

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#583262 18-Feb-2012 18:11

JimmyH:
xarqi:
dontpanic42: [TVNZ] have lost a viewer because of that.

Hands up those who are left. C'mon, both of you! ;)

Sadly, while humorous, that's not too far of the truth. About the only program I watch regularly on FTA at the moment is Qi, and catch maybe one other random program every other other week (but I will be watching the Top Gear India special). In virtually all cases, on the limited occasions I watch FTA I record them first to zip through the ads. I might have seen some TVNZ once in the last month, I think there was something on the news that related to my employer, and I don't think I watched TV3 at all in the last month.

There's simply virtually nothing worth watching - tired content, bizzare (re)scheduling of what there is, endless re-runs and cheap-ass reality TV, with what little viewing enjoyment might conceivably be able to be squeezed out of this dreck ruined by advertising saturation bombing and endless self-congratulatory promos.

Of the main FTA channels, TVNZ is the worst, closely followed by TV3, with Prime ahead by a nose. Prime's viewing experience is just as bad as the others (actually marginally more awful as they slap ads over programs while they are still running), but I give it a slight win as unlike the others it occasionally has the odd bit of interesting content (eg Qi).

Wooo. I could have written that myself, but not nearly as eloquently. I think we are witnessing the sunset of FTA television, with broadcast TV itself holding on only as long as there is no decent broadband delivery system for "on-demand" services. Once fibre hits a critical number of houses, it'll be "Goodnight Kiwi" for the last time.

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grant_k

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#583291 18-Feb-2012 20:50

xarqi:
JimmyH: ...
There's simply virtually nothing worth watching - tired content, bizzare (re)scheduling of what there is, endless re-runs and cheap-ass reality TV, with what little viewing enjoyment might conceivably be able to be squeezed out of this dreck ruined by advertising saturation bombing and endless self-congratulatory promos.

...
I think we are witnessing the sunset of FTA television, with broadcast TV itself holding on only as long as there is no decent broadband delivery system for "on-demand" services. Once fibre hits a critical number of houses, it'll be "Goodnight Kiwi" for the last time.

+1

Since getting a satellite decoder which allows me to watch the SBS channels intended for Tasmania, I have been pleasantly surprised at what is on offer. They are showing BBC docos several times per week which were made just last year, unlike TVNZ who frequently show stuff that was made years ago, or don't bother showing quality documentary programmes at all, because their schedule is jam-packed full of reality stuff.

I don't think FTA television will ever totally die out, because there is a need for local news and current affairs, which I think TV3 do the best job with. However, these programmes are a drop in the bucket compared with all the US-sourced stuff that fills most of their schedule.

lchiu7

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#583426 19-Feb-2012 14:11

I still watch some FTA TV, the news and the occasional HD show. But if the networks continue to treat us the way they do by mixing SD and HD content just for budget's sake, I think I might just move all my viewing to online. There are enough choices available for those who do a bit of research to work out how to gain access to the content.

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#583444 19-Feb-2012 15:13

Hooray new season of Survivor starts tonight, we'll be only one or two episodes behind the US! Sweet.

Oh it's on 4 in SD.

Balls.

Cheers,
Joseph

lchiu7

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#583450 19-Feb-2012 15:33

Remember last year when TVNZ said they were screening Charlies Angels only a week behind the US broadcast and in HD to boot? Welll it's clear they can do it and I wonder why they don't do it for American Idol? Of course Charlies Angels lasted about 3 or 4 shows so perhaps they knew something :-)

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mxpress

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#583459 19-Feb-2012 15:42

And of course, not forgetting that last year TV3 screened X factor USA in HD only hours after it was screened in USA. Can't get more up to date than that. It was awesome seeing that amazing stage in HD.

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#583470 19-Feb-2012 16:21

lchiu7: Remember last year when TVNZ said they were screening Charlies Angels only a week behind the US broadcast and in HD to boot? Welll it's clear they can do it and I wonder why they don't do it for American Idol?

But they do. In fact, they broadcast Idol the next day.

lchiu7

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#583484 19-Feb-2012 17:03

Not in HD

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mattwnz

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#583486 19-Feb-2012 17:15

Perhaps sky have the HD rights, and TVNZ could only get the SD rights? Sort of makes a mockery of freeview and HD on the freeview platform, when the broadcasters aren't broadcasting in it. I would expect TVNZ news to be in HD, especially as they have just got a new set which allowed them to get their detailing of the set up to scratch.

rugrat

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#583496 19-Feb-2012 17:31

All the movies in hd on tv2 are only 2 channel sound that i've watched, on tv3 they're the great 5.1 sound, i've given up on tvnz for movies, they seem to be useless.

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