Fox Widescreen is not HD!
Those of us who have had HD for more than 3 years remember all too well what Fox Widescreen is. We all thought it might die after Fox started to broadcast HD in September of 2004, but we quickly learned it was here to stay. Everyone has seen Fox Widescreen if they know it or not, Fox still uses it extensively. Don't get us wrong, it is better than SD, but it is not HD.
It all started before HD was widescpread and Fox upgraded their infrastructure to digital while everyone else was still using the older equipment. They were able to do this because they were a younger network and didn't have as much legacy equipment to replace. By the time the rest of the networks were upgrading to HD, Fox held out explaining that they were already digital and that most couldn't tell the difference between 480p and 720p and thus Fox Widescreen was born. Fox would advertise that their programming was available in "High Resolution digital TV" . Of course every self respecting HD fan balked at it and demanded HD.
In September of 2004 we got what we wanted and Fox broadcast the first national HD programming, it was the opening of the NFL season. It wasn't pretty at first, but it was better than Fox Widescreen. We quickly realized that Fox Widescreen was here to stay, many of the Fox shows were still not HD. Even today Fox still shows shows like COPS and So You Think You Can Dance in Fox Widescreen. They also show ALL their commercials/Promos and studio shows like the NFL Pre-game and Fox News Sunday in Fox Widescreen. This still fools some people and they think it is HD, but it isn't.
Maybe Fox was right and most people can't tell the difference between 720p and 480p.
Remember that not all widescreen TV is HD and not all HD is widescreen.
Filed under: Programming, Industry, Fox
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
M. Hoch @ Jul 13th 2006 3:47PM
Then why does my tv and cable box both say 720p when i'm watching the fox hd channel? so you think you can dance was accidentally broadcast in 480 a couple weeks ago on fox hd and it looked way worse than 720p.
Ben Drawbaugh @ Jul 13th 2006 4:11PM
M. Hoch,
It is upconverted to 720p the same way their 4x3 content is.
Jake @ Jul 13th 2006 4:26PM
Actually, all HD is widescreen, even though all widescreen isn't HD.
Feech @ Jul 13th 2006 5:12PM
I'm so glad someone has finally come out and said this. I have been complaining for year now about this and I thought it was just me. It looks like crap
Ariza @ Jul 13th 2006 6:02PM
Jake, all HD is not necessarily widescreen. Some programs that have been transferred from film to HD can end up as 4:3.
I think I heard that Seinfeld would be 4:3 when released in HD because it was not originaly shot in 16:9
If Fox is upconverting to 720p then its not that bad, I mean thats what TNTHD does, dont they?
Yeah it would be great if it was native HD put as long as they are upconverting its a step in the right direction.
Ben Drawbaugh @ Jul 13th 2006 6:38PM
Ariza,
Exactly!
Don't get me wrong Fox does alot of HD. Most of their shows are in HD like 24 and House, but some of it is not.
Adrian @ Jul 13th 2006 7:39PM
I don't get it -- my local PBS upconverts a few of their local shows to 1080i from 480p and you can sure tell. It looks much like watching a DVD. But the Fox shows that air on KTTV (FOX in Los Angeles) in "Fox Widescreen" look just as good to me as the stuff on ABC on my Sony KD-34XBR960. Could this vary from market to market or is my eye just bad?
Jim @ Jul 13th 2006 8:13PM
Ariza - actually HD by definition is 'widescreen.'
You should read up on it:
http://www.atsc.org/standards/a_53e-with-Amend-1.pdf
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Ben Drawbaugh @ Jul 13th 2006 8:19PM
Jim,
If you use that, then technically 1.85 and 2.35 movies aren't HD either because they are not 16x9 (1.77).
If a movie is on in HD, no one argues if it is HD even though it isn't truly 16x9. The same is true if the show is 4x3 like in the case of Seinfeld.
SJ @ Jul 13th 2006 8:37PM
I suppose if the resolution is 720p(0.92 Megapixels) or above it is high-definition, despite the aspect ratio.
Chris Ash @ Jul 14th 2006 6:19AM
HD is widescreen 16:9 period... If the network wants to use a 4:3 portion of the signal then thats up to them. its still 16:9 but with black borders. Just like a film in anything more extream than 16:9. Its border time at the top and bottom (as long as they don't crop it to 16:9).
Mike S @ Jul 14th 2006 9:00AM
From what I read over at AVS Forum, the "So You Think You Can Dance Show" is taped using HD cameras downrezzed to 480p 16:9. Even though it is 480p 16:9 upconverted, it looks as good or better than some other HD shows. Most likely the HD camera that is used.
I would rather have 480p 16:9 widescreen that 4:3 480i anyday if the show cannot be taped in 1080i.
Mark @ Jul 14th 2006 12:00PM
It says 720p, because it is 720p or it is upconverted to 720p. Also, "Widescreen" is so when shows are produced on the cheap(480p 16X9), they fill the screen.
All HD is widescreen, but not all ATSC is widecreen (480i).
Also, sometimes stations upconvert the 4:3 feed to their HD feed, creating a pillarboxed 720p feed. It looks like crap.
Wayne @ Jul 14th 2006 1:06PM
I haven't seen COPS, so I can't comment on it. I know that SYTYCD looks like HD to me. If it's filmed in HD like Mike S. says it is, why would FOX down rez it?
The only crappy "FOX Widescreen" I've ever seen is their regular season baseball broadcasts. All-Star Game aside (it was HD), the FOX Saturday games have looked like @$$ in SD widescreen this year.
Mike S @ Jul 14th 2006 2:08PM
SYTYCD is not taped in HD. The cameras are HD cameras outputing 16:9 480p. The quality of the lenses and the camera give better SD than a regular SD camera.
Kenzo @ Jul 15th 2006 12:11PM
"So you think you can dance" is obviously NOT HD. I could tell from the very first time I saw it that something was off with it. And yes, their widescreen baseball looks like @$$. It looks misty and leaves a lot to be desired. "House" is pretty nice looking though. I don't watch 24, but I think "American Idol" was real HD as well.
As for TNT, some shows like "Charmed" are just stretched upconverted SD stuff. However I think they show "Law & Order" in true HD.
Kenzo @ Jul 16th 2006 5:07PM
Fox's baseball games are very obviously non-HD. I wonder how anyone wouldn't notice.
H. Dee @ Jul 22nd 2006 12:26AM
So You Think You Can Dance is shot in Studio 46 at CBS TV City with Sony HDC1500L HD cameras in 16:9 480i 601. It's recorded on DigiBeta for the performance show, and the live show is sent uncompressed to Fox. The same studio is planned to be used in HD 720P for season 3 of Dancing With The Stars on ABC. It's twin, Studio 36, is used in HD 720P for American Idol. Presently that studio being used in 4:3 SD for Rock Star Supernova.
Many of the MLB widescreen games are sent via composite lines to Fox. This requires decoding which is lower in quality than an all component path.
RIZAMAN @ Oct 6th 2006 10:13AM
Wondering why FOX has been broadcasting a 16:9 picture to their non HD channel. The result is a "squished" picture when seen on a normal 4:3 screen. I do have a, HDTV, so it doesn't matter to me, I can always stretch it back out. Am I the only one to have noticed? I have sent emails to both my local FOX affiliate, and now to FOX.com theselves - to no avail.