Question: How much non-HD content do you watch?
By Matt Burns 
posted Jun 5th 2006 12:22PM
posted Jun 5th 2006 12:22PM
One of our writers, Ben Drawbaugh, has been gone on record numerous times during our weekly podcast saying he doesn't watch something if it isn't in HD. (period) Now we were wondering about how much non-HD content you watch. Sure there are some great show in HD but there are also some amazing shows that are not. Scrubs (up until the last episode), any F/X show (Nip/Tuck, The Shield, Rescue Me), The Simpsons, Myth Busters and Survivor.
Are you as vain as Ben? Or do you sit back and enjoy the show (Surviver is a bad example for that one) even though it is only 480i/p. I know I sure do.
Too much unfortunately. Comedy Central, SpikeTV and Sci-Fi (especially Sci-Fi) desperately need to switch to HD. Sadly that is probably 3 years away.
All of Sci-Fi Friday (Sg1, Atlantis, BSG), south park on comedy central. Every once in a while the fox sunday night stuff (family guy, simpsons)
I watch a lot of spike tv which means no HD. Simpsons and malcom in the middle reruns too
My decision on whether or not to watch something is not based on if it's in HD.
Let me set the record straight. It is not that I am too vain, but that I don't have alot of time. So I schedule alot of shows on the TiVo (yes some SD). But I never get to the SD ones, I still have HD shows from Feb that I have yet to watch and with all the news shows on in HD it doesn't seem like I will ever watch any SD again.
First I watch HD shows,
Then DVD movies
and then SD.
I also have 20 DVDs that I haven't watch either, it is easier to buy them than to watch them.
I love mythbusters, but I'm confused because it's always in widescreen on discovery channel. Does this mean that it's filmed in hi-def but HD-Theater never shows it that way?
F/X The Shiled, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck, wish this could be in HD
the only non-hd I watch is scifi channel and Dr. Phil. I would like to see Deal or No Deal in HD - some of the best cleavage on TV!
I would say I watch 80% HD, 20% SD lately, when SG & BSG come back on Sci-Fi I will watch more SD, but I'm groaning when they'll wise up that the two biggest markets that have HD are sports fanatics and sci-fi junkies.
We still watch Survivor, but I groan through that one as well. You would think for as popular as that show is they would finally wise up and make it HD.
Most everything else we watch is in HD.
We watch HD,
then SD,
then finally DVDs
For all you BSG fans with the Universal-HD station, they air HD reruns that are beautiful.
Just about the only shows I watch in SD are Scrubs and BSG, but as mentioned here, that's changing. Even though it's aired in HD, I had to watch Veronica Mars in SD thanks to a non-HD affiliate. Thankfully that changes when the CW broadcasts begin.
Survivor
Hell's Kitchen
Discovery Channel
TLC
History Channel
NGC
I have that same problem with FOX as well. I dont have an HD affiliate for FOX. So sadly, any FOX show, im stuck watching in SD (Bones, Prison Break, The War at Home). Scrubs is a show that I watch in SD. The same with FX shows(Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck, It's Always Sunny in Philly). FX could probably do a better job for HD upscaling than TNT. Just picture Married With Children and Buffy reruns upscaled to HD.
As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even mind like a Universal HD type channel from FOX, whichs owns FX. Get some Malcom, 24, buffy and Angel reruns,old 20th Century Movies plus FX shows that rerun once a week like BSG does on Universal HD. Hey, it beats Knight Rider repeating every other hour any day of the week.
Comedy Central (South Park, Daily Show, Colbert)
Cartoon Network (Robot Chicken)
IFC (Henry Rollins Show, various others)
SD on HD channels (Penn & Teller, Simpsons, Family Guy, Family Business, various news shows)
Considering adding Rescue Me
Probably forgetting a couple
I'd love these all to be HD, but content trumps format (in these cases).
Am I the only one :-(
I only watch shows in HD. I guess next season I will finally get to watch Scrubs!!
Like Ben said, I have to be selective since I don't have a lot of time to watch everything that is good. I have to pick, and the first criteria is HD.
I'm as bad as if a show or TV movie or Sporting event comes on that I wanted to watch and they end up showing it in SD, I don't watch. I guess I'm an HD snob :-(
Rescue Me (just can't wait for the DVDs, but this show looks terrible, but is just too enjoyable to miss)
The Wire and Entourage (Hard to beleive HBO still produces shows in SD)
Adult Swim (Venture Brothers and Tom goes to the Mayor)- However, these would not benefit all that much from HD
Wonder Showzen - Also, not sure how much this would benefit from HD
I watch about 90% HD and 10% SD. I'm a TV snob.
HD only. I've got about 800 GBs of recorded HD TV from this past season to watch. Sorry, if a show isn't in HD, I won't watch it on TV.
If it's that good a show (I'll only find out a few seaons later), I'll catch it on DVD, and always be a few seasons behind. I'm a very slow recorded TV watcher.
Most of my time is spend on watching Live Sports (during the winter), and enjoying the weather (I live in the Midwest) during the TV season(s).
Scrubs and Family Guy have been the only non-HD programming I will watch. Thankfully Scrubs will be off my short list for next season and then I'll be down to one.
In my opinion: If a network doesn't make their show in HD than they are telling me that my viewership is not important.
Yes its true, I often find myself staying in the section of HD programming on my tv guide. I go back and fourth five maybe six times, wishing something new and fresh will just sort of apear. The facts are, that I often would rather watch a bad HD program before I'll watch a good SD program, and simply because it looks so good!!
the only non HD show I watch is The Simpsons. If it's not HD it's not worth me watching it. Basically if the production don't believe the show is worth the extra bucks why should I care.
I will watch SD content if I must, but I absolutely loathe it. It's not so much the fact that it's not HD, it's the fact that it's not widescreen that really bothers me. I hate it when video doesn't fill up the full size of my TV. Who invented 4:3 anyways? They should be shot. Widescreen kicks its ass all up and down the block.
I can't wait until reality TV is in HD. Didn't someone post that Survivor was going HD?
Also A&E has had some really cool shows on lately:
Criss Angel Mindfreak
Inked
Dog the Bounty Hunter (guilty pleasure)
King of Cars
Just my $.02
I have a fairly good HD capable tube TV -- nothing spectacular (Panasonic, 31", displays HD in 1080i.) Also have a 6.1 Bose surround sound system. That being said, my general rule is "if it's available in hd ALSO, then I'll watch it in HD. I don't watch a lot of TV either (maybe 10 hours a week....ok, that's a lot.) But what has always baffled me on the podcast was how Ben talks about shows he won't watch if they're not in HD. I don't think it's vain -- it's his own personal preference. It just makes me wonder. To me, that's like saying, "I won't visit a country unless you can fly there on the Concorde". Or to bring it a little closer to home, "I won't watch a movie that isn't filmed in color."
Again, to each his own. But it's crazy how much I'd miss if I limited myself to HD-only.
The other side of the coin (and what cracks me up even more) is the crappy stuff that he IS willing to watch, JUST BECAUSE ITS IN HD! I'd rather watch a great film on a 20" stereo TV with no surround before I'd watch a piece of crap (most recently "Date Movie" comes to mind) on a 60" highest quality plasma TV with 7.1 surround. But that's just me.
I love the podcast -- you guys have taught me more about HD than anyplace else.
Devron,
Alright you got me, every once in a while I do watch SD. I have a 20" LCD SD TV in my office and I have a few shows I watch on it. I also watch football in SD all the time, because my times are not always covered in HD.
We are in the same boat in regards to loving HD and prefering it, the difference is that ignorance can be bliss and I don't know what I am missing, because I have never watched those shows. Maybe one day when I run out of HD shows to watch I will check some of them out.
Thanks for the kind words and all the feedback.
Ben
Currently, I work evenings. This means I'd have to timeshift to watch later anything I'm interested in. Being that I refuse DirecTV's "Pay us $400 and we'll let you lease an HD DVR from us" randsom, or the Adelphia's overly-limited HD recording capacity in their HD DVRs, I am lost and doomed to SD timeshifting.
Of course, the only things I'm watching (timeshifting) these days is Scrubs and 2-1/2 Men. I buy the Scrubs DVDs and never timeshift those episodes. Aside from that, SDTV isn't acceptable to me or my HD displays as the overly-compressed DirecTV feeds are blown-up on my displays.
During those occasions I get to watch HD in the vening is usually via OTA DTV (Digital TV, not DirecTV), even though I have (why, I do not know) the HDlite package from DirecTV.
I have a media center PC. When I sit down to watch TV I always hit the guide button twice and select the HDTV filter(it's a wonderful feature). If there are no HD shows playing or none that I care about, I typically see if I have anything good recorded or switch it off. The ONLY SD shows that I typically watch are Scrubs, MTV Cribs, and a few HGTV shows. I think the size of your TV makes a huge difference. SD looks just fine on a 36" set, but on my 106"
screen the flaws are unbearable.
Nothing. When I watch stuff that is originally broadcast in SD, it's played through Xbox Media Center which upsamples to 720p.
I only have the HD channels in my FAV lineup + Fuel if it is not in HD the only SD exception I make is for SURF/Snowboarding shows and Nip Tuck. Otherwise again like others have stated my time is to valuebale and their is so much HD content and xbox 360ing to be ingested that I don't have a need/want to do any SD!
Bmw
I only watch SD.
Only a fool would watch video for it's resolution rather than it's content.
Sorry.