Is anyone getting syndicated HD?
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted Jul 11th 2006 7:38PM
posted Jul 11th 2006 7:38PM
About 3 or 4 months ago we reported that Sony was going to start syndicating Seinfeld in HD. We have been waiting patiently and we haven't see it yet. There is a discussion over at AVS about the complexities for a station to syndicate HD shows and it doesn't seem easy, but it's only money after all and we have already spent alot on our TVs. Have any of you spotted Seinfeld or any other syndicated shows in HD?
Do you mean shows that were filmed in HD that are now in syndication? I can't think of any, but the X-Files is in syndication on TNT-HD, also knows as stretch-o-vision because they show everything in 16x9.
I don't mean TNT, I mean your local stations that show reruns of Seinfeld. Here in Tampa our WB affiliate shows re-runs of Seinfeld, but not in HD.
Nothing that I can find. I really want to see Enterprise in HD. They just show it in letterboxed SD....ugh.
We used to get UHD a while back (for some reason, Comcast removed it from the channel lineup suddenly) their entire programming was syndicated shows in true HD, including Knight Rider, Quantum Leap, etc.
Such a shame that we don't get it anymore!
Let me make something clear that Ben is trying to say. When he means Syndicated HD, he means something along the line of FOX HD, NBC HD, you know your local networks. The programs that he is trying to focus on is the programs that aren't on the prime time line-up. You know, the programs that are basically fillers to the news and primetime.
Anyways, in my area there isn't any High-Def Syndicated Shows. I would think that it would be VERY tough to get syndicated shows in HD considering that Seinfeld airs pretty much every half an hour around america. PLUS add in the networks that dont have a High-Def feed AND the networks that can't even fix the high-def channel when it isn't working!!
I guess if this Syndicated HD idea doesn't work well, we'll have to wait til TBS HD and GSN HD...
hell, i'm still waiting for those HD Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortunes you guys reported a while back.
We haven't had any syndicated HD in the Birmingham, AL market (I'm in Tuscaloosa) that I know of, and honestly, don't expect any in the near future. I have D* and I'm not blown away by the MPG4 local broadcasts. At the same time, HD is blowing up here in the south as more and more people get capable TVs. Heck, even my parents have a HD set. And that's saying something.
Tino, Comcast threw up UHD during the olympics, when it was over they took it away....pretty lame I tell ya, Fios can't get to philly soon enough...
No HD syndication on the locals here in the Greensboro, NC market.
Yeah, at least for Enterprise, they have been broadcasting it in 16:9 format for the hd feed so you don't get the huge black box around the picture!
Our local ABC station (here in Orlando) is the only one that seems to have the ability to do their own HD at the moment, everyone else is just way too cheap :-/
I've got nothing in the DC area. They play seinfeld on the local fox digtal channel, but its not in HD. Was Seinfeld filmed in widescreen?
I thought I read that Seinfeld in HD would still only be 4:3. If that's the case we might not be able to tell the difference.
Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are going to be produced in HD starting with their new seasons this fall.
We get reruns of Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond in HD, but I believe only if it was originally broadcasted in HD. The older stuff is still SD, so it depends on the episode. My guess is that they just haven't done the HD transfers yet on the old stuff. They both air on our local WB affiliate.
Sorry - I forgot to state my market - I am in the Los Angeles area (see comment 13).
The Networks (NBC, FOX, CBS and ABC) send a HD feed in pattern to the stations every night. No need to RECORD. Most stations can't record HD, so they just pass the NET feed. Syndication is always recorded, up to a week prior. So they would need HD decks, HD switchers and HD audio. Also, what format would they use? 720p, 1080i, 1080p ?
Good luck to them...
M
Not in Dallas. KDFW keeps ignoring my emails, so I keep sending them.
Seinfield was shot on 35mm which was then transferred to video to be edited. This is very apparent when they show greenscreen car scenes and the background material is clearly timewarped 60i video. They would have to go back and re-transfer everything to high def to TRULY show these off properly.
TNTHD does the best job of upconverting shows from SD to HD...even if they are stretched.
David,
That is exactly what they did. They made a big deal about it when they started to release the new masters on DVD. I believe the DVDs even say they were mastered in HD on the box.