Fox and TNT HD Channels all stretched out!

[tstar1234]

Does anyone one know why in the heck Fox and TNT stretch a lot of their programming that was originally shot in 4:3 on there HD channels? It looks so bad. Why wouldn't they show it in it's native aspect ratio so we have a choice to stretch or not to stretch?

[TheMoose]

Originally Posted by tstar1234

Does anyone one know why in the heck Fox and TNT stretch a lot of their programming that was originally shot in 4:3 on there HD channels? It looks so bad. Why wouldn't they show it in it's native aspect ratio so we have a choice to stretch or not to stretch?

Probably because I believe the number 1 complaint content providers get is, "why are there black bars on my HD channel"?
Most of the time when I go to someone else's house with a HDTV when they are watching a SD channel they have it stretched & think as long as it fills the screen it's in HD!

It's all about a lack of education, from the guy who sells the HDTV to the content providers themselves.
"Stretch-O-Vision" is a major annoyance with me & if these content providers start getting more complaints about stretching than they do black bars then maybe they'll change.

[tstar1234]

I just don't get it. It looks so bad it is unwatchable. On Fox I don't understand it. For example they stretch Seinfeld but not Are you smarter than a fifth grader. Seems to me that they would stretch all the 4:3 content or none of it! I actually have friends with HD TV'S and they tell me they can't see a difference between HD and SD and of course they have eveything stretched.

[rlpiii]

Fox is just cheap. Remember a few years back when they decided not to go HD like NBC, CBS, and ABC - upset a lot people watching the superbowl on their new HDTVs because it was not being broadcasted in 1080i. Instead of following the intent of the law to get broadcasters to to use HD, they did letter of the law - doing the bare minimum required to get by which was not 1080i. Also, all up-converted-to-HD movies and broadcasts will never look as good as those that originally used HD equipment, but it is still better than SD.

[starvinmarvin]

On the Fox channel we watch Bones, the sit-com Back to You, and occasionally House. Oh, and NFL football games. They are all wide aspect, not stretched. The picture on Bones is a bit dark, i.e. we have to turn up the brightness on the TV a bit. Otherwise, their HD broadcasts look and sound pretty good.

As for the "stretched" picture on other shows and other channels, if you find it's unwatchable you can always exercise your option to turn it off - duh! I must admit that characters do look funny with one shoulder stretched all the way to the edge of the screen....

Seriously, though, television can be entertaining but, let's face it - it's mostly crap which is frequently interrupted by lots of crap commercials!

We signed up for NetFlix a year or so ago. Not only do they offer a zillion movies but they have lots of TV series on DVD without the commercials. The upshot of this is that we find ourselves watching less and less television.

[JerryDelColliano]

Marvin,

Say hello to Sally Struthers for me - why don't you????