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Movies Forum Index » Movie Technology Forum » ER Season One on DVD
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| Sydney Assbasket |
 Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 1:06 am |
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I recently watched some of the first season of ER on DVD and was surprised to
see it used 16:9 transfers. They appear to be framed so that the 4:3 image
could be taken from the center of the 16:9 frame. I expected the DVD to look
like a 9 year old TV show. Did the producers conform the negatives even back
then?
Remove "moc" to reply.
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| manitou910 |
| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 3:13 am |
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Sydney Assbasket wrote:
Quote: I recently watched some of the first season of ER on DVD and was surprised to
see it used 16:9 transfers. They appear to be framed so that the 4:3 image
could be taken from the center of the 16:9 frame. I expected the DVD to look
like a 9 year old TV show. Did the producers conform the negatives even back
then?
Seems a joke now, but during the earlier 90s it was widely expected that
HDTV would be introduced in America by 1996.
From about 1990 on a substantial number of American TV shows were
shot/protected for widescreen. I remember reading a _long_ itme ago
that this was how "90210" and "Melrose Place" were being photographed.
Whether or not such shows can be remastered for widescreen and/or HDTV
will depend on the condition of the original film elements.
However, there hasn't been much consistency in how networks (broadcast
or cable) have dealt with this technical situation.
"Six Feet Under" was shot from the start in widescreen, but HBO only
started making it available in widescreen and HiDef for S3. Even the
DVDs for S1 are 4x3 aspect ratio.
The first season of "The West Wing" was remastered for the recent R1 DVD
release, but the discs are 4x3 (however they look tremendous). OTOH the
show is now being seen in HDTV a letterbox NTSC.
A lot probably depends on a studio's presumed target audience for a show
-- ie, what viewers are expected to prefer, and even perhaps
demographics re projected proportion of viewers (for a show) with
widescreen HDTV sets.
C. |
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| Eric Pierce |
| Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 4:41 pm |
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Network television has been framing on film for standard television
while protecting the 16:9 for at least the last twelve years that I can
remember. This was to make the shows more viable for syndication in the
high definition future where most of the money is made. Now it applies
to DVD as well.
Eric Pierce
Sydney Assbasket wrote:
Quote: I recently watched some of the first season of ER on DVD and was surprised to
see it used 16:9 transfers. They appear to be framed so that the 4:3 image
could be taken from the center of the 16:9 frame. I expected the DVD to look
like a 9 year old TV show. Did the producers conform the negatives even back
then?
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