I've got a question for HD experts- who is to blame when a game that should be in HD isn't?

For example, I have Cox cable. They have their HD channels in the 700's. In the guide, it denotes which broadcast shows or games are in HD with an "HDTV" tag, because obviously not everything on an HD channel is broadcast in HD.

It's now been a few months since taking the HD plunge. I think the first week of college football I was looking forward to a big game at night- Tennessee at Cal. I believe it was ABC's night game. It was advertised as HD, listed in the guide as HD, but I was getting the 4:3 SD broadcast with vertical bars on the right and left on the ABCHD channel. The same thing happened a few weeks ago during a day-time college football game, and yesterday one of the CBSHD NFL games was advertised and listed in the guide as HDTV broadcast, however same thing- SD broadcast on the HD channel.

Who is to blame here? I know all these games we being recorded and broadcast in HD, advertised and listed as HDTV, but weren't. Is it the local network? During the Cal/Tenn game I called Cox and asked them if a.) they knew if there was a problem with the local ABCHD's HD feed, or b.) if they were having an issue on their end, and the guy couldn't tell me either way.

It's kind of annoying when you take the plunge, upgrade your cable, buy the HDTV, and each week there's a game you are looking forward to and it's not in HD. It's never happened on a weeknight primetime TV show, though. Anyone have a problem with this?

It's also slightly annoying that a lot of people don't think much of HD because "they've seen HD stuff at the bar and it didn't look that good", of course not realizing that 95% of sports bars have flat panels that are just showing stretched SD.

If you have it setup correctly, then HD makes all the difference. Sports is obviously the biggest beneficiary, but even in regular shows the colors pop more, the lines are sharper, and the details more obvious.

It's night and day to me. Sports is a huge improvement!

It's not your cable provider. It's probably your local network affiliate (usually forgetting to flip the SD/HD switch in and out of commercial breaks). For example, yesterday, the local FOX wasn't sending the HD feed of the Skins game for a period of time, but on the Sunday Ticket HD channel for the Skins game, it was in HD.

Can someone explain to me why there is an "SD/HD switch"? Has this been verified, or is this just an internet theory? I mean, HD is broadcast on a completely separate channel from the SD feed, so they're sending out two feeds, an SD and an HD one, correct?

Yes

(this may be the dumbest thread ever)

If you watch sports then it's an absolute yes.

Sports in HD is phenomenal. Football, Hockey, Basketball...they all look amazing.

The Office looks fabulous.

While I'm not a fan of the show, every now then when flipping through channels I'll stop and watch a little of CSI: Miami because it looks so damn incredible.

I presume that since most commercials are SD, if you don't switch from HD back to SD, they wouldn't look 'right' broadcast in HD.

Yes, it is that great. I don't just seek out HD shows, but given the choice I'll watch an HD broadcast of a show I like.

Absolutely.

if you cant tell the difference when you watching HD and SD then your tv must not be set up right.

There was an issue with the Cal/Tennessee game, either at the network or the local affiliate level. I don't know where you live, but it did the same thing with me too (I live in the CA Bay Area). The game was in HD early on, but switched to SD some time in the second quarter, if I recall correctly.

You have taken Otter lore out of the Other forum. Expect rebukes.

HD is stupid.

Come on... that's a required response no matter what forum we're posting in. As long as Jadzia doesn't catch on to the otter inside jokes in TVTalk, I think we're ok.

Agreed!

CSI Maimi is without question the best looking show in HD i've seen in primetime. Last night they were showing those aerial shots of high rises along the beach and it looked amazing.!!

Watching NFL on sundays in HD is also so much more enjoyable. For some reason the 4pm games look better then the earlier ones or maybe it depends on the satellite signal between CBS and FOX

For me the difference is amazing and I don't have a top of the line TV. I can't imagine what some of the shows or games I'm watching would look like on a 1080 60 inch plasma.

Yes.

Agreed about CSI:Miami - terrible show except for its unintentional comedy, but if it's a Monday night, and nothing else is on, sometimes I'll flip to it just for its gorgeous HD presentation.

Thanks, sounds like a local affiliate issue. For me the game didn't start out in HD but was SD until I believe midway through the 3rd quarter. By then I had been watching one of the other night games which was HD all night.

This seems to happen way too often for my liking- at least one game a weekend in either college football or NFL between my local ABC and CBS affiliates in Hampton Roads area of VA.

Yes, I think it's amazing. Anyone that thinks otherwise seriously can't see shit. Actually, if they DID see shit on it they'd be amazed at how crisp it looked. HD lets you see every bit of fiber, corn and lettuce in a fresh turd. Even my mom is amazed at how great HD channels look compared to SD. Just watch Discovery HD for a minute and you'll understand.

or your eyesight...

while sports and nature docs Discovery Theatre HD shows all look stunning, movies vary depending on the print - HDNet Movies generally look great

- 2001
- West Side Story
- Breakfast at Tiffany's

some don't: 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' - a harbinger of things to come.

That's a big presumption. I'd say about a third of the commercials are HD, and they're mixed in with SD commercials and commercials that appear to be HD but not widescreen. They're all mixed together with no problem, and the switching back and forth from HD and SD is seamless enough that I doubt there is a human somewhere flipping an actual switch.

HD is better than sex, football and your grandma's apple pie combined.