# TCM HD



## Don M (Jul 1, 2006)

I just read on the AVS Forum that Turner Classic Movies is available in HD. Any idea as to when or if it will be available on DISH?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1152849


----------



## RickDee (May 23, 2006)

Soon!


----------



## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

Real Soon!


----------



## coldsteel (Mar 29, 2007)

Will those old movies look any better?


----------



## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

Heaven forbid I should dispute AVS... but there is zero information about TCM and HD on TCM.com web site and thier schedules available on line have no HD showing anywhere... further thier site forums are full of questions about "HD when?" with no answers.

Larry


----------



## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

coldsteel said:


> Will those old movies look any better?


Yes they do. I've seen lots of 40's 50's movies on HBOSG. I've also seen old movies on the defunct VOOM service.


----------



## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

LarryFlowers said:


> Heaven forbid I should dispute AVS... but there is zero information about TCM and HD on TCM.com web site and thier schedules available on line have no HD showing anywhere... further thier site forums are full of questions about "HD when?" with no answers.
> 
> Larry


Look at the Cablevision link. TCMHD is launching in N.J.


----------



## dennispap (Feb 1, 2007)

Paul Secic said:


> Look at the Cablevision link. TCMHD is launching in N.J.


http://www.multichannel.com/article/295517-Cablevision_Completes_100_HD_Channel_Rollout.php


----------



## BqWUDUDj (Feb 26, 2007)

coldsteel said:


> Will those old movies look any better?


Yes. Look and sound. They could be shown in a better fit (not letterboxed into SD). The audio could also be preserved. Instead of everything stereo, I'd rather have mono sent through for the older movies. I want to hear it as it was originally heard, and have the option to process the mono with my own receiver equipment, if I so choose.


----------



## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

BqWUDUDj said:


> Yes. Look and sound. They could be shown in a better fit (not letterboxed into SD). The audio could also be preserved. Instead of everything stereo, I'd rather have mono sent through for the older movies. I want to hear it as it was originally heard, and have the option to process the mono with my own receiver equipment, if I so choose.


Last night I watched Rear Window in a small window. It's one of my favorites. However I'll won't watch TCM until they sign a contract with Dish for HD.


----------



## QuickDrop (Jul 21, 2007)

coldsteel said:


> Will those old movies look any better?


I posted this over in DirecTV forums, but it probably deserves a place here too.
Theoretically, older movies should have more resolution than the movies made today:

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Joshua_Zyber/HD_Advisor/HD_Advisor_17/2910


----------



## bruin95 (Apr 23, 2006)

Paul Secic said:


> However I'll won't watch TCM until they sign a contract with Dish for HD.


Let's hope you're not waiting until 2011.  You're going to miss alot of good programming.


----------



## RTE (Aug 26, 2007)

I have the everything package. TMC is the best thing on the hundreds of channels I have. HD will only make it better. It is like television should be! No commercials, no editing.


----------



## bruin95 (Apr 23, 2006)

RTE said:


> I have the everything package. TMC is the best thing on the hundreds of channels I have. HD will only make it better. It is like television should be! No commercials, no editing.


TMC? The Movie Channel? I think you mean TCM.


----------



## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

Never really watched TCM much, but Time Warner is adding TCM HD for us next month along with a half a dozen other HD channels. I like the selection on AMC better and was thrilled when TW added AMC HD a few months ago, but the commercials suck.


----------



## kucharsk (Sep 20, 2006)

Steve Mehs said:


> Never really watched TCM much, but Time Warner is adding TCM HD for us next month along with a half a dozen other HD channels. I like the selection on AMC better and was thrilled when TW added AMC HD a few months ago, but the commercials suck.


How can anyone watch AMC between their edits for content and commercial breaks every five minutes?

To even mention them in the same breath with TCM is unthinkable, unless you're talking the *old* AMC of twenty years ago which was directly comparable with TCM.


----------



## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

kucharsk said:


> How can anyone watch AMC between their edits for content and commercial breaks every five minutes?
> 
> To even mention them in the same breath with TCM is unthinkable, unless you're talking the *old* AMC of twenty years ago which was directly comparable with TCM.


I watched AMC back in the day, but not now. By the way AMC had infomercials from Midnight to 6AM PST. They do have good movies, but I'm spoiled by HBO, STARZ.


----------



## nmetro (Jul 11, 2006)

AT one time, AMC was great to watch, until Cablevision and Ted Turner got greedy. Yes, the same Cablevsion which owned Voom. AMC, from its inception until the late 1990s, complimented TCM will a format of commercial free movies, shorts and on Saturday mornings a retrospective similar to what people experienced going to the movies in the 1930s and 1940s. That is, a news reel, cartoon, a short subject and a full length movie (usually a western). It was a similar format to "Matinee at the Bijou", a defunct PBS program which ran in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Ted Turner effectively bought the movie library which AMC depedned on; that is Columbia, Paramount, RKO, Radio, RKO-Radio, Warner Brothers and MGM (before 1950). These purchases in the the late 1990s doomed AMC to second class status and could no longer compete as a non-commercial classic moview channel. It has to "rent movies" from the library effectively owned by Ted Turner aka Time-Warner. So, the only thing left from AMC is just the acronym; they stopped showing classic movies years ago. They are becoming more and more like a general cable channel like USA and TNT. I expect them to rebrand themselves and drop the AMC moniker in teh not too distant future.


----------



## nmetro (Jul 11, 2006)

Oh I Forgot, AMC used to also run action serials on Saturday mornings, as well. TCM signed on in 1994 and AMC signed on in the late 1980s.


----------



## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

kucharsk said:


> How can anyone watch AMC between their edits for content and commercial breaks every five minutes?
> 
> To even mention them in the same breath with TCM is unthinkable, unless you're talking the *old* AMC of twenty years ago which was directly comparable with TCM.


Yes the commercials suck and so does the editing, which I why I subscribe to all the premium movie channels, but as far as content goes, I'd rather watch Clear and Present Danger or Ghostbusters, then some old lame crappy black and white movie from the 1940s. If I can't find anything to watch on the premiums and it comes between a commercial ridden Clear and Present Danger on AMC or some movie from the stoneage on TCM, no contest, AMC all the way.


----------



## nmetro (Jul 11, 2006)

Steve Mehs said:


> Yes the commercials suck and so does the editing, which I why I subscribe to all the premium movie channels, but as far as content goes, I'd rather watch Clear and Present Danger or Ghostbusters, then some old lame crappy black and white movie from the 1940s. If I can't find anything to watch on the premiums and it comes between a commercial ridden Clear and Present Danger on AMC or some movie from the stoneage on TCM, no contest, AMC all the way.


Maybe you should watch TCM tomorrow night and see how "crappy" and "stonege" some of these movies really are. On Thursday's this month TCP is devoting 12 hours a day to movies of 1939; a year considered to have created some of the best movies ever made in Hollywood. Some of these movies include" The Wizard of Oz", "Gone With The Wind", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", Gunga Din" "Goodbye Mr. Chips", Wuthering Heights", "Man in the Iron Mask", "Stanley and Livingstone", "Beau Gest", "Union Pacific", etc. While many were in black and white, there are a number which were filmed in color.


----------



## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

_"Never try to describe a Rainbow to a blind man"_



nmetro said:


> Maybe you should watch TCM tomorrow night and see how "crappy" and "stonege" some of these movies really are. On Thursday's this month TCP is devoting 12 hours a day to movies of 1939; a year considered to have created some of the best movies ever made in Hollywood. Some of these movies include" The Wizard of Oz", "Gone With The Wind", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", Gunga Din" "Goodbye Mr. Chips", Wuthering Heights", "Man in the Iron Mask", "Stanley and Livingstone", "Beau Gest", "Union Pacific", etc. While many were in black and white, there are a number which were filmed in color.


----------



## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

nmetro said:


> Maybe you should watch TCM tomorrow night and see how "crappy" and "stonege" some of these movies really are. On Thursday's this month TCP is devoting 12 hours a day to movies of 1939; a year considered to have created some of the best movies ever made in Hollywood. Some of these movies include" The Wizard of Oz", "Gone With The Wind", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", Gunga Din" "Goodbye Mr. Chips", Wuthering Heights", "Man in the Iron Mask", "Stanley and Livingstone", "Beau Gest", "Union Pacific", etc. While many were in black and white, there are a number which were filmed in color.


No thanks. There appears to be a few good movies on the premium channels tomorrow night that were actually made in the past 10 years, I may finally get around to watching Hallowman, as I see it's on one of the Cinemax's, and if all else fails I can just watch Superbad on Starz On Demand for 3 millionth time.

Personally I'd like to see TCM turned into their sister channel, HBO. Maybe rename it HBO Classic where they show movies from the late 70s to early 90s. Seriously, movies from the '30s and '40s, that's got to be a pretty narrow market. As time goes by, I doubt TCM will stay like it is. I mean us Generation Y'ers are taking over, and not many Gen Y'ers have any sort of appreciation for that stuff, I know I sure as hell don't. If Gen Y has no interest in the channel, surely Gen Z won't then what's the point of even existing. AMC adapted with the times and got a more modern movie library, TCM should do the same as well.


----------



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Actually as time goes by you Generation Y'ers will get old like everyone else and might grow to appreciate some of the old movies. But hopefully just some of them. IMHO some of those listed really didn't age well and I don't mean the film quality.


----------



## kucharsk (Sep 20, 2006)

Steve Mehs' attitude above is precisely why I'm grateful TCM exists.


----------



## dbconsultant (Sep 13, 2005)

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The reason we like the old 30's and 40's movies is because back then they didn't have huge special effects that could mask a lack of story-line and bad acting/dialogue. This meant that they had to rely on plot, dialogue and character chemistry which, for me, adds up to a better movie. Give me those three things any day over all the special effects of the modern movies. There are movies that are made today that I like but they're few and far between.

That said, to each his own. No reason to eliminate what I like because someone else doesn't get it and I wouldn't want to eliminate something just because I personally don't have a preference for it either. There's always room for both!


----------



## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

kucharsk said:


> Steve Mehs' attitude above is precisely why I'm grateful TCM exists.


Why thank you, but enjoy your TCM while you still can. You better get used to in because I'm willing to bet in the not too distant future TCM as it is now will cease to exist. Look at how many channels today are nothing like they were 15 years ago. As the old fogies continue to die off whose left to watch this ancient stuff? No one.

Leathel Weapon is a classic movie, Die Hard is a classic movie, Office Space is a classic movie, The Shining is a classic movie, in a few years Superbad will be a classic movie. The Wizard of Oz is garbage.


----------



## dbconsultant (Sep 13, 2005)

Steve Mehs said:


> Why thank you, but enjoy your TCM while you still can. You better get used to in because I'm willing to bet in the not too distant future TCM as it is now will cease to exist. Look at how many channels today are nothing like they were 15 years ago. As the old fogies continue to die off whose left to watch this ancient stuff? No one.
> 
> Leathel Weapon is a classic movie, Die Hard is a classic movie, Office Space is a classic movie, The Shining is a classic movie, in a few years Superbad will be a classic movie. The Wizard of Oz is garbage.


Some people's 'garbage' are other people's treasures just as what you consider 'classic' someone else might consider garbage. There will always be differing views between what people like. That's what makes life interesting.


----------



## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

What difference does it make, as much as I hate what TCM shows (well actually not so much hate, but it's pointless to show it in this day and age), and as much as I think its pure crap, it's not like I alone can make the channel go away, or change formats, so who really cares. Given how the industry has changed, like I said don't be too surprised to find TCM not showing what they do now in the future.


----------



## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Steve, without descending into a personal attack, I will say this.. You're demonstrating an incredibly narrow field of vision. Not everyone thinks like you. not everyone in your generation thinks like you. As a point of fact, one "Generation Y" person who works next to me spent the weekend doing translation of Latin because he thinks reading Homer loses something in the English translations.

Not everyone in my generation thinks the same. Many of my peers (and I'm in my 40s) are hooked on strip clubs, sports bars and live for college football. That's not my scene.

AMC changed because, quite frankly, they lost the competition from TCM. 

Just as there is a VH-1 Classics and innumerable shopping channels catering to smaller slices of the demographic pie, TCM caters to older people *and* those who have discovered the quality in some of those old gems. When my older daughter was about 5 years old (she just graduated college last month) we happened across a showing of Ben Hur. Not the one everyone thinks of - this was the SILENT MOVIE. She was fascinated by it. She ended up graduating from college as an English and Theater/Drama major.

Different people have different tastes and experiences. Juding by your sig, I'm guessing you've had problems with Verizon. Me? I'm ticked off at Verizon only because they abandoned northern New England, selling their landline assets to FairPoint (who can't handle the job). Verizon gave me great service while they were here. I still have what USED to be called Fios - my fiber-based Internet connection that has been FAR faster and more reliable than anything Comcast puts out around here. My Verizon wireless service has had ONE billing glitch in three years (none in the several years before that when my now-ex-wife and I were joint on one account) and they fixed that almost immediately.


----------



## nmetro (Jul 11, 2006)

Steve Mehs said:


> Why thank you, but enjoy your TCM while you still can. You better get used to in because I'm willing to bet in the not too distant future TCM as it is now will cease to exist. Look at how many channels today are nothing like they were 15 years ago. As the old fogies continue to die off whose left to watch this ancient stuff? No one.
> 
> Leathel Weapon is a classic movie, Die Hard is a classic movie, Office Space is a classic movie, The Shining is a classic movie, in a few years Superbad will be a classic movie. The Wizard of Oz is garbage.


Steve, I guess you don't like TCM.

But, millions of people do like TCM and millions wait for the annual showing of the "Wizard of OZ" (many of them are pre-teen kids). A movie the whole family can enjoy together. And what is wrong with that?

I find TCM more of a history channel then an entertainment channel. Because their movie library spans from today to the very beginning of cinema; one can see the history of this country through film.

TCM schedules their movies in blocks by either showing a particular star during the day or a particular time in history. Their web site provides details about the movies they show beyond what is provided in the EPG. And on the weekend, and in the evenings their are live hosts who provide insights into the movies being shown. So, in a way, TCM is a living museum.

One in a while, TCM produces specials. The one entitled "1939" recently aired. Not long ago they produced a special about "John Ford". On Saturday evening the show "The Essentials" which dives deep into the movie they are presenting.

Everyone has their taste and I respect yours. Yet, TCM also serves another function, they, in consort with the UCLA Film Library, have embarked on a massive film preservation project to save motion pictures from deteriorating. Many films have already been lost, but they have found films in other locations to reconstruct movies thought to be lost forever. This effort is preserving history. So, TCM is far more than an entertainment channel; it is much more than that.

Will TCM survive? As long as there is interest in film, then TCM will be around. And as I mentioned before, I have seen films from the mid to late 1990s on TCM. About a year ago they showed all the films produced by Hayao Miyazaki. Mr. Miyazaki is known as the "Walt Disney of Japan" for his detailed work and is the standard for all Japanese Anime from AstroBoy through what you might find late night on "Adult Swim". TCM went even further, they aired the films in English and then aired them again in Japanese with English subtitles; all in 16x9 format.

Finally, with TCM, if they can find the film in the original theatrical, will air the move in that format, uncut and unedited. Something you do not see in AMC, or the premium movie channels.


----------



## Rduce (May 16, 2008)

Steve Mehs said:


> No thanks. There appears to be a few good movies on the premium channels tomorrow night that were actually made in the past 10 years, I may finally get around to watching Hallowman, as I see it's on one of the Cinemax's, and if all else fails I can just watch Superbad on Starz On Demand for 3 millionth time.
> 
> Personally I'd like to see TCM turned into their sister channel, HBO. Maybe rename it HBO Classic where they show movies from the late 70s to early 90s. Seriously, movies from the '30s and '40s, that's got to be a pretty narrow market. As time goes by, I doubt TCM will stay like it is. I mean us Generation Y'ers are taking over, and not many Gen Y'ers have any sort of appreciation for that stuff, I know I sure as hell don't. If Gen Y has no interest in the channel, surely Gen Z won't then what's the point of even existing. AMC adapted with the times and got a more modern movie library, TCM should do the same as well.


I suspect that Steve Mehs is a great fan of television shows like "Two and a Half Men" or "Family Guy." He would seem to fit the continuing pattern of shallowness that passes today as entertainment.

To be unable to appreciate classic films, music or even television shows by many of today's youths is symbolic of the continual stupefaction of this country by an educational system hell bent on creating a sociality, which are easily amused by bright and shiny bobbles.

Forget a well written script or deeply rich characters, just as long as there are a couple hundred CGI shots of explosions, car chases and other mayhem, who needs a real plot! Steve you have no idea what you are truly missing and it is sad that such greats like "The Thin Man" or "Inherit the Wind" are wasted on you.


----------



## dbconsultant (Sep 13, 2005)

Steve Mehs said:


> What difference does it make, as much as I hate what TCM shows (well actually not so much hate, but it's pointless to show it in this day and age), and as much as I think its pure crap, it's not like I alone can make the channel go away, or change formats, so who really cares. Given how the industry has changed, like I said don't be too surprised to find TCM not showing what they do now in the future.


No, you alone won't make the channel go away. What's sad is your statement about how "it's pointless to show it in this day and age". And the point is that there are people out there who like what's shown on TCM. You want people to respect your right to consider Office Space a classic but yet you insult those who have a different viewpoint, referring to what they like as "garbage".

Maybe when you mature a bit and get out into the world a little more, you'll find out that people who don't always share the same viewpoint can still be respectful of each other.

Back to the topic, I hope we get TCMHD very soon!


----------



## nataraj (Feb 25, 2006)

coldsteel said:


> Will those old movies look any better?


Since movies are captured on film they have higher than HD resolution. If the movie is rescanned to HD or better resolution - it will look excellent (assuming a decent print exists).

There are several excellent classic movies on HDDVD/BD (see 1938 color movie The Adventures of Robin Hood http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Adventures_of_Robin_Hood/60010997?trkid=496751 for eg).


----------



## johnner1999 (Aug 30, 2003)

not to hi-jack this thread -- but any good info on when Dish will have TCM in HD? I'm a DirecTV subscriber at the moment but a tree from my neighbors house has finally grown a tad too much. And my wife says I can switch to either Dish (as long as no tree issues) or to CableVision which has this channel already -- BUT I heck we really hate the DVR they use :-( 


thanks john


----------



## Ohioankev (Jan 19, 2006)

Saying that history is worthless is the problem with America today. If you forget where you came from you forget where you are going. Granted modern stuff is generally what I watch I still find myself watching a classic movie now and then. Metropolis, The Grapes of Wrath, It's a Wonderful Life, and Nosferatu are just some of the older movies I have watched and liked. Before you say I'm pushing fifty, I'm twenty seven. Just wanted to add as a fan of It's a Wonderful Life I am dreading the remake of the film.


----------



## Cold Irons (Dec 7, 2005)

Steve Mehs said:


> ....Personally I'd like to see TCM turned into their sister channel, HBO. Maybe rename it HBO Classic where they show movies from the late 70s to early 90s. .....


The sound of movie-lovers crying....my god, late 70's vs. classic movies.


----------



## nmetro (Jul 11, 2006)

Personally, I'm glad that TCM continues to be a source for movies from different eras and genres. Their recent movies of 1939 showcase was very good. It still surprises me how many great movies were produced in this one year. Because of their large film library they can show films from the beginning of film to the present; and I have seen movies as late as 1999 on this channel (though it is not common). 

From a viewership perspective, it is one of the most widely viewed channels and it does appeal to all ages. Ys, some of the movies are dates, but some could be applied to current trends. Let's face it class warfare, culture wars and corporate greed existed as much in the 1930s as it does today; with the same results.


----------



## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Steve Mehs said:


> Why thank you, but enjoy your TCM while you still can. You better get used to in because I'm willing to bet in the not too distant future TCM as it is now will cease to exist. Look at how many channels today are nothing like they were 15 years ago. As the old fogies continue to die off whose left to watch this ancient stuff? No one.
> 
> Leathel Weapon is a classic movie, Die Hard is a classic movie, Office Space is a classic movie, The Shining is a classic movie, in a few years Superbad will be a classic movie. The Wizard of Oz is garbage.


Your lack artistic knowledge floors me. Superbbad a classic? Never! The Shining I agree with.


----------



## coldsteel (Mar 29, 2007)

Superbad was.... superbly bad. Waste of film.


----------



## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

Ya'all don't know real art when you see it. Paulie, I'm not even wasting my time with you, your lack the most basic compression is what floor me.

Superbad rocks!

I AM MCLOVIN!


----------



## coldsteel (Mar 29, 2007)

Edited due to this being a peaceful forum.


----------



## MadScientist (Dec 1, 2004)

Superbad a good movie; is like saying the Titanic was a good ship:lol:


----------



## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Guys, you have to see that Steve has to be pulling our leg. I mean, come on - he's using *Superbad* as an example and saying someone lacks "compression"?

He knows his views are different from many and I think he's having some fun tweaking us


----------



## bruin95 (Apr 23, 2006)

djlong said:


> Guys, you have to see that Steve has to be pulling our leg. I mean, come on - he's using *Superbad* as an example and saying someone lacks "compression"?
> 
> He knows his views are different from many and I think he's having some fun tweaking us


Actually, I don't think he's fooling. That actually makes me feel sad for him.


----------



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Some of you may recall that I was once a self-styled _'Residence Curmudgeon'_, but, alas, I retired (mellowed) and passed the baton (actually, a club) to my good buddy, Steve, several years ago. I am so proud to see that Steve is performing his RC duties quite admirably.


----------



## rbyers (Jan 15, 2004)

Have you ever noticed that guys with no taste insist on sharing theirs?


----------

