# USA/SciFi HD *** Available ***



## tvjay

Today I was searching around and when I clicked on "All Sub" USA and SCIFI are listed as HD channels. Once I clicked back to my normal "All HD" they were still there and watchable. Anyone notice this? Did they finally add USA and SCIFI in HD? Receiver shows USA on 110W TP17.

As of 3:20pm on Friday there is no HD content just upcoverted movies.


----------



## slh7d

I came home early from work, and scrolled through my favorites, and SCIFI and USA showed up on my "unused" lists that i now have to cycle though!!!

WOO!


----------



## jimborst

Quick everyone, change your Timers for HD BSG!!!!


----------



## Glenn

Working from home today, so I was able to just spin my chair around and check this out - YES, both Sci-Fi and USA have HD listings!

(And hey, I'm only on this forum because it's lunchtime. )


----------



## mcss1985

slh7d said:


> I came home early from work, and scrolled through my favorites, and SCIFI and USA showed up on my "unused" lists that i now have to cycle though!!!
> 
> WOO!


ZOMG you're right. I have it too.:hurah: :hurah: :hurah: 
Well that's pretty sweet. Not that I really will watch either of these channels, but I know there's a while lot of you out there that have been waiting a long long time for this so Congrats. Maybe all hope is not lost after all


----------



## slh7d

Crap, program info isnt up to date yet on scifi or usa for even this evening! So cant record Battlestar. Since I am leaving to go out of town in a couple hours, prob have to settle for SD, unles program guide info catches up in the next couple hours.


----------



## RAD

slh7d said:


> Crap, program info isnt up to date yet on scifi or usa for even this evening! So cant record Battlestar. Since I am leaving to go out of town in a couple hours, prob have to settle for SD, unles program guide info catches up in the next couple hours.


Isn't there a way to set up a manual timer for BSG and not use the guide?


----------



## tvjay

I just noticed this too. Not guide data on my box past current show and the next.


----------



## jimborst

slh7d said:


> Crap, program info isnt up to date yet on scifi or usa for even this evening! So cant record Battlestar. Since I am leaving to go out of town in a couple hours, prob have to settle for SD, unles program guide info catches up in the next couple hours.


Set up a manual recording, since I will be gone too, that's what I did.


----------



## ZBoomer

They're showing something right now on Sci-Fi HD that is 16x9 and LETTERBOXED, lol. Nice...


----------



## GrumpyBear

Watching Taken in HD RIGHT NOW. I have already set 9432 to record at BSG time just incase.


----------



## GrumpyBear

Both Channels are LIVE, right now. As for upconverted SD, that isn't Dish's fault, thats Sci-Fi's fault.


----------



## nlk10010

GrumpyBear said:


> Watching Taken in HD RIGHT NOW. I have already set 9432 to record at BSG time just incase.


Really? It isn't in HD on my TV (pillarboxed and letterboxed).

Hmmm, maybe they gave me the extra two letters (HD) without the content. I'm up-to-date on my payments....why would Dish treat me like this?


----------



## OinkinOregon

Okay guys the jokes over be straight with us. I am getting excited. How come no announcement??


----------



## phrelin

It's there. BSG tonight. 

Had to force a guide update, though.


----------



## GrumpyBear

9432 looks better than 122, love the power of the 622.
Don't know about you, but I HATE STRETCH-O-Vision. If the show is 4:3, show it in 4:3, if its 16:9 show as 16:9, do NOT STRETCH AND DISTORT 4:3 to fit a screen. AS IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP WHEN they do that.


----------



## tvjay

phrelin said:


> It's there. BSG tonight.
> 
> Had to force a guide update, though.


How do you do that?


----------



## emathis

9431 and 9432 don't appear to be HD yet, just the SD feeds. Don't know why.

Never mind....Monk just came on in HD and the logo changed to USAhd.


----------



## pdl2mtl90

Just now noticed that on my receiver also!


----------



## tsmacro

*woo-hoo* Can't wait to get home!!! :hurah:


----------



## mattfast1

If it makes you feel any better, they didn't even announce it to CSRs like they did for CNN HD.


----------



## gsalem

GrumpyBear said:


> Don't know about you, but I HATE STRETCH-O-Vision. If the show is 4:3, show it in 4:3, if its 16:9 show as 16:9, do NOT STRETCH AND DISTORT 4:3 to fit a screen. AS IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP WHEN they do that.


I can't agree more. I actually watch some of the HD simulcast in SD! The left/right edge distortions are really bad. A screen pan can make me dizzy! :lol:


----------



## tvjay

Monk in ACTUAL HD on USA right now!


----------



## GrumpyBear

Ok,
Now a complaint, SCI-FI showing X-Files in Wide Screen format, per the guide, still have the Bars, jump over to MONK, and NO BARS. GRRRRR


----------



## kb7oeb

slh7d said:


> Crap, program info isnt up to date yet on scifi or usa for even this evening! So cant record Battlestar. Since I am leaving to go out of town in a couple hours, prob have to settle for SD, unles program guide info catches up in the next couple hours.


Reboot or do a check switch, it will force a guide download


----------



## GrumpyBear

kb7oeb said:


> Reboot or do a check switch, it will force a guide download


Set up a 1 time Manual timer for channel 9432, that will work too.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

And now folks can begin to complain about the lack of actual HD on these channels. From perusing the DirecTV threads, and asking some questions myself from time to time... It seems like USAHD has more actual HD than SciFiHD... but both channels still run a lot of non-HD stuff... including, apparently, things like Taken in letterbox format rather than HD.

So after all the "DirecTV has it, and if Dish doesn't add it I'm leaving"... I expect to see much more "where's the HD" complaints coming soon!


----------



## Ron Barry

Sweet...Just in time for the BSG guys tonight.....


----------



## GrumpyBear

HDMe said:


> And now folks can begin to complain about the lack of actual HD on these channels. From perusing the DirecTV threads, and asking some questions myself from time to time... It seems like USAHD has more actual HD than SciFiHD... but both channels still run a lot of non-HD stuff... including, apparently, things like Taken in letterbox format rather than HD.
> 
> So after all the "DirecTV has it, and if Dish doesn't add it I'm leaving"... I expect to see much more "where's the HD" complaints coming soon!


There will be some complaints about more HD Channels, but alot of people have already been complaining about the LACK of HD content on the channels, that are on the wish lists. NO hurry at all for some channels until they have MORE HD Content, just on thing on the channels they are bringing on. IF the show is 4:3, LEAVE IT THAT WAY, do not, repeat DO NOT STRETCH-O-Vision a show.


----------



## James Long

Are the rerunning episode one of this season?
Last week would have been great as episode one ran right before episode 2 ... at least BSG'rs have it for the rest of the season.

And Monk and Psych on USA ... even in reruns is cool.


----------



## jimborst

We just have to remember when the new seasons start, to change the timers to HD channels. For me (just looked through my timers when changing BSG) Psych and Eureka will have to be changed. BTW Psych (& Monk) July 18th and Eureka July 29th.


----------



## JoeKacz

Press release is out.


----------



## James Long

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Apr 18, 2008 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- DISH Network Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH), the nation's third largest pay-TV provider and the digital transition leader, today launched CNN HD, SCI FI HD and USA HD.

"As previously announced, our plans to enhance our HD programming line-up this spring remain on track," said Eric Sahl, senior vice president of Programming for DISH Network(r). "We continue our HD rollout to reach our year-end goal of 100 local HD markets and 100 national HD channels."

The new high definition channels are available to DISH Network customers who subscribe to AT100 and Essentials HD or higher. CNN HD is available on channel 200 HD; SCI FI HD is available on channel 122 HD; and USA HD is available on 105 HD.

In order to view HD programming, DISH Network customers can upgrade to a dishHD receiver like the award-winning ViP722(tm). The ViP722 is a dual-tuner HD DVR that operates two televisions in separate rooms, one in HD and one in standard definition. The ViP722 can record up to 55 hours of HD and up to 350 hours of standard definition programming and allows customers to pause, rewind and fast forward TV.

Qualified new DISH Network customers who sign up with a 24-month commitment will receive three months of free programming (a $120 value), a free dishDVR and free installation (a $49.99 value).

For more information about DISH Network's HD offerings or DVR technology, call 1-800-333-DISH (3474), visit www.dishnetwork.com, or visit your local DISH Network retailer.


----------



## phrelin

An early Monk looks really good in HD.


----------



## James Long

JoeKacz said:


> Press release is out.


Thanks.

Explains why we didn't get a press release for CNN HD .. there _was_ more to come.


----------



## ICBM99

Sweet, I'll have to check them out when I get home from work...I think I might be coming down with something *cough, cough*


----------



## eudoxia

THANK YOU DISH !! 

I'M A HAPPY CAMPER NOW!

Promise not to whine anymore about not enough HD  
(well at least for a couple of weeks)


----------



## Henry

phrelin said:


> It's there. BSG tonight.
> 
> Had to force a guide update, though.


How did you force the EPG update, phrelin? I tried a warm re-boot, but that didn't bring down the guide. I have a 622. Thanks.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

James Long said:


> Are the rerunning episode one of this season?
> Last week would have been great as episode one ran right before episode 2 ... at least BSG'rs have it for the rest of the season.


Not tonight at least... Tonight begins the new run of Dr Who, so all the timeslots are taken up. We get "Sarah Jane" at 8pm, a 90 min Dr Who from 8:30-10, and then BSG from 10-11.. then Dr Who and tonight's BSG get repeated once more after that.

Next Friday looks similar, but with Dr Who going back to its normal hour and airing two back-to-back Sarah Jane 30 min episodes... so it looks like we probably would need to scour other nights for possible BSG repeats for the near future.


----------



## Chris Blount

Congrats guys! You will love SciFi HD!!!


----------



## Richard King

I wish they would get rid of SciFi and USA-HD and give us more Voom. Run.... hide.... :lol:


----------



## TulsaOK

GrumpyBear said:


> Ok,
> Now a complaint, SCI-FI showing X-Files in Wide Screen format, per the guide, still have the Bars, jump over to MONK, and NO BARS. GRRRRR


X-Files were probably recorded/filmed/taped that way. Do you really want Stretch-O-Vision? TBS-HD has plenty of that.


----------



## GB1

WOW-I had DISH installed on Sunday after a lifetime of terrible cable HD selections. In my 6 days as a subscriber I have had 4 more HD channels added (Cinemax for 1 penny deal, CNN USA and Sci-fi). After two years of complaining to comcast I just might have to find another past-time. 

No more unbox for BSG!


----------



## russ9

Yeah! Just in time for Doctor Who.

Ironically, the show on Sci-Fi when I turned it on was the only X-Files episode that was originally shown in 16:9 (Triangle)


----------



## TulsaOK

HDG said:


> How did you force the EPG update, phrelin? I tried a warm re-boot, but that didn't bring down the guide. I have a 622. Thanks.


Check Switch.


----------



## GrumpyBear

TulsaOK said:


> X-Files were probably recorded/filmed/taped that way. Do you really want Stretch-O-Vision? TBS-HD has plenty of that.


No I do NOT WANT STRETCH-O-Vison. Was looking for some version of 16:9, not 4:3 style. I swear it changed some during the show, from 4:3 to postage stamp letterbox, I can live with that. Stargate is in 16:9 right now though right now. Time to bring back Babylon5


----------



## jamieh1

For WWE fans out there, dont forget WWE HD (Monday Night Raw, and ECW).


----------



## Henry

TulsaOK said:


> Check Switch.


Ahh, you're a scholar ... thanks.:grin:


----------



## tvjay

HDG said:


> How did you force the EPG update, phrelin? I tried a warm re-boot, but that didn't bring down the guide. I have a 622. Thanks.


I turned my VIP211 off for about 5 to 10 minutes and it took care of it.


----------



## jpeckinp

I would just like to say.(getting on top of my soap box) Would all of you BSG fans now please shut the heck up. You got your precious SCI-FI HD and USA HD now go watch it 24/7 like you seemed to imply you would be doing if it showed up.:nono: 

Next thread for NO HD Gripe. Where is Water HD?:nono2:


----------



## Jeff_DML

can a HD only package subscriber confirm they have these 3 new HD channels

thanks


----------



## fredp

HDG said:


> How did you force the EPG update, phrelin? I tried a warm re-boot, but that didn't bring down the guide. I have a 622. Thanks.


Check your guide again. I have a 622 as well. Updated. Did not have to do anything.


----------



## mcss1985

sweet got my name on Engadget 

Anyways, hey listening to all you guys talk about BSG, I'm really starting to think I might be missing out. If I tune in tonight, will I be completely confused or is it the kind of show you can pick up in the middle and still enjoy. I've never seen any episodes.


----------



## davcole

Yep it's there!!


----------



## Henry

tvjay said:


> I turned my VIP211 off for about 5 to 10 minutes and it took care of it.


Thanks ... I followed Tulsa's advice and forced an update. I do have a question for you: when you turned off the 211, did you unplug it or was it still connected to power?


----------



## UndeadBeav

'Bout time, Dish! I was beginning to think that the final Cylon was named Charlie.


----------



## TulsaOK

James Long said:


> Are the rerunning episode one of this season?
> Last week would have been great as episode one ran right before episode 2 ... at least BSG'rs have it for the rest of the season.
> 
> And Monk and Psych on USA ... even in reruns is cool.


The Monk that is showing now, is an episode from 2002. I didn't realize they were in 16:9 "way" back then.


----------



## Henry

fredp said:


> Check your guide again. I have a 622 as well. Updated. Did not have to do anything.


I was wondering about that, fred. Mine didn't update, and it normally does when they've thrown the HD switch in the past. Oh well, L449 at its finest, eh? :lol:


----------



## garys

jpeckinp said:


> Next thread for NO HD Gripe. Where is Water HD?:nono2:


Don't you mean the world fishin' network?


----------



## sdague

/me does a little dance of joy for BSG in HD tonight


----------



## Henry

No more griping from me. I got my SciFi and USA. They can take their time going forward.


----------



## garys

TulsaOK said:


> The Monk that is showing now, is an episode from 2002. I didn't realize they were in 16:9 "way" back then.


Monk was also repeated on network TV, it was filmed in HD from day 1 (the two eposides today was the original pilot).


----------



## TulsaOK

Can you hear all the D* folks saying "aw crap" after hearing this news? :hurah:


----------



## mcss1985

mcss1985 said:


> sweet got my name on Engadget


lol well I thought I was a cool

I sent engadgetHD a note about USA/Sci-Fi HD right when it went live (about 15:20 EST. I think) and they had a story up about it a few minutes later and it said "Thanks Scott" (Scott is my name). So here I am thinking I'm somebody when I read the rest of the story and it was from Scott Greczkowski-staffer at SatelliteGuys.US.

Ok I'll go back to being a nobody now

Oh well at least I can watch USA/Sci-Fi in HD now though


----------



## TulsaOK

jpeckinp said:


> Would all of you BSG fans now please shut the heck up.


"Heck"? You're too kind.


----------



## racermurray

UndeadBeav said:


> 'Bout time, Dish! I was beginning to think that the final Cylon was named Charlie.


Hysterical ...funniest thing I have read online in a long time !!


----------



## Kman68

kb7oeb said:


> Reboot or do a check switch, it will force a guide download


Somewhere during Set Up you had the option of selecting "Prefer HD." To check how yours is set up DVR>DVR>Dish Pass and it will be the last option. If you are not set up to "Prefer HD," open up the User Manual and find out.


----------



## jpeckinp

garys said:


> Don't you mean the world fishin' network?


Damn did they go and change the name on me?


----------



## HobbyTalk

What is this duplicate programming on SciFi? The same episode of Dr. Who is on at 8:30pm and at 11:00pm. I thought only Voom did that


----------



## jpeckinp

HobbyTalk said:


> What is this duplicate programming on SciFi? The same episode of Dr. Who is on at 8:30pm and at 11:00pm. I thought only Voom did that


No No No. On Voom it would be 8:30, 9:30, 11:30, 1am, 1:30am...
At least SciFi has 2.5 hours in between reruns.


----------



## James Long

Kman68 said:


> Somewhere during Set Up you had the option of selecting "Prefer HD." To check how yours is set up DVR>DVR>Dish Pass and it will be the last option. If you are not set up to "Prefer HD," open up the User Manual and find out.


That only affects DISHPASS events. Everyone with old timers that they would prefer to occur on the HD channel instead of the SD channel will need to reprogram their timers.



HobbyTalk said:


> What is this duplicate programming on SciFi? The same episode of Dr. Who is on at 8:30pm and at 11:00pm. I thought only Voom did that


Could you wait for the honeymoon to be over? :lol:


----------



## dclaryjr

jpeckinp said:


> h it 24/7 like you seemed to imply you would be doing if it showed up.:nono:
> 
> Next thread for NO HD Gripe. Where is Water HD?:nono2:


My #1 is The Travel Channel!!! (I never watch SciFi--USA rarely).


----------



## Cache22

mcss1985 said:


> sweet got my name on Engadget
> 
> Anyways, hey listening to all you guys talk about BSG, I'm really starting to think I might be missing out. If I tune in tonight, will I be completely confused or is it the kind of show you can pick up in the middle and still enjoy. I've never seen any episodes.


I'd recommend you start at the beginning ... if you have space on your DVR start recording and save the new episodes, but try to get ahold of Season 1-3 and watch those first. There is definitely a lot you will miss out on if you start watching now. (I'm sure Netflix has them if you are a subscriber, or you can buy the Season DVD sets, or it is also available in other locations online that can't be discussed on this forum.) If I were you I would at least find and watch the first few episodes first, then decide if the show is something you enjoy.


----------



## harsh

HDMe said:


> It seems like USAHD has more actual HD than SciFiHD... but both channels still run a lot of non-HD stuff... including, apparently, things like Taken in letterbox format rather than HD.


The key to understanding USAHD is to know that most of their HD programming is re-runs. You can't say that about SciFiHD because they show so little HD to begin with.

It should be an improvement to see the shows in MPEG4 HD versus MPEG2 HD on Universal HD.


----------



## CoolGui

Wooohooooo! There *is* a god!


----------



## Jeff_DML

Jeff_DML said:


> can a HD only package subscriber confirm they have these 3 new HD channels
> 
> thanks


bump

thanks


----------



## tedb3rd

GAH! When is USA and Sci-Fi going to be in HD?!? C'Mon Dish! What's taking so long. NYAH, NYAH, NYAH!

Thank God. Now the complaining can stop.


----------



## puckwithahalo

> Thanks ... I followed Tulsa's advice and forced an update. I do have a question for you: when you turned off the 211, did you unplug it or was it still connected to power?


leave it plugged in to power, but turn it off...can't update if it has no power to run the processors and whatnot


----------



## koji68

ZBoomer said:


> They're showing something right now on Sci-Fi HD that is 16x9 and LETTERBOXED, lol. Nice...


It'll be ok. Use the zoom button


----------



## Stewart Vernon

harsh said:


> It should be an improvement to see the shows in MPEG4 HD versus MPEG2 HD on Universal HD.


UniversalHD is MPEG4 on Dish.

Meanwhile, someone commented on X-Files. I forget what season, but at some point they started being FOX Widescreen (which was not HD, but was 16x9 widescreen)... though I have yet to see any of those make it to syndication in widescreen. Monk has been HD from day one, just wasn't on a channel in HD from day one.


----------



## jpeckinp

I'm at work so I haven't been able to check this. Are they both simulcast?


----------



## GrumpyBear

jpeckinp said:


> I'm at work so I haven't been able to check this. Are they both simulcast?


YES both are Simulcast.


----------



## bgottschalk

Congrats E* subs!

I know you have been waiting for these.


----------



## John91C

Why is my SciFi Hd still 4:3? I'm watching Sarah Jane Adventures and I'm getting it in 4:3 while USA HD L&O SVU is in HD? Do I need to do something to the dish or something dish needs to do to my receiver? I have the ViP 722 DVR, Thanks guys!


----------



## jpeckinp

GrumpyBear said:


> YES both are Simulcast.


thanks


----------



## James Long

John91C said:


> Why is my SciFi Hd still 4:3? I'm watching Sarah Jane Adventures and I'm getting it in 4:3 while USA HD L&O SVU is in HD? Do I need to do something to the dish or something dish needs to do to my receiver? I have the ViP 722 DVR, Thanks guys!


Your receiver is fine (as long as you're watching the channel with the HD banner). Some content on the stations is upconverted.


----------



## puckwithahalo

ok, someone reading this just called and asked me how to run a switch test to get the guide to update (comments he said during the call about what he read online clued me in)

waves to Mr.Y**


----------



## James Long

Get back to the phones! Uncle Charlie is watching!


----------



## puckwithahalo

i'm sitting available


----------



## lionsrule

Chris Blount said:


> Congrats guys! You will love SciFi HD!!!


Thanks....

You are a class act.


----------



## John91C

ha-ha...that was me calling in...never did a switch test before. Thanks!


----------



## puckwithahalo

John91C said:


> Why is my SciFi Hd still 4:3? I'm watching Sarah Jane Adventures and I'm getting it in 4:3 while USA HD L&O SVU is in HD? Do I need to do something to the dish or something dish needs to do to my receiver? I have the ViP 722 DVR, Thanks guys!


was it you i talked to John?


----------



## Dicx

HDMe said:


> UniversalHD is MPEG4 on Dish.
> 
> Meanwhile, someone commented on X-Files. I forget what season, but at some point they started being FOX Widescreen (which was not HD, but was 16x9 widescreen)... though I have yet to see any of those make it to syndication in widescreen. Monk has been HD from day one, just wasn't on a channel in HD from day one.


It was season 4 or 5 for X-Files. I would have to dig out my season to get the exact Episode or Season, but let the mystery still be out there


----------



## archer75

With all this HD i'm going to need more storage capacity. That and my 622 is crapping out. What's the upgrade cost for existing customers to get the 722?


----------



## blarg

well I guess zoomed-in letterboxed 4:3 content in HD is still better than it is in SD...and the sound is digital surround. not getting any program info though...probably takes a while.

now all I need is SPEED channel and I'll be happy.


----------



## puckwithahalo

> ha-ha...that was me calling in...never did a switch test before. Thanks


hehe, no problem.


----------



## space86

Doctor Who is Pillar Boxed what gives?


----------



## RTCDude

space86 said:


> Doctor Who is Pillar Boxed what gives?


That's because Dr Who isn't shot in HD, ans won't be for some time. The BBC director had a bad experience getting Torchwood shot in HD and doesn't want to repeat the troubles they had.

There was another thread here somewhere that provided links to the director's comments, just do a search.


----------



## jack95

Encouraged to see more national HD light-up. Kids are looking forward to RAW and ECW in HD now.


----------



## JoeKacz

So here's my question of the night... I've done a reboot and the guide is up to date for now, but an hour or two in the future says the program info is unavailable. I have not done a check switch yet. My bigger issue is this - I've got multiple timers set to record things, giving HD preference. However, those programs are still recording on the SD versions of these channels. Is this because those timers were already set for the SD channel, and when the new guides come in the future they will set themselves to the HD versions, or do I have to do something else?


----------



## phrelin

I had to do a checkswitch and reset the appropriate timers.


----------



## richiephx

tedb3rd said:


> GAH! When is USA and Sci-Fi going to be in HD?!? C'Mon Dish! What's taking so long. NYAH, NYAH, NYAH!
> 
> Thank God. Now the complaining can stop.


Unfortunately, the complaining or comments won't stop. Now that E* added USA and SCIFI hd channels, phase two of the comments will kick it. It's already started when CNN was added; phase II being: D*'s hd is sooooo much better than E*'s hd for these channels. E*'s picture is soft and is HD-lite. And so it begins, all over again.


----------



## James Long

D* vs E* is off topic ... go find or start a thread in the General Satellite forum.
General complaints about E*'s HD quality (which that could be considered) belong in the former gripe thread.
If you're talking about USA and SciFi, you're in the right place.


----------



## richiephx

James Long said:


> D* vs E* is off topic ... go find or start a thread in the General Satellite forum.
> General complaints about E*'s HD quality (which that could be considered) belong in the former gripe thread.
> If you're talking about USA and SciFi, you're in the right place.


Good, I'm glad you set the benchmark.


----------



## 0pusX

does BSG look grainy to anyone else?


----------



## nneptune

I JUST noticed this now! I had to log in and read the discussion! Pretty cool!


----------



## DustoMan

0pusX said:


> does BSG look grainy to anyone else?


I think it might have to do with how the show is shot. The DVDs and even the HD-DVDs have a little grain to them. On a brighter note, it fills the entire screen.


----------



## 0pusX

ive never watched this show before so i didnt realize that it was common. sorry and thanks for the info


----------



## DustoMan

0pusX said:


> ive never watched this show before so i didnt realize that it was common. sorry and thanks for the info


No worries. It's a stylistic choice... oh man I'm watching it a little delayed and I just saw a moment of ADR where Lee was talking and the name of one of the quarum members was replaced. So much more noticeable now.


----------



## nneptune

HDG said:


> No more griping from me. I got my SciFi and USA. They can take their time going forward.


hahaha! priceless!


----------



## James Long

Yep. Now you have Sci-Fi HD you can watch a program that intentionally distorts the image for "style".

It is like buying a color TV so you can watch non-colorized black and white movies. :lol:


----------



## daranman

Finally! HD only sub, and I see USA, SciFi and CNN. BSG was awesome!


----------



## TulsaOK

HDMe said:


> UniversalHD is MPEG4 on Dish.
> 
> Meanwhile, someone commented on X-Files. I forget what season, but at some point they started being FOX Widescreen (which was not HD, but was 16x9 widescreen)... though I have yet to see any of those make it to syndication in widescreen. Monk has been HD from day one, just wasn't on a channel in HD from day one.


Monk sure looks good now!


----------



## neowaxworks

GrumpyBear said:


> Ok,
> Now a complaint, SCI-FI showing X-Files in Wide Screen format, per the guide, still have the Bars, jump over to MONK, and NO BARS. GRRRRR


X-Files was not filmed in HD.. Neither was Taken .. I think even the first few seasons of Monk are also SD... Same with ST Enterprise (Ended before HD became widespread) and the first 6 or so seasons of SG1..
If you are looking for OLDER stuff in HD, it's not possible as they were not filmed HD..and only FILM material can be transfered in HD (SUch as Voom does with older movies)


----------



## neowaxworks

0pusX said:


> does BSG look grainy to anyone else?


Could be they use real film and it is film grain...
But in reality prolly a little bit grained so that the FX can match the HD film content...


----------



## TulsaOK

neowaxworks said:


> .. I think even the first few seasons of Monk are also SD...


Monk has been in HD since episode 1 in 2002.


----------



## GrumpyBear

0pusX said:


> does BSG look grainy to anyone else?


I have noticed the Grainy issue on BSG while watching BSG on Universal HD Channel. I think its the way BSG ius Filmed


----------



## TulsaOK

archer75 said:


> With all this HD i'm going to need more storage capacity. That and my 622 is crapping out. What's the upgrade cost for existing customers to get the 722?


Log in to your Dish account and check Equipment Upgrades. Costs vary based on customer history.


----------



## jimborst

neowaxworks said:


> X-Files was not filmed in HD.. Neither was Taken .. I think even the first few seasons of Monk are also SD... Same with ST Enterprise (Ended before HD became widespread) and the first 6 or so seasons of SG1..
> If you are looking for OLDER stuff in HD, it's not possible as they were not filmed HD..and only FILM material can be transfered in HD (SUch as Voom does with older movies)


I am pretty sure that I have seen early Enterprise episodes in HD on Universal HD.


----------



## GrumpyBear

neowaxworks said:


> X-Files was not filmed in HD.. Neither was Taken .. I think even the first few seasons of Monk are also SD... Same with ST Enterprise (Ended before HD became widespread) and the first 6 or so seasons of SG1..
> If you are looking for OLDER stuff in HD, it's not possible as they were not filmed HD..and only FILM material can be transfered in HD (SUch as Voom does with older movies)


I understand, about X-Files not being in HD format, the Episode that was on was Triangle, which was Wide Screen, and even the guide said so. A normal episode of X-Files I wouldn't have posted about it. Now if they did Stretch-o-Vision of a show, I would have complained about that.


----------



## neowaxworks

jimborst said:


> I am pretty sure that I have seen early Enterprise episodes in HD on Universal HD.


I don't think they are real HD..it was filmed 16x9 format so I think it is just upconverted.. Which is STILL better than Letterbox

Enterpirse was the first ST show to be filmed rather than taped as well...so they COULDS be recapped at 1080i... dunno if sci-fi has access to those yet though


----------



## neowaxworks

TulsaOK said:


> Monk has been in HD since episode 1 in 2002.


Not sure about that, I've seen 4x3 episodes form early on..... and wouldn't make sense for USA to be doing them HD when they had no HD outlet for them at the time...HD costs more to film, polus the added cost of improved visuals on the sets...


----------



## TulsaOK

neowaxworks said:


> Not sure about that, I've seen 4x3 episodes form early on..... and wouldn't make sense for USA to be doing them HD when they had no HD outlet for them at the time...HD costs more to film, polus the added cost of improved visuals on the sets...


Have I ever lied to you before?


----------



## Stewart Vernon

neowaxworks said:


> X-Files was not filmed in HD.. Neither was Taken .. I think even the first few seasons of Monk are also SD... Same with ST Enterprise (Ended before HD became widespread) and the first 6 or so seasons of SG1..


X-Files was already addressed earlier by myself and another.. It was not HD, but was in FOX Widescreen from somewhere midway to the end. Neither of us who posted about it have been inspired enough to check our DVDs to see when widescreen started. The truth is out there! 

Meanwhile... Taken may not have been HD, but it was most definately 16x9 widescreen. I own those DVDs. No reason at all why SciFi can't show them in 16x9 aspect rather than letterboxing them on their HD channel.

Monk also already addressed... has been in HD from the beginning even though it was on USA from before it went HD. Early seasons of Monk were also aired on ABC in HD, and more recently on UniversalHD as well as NBC in HD.

Enterprise is a mixed bag too. It was 16x9 widescreen from the start.. but there seems to be discussion on whether or not it was in HD from the start. I know it ended in HD (only 4 seasons) but I am not sure which season they went from filming to shooting with HD cameras.

You'd be surprised how many things were shot in HD or at least on film in 16x9 in such a way as to be "future proof" to some extent... but there seems to be some lack of urgency on the part of many channels to actually acquire HD/widescreen masters.

I can't speak to Stargate as I haven't watched that show ever... so I'm not sure when they switched to widescreen and/or HD... but I gather from other viewers who have posted when DirecTV added SciFiHD that newer episodes have been in widescreen/HD.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

neowaxworks said:


> Enterpirse was the first ST show to be filmed rather than taped as well...so they COULDS be recapped at 1080i... dunno if sci-fi has access to those yet though


That's not true either... the original Star Trek show from the 1960s was filmed. It wasn't 16x9, but it was shot on film... which is part of why Paramount was able to jump on them and remaster for the HD versions they have been working on the past couple of years.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

neowaxworks said:


> Not sure about that, I've seen 4x3 episodes form early on..... and wouldn't make sense for USA to be doing them HD when they had no HD outlet for them at the time...HD costs more to film, polus the added cost of improved visuals on the sets...


All the Monk season DVD sets were released in widescreen. ABC aired the early seasons in HD back when they used to syndicate from USA for rebroadcast. When that stopped, we didn't see Monk in HD again until UniversalHD launched.

As for costs... there is an interesting tradeoff. Traditional film cameras are much cheaper than HD cameras... but film is expensive. HD cameras pay for themselves over time since you get to use reusable media OR digital videotape, much cheaper than film.

So as HD cameras get cheaper... the expense of shooting in HD goes away... and once a network or studio or production group invests in a set of cameras, it makes sense to use them as much as possible... so multiple shows could share HD equipment and make it pay for itself even sooner.

Bottom line is there has been stuff shot in HD since the mid to late 1990s... and before that lots of stuff on film that can be rescanned, especially if there are no special effects to deal with and if the framing was done with 16x9 in mind.


----------



## neowaxworks

HDMe said:


> That's not true either... the original Star Trek show from the 1960s was filmed. It wasn't 16x9, but it was shot on film... which is part of why Paramount was able to jump on them and remaster for the HD versions they have been working on the past couple of years.


Ooops..yes...should have said MODERN ST..lol
SG1 started out on Showtime before HD was even on the board (96 or 97)
Even early on on scifi it was still 4x3 aspect...
I don't think it really switched till like season 7 or 8
It was filmed though so it COULD be transfered to 1080i (Like the St TOS HD-dvd's...)
I suspect as the cost of transfering goes down, all the older shows will eventually make there way there... even a lot of the taped stuff, could be digitally cleaned up some and present a better quality, although never HD

**Edit** and I completely agree with the above post, any NEWER show would be crazy not to invest in HD cameras...they will pay for themselves pretty wickly


----------



## Stewart Vernon

neowaxworks said:


> Ooops..yes...should have said MODERN ST..lol


No worries. I once made the mistake of lumping TNG in with the original Star Trek until someone corrected me on that. I had always thought TNG was also on film, but was mistaken until someone corrected me on it.

It's kind of like bookends... first and last on film, everything in between on tape.



neowaxworks said:


> I suspect as the cost of transfering goes down, all the older shows will eventually make there way there... even a lot of the taped stuff, could be digitally cleaned up some and present a better quality, although never HD


There are going to be lots of old shows that don't really benefit, either because they were on videotape OR because of poor film stock or upkeep... but I think we will all be pleasantly surprised at just how much stuff can be rescanned and cleaned up for HD presentation.


----------



## neowaxworks

HDMe said:


> No worries. I once made the mistake of lumping TNG in with the original Star Trek until someone corrected me on that. I had always thought TNG was also on film, but was mistaken until someone corrected me on it.
> 
> It's kind of like bookends... first and last on film, everything in between on tape.
> 
> There are going to be lots of old shows that don't really benefit, either because they were on videotape OR because of poor film stock or upkeep... but I think we will all be pleasantly surprised at just how much stuff can be rescanned and cleaned up for HD presentation.


Well, even ST TOS (Cleaned up and enhanced) didn't really benefit being HD...I think demand will be there at some point though...
as dvd players get phased out....


----------



## TNGTony

Are you NUTS! TOS never looked better! The PQ was that of a new show. No, it wasn't 16x9, but it was gorgeous HD!

See ya
Tony


----------



## RasputinAXP

Hooray For Sci Fi Hd!


----------



## neowaxworks

TNGTony said:


> Are you NUTS! TOS never looked better! The PQ was that of a new show. No, it wasn't 16x9, but it was gorgeous HD!
> 
> See ya
> Tony


ummmmm... owning original dvd's(non enhanced) and the HD-dvd first season... there isn't a whole lot of difference...it's cleaned up a bit, but thats about it...


----------



## kf4omc

neowaxworks said:


> Not sure about that, I've seen 4x3 episodes form early on..... and wouldn't make sense for USA to be doing them HD when they had no HD outlet for them at the time...HD costs more to film, polus the added cost of improved visuals on the sets...


I do belive Monk was to be a network show when it first came out.  It didnt do well enough for the network so it was placed on cable were it does well. I belive that is why it was done in HD in the first place in 2002.


----------



## crookedcarrot

Dish has kept a customer with this move...


----------



## BillJ

Wow, first everyone complains because they don't have more HD. Then when new channels are turned on, they complain because a big formal announcement wasn't made. 

Just keep turning on new HD channels, E*. I'll find them or someone else will and will post it on DBSTalk. And if I miss the first few hours, I'm pretty sure it won't kill me.

BTW, if you have mapdown activated, you'll find the HD channel when you tune to the SD channel.


----------



## FogCutter

So midafternoon Friday. I was wondering when they pulled the switch. I like to validate the timer for BSG and at 9:30 PM EDT, there it was: SciFi HD! 

Thanks Dish. 

For the record I'd like to note that the channels appeared with

1) No pre-announcement
2) No rumors
3) Not on a Wednesday

It looks like they did it in a hurry since the channel guides only went out hour by hour as of last night at least.

Charlie -- thanks for not making us wait anymore. I am so glad I didn't jump ship.


----------



## Jambals

Great some new HD channels Love SC FI & USA I assume these will be in the dishHD Essential package. Right now I still get all HD since I just signed up in Dec. but when my free 6 months ends I'm just going with the Essential package as long as no main HD channels get included there.


----------



## GrumpyBear

FogCutter said:


> So midafternoon Friday. I was wondering when they pulled the switch. I like to validate the timer for BSG and at 9:30 PM EDT, there it was: SciFi HD!
> 
> Thanks Dish.
> 
> For the record I'd like to note that the channels appeared with
> 
> 1) No pre-announcement
> 2) No rumors
> 3) Not on a Wednesday
> 
> It looks like they did it in a hurry since the channel guides only went out hour by hour as of last night at least.
> 
> Charlie -- thanks for not making us wait anymore. I am so glad I didn't jump ship.


It went up in a hurry thats for sure. During the 2nd hour of it being up, X-Files was 4:3 even though the episode Triangle was Wide Screen, and shouldn't have been 4:3, at 38 minutes into the episode it switched from 4:3 to wide screen postage stamp. I know it happened at that time as I recorded it and just watched all the way through. GLAD the rushed it though, and who cares if it took 2-4hrs before the bug's were worked out.


----------



## normang

HDMe said:


> Enterprise is a mixed bag too. It was 16x9 widescreen from the start.. but there seems to be discussion on whether or not it was in HD from the start. I know it ended in HD (only 4 seasons) but I am not sure which season they went from filming to shooting with HD cameras.
> 
> I can't speak to Stargate as I haven't watched that show ever... so I'm not sure when they switched to widescreen and/or HD... but I gather from other viewers who have posted when DirecTV added SciFiHD that newer episodes have been in widescreen/HD.


Enterprise has been shown in HD on HDnet for a while. Episodes appear on HDnet in couple time slots each week day. I've recorded a number of Enterprise episodes from HDnet and they look very good.. On 4/21 they are showing the episodes "The Seventh" and "The Augments" at Noon and 8PM according to TitanTV. Which is season 2 and Season 4. The airings seem a touch out of order.. You'd have to compare to an episode guide to figure it out. I've recorded most of the series when it first appeared from HDnet, from season 1 to 4 over the past year or so.

Stargate I think was 4:3 until late in their run. Season 7 or 8 I think is when they started appearing in widescreen, but I am not sure whether any are HD. I would have to review some of my DVD sets and see when they went wide.. I think Atlantis has always been widescreen and has been HD, because Universal HD has shown some Atlantis episodes in HD from season 1.


----------



## blarg

blarg said:


> well I guess zoomed-in letterboxed 4:3 content in HD is still better than it is in SD...and the sound is digital surround. not getting any program info though...probably takes a while.
> 
> now all I need is SPEED channel and I'll be happy.


ok I take it back. it's just that Dr. Who isn't shot in HD - BSG was in full HD.Good stuff! Hopefully they won't have stretch-o-vision problems like the History channel and know how to add a pillarbox so the content can be properly zoomed.

Odd that Dr. Who isn't shot in HD, but Torchwood is.


----------



## normang

It maybe possible that Doctor Who is in HD, but the BBC may not be providing it that way? I've seen Torchwood in HD on HDNET as well. They appear to be showing 2nd season shows in multiple time slots, though it maybe wrapping up soon..


----------



## RAD

blarg said:


> Hopefully they won't have stretch-o-vision problems like the History channel and know how to add a pillarbox so the content can be properly zoomed.


I have yet to see Sci-Fi mess around with aspect ratios on programs, they show what they are given.


----------



## davethestalker

RAD said:


> I have yet to see Sci-Fi mess around with aspect ratios on programs, they show what they are given.


I was pleasently surprised to see them not going to stretch-o-vision for non-HD programming. Too bad the other channels won't take these as cues of standardization.


----------



## whatchel1

normang said:


> It maybe possible that Doctor Who is in HD, but the BBC may not be providing it that way? I've seen Torchwood in HD on HDNET as well. They appear to be showing 2nd season shows in multiple time slots, though it maybe wrapping up soon..


This is from the same type of discussion on Sat Guys:

My wish was actually for Doctor Who to be released in HD. And I am not alone:
"The main issue, according to Julie Gardner, an executive producer for Doctor Who, is that, whereas Torchwood has maybe 10 or 20 special effects per episode, Doctor Who has a hundred or more.

"I think it would take more time for us to do our post-production, and I think it would be more costly. And I genuinely love the look that we've managed to achieve with our [directors of photography] and our grade on 'Doctor Who'," she told The Stage magazine."

http://io9.com/375979/tardis-is-the-enemy-of-hdtv


----------



## Stewart Vernon

I haven't watched this morning (or afternoon) yet... but during last night's primetime... only BSG was in HD on SciFi. Disappointing that they couldn't show DR Who in 16x9 without letterboxing. Yes, I know it isn't shot in HD... but they aren't showing it in 576i (what it was shot in) either... so if they manipulate it, why not manipulate into OAR 16x9 for SciFiHD instead of letterboxing it.

Lots of people say how much better even the SD looks on channels like SciFiHD. While true, it is really the long way around the house to get to the front door. IF all we wanted was good SD quality, companies like Dish could just turn down the compression on their SD feeds and we could get the same higher quality. The whole point of having HD channels is to have HD programming.

I don't complain when I know it doesn't exist... but when I know 16x9 versions (without stretching or weirdness) exist, I don't see why an HD channel wouldn't air those versions.


----------



## SingleAction

I finally found the Sci-Fi channel earlier this afternoon, and it's a joke, right?

There was a movie on, made in 2007, and it felt as though I was watching through a thick black picture frame, and the "high def" was luke warm.

Very disapointed, after waiting all this time.


----------



## fredp

SingleAction said:


> I finally found the Sci-Fi channel earlier this afternoon, and it's a joke, right?


Kind of makes you wonder if all the screaming and yelling for SciFi was just part of some inside joke. Time will tell I guess. I flipped back and forth between SD and HD for the sacred cow known as BSG and well BFD... :sure: I guess its the way they film it from reading here. OTOH, I did enjoy Monk on USA, and I'm looking forward to Burn Notice!


----------



## TBoneit

jpeckinp said:


> I would just like to say.(getting on top of my soap box) Would all of you BSG fans now please shut the heck up. You got your precious SCI-FI HD and USA HD now go watch it 24/7 like you seemed to imply you would be doing if it showed up.:nono:
> 
> Next thread for NO HD Gripe. Where is Water HD?:nono2:


I believe you meant the Running Water HD channel.


----------



## neowaxworks

SingleAction said:


> I finally found the Sci-Fi channel earlier this afternoon, and it's a joke, right?
> 
> There was a movie on, made in 2007, and it felt as though I was watching through a thick black picture frame, and the "high def" was luke warm.
> 
> Very disapointed, after waiting all this time.


Scifi original movie, with a VERY cheap budget.. wasnt' filmed in HD...
Right now they are prolly showing the 16x9 stuff letterboxed to save over all bandwidth... I think, once they ge more programmign in HD.. they will move toward showing them all in 16x9 (All that are compatible wihtout stretching) and do a letterbox on the Scifi SD feed...(Simple enough to do)

Can't forget Scifi in HD is relatvely new and USA is the primary network so they are laggin on scifi as far as getting it rolling...


----------



## SingleAction

neowaxworks said:


> Scifi original movie, with a VERY cheap budget.. wasnt' filmed in HD...
> Right now they are prolly showing the 16x9 stuff letterboxed to save over all bandwidth... I think, once they ge more programmign in HD.. they will move toward showing them all in 16x9 (All that are compatible wihtout stretching) and do a letterbox on the Scifi SD feed...(Simple enough to do)
> 
> Can't forget Scifi in HD is relatvely new and USA is the primary network so they are laggin on scifi as far as getting it rolling...


This is not just letterbox( I would not care about that) this is a wide screen picture framed inside pillers like a picture frame! Your losing about 35% of your screen size to vertical and horizontal black bars!


----------



## voyagerbob

HDMe said:


> Not tonight at least... Tonight begins the new run of Dr Who, so all the timeslots are taken up. We get "Sarah Jane" at 8pm, a 90 min Dr Who from 8:30-10, and then BSG from 10-11.. then Dr Who and tonight's BSG get repeated once more after that.
> 
> Next Friday looks similar, but with Dr Who going back to its normal hour and airing two back-to-back Sarah Jane 30 min episodes... so it looks like we probably would need to scour other nights for possible BSG repeats for the near future.


Sadly no repeats at least through May 30th. I checked the SciFi schedlue on their website.


----------



## James Long

"Postage stamp." Black borders all the way around.

Yes, it would be nice if when the upconverted it to the HD channel they would proportionally stretch content to fit the screen. But that would take forethought.


----------



## neowaxworks

SingleAction said:


> This is not just letterbox( I would not care about that) this is a wide screen picture framed inside pillers like a picture frame! Your losing about 35% of your screen size to vertical and horizontal black bars!


Ummmm... thats what Letterbox IS when shown in a 4x3 aspect..
the black bars on top and bottom are hardcoded so it is 4x3... 
the Master scifi has is probally already setup that way 
they COULD upconvert and crop the top/bottom black bars to fill the 16x9 aspect... but as I said in a previous post, I think they don't, currently, to save bandwidth (SD and HD use the same feed when the content is 4x3)..channels are slow to get all the equipment needed to broadcast HD 16x9 full time, thats why most of the channels don't do it currently...

Out of all the cable nationals so far , USA seems to broadcast the most HD content...I'd say 75%-80%...scifi is a lot lower, but thats because they show older prgrams that don't have HD masters..YET...


----------



## James Long

neowaxworks said:


> (SD and HD use the same feed when the content is 4x3)


Not quite. SciFi outputs HD on their "HD" channel and SD on their "SD" feed 24x7 ... regardless of source format. Sci-Fi HD does not cease to exist simply because there is no HD at that moment. 

What they need to do is make the switch in their production chains. They need to play 16x9 content on the HD inputs (widescreen upconverted, like many consumer DVD players have 1080i/720p outputs) and THEN downconvert it to SD with letterboxing for the older feed.

The bandwidth is there 24x7 and is used 24x7. Might as well put something good on it.

(The only thing I would ask is that the channel logo on the HD channel reflects the source ... use a regular Sci-Fi logo during SD sourced programming and save the HD Sci-Fi logo for the moments the source is in HD. This request is of ALL networks with a HD logo.)


----------



## fredp

James Long said:


> (The only thing I would ask is that the channel logo on the HD channel reflects the source ... use a regular Sci-Fi logo during SD sourced programming and save the HD Sci-Fi logo for the moments the source is in HD. This request is of ALL networks with a HD logo.)


Ha! Thats just free advertising for channels on the cheap like SciFi.


----------



## TBoneit

SingleAction said:


> This is not just letterbox( I would not care about that) this is a wide screen picture framed inside pillers like a picture frame! Your losing about 35% of your screen size to vertical and horizontal black bars!


Why not just hit the zoom button on your DVR remote til you fill the screen. That's what I do with what you are describing.


----------



## TulsaOK

TBoneit said:


> Why not just hit the zoom button on your DVR remote til you fill the screen. That's what I do with what you are describing.


That's what I do as well.

Are you really a Howdy Doody fan?


----------



## James Long

TBoneit said:


> Why not just hit the zoom button on your DVR remote til you fill the screen. That's what I do with what you are describing.


And throw away 25% of that glorious HD feed? 

It would be _nice_ if they used every bit that they could for picture. 

(And yes, I zoom anything letterboxed ... including SD feeds ... to fill my screen. Works nice.)


----------



## HDlover

Hooray! for the new HD but where are the SD channels for us HD-Only subscribers? If the show isn't in HD I don't want to waste Hard Drive space recording the HD channel. Dish said if we got the HD we'd get the SD also. I'm sure it is just an oversight. Are you reading this Dish?


----------



## James Long

If you want SD subscribe to SD. 

(I'm assuming the regular channels are red in your guide? If they are simply missing check your locks.)


----------



## mikant

blarg said:


> Odd that Dr. Who isn't shot in HD, but Torchwood is.


Director for Dr. Who said he will never shoot it in HD.


----------



## FogCutter

GrumpyBear said:


> It went up in a hurry thats for sure. During the 2nd hour of it being up, X-Files was 4:3 even though the episode Triangle was Wide Screen, and shouldn't have been 4:3, at 38 minutes into the episode it switched from 4:3 to wide screen postage stamp. I know it happened at that time as I recorded it and just watched all the way through. GLAD the rushed it though, and who cares if it took 2-4hrs before the bug's were worked out.


Interesting. I am so glad they just put it out there instead of settling things in for a couple of weeks. Fun to watch the process unfold.

Go Dish Go!


----------



## joe42

I checked the HD programming listed at dishnetwork.com but didn't see Sci-Fi listed anywhere. 

Will Sci-Fi be added to the dishHD that's a HD only package?


----------



## russ9

I can just imagine the Doctor Who producer 40 years ago saying "we will never film Doctor Who in color, we will have to completely re-do the Tardis."


----------



## Stewart Vernon

I am finding it curious that so many HD-only pack customers are wanting the SD counterpart. I'm actually surprised Dish turns them on in the HD-only pack. It's not really an HD-only pack if you get the SD and HD signals... and if they keep growing it as they add new HD, then it could become a quite interesting package.

To my way of thinking... the only SD you should get in the HD-only package would be the PI and shopping channels (since they pay for carriage). Presumably if you sign up for HD-only, you must want only HD. Seems counterintuitive to get SD channels when HD is what you wanted.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

russ9 said:


> I can just imagine the Doctor Who producer 40 years ago saying "we will never film Doctor Who in color, we will have to completely re-do the Tardis."


To be fair... the show started in 1963... and was in black & white for many years after it could have been shot in color. So there is some precent to not shoot in the most modern of quality available.


----------



## fredp

HDMe said:


> To be fair... the show started in 1963... and was in black & white for many years after it could have been shot in color. So there is some precent to not shoot in the most modern of quality available.


I don't think nostalgia is going to hold up very long with this crowd.


----------



## FogCutter

mikant said:


> Director for Dr. Who said he will never shoot it in HD.


And George Lucas said he would never authorize Star Wars in VHS. And he fought the DVD version, too.

I remember watching Dr. Who in B&W -- televisions ran on kerosene in those days. . .


----------



## Richard King

HDMe said:


> To be fair... the show started in 1963... and was in black & white for many years after it could have been shot in color.


That's *colour*.


----------



## James Long

joe42 said:


> I checked the HD programming listed at dishnetwork.com but didn't see Sci-Fi listed anywhere.
> 
> Will Sci-Fi be added to the dishHD that's a HD only package?


It already has been ... the website needs updating.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

Richard King said:


> That's *colour*.


True... In my haste I also typed "precent" instead of saying "precedent," which is what I meant to say.

I should have remembered the "u" in colour as well.


----------



## blarg

well, you can complain about pillarboxed letterboxed (window mat) format all you want, but regardless whether they do the zoom-in at the source or you do it at the receiver box, you're still getting pretty much the same quality. Better than SD, but not as good as HD.

is pressing the zoom button (in some cases as many as three times) really that big a deal? Complaining about pre-HD content being SD is not going to change it. Most 16:9 content acquired before the channel went HD is probably going to be SD - just because something is in 16:9 aspect doesn't mean it's HD content.

Just be glad that sci fi had the good sense to put pillarboxes on it rather than show it in stretch-o-vision, which would have made it totally useless because the Dish receiver doesn't have the appropriate zoom mode (although it would be really cool if they DID add a zoom mode that just cropped the black bars at the top and bottom of stretch-o-vision channels...doesn't seem like it would be hard. Might be a good feature request).


----------



## phrelin

blarg said:


> Just be glad that sci fi had the good sense to put pillarboxes on it rather than show it in stretch-o-vision, which would have made it totally useless....


:joy:

I was really happy to see that!


----------



## HDlover

James Long said:


> If you want SD subscribe to SD.
> 
> (I'm assuming the regular channels are red in your guide? If they are simply missing check your locks.)


Dish is being nice and considerate, I appreciate it. I'm glad you don't set Dish policy. What skin is it off your nose?

NO HELP!

I'm sure we'll get them next week. They probably just didn't have time with this last minute Friday addition. I get every other SD equivalent that is available.


----------



## g182237

I live in HI, and only noticed that USA and Sci-Fi became available last night. But, the channels are in red and it says I have to subscribe so go call Dish. I have the HD pack for HI, (NFLHD, TNTHD, DSC THEATER, UNIVERSALHD, ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, HDNET, HDNET MOVIES) but do not subscribe to SHO or HBO so obviously no HBOHD or SHOHD. Do they expect me to pay for these 2 channels? Thanks


----------



## HDlover

Did you call them? What did they say?


----------



## g182237

HDlover said:


> Did you call them? What did they say?


I hate talking to those clowns. They're not even in the US, so most of them give me wrong info because I live in HI. They give me all the info that applies to the rest of the US except AK, VI, and PR. Dish hates the people that live in our regions. I feel even worse for the people who live in VI and PR.


----------



## DustoMan

HDMe said:


> Enterprise is a mixed bag too. It was 16x9 widescreen from the start.. but there seems to be discussion on whether or not it was in HD from the start. I know it ended in HD (only 4 seasons) but I am not sure which season they went from filming to shooting with HD cameras.


I know for sure that they switched over to HD digital cameras for the final season. Are there HD film cameras? I remember reading an article way back talking about how the set for Ent had to be extremely detailed because of HDTVs.



HDMe said:


> I can't speak to Stargate as I haven't watched that show ever... so I'm not sure when they switched to widescreen and/or HD... but I gather from other viewers who have posted when DirecTV added SciFiHD that newer episodes have been in widescreen/HD.


Atlantis was always shot in HD. SG-1 switched over to HD starting with the 8th season.


----------



## superfreddy

g182237 said:


> I hate talking to those clowns. They're not even in the US, so most of them give me wrong info because I live in HI. They give me all the info that applies to the rest of the US except AK, VI, and PR. Dish hates the people that live in our regions. I feel even worse for the people who live in VI and PR.


I can sympathize. I subscribe to DishLatino Max (which is supposed to be equivalent to T200) plus HD essential. I have CNN HD but I guess Dish think that Latinos do not like Sci-Fi or USA HD. They're both in red.

I guess I should be happy that I can watch Larry King in HD


----------



## Stewart Vernon

DustoMan said:


> Are there HD film cameras?


Not to my knowledge... shooting with an HD digital camera to film would be a waste and unnecessarily expensive. Since film (particularly 35mm and above) has a much higher resolution than the current HD standards... you would be much better off shooting with an "old" style camera to film and having higher quality on the film if you wanted to use film.

One of the advantages of using the digital HD cameras is shooting to videotape because it is much cheaper and can be re-used even. Shooting HD resolution to film would cost more than just filming the old way and would actually end up with less quality in the process.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

blarg said:


> well, you can complain about pillarboxed letterboxed (window mat) format all you want, but regardless whether they do the zoom-in at the source or you do it at the receiver box, you're still getting pretty much the same quality. Better than SD, but not as good as HD.


The point here really is that if they are only going to show an hour or two of HD content per day, it is kind of wasteful on the bandwidth when the resulting quality is no better than SD could be. Dish could stop overcompressing the SD feed of SciFi and we'd get the same quality as the non-HD on SciFiHD for most of the day.

The whole point of launching an HD channel should be to show HD content.

Granted, we are willing to put up with the growing pains... but when it comes down to choosing what channels to add first... it would be nice if the channels that get added have actual HD on them for a substantial period of the day. Folks often bash Voom for being repetitive and saying there are only a few hours a day of valuable HD on them because of the repeats. I always make the same argument that if a channel only airs actual HD for a couple of hours, it is of about equal value.

I happen to enjoy Battlestar Galactica... but if that is the only thing I'm going to get to see in HD... I would have been fine watching it in SD for the final season, and watch the re-runs in HD on UniversalHD at some point in the future like I have so far.


----------



## redsalmon

g182237 said:


> I hate talking to those clowns. They're not even in the US, so most of them give me wrong info because I live in HI. They give me all the info that applies to the rest of the US except AK, VI, and PR. Dish hates the people that live in our regions. I feel even worse for the people who live in VI and PR.


I did call them on Sat about not getting them and got the song and dance that they are not avail in the Ak pack. They could give no reason except it wasn't authorized. They should not have had them in red on our program guide and said call to upgrade. I tried to change packages and they won't let me do that either. They say that the Ak package is the only one authorized for Ak. Isn't it strange that every other Dish subscriber that has HD packages can receive them, even at no cost, and when I'm willing to pay more to receive them they refuse to allow it.

E-mail Dish and let them know your displeasure.


----------



## redsalmon

I sent the following e-mail to Dish today regarding not being able to authorize Sci-Fi and USA HD for Alaska.

"Congratulations on bringing Sci-FI and USA in HD to Dish Network. I do have one complaint though. On my program guide I get the message that these are subscription channels and call Dish to Subscribe. When I do that I am told that they are not in the Alaska HD package and I cannot subscribe to them. When I try to change my package and pay MORE, I am still told that they cannot authorize them for Alaska. It seems rather ironic that every other Dish network subscriber that has HD can receive these channels, even at no extra cost, and yet I cannot even when I'm willing to pay more for them.

I don't know if this decision was thought out totally and logically as to the results. I would very much like to here from you on this subject and perhaps when it is reconsidered you can have these channels authorized for Alaska. ( I understand Hawaii is also included in this policy)."

Maybe if all effected by this will e-mail and continue to call Dish we can get this reversed.


----------



## TBoneit

TulsaOK said:


> That's what I do as well.
> 
> Are you really a Howdy Doody fan?


I watched Howdy Doody, I watched the old B&W Mickey Mouse club with Annette after school. Andy Devine on Saturdays and so on. I'm showing my age I guess. 

What was it they said on the show with andy devine? Twang your magic twanger froggy? And really bad Sci-Fi such as old serials shown on TV, gene autry from 1935 in The Phantom Empire. Rocket ships where the sparks out the back fell downwards and the smoke went upwards. Buster Crabbe and so on.

My first personally owned TV acquired used was a 10" round picture tube RCA in glorious B&W. Now I watch HDTV. Some change!


----------



## James Long

g182237 said:


> I have the HD pack for HI, (NFLHD, TNTHD, DSC THEATER, UNIVERSALHD, ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, HDNET, HDNET MOVIES) but do not subscribe to SHO or HBO so obviously no HBOHD or SHOHD. Do they expect me to pay for these 2 channels? Thanks


Yes, they expect you to pay for DishHD Essentials ... a package that includes the channels. The special AK/HI HD package is a different set of channels.



superfreddy said:


> I can sympathize. I subscribe to DishLatino Max (which is supposed to be equivalent to T200) plus HD essential. I have CNN HD but I guess Dish think that Latinos do not like Sci-Fi or USA HD. They're both in red.


Hopefully they will fix that. You are getting the SD and paying for at least Essentials ... they should provide SciFi and USA HD.


----------



## TulsaOK

TBoneit said:


> What was it they said on the show with andy devine? Twang your magic twanger froggy?


That was the Buster Brown Show, and it was "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy".
I guess my age is showing as well. :eek2:


----------



## TNGTony

Nah... Johnny Carson used that line all the time, just not the "Froggy" part. 

See ya
Tony


----------



## g182237

redsalmon said:


> I sent the following e-mail to Dish today regarding not being able to authorize Sci-Fi and USA HD for Alaska.
> 
> "Congratulations on bringing Sci-FI and USA in HD to Dish Network. I do have one complaint though. On my program guide I get the message that these are subscription channels and call Dish to Subscribe. When I do that I am told that they are not in the Alaska HD package and I cannot subscribe to them. When I try to change my package and pay MORE, I am still told that they cannot authorize them for Alaska. It seems rather ironic that every other Dish network subscriber that has HD can receive these channels, even at no extra cost, and yet I cannot even when I'm willing to pay more for them.
> 
> I don't know if this decision was thought out totally and logically as to the results. I would very much like to here from you on this subject and perhaps when it is reconsidered you can have these channels authorized for Alaska. ( I understand Hawaii is also included in this policy)."
> 
> Maybe if all effected by this will e-mail and continue to call Dish we can get this reversed.


Great email, I hope they respond to it. I live in HI, and I'm pretty sure we get the same HD channels...8, not including the PPV and premiums like HBO. Could you please let me know what they have to say. I too don't see why we aren't allowed to receive these channels even though they show up in the program guide.


----------



## phrelin

TulsaOK said:


> That was the Buster Brown Show, and it was "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy".
> I guess my age is showing as well. :eek2:


I can remember it well, unfortunately.



TNGTony said:


> Nah... Johnny Carson used that line all the time, just not the "Froggy" part.


Yep. I watched Carson almost every night. But the fact that we can remember him saying it is not reassuring to us old guys. Carson died at the age of 79 in 2005.


----------



## sangu72

superfreddy said:


> I can sympathize. I subscribe to DishLatino Max (which is supposed to be equivalent to T200) plus HD essential. I have CNN HD but I guess Dish think that Latinos do not like Sci-Fi or USA HD. They're both in red.
> 
> I guess I should be happy that I can watch Larry King in HD


Yes, I was on live chat yesterday with a tech support and he dropped me as fast as he could once he realized about what was going on. Pathetic.


----------



## TulsaOK

TNGTony said:


> Nah... Johnny Carson used that line all the time, just not the "Froggy" part.
> 
> See ya
> Tony


The Buster Brown Show was way before Carson.


----------



## TBoneit

Oh yes the Buster Brown Show. Roy Roger's Show, The Cisco kid. Shows like Bat Masterson, Gunsmoke, Maverick, The Rifleman, Bonanza, Wagon Train and so on. Westerns used to be big on TV. Wasn't it Wagon Train that was said to be the basis for either Lost in Space or Star Trek?


----------



## Lincoln6Echo

Well, ****...here I checked DBSTalk early in the day on Friday and there was no mention of these going HD. Check back on Monday morning and I'm shocked to see that I missed Friday's BSG ep in HD. I did see that "Now in HD" moniker during the beginning of the broadcast, but I assumed it was a generic national one for D*. Didn't dawn on me that it was for us E* dudes.


----------



## James Long

Lincoln6Echo said:


> Didn't dawn on me that it was for us E* dudes.


It wasn't specifically for E* customers ... but on Friday it turned out to be true for E* customers.


----------



## BobaBird

g182237 said:


> ... most of them give me wrong info because I live in HI. They give me all the info that applies to the rest of the US except AK, ...


The HD channels that AK and HI get from 110° are on spotbeams. SciFi and USA HD are on CONUS transponder 17. It's the same reason the AK/HI HD package has fewer channels overall, though it appears they could add 2 more to those beams, or 4 more if they go to 7 ch/tp.

The guide shows all channels available on all the satellites you see, excepts that some are listed only if you subscribe which applies mostly to locals and internationals.


----------



## dmspen

James Long said:


> That only affects DISHPASS events. Everyone with old timers that they would prefer to occur on the HD channel instead of the SD channel will need to reprogram their timers.
> 
> I ran into a little bit of programming snafu, maybe even a bug. I deleted the SD timer for BSG. I selected the new HD BSG from the porgram guide and added it as all new shows. I then went to the schedule. The HD show was skipped saying it was already being recorded on Ch 122 at the same time.
> 
> This happened with every show I updated the timers for. Despite the old timer being deleted, the rcvr showed them still being recorded. I believe the 622 was having issues. Later I received a black screen, no sound, on all channels. Point DISH showed green SS on all applicable sats. Reboot brought it back.
> 
> Very odd behavior!


----------



## russ9

TBoneit said:


> Oh yes the Buster Brown Show. Roy Roger's Show, The Cisco kid. Shows like Bat Masterson, Gunsmoke, Maverick, The Rifleman, Bonanza, Wagon Train and so on. Westerns used to be big on TV. Wasn't it Wagon Train that was said to be the basis for either Lost in Space or Star Trek?


Star Trek was pitched as "Wagon Train in space."


----------



## Nightmare

It's about time!!!

If we could get the WB/UPN/CW/Whatevertheycallit and FX I would be set


----------



## theoak

HDMe said:


> To be fair... the show started in 1963... and was in black & white for many years after it could have been shot in color. So there is some precent to not shoot in the most modern of quality available.


Actually, from what I have read, you are very close to the real reason.

They would have to redo the TARDIS if they were to shoot in HD. Due to the extra detail that HD captures, they would have to redo the TARDIS such that all of the flaws would not be seen. So for now ... its Doctor SD ...

I heard that they had to do the same thing for Star Trek Generations when they did their first movie. They had to redo the bridge because a button or console on TV would be only a few inches, where looking at the same button or console on the big screen it would be feet.


----------



## redsalmon

BobaBird said:


> The HD channels that AK and HI get from 110° are on spotbeams. SciFi and USA HD are on CONUS transponder 17. It's the same reason the AK/HI HD package has fewer channels overall, though it appears they could add 2 more to those beams, or 4 more if they go to 7 ch/tp.
> 
> The guide shows all channels available on all the satellites you see, excepts that some are listed only if you subscribe which applies mostly to locals and internationals.


This is not totally true. If you have a dish large enough to see the old sat at 110 then we receive the channels the same as the rest of the country, i.e. the 9000 series of channels in MPEG 2. We also see the spot beamed channels in the 5000 series of channels in MPEG 4. We get to select if we want to watch in MPEG 2 or 4. so we do and can receive the SCI-FI and USA HD channels since they are on the old 110 sat, not the new spotbeam 110.

Hope this makes sense to you. Apparently it doesn't make sense to Dish. We're not asking for anything other than what is available to everyone at 110.


----------



## Ressurrector

USAHD and Scifi HD YAH!


----------



## redsalmon

James Long said:


> Yes, they expect you to pay for DishHD Essentials ... a package that includes the channels. The special AK/HI HD package is a different set of channels.
> 
> Hopefully they will fix that. You are getting the SD and paying for at least Essentials ... they should provide SciFi and USA HD.


I would be willing to pay more but they refuse to allow me to change HD packages. The CSR's say that the AK HD pack is the only one allowed for Alaska. I've called and e-mailed Dish about this. Hopefully they will turn on the channels for us in AK and HI who can see the old 110 satellite and the 9000 series channels.


----------



## neowaxworks

we were talking before about Monk... currently(5pm eastern) there is a first season episode of monk on USA and it is NOT hd, it isn't even 16x9...I was pretty sure the first season was SD..but now I am 100% sure..


----------



## Paul Secic

James Long said:


> Not quite. SciFi outputs HD on their "HD" channel and SD on their "SD" feed 24x7 ... regardless of source format. Sci-Fi HD does not cease to exist simply because there is no HD at that moment.
> 
> What they need to do is make the switch in their production chains. They need to play 16x9 content on the HD inputs (widescreen upconverted, like many consumer DVD players have 1080i/720p outputs) and THEN downconvert it to SD with letterboxing for the older feed.
> 
> The bandwidth is there 24x7 and is used 24x7. Might as well put something good on it.
> 
> (The only thing I would ask is that the channel logo on the HD channel reflects the source ... use a regular Sci-Fi logo during SD sourced programming and save the HD Sci-Fi logo for the moments the source is in HD. This request is of ALL networks with a HD logo.)


The USA HD logo seems kind of big to me.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

neowaxworks said:


> we were taling before about Monk... currently*5pm eastern) thereis a first season episode of monk on USA and it is NOT hd, it isn't even 16x9...I was pretty sure the first season was SD..but now I am 100% sure..


Monk was 16x9 HD from season 1. USA was not an HD channel back then, so they never bothered to acquire the HD version. ALL seasons of Monk were released to DVD in 16x9 widescreen, and season 1 episodes of Monk aired in HD on ABC.

I said all this before... just because USA isn't airing it in HD doesn't mean that it doesn't exist in HD. USA, and SciFi, HD channels are just continuing the tradition of having an HD channel that does not always air HD even when available.


----------



## James Long

Do SciFi and USA have the _rights_ to those seasons/programs in HD?

There is a lot that goes into what is available.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

James Long said:


> Do SciFi and USA have the _rights_ to those seasons/programs in HD?
> 
> There is a lot that goes into what is available.


Speaking just on Monk, since it is currently a point of contention... I've been digging a little.

Ok, it would seem as though the pilot episode was filmed on 35mm. It looks as though at least the rest of Season 1 and Season 2, possibly season 3 as well but my digging has hit a dry spot, were shot on Super 16mm. It would also appear that they did plan for HD because they do HD post-production on their Super 16mm to produce the HD master for airing. The 35mm pilot was a little more straightforward I gather in terms of post-production for HD.

What I cannot find mention, however, is when (or if) they switched to HD cameras. For all I can see, they may still be shooting on film and doing HD-conversion in post... but the gyst of everything I've been posting thus far still seems to hold true... that being they intended it to be HD and 16x9 friendly from day one... but for cost reasons did not start with HD cameras.

The original airings were on USA, then ABC picked up HD airings for at least the first couple of seasons. At some point ABC decided to stop... so then no more HD for Monk was seen until UniversalHD began airings.

This brings us to the rights question... Since Monk is a USA original production, and the ABC contract expired a while ago (hence the ability to air on NBC affiliates recently)... and we know UniversalHD has shown the first several seasons of Monk in HD at least a couple of times since that channel launched... there really is no logical reason why USAHD does not have the rights AND the masters in HD to air Monk whether it be repeat or new episode.

Unlike a 3rd-party situation (like my gripe for SciFi and Dr Who airings) there shouldn't be anything standing in the way of a show like Monk airing in HD all the time on USAHD... so no explanation remains really for why some episodes are still airing there in 4:3 at this point.


----------



## BobaBird

redsalmon said:


> If you have a dish large enough to see the old sat at 110 then we receive the channels the same as the rest of the country, i.e. the 9000 series of channels in MPEG 2. We also see the spot beamed channels in the 5000 series of channels in MPEG 4.


Just guessing here, maybe Dish doesn't want to make a large enough dish part of the typical AK/HI installation. Good luck in your quest to get Dish to see the sense in allowing you to pay for channels for which you can get signal.


----------



## James Long

The big issue with selling Essentials or Ultimate in AK/HI is delivering all of the channels one is paying for ... including those on 129°. The AK/HI HD pack is currently delivered on spotbeams designed to give a strong signal to AK/HI. When E11 gets into place later this year ALL of the ConUS beams at 110° will be as strong as the spots (and I expect the AK/HI HD package will grow). For now, they are selling what they can deliver.


----------



## rey_1178

why haven't they added usa and scifi logos to the hd packages?


----------



## redsalmon

James Long said:


> The big issue with selling Essentials or Ultimate in AK/HI is delivering all of the channels one is paying for ... including those on 129°. The AK/HI HD pack is currently delivered on spotbeams designed to give a strong signal to AK/HI. When E11 gets into place later this year ALL of the ConUS beams at 110° will be as strong as the spots (and I expect the AK/HI HD package will grow). For now, they are selling what they can deliver.


The new AK/HI pack shows up on spot beams BUT for all of us who have been around for awhile and have 6' dishes pointed at 110 we also receive the old 9000 channel series in MPEG2, this is where SCI-FI and USA HD are broadcast from. We receive the channels in the schedule in red and when we call to try to activate are told we can't have them.

Dish doesn't provide free dishes or installation of anything in Ak. At the local home show this weekend a Dish dealer was advertising an HD Upgrade install with two dishes, switches, 722 receiver, and installation for $759.

Dish could always make a AK/HI HD PLUS package for a couple of bucks more and turn them on for people who can see. them. That would be ok with most people here.


----------



## James Long

I believe they are working on it ... but it will be post E11 activation.


----------



## g182237

They've been talking about launching E11 for what seems like forever. I'm starting to think about jumping to DTV b/c of the more HD and the NFL Gameday Package.


----------



## James Long

Launching a satellite turned out to be rocket science ... go figure. It has not been a good couple of years for launches and there is a backlog. Nothing we can do but wait, and hope that when the time comes our launch goes well.


----------



## GrumpyBear

g182237 said:


> They've been talking about launching E11 for what seems like forever. I'm starting to think about jumping to DTV b/c of the more HD and the NFL Gameday Package.


I can understand about the NFL Package, but as for more HD, read this thread and others, very Little HD content, on all these HD channels.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

GrumpyBear said:


> I can understand about the NFL Package, but as for more HD, read this thread and others, very Little HD content, on all these HD channels.


Yep... the pattern seems to be that DirecTV adds something, then Dish customers demand it or they will leave, then Dish adds it and Dish customers realize it didn't have as much HD after all... and a quick look at DirecTV forum discussions would actually reveal that many DirecTV customers aren't happy about the lack of actual HD on many of their channels.

It's not "sour grapes" when the grapes are actually sour!


----------



## James Long

HDMe said:


> ... and a quick look at DirecTV forum discussions would actually reveal that many DirecTV customers aren't happy about the lack of actual HD on many of their channels.


Careful, you'll wake the trolls.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

I've always had mixed feelings about SciFiHD and USAHD, especially after hearing from folks with DirecTV who got the channel last year.

The only show on right now that watch is BSG... and this is their final season. Since they aren't even going to make Dr Who actual widescreen, I get no dramatic rise over the season DVDs I already know I will buy after this season ends anyway.

Monk and Psych are on break right now... Dead Zone was cancelled. IF Eureka is coming back to SciFi then at some point I'll have that to watch... but the pickings are kind of slim to have demanded the kind of urgency these two channels were getting from some corners.

As I said... glad to have them, but not overwhelmed. Even if all the stuff I watch was new and HD right now this week... I'd still only be watching one night for the most part (everything I watch airs on Fridays except Eureka)... so unless and until these channels expand and start airing other things in HD, I have no more need to tune in than I usually do.


----------



## phrelin

Thing is, Monk and Psych weren't on break when I started getting testy about turning the two channels on.

But I'm only interested in the shows, not the channels. Thus, if an episode of Torchwood is on HDNet three weeks after its on BBCA who needs BBCA in HD?


----------



## phrelin

By the way, anyone else remember watching black and white shows on a color tv?


----------



## HobbyTalk

When our family got it's first color TV, the only show in color was Johnny Carson. I remember that because I was able to stay up to watch it the first night we got the TV.... that was a treat since bed time was 9pm


----------



## Stewart Vernon

phrelin said:


> Thing is, Monk and Psych weren't on break when I started getting testy about turning the two channels on.
> 
> But I'm only interested in the shows, not the channels. Thus, if an episode of Torchwood is on HDNet three weeks after its on BBCA who needs BBCA in HD?


Your second argument actually supports no need for either SciFi or USA in HD since UniversalHD shows Monk and BSG, for example, in HD later... so if you don't need BBC America in HD for Torchwood, no need for USA in HD for Monk or SciFi in HD for BSG since UniversalHD will air them later too.

But I don't think that's what you were meaning...

I'm curious, if/when BBC America goes HD if they will show their non-HD widescreen shows properly (example Dr Who) that SciFiHD is showing letterboxed... IF so, then I'd most certainly welcome having BBC America in HD even for duplicated programming, aired properly.


----------



## jack95

Obviously not a great interest with the usual forum players, but my kids were pleased to finally see Monday Night RAW in HD last night. Kids had to go to bed after the Bill/Hillary vs Obama match, but I stayed up for the Diva's match. They have the timer set for ECW HD on SciFi too. I believe this HD programming will stay consistent...in the near term.


----------



## jkane

I remember watching some show and they poured a bowl of stuff out and on our black and white TV it looked like blood. A friend and I got in a argument in school because he had a color TV and was sure it was water. I have no idea what color it was, or what show. The comment about watching black and white on color TV's reminded me of it. I remember our first color TV too. It was a few years after color was available.


----------



## phrelin

HobbyTalk said:


> When our family got it's first color TV, the only show in color was Johnny Carson. I remember that because I was able to stay up to watch it the first night we got the TV.... that was a treat since bed time was 9pm





jkane said:


> I remember watching some show and they poured a bowl of stuff out and on our black and white TV it looked like blood. A friend and I got in a argument in school because he had a color TV and was sure it was water. I have no idea what color it was, or what show. The comment about watching black and white on color TV's reminded me of it. I remember our first color TV too. It was a few years after color was available.


These are the kind of memories I have also. It took several years before most new programming was in color. I remember people being a bit more patient back then when compared to the HD discussion here, including my discussion here.


----------



## Oblong Desoto

phrelin said:


> These are the kind of memories I have also. It took several years before most new programming was in color. I remember people being a bit more patient back then when compared to the HD discussion here, including my discussion here.


I think it was easier to be patient back then because some of the early color programming simply looked awful. The wardrobes, lighting, makeup, and sets were all designed specifically to look great in black-and-white, and it took awhile for the industry to adjust. Also, performances and dialog mattered more to viewers than eye candy back then.

How about black-and-white movies in 3D on color TV. That was something! 

Back on topic, I'm switching to Dish this Saturday after being a DirecTV/TiVo guy for 5 years. The announcement about USA and SciFi was the deal maker for me. I've gotta have Burn Notice and Eureka in HD this summer, but I didn't want to settle for DirecTV's HR2x DVR unless I had no other choice. Thank you, Dish.


----------



## PanamaMike

HDMe said:


> I've always had mixed feelings about SciFiHD and USAHD, especially after hearing from folks with DirecTV who got the channel last year.
> 
> The only show on right now that watch is BSG... and this is their final season. Since they aren't even going to make Dr Who actual widescreen, I get no dramatic rise over the season DVDs I already know I will buy after this season ends anyway.
> 
> Monk and Psych are on break right now... Dead Zone was cancelled. IF Eureka is coming back to SciFi then at some point I'll have that to watch... but the pickings are kind of slim to have demanded the kind of urgency these two channels were getting from some corners.
> 
> As I said... glad to have them, but not overwhelmed. Even if all the stuff I watch was new and HD right now this week... I'd still only be watching one night for the most part (everything I watch airs on Fridays except Eureka)... so unless and until these channels expand and start airing other things in HD, I have no more need to tune in than I usually do.


What do you know. I like all those shows minus psych. How about Dresden Files  I'm very happy to get to watch BSG in HD, even if it's a little lacking.

Mike


----------



## Stewart Vernon

PanamaMike said:


> What do you know. I like all those shows minus psych. How about Dresden Files  I'm very happy to get to watch BSG in HD, even if it's a little lacking.


Dresden Files seemed like the kind of show I would like... but something about it just didn't work for me. Maybe I was all Buffy/Angel/Charmed out at the time or something of that kind of genre? But I never really gave Dresden Files more than a passing look.

I probably would also like Stargate (either series) but I missed the early years when it was on SHO and I didn't have any premiums, and just never gave it a try after that.

I tried to like Flash Gordon (the new series) but it lost me pretty quickly.

I forget the name of it, but during the end of Psych/Monk this past season USA was running promos for some new show upcoming, looked to be sort-of about the witness protection program but in a semi-tongue-in-cheek style like their other shows. I plan on taking a look at that whenever it starts.


----------



## dbconsultant

HDMe said:


> I forget the name of it, but during the end of Psych/Monk this past season USA was running promos for some new show upcoming, looked to be sort-of about the witness protection program but in a semi-tongue-in-cheek style like their other shows. I plan on taking a look at that whenever it starts.


If you remember the name of it, post it (maybe in the tv talk forum) because it sounds like somthing interesting.


----------



## pscully

dbconsultant said:


> If you remember the name of it, post it (maybe in the tv talk forum) because it sounds like somthing interesting.


I think you're talking about Burn Notice - "A spy recently disavowed by the US Government uses his Special Ops training to help others in trouble". New season starts in July.


----------



## James Long

June 1st "In Plain Sight"
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/inplainsight/index.html


----------



## pscully

Good call. I completely forgot about that one, I'm not sure how, they really were advertising it alot.


----------



## fredp

pscully said:


> Good call. I completely forgot about that one, I'm not sure how, they really were advertising it alot.


Both Burn Notice(first season now playing) and this new series look to be very good reasons to tune in to USA HD. SciFi.... not so much...


----------



## Stewart Vernon

dbconsultant said:


> If you remember the name of it, post it (maybe in the tv talk forum) because it sounds like somthing interesting.


James beat me to it... "In Plain Sight". I used to see the promos a lot when I was watching USA, but once my Monk/Psych seasons ended I stopped paying attention for the most part. The previews for it made it look like something I would want to check out.


----------



## James Long

I saw the promo often during Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl ... which was available in glorious HD (well, DBS HD).

I believe the lead actress was on the West Wing ... which is what caught my attention. Hopefully better than it's promos. Glad it isn't on NBC ... it would be canceled without resolve after a few weeks.


----------



## paja

HDMe said:


> Dresden Files seemed like the kind of show I would like... but something about it just didn't work for me. Maybe I was all Buffy/Angel/Charmed out at the time or something of that kind of genre? But I never really gave Dresden Files more than a passing look.
> 
> I probably would also like Stargate (either series) but I missed the early years when it was on SHO and I didn't have any premiums, and just never gave it a try after that.
> 
> I tried to like Flash Gordon (the new series) but it lost me pretty quickly.
> 
> I forget the name of it, but during the end of Psych/Monk this past season USA was running promos for some new show upcoming, looked to be sort-of about the witness protection program but in a semi-tongue-in-cheek style like their other shows. I plan on taking a look at that whenever it starts.


I was in the same boat. I really wanted to like Flash and gave it every opportunity. Too bad it just sucked and got almost unwatchable to me.


----------



## phrelin

Oblong Desoto said:


> I think it was easier to be patient back then because some of the early color programming simply looked awful. The wardrobes, lighting, makeup, and sets were all designed specifically to look great in black-and-white, and it took awhile for the industry to adjust. Also, performances and dialog mattered more to viewers than eye candy back then.


That's my take also - its about scripts, acting, directing, etc. I do like 16:9 ratio, but some shows seem weird in HD without softness or raw grainyness. So I feel like this "early HD" has some "its so much better when you can see everyone's warts" attitude that really doesn't consider the what makes good "film." Of course, stuff with hot special effects is a whole other thing, but I find BSG's grainy appearance does not detract from the HD in the special effects.


> How about black-and-white movies in 3D on color TV. That was something!


Yeah, that was...something. Well, an interesting experiment.


----------



## TBoneit

Yup 3D B&W on color was almost as popular as the 3D experiments on Computers


----------



## killzone

Anyone else notice that the new episodes of BSG on Sci Fi on both the SD as well as HD channel aren't showing proper air dates?


----------



## mtbarr64

Got it here too around 4/23/2008. 

Finally!!!!! Yeah!


----------



## Stewart Vernon

mtbarr64 said:


> Got it here too around 4/23/2008.
> 
> Finally!!!!! Yeah!


Hmm... so why did you not have it until 4/23 when the rest of us got it much earlier?


----------



## mtbarr64

HDMe said:


> Hmm... so why did you not have it until 4/23 when the rest of us got it much earlier?


That is when I noticed it. Can't claim to have had it before I actually noticed it. 

With Stargate Atlantis in hiatus I had no reason to look there.


----------



## Stewart Vernon

mtbarr64 said:


> That is when I noticed it. Can't claim to have had it before I actually noticed it.
> 
> With Stargate Atlantis in hiatus I had no reason to look there.


Understood... I was wondering why it took you about 5 days to get it!  Truth to tell, I didn't know it was live until coming here and reading posts about it... then checking my receiver to confirm I had it.


----------



## mtbarr64

It was THE reason I looked into DirectTV and thought of switching... I wanted SCIFI and now we got it!!!!


----------



## BobbySteelz

James Long said:


> June 1st "In Plain Sight"
> http://www.usanetwork.com/series/inplainsight/index.html


Yeah, this one looks good...I'll definitely be checking for it, come June.

Saw a couple of promo-spots for it on USA, and there are some recognizable faces. Mary McCormack was always pretty good on the on West Wing, too.


----------



## jclewter79

I loved burn notice last season can't wait for this year.


----------



## RasputinAXP

Burn Notice was the summer series favorite of me and the wife last year.


----------



## rlu929s

Awesome...haven't checked in and I finally see we got these channels....With TBS and these 2 added I immediately called dish up and reactivated my basic HD subscription.


----------



## calvertva

Does anybody know why on the 61.5 I cannot recieve the HD sci fi and usa


----------



## James Long

SciFi and USA are transmitted to customers on 110° ... the feeds on 61.5° are (were?) test feeds - not public.


----------



## MarkoC

I recorded the season one BSG episode Kobol's last Gleaming (part 2) recently on SciFi HD and I couldn't believe that it was in letterboxed SD. This just doesn't make any sense to me. This is a SciFi original show and it has already been in HD on UniversalHD. Why would they show it in SD on SciFi HD? What is the point of having an HD channel if you are going to air programs in SD that were made in HD?


----------



## Stewart Vernon

MarkoC said:


> I recorded the season one BSG episode Kobol's last Gleaming (part 2) recently on SciFi HD and I couldn't believe that it was in letterboxed SD. This just doesn't make any sense to me. This is a SciFi original show and it has already been in HD on UniversalHD. Why would they show it in SD on SciFi HD? What is the point of having an HD channel if you are going to air programs in SD that were made in HD?


Welcome to the club! I've asked this myself about some programming on USAHD as well as SciFiHD. Stuff that they should already own not only rights but actual copies in HD don't seem to get aired in HD. There is HD on these channels, but not nearly as much as they should have access to already.


----------



## normang

The seem to be showing new material in HD, and older shows, that are probably also in HD, or reruns or not. Perhaps its how they have it stored. They don't have the older shows in HD available for Broadcast? Who knows why, when its been shown in HD probably on Universal HD or somewhere....


----------



## Stewart Vernon

normang said:


> The seem to be showing new material in HD, and older shows, that are probably also in HD, or reruns or not. Perhaps its how they have it stored. They don't have the older shows in HD available for Broadcast? Who knows why, when its been shown in HD probably on Universal HD or somewhere....


That last part is what gums up any excuse for them... Since NBC/Universal owns NBC, UniversalHD, USAHD, SciFIHD, BravoHD, CNBCHD, and probably a few others I'm forgetting... IF any of those channels have something mastered in HD, they all have access to it.

Case in point... NBC aired some episodes of Psych and Monk recently during the aftermath of the writers' strike. They also aired episodes of the Law & Order show that had previously been exclusive to USA. All were aired on NBC in HD. So they are sharing, sometimes at least.

It would be another thing entirely if it was a show they didn't own/produce OR a show they had licensed out syndication rights to another network... but for their own shows that they air on other of their own networks... it makes no sense.

All the old Battlestar Galactica episodes (except for Razor) have aired in HD on UniversalHD already... so no reason why they shouldn't be able to air them in HD on SciFiHD now.


----------



## BobbySteelz

fredp said:


> Both Burn Notice(first season now playing) and this new series look to be very good reasons to tune in to USA HD...


Ohh, sweet...glad I scrolled back...hadn't even seen this! The spots for In Plain Sight that I saw, were on the regular USA station.

McCormack in high def will be awesome!!:eek2:


----------



## Stewart Vernon

Add another gripe to the gripefest!

I just watched two episodes of Firefly tonight in HD on UniversalHD... BUT, a couple of days ago the very same episodes were shown on SciFiHD in letterbox. A very prime example of how they don't seem to be sharing their content within their own walls.


----------



## Paul Secic

HDMe said:


> Add another gripe to the gripefest!
> 
> I just watched two episodes of Firefly tonight in HD on UniversalHD... BUT, a couple of days ago the very same episodes were shown on SciFiHD in letterbox. A very prime example of how they don't seem to be sharing their content within their own walls.


This morning I watched a FOOD Network show that was produced by Prometus SP? in the U.K. The interesting thing was the black hostess showing how to make French toast New Orleans style. The show looked American.


----------

