# The Shield in HD?



## jpellech

Does anyone know if The Shield will be in HD on FXHD this year for the final season? I have heard it is filmed in widescreen originally as there is a widescreen dvd version available for the past couple seasons.


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## Michael D'Angelo

I was hoping so but it does not look like it. At least it is not showing in HD on DIRECTV guides.


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## Steady Teddy

It's not showing up as being in HD on my HR20 either. That would really suck.


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## jpellech

Yeah, I guess we'll have to wait until it premieres, but I am not expecting HD. Hopefully I'll be surprised.


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## Steady Teddy

I can't find any info on the FX web site. I sent an email to the network and asked them. If I get a reply soon enough I will post it.


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## generalpatton78

I read somewhere that the the producer of the show won't go HD because he likes the grainy 4X3 film they use and he doesn't want a super clear PQ. It might be the only show I don't mind not being in HD.


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## Grentz

Interesting, so the "SD Effect" so to speak.


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## joshjr

No matter to me. Its the last season and I would watch it no matter what it was in.


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## techrep

As far as I know it was still being shot in 16. I guess that we will see on the 2nd.


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## Jaspear

What difference does it make what it is shot in? All the DVDs are widescreen. That said, I would prefer 4x3 SD over 16x9 SD. With 4x3 I don't have to zoom the picture, reducing resolution even more.


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## Grentz

Jaspear said:


> What difference does it make what it is shot in? All the DVDs are widescreen. That said, I would prefer 4x3 SD over 16x9 SD. With 4x3 I don't have to zoom the picture, reducing resolution even more.


Why do you have to zoom the picture with 16:9 SD? On a HD station it could potentially be broadcast in full 16:9 and just be in SD quality.

All DVDs are not 16:9 either, hence why many have two versions..one normal, one widescreen.


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## techrep

Grentz said:


> Why do you have to zoom the picture with 16:9 SD? On a HD station it could potentially be broadcast in full 16:9 and just be in SD quality.
> 
> All DVDs are not 16:9 either, hence why many have two versions..one normal, one widescreen.


I don't know Gentz but, maybe he means that The Shields DVD's are all widescreen. I am not sure if they are or not.


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## Grentz

Ahh, that might be the case.

Many people I talk to and hear about mistake aspect ratio and resolution (HD vs. SD) being one in the same, which is not true at all.


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## techrep

Grentz said:


> Ahh, that might be the case.
> 
> Many people I talk to and hear about mistake aspect ratio and resolution (HD vs. SD) being one in the same, which is not true at all.


I see that also.

Some of the aspect ratios, which we are calling 16X9, are actually something else. You know, the widescreen stuff with the bars at the top and the bottom.


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## Grentz

techrep said:


> Some of the aspect ratios, which we are calling 16X9, are actually something else. You know, the widescreen stuff with the bars at the top and the bottom.


Gotta love 1.85:1, 2:39:1, and all their friends :lol:

16:9 is truly a compromise to try and get a standard, luckily it works out quite well in most cases


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## techrep

Grentz said:


> Gotta love 1.85:1, 2:39:1, and all their friends :lol:
> 
> 16:9 is truly a compromise to try and get a standard, luckily it works out quite well in most cases


I remember one called anamorphic, whatever that is.


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## Grentz

anamorphic is actually the way to store a 16:9 picture in a 4:3 format.

Was used a lot in the early days of widescreen TVs...the source would be compressed in to fit on a 4:3 film, and then you would have your TV "stretch" the picture back out to 16:9 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorphic_widescreen

and how they can do it, it actually can be captured with a special lens:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorphic

Its amazing how watered down and simple video formats are to the consumers (how few choices there are I mean). There are tons and tons of standards and techniques in the video industry.


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## Jaspear

Grentz said:


> Why do you have to zoom the picture with 16:9 SD? On a HD station it could potentially be broadcast in full 16:9 and just be in SD quality.
> 
> All DVDs are not 16:9 either, hence why many have two versions..one normal, one widescreen.


I just finished watching the Damages marathon that aired recently on FX-HD. They were all 4x3 letterboxed. The only way to to get rid of the vertical _and_ horizontal black bars (left, right, top and bottom) was to zoom the picture. They could as you say "potentially" air a show in full 16x9 (either HD or SD), but in this case they didn't.

As for the DVDs, the early seasons of The Shield were originally released as 1.33:1, just as they aired on FX. They were all re-released a few months ago in anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1.


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## Grentz

O I see, you guys were meaning you dont want it in widescreen on a SD feed (so that you would have black bars on all sides).

Is what I was meaning is that since the show wants to keep the SD "look" they could broadcast it on the HD channel version but in 16:9 SD (so it would fill the whole screen, but be SD quality)


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## Old Tv Watcher

Grentz said:


> O I see, you guys were meaning you dont want it in widescreen on a SD feed (so that you would have black bars on all sides).
> 
> Is what I was meaning is that since the show wants to keep the SD "look" they could broadcast it on the HD channel version but in 16:9 SD (so it would fill the whole screen, but be SD quality)


 Why don't they show it in Black & Whiite while they're at it?


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## Jaspear

Grentz said:


> O I see, you guys were meaning you dont want it in widescreen on a SD feed (so that you would have black bars on all sides).
> 
> Is what I was meaning is that since the show wants to keep the SD "look" they could broadcast it on the HD channel version but in 16:9 SD (so it would fill the whole screen, but be SD quality)


That's it!! If it's an HD channel, and the show is 16x9, it should fill my 16x9 screen. You wouldn't think this would be a difficult concept for the suits in TV land to grasp. But FX didn't do it with Damages and Sci Fi didn't do it with Doctor Who. Doctor Who did air in 16x9 full screen widescreen (there must be a term for this) on the CBC, so it can be done.

So for The Shield, I would prefer it in 4x3 over 16x9 "windowboxing".


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## LarryFlowers

I know for certain that the Sheild in Season 5 and beyond was shot on hand held HD cameras.. previous seasons I can not address. Also I know that the shield was available in widescreen foremat for all seasons but that the version shown in the USA was adjusted for 4x3, while European versions were full widescreen. I suspect that the dvd versions were probably released in widescreen and it would make sense for FX to show the best version they can.


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## Jaspear

LarryFlowers said:


> .....it would make sense for FX to show the best version they can.


Unless the producers want you to buy the DVD.


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## BobbySteelz

any confirmation on this yet?? obviously im still going to watch...the show is simply amazing anyway, but id love to store it on my dvr in HD...plus i feel like everything looks better in HD...


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## speedy4022

It is not HD or widescreen it is 4X3


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## speedy4022

Now FXHD is just a waste of bandwidth I could care less that they show edited movies in HD


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## pfueri

The Shield was not in HD it looked like crap.I love the show but come on The Shield is one of FX's best shows.Hard to watch.


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## colts19

I agree with pfueri, What a waste. The best show on TV, with horrible picture quality.


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## Steady Teddy

A great season premiere but an extreme disappointment that it will not be in HD. No excuse for this.


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## samberger

A lot of graininess on my picture. I figured it was to create a grittier look, but now I'm not so sure. Whatever it was, the picture seemed to be even worse than in past years.


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## dcmidnight

samberger said:


> A lot of graininess on my picture. I figured it was to create a grittier look, but now I'm not so sure. Whatever it was, the picture seemed to be even worse than in past years.


Agree 100%. At first I just thought it was a couple of scenes where they wanted that edgy look. Then I thought my picture was going bad. But then I realized, really it just looked like total azz.

What a waste. Just awful, awful, awful treatment for what has been my favorite show on TV the last several years.


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## theedger

dcmidnight said:


> Agree 100%. At first I just thought it was a couple of scenes where they wanted that edgy look. Then I thought my picture was going bad. But then I realized, really it just looked like total azz.
> 
> What a waste. Just awful, awful, awful treatment for what has been my favorite show on TV the last several years.


You just noticed it? If you own the DVD's you'll hear them talk about the video treatment. It's suppose to have that 'raw' look to it.

I'm glad it's in HD now. The compression doesn't degrade the quality like in the past.


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## Jaspear

pfueri said:


> The Shield was not in HD it looked like crap.I love the show but come on The Shield is one of FX's best shows.Hard to watch.


It looked like HD to me. 4x3 HD, but HD nonetheless. It looked at least as good as the DVDs of season six that I just finished watching. And if the windowboxed 16x9 promo at the end of the episode is any indication, season seven should be outstanding! One of the few shows that make it to the final season without jumping the shark!


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## PhatHD

My girlfriend even said picture was crap. This past episode was the worst yet.


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## joshjr

PhatHD said:


> My girlfriend even said picture was crap. This past episode was the worst yet.


I have noticed that the quality is not that great this season. The episodes appear to be very grainy. Sad to see considering this is the last season. No matter. Ride it out and see how it ends.


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## bjamin82

joshjr said:


> I have noticed that the quality is not that great this season. The episodes appear to be very grainy. Sad to see considering this is the last season. No matter. Ride it out and see how it ends.


The PQ is what I would come to expect from The Shield. It has always been grainy. And personally when watching the FXHD channel, it looks a hell of alot better then the SD version. I don't know how some of you think it is a waste... they are in their final season, why would they change now.


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## joshjr

bjamin82 said:


> The PQ is what I would come to expect from The Shield. It has always been grainy. And personally when watching the FXHD channel, it looks a hell of alot better then the SD version. I don't know how some of you think it is a waste... they are in their final season, why would they change now.


I have watched since day one and I can say without a doubt this is the worst I seen it. The HD channel looked no different to me. As a matter of fact I am pretty sure that the HR20 showed that the PQ did not go up at all but in fact stayed the same as the SD channel. I will take it any way I can get it but it is bad this year. It was never the best but really bad this year.


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## pfueri

Well I have never missed a Shield .I wathched the season opener and it looked so bad I still have not watched the other two yet and don't now if I will.If newer shows on FX are in HD why is'nt this one?


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## Jaspear

It is. You just don't like the graininess of the film stock they used. Wait for it on DVD and it will still look just as grainy. Actually grainier since it will be 16x9 and you'll have extra grains on either side of the screen.


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