24 Fox Widescreen (1 Viewer)

[JeremySt]

At the beginning of tonights episode, it said "available in Fox Widescreen. (I get it on Dish Network, the Chicago feed) Does this mean it was filmed widescreen? Are the previous episodes widescreen? Did they just hard matte the 1.33 x 1 frame? Does Fox release their shows on DVD? Help!

 

[Michael St. Clair]

This is shown in 480p 16:9 if you have an HDTV receiver and a participating affiliate. I believe it is sent 480i 16:9 to the stations who then double it to 480p. Presumably their doubler does the 3:2 pulldown processing...it does look fairly good.

I've only watched it this way once because I'm not usually home, so I watch the regular 4:3 version off the Tivo.

 

[Marque D]

Quite a few of Fox’s shows are shown in 16:9 480p on their Digital Television stations. “Fox Widescreen” is just a flashy name for the Digital Television format known as Enhanced Definition Television. (EDTV)

 

[JeremySt]

Are they matted on the 4x3 frame?

 

[Marque D]

No, some are in fact taped using 24p 1080. (Bernie Mac & Titus)
Here are a few shows Fox shows in 16:9 and 480p. (not all of their 480p is 16:9)
Boston Public
Ally McBeal
24
Bernie Mac
X-Files
Pasadena
Dark Angel
Titus
Malcolm in the Middle
Fox News show on Sunday Morning
Movies (like The Sound of Music, American Pie and Star Wars Episode I: PM)
Super Bowl (but a big disappointment in PQ but it was in DD 5.1 in some cities)
BTW: Many shows that use film today are filmed in 16:9 so that they can be transferred to High Definition in the future.

 

[PS Nystrom]

I noticed this last night as well. It said something like "Presented in High Resolution Widescreen Television." High Resolution being the clever wording that made me scoff at FOX. Still, I must say it is an improvement over 480i 4:3, and last night's sound was terrific I thought. Not DD, but very effective two-channel surround.
Pieter

 

[Mike I]

Just about all prime time show the last couple of years have been shoot widescreen and framed for 4.3...