TNT-HD now available on Directv... (1 Viewer)

[Rakesh.S]

Head over to avsforum and go through the sticky threads in the hdtv programming forum.

Just about all those channels are available on Verizon's Fios service right now.

Cable companies own InHD and they're trying to stick it to directv by asking for too much money.

 

[Mary M S]

Not only was it pan and scan, but it was also a 4x3 broadcast stretched out to fill the screen. Only watched about a minute of it. Atrocious.

My thoughts exactly ...have not been posting... but I consider TNT-HD worthless as an 'addition' to D*'s HD lineup.
I was a little surprised when I looked up the topic today; to see a lack of discussion on the extremely subpar quality level of TNT-HD. It's mentioned ...but not to any degree I expected.

Without the diagnostic means to check the feed, my eyes tell me on most veiwings it does not even equal EDTV!

I spent a few mins over a couple of different days flipping between TNT-SD and TNT-HD, to compare.

I considered the resolution on several occasions slightly worse or at best, equal to the PQ of the SD channel!!

If there is some sort of upconversion going on it appears (to me) at times to actualy degrade clarity (resolution) below that of the standard SD-TNT feed.

In fairness I have not encountered any of the prime time sports events broadcast, I assume from prior posts that TNT-HD is an HD experience at those times.

I'm assuming that most HD-capable display owners have a 16:9 screen ratio, so it boggles me that TNT would do such a chop job in stretching 4:3 material on TNT-HD. Please...give me pillar box instead. If 4:3 is bugging me I can drop my display into 480p and crop/zoom it myself and my Sony built-in zooms, do a MUCH higher quality job than the broadcaster. During certain footage I will loose the tops of heads zoom & crop, but since this is often a stylized shot effect during fliming by directors, it is infinitely more palatable than the current affect which 'simmers' the streched footage. In effect, it is as if your viewing a movie projected onto a waving american flag. Can't bear the out of proportion faces/bodies/objects. Give me cropped, proper aspect-ratio any day over TNT's version of strech to full-screen.

For goodness sakes; on every camera-pan and zoom in/out (encoded in the original film) a full outer foot" of my 60" screen both left and right, ripples like the wind on a lake!

I don't even consider TNT-HD a very good example of HD-lite....its entirely something worse.


sorry...I feel a bit like I'm the child-in-the-crowd stating ..."But he's naked, mommy!".

 

[Andy_Bu]

I shudder to think just how horrible those are going to look when TNT destroys them. It seems like every movie I surf by on TNT just looks god awful.

The NBA and Law and Order at least look great but any movie that is not 1.85:1 just flat out sucks as a viewing experience on TNT-HD IMO

Andy

 

[Mary M S]

I can’t keep ratios straight. :b Just have not bothered to focus and learn specifically the film ratios and how they are converted. I have paid so little attention to these details that I never know whether I am watching 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 material.

I ought to get this down, then perhaps I could understand why I can watch certain film content on HDNET etc., and it is acceptable rezing of ratio’s.

Are other HD movies channels using anamorphic conversions and TNT-HD is not?
I really need more schooling this topic.

I tuned to the Boston/Miami game just now, and yes that’s HD. As a non-broadcast sports family I really feel slightly insulted that TNT-HD is even considered as an HD pkg. inclusion. (and I'd almost swear it's SD part of the day)
Delegate it to an on/off DTV channel, available for a couple hours of prime time sporting-events viewing.

I have to fess up to only watching the Tour de France, Superbowl (and the Sox beating the yankees ) so this channel is no addition for me. My family (although male with the exception of self) goes outside for our sports…we don’t normally watch.

Each time I have tuned to HD TNT I’ve had to move on quickly. I cannot watch the film formats or 1.33 locked into full screen 1.78, HD-TNT style (it makes me car sick!)

Sigh... I suppose for some subscribers it is a plus to get a couple of extra games broadcast HD.

 

[PaulHeroy]

I could not agree more, and totally sympathize with your feeling.

I have been watching some of the NBA playoffs on TNT-HD, and have been pretty pleased with the picture in general though it could be a little better. But as a result I noticed that TNT-HD was listing reruns of Angel, listed in the guide as HDTV. Last week was at the end of the 4th season and beginning of the 5th when some good stuff is happening, so I set a season pass on my HD-Tivo. Checking it out, it was immediately obvious that it was stretched - this blew my mind! Checking my DVD set, I could see further that they cropped and stretched a 4:3 version of the episode. These episodes of Angel aired in widescreen 16:9 originally! WHY would they do this? It's infuriating! It looks AWFUL.

BOOO TNT!!! :-(