You would think that HD and beauty contests are made for each other, but until this Friday the networks have failed to show them in HD, even when Miss Universe was held in Los Angeles. Miss America was shown in HD on
TLC-HD, but Miss Amercia is not a beauty contest per se.

Source ?

Source ?


DirecTV Guide

HD on the NBC.com schedule.

http://www.nbc.com/Schedule/?tz=ET

But not in my Comcast guide.

You would think that HD and beauty contests are made for each other

Nah... they don't want you counting the number of plastic surgeries the contestants had. (j/k)

So, it's at 9pm/8 central (for me)?

Beautiful!!! :D

Anyone else watching in D/FW OTA on KXAS? Seems horribly pixelated on motion shots. (Hope it's the feed and not my set :()

lot of macro blocking but whateva ;)

Did anyone just see Tennessee elbow Mississippi in the boob? haha!

Strobes & low bit rate transmission = blocking.

This is in the top 10 of the the worst HD presentations I have ever seen. I have had HD since 1999 and this is pitiful. :confused:

Thanks for the feedback. I feel better now...;)

The TOP 5 women are really not that pretty, IMO. :(

omg

Did anyone just see Tennessee elbow Mississippi in the boob? haha!

hope the silicone sac didnt break!:eek::confused:

:p

hope the silicone sac didnt break!:eek::confused:

:p

ROFL

Unfortunately, none of the beauties I picked were in the top 5 at all!

I have a feeling the title will goto Oklahoma!

Unfortunately, none of the beauties I picked were in the top 5 at all!

I have a feeling the title will goto Oklahoma!
that's what I was thinking too, but we're wrong :(

it's gotta be Mississippi now

No I think it's Texas


What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
I completed my degree at the University of Houston while working four jobs.

What is the most important thing you want the judges to know about you?
I am more than just a pretty face. I am a college graduate, a business owner, a professional teacher and a humanitarian.

!!!!! :eek:

ugh I hate this pc crap

She has Clearly a BETTER Resume!

WGRZ in Buffalo didn't flip the HD switch. I have KING in Seattle also, let's hope they didn't forget.

They sure like to say "actually" a lot. Tons of macroblocking on KKCO in Grand Junction. It looks like widescreen YouTube.

The TOP 5 women are really not that pretty, IMO. :(

I guess it's good we all don't agree on beauty, or we would all be chasing the same women. I thought this was perhaps the best final five in Miss USA history. Of course, that is if you like ethnic/exotic beauty. I thought both Miss New Jersey and Miss Mississippi were totally stunning, and the winner, Miss Texas, was incredibly gorgeous although she came off a bit smug to me. Actually, seems to be a trend in beauty pageants the last few years to select multiracial beauties. Anyone notice that Miss New Jersey is only 5'5" and Miss Mississippi is only 5'4"? Very unusual for the beauty contests. By way of example, Latin beauty Roselyn Sanchez stated that, "I’m 5’5” and you have to be at least 5’8” to be Miss Puerto Rico"....so she entered and won the Miss Puerto Rico Petite contest, and a year later, she won the international title of Miss America Petite.

Regarding the negative comments on the HD quality, I initially thought that also as the first few minutes had a lot of macro blocking, but after that the HD quality was excellent. Great, vivid, super close-ups of the final five when they posed before the judges. They must have been instructed how to pose because they all turned their face to give the viewer a great look at their eyes before they left center stage.

I'm actually surprised to see that this many people on AVS watch this.

I'm sorry but, a few days ago I just burst out laughing when I saw an ad for this because the ad did not focus on the beauty and glamor of the pageant but rather the goofs (it show that dumb blond speech from last year and other ladies slipping and falling). So, Miss USA has fallen so low that they have to advertise the goofs.

What bothered me the most was the placement of the NBC logo (with promo for "Biggest Loser Finale" emblazoned above the Olympic rings), inside what would be the 4:3 zone on the left. How obtrusive can you get?

Consequently, the girls kept "walking right through the logo" (especially noticeable during the swimsuit competition when you really were trying to look at them) since that 4:3-safe framing was also how they placed camera shots. In other words, main content was never outside the 4:3 frame, and when the subject was on the left they were literally right over the logo.

To make it even worse, there was a large "LIVE" on the top part of the screen above the NBC logo, also within 4:3-safe frame.

So both of this horrible artifacts were always in our immediate field of vision as we looked at something in the middle of the screen, and were VERY VERY OBVIOUS!

Ridiculous, not to move bug and LIVE graphics far to the left in the 16:9 area for 16:9 viewers when producing a 16:9 version of a show.


All in all, I thought it looked like a "strip-off". Miss USA (owned by Trump) has always had a different type of contestant than Miss America, one able to compete in Miss Universe with beauty from outside of the US, which tends to be darker (i.e. non-blond) and taller and more gorgeous and elegant. But this collection of 51 girls looked particularly suited to being in a strip club, if you asked me... between hair, makeup, and clothing.

Furthermore, the whole production quality of this show is absolutely cheesy, what with rock music (live or recorded) chosen specifically for a beat which allows for appropriate strutting and preening (faux furs, whipped off suddenly??). Couldn't stop thinking of Ashley Dupre who would have been quite at home up there.

Terrible HD picture quality, lots of motion-blocking (especially from strobes), rapid-fire camera cuts and zooms that prevented you from seeing the entire person for more than 1/2 second, even when they were briefly standing still.

Of the final five I thought Oklahoma was going to take it, until she talked.

How did Florida get into the top 10?

All very disappointing, but a good way to waste some spare viewing time (thanks to DVR and FF/30-second-skip).

I'm actually surprised to see that this many people on AVS watch this.



Surprised? Why?

I know for me, that one of the biggest reasons (if not THE) to watch HD is for beautiful women! ;)

I know a lot of men feel the same way!

Miss Universe in HD?

It's in HD!!!!! :D


STUNNING!!!

It's in HD!!!!! :D


STUNNING!!!

Yes it is...and it's about time!!!!:)

Pageant originates from Vietnam. No HD infrastructure there. My bet is no.

Last year was in Mexcio City and 2006 in Los Angeles (Shrine Auditorium), yet no HD.

WNBC-DT NYC FIOS.
It's not in HD, it's in NBC Macroblocked HD.
BTW is this show LIVE?:rolleyes:

Just flipped by earlier during the Top 20 announcement. If Columbia or Australia don't win it all - something is seriously wrong.

It's in HD!!!!! :D


STUNNING!!!

I suspect they used one of the HD Olympic "trucks" from Hong Kong or Beijing.

Next year's judge's final question: "When we ask you a question, why don't you ever answer it?"

I forgot to check this for HD. Saw almost half of it. Not much macroblocking on WBAL. Out of the top ten, Columbia should have won.

Miss USA fell on her a$$ again in the evening gown segment. Is there a curse?

I thought it would have been hilarious if Russia stole it from all those Latin American countries, but it looked like Venezuela was a favorite with the judges early on.

Miss USA fell on her a$$ again in the evening gown segment. Is there a curse?

I thought it would have been hilarious if Russia stole it from all those Latin American countries, but it looked like Venezuela was a favorite with the judges early on.


Latin beauties once again dominate the competition. Venezuela had a great combination of exotic beauty; great figure; and fun, endearing personality with no trace of arrogance.

Latin beauties once again dominate the competition. Venezuela had a great combination of exotic beauty; great figure; and fun, endearing personality with no trace of arrogance.

For some reason, Venezuela seems to produce far more than its share of spectacular looking women. Some people like to criticize Chavez, but he must be doing something right down there to keep churning out all these super-hotties. Maybe it's something in the water. ;)

Sorry everyone, I blew it.

I didn't Google hard enough.... and missed this little article on July 9.

http://news.bn.gs/article.php?story=20080709011810410

<< The Miss Universe 2008 Pageant Organizing Board and UniCorp have recently announced the application of High Definition Live Television technology to broadcasting images of the Miss Universe 2008 Pageant to over 170 countries. MUO and NBC experts (United States) will coordinate with the International Telecommunications Center (ITC) to install necessary broadcasting equipment and satellite truck; accordingly, the satellite-based broadcasting system will deliver the telecast signals to the orbit-fixed satellite.......

In preparation for the Pageant, the Organizing Board will import world-standard light and sound systems from the United States and Europe for use in the Crown Convention Center for the Final Show on July 14, 2008. The whole systems will be imported as of June 5 and ready for installation as of June 29, right after the stage decoration space is available. >>

I had the thing on PVR, so, as you can see, I've hedged my bets too!

For some reason, Venezuela seems to produce far more than its share of spectacular looking women. Some people like to criticize Chavez, but he must be doing something right down there to keep churning out all these super-hotties. Maybe it's something in the water. ;)

It's probably just runoff from Brazil. Brazil is the origin of some of the most beautiful women on the planet.

Venezuela was definitely good looking, but it looked like she used a Sharpie to apply her eyeliner.

Venezuela was definitely good looking, but it looked like she used a Sharpie to apply her eyeliner.

Damn those sanctions! Who knew Maybelline was on the list? :p

Yes it is...and it's about time!!!!:)And just as with everything else on NBC (both HD, and SD I might add) the audio level is RIDICULOUSLY LOW!! Ridiculous... and I have a bad feeling the Olympics will be more of the same.

Too bad the opening introductions that show all the contestants flies by so fast (I know... there are lots of contestants to start). These girls are gorgeous.

At least there's no promo text next to the NBC bug... at least at the start of the show (which is where I am at the moment).

Screen Shots! because I was having dinner on a restaurant, they had Miss Universe on TV but they had analog TVs....

BTW Mexico was ROBBED!!! one of the better answers on the night, I couldn't understand Miss Venezuela at all.

I bet: Either Chavez bought the crown or the judges felt pitty for Miss Venezuela.. one of her highlights was that she was kidnapped, in a country that kindapping tops the crime charts... (see now the FARC news everyday, everywhere)

I capped it in HD. Almost didnt bother as it didnt show as HD in either tvguide.com listings or comcast motorola guide. Some macroblocking and 2 ?broadcast? glitches for a few frames. Now I just need to grab the popcorn and grab the remote and start watching commercial free now that VideoReDo has done its job.

Maybe this weekend I can post some screenshots.