so has anyone seen this yet

http://boards.history.com/topic/Modern-Marvels/Stretch-On-Hd/700019766&start=45

this is still a problem and there is nothing that The History Channel or A&E has done about it yet - not only that they havent even responded to the posts in the forums about this



I have noticed problems with The Histrory Channel - other than the stretching issue, there seems to be some kinda line across the center of the screen that is sorta blury or not looking correct - it is only with this channel and no other channels or Blu-Ray

It's kind of old news, but still distressing that they distort SD images.

Don't even get me started on History HD. They're absolutely clueless when it comes to broadcasting HD. They actually stretch new programming that is shown in letterbox, and they still put the "History HD" bug over the stretched letterbox show! :eek::eek::eek:

And they seem to show the same shows wrong. I gave up on watching Monster Quest because one of the episodes I wanted to see was stretched letterbox EVERY time it was on!!!

It's kind of old news, but still distressing that they distort SD images.

its not about SD material

its about HD being stretched out

Don't even get me started on History HD. They're absolutely clueless when it comes to broadcasting HD. They actually stretch new programming that is shown in letterbox, and they still put the "History HD" bug over the stretched letterbox show! :eek::eek::eek:

And they seem to show the same shows wrong. I gave up on watching Monster Quest because one of the episodes I wanted to see was stretched letterbox EVERY time it was on!!!

YEP thats what I am talking about

maybe since this forum is much better than most at getting the word out about things if a big enough stink is made about this maybe something could be done about it

its not about SD material

its about HD being stretched out

The stuff they are stretching is SD. Aside from 4:3 film material that has been remastered for HD, all HD content is 16:9 or wider, which means stretching would not be necessary.

Letterboxed doesn't mean HD. Even 4:3 material can be letterboxed. A 16:9 image inside a 4:3 frame is still SD and History will stretch it.

The stuff they are stretching is SD. Aside from 4:3 film material that has been remastered for HD, all HD content is 16:9 or wider, which means stretching would not be necessary.

Letterboxed doesn't mean HD. Even 4:3 material can be letterboxed. A 16:9 image inside a 4:3 frame is still SD and History will stretch it.

But the shows I've seen are sometimes:

New shows that have aired in 16:9 HD once, then are stretched letterbox when shown again.

Also, I've seen shows in stretched letterbox that I've never seen in full 16:9, I'll call it that since some may be SD and letterbox. And even if it is SD letterbox on the SD channel, it should be shown full screen 16:9 on the HD channel, like FOX's "digital widescreen". 16:9 content should either be windowbox or expanded to fit the 16:9 AR of the channel, but never stretched.

its not about SD material

its about HD being stretched out

There is no such thing as stretched out HD on History, or anywhere else for that matter.

The stuff they are stretching is SD. Aside from 4:3 film material that has been remastered for HD, all HD content is 16:9 or wider, which means stretching would not be necessary.

Letterboxed doesn't mean HD. Even 4:3 material can be letterboxed. A 16:9 image inside a 4:3 frame is still SD and History will stretch it.

OK OK OK its obvious you havent seen this


what you get is 1.78:1 stretched to about 1.85:1 and the History Channel logo is in the correct place partially in the letterboxed and partially not



Iwill post some screen shots when I get a chance

OK OK OK its obvious you havent seen this


what you get is 1.78:1 stretched to about 1.85:1 and the History Channel logo is in the correct place partially in the letterboxed and partially not



Iwill post some screen shots when I get a chance

Don't bother. I have History HD, I've seen it what you're describing, and what they are doing is stretching letterboxed SD, like has been explained. They are not stretching HD. They do air the same program in HD and then in SD, along with other crimes against common sense.

Don't bother. I have History HD, I've seen it what you're describing, and what they are doing is stretching letterboxed SD, like has been explained. They are not stretching HD. They do air the same program in HD and then in SD, along with other crimes against common sense.

NO! thats not what I am talking about - they do stretch SD letterboxed also but I am talking about stretching HD content

actually they dont really stretch HD content - they squish it down on the top and bottom so it looks like SD letterboxed stretched to 16x9 - BUT it is in HD for sure

it was done with the band of brothers over Christmas when it was showed - it was HD for sure (I know what SD and HD looks like) that was in HD but the top and bottom were squished closer together so it looked like when you watch a movie that isnt 16x9 but wider than 16x9

I confirmed this by switching to the SD history channel and using the wide mode on my TV so it looked the same as the one on the HD channel but it was obvious that it was SD and the other was HD



I am going to record a 6 hour block on the history channel and check it later, then take pics

again I am sure it is NOT SD letterboxed being stretched to 16x9 - rather its 16x9 being squashed on the top and bottom

it was done with the band of brothers over Christmas when it was showed - it was HD for sure (I know what SD and HD looks like) that was in HD but the top and bottom were squished closer together so it looked like when you watch a movie that isnt 16x9 but wider than 16x9
BOB was SD.

actually they dont really stretch HD content - they squish it down on the top and bottom so it looks like SD letterboxed stretched to 16x9 - BUT it is in HD for sure

it was done with the band of brothers over Christmas when it was showed - it was HD for sure (I know what SD and HD looks like) that was in HD but the top and bottom were squished closer together so it looked like when you watch a movie that isnt 16x9 but wider than 16x9

That's how it looks when you stretch letterboxed SD.

You say you do, but apparently you don't know what HD looks like. BOB was most definitely NOT HD on the History Channel. It looked like crap - and was stretched.

BOB has stunning picture quality, even on the DVDs. The History Channel airing wasn't anywhere in the same league.

BOB has stunning picture quality, even on the DVDs. The History Channel airing wasn't anywhere in the same league.Yes, I've still got it on D-VHS from the original HBO HD airing.

Yes, I've still got it on D-VHS from the original HBO HD airing.
Oh, then you got it before HBO started bitstarving themselves...;)

I have seen the same thing. After Dish stopped carrying the VOOM channels most of the "replacement" HD channels were either SD with an HD logo on the bottom or it was stretched beyond watching.

Jeff

Oh, then you got it before HBO started bitstarving themselves...;)Yup.

BOB was SD.

pretty sure it was HD since they remastered it for BluRay recently

but even though I have seen HD letterboxed


really I know what I am talking about - I am not misunderstanding this

I have a Pioneer Pro-111FD and for sure I can tell what HD and SD look like - believe me they are doing this, I wil get a pic of what I am talking about - one from the HD and one from the SD channel


if I use my DVDO I can stretch and squish the picture as I see fit and fix this problem - I can tell it is HD not SD

pretty sure it was HD since they remastered it for BluRay recently

but even though I have seen HD letterboxed


really I know what I am talking about - I am not misunderstanding this

I have a Pioneer Pro-111FD and for sure I can tell what HD and SD look like - believe me they are doing this, I wil get a pic of what I am talking about - one from the HD and one from the SD channel


if I use my DVDO I can stretch and squish the picture as I see fit and fix this problem - I can tell it is HD not SD

BOB on History is SD. They do not have HD masters for it. Just becasue it was released on Blu-ray does not mean that A&E Networks bought HD masters. Besides since it was on HBO originally in HD masters exsit from the beginning. Obviosly A&E Networks feel that spending money for HD masters is not worth their money.

Too bad they used the SD source for BoB. Not only that, it wasn't even in 5.1. It obviously lessens the impact of the program. Loathsome effort on HistoryHD's part.

I like UFO Hunters on History HD but am disappointed with the letterboxed repeats of shows like Monster Quest when the original airings were 16x9 HD.

pretty sure it was HD since they remastered it for BluRay recently

but even though I have seen HD letterboxed


really I know what I am talking about - I am not misunderstanding this

I have a Pioneer Pro-111FD and for sure I can tell what HD and SD look like - believe me they are doing this, I wil get a pic of what I am talking about - one from the HD and one from the SD channel


if I use my DVDO I can stretch and squish the picture as I see fit and fix this problem - I can tell it is HD not SDSorry, but you are most definitely wrong.

An example of your confusion is trying to justify what you think by comparing the upconverted SD on the HD channel, to the SD channel. Of course the upconverted SD on the HD channel looks better. The professional upconverters used bu HD channels like History cost thousands of dollars, and will product much better results than any consumer upconverter.

That doesn't mean it's HD.

Further, as noted BOB was originally HD on HBO; I have the original digital recordings. It would not need to be remastered for release on BD.

Sorry, but you are most definitely wrong.

An example of your confusion is trying to justify what you think by comparing the upconverted SD on the HD channel, to the SD channel. Of course the upconverted SD on the HD channel looks better. The professional upconverters used bu HD channels like History cost thousands of dollars, and will product much better results than any consumer upconverter.

That doesn't mean it's HD.

Further, as noted BOB was originally HD on HBO; I have the original digital recordings. It would not need to be remastered for release on BD.

well I have a professional upconverter

its a dvdo vp50


well maybe not remastered but unless they have it scaned at a high quality then they would have to re-scan the film again

but thats not the point - I may have been wrong about BOB but I know for sure that I have seen shows like "The Universe" with a 2008 date on it that is stretched out

go and read the posts in the 4 pages from the link at the top of the topic -- some of them are about SD but others are about HD being stretched, and sometimes air dates are given with the show name - these are NEW shows not old ones, it makes no sense to upconvert SD to HD for a show that was shot in HD to begin with on Digital Cameras like "The Universe" "Cities of the Underworld" "Shockwave" and many others that are NEW shot in the last year, in HD


its funny that no one believes me - its not like I am making things up here or that I dont know what SD and HD looks like - I have taken courses in display calibration and have been a video file since the early 90's when HDTV first started to come about - back then we used the Firewire port for the picture and sound in up to 1080i

Why would they need to rescan the film? It was already transferred to a 1080 format for broadcast on HBO HD. Unless for some ridiculous reason they destroyed the HD masters, they would only need to compress the HD master from whatever tape format was used to the VC1 or H.264 codec used on the HDDVD/Bluray.

Also, just because the first airing was in HD doesn't mean subsequent airings will be. The 16:9 HD video is downconverted and letterboxed for the SD channel, and that same downconverted/letterboxed video is then upconverted and stretched for subsequent airings on the HD channel. No HD channel has ever stretched HD content anyway, and I'm not even sure there's any pro equipment that can do it. SD content gets stretched all the time, but the few 4:3 HD productions out there (The Wizard of Oz, Rudolph and one or 2 other Christmas shows, and the HD transfers of Northern Exposure for Universal HD) have never been stretched. Since the HD masters for all of these would include the side pillars, the equipment would have no way of knowing that it isn't widescreen.

but thats not the point - I may have been wrong about BOB but I know for sure that I have seen shows like "The Universe" with a 2008 date on it that is stretched outIf you saw them stretched they were not HD.

go and read the posts in the 4 pages from the link at the top of the topic -- some of them are about SD but others are about HD being stretched, and sometimes air dates are given with the show name - these are NEW shows not old ones, it makes no sense to upconvert SD to HD for a show that was shot in HD to begin with on Digital Cameras like "The Universe" "Cities of the Underworld" "Shockwave" and many others that are NEW shot in the last year, in HDHistory may air a program in HD at one time, and air the exact same program at another time in SD; even programs that are brand new.

so its happening NOW

the show is Gangland - Texas Terror 2008

I can tell the difference between the SD and HD channels - even going through the VP50

the word HISTORY.COM at the bottom of both the HD and SD - and it is much cleaner on the HD channel

here are some pics

http://img407.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00001ic0.jpg

http://img93.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00002cx6.jpg

the SD one is being processed by a DVDO VP50 (one of the best video processor out there)

The bug is inserted far enough down the processing chain that the device doesn't care what sort of content is being input at the beginning. The bug is overlaid on 1280x720 frames which can contain stretched 4:3 SD, 16:9 letterboxed in 4:3 then stretched, or real HD content. No matter what, it's all 1280x720 at that point, and the bug is HD.