I started noticing last night that MGM HD is interrupting movie broadcasts now.

Having it on in the background today, I saw that both "The White Buffalo" and "Eat Drink Man Woman" were interrupted in the middle by a promo for another movie airing some other time on MGM HD. I definitely prefer them stopping the movie briefly to make an announcement rather than popping crap up on top of the movie, so that part of it is okay so far.

The real problem I had was that last night I went to watch "Code 46" and it was preceded by an "Edited for Time and Content" message. I've never seen one of these messages on MGM before, and I have no clue why they would dumb down any of the films they are airing since the only ad/interruption during the film was to promote their own channel.

Anybody else bothered by this? Has anyone seen "Edited for..." messages before any other films on MGM recently? The people running this channel seem to be starting to forget that we pay a hell of a lot more of their bills than the occasional ads between movies and late night infomercials that they air. MGM also doesn't have to incur huge licensing fees that other networks do either because they only air movies that they own. Hmm...

Year after year TCM is the only reliable, and BEST, movie channel.:)

Saw this during the Friday night showing of "Sid and Nancy": a minute-long break at the halfway mark to promote today's Woody Allen marathon. The movie was unedited though (profanity, brief nudity and a ton of drug use) so at least in late night they're not cutting out anything. Little by little MGM-HD (which I've grown to like a lot) is slipping though. Universal-HD started like this and a few months later they became USA-HD 2, showing edited-for-content movies with lots of commercials. As long as the content remains uncensored except for breaks to show promos and/or commercials I'm fine (even if it's more than one break). But the moment content is edited and fitted to run on an alloted time I'm out of there and MGM-HD will never get me back to watch... ever! :(

I guess the only good thing about Dish and DirecTV putting these in extra packages is that we don't have to pay for them!

I guess the only good thing about Dish and DirecTV putting these in extra packages is that we don't have to pay for them!

Very true. Unlike so many other channels, viewers very much have the choice to drop the package that includes channels like UHD, and possibly MGM soon, as the content quality comes into question. The only problem is that the amazing HDNet Movies channel is in the same channel packages, and I really wouldn't want to give that up.

I forsee MGM-HD disapeerring so they could put Epix in its spot.

I forsee MGM-HD disapeerring so they could put Epix in its spot.

I was looking forward to being able to get both MGM and Epix, but if MGM plans to continue down a path of self-destruction I wouldn't mind it being replaced so much. I probably wouldn't be exposed to as many MGM films, both common and obscure, but TCM owns a ton of the old MGM library so I probably wouldn't miss out on a whole lot in the end. Would definitely still prefer to have both of them though. :)

Year after year TCM is the only reliable, and BEST, movie channel.:)

HDNet movies is still OAR, commercial free and in HD with multichannel audio.

The programmers need to pray that a' la carte never becomes a reality or they would soon learn the wrath of those of us who demand quality. MGM isn't free. We are paying for it in the packages we HAVE to take and pay for, in order to get the few channels we really want.

Sad about MGM. I won't be watching it any more.

This is very bad news. I was hoping that MGMHD would get better (such as adding 5.1 audio) and instead it seems like they want to follow the UHD route (which completely destroyed any incentive to watch that channel). What sort of pinheads at these channels believe that this is a good idea?!?!?! Are they going to start cropping movies to a 16:9 aspect ratio next? I'd prefer they just eliminate these channels rather than the castrate them.

Once they gain carriage, there's no real motivation to maintain quality. First it will be a few promos for their own programming, then advertising revenue is a bonus that few will pass up.

Root for more and more channels, and higher and higher subscription rates - eventually it will break the back of the system and they'll be forced into an a la carte model. Fortunately, the pigs are at the trough, so it's only a matter of when, not if.

Year after year TCM is the only reliable, and BEST, movie channel.:)

When did this channel go HD?

When did this channel go HD?

I dont think it did.
Not sure why it was mentioned in an hdtv programming forum?:confused:

I dont think it did.
Not sure why it was mentioned in an hdtv programming forum?:confused:

I was wondering the same thing.

Because TCM is one of the 'most wanted' to go HD channels. Even in SDTV, it still could beat the pants off some of these HD channels that stretch, zoom, crop, assassinate with bugs/snipes, commercials, etc.

Because TCM is one of the 'most wanted' to go HD channels. Even in SDTV, it still could beat the pants off some of these HD channels that stretch, zoom, crop, assassinate with bugs/snipes, commercials, etc.

I like that, may have to borrow it for a signature. :p:D

You may. :D

Because TCM is one of the 'most wanted' to go HD channels. Even in SDTV, it still could beat the pants off some of these HD channels that stretch, zoom, crop, assassinate with bugs/snipes, commercials, etc.

But we've been waiting years for it to go HD and it still hasn't and there isn't any indication it will do so in the future. Years of wishing for HD TCM is long enough. Time to move on.

And the fact of the matter is that TCM is ONLY SD now. And those of us who get HD only packages don't get TCM. Wishing TCM to be HD doesn't make it appropriate material for discussion in an HD forum. It's that simple.

Some of you must have never heard the ol' "Fool me once, shame on you"......

After TBS HD and TNT HD - what could possibly make you think that Time Warner would develop a TCM HD channel that would not "stretch, zoom, crop, assassinate with bugs/snipes, commercials, etc." ?

Until we get TCM in HD, the next best choice is HDNet Movies.

All uncut, all HD, and more importantly, all OAR.

HDNet interrupted Close Encounters of the Third Kind twice last night with commercials.

HDNet interrupted Close Encounters of the Third Kind twice last night with commercials.

That's "HDNet" though, not "HDNet Movies." HDNet does a limited number of airings of films with commercials that are showing, have shown, or will be shown on HDNet Movies in an uninterrupted form.

I'm gonna still watch it!!! They played 2 films I haven't seen in years and both prints were great in HD...Revenge of the Zombies and Curse of the Faceless Man...wish I had them for my collection

The only problem I have with them is they sure have a long break time between movies!!!

Good for them to have long breaks. MGM-HD can cram as many commercials and 'making of' featurettes to kill time as it wants during those if it'll keep movie interruptions to a minimum. Saw "Revenge of the Zombies" last weekend and was amusingly cheesy. The living dead sure were better at marching like storm troopers back in '43, when John Carradine (and not George Romero) was their creator and 'supreme' leader. ;)

That's "HDNet" though, not "HDNet Movies." HDNet does a limited number of airings of films with commercials that are showing, have shown, or will be shown on HDNet Movies in an uninterrupted form.


Thanks. I have trouble sometimes keeping track of which network is which.

They are obviously getting ready to start inserting commercials during the movies. We should start taking bets on how long before we see actual commercials.

Yet another HD movie channel run into the ground and made worthless....At least we still have HDNet Movies but I don't know how long that will last since Cuban has started inserting more and more commercials into HDNet's programming (besides movies, they have now started to insert commercials into live MMA/K-1 events). I think it's only a matter of time before Cuban starts doing the same on HDNet Movies.

They are obviously getting ready to start inserting commercials during the movies. We should start taking bets on how long before we see actual commercials.

At least we still have HDNet Movies but I don't know how long that will last since Cuban has started inserting more and more commercials into HDNet's programming (besides movies, they have now started to insert commercials into live MMA/K-1 events). I think it's only a matter of time before Cuban starts doing the same on HDNet Movies.
I don't know. Mark really loves movies. While I wouldn't be surprised to see commercials between movies, I'm not seeing as much of a chance at them getting show within the movies themselves unless some very radical events take place that give him no other choice to stay in business.

At that point, the channel would be a shell of itself due to cost cutting measures, anyway, so it wouldn't matter.

What's the verdict on what they're doing here?

I was annoyed with the mid-movie commercial breaks, but that's understandable.

The edited for content and time announcement I just saw before Code 46 is a deal breaker. Does anyone know conclusively if this is what they're doing now as a rule, or if it's a late night/daytime issue, what the rules appear to be?

It really sucks if this channel has turned unwatchable, as they have some really quality movies, even if the sound is kind of mushy and there's no closed captioning.

What's the verdict on what they're doing here?

I was annoyed with the mid-movie commercial breaks, but that's understandable.

The edited for content and time announcement I just saw before Code 46 is a deal breaker. Does anyone know conclusively if this is what they're doing now as a rule, or if it's a late night/daytime issue, what the rules appear to be?

It really sucks if this channel has turned unwatchable, as they have some really quality movies, even if the sound is kind of mushy and there's no closed captioning.
It seems useless to me. All I've ever seen in the breaks within the movies is promos for other movies. They aren't even real commercials.

It seems like they're interrupting the movies for...nothing.

Am I the only one who remembers when AMC first started adding commercials they said it was "by customer request" because "customers enjoy being able to take a break and get a drink or snack in mid-film"?

It wasn't long after that before they went full-blown commercial.

MGM HD is simply headed down the same road as Universal HD; I expect to see programming migrate over from "This TV" next.

Speculation: MGM HD will be replaced by Epix HD, so whatever they do now is of little consequence.

On what service where?

On what service where?

On every service, everywhere.

Speculation: MGM HD will be replaced by Epix HD, so whatever they do now is of little consequence.And whatever MGM's policy's are, could be a bad sign of what is to come on Epix.:(

And whatever MGM's policy's are, could be a bad sign of what is to come on Epic.:(

Not necessarily. Epix will be a premium service, like HBO, SHO, Starz, etc.

What's Epic? Google turns up nothing…

What's Epic? Google turns up nothing…

It's actually called "Epix" with an x.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2009-03-01-viacom-lionsgate-mgm-epix-channel_N.htm

It's actually called "Epix" with an x.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2009-03-01-viacom-lionsgate-mgm-epix-channel_N.htm

Thanks… from what I can tell, absolutely nothing I'd watch anyway. :(

It's actually called "Epix" with an x.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2009-03-01-viacom-lionsgate-mgm-epix-channel_N.htm

Thank you for the correction.

Here's the original Epix topic: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1125731

It's also listed in the Coming Soon section of the HDTV Programming synopsis, and I actually spelled it correctly there.....

What's the verdict on what they're doing here?

...

The edited for content and time announcement I just saw before Code 46 is a deal breaker. Does anyone know conclusively if this is what they're doing now as a rule, or if it's a late night/daytime issue, what the rules appear to be?

So far I've only seen the "edited" warning before Code 46. As far as time of day making a difference, it seems that at least some films airing in the morning and maybe the early afternoon don't have the mid-movie break yet, but late afternoon through late night usually have the interruptions. The only evenings I noticed films on without breaks since first posting about this were for the Woody Allen marathons and the "tax day" theme.

Not necessarily. Epix will be a premium service, like HBO, SHO, Starz, etc.That doesn't mean much. As we know they all have their problems (with the exception of HDNet Movies).

Actually Epix is supposed to be an HD ONLY channel with a rate for $1.25 per potential viewer. It dosen't look like a separate a la carte channel.

This is why I feel that MGM HD will eventually become Epix,which is OK wioth me as I currently get MGM HD.

Actually Epix is supposed to be an HD ONLY channel with a rate for $1.25 per potential viewer. It dosen't look like a separate a la carte channel.

This is why I feel that MGM HD will eventually become Epix,which is OK wioth me as I currently get MGM HD.

Is $1.25 wholesale or retail :) I'll say one thing for MGM-HD, I think the PQ is excellent, only DD 2.0 and yeah some commercials, but the PQ seems outstanding to me. I've watched some of the older movies and they really do look good. I watched Tank Girl a week or so ago, they didn't have any commercials in that one.

You get what you pay for.

So far I've only seen the "edited" warning before Code 46. As far as time of day making a difference, it seems that at least some films airing in the morning and maybe the early afternoon don't have the mid-movie break yet, but late afternoon through late night usually have the interruptions. The only evenings I noticed films on without breaks since first posting about this were for the Woody Allen marathons and the "tax day" theme.

Yeah, no other warnings so far, but with very few data points. I've begun starting my recordings a minute early just to make sure one doesn't slip by.

My concern is that EPIX will be technically maintained like MGM-HD. As you can tell from their website, there is no way to contact them. I've been trying to repeatedly over the past few months email someone at the email addy provided on the main MGM website about the sound problems (MGM is the only HD channel that doesn't offer a proper 5.1DD signal for at least some of their movies, and we all know that some of them have them available), and they haven't replied at all.

That doesn't mean much. As we know they all have their problems (with the exception of HDNet Movies).?

In reference to the issue raised by the OP, there will be no commercials, no interruptions, no editing for time, no editing for content.

?

In reference to the issue raised by the OP, there will be no commercials, no interruptions, no editing for time, no editing for content.But we still don't know if they will have the same exact audio problems as MGM-HD, meaning DD2.1 for all movies. We also don't know if they will be OAR yet, unless they have confirmed this somewhere.

But we still don't know if they will have the same exact audio problems as MGM-HD, meaning DD2.1 for all movies. We also don't know if they will be OAR yet, unless they have confirmed this somewhere.Dave, it would not be acceptable for a premium movie channel not to offer 5.1. You have to look at what MGM HD was, not in the same category as HBO, etc.

As for OAR, who knows?

Very disappointing. The PQ on MGM HD has been very good. I thought it was a mistake when I saw Invasion of the Body Snatchers interrupted in the middle of the afternoon. It seems to be inconsistent, though. I just watched a DVR recording of Inherit the Wind and it wasn't interrupted.

Me and the GF watched Fantastic Four recently on MGM and they kept breaking in with spots on how the movie was made and showing scenes that hadn't even been shown yet and the GF got so fed up she said "What is all this crap? Just turn it off, i'll rent the DVD so we can actually watch the movie". Gotta love her :)

I have yet to experience some of the things mentioned in the thread, I don't doubt those things happened, but it was one of the reasons I dropped the HD Extra Pack from my DIRECTV account on Sunday. Shame too because MGM-HD and Smithsonian were major reasons I subbed in the first place.

Me and the GF watched Fantastic Four recently on MGM and they kept breaking in with spots on how the movie was made and showing scenes that hadn't even been shown yet and the GF got so fed up she said "What is all this crap? Just turn it off, i'll rent the DVD so we can actually watch the movie". Gotta love her :)

MGM hasn't aired Fantastic Four, nor would they ever since it is a FOX film. You might want to check again to find out what channel you were actually watching. Sounds like it could have been the "DVD-on-TV" thing the FX channel sometimes does. :)

MGM hasn't aired Fantastic Four, nor would they ever since it is a FOX film. You might want to check again to find out what channel you were actually watching. Sounds like it could have been the "DVD-on-TV" thing the FX channel sometimes does. :)

IT does sound like FX, they've been showing it, I don't ever remember it being on MGM and according to what you just said, doesn't sound like I ever will.

HDNet movies is still OAR, commercial free and in HD with multichannel audio.

Not any more.... Comercials were aired yesterday during Close Encounters in HDNETM.

Not any more.... Comercials were aired yesterday during Close Encounters in HDNETM.

Close encouters was no9t scheduled for HDnet MOVIES this week.

Not any more.... Comercials were aired yesterday during Close Encounters in HDNETM.

As chitchatjf pointed out, you were watching HDNet, not HDNet Movies.

I don't think MGMHD gets it due. There are a lot of repeats, but also several movies each month that interest me. They're all in HD and generally look great. Sometimes the movies are interrupted once for an MGM promo, sometimes not. This afternoon, they aired The Winning of Barbara Worth, a 1926 silent film, with no interruption. As far as I know, not even TCM airs silents on Sunday afternoon. The movie starred Ronald Coleman and a 25-year-old Gary Cooper. It was Cooper's first appearance except as an extra, and he was awarded the part when the actor cast in the role failed to show up. It looked remarkably good for a movie that old and obscure, and it was actually a good movie. It airs again February 28.

I love TCM, but while there's some debate about the content of TCM's HD channel, I have yet to see anything on it in native HD. MGMHD seldom gets any attention, but aside from HDNet Movies, which I'm unable to get, and a rare old movie on one of the cable movie channels, MGM is the only source on cable of HD airings of old movies. I wish more people talked about it, because I'd hate to lose it.

I don't think MGMHD gets it due. There are a lot of repeats, but also several movies each month that interest me. They're all in HD and generally look great. Sometimes the movies are interrupted once for an MGM promo, sometimes not. This afternoon, they aired The Winning of Barbara Worth, a 1926 silent film, with no interruption. As far as I know, not even TCM airs silents on Sunday afternoon. The movie starred Ronald Coleman and a 25-year-old Gary Cooper. It was Cooper's first appearance except as an extra, and he was awarded the part when the actor cast in the role failed to show up. It looked remarkably good for a movie that old and obscure, and it was actually a good movie. It airs again February 28.

I love TCM, but while there's some debate about the content of TCM's HD channel, I have yet to see anything on it in native HD. MGMHD seldom gets any attention, but aside from HDNet Movies, which I'm unable to get, and a rare old movie on one of the cable movie channels, MGM is the only source on cable of HD airings of old movies. I wish more people talked about it, because I'd hate to lose it.

I completely agree with you. In general the PQ of the movies on MGM is excellent. And it's OAR. That alone makes it easier for to accept the occasional fairly quick interruption. The vast majority of my movie watching is on HDNet Movies and MGM HD.

MGM is passable at best. OAR is nice, I just wish they'd stop interrupting (for whatever reason) and fix their damn sound issue (obviously they just don't care).

I do have the Epix package on FIOS and they get the same transfers as MGM-HD, so they'll show movies with the same DD2.1 but on occasion they'll show a newer movie in OAR with DD5.1 as well, but there seems no rhyme nor reason to their policy.

MGM is passable at best. OAR is nice, I just wish they'd stop interrupting (for whatever reason) and fix their damn sound issue (obviously they just don't care).

I do have the Epix package on FIOS and they get the same transfers as MGM-HD, so they'll show movies with the same DD2.1 but on occasion they'll show a newer movie in OAR with DD5.1 as well, but there seems no rhyme nor reason to their policy.

What newer movie is OAR? From what i've seen, they crop new widescreen films, such as IRON MAN, THE DUTCHESS, all the INDIANA JONES films, etc.
I could never sign up and pay for a"service" that has such a policy.

Occasionally they'll show something like Event Horizon in OAR in DD5.1.

Occasionally they'll show something like Event Horizon in OAR in DD5.1.

Well, that film is 13 years old. Yes, older films are OAR because those are from pre-existing masters. That's why movies like that, STAR TREK II, CLEAR
AND PRESENT DANGER, etc., are shown OAR even on HBO. But recent films are cropped...a deal-breaker for me.

MGM is passable at best. OAR is nice, I just wish they'd stop interrupting (for whatever reason) and fix their damn sound issue (obviously they just don't care).

I do have the Epix package on FIOS and they get the same transfers as MGM-HD, so they'll show movies with the same DD2.1 but on occasion they'll show a newer movie in OAR with DD5.1 as well, but there seems no rhyme nor reason to their policy.

"Passable at best"???? Wow. We obviously look at movies very differently. I also have Epix but almost never watch it unless it's a 1.85 movie. I'll settle for a brief pause in the movie in order to have one of the very few remaining movie channels dedicated to OAR. Hell, even when I watch a BD movie, I usually have to pause it to hit the head or get a snack. BFD.

But it certainly seems like you'd rather watch a movie being butchered for 2 hours (2.35 to 1.85) than a movie in OAR with a short pause. I find your priorities to not be those of a movie lover.

Occasionally they'll show something like Event Horizon in OAR in DD5.1.

Let me get this straight. You're supporting Epix because they occasionally show a very crappy movie like Event Horizon in OAR. Okie Dokey.

Let me get this straight. You're supporting Epix because they occasionally show a very crappy movie like Event Horizon in OAR. Okie Dokey.

Hey, I liked EVENT HORIZON! But yeah, EPIX is a waste. What makes it even worse is, if they had continued to allow SHOWTIME to broadcast them, the films would be almost guaranteed to be OAR (that's the SHOWTIME policy). Since the studios are behind EPIX, I'd have thought they'd have the same respect for their product. Obviously, they do not. Still hard to believe that some people would pay $120.00 a year for it. Want to see STAR TREK with at least one-third of the picture missing? Get EPIX!!

My biggest beef with MGM is the lack of closed captioning. Sometimes when I watch something late at night, I turn them on so I can keep the volume lower and still understand the dialog. I can't do that with MGM.

My biggest beef with MGM is the lack of closed captioning. Sometimes when I watch something late at night, I turn them on so I can keep the volume lower and still understand the dialog. I can't do that with MGM.

Many TVs can be adjusted for this, using Dynamic Range Control or (on my set) an Equalizer. That allows dialogue to be audible without having music or effects overwhelm it. If your set has such an option, that might help when you have to keep the volume low.

I never said MGM was great. I do give them a just passing grade only because they offer:

1. Movies that aren't available anywhere else.
2. OAR

That's it.

EPIX is pretty much the same but with a wider choice of movies and no breaks. If there is a newer movie being shown that is cropped then don't watch it. The only good thing about Epix is you have the choice of seeing a movie that would be on MGM-HD except without the interruptions (and in OAR).

Gret channel with good movies, too bad for the interruptions. Why can't they just wait and play the ads in between the movies like HD Net Movies?

Many TVs can be adjusted for this, using Dynamic Range Control or (on my set) an Equalizer. That allows dialogue to be audible without having music or effects overwhelm it. If your set has such an option, that might help when you have to keep the volume low.
I'd rather they just get there act together and provide what they're supposed to. I may be misinterpreting the law, but I'm pretty sure they're supposed to provide them.

I believe there are exceptions for older copies of a show, but anything HD would be from well after that ruling.