Something that confuses me is when there are known HD commercials out there, but then all of a sudden they are not shown in that format. One example is during yesterday's football game. That Dodge commercial with the Rock Em'-Sock Em' robots was always being show in HD, but now it isn't. Why the change?

The biggest confusion though lies in the commercials that are advertising HD, but are shown in SD. Perfect example is that commercial where the people are watching golf and the golfer hits the ball into the grass. No one on the course can find the ball, but everyone watching on TV can see it clearly. This commercial was always in HD, like it should be considering it is advertising HD, but I haven't seen this commercial in HD for a few months now. They keep showing the SD version that would not tempt me to buy an HD set at all.

Just curious as to why this is done because frankly it makes no sense to me.

HD commercials are distributed in both HD & SD. Not all playback facilities have HD capability.

Okay, but that wouldn't explain why this golf commercial has not been shown for months now on stations that had previous shown it in HD.

I'd be really annoyed if I were the company who is trying to promote my HD sets and it's not even being shown in the format that best sells it.

Okay, but that wouldn't explain why this golf commercial has not been shown for months now on stations that had previous shown it in HD. Sure it does.

I'd be really annoyed if I were the company who is trying to promote my HD sets and it's not even being shown in the format that best sells it.
It's more than possible only so many HD showings were paid for, and the rest were only scheduled for SD.

If it is an HD commercial from the network in the same break in which there are local spots, the local station may drop to to the SD network upconvert to prepare for showing their local spots. Thus the HD spot from the network gets shown in SD.

The biggest confusion though lies in the commercials that are advertising HD, but are shown in SD.

Probably because if the person is already watching HD, they don't need to buy HD service so there isn't any point in advertising to them. The target audience is the audience that does not yet have HD, and hence couldn't see the commercial in HD anyway.

Probably because if the person is already watching HD, they don't need to buy HD service so there isn't any point in advertising to them. The target audience is the audience that does not yet have HD, and hence couldn't see the commercial in HD anyway.I don't think Tom is referring to commercials about HD, I think he's referring to any commercial in HD.

Probably because if the person is already watching HD, they don't need to buy HD service so there isn't any point in advertising to them. The target audience is the audience that does not yet have HD, and hence couldn't see the commercial in HD anyway.

Never watched TV outside your own house, huh?

Networks are able to show HD commercials while most local stations cannot. HD syndication was only introduced four months ago (not counting the earlier occasional Paramount movie feeds), and that's been a big step for most of the stations airing those shows. If anything I've noticed a gradual increase in the amount of HD commercials.

I don't think Tom is referring to commercials about HD, I think he's referring to any commercial in HD.

The sentence I quoted said...

"The biggest confusion though lies in the commercials that are advertising HD, but are shown in SD."

Never watched TV outside your own house, huh?

That's an awfully small market to target...

Leightman Research-

26% of HDTV owners have more than one HDTV - up from 11% last year

29% of HDTV owners are likely to get another HDTV in the next year - up from 18% last year

that is why spots about HD products should be aired in HD whenever possible, and why more mfgs of HDTV's,Home theater audio setups, HD Gaming platforms, Blu-ray and HD-DVD mfgs, and CE mfgs in general should air their spots in HD on HDNet and HDNet Movies to reach the HD viewers who are gearing up to upgrade their HD experience.

predictions are out there saying 19mm HDTV's going to be sold this year in the U.S.

that said, i saw lots of HD spots the past two days ....what's your favorite?

People with first-gen HD sets seem very likely to be in the market for a 2nd or a replacement. To see an ad for an HDTV in SD is a good way to know which companies don't care about marketing to them.

[QUOTE...that said, i saw lots of HD spots the past two days ....what's your favorite?[/QUOTE]

The good news is that thre are more HD spots now than a year ago. That said, I believe it is rather strange that the percentage of HD to SD spots is still less than 50% (just a guess on my part).

The best new HD commercial I've seen recently was the car spot take-off on TRON. That was very nicely done.

I still contend that it makes no sense to spend big bucks on creative and then NOT produce and/or air a commercial in HD. But, that is still happening despite the increased penetration of HD households and the approaching analog shutoff.

My favorite HD marketing gone awry was the "Samsung HDTV play of the day" on NBC's Football Night In America, which was shown in SD every single week. Not much of an HDTV play of the day and made them look like fools, IMO.

Another reason could be the infamous "forgot to throw the switch". How many times have you been watching an HD feed to have it come back from commercial break as a SD feed? Some thing could happen for commercials.

Well, what about when an HD-equipped station drops to SD? WUSA shows lots of (supposed-to-be) HD ads in SD, is this due to the terms of whatever advertiesing agreement is put in place? I also notice that during sports, like football, and especially on FOX, they seem to do the HD ads alot better (as in there seems to be a much higher frequency of them, and those that are meant to be HD get shown in HD). Is this just coincidence or do they have a different system in place for football?

That's an awfully small market to target...

Not now it isn't. It is a large segment of the market compared to those who already have HDTVs. Just this Christmas, the half of my extended family that didn't have HDTV was looking at the other half's HDTVs to decide if they want to buy or not.

Then add other places you can see HDTV (stores, bars, etc.) and you don't have a small market at all.

Then add in that Sony wants to sell to those who already have TVs as well. Those with Panasonic, Mitsubishi and even already own Sonys. I have a friend who may buy a Sony soon to replace his older Mits because he likes what my picture looks like.

Selling HD TVs on an SD commercial on an HD station is like selling flowers in black and white.

Although a station might be setup for HD news, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's setup for HD commercial playback. Networks typically have greater HD resources, and a HD commercial playback goes to hundreds of stations. I suspect local playback of HD commercials is a rarity. I have yet to see a local HD commercial on the station here that airs WOF/Jeopardy and their local news in HD. Widespread distribution of HD commercials is also likely an issue. WOF & Jeopardy are using daily linear satellite feeds.

What's really odd is when I see a commercial that I know to be available in HD, presented in SD, on an HD-only national channel. For instance, the one with Ellen DeGeneres meditating... I've seen it in true HD, letterboxed SD, and screen-filling upconverted SD -- and the last was on an all-HD channel.

A commercial advertising great HD picture quality is always limited by the viewers' actual playback equipment. Also, the screen images are almost always simulated. Therefore, selling a better HD set by "wowing" the viewer at home with the improved image is unlikely. If the advertiser is lucky, their commercial will get the viewer interested in seeing their monitor in action at a good store.

It's more than possible only so many HD showings were paid for, and the rest were only scheduled for SD.

HD ads sell more than SD ones do, everybody knows that.

Wolfie

What's really odd is when I see a commercial that I know to be available in HD, presented in SD, on an HD-only national channel. For instance, the one with Ellen DeGeneres meditating... I've seen it in true HD, letterboxed SD, and screen-filling upconverted SD -- and the last was on an all-HD channel.

DiscoveryHD Theater? They show this several times a day in stretch-o-vision. All their content and most of their commercials are very good HD, so it's kind of jarring to see that warped, blurry mess.

My favorite HD ad (which I almost never see in HD) is the Hitachi plasma commercial that has a woman in a red dress with a leopard on a leash, against a deep black background. Nice eye candy on a good TV.

Edited to add least favorite HD commercial: The one with the annoying/creepy little girl talking about meeeers.

I'm beginning to hate HD ads. Used to be able to just FF until the black bars went away.

I make the whole family watch HD commercials in real time. Doin' my part for the cause.