I can't believe I already missed the Grinch! Anyone know if it will be re-aired this month?

At least I was lucky enough to read about Rudolph earlier today before it aired.

I've been missing these specials in HD for a last couple years due to my work schedule, however with my recent purchase of a DVR, I'm now able to capture and watch these classics in all their glory.

What about the one show that has Mr Freeze and Heat Miser. Will that be shown in HD? (Year Without a Santa Claus)

Or any other great classic?


Here is an update of what's been talked about here and another thread...


Rudolph, already aired in HD. It was only SD in my area due to a server problem with my local CBS station.

Grinch already aired, however Cartoon Network will be showing it again 12/9 8:00 PM and 12/16 HD?

Santa Claus I Coming To Town" already aired on ABC. It was shown in SD in my area, did anyone else see this in HD?

"Shrek The Halls". ABC Tuesday, Dec 11 in HD.

Frosty the Snowman. Dec 7th, on CBS. I don't know if it's HD or not. Does anyone know?

Year without a Santa Clause. Dec 8th and 16th on ABC Family at odd times. I don't think it's going to be in HD though.

"I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" Monday, December 10th I think on ABC.


__________________

So far I know of:

Rudolph
Grinch
Frosty the Snowman

are in HD.

I'm not sure if "Year without a Santa Clause" is in HD. I don't think that they show that one on Network Television anymore. They have a lot of the Stop Motion animation shows on ABC Family all month long. So while they won't be in HD, you can at least see some of the less popular offerings there.

"Santa Claus I Coming To Town" is on tonight at 8:00/7:00 Central on ABC. It's not listed as HD, but at 4:3, it doesn't really matter if it is or not.

Wolfie

"Santa Claus I Coming To Town" is on tonight at 8:00/7:00 Central on ABC. It's not listed as HD, but at 4:3, it doesn't really matter if it is or not.
Sure it makes a difference. It looks better with an HD transfer.

How about "Shrek The Halls".
ABC is showing it again on Tuesday, Dec 11.

So far I know of:

Rudolph
Grinch
Frosty the Snowman

are in HD.

Frosty the Snowman? Great! I'll be sure to set the DVR. I think it's on this weekend on CBS.

About Rudolph, my local CBS station dropped the red nose at the station and sent out a SD signal. Actually they lost their server, hopefully that wont happen with Frosty!

How about "Shrek The Halls".
ABC is showing it again on Tuesday, Dec 11.

Was it in HD last year?

Was it in HD last year?
No.

But only because it didn't exist then.

No.

But only because it didn't exist then.

Intersting. Well, I went to the program guide and it's listed as HD so I have it set to record. I'm surprised the show is only 1/2 hour long.

Intersting. Well, I went to the program guide and it's listed as HD so I have it set to record. I'm surprised the show is only 1/2 hour long.
It's a production made just for TV - just like the Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas, etc. It's not a movie.

Shrek the Halls was on last week and it was in HD. It looked really good. Many commercials though. I think that someone said that cut out the commericals and it ended up only being about 15mins long.

Shrek the Halls was on last week and it was in HD. It looked really good. Many commercials though. I think that someone said that cut out the commericals and it ended up only being about 15mins long.

Yes, way way way too many commercials.

But there were some funny moments. The gingerbread man's santa story was hilarious.

Sure it makes a difference. It looks better with an HD transfer.

You don't REALLY believe that, do you?

Wolfie

You don't REALLY believe that, do you?

Wolfie

I kinda know what ya mean...I watch Rudolph on a standard Directv DVR and it looked nice and clear...I then watched the recorded version on my HD DVR in the bedroom, and sure it looked nice but it wasn't like night and day compared to the SD version...didn't make me wanna kick myself for not watching it in HD....I was plenty happy watching Rudolph on the SD tv.

You don't REALLY believe that, do you?

Wolfie

It's true.

... The gingerbread man's santa story was hilarious.

Not to my 2-year-old! I had to fast forward through that part. :D

You don't REALLY believe that, do you?

Wolfie
What's not to believe? They look fabulous in HD.

Aspect ratio has nothing to do with image quality.

Not to my 2-year-old! I had to fast forward through that part. :Dhehe, same here. My Two year old now watches Christmas Shrek between his fingers (he covers his face with his hands when he is scared and watches between the fingers). I asked him why he was scared and he said that Santa was going to eat the cookie man.

The Bumble in Rudolph is also a hands over face moment.

I kinda know what ya mean...I watch Rudolph on a standard Directv DVR and it looked nice and clear...I then watched the recorded version on my HD DVR in the bedroom, and sure it looked nice but it wasn't like night and day compared to the SD version...didn't make me wanna kick myself for not watching it in HD....I was plenty happy watching Rudolph on the SD tv.


I thought that way too last year-- when I watched the HD remastered Rudolph broadcast on a 30" tube set. [I also have the DVD]

Seeing it on a 42" 1080p plasma--- the difference was night and day. It looked really good.

I hope Rudolph repeats before the end of the month.

The Bumble in Rudolph is also a hands over face moment.
See, that's why when you know that moment is coming up, you carefully slip out of the room. Then when Bumble comes out you come up behind the kid, grab his shoulders and make a loud "Grrrrrrrr!" noise.

Be prepared for a wet couch, though....







BTW, I take no responsibility if anyone does this and scars their children for life. On the other hand, my sister use to terrorize me and this is the kind of thing I now think is funny.... ;)

I thought rudolf looked good, but not enough to put up with the commercials. My daughter has the DVD which we play in a Blu-ray that upconverts and looks really good. The commercials every few minutes made me mental.

"Santa Claus I Coming To Town" is on tonight at 8:00/7:00 Central on ABC. It's not listed as HD, but at 4:3, it doesn't really matter if it is or not.

Wolfie

I've got it set to record "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" just in case it's HD.

And HD makes a big difference. The film that it was recorded on has much more color info and resolution than regular NTSC can provide.

It's a production made just for TV - just like the Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas, etc. It's not a movie.


No, but at least Rudolph is an hour long and was also made only for TV.

I guess it would not matter if there was only one short break midway in the show, however if there are too many commercials, then that's got to suck big time.

Shrek the Halls was on last week and it was in HD. It looked really good. Many commercials though. I think that someone said that cut out the commericals and it ended up only being about 15mins long.

No. It's 21:19 long. And the PQ is amazing.

Is "Santa Claus I Coming To Town" showing in hd for anybody, my guide says its hd but i didnt see any ABC HD Logo pop up or anything

Was it in HD last year?

It is new this year. Wonderful HD. They are running it again after running it last week.

Is "Santa Claus I Coming To Town" showing in hd for anybody, my guide says its hd but i didnt see any ABC HD Logo pop up or anything

I'll be checking mine later tonight after its been recorded. Even without a HD logo pop up, you should still be able to tell by looking at it.

My local CBS station dropped the red nose at the station and sent out a SD signal on Rodolph. I could tell simply by looking.

I can't believe I already missed the Grinch! Anyone know if it will be re-aired this month?

At least I was lucky enough to read about Rudolph earlier today before it aired.

I've been missing these specials in HD for a last couple years due to my work schedule, however with my recent purchase of a DVR, I'm now able to capture and watch these classics in all their glory.

What about the one show that has Mr Freeze and Heat Miser. Will that be shown in HD? (Year Without a Santa Claus)

Or any other great classic?

are you going to consolidate the list into the first post, since you started the topic?

Is "Santa Claus I Coming To Town" showing in hd for anybody, my guide says its hd but i didnt see any ABC HD Logo pop up or anything

SD in Philly

Your HD pq is only as good as the source material. These shows were done without the technology they have today. They will look no better in HD than SD. Live wit it.

Wolfie

Your HD pq is only as good as the source material. These shows were done without the technology they have today. They will look no better in HD than SD. Live wit it.

Wolfie

You've been here 5 years and still don't realize that most film has a higher-than-HD effective resolution? :eek:

Your HD pq is only as good as the source material. These shows were done without the technology they have today. They will look no better in HD than SD. Live wit it.

Wolfie
Take your head out of the sand. They used a technology that is not only still used today, but is still often superior to HD video. It's called film, and properly sourced, can look as good as even the clearest of HD video. It's the reason so many shows still use it. Film for TV doesn't suffer from the large number of duplicates and generation loss that film for the theater does. As a result, even an old production can look spectacular if a properly restored and scan print is used.

If you can't understand that and enjoy the best these films have ever looked, then feel free not to watch. However, the rest of use will enjoy many of them looking better than they've ever looked on TV.

Is "Santa Claus I Coming To Town" showing in hd for anybody, my guide says its hd but i didnt see any ABC HD Logo pop up or anything

Turned up in SD from the Phoenix Arizona area. It looked like an up converted old video of the film made some years back.


I'm not sure if it was going to be in HD or not. Someone out there might know.

are you going to consolidate the list into the first post, since you started the topic?

That's a good idea. However I won't be able to sit down and do that till at least Friday into the evening.

are you going to consolidate the list into the first post, since you started the topic?


Updated!

is year withoutsanta claus airing this year?

is year withoutsanta claus airing this year?

Yes, twice.

Dec 8th and 16th on ABC Family at odd times. I don't think it's going to be in HD though.

Take your head out of the sand. They used a technology that is not only still used today, but is still often superior to HD video. It's called film, and properly sourced, can look as good as even the clearest of HD video. It's the reason so many shows still use it. Film for TV doesn't suffer from the large number of duplicates and generation loss that film for the theater does. As a result, even an old production can look spectacular if a properly restored and scan print is used.

If you can't understand that and enjoy the best these films have ever looked, then feel free not to watch. However, the rest of use will enjoy many of them looking better than they've ever looked on TV.

I'm just a-sayin' that when they did these shows, they knew they were gonna be seen only by little children who
don't give a rat's rear what the pq and horizontal resolution looks like. They just wanted to see Rudolph and Santa flyin' through the air bringin' them toys at Christmas. Therefor, they did them in lower cost conditions and they have the negatives to prove it. It's just the way it was back then.

Wolfie

Still there is a world of difference between the original SD prints that have been used for years, and the HD remastered prints that have recently appeared.

I'm just a-sayin' that when they did these shows, they knew they were gonna be seen only by little children who
don't give a rat's rear what the pq and horizontal resolution looks like. They just wanted to see Rudolph and Santa flyin' through the air bringin' them toys at Christmas. Therefor, they did them in lower cost conditions and they have the negatives to prove it. It's just the way it was back then.

Wolfie
First, they shot these with a lot of care despite thinking they would only be seen once or twice. While no one thought they'd be the holiday staples they still are today, they still cared about what they were producing - something that is lacking in a lot of today's productions. During those years, and the years before, there was a sense of doing something important and a sort of "pioneering" and risk-taking spirit of doing things that hadn't been done before.

Second, even sloppy production has no effect on the resolution of film.

I'm just a-sayin' that when they did these shows, they knew they were gonna be seen only by little children who
don't give a rat's rear what the pq and horizontal resolution looks like. They just wanted to see Rudolph and Santa flyin' through the air bringin' them toys at Christmas. Therefor, they did them in lower cost conditions and they have the negatives to prove it. It's just the way it was back then.

Wolfie

Interesting post. You point out that they have the "negatives to prove it". Prove what? That the film they used is a poor source? You mentioned, "lower cost conditions".

The puppets originally cost $5000 each in 1964 http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=147060

Don't forget the cost of airing the film. Back in 1964, I don't believe they used satellite transmission to deliver the programming to all of the local affiliates around the country. I'm sure they had to make copies and have them transported to many of the affiliates back then. It was probably these copies on 16mm film that many people saw in their local areas for a number of years. That probably changed in the 70s or 80s once satellite transmission became the norm. Still at that time, people only saw the video copies of the NTSC transfer of that film.

Even if poorly financed, I'm sure there was a lot of hard work, sweat and love that went into the making of that Christmas special even if they did not expect it to be shown more than once. And regardless of the "conditions" or the budget they had at the time of shooting, one element is constant and still remains with us today...it's the film that was exposed in the camera at that time. Film is actually a very high quality source that can be used in many "conditions" and still come out looking brighter than Rudolph's nose. I think the only poor conditions that anyone had to endure was a very warm room from all the constant light sources they probably used .

The "negative" or "positive" or what ever was actually in the camera at the time no matter what format they used (8mm, 16mm, 35mm etc) it's still the "original source". You can't get better than that. They can take that "original" source and/or a number of copies (sources) that happen to also be available or even if one copy is the only surviving source, digitize it (them) at a very high resolution. Once digitized there's quite a bit that can be done to bring the production back to it's ORIGINAL INTENT. Of course, it always helps to have the "original source". Each frame can be cleaned up, areas of the production can be color balanced, brightened, darkened, adding and or the lowering of contrast, color saturation, sharpness, softness and film judder can be fixed etc. Missing or torn frames can be repaired either digitally or from another source that's been stored and or found in someone's closet, attic, ranch, vault, garage, trunk of a car, outer space wherever.

I can easily see many things that can be fixed or worked on, and I hear an old analog audio distortion called WOW towards the end of the film that can also be fixed. I'm pretty sure that "Rudolph" did not get quite the restoration that Lowry Digital is capable of doing...as I'm sure there's the matter of cost. And from what I have read, it simply got a HD transfer back around 2005 that shows even today how well film can hold up even if "lower cost conditions" were involved. However, something like "Rudolph the red nose Reindeer" and many of the older classics could still greatly benefit from such a Lowry Digital type restoration and be appreciated by many future generations and look even better than the HD version that's out today.

I think I know what you mean by saying kids don't "give a rat's rear what the pq and horizontal resolution looks like", but we do. We being the ones who saw this throughout the years while growing up and remembering it fondly. I don't believe it was ever meant to have a polished look and much of the appeal IS the stop animation effect. Even as a kid, I thought about the work that it took to make those puppets move, much like the old King Kong movie. And with today's technology, why not take advantage of what sources we have to bring back the original intent? Even with the simple HD transfer it received and watching it on a HD display, except for the people directly involved in making this film, it's better than what the majority of us saw back in 1964. And for that, I'm grateful.

Yes, for the first time this year, I finally had a chance to see one of the great classic Christmas specials in HD! I would have probably been able to see Rudolph in HD, however like I mentioned, the local CBS servers were down and they could only broadcast that in SD.

By the way, it looked sharp and colorful. And it was interesting to see all the work that was done to make the images, as there were lots of clues from the clarity of the animation.

"I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" Monday, December 10th I think on ABC. I beleive it's a 1993 Peanuts Christmas special.

No, It is a 2003 Christmas special according to my TVGuide. Never the less, my family is looking forward to this.

i love the animated Christmas classics

were these really remastered for HD or is that just "network hype"

A Charlie Brown Christmas is on ABC now, not listed as "HD"

but on the 23rd, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) is listed as "HD" on ABC

The "Charlie Browns" are not HD. They were not identified as HD on air and do not have the ABC HD bug. The one on tonight has the ABC SD bug.

Don't forget the cost of airing the film. Back in 1964, I don't believe they used satellite transmission to deliver the programming to all of the local affiliates around the country. I'm sure they had to make copies and have them transported to many of the affiliates back then. It was probably these copies on 16mm film that many people saw in their local areas for a number of years. That probably changed in the 70s or 80s once satellite transmission became the norm. Still at that time, people only saw the video copies of the NTSC transfer of that film.Before satellite distribution was used, networks used telco lines and microwave links. It was common practice that 35mm prints were run live on the network from the film chains, which in those days commonly used a RCA TK26 camera in the US.

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6394/tk261bx3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The bottom part behind the door is full of vacuum tubes.

Obviously the HD transmission of the same shows today FAR FAR exceeds what was seen originally. On Rudolf one can see the strings on the puppets and the individual stray strands of fiber on the material used for the reindeer coats.

Second, even sloppy production has no effect on the resolution of film.

...unless sloppy production extends to sloppy focus, in which case that resolution can be wasted. I remember noticing that when the WB show What I Like About You transitioned to HD, the first several episodes had pretty bad focus (usually focussed for the set rather than the actors, so that they were pretty far out of focus). I assumed at the time that they'd always been focussing that way, and that in SD it just wasn't as noticeable.

Thats some pretty good list here.