So You Think You Can Dance - Season Three - Page 11

The picture on SYTYCD throughout this season has been way too good to be upscaled SD. It has been crystal clear and bright with excellent color saturation. It has also been perfectly scaled for 16:9. I can't imagine that it's not HD.

Pffft. What an anti-climactic downer. Say-blah, the blandest of the bland, wins it all. How and why will remain one of the greatest enigmas in the history of mankind. Aliens who find our TV footage along with our charred remains years from now will spend millennia trying to figure this one out.

How is it that when Danny does his spin, spin, spin routine over and over and over, it's somehow "brilliant technique" and yet when Neil performs countless, different, astounding, acrobatic maneuvers one after another, it's called "tricks," thoroughly debasing the difficulty of the performance? Last time I checked, the Olympics rated gymnasts on technique, while repetitive, ameteur ballet wasn't anywhere to be seen.

How is it that the "jidges" continually ask the men to not be like Cameron and to please not "dance into the floor" and yet when every last one of them were paired with Say-blah and her utterly flat-footed and clumsy, uninspired steps, they're told that they were "too long or tall" for the moves? (The hip-hop routine is a prime example of this for those with DVR.)

How is it that Lacey couldn't get through one single round without Nigel picking on some ridiculously irrelevant thing in order to sway the vote to his little darling? "Sorry, Lacey, but you're sixth eyelash was out of place on that one."

How is it that Cat doesn't bitch-slap everyone in wardrobe each week?

When it came to the last two, all I could think of was the South Park episode where the kids had to vote for either a "giant douche" or a "turd sandwich." In the end, the turd sandwich won...on both shows.

I agree it is one of the best WS SD's I've ever seen. Personally I wouldn't say it was crystal clear, but it is extremely good SD. But yes, it is not HD.

Neither is COPS, Hell's Kitchen, whatever Wife Swap type show is in FOX, and it looks like Kitchen Nightmare's. All WS SD.

There has never been anytime during the season that I thought the image was in HD. It has always looked like SD to me, even beyond the obvious resolution decrease, the blacks and colors don't have that high-def pop. But I am watching it on a 10 foot screen. Let's hope the show is popular enough that they will upgrade to high def next year.

Looks like it is indeed WS SD but at 480P, not the standard 480i. I'm sure that the progressive resolution is a factor in the image quality. Kudos to Fox for putting out such a good picture to WS TVs. Hopefully, they'll go to full HD next year.

The show originates from CBS TV City Studio 46 in 16:9 interlaced SD. The taped shows are recorded on DigiBeta and the live shows are sent to FOX TOC via uncompressed 270Mbs lines. FOX TOC does the upconversion to 720P. The studio cameras are Sony HDC-1500L. Dancing With The Stars is moving back into this studio for its start on Sept 17 and will be shot in 720P HD.

The adjacent Studio 36 is used in HD for American Idol. It was also used in SD widescreen for "Don't Forget The Lyrics". Currently it's being used in 4:3 SD for "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader".

To those of you who didn't like Sabra winning because you didn't like her dancing...

The show was not looking for "America's best dancer" or "America's most talented dancer". No. they were looking for (and kept hitting us in the head over and over about it) "America's FAVORITE dancer".

The judges had the early say in who stayed and who got cut, after that it was a popularity contest, regardless of talent. Sabra got the votes, Sabra won. End of story.

From what I've read on here, the show is filmed with HD cameras, I don't understand why they can't just flip a switch and send it out in full HD.

It's a matter of cost especially on the taped shows. There's around a dozen tape machines recording the show and the price is higher with HD.

I agree with you, but how can it cost more if the equipment is already there and set up? All of these networks have more then enough money to air these shows in HD.

Spyder, your posts always crack me up! I follow what you're saying, but reducing us to "charred remains" reminded me of how insignificant these things really are when put in big picture perspective. :B

The competitors this year were as good as ever and I'm sure they will have a successful future in dance if they really want it.

All facilities used for a show are charged for. This includes each piece of equipment. It's not a flat fee. The shows are usually not produced by the networks themselves though sometimes they are. Even network shows don't have unlimited budgets, especially summer shows. Doing a show in HD doesn't make anyone more money right now. Fox does make an effort to use widescreen on shows that would otherwise be in 4:3 SD. "Fifth Grader" is an exception.

All true. I mean, if we look at SYTYCD's "sister" show, Daughtry is kicking the bejeezus out of most of the "winners," and especially those that finished ahead of him that season, so it's not really that big of a deal who wins.

At least with Say-blah winning, Utahns get someone other than the gawd-awful Carmen Rass-uttermess-sen to cheer for. This state has gotta be famous for something other than polygamy someday!