Northern Exposure in HD (or not)?

It was originally shot in 4:3, and probably is being presented in its original aspect ratio.

Yes, Northern Exposure on Universal HD is indeed HD. The show was shot for 4:3 OAR and they kept that, surprisingly enough. It is hardly showcase HD, because they shot it for SD TV and with mostly subdued colors at that, but you should be able to notice the greater detail in the picture. Check the later posts in this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=771006 .



Quote:
Originally Posted by PTV Programmer /forum/post/0


Hi, I searched the forum and didn't find the topic. I'm watching Northern Exposure on Universal HD right now and it's in 4:3. There was even a lower-third graphic that says "1080i true HD." What' the deal?

Click to expand...

The show was shot in 4:3 and that aspect ratio was preserved when it was transferred to HD.

While flipping, thought I saw one the other day in 16:9?



Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken H /forum/post/0


While flipping, thought I saw one the other day in 16:9?

Click to expand...

I think it's just the commercials/promos that are in 16:9

We're getting Universal HD here in Atlanta on Thursday. Looking forward to NX in HD, even though I've heard it's been edited for time somewhat. But I guess that's counterbalanced by all the original music being there.


NX was one of my favorite shows when it originally aired and I've seen all the episodes, but my wife had never seen it. I have the first season on DVD (which she enjoyed) and was considering buying the rest or getting them via Netflix, but the lack of features and music muddling bothered me. I guess UHD is the best, not to mention the cheapest, way to see them now.

I remember the music, soundtrack and sound design was great on the show. I recall viewing it originally via C-band and pumping the audio thru my Pro Logic decoder.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken H /forum/post/0


While flipping, thought I saw one the other day in 16:9?

Click to expand...

The commercial for it is HD 16:9 for sure. I dont know what the 4:3 junk was. It didnt look HD to me. The colors, the clarity are far superior in the commercials.



Quote:
Originally Posted by UTV2TiVo /forum/post/0


I think it's just the commercials/promos that are in 16:9

Click to expand...

How do you do that with 4:3 material? I dont think its zoomed and cropped, that would cut heads off anyway.



Quote:
Originally Posted by vurbano /forum/post/0


How do you do that with 4:3 material? I dont think its zoomed and cropped, that would cut heads off anyway.

Click to expand...

It's cropped. Some shows just aren't as noticible as others, like (on a horribly overscanning TV) I can do a 16:9 zoom of Buffy Season 3 and not have ANYTHING chopped off.

In fact zooming will help remove those microphones that drop down into the frame for a second. I've been watching Felicity on DVD and I've lost count of how many times a microphone has gotten into a shot. They really rely on overscan to prevent people from seeing those things.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee /forum/post/0


I'd think it's more likely they are (or were) filming open matte, with the anticipation of the show being letterboxed and/or 16:9, thus matting out the boom. A lot of feature films are shot this way (Jurassic Park springs to mind), which allows them to produce a 4:3 version for VHS/DVD and TV without having to crop/Pan & Scan.

Click to expand...

Felicity was a TV show, not a feature film. It was never letterboxed or shown 16:9.

Quote:
I can't imagine any DP worth his salt allowing the mic in the shot that often and simply praying most people won't see it because of overscan.

Click to expand...

Try going a day over schedule while shooting a TV episode and you'll find no one cares what the DP wants (BTW it was Michael Bonvillain who's also done excellent work on Alias and Lost).



Quote:
Originally Posted by scowl /forum/post/0


Felicity was a TV show, not a feature film. It was never letterboxed or shown 16:9.

Click to expand...

Yes, I'm aware. Just meant to say that, similar to feature films, a lot of TV shows now that are broadcast letterboxed (I never watched Felicity but I thought it might have been one of them) were probably filmed with this caveat in mind.

Quote:
Try going a day over schedule while shooting a TV episode and you'll find no one cares what the DP wants (BTW it was Michael Bonvillain who's also done excellent work on Alias and Lost).

Click to expand...

True, I'm sure.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee /forum/post/0


Yes, I'm aware. Just meant to say that, similar to feature films, a lot of TV shows now that are broadcast letterboxed

Click to expand...

But not back when this show was on the air.


Also, all filmed TV shows that are broadcast letterboxed are shot in 3 perf instead of 4 perf so there's no matting. That's why shows are center cut for 4:3.

Last night we started watching the UHD eps of Northern Exposure I have been backlogging on my DVR as we caught up using DVDs from Netflix. There was some overlap from the last DVD and the first couple episodes I had on the DVR, so I was able to compare. The picture quality of the HD version shows a very noticeable improvement over the DVD. My wife even commented on it, noting how much crisper it looked (like she needs additional motivation to ogle John Corbett).


My only concern is that I've heard that UHD has cut some content to insert more commercials. Is this true? Also, I know rights-related music replacement on the DVDs was a big issue for fans (myself included). Does UHD have similar issues, or can they use the original music because it's for broadcast and not for sale?