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artmorris
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Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 02:29 am |
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One of the channels I get on cable is "HDnet", owned by billionaire Mark Cuban. It's an all-HD channel, and runs a variety of programming.
At 630am this morning, I noticed they were running "Hogan's Heroes". I took a look and was stunned by the clarity and the 16:9 aspect ratio. It looked like it was shot yesterday.
I checked on the internet and, yes indeed, HDnet has paid for a new HD transfer of the program from the original film prints. And, it looked great. To achieve a 16:9 aspect ratio, they would have had to crop it, but you couldn't tell.
One additional cool feature. At the end credits, it even had the original "Bing Crosby Productions" logo tag at the end.
OK, not the world's greatest TV show. And, of course, it was the beginning of the end for Bob Crane, whose life spiraled out of control after it's success. Too bad, too, because he was a successful radio guy before TV killed him.
But, I was stunned by how good it looked. Time to open those vaults and re-transfer a bunch of classic shows from their original film to HD. Unfortunately, shows shot on video, or shot on film and edited on video won't transfer quit as well. But, there were a lot of classics that were shot & edited on film. Time to break out the original prints of Andy Griffith for an HD makeover!
Art
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Jamie Turner
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| Joined: | Mon Feb 5th, 2007 |
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Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 03:08 pm |
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Art, I found an old tape of shows and movies I had recorded off of KSPR back in the independent days (right before the ABC swap). It's amazing to see how crappy these shows looked. Of course in '86 "Brady Bunch", "Andy Griffith", and the "Beverly Hillbillies", anything with age on it was a direct tansfer from film. 35mm? It's amazing to see the quality and clarity on DVD. I can remember how bad some of the old MGM movies looked on KDEB, at the same time, it was great to see them on local TV in prime-time.
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artmorris
Administrator
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Posted: Thu May 1st, 2008 03:21 pm |
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Of course, anybody who was around TV during those days remembers the old 16mm film chains they used to use.
At this juncture, it's hard to imagine that most TV stations had their own 16mm film processing equipment. Today, they would be considered a hazardous waste dump. Gallons and gallons of chemicals used to 'cook' the film, so they could get 'FILM AT 11!!!!'
I caught the last days of that, just as U-matic videotape was coming into it's own. I remember that shooting 16mm film was a dicey proposition, because what you saw in the viewfinder may not have been what you got on film. A stray light could ruin your entire shoot.
And," B-Roll" was just that. Another roll of film that contained the stock shots and other stuff. You had your A-roll, with the interview on it, and your B-roll with all the other stuff.
I hated film. Didn't understand it. Tape was SOOO much better.
Art
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Sneaky Snooper
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| Joined: | Wed Feb 7th, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue May 13th, 2008 06:17 am |
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At one time, HD Net also had Charlie's Angels in HD. Now THAT is an experience!
The one problem with converting to HD is that they have to find the original prints and then edit the original sponsor stuff out.
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