Post by dkennedy on Jul 14, 2006 3:46:50 GMT -5
ESPN to Run Wide-Screen College Football
July 13, 2006
TV Week Magazine
Channel Risks Irking Standard-Def Viewers to Promote HD Content
In a sports programming first, ESPN will add letterbox bars to its Thursday Night Football series of standard-definition college telecasts to promote the high-definition experience to viewers who lack HD service.
The weekly program will add black bars on the upper and lower portion of the screen to simulate the expansive picture ratio familiar to viewers with widescreen HD sets. Though standard-definition viewers will not be able to see a true high-definition picture-which has up to 1080 lines of resolution versus standard definition's 480-the image will hint at a more exclusive viewing experience.
"We're taking the medium and using it to educate the public about what's out there," said Bryan Burns, ESPN VP for strategic business planning and development. "We cannot go into their homes and put more pixels into their TV sets. But we can change the shape of what they're seeing and give them the opportunity to experience the aspect ratio of high-definition television."
The move is also expected to irk some SD viewers. Video stores such as Blockbuster often receive complaints from members who rent "widescreen" movies that present films in letterbox format on SD sets. Though fans of the widescreen format tout the presentation as more compatible with the human field of vision and more effective for showing complex scenes, others decry the bars as "shrinking" a program's image on their traditional square sets.
Mr. Burns said the concern has been discussed internally and ESPN decided the benefits of promoting HD are worth some calls to the switchboard. "We get calls on everything we do," Mr. Burns said. "You can't do new things without breaking some old models. It's inevitable."
Most HD programming is shot in widescreen and telecast two different ways: A widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio presentation on a network's HD feed, and a traditional 4:3 "center cut" presentation that crops off the sides of the image for standard-definition signals.
A very small number of entertainment series-mainly NBC's "ER" and "The West Wing," and HBO's "The Sopranos"-have bucked convention and aired a letterbox version on SD signals. In 2001, "West Wing" and "ER" executive producer John Wells explained to the Akron Beacon Journal that he opted for letterboxing simply because it looked "classier." But some fans of the dramas were put off. "If I want a letterbox frame," wrote one viewer on the CHUD pop culture message boards, "I'll go make a f***ing movie."
As for "The Sopranos," an HBO spokesperson acknowledged that some SD viewers complain about the formatting.
Letterboxing a traditional sport like college football could present a greater challenge to gaining viewer acceptance than letterboxing contemporary urbanite dramas. But Mr. Burns pointed out that in addition to promoting HD, there are production and aesthetic advantages to making the switch for ESPN's growing HD audience. When shooting a program for both wide and full screen, for instance, ESPN has to ensure all graphics and action is contained within the 4:3 square center of the screen, lest SD viewers miss crucial information.
By adopting a widescreen presentation format for both SD and HD airings, producers can feel free to utilize the entire 16:9 field. HD viewers will notice graphics appearing at the far ends of the screen and more action shots taking advantage of their entire display.
ESPN has been arguably the most aggressive cable network in promoting high definition, having launched HD simulcast networks for its flagship network and ESPN2. The Thursday Night Football letterbox strategy kicks off Aug. 31 for a South Carolina vs. Mississippi State match and will run for 13 games through Nov. 30.
July 13, 2006
TV Week Magazine
Channel Risks Irking Standard-Def Viewers to Promote HD Content
In a sports programming first, ESPN will add letterbox bars to its Thursday Night Football series of standard-definition college telecasts to promote the high-definition experience to viewers who lack HD service.
The weekly program will add black bars on the upper and lower portion of the screen to simulate the expansive picture ratio familiar to viewers with widescreen HD sets. Though standard-definition viewers will not be able to see a true high-definition picture-which has up to 1080 lines of resolution versus standard definition's 480-the image will hint at a more exclusive viewing experience.
"We're taking the medium and using it to educate the public about what's out there," said Bryan Burns, ESPN VP for strategic business planning and development. "We cannot go into their homes and put more pixels into their TV sets. But we can change the shape of what they're seeing and give them the opportunity to experience the aspect ratio of high-definition television."
The move is also expected to irk some SD viewers. Video stores such as Blockbuster often receive complaints from members who rent "widescreen" movies that present films in letterbox format on SD sets. Though fans of the widescreen format tout the presentation as more compatible with the human field of vision and more effective for showing complex scenes, others decry the bars as "shrinking" a program's image on their traditional square sets.
Mr. Burns said the concern has been discussed internally and ESPN decided the benefits of promoting HD are worth some calls to the switchboard. "We get calls on everything we do," Mr. Burns said. "You can't do new things without breaking some old models. It's inevitable."
Most HD programming is shot in widescreen and telecast two different ways: A widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio presentation on a network's HD feed, and a traditional 4:3 "center cut" presentation that crops off the sides of the image for standard-definition signals.
A very small number of entertainment series-mainly NBC's "ER" and "The West Wing," and HBO's "The Sopranos"-have bucked convention and aired a letterbox version on SD signals. In 2001, "West Wing" and "ER" executive producer John Wells explained to the Akron Beacon Journal that he opted for letterboxing simply because it looked "classier." But some fans of the dramas were put off. "If I want a letterbox frame," wrote one viewer on the CHUD pop culture message boards, "I'll go make a f***ing movie."
As for "The Sopranos," an HBO spokesperson acknowledged that some SD viewers complain about the formatting.
Letterboxing a traditional sport like college football could present a greater challenge to gaining viewer acceptance than letterboxing contemporary urbanite dramas. But Mr. Burns pointed out that in addition to promoting HD, there are production and aesthetic advantages to making the switch for ESPN's growing HD audience. When shooting a program for both wide and full screen, for instance, ESPN has to ensure all graphics and action is contained within the 4:3 square center of the screen, lest SD viewers miss crucial information.
By adopting a widescreen presentation format for both SD and HD airings, producers can feel free to utilize the entire 16:9 field. HD viewers will notice graphics appearing at the far ends of the screen and more action shots taking advantage of their entire display.
ESPN has been arguably the most aggressive cable network in promoting high definition, having launched HD simulcast networks for its flagship network and ESPN2. The Thursday Night Football letterbox strategy kicks off Aug. 31 for a South Carolina vs. Mississippi State match and will run for 13 games through Nov. 30.