# When will everything go HD?



## ChipperX015 (Dec 26, 2008)

I wonder how long some of you might think it will take for almost all new source material (whether it be movies, on location news sources, local stuff, anything) to be filmed at some true HD level (whatever you want to define that as)? 

I'm brand new into this whole experience as I just got my first 50" Panasonic plasma 1080p a week ago, and I'm by no means an expert on anything audio or video related. This thread really interested me as I too am a bit disappointed in what offerings there are for me in "true" 1080i HD (Cox Cable), but it does seem I have it better than some others. But it would seem to me we are marching down a path to that optional reality in everything eventually. Assuming the economy finds a way to start heading the right direction, more and more consumers get into the HD game, and slowly but surely more source cameras and equipment give way to HD capable stuff, and of course assuming the banwidth to support it all keeps getting satisfied...are we decades off? 5 years? 2 years? Any guesses? Or will the whole concept be replaced by something I don't even know about yet?


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Hi Chip and welcome to the Shack!

I went ahead and move your post to start a new thread. :T

I noticed just recently that our local CBS network affiliate is no longer broadcasting in analog, although digital does not mean HD necessarily. The news cast for the CBS and NBC affiliates are now broadcasting in HD. I am seeing many commercials now showing in HD... and most prime time programming is HD.

There has been a huge boost in HD display sales with the upcoming mandatory digital conversion in February for the all network affiliates, Blu-ray being settled as the HD format and with the pricing for HD products dropping to very reasonable prices.

It is hard to know exactly when most all newer material will be 100% HD. I do not think it will happen overnight, but rather gradually over a few years maybe. That is my best guess. :huh:


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## ChipperX015 (Dec 26, 2008)

Thanks for the reply Sonnie and oops on getting into a different topic in that thread, 

yes, I've definitely come to realize quickly that not everything broadcast on a supposed HD channel is from an HD source (but I pretty much expected and understood that). But what is more is watching something like ESPN SportsCenter in beautiful 1080i and (for example) then there is a group of highlights shown regarding a particular MLB/NFL player (from the 2008 season) and half of them are obviously from film not done in HD. So ESPN will jump back and forth to the ESPN logo'd letterboxes and/or the fuzzy factor comes into play. Same with my local news in HD. The studio shots are awesome. The reporters in the field are clearly not sending back HD feeds to the studio. I guess I'm saying I was surprised (only because I had not really thought it through) that even true HD programming is interspersed with low def content. There's clearly a lot of infrastructure that needs to be replaced at even the smallest level to make this all a reality. Hopefully sooner than later. :daydream:


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

There will continue to be lots of studios and production without HD equipment for years. There will always be material that was produced before HD. There will be lots of material that gets delivered as digital that is not HD, that is downconverted, or compressed.

The bottom line is that there will always be sub-par video out there. It will get better as more production and transmission improves, but we will never have everything in HD of high quality.


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