high definition

TV Newser reports that NBC News will begin shooting in HD beginning sometime next year, and that NBC Nightly News will be going high def starting next month. The other major networks, including NBC, also offer select shows in the HD format, and some local news affiliates also broadcast in HD.

I don't consider myself a technophobe, but all this talk of high definition ties my head in knots. I actually found a decent primer for HD virgins like myself on CNET, which is worth checking out if you're interested in making the jump to HD, which involves a lot more than simply purchasing an HD or plasma television set.

I also know a lot of our readers rock the HD, so share your wisdom in the comments for those of us who aren't quite so hip to this crazy new technology.

[via Lost Remote]

Man, I am so not a technophile. All of this high definition DVD talk just puts me to sleep. On the other hand, I have to stay somewhat aware of new developments so I'm not found crying in my apartment several years from now trying to play a Blu-Ray disc on my standard DVD player.

Right now Blu-Ray and HD DVD are in a race to see which high definition format comes out the victor. Some studios have been releasing content on both forms, while others have stuck to only one or the other. Recently, Warner Bros. said it would introduce the Total HD Disc. This new disc will hold both the HD DVD and Blu-Ray format.

Is it possible that in our desire to forge ahead into the future we'll become so sick of trying to keep up with new ways of viewing the same old stuff that we'll actually just throw everything aside and start listening to transistor radio and attending operas? I'm hanging on to my old Victrola just in case.

TV Predictions has a regular column where they discuss High-Def. Not just the positive aspects of HD, but also a list of what looks good and what looks bad in HD.

I've noticed this too. Back in the old days of television (and by "old days" I mean two years ago) you would see attractive people on television and not give it a second thought. Or maybe even not so attractive people and not give it a second thought. But now with HD, you see everything oh so clearly, and it's not always a good thing. Guys who had some wrinkles are now revealed to have Grand Canyon-like crevices in their face. Women who you'd look at and say "hmm, she might have had plastic surgery" now leave no doubt that they have. Even soap opera stars, who are almost all uniformly beautiful and/or studly are revealed to be either craggly or wearing so much makeup they look like a wax figure.

Progess isn't all it's cracked up to be. I think Dave said that on NewsRadio once.

Our regular roundup of what's on our sister blog, HD Beat.

• Hey, how would you like to guest host the HD Beat podcast?
• HD DVD releases are outselling catalog releases.
• Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: fact and fiction.
• Now you can see Emeril cooking food in HD.
• What do Bruce Lee and The Dukes of Hazzard have in common?

• What's the only show on MTV that really needs to be in HD?
• Turn your Mac Mini into a Media Center.
• HD-DVD has arrived.
• HD shortages aren't just a problem in Europe.
• Take DISH Network for a test drive!
• What the heck is HD Radio?

Within the next couple years, both A&E and the History Channel plan to launch individual high-definition channels. A&E's offering, called A&E HD, will come first, premiering this September. The channel will kick off with a CSI: Miami marathon on Labor Day weekend, so get ready to become intimate with David Curuso's pores. After the launch, the channel will simply simulcast A&E's programming. The History Channel's new high-def channel, which has the similar unoriginal name of History Channel HD, will launch next year. I'm not sure how the History Channel plans to take advantage of high definition, but I'll bet you'll be able to see mites crawling around inside Hitler's mustache. That's actually a really good idea for a Disney cartoon. Or maybe not.

[via Lost Remote]