[DavidRobert]

Would anyone know if the Westerns channel might go to HD in the future (on Dishnetwork)? I know its a long shot question, but I enjoy the old movies.

To those of you who have HD, how good/bad is the SD western channel images on a HD set?
THe reason I ask is, I am still wondering whether to change over to HD or not. And I watch a lot of the SD channels that have not gone HD.
Thanks for your comments.

 

[phrelin]

Would anyone know if the Westerns channel might go to HD in the future (on Dishnetwork)? I know its a long shot question, but I enjoy the old movies.

To those of you who have HD, how good/bad is the SD western channel images on a HD set?
THe reason I ask is, I am still wondering whether to change over to HD or not. And I watch a lot of the SD channels that have not gone HD.
Thanks for your comments.

I don't know anything about the Western channel.

But I regularly watch shows on FX, AMC, BBCA, and Sundance, all SD channels on Dish (I'm a Dish customer). With the exception of Primeval on BBCA, I'm ok with SD through my 722. I zoom to get the 16:9 image without bars and it works fine. I'd prefer it to be HD, but as I understand it most of the shows aren't offered in HD anyway. If you have an HD TV with surround sound, you can't help but love what's available in HD, all the grumbling we all do notwithstanding.

Edit: the only problem I have with Primeval on BBCA is that the effects would presumably be better if the show were offered in HD, which it's not.

 

[Stewart Vernon]

Eventually, yes... but I can't say I've heard any rumblings. I can say that I've seen some old Westerns that look quite sharp on HDNet Movies (Searchers and the Man Who Shot Liberty Valence + some others were on a couple of months back)... so I know there are some high quality transfers available if they ever go HD.

 

[NFLnut]

I've been wanting to know the same thing for the last couple of years. I watch Encore Westerns several nights per week (it's my favorite channel other than anything with NFL and college football), and often wish that some of these great old westerns be in widescreen HD!

Obviously, some of these shows weren't filmed in widescreen, but the picture would still be awesome in HD. Those actually available in WS would be a bonus!

I've visited the Encore site a few times over the last year or so, only to come up with very little info.

 

[NFLnut]

To those of you who have HD, how good/bad is the SD western channel images on a HD set?
THe reason I ask is, I am still wondering whether to change over to HD or not. And I watch a lot of the SD channels that have not gone HD.
Thanks for your comments.

It looks great on my 71" DLP! Obviously, I would love the extra sharpness of HD and widescreen, but the image clarity considering it's SD is pretty amazing. I am on DirecTV. I would compare the PQ to be SD DVD quality. It stinks that the picture is stuck in SD/Pillar Box, even the "widescreen" movies they show from time to time.. I have never been a fan of CROP or STRETCH formats.