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Author Topic: Futurama new season in HD?  (Read 7063 times)
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diatribein
Poppler
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« on: 09-01-2009 20:41 »
« Last Edit on: 09-01-2009 20:45 »

Sorry if this has been posted before, but I am new to the board and I didn't see it in my search results.

Does anyone know if the new season of Futurama starting next Summer/Fall on Comedy Central will be shown in High Definition? I mean it took the Simpsons until this year to finally start, so there seems to be no guarantee. Yet the movies (at least the last two) were shot in HD.  I have seen no press release or announcement that says the new season will be available in HD.

Also, just in case there are no plans to do so, is there a way to pester the show's producers about shooting the new season in HD? It would be such a terrible waste to go back to 4:3 SD episodes. You know, in SD it really is more like Bender's Matte Metal Ass. It needs to be seen in HD to truly shine! :P
FistfulOAwesome

Starship Captain
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« Reply #1 on: 09-01-2009 21:11 »

They can't "shoot" any season of Futurama or The Simpsons or any cartoon show, because they are cartoons.

Anyway, no, there won't be HD episodes. The new season is planned to be shown on Comedy Central, a cable channel that doesn't support HD or Widescreen (if they do, the majority of the audience is still on standard screen TV's). HD/Widescreen would be nice (I have a Widescreen HD television), but it's hardly necessary.
I.C. Weiner

Bending Unit
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« Reply #2 on: 09-02-2009 02:16 »

Not necessary but the Blu-Ray movies did look pretty spectacular and the surround sound mix was also pretty great. I don't get Comedy Central in HD here but I think it is available.
Taco Wiz

Delivery Boy
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« Reply #3 on: 09-02-2009 02:34 »

I'll say what I said about The Simpsons:

Futurama is an ugly cartoon. The art is ugly. The writing supplies all the entertainment. Therefore, HD would not increase the enjoyment from viewing Futurama.
FistfulOAwesome

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #4 on: 09-02-2009 02:49 »
« Last Edit on: 09-02-2009 05:30 »

I'll say what I said about The Simpsons:

Futurama is an ugly cartoon. The art is ugly. The writing supplies all the entertainment. Therefore, HD would not increase the enjoyment from viewing Futurama.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lb25FJXA-c
Jezzem

Urban Legend
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« Reply #5 on: 09-02-2009 04:50 »
« Last Edit on: 09-02-2009 04:53 »

It would be such a terrible waste to go back to 4:3 SD episodes. You know, in SD it really is more like Bender's Matte Metal Ass. It needs to be seen in HD to truly shine! :P

I hate to disappoint you but in the HD Futurama movies (while they do look really good) Bender's arse is still matte...

And Taco Wiz: I don't know which Futurama you're referring to but even from the first episode they had pretty some impressive CG and such so the art is hardly ugly. The writing, the voice acting, the animation and the music ALL supply the entertainment... You know like on any half decent animated show...
Freako

Urban Legend
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« Reply #6 on: 09-02-2009 04:58 »

Just be grateful it isn't made in Flash like just about every cartoon today.
diatribein
Poppler
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« Reply #7 on: 09-02-2009 23:13 »
« Last Edit on: 09-02-2009 23:26 »

They can't "shoot" any season of Futurama or The Simpsons or any cartoon show, because they are cartoons.

You know what I meant by shoot! Ummm... What do you want me to say, film? Transfer to mass media? How nitpicky of you!

Quote
Anyway, no, there won't be HD episodes. The new season is planned to be shown on Comedy Central, a cable channel that doesn't support HD or Widescreen (if they do, the majority of the audience is still on standard screen TV's). HD/Widescreen would be nice (I have a Widescreen HD television), but it's hardly necessary.

Umm HELLO, Comedy Central HD IS available on Direcv in HD and WILL be airing "Into the Wild Green Yonder" tonight in High Definition. Yes that is a 16:9 1080i cable broadcast of a Futurama film this very evening.

And for the record, more important to me than it being in HD, which does look far better than SD even on an "ugly" cartoon like Futurama or the Simpsons, is whether or not they will broadcast it in 16:9 instead of the horible 4:3 ratio that the FOX seasons were broadcast in. I care more about that then than anything else. I was happy that the 4 movies were all released in 16:9.

As a side note, the snarky remarks are not much appreciated, especially from someone who clearly HAS NO CLUE what he/she is talking about. At least do some research and find out whether or not Comedy Central broadcasts in HD before talking out your far less than shiny ass.

Does anyone have anything to add about the possibility of the new season being broadcast in 16:9/HD?
diatribein
Poppler
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« Reply #8 on: 09-02-2009 23:21 »

I hate to disappoint you but in the HD Futurama movies (while they do look really good) Bender's arse is still matte...

hehe... yes indeed, but in HD it is spectacularly matte!

Thanks for good comment.
FistfulOAwesome

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #9 on: 09-02-2009 23:35 »

Quote
Anyway, no, there won't be HD episodes. The new season is planned to be shown on Comedy Central, a cable channel that doesn't support HD or Widescreen (if they do, the majority of the audience is still on standard screen TV's). HD/Widescreen would be nice (I have a Widescreen HD television), but it's hardly necessary.
Umm HELLO, Comedy Central HD IS available on Direcv in HD and WILL be airing "Into the Wild Green Yonder" tonight in High Definition. Yes that is a 16:9 1080i cable broadcast of a Futurama film this very evening.

And for the record, more important to me than it being in HD, which does look far better than SD even on an "ugly" cartoon like Futurama or the Simpsons, is whether or not they will broadcast it in 16:9 instead of the horible 4:3 ratio that the FOX seasons were broadcast in. I care more about that then than anything else. I was happy that the 4 movies were all released in 16:9.

As a side note, the snarky remarks are not much appreciated, especially from someone who clearly HAS NO CLUE what he/she is talking about. At least do some research and find out whether or not Comedy Central broadcasts in HD before talking out your far less than shiny ass.

Does anyone have anything to add about the possibility of the new season being broadcast in 16:9/HD?

While I didn't research whether CC provides HD/Widescreen or not, I did put in that bolded bit just in case it did (which apparently it does).

My point being that there is no reason to pony up the cash for HD/Widescreen. The majority of American homes still use Standard Screen TV's (I think at least 70%, if not higher). With such a small part of the audience being able to make use of the HD/Widescreen capabilities, it doesn't seem financially feasible to pay for HD/Widescreen. Keep in mind that as a cartoon, they have to draw and tack up all the frames, which cost far more money and effort than a Live-Action Show (which is just using HD Camera's to shoot the series, then later porting it down for Standard Screen).

There is no point in them paying for HD/Widescreen. Most of the audience won't see it, and the audience that can would watch it without anyway.

They could fake it, by simply upping the video quality (HD filters) and editing the episodes to the most important bits (Seinfeld and Family Guy (on TBS, at least) do this), but while you would be getting Widescreen you would actually be seeing less than Standard Screen viewers.

By the way, what kind of pain have you been in for the past couple years? 4/3 has been the standard forever, and still is. Futurama was produced like that, as were most other shows before HD/Widescreen TV's gained what little foothold they have.
diatribein
Poppler
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« Reply #10 on: 09-03-2009 02:19 »
« Last Edit on: 09-03-2009 05:12 »

I am sorry FistfulOAwesome, but you seem to be a little bit behind the times. I watch a lot of TV and since the Simpsons went HD in January I don't watch one single program that isn't HD. That includes network AND cable shows. In fact, aside from reality shows (many of which are now in HD as well) most new programming is available in HD. High Definition has pretty much been the standard for all new episodic television, including cartoons, since 2004, so to expect Futurama to be broadcast in HD in 2010 is not unreasonable.

The 70% figure you have quoted (even if accurate) is less relevant to the industry than new television sales. I have to believe that new television sales since 2005 have almost exclusively been of High Definition televisions. In fact, I doubt you could even buy a non HD TV if you walked into a bestbuy today. And I still feel like that 70% figure sounds bloated. Do you have a source?

I don't like/watch Family Guy so I won't comment on that, but I do know the case about Seinfeld and any other older sit-com you see in HD today that was originally broadcast in 4:3 SD. All live action TV dramas and comedies have been shot on film since television transitioned from exclusively live broadcasts to exhibition of recorded programs in the 50s. When you see Seinfeld repeats on TBS or a local network in 16:9 HD it is because the studio rescanned the original film masters. The original film was actually shot in 16:9 and cropped to 4:3 for the original broadcasts when it aired on NBC. The fact is that when you saw the show back then, you were already missing something, but the producers knew this and centred the action within the 4:3 box. If you have ever seen a profession film camera in action you would see several bracket marks in the view to denote the different standards. Regardless of the standard used for broadcast, the size and shape of the celluloid never changed and stuff was filmed outside of the 4:3 box.

This process of rescanning the original film is not yet ubiquitous, but there have been a few good examples. One of the more interesting ones I have seen is 16:9 HD broadcasts of "Hogan's Heros". These were used when Mark Cuban launched HDnet and I suspect that someone with money in the industry was a fan of the show and really wanted to have it in HD. It wouldn't surprise me if it was Cuban himself. So please, do NOT say that the broadcasts of older programs in 16:9 HD are just cropped up-converted shams of the originals because it is simply not true. Again I would ask that you learn about things before talking about them.

As for me, I would say yes, I find 4:3 to have always been a blight on TV. Back in the days of video-tape I would refuse to buy/rent those horible pan & scanned 4:3 versions of films and couldn't understand why people were so adverse to having things be in a more natural aspect ratio just because of black bars above and below. The truth is our eyes see & move more laterally than vertically and "widescreen", as you put it, is a far more enjoyable experience.  As for the "little foothold", I think that 16:9 TVs have as little of a foothold on the future of TV as did widescreen movies in the 1940s! In case you didn't know, at one time movies were also shot in 4:3 (look at the Wizard of Oz), but the industry learned quickly that wider screens were much more pleasing to the audience. Even back in the days when very few people had HD TVs, shows like West Wing were broadcast in 16:9 SD because from an artistic point of view it is far superior.

I am not entirely sure of the cost of broadcasting Futurama in 16:9 HD versus 4:3 SD, but I imagine it costs the same to animate in 16:9. It is not the extra plastic that is going to be prohibitive. As for the transfer to digital media, I have no clue, but I imagine it would be more than worth it to future-proof the series so that it continues to sell for the next decades. If it is only available in 4:3, it will look very old, very quickly and this would surely affect sales of DVDs (Blu-Rays) in the future.

I honestly EXPECT the show to be available in HD because they had the good sense to do that with the films. I was mainly making this post to know if it was confirmed or if anyone had heard of the goings on. I didn't expect to run into a 4:3 bully, nor did I think such a person would exist. Why anyone would defend 4:3 as a standard is beyond me, but I am afraid, my friend, that things are going to get very lonely for you in the near future. I would thank you though, to at least do some research before belittling things that you feel personal angst toward.

Now I am off to Enjoy "Into the Wild Green Yonder" in HD!
Jezzem

Urban Legend
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« Reply #11 on: 09-03-2009 08:19 »

Ok calm down there, Typey... You don't gave to make a big deal about the history of widescreen and all, just get to the point about your original post and call him an idiot or whatever already...

Just sayin'
Ed3

Crustacean
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« Reply #12 on: 09-03-2009 08:51 »

I don't think that FistfulOAwesome is bullying you diatribein, he is simply saying that he doesn't think that the new episodes will be broadcast in 16:9 HD. I think that you are overreacting a bit when you are saying that he is a 4:3 bully.

Also 70% sounds about right, although in the future i expect that that figure will decrease considerably.

I think that the new episodes probably will be released in the same format as the movies, although if they weren't, i wouldn't be that disappointed
x.Bianca.x

Urban Legend
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« Reply #13 on: 09-03-2009 09:30 »

Personally, I would prefer Futurama to not be in HD, simply because I don't think it looks right, how it's supposed to look, what I'm used to.
Freako

Urban Legend
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« Reply #14 on: 09-03-2009 09:32 »

It would be retarded to not make it at least widescreen.
FistfulOAwesome

Starship Captain
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« Reply #15 on: 09-03-2009 10:06 »

Whoa! Thanks for the history lesson, Professor Widescreen! I was unaware of all those happenings.

I don't love 4:3. I have an HD Widescreen TV. I just don't think that many other people currently have them. In the future, of course all TV's will be HD Widescreen (or beamed directly into our brains, for it will be the future), it's just that isn't true for the majority audience now.

Most people still have 4:3 (hell, some people still used an antenna (remember those commercials that aired for like 2 years about the change to all digital TV?)) and probably don't see it as a priority to upgrade to an HD Widescreen TV (considering the economy and all).

You make a good point about future-proofing the series by making it in Widescreen now. I should have thought that far. I just wasn't sure that 20th Century Fox would see it as worthwhile to make it in Widescreen (especially since cuts to the series had been made everywhere else).

Still, you would still watch it, even if it was in 4:3, right? I mean, I made fun of Taco Wiz earlier for thinking the series looks ugly, but he is right that the series's true content is the jokes, plots, and characters, not the look (though it looks great). You wouldn't miss out on a great series just because it had black bars on the side, would you?
Svip

Administrator
DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #16 on: 09-03-2009 13:06 »

Eh.  Comedy Central has a HD channel.

After the films, the infrastructure at Rough Draft Studios is set up for HD.  It would be silly to change that -- at any rate, it would be more expensive to go back to 4:3.
upside_ur_head

Bending Unit
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« Reply #17 on: 09-03-2009 21:46 »
« Last Edit on: 09-03-2009 21:47 »

Now that Futurama has started being shown in 16:9 and HD its unlikely they will go back. That's why Fox tried to save money by not paying the voice actors, writers etc. so much.
Svip

Administrator
DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #18 on: 09-03-2009 21:54 »

Now that Futurama has started being shown in 16:9 and HD its unlikely they will go back. That's why Fox tried to save money by not paying the voice actors, writers etc. so much.

That sounds unlikely.  Running 16:9 is just as cheap as doing 4:3.  If it was more expensive, there would be something completely wrong with 16:9.

The reasoning why it has taken a while to get it upgraded to 16:9, and people often citing the expenses, it is primarily because you need to get the right equipment.

But equipment is a one sales price.  Once you have it, you can do anything with it.  And since they already had it at Rough Draft Studios back in 2007, it would be EXTREMELY silly to buy old equipment now.

The voice actors/writers are being paid less, because Futurama is now a cable show, compared to a network show.  In other words, Futurama's potential audience is lower.  That means advertisers are paying less for air time on Comedy Central, and as such, less money will be put in the cable show than a network show.

It's pretty simple; when you expect to earn less, you pay less.

The voice actors was asking for so called "season 6 money".  This is, according to Katey Sagal, "standard procedure", and what Fox did was also standard procedure.

The expenses the show is now having from HD are minimal - if not non-existent.
FistfulOAwesome

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #19 on: 09-03-2009 22:07 »

I guess that's pretty sweet then. I saw ITWGY on TV a few days ago and it was a weird experience seeing it in 4:3 (not as weird as all the cut bits and to be continued bits, but weird still). I'm just hope my cable provider will have Comedy Central in HD/Widescreen by then (or that it airs on FOX, since I have that).
Crash_7

Professor
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« Reply #20 on: 09-04-2009 00:05 »
« Last Edit on: 09-05-2009 15:33 »

I watched a bit of ITWGY last night on Comedy Central HD.  The 16x9 aspect ratio does a lot more for it than the higher resolution does.  I really don't think it looked appreciably better than my standard DVD of it.  And the DVD sounded better because CCHD doesn't do DD surround sound.  
I.C. Weiner

Bending Unit
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« Reply #21 on: 09-04-2009 06:34 »

Futurama was on the cutting edge with the integration of 3D CGI into a 2D cartoon. I think the geek factor with the staff will probably push the production team to try new things and expand the vision of the show in 16:9 HD. Does that mean you should run out and drop $2 grand on a T.V.? Probably not but if you have one already you could be in for a treat. Unfortunately, I think many cable subscribers in the Midwest are probably in the same boat as me with no CC HD option available. I am able to watch BG and ITWGY on Blu-Ray but will have to wait until they release the new season on disc to see it in HD. Also, if you haven't seen the video commentaries on these you should check it out.
Freako

Urban Legend
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« Reply #22 on: 09-04-2009 06:44 »

I have not seen one single blu-ray copy of ITWGY or BG anywhere in Australia.
I'd kill to see the video commentaries.
Ed3

Crustacean
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« Reply #23 on: 09-04-2009 07:24 »
« Last Edit on: 09-04-2009 07:27 »

I have not seen one single blu-ray copy of ITWGY or BG anywhere in Australia.
I'd kill to see the video commentaries.

You can buy ITWGY and BG on blu-ray at D-store. But other than that i haven't seen them either.

http://dstore.com.au/dvd/Futurama-Into-The-Wild-Green-Yonder/10393046.html
http://dstore.com.au/dvd/Futurama-Benders-Game/2881198.html
I.C. Weiner

Bending Unit
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« Reply #24 on: 09-04-2009 08:02 »

I had BG on DVD before I got a Blu-Ray player and bought the Blu-Ray just for the video commentary. If you have listened to all of the commentaries it is a completely new and awesome experience to watch these people you have listened to for so long.
Jezzem

Urban Legend
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« Reply #25 on: 09-04-2009 08:36 »

I have not seen one single blu-ray copy of ITWGY or BG anywhere in Australia.
I'd kill to see the video commentaries.

Really? They're at Kmart here every time I go there.
Freako

Urban Legend
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« Reply #26 on: 09-04-2009 09:55 »
« Last Edit on: 09-04-2009 09:56 by Futurama_Freak1 »

I have not seen one single blu-ray copy of ITWGY or BG anywhere in Australia.
I'd kill to see the video commentaries.
Really? They're at Kmart here every time I go there.
Well you're in NSW, the state that actually shows Futurama on TV.

Bah! when I move up there next year all will be well.
x.Bianca.x

Urban Legend
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« Reply #27 on: 09-04-2009 12:44 »

I've seen them on blu ray here and I'm in Victoria.
Freako

Urban Legend
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« Reply #28 on: 09-04-2009 13:04 »

Really? /Zoidberg
coldangel

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #29 on: 09-04-2009 15:29 »

Pah. Blue-definition... high-ray... My old black & white gamma-ray tube is more than sufficient for me.
Frisco17

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #30 on: 09-04-2009 15:48 »

Ah yes, the good ol' Radiation King.
Nixons Head

Bending Unit
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« Reply #31 on: 09-04-2009 17:25 »

Does it matter? Surely if your a fan you will just be happy to see futurama back again and shouldnt care what format its in. If you wouldnt watch it just because its not high definition then your not a true fan and shouldnt be on here.
leela09

Bending Unit
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« Reply #32 on: 09-05-2009 04:14 »

Well on the offchance that Futurama is picked up at a later date by Fox and Fox broadcasts in HD,I would think the next two years will be made in HD.
Otis P Jivefunk

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #33 on: 09-05-2009 20:28 »

I'll say what I said about The Simpsons:

Futurama is an ugly cartoon. The art is ugly. The writing supplies all the entertainment. Therefore, HD would not increase the enjoyment from viewing Futurama.

Disagree, Futurama is a visual pleasure...
Nixons Head

Bending Unit
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« Reply #34 on: 09-05-2009 20:59 »

No splik, you've got to love the detail they put into every episode. Just look at the background in Godfellows, you cant possibly think its ugly.   
GreyThinkyWhale

Professor
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« Reply #35 on: 09-05-2009 22:03 »

Most people are saying it probably won't be in HD? Really? I would be extremely surprised and disappointed if it wasn't in HD. Most things are these days, the movies were, it seems like a no-brainer.
FistfulOAwesome

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #36 on: 09-05-2009 22:17 »

diatribein and Svip made good points (shutting me up), primarily that Rough Draft already made the one-time purchase of HD equipment and thus it's of no real higher cost to produce the next seasons (and seemingly all Rough Draft shows) in HD. So yeah, apparently it will be in HD.
Go-a-Green-a

Bending Unit
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« Reply #37 on: 09-05-2009 22:58 »

To me Futurama always seemed to have a higher quality of animation then any of the major "adult cartoons" such as The Simpsons, King Of The Hill, Family Guy and American Dad. Futurama just seemed to look better then them. HD made The Simpsons look better, but I don't think any Futurama fans would care if it was in HD or not as long as we get the usual great plots and hilarious lines.
I.C. Weiner

Bending Unit
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« Reply #38 on: 09-07-2009 05:18 »

I agree that Futurama is great without stunning animation but if you have the chance to have your cake and eat it too why not? Many people have posted comments that make it seem like they are anti-hd. If any fan base should understand technological advances and embrace them you would think it would be Futurama fans.
FistfulOAwesome

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #39 on: 09-07-2009 05:56 »

I didn't read that. I read comments stating that HD is nice, but we would watch the series whether it was in it or not. Nobody is against HD (my comments were primarily about whether 20th would see it as worth it, but apparently I was uninformed about the one-time purchase of HD equipment that makes its cost near nothing above SD).
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