DP 121
HDTV to SDTV
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| Episode Comparisons | Diamond & Pearl
In Japan, the episode aired in high definition, with a 16:9 ratio. In the U.S., it aired in standard definition in a 4:3 ratio.
So what's up with that? Who's to blame? Where do we send the angry mob?
The thing that first jumped into everyone's minds (at least, the way I saw it) was that it was TPCI's doing. But I really don't think this is the case at all. The screenshots on the episode's page on the official Pokémon website are all uncropped, which shows that there was at least an intention of presenting everything in its proper aspect ratio. I mean...why post 16:9 images if they had planned to crop it all along?
And then there's the new opening. The one used for the first fifteen episodes of the season was composed entirely of 4:3 episode clips while the new one is composed entirely of clips from after the show went to HD. There's no way that can be just a happy coincidence.
Another theory suggests that Cartoon Network is to blame. There's probably some truth to this, but I don't think it would be fair to place all the blame on them. Even though they have what they call an HD feed, everywhere I've looked online seems to indicate that they really just use the station to air unconverted SD programming that's then stretched to a widescreen ratio. Even shows created in high definition for the network, like The Venture Bros. and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, are just broadcast in standard definition with a stretched letterbox presentation and that these shows actually look better when viewed on an SD TV. I've also heard people on message boards state that the network will sometimes air actual HD content for premiers and then air the uncoverted SD version for the reruns, but they don't seem to do this regularly enough for us to predict when they'll do it and when they won't.
In addition, the episode was shown uncropped when it was aired in Canada. Obviously, a 16:9 version of this episode, in English, exists.
The theory that seems the most plausible to me is that whatever methods being used to send the episodes from TPCI's headquarters in New York to Cartoon Network's headquarters in Atlanta just weren't built for handling HD programming. TV-Tokyo apparently mails the episodes from Japan to the U.S. while TPCI, most likely, simply e-mails the episodes to CN through some secure online server. That process, the theory goes, can't handle the amount of data necessary for an HD episode (high definition content usually requires at least twice as much memory as standard definition content), so they had to get scaled down to SD somewhere along the way in order to complete the transfer.
Another thing worth mentioning is that even in Japan, the HD episodes get cropped in some markets. TV-Tokyo is a commercial over-the-air network, so different areas will get different broadcasts. Remember how viewers in some parts of Japan got the preview for "The Battle of the Shaking Island! Dojochi vs. Namazun!" while others did not? That's because what a TV-Tokyo network broadcasts in one part of Japan isn't necessarily what a TV-Tokyo in another part of the country will air. The TV-Tokyo network in the city in Japan that *I* live in, for example, used to always crop the episodes and air them in standard definition. It's a lot like ABC / CBS / NBC / Fox / The CW in the United States.
Shoot, TV-Tokyo's own website for the show crops the preview videos!
I have some screencaps I took of both the HD version and the SD version to give you guys a better idea of just how this change impacts the episode. Hopefully, I won't have to make similar pages for too many other episodes down the road and the show gets aired in its proper aspect ratio sooner rather than later.
In Japan, the episode aired in high definition, with a 16:9 ratio. In the U.S., it aired in standard definition in a 4:3 ratio.
So what's up with that? Who's to blame? Where do we send the angry mob?
The thing that first jumped into everyone's minds (at least, the way I saw it) was that it was TPCI's doing. But I really don't think this is the case at all. The screenshots on the episode's page on the official Pokémon website are all uncropped, which shows that there was at least an intention of presenting everything in its proper aspect ratio. I mean...why post 16:9 images if they had planned to crop it all along?
And then there's the new opening. The one used for the first fifteen episodes of the season was composed entirely of 4:3 episode clips while the new one is composed entirely of clips from after the show went to HD. There's no way that can be just a happy coincidence.
Another theory suggests that Cartoon Network is to blame. There's probably some truth to this, but I don't think it would be fair to place all the blame on them. Even though they have what they call an HD feed, everywhere I've looked online seems to indicate that they really just use the station to air unconverted SD programming that's then stretched to a widescreen ratio. Even shows created in high definition for the network, like The Venture Bros. and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, are just broadcast in standard definition with a stretched letterbox presentation and that these shows actually look better when viewed on an SD TV. I've also heard people on message boards state that the network will sometimes air actual HD content for premiers and then air the uncoverted SD version for the reruns, but they don't seem to do this regularly enough for us to predict when they'll do it and when they won't.
In addition, the episode was shown uncropped when it was aired in Canada. Obviously, a 16:9 version of this episode, in English, exists.
The theory that seems the most plausible to me is that whatever methods being used to send the episodes from TPCI's headquarters in New York to Cartoon Network's headquarters in Atlanta just weren't built for handling HD programming. TV-Tokyo apparently mails the episodes from Japan to the U.S. while TPCI, most likely, simply e-mails the episodes to CN through some secure online server. That process, the theory goes, can't handle the amount of data necessary for an HD episode (high definition content usually requires at least twice as much memory as standard definition content), so they had to get scaled down to SD somewhere along the way in order to complete the transfer.
Another thing worth mentioning is that even in Japan, the HD episodes get cropped in some markets. TV-Tokyo is a commercial over-the-air network, so different areas will get different broadcasts. Remember how viewers in some parts of Japan got the preview for "The Battle of the Shaking Island! Dojochi vs. Namazun!" while others did not? That's because what a TV-Tokyo network broadcasts in one part of Japan isn't necessarily what a TV-Tokyo in another part of the country will air. The TV-Tokyo network in the city in Japan that *I* live in, for example, used to always crop the episodes and air them in standard definition. It's a lot like ABC / CBS / NBC / Fox / The CW in the United States.
Shoot, TV-Tokyo's own website for the show crops the preview videos!
I have some screencaps I took of both the HD version and the SD version to give you guys a better idea of just how this change impacts the episode. Hopefully, I won't have to make similar pages for too many other episodes down the road and the show gets aired in its proper aspect ratio sooner rather than later.
Found an error or omission? Please help me keep this page current and error-free by e-mailing me with a description of the issue.
