Re: TCM HD
ek222
Enthusiast - Level 3

Obviously you're more knowledgeable about this than I am. However having seen TCM HD on Comcast the quality of the HD feed is definitely better. Surely FIOS can afford to add TCM HD. and drop one of the numerous crap channels.

Re: TCM HD
DD292
Enthusiast - Level 1

Why does this show up as 'solved'?

Re: TCM HD
LawrenceC
Moderator Emeritus

The opening poster has the abiliity to mark any one post in their thread as a solution when they consider that their question has been answered.

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Re: TCM HD -- Why is it not carried on FiOS?
johnnyboy191
Newbie

I agree.  I want Verizon Fios to have TCM in HD.  I like fios but my two year contract is up and I am seriously thinking about switching to Cavlevision Optimum who does have TCM in HD.  Who do I email at Verizon Fios to complain?

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Re: TCM HD
RJMacReady
Enthusiast - Level 3

kk222- Didn't mean to come off as an apologist for Vz. I also love TCM, and am annoyed with the SD "mini-box" in the center of our glorious 16:9 aspect ratio HD TV screens. ( 16:9 is the height vs. the width, which works out to be an almost perfect match for films shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.That still doesn't stop some channels like Encore and HBO from "cropping" the film to make sure there are no black bars, however tiny, showing. Please keep in mind, if you are fan of film noir like myself, a film like 1946's "The Big Sleep" will still have a small black bar on either side of the image, even in HD. If you have a zoom function on your TV, you can zoom in and eliminate these bars, and fill up your entire screen, without making it look too badly cropped. But I agree 100%, Vz is more than happy to bomabard us with religious broadcasting and infomercial channels, b/c they get paid for it. Getting the TCM HD feed might cost them a few dollars more per month. Until such a day arrives, I put up with the SD "mini-box" versions of film noirs I haven't seen, and buy SD or BluRay DVD versions of the films I love. I just ordered "The Big Sleep", restored frame by frame by Warner Brothers Archives, on BluRay yesterday. The reviews are fantastic, the frame by frame restoration brings out details unseen in the SD version. There is also an expanded version of the essay on the differences between the 1945 and 1946 versions of the film that is twice as long as the one on the SD DVD. I can't wait. All 4 Bogie and Bacall films are now available on BluRay, if you are a fan.    RJM


@ek222 wrote:

Obviously you're more knowledgeable about this than I am. However having seen TCM HD on Comcast the quality of the HD feed is definitely better. Surely FIOS can afford to add TCM HD. and drop one of the numerous crap channels.


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Re: TCM HD
wkleschi
Enthusiast - Level 2
I've been watching this thread for years, and have finally figured out how to create a forum account on here. I was formally a Comcast customer four years ago, and I can attest that even then TCM was showcasing remastered wide screen prints in high definition of their original aspect ratio. I adored watching "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" and classic westerns in full wide screen beauty; in high definition. The reason the HD version will still look SD is a lot of the films made before the 1960's weren't wide screen. 70mm productions on TCM HD still have letterboxing, as to maintain the original aspect ratio. The channel also used to keep me up to date of the yearly festivals and the special guests they will be bringing on, and some of my favorite hosts included Ben Mankiewikz and Robert Osbourne.
Re: TCM HD
RJMacReady
Enthusiast - Level 3

wkleschi, You were a very fortunate person. I know exactly what you mean, even though I am not a Western genre fan, I would gladly watch a Leone/Eastwood spaghetti western if it was in a 2.40:1 presentation. People who get freaked out about the LBX black bars don't realize you don't notice them after a few minutes. HBO etc are to blame. They are stuck in the VHS mentality, where a film like "ALIEN" would be missing 40%+ of the original image on a cropped VHS tape. I don't expect Vz to worry about our concerns, just keep HBO et al showing cropped versions of films they have shown 1K times before, like the Die Hard franchise. Ignorance is bliss.    RJM

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Re: TCM HD
Sammy14221
Contributor - Level 1

Not having TCM in HD is unacceptable in this day and age of 1080P or 4K television. It is insulting to watch TCM programing in SD when every other cable system and satellite company carries it in HD. 

Re: TCM HD
RTA2
Enthusiast - Level 1

Add another voice to the growing choir. It is unacceptable and incomprehensible that, now approaching 2017, FIOS still refuses to add TCM in glorious HD. Receiving my bill the other day, with all services clocking in at nearly $400 a month, and things such as this has me increasingly leaning towards cutting the TV cord of my FIOS and going streaming only.

It isn't even so much over *just* one channel (although, for a lot of folks, TCM is a highly desired/frequently watched channel - one of literally the only options for watching films covering several decades worth of time... and from all sorts of differing genres) - rather, it is an indication of their continued commitment to adding sought, highly visible new HD channels and content over blowing bandwidth for junk channels they get paid to carry. My bill is plenty high enough as it is that they shouldn't need to be refusing the addition of new channels in order to subsidize their bottom line with HD infomercial channels and religious HD channels at my expense.

I was expecting TCM HD would be added around 2013 or 2014 - the fact it is August of 2016, and still no TCM HD in sight, is downright flabbergasting. The fact that it is that same futuristic date and I'm still having to frequently browse/record in the SD tier of channels, when furthermore in consideration of selfsame ridiculously $$$ monthly bill, is out and out infuriating. That I often find myself seeing a film airing on TCM that piques my interest, only to turn to Netflix/Amazon Prime/Hulu/etc. in search of that *same* film, but in a *FAR* higher quality presentation, also most certainly isn't doing FIOS any favors on my account in regards to retaining my FIOS TV package over strictly streaming only.

At this rate, I'd say we'll probably never live to see ourselves watching TCM HD on FIOS... which is both ridiculous and baffling.

Re: TCM HD
Pie-Eyed
Newbie

Me, too!  When we were swtiching to Fios from Comcast, we were assured it offered TCM.  We were too stupid to ask about HD.  We are still with Fios and just got a much higher-res TV.  Now, SD TCM quality looks that much worse.  It is disgusting that Verizon doesn't carry HD.  If that doesn't change, we will.  Do you want to keep us, Verizon?

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