I apologize if the answer is obvious or the topic has been beat to death, but why is it that no programming on SD channels are shown in widescreen? Surely there are plenty that were filmed in the format, so why is it limited to HD channels.

There are standards that govern these things. SD is 4:3, and companies obviously choose not to deviate from those standards to ensure an consistent experience.

Many people still have 4:3 TV's so they would actually miss information by viewing widescreen (16:9) content on those screens.

^^^^
That may hold for those receiving analog signals, either OTA or via cable, but there's no reason why it's necessary for anyone receiving digital. A zoom (shrink?) button could be used to show the program in either full height or letterbox formats as desired.

Some of the premium channels broadcast their SD titles in their native aspect ratio. You lose out a bit on resolution, but at least you see the programming the way that it was intended.

Foxnews SD has switched to widescreen format.

-Mike

Many people get confused (or dislike) black bars on their TVs, so most WS SD programming is pan & scanned to the 4:3 format. You'll probably find though that lots of commercials are widescreen...

Once people switch to HD, they become aware of aspect ratios (black bars on the sides, etc) and then understand the different aspects and learn to accept them or grumble less.

That makes sense, thanks guys. I guess I never considered the fact that not everyone has widescreen tv's. Soon enough I guess.

I've noticed that some Standard Def broadcasters in Canada frequently broadcasted their widescreen programming letterboxed in a 4:3 screen. (This happens sometimes on Global, CTV, CBC and on some specialty stations like Space and HGTV Canada.) The zoom feature on my HD Digital Cable Terminal zooms in too much, so I watch a lot of SD channels window boxed.

I read that in the UK some Standard Def broadcasters send a SD Digital signal in Widescreen (16:9) to Widescreen TVs.

cslusarc: AFD - Here as well.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=909038#post909038

I read that in the UK some Standard Def broadcasters send a SD Digital signal in Widescreen (16:9) to Widescreen TVs.

UK Broadcasters such as Channel 4 deliver their programming in Anamorphic widescreen, much like current DVD videos do. The viewer then has the option to choose the appropriate display format for their television, either widescreen, letterboxed 4:3, or 4:3 center cut. Sadly, it seems most North American broadcasters don't follow this approach.

My mother could never understand why anyone would buy a Widescreen movie. When we watched one, she hated the black bars and said she'd rather have the full screen used up and parts cut off.

The movie studios still produce "Full Screen" versions of movies.

Unfortunately, until everyone has a wide screen TV, they don't understand the benefits of not having 4:3 programs.

I assume that for a TV production company to produce something in widescreen, they need different cameras so I am sure that many of the cable networks use older technology to save money.

they need different cameras

They can get by with anamorphic lenses, as the film industry does. Also, wide screen TV has been around for about a decade now, so there should have been a lot of 16:9 capable cameras sold in that time.

I read that in the UK some Standard Def broadcasters send a SD Digital signal in Widescreen (16:9) to Widescreen TVs.

DW-TV (Rogers Toronto 195) broadcasts in SD Widescreen.

not many people subscribe to DV-TV (195) so no one knows what it really looks like, plus what does it look like on an SD box? are the sides cut off, or is it anamorphically shrunk to a 4:3 frame and there is a signal in it which the HD box receives and fills in the entire frame?