'Survivor: Micronesia': Exclusive Cast Reveal!

For its 16th season, the reality staple brings back favorites from previous seasons to compete against newbies who idolize them.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20168991,00.html

Also, Jeff Probst dishes on the players:

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20168950,00.html

Yay! Yau-Man!

Thanks for the infos Cyclism, nice to know ahead of time who are the faves and get a little info on the fans.

I just saw the ad for the new season and it was in HD.

Will Survivor now be in HD ? :D I sure hope so.
It is afterall as primetime as it gets.

The commercial was in HD, comprised of upconverted SD material. I doubt that this will ever be taped in HD.

Let me dream until the season begins will you. *kidding ...kind of*

Why wouldn't it ever be in HD ?
I see no reason for them not to switch over at some point but I'd like to know why you think differently.

Probably due to the fact that this is taped on location over at least a 39 day shooting schedule with the need to have multiple camera coverage. It could be done, but I doubt that CBS and Mark Burnett would want to dedicate the HD resources to it for anytime in the near future. This has actually been discussed many times on the forums for past seasons.

It won't be in HD. Like last time the commercials were in HD and the show wasn't. The Apprentice did the same thing earlier this month and the commercials for Big Brother are in HD. No HD all around.

Didn't I already say that?

This has actually been discussed many times on the forums for past seasons.
Well I thought maybe there could be something different to keep 'em from doing it.

As time goes, resources like cameras become more affordable and so I keep hoping it will be affordable enough soon.

*There goes the ad again.*

Yeah, I see what you mean by upscaled SD footage... Ok maybe not this season.
16:9 sure makes it look better already than regular 4:3 480i.
Oh well, someday...

I can see that HD might be a challenge, given the nature of much of the taping - particularly at night. But I don't see any reason why they can't film it in SD Widescreen.

Probably because those watching Survivor on a 4:3 TV (which is still the vast majority of the populace) will then be forced to see it letterboxed on their TVs. The only way around this will be to tape it with two set of cameras which, as the same reason it won't be taped in HD in the near future, is cost-prohibitive.

It wouldn't have to be letterboxed. It could just have the sides chopped off like I've seen some networks do.

So anyone has a guess as to who is more likely to win it ?
(That'll be a lonshot!)

If you mean Pan & Scan, then it would mean that the camera equipment will have to be configured to frame both a 16:9 and 4:3 image, and the cameramen would have to be aware of what they are framing in their lenses at all times so as to include the 16:9 images, and be aware of what may or may not be captured in the conversion to 4:3. This is a lot easier to do in a studio setting with playback review capability, but will definitely be a lot more difficult during live on-location shooting. Not to mention the additional editing required to ensure completeness.
Again, it could be done, but there are many technical and cost considerations that prohibit it being done at this time. So the easiest and cheapest method is still taping and broadcasting Survivor in 4:3.

It's just that I've compared simultaneous airings of SD and HD broadcasts (both CBC hockey and series episodes like Law and Order) and the SD versions often simply look like the sides have been chopped off with little care with what actually gets chopped off. Sometimes logos and text are cut off right in the middle. Other times it's someone's head or shoulder. Since most of the action happens at the center of the screen anyway, it doesn't really matter what actually gets cut off.

Anyway, I'll be cheering for Yau-man! :)

Filmed series and live sporting events with studio control booths and pre-production review and playback are easy to capture in both SD and HD as the cameras are configured so that 16:9 and 4:3 are considered when framing.

It is when when doing live on-location taping that requires special consideration since the images must be completely captured with no consideration prior to post-production of a continuous, 39 day minimum, 24/7 shooting schedule such as Survivor.

Starts tonight.

That's the lamest buch of "Favorites" I could imagine. I barely even remember most of them. Still looks like it might be a half decent season though. The Fans have some interesting characters and there's some nice eye candy.

I found the first episode very bland and boring. Eye candy aside, there wasn't much to it. What I liked about survivor is getting to know the new people and watch them evolve through the show. I already know all the favorites, and I'm bored by them already. Didn't get to know much about the Fans yet.

And I can't understand Fairplay's "I don't want to be here". He went to all the trouble to get on the show, and fly out to G*d knows where, and on the first day says, I wanna leave? Lame.

Hope it improves.

It seems some of the favourites get "busy" on camera.

I'm glad JF is gone.

I wish JF would have stayed
He is funny, and makes the show interesting
They could have got rid of , uhhh, whats her name
I can't even think of who she is, but she is boooorrrring
The chatty favorite was good for a chuckle, and made me squirm in my chair at the same time
"Who said I have implants"
That was some funny TV
Some people don't know when to shut up
"I've never been friends with a gay before"
I would have said "with big eyes like you have, it makes you very observant"
:D