Quote:
Originally Posted by AXG
I love how you correct someone with complete bollocks. The only real difference with US shows is that they're recorded at 30fps instead of 25fps, but that won't make them look crap on the news etc. It IS about copyright. A documentary following Russell Brand around could only show him on Leno by filming the monitor in his dressing room. It's pathetic but copyright makes that happen all the time.
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If you want to get technical, American TV is filmed and broadcast in NTSC format whilst UK TV is filmed in PAL and when you attempt to cross the two systems over you get a duller and less sharp picture, as you do with shows such as Friends and American Idol.
The two systems aren't used as much now but they form the basis for HD broadcasts, with as you say the two frame rates being the result. But even when American shows are broadcast in the UK, they still look dull unless you watch them on a HD channel when they just seem normal.
Also, its not always about copyright. Some channels freely let others use their material. Sometimes the crap picture is caused by picture compression because of the screen resolution, a good example being when broadcast on E4 in compilation shows, Big Brother clips had terrible picture quality there but no immediate copyright issues should crop up.
If it was copyright issues and they took it off youtube they wouldn't need to credit Big Brother/Channel 4/Endemol as they did, instead using 'pictures from Youtube'. BBC News do that all the time.