WWE going HD

[Shadowmancer]

Originally from Wrestlezone

WWE officials were having serious talks last weekend in regards to WWE going HD. The plan is to have everything broadcasted in HD by next year's WrestleMania. However, they need to do some more experimenting before following through.

They have had several issues in their first few experiments with HD, one being that you could hear wrestlers calling out their spots and it is very easy to see when a wrestler misses a move. Several more rounds of testing are yet to come.

Another issue that arises with HD is how the Divas will come off on TV. According to several people, HD is very unforgiving when it comes to make-up and less than perfect bodies. There is also a concern that the older wrestlers, like Michaels, will show their actual age in HD.

CW said they are ready to go HD for SmackDown tomorrow, if needed. USA, however, is not ready at this time but will be within the year. So we will have more on this in the coming months.


Is this going to be a good thing, I don't know, everyone knows that HBK is in his 40's so it doesn't make that much of a difference. The only thing Id be worried about is the Calling of spots in a match being able to be heard, this could cause a lot of the work that has been put into the industry in terms of Kayfabe to be washed down the drain.

 

[A.J.]

I know USA has been pressing WWE to go HD. I know Vinne Mac has been very reluctant due to the all the potential afftects it will have. I honestly feel WWE will have to go with it eventually, but wrestlers calling spots in teh ring is bad if that is exposed. So hopefully WWE can find a way to work with it as evetually all cable Tv will be in HD. Reguarding the divas who knows maybe we will get to see more and more younger divas who can not wrestle. Can you see Flair in HD that be horrific so HD has potential for WWE but there are kinks that need to be worked out before they actually launch WWE oon HD TV

 

[Shocky]

I'm suprised we've gone this far without it going to Hd already. Anyone can hear the spots if they are looking for them. It's one of my biggest pet peeves, but it's my fault as a lifetime fan, because I know when they are coming.

I'd love it to expose some of the divas. Most of the WWE Divas were just about as much makeup as Doink the Clown, so HD exposing them is fine with me. HBK is in his 40's, I don't think I'll mind, but the little 12 year old girl crushes on him might go away.

HD is simply the wave of the future, is anyone else looking forward to seeing Trevor Murdoch in 1080ip?

 

[A.J.]

i'm the same way when it comes to spots but like I said its the future and they have to work with it. I wouldnt be suprised by the end of this year they try HD with Smackdown since it is taped and they can see how HD will work within WWE and hopefully prepare them from Live RAWs and PPV's

PS. Most of the WWE Divas were just about as much makeup as Doink the Clown...had me lauging my ass off

 

[InstantClassic]

I agree with the fact that eventually, they will just have to go with it. It's just one of those things.

However, we all know how easily we spot the botched spots of the likes of Batista and Cena. It can't be too good if this becomes plainly obvious to the everyday fan who idolises them.

Just think, if WM was in HD this year, everyone would have been able to make out what HBK was saying when he was having a go at Cena, no matter how hard JR and King tried to cover it up.

However, as long as they iron out the kinks first, it could be a very positive thing for them, and as I said, it will have to happen eventually.

 

[EP Punk]

I gotta agreee with Shcokmaster. WWE going HD, i'm surprised it hasn't been done yet..especially since old Vinnie Mac likes to say he stays on the cutting edge. And yeah, if you look for it, anyone can hear them calling spots..not to mention botching them. I cannot tell you how many times I have sat at home Monday and Friday nights, pointing out Kane, Batista, Cena, Booker T etc.'s miscues...and can u imagine the divas wrestling in HD? OMFG. Please, work out all the kinks..and I mean all of them, before it happens!!

 

[OCTheEagle]

The amount of the money Melina spends on make-up, is thesame amount I spent on food for 2 weeks.

Anyway, I actually see the opposite. Wrestlers in real life come of way better then on tv. Hearing them call the spots is an audio issue which can be fixed by raising the amount of crowd cheers or something like that.

 

[tokm2k]

in ireland and great britain we have wwe in HD although i do not subscribe to HD viewing

Erm, no, we don't.

(I'm one of the fools who got sky HD - separate issue) Basically, its just a decent as decent gets, image quality video feed that sky 'ups' to HD spec, interms of picture resolution. IIRC, WWE tv, like most TV stuff, sends video feeds in a higher resolution than HD spec! Its just the 1080ip image quality that isnt upto HD, which is why WWE on sky sports HD looks very nice but not quite HD. Not really bothered, everything looks nice enough anyway, WM was a nice test of the TV and sound system @ 12am

So its not true HD, that'll only come when WWE changes all their cameras & video processing to HD rated stuff. ATM there just using the same audio gear as they were a few years ago (before HD was 'the new big thing') and cameras that offer DVD'ish quality (useful for when they publish PPV and best of 'type' DVDs).

And OCTheEagle's got it right, they'll just lower the camera mics near the ring & make the crowd louder..

Tokm

 

[OCTheEagle]

As can be seen at the frontpage of Wrestlezone.com; WWE shows, excluding Smackdown, will go High Definition on January 2008. In my opinion, this is great news.

I'm wondering what WWE's next step will be, will they choose HD-DVD, Blue Ray or stick with the DVD format for the next few years?

A problem WWE had in the past was that people can see that the inring action looked fake when using High definition, people could clearly see that some moves do not connect. It seems that problem has been fixed.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Blu-ray technology is where it is going right now so I expecct WWE to be making a business announcement about that soon as it would give them an advantage over TNA or RoH when it comes to sales of Events as there is a growing market for Blu-Ray technology, it also will cut back number of Discs but increase Price meaning that WWE should in Theory make more of a Profit out of it. If they can get some kind of Deal with whoever is making Blu-ray technology it will be a benefit for those with PS3s. But they have yet to come up with the Regional stuff for the technology so this is probably more of an International Business thing than it is a WWE and their Home Movies department.

 

[Mexican Geek]

Tough question. I think blue Ray is the format to follow, because ALL of the advantages over HD DVD, but as Shadow said, Blue Ray is quite expensive.
I guess blue Ray will be the choice, expensive product = more profit.

 

[Shocky]

I doubt we will see any next generation DVD's coming from the WWE. Ithink the product is being shown on TV for people that have that capability, but I doubt they will go that way for home releases just yet.

Next Gen technology is expensive. People aren't willing to throw down 1000 dollars just to get a player, let alone 30 dollars on a movie. Most people don't notice the difference between Blu-Ray and Basic DVd's. i for one think the technology is a waste of time. It's just another example of these companies trying to nickle and dime the consumer by bringing out "new and improved" formats every 5 years. It didn't work with BETA it didn't work with Laserdisc, and it won't work with blu-ray. VCR's were around for two decades, and DVD's have only been around mainstream for less then ten years.

People aren't forking the money over again. you notice a difference between VHS and DVD, but you don't notice the difference with Blu-Ray over DVD. Like I said, the technology is out there for people that want to watch it week to week, but it won't be available for home use from the WWE for a long time, if ever.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

I think its about time really. I have a 50 inch LCD HD tv, and I love watching games and discovery channel in HD, and was hoping WWE would pick it up soon. I think itll be awesome, especially for the huge events in huge arenas, with really elaborate sets, like WM...especially this years, seeing as how it will be in an outside stadium with the possibility of rain, I think that experience in HD, and with the 5.1 surround, will be spectacular. Persoanlly im a huge fan of crowd heat, and atmosphere, so the 5.1 surround in itself makes me very excited about it.

As far as the blu ray, I think it will be a while before we see WWE putting its dvds on that format. its not particularly widespread at the moment, and isnt a regular house hold thing yet. They have been showing NFL games in HD for 4 years now, and WWE is just now getting in the HD game, so that makes me think they wont do blu ray until its a fairly regular thing.

 

[matt192004]

here is a good question if it has been asked before and already answered please repost both the question and answer but something to consider will all tvs be able to receive this mondays broadcast in HD? I have an hdtv so it wont be a problem for me provided the usa network has an hd channel. someone please write back i think this is the big question is the WWE HD thing exclusive to them are does it depends upon the channel etc?

 

[Sharpshooter]

I would believe its a good idea to experiment this before the United States goes to HD because it will have an opportunity to know what will change with shows during airtime. Calling spots as heard is one of the experiments that the WWE will have to take time adjusting, also will have to make changes to as the time with HD will go on. My pet peeve on this is we will have to see every yellow frame of Snitsky's teeth in crystal clear view Not a good thing to swallow, if you get me.

-Sharp

 

[Mighty NorCal]

I for one, am very excited for the debut next week.

But I just read on WZ.com, that apparently while there HAS been a new set constructed for HD, it looks like they will be using the same set for all three shows, which IMO is sort of a let down. It will give each of the brands a much less individual feel, and will make it hard to differentiate. IDK itll just be wierd, and I wish they couldve come up with sets for all three, and Im not real sure why they couldnt, im sure they have known about the HD switch for quite some time. HD, good idea, one set for all 3 shows, bad idea....

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

I for one, am very excited for the debut next week.

But I just read on WZ.com, that apparently while there HAS been a new set constructed for HD, it looks like they will be using the same set for all three shows, which IMO is sort of a let down. It will give each of the brands a much less individual feel, and will make it hard to differentiate. IDK itll just be wierd, and I wish they couldve come up with sets for all three, and Im not real sure why they couldnt, im sure they have known about the HD switch for quite some time. HD, good idea, one set for all 3 shows, bad idea....

They may use the overall same structure, but change a couple of details for each of the shows, kind of like having replaceable sections or something for the title of the show and so forth. Either way, I hope it resembles the one from Raw more than anything else, because that's definitely the best one. I've never been a fan of not having a ramp and a Titantron.

 

[Shocky]

Well I just took the plunge and bought my first fully high def 1080p 42inch television. I must tell you, it's fucking amazing, and even with standard DVDS the screen is amazing.

So I have my reason to get cable now. HD's simply put, is amazing beyond amazing. This means I will be watching Raw more often now simply do to the HD factor.

All that being said, my cable company has yet to offer USA networks in HD, which is a huge fucking let down in my opinion. I am an apartment dweller right now, and I would hate to get a satellite dish to meet my HD needs, especially having to sign a two year contract to get the channel.

So all that being said, USA networks really really need to negotiate and get this HD thing on all of the cable providers, because I will be disapointed if they don't. This is a great move on the WWE's part.

And as far as the one set, give it some time i'm sure they will begin to differentiate the sets once more.

 

[xhardycenafanx]

you know, i can't wait until this WWE HD thing, new set, new everything, im gonna feel lucky because im actually going to raw on monday, so ill see the set before all of you people who have to watch it on tv. im so excited!

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

I would love to see the wwe hd versions of raw, smackdown and ECW, it looks like something that other wrestling shows cant offer, and thats why they are the number one brand in sports entertainment

I wana see how hard shawn hits that superkick in hd

 

[MR.SCOTT]

HD itself is at an early stage, Im only just starting to use it in my film company, so i think that the wwe has tried and tested this enough to make it integrate with the product, i will be waiting to see if they actually work with it well imo coz the HD itself still has a long way to go before it becomes something crisp

 

[the_phenomenal1]

I don't know if there's a topic for the new sets, but after reading on the main site about the new sets being primarily video and Raw, S'Down & ECW will be the same, so what will happen at the PPV's?

Because some PPV sets are huge things in shapes of all sorts, and i wondered if this meant that PPV's would look the same as Raw, Smackdown & ECW

 

[Skullz Crack'Em]

This should raise the ratings.............. a little bit, I don't have HD so it doesn't really matter to me personally(and a lot of other people), I am interested in seeing the new look that the three shows will get though. If they are all the same as rumoured, then I guess they will just alternate logos of the set throughout the week or something like that. What I am really wondering is if the wrestlers will slip up and call their moves too loud, that will spoil the matches so I wouldn't be surprised if WWE has a bumpy start with getting use to the new HD way. They may have already taped shows in HD, but they never did it live yet, so this could start out really good or really bad.

 

[Sali Cupchek]

Aww man, freaking cable doesn't have USA HD! Only CWHD and Sci Fi HD. I guess no RAW HD for me? God, stupid dish and its freaking exclusivity deals.

But really though, I think WWE and its fans are getting a bit too excited about the HD switch. Making a new logo and a whole new set just because you're broadcasting in more pixels? That's just overhype. True, HD looks amazing, but just beacause something now looks the way IT SHOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE IN THE FIRST PLACE, doesn't mean that now all of a sudden Shawn Michaels is gonna jump out the screen and superkick you. I couldn't stand all the talk of watching [certain ugly WWE superstar] IN HD (!!!!!) by the RAW and SD commentators last week.

 

[Punkrulz]

I was wondering about this... I was watching last night, and I have Comcast Cable w/ HD. Firstly, I noted that there was no HD symbol on the guide for the show. I searched, searched, and searched some more wondering if WWE Raw was going to be playing on another channel somewhere that would be HD (USA is channel 35 for me). Low and behold, it was not.

I did not notice much different about the broadcast. Personally it looked like crap to me. The screen did change it's size a bit, but usually when something is HD my TV displays it full screen... not this. The only thing I noted was on several occasions you could see the camera zooming into peoples' faces to try and give the HD affect.

Was it really supposed to be HD, or did this only apply for places that USA has an HD Counterpart?