HDTV and Austin City Limits

By E.J. Urbanczyk

As Austin City Limits continues to tape their 33rd season, loyal fans and viewers at home will soon be that much closer to the experience with ACL's transition to HDTV. The artists have never looked so clear, vibrant, and true to life. Close your eyes and envision the stage and lights as the sound will soon envelop and surround you as you watch your favorite music artists rock out on the famous stage in the ACL studio.

The show has always taken pride in being one of the best produced shows of its kind and hopes to continue to do so as they transition to a high definition video and audio broadcast.

High definition offers cleaner, crisper, more natural-looking images along with richer, brighter, more vibrant colors. HD broadcasts are optimal for sporting events, movies, and concert events.

Beginning with the current season, ACL has begun to record high definition video directly using cameras capable of recording footage in the 720 progressive format, a much higher resolution than has been used before.

The concept of high definition was introduced to U.S. homes in the early 1900s and will soon be the broadcast standard, as of February 17, 2009. High definition, or HD, video is a broadcast that is delivered to your television set at a significantly higher resolution of 720 or 1080 pixels per inch, up from the most recent standard definition with a pixels resolution of approximately 768 x 576 or 720 x 540.

"Actually, we went 16:9 a few years ago and at the same time we up-converted to 1080i," ACL co-producer, Jeff Peterson said. His reference of "16 to 9" is a widescreen format that is often used in film-making and compliments widescreen high definition televisions. This translates to 16 'units' wide for every 9 'units' that it is high. The alternate is "full-screen," in which the same film aspect is zoomed to accommodate for the full screen image. Many disfavor this because you are not able to see the entire footage as the director intended. The 1080i refers to the numbers of pixels per inch, the highest resolution available in 2007.

"The bottom line is we always looked really good," he says.

"It actually has some advantages in regards to motion," says Peterson. Currently they have filmed two episodes, Paolo Nutini and Dierks Bentley, in the HD 720 progressive scan format.

As ACL continues to meet industry standards, the show's first HD broadcast will air October 6, 2007 as a part of the upcoming season.

Producers believe that once ACL can bear the HD symbol – which means a lot in some quarters.

"We can tell the world that we are high def and that carries a huge amount of weight among people who program the show, people who promote the show," he said.

While Peterson said he believes it is crucial for ACL to stay up to date with technology, the move to HD seems overblown: "It's a bigger deal than it should be," Peterson says.

The high definition broadcast will require a few changes. Some broadcasters worry that any flaws will be more noticeable. But Peterson says performers' makeup is the least of the concerns.

"The depth of field is actually more critical in high def," he says. "Making sure someone's face is in focus will be more critical and more difficult."

HD broadcasts are also capable of delivering audio in 5.1 channels, with means 5 surrounding speakers and a subwoofer, which makes the lower register bass sounds. This typically includes front left and right speakers, back left and right, and center. The sound delivered in high definition format is comparable to theater sound acoustics.

Viewers might not realize it, but ACL has been mixing and recording in "5.1 surround" for years -- but has yet to use the technology in its broadcasts. DVDs of past shows are available for sale in a format similar to 5.1 surround (On one electronics retail Web site, for instance, a DVD of Roy Orbison at ACL is described as "digital theater system, akin to 5.1")

"We record everything in multi-track," Peterson says. "So, anything that has its own channel can be steered anywhere in that sound field."

The future may be upon us: Show producers say ACL episodes will be broadcasted in full 5.1 surround as early as this current season.