I have read about the compression issues. Two things about that: 1) I watched on my TV, streaming HBOGO via my FireTV. Not sure if that is better or worse than other options. 2) while I don’t expect producers to make tv optimized for streaming on an IPhone, I do think they should deliver a product that can be enjoyed by a standard user. If a significant percentage of viewers could not see what they are supposed to be seeing, that is a production fail, and it is unseemly for the cinematographer to blame unsophisticated viewers.
I know there were portions of the middle part that were supposed to be confusing and hard to see; but the impact of that is lost when so much of what we are supposed to see is equally confusing and opaque. On Wed, May 1, 2019 at 9:54 AM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > On Wed, May 1, 2019 at 12:20 PM Adam Bowie <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I suspect that there are a number of issues here. >> >> One is compression and re-compression. HBO distributes the show to its >> partners globally, and probably in a fairly high definition version. But >> the local carrier than re-compresses that for delivery to homes. Different >> carriers do very different things. I think it can be particularly bad if >> you're watching a streamed version of a video - and especially if it's >> live. The compression algorithms are just set to work "averagely" and that >> can lead to bad compression. >> >> I watched a recorded-as-live version from Sky in the UK in HD and there >> was lots of blockiness in the dark scenes. Sky's picture is decent, but >> they compress too much. I remember seeing the same years ago watching Das >> Boot on DVD with submarines floating around in murky waters. Compression >> just does a really bad job unless someone spends a lot of time doing it >> well. When the BluRays of GOT come out (I've been buying them all), the >> picture will undoubtedly look better. >> >> I think that as well as for artistic reasons, they chose darkness to >> cover up CGI issues. Since this was such a CGI-heavy episode that in full >> brightness I suspect that it wouldn't look as good. But add darkness and a >> snowstorm, and you hide a lot of the joins. >> >> But this was definitely a dark episode. I watched in a darkened room with >> the curtains drawn and didn't have too many problems. I could see what was >> happening when I was supposed to. I think some sections, they were trying >> to convey confusion in the heat of war. I have a circa 2012 Samsung TV - so >> nothing too high end. I definitely wouldn't want to watch on a shiny laptop >> screen or an iPad. But yes, this would look awesome on an OLED screen. But >> those screens are four figures. >> >> The sound, by the way, is exceptional. If you have a separates system, it >> really makes a difference. I invested in a Denon Atmos enabled receiver a >> few months ago, and I can feel the room shake! >> > > I read a comment on Monday from someone who thought the battle as shown on > HBO was too dark due to compression and switched to watching a streamed > version from HBO Go cast to his TV. He said the picture was much better and > he had no trouble following what was happening. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
