29-12-2023, 12:48 AM
Quite possibly a transfer made back in 1994... which would make it a quite early 16:9 one if it is. Probably made not long afterwards if it wasn't.
Quite a lot of filmed shows in the 90s went out in 14:9, though in many cases that's actually how they are on the master tape- 14:9 in a 4:3 frame, rather than 16:9. That's how the 90s Pride and Prejudice was, then in the mid-00s they started using versions that just cropped the 4:3/14:9 master to 16:9 for repeats and DVDs until they finally did a proper remaster.
Super 16, which I presume most of said filmed programmes were shot on, has a 15:9 aspect ratio, and I guess creating 14:9 masters was a bit of a compromise before 16:9 became widespread to make use of some of the extra picture.
The other Screen One currently up on the iPlayer, She's Been Away from 1989, does look like a proper HD transfer, and also is 15:9, which means we get to see all of the picture on the original film, which is a rarity. These things are usually cropped to either 4:3 or 16:9. On YouTube there's a recording from an earlier BBC4 repeat that's 14:9, so possibly that's how it went out originally.
Quite a lot of filmed shows in the 90s went out in 14:9, though in many cases that's actually how they are on the master tape- 14:9 in a 4:3 frame, rather than 16:9. That's how the 90s Pride and Prejudice was, then in the mid-00s they started using versions that just cropped the 4:3/14:9 master to 16:9 for repeats and DVDs until they finally did a proper remaster.
Super 16, which I presume most of said filmed programmes were shot on, has a 15:9 aspect ratio, and I guess creating 14:9 masters was a bit of a compromise before 16:9 became widespread to make use of some of the extra picture.
The other Screen One currently up on the iPlayer, She's Been Away from 1989, does look like a proper HD transfer, and also is 15:9, which means we get to see all of the picture on the original film, which is a rarity. These things are usually cropped to either 4:3 or 16:9. On YouTube there's a recording from an earlier BBC4 repeat that's 14:9, so possibly that's how it went out originally.