This, in fact, is the first important observation I made about HD. Just because you're watching an HD channel, it doesn't mean every image or scene is going to be magically improved or turned into a work of art. HD video that's not in absolutely perfect focus is common. HD video that's been taken in poor or slightly overexposed lighting is also common. This inconsistent level of image quality is common to all broadcast programming but because HD is all about stunning visuals, mediocre videography becomes more apparent when viewed on HTDV.

Obviously, I've been watching with an eye towards noticing the benefits the new higher-resolution video quality. The improved image quality is particularly noticeable on surfaces that are shiny -- chrome, water, shiny cars, and so forth. That's because normal video scan lines can interrupt the flow of a perfect shine, but with a higher resolution image, there's far less interruption and the shine stands out exceptionally well. Some scenes with lakes and other water imagery can be astounding.

I've also noticed that the high resolution quality is particularly apparent on textures. On clothing, you can often actually see the texture of the cloth. There was an opening shot in a documentary that showed a brick wall and you could really see the texture of the brick.

Another place HD stands out is in close-ups. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Discovery filmed American Chopper in HD. During close-ups of the construction of a motorcycle, you could see the threads of screws and the details of welds with compelling precision.

I enjoyed discovering that some older films also show quite beautifully in HD. I watched the 1995 James Bond flick GoldenEye, which was quite obviously filmed before HD. Even so, some of the textures, close-ups, and shiny objects in the movie were quite a bit more vivid than when seen off the DVD played on a regular TV. It's clear that a movie that's been mastered nicely translates to HD with nice fidelity.

What really surprised me was that some very old television shows actually look quite good in HD. Just out of curiosity, I watched an episode of Hogan's Heroes on HD Net. Interestingly, the show was broadcast in wide aspect ratio (widescreen) and it looked really good. It seems that those old TV programs that were shot on film and still have clean masters might look quite good in HD. It's strange, though. I haven't watched Hogan's Heroes since I was a kid, and it was somewhat bittersweet watching Hogan, knowing what we now know about how Bob Crane's life ended.

What's not so hot
All is not perfect in HD land, however. When you've got such high definition image quality, imperfections become more apparent as well. I have a friend who used to work at Lucasfilm, the pre-eminent special effects shop. He once took me on a tour of Skywalker Ranch and explained that in matte painting, you're not going for detail, but impression because the camera doesn't capture all the detail.