ORIGINAL: YooperMike
Even if the channel is in HD, if the video was not shot in HD, the difference is minimal. At this point, there aren't a lot of hunting crews shooting in HD because there is really no point if the channels are not in HD. Tom Miranda just bought 4 new HD cams, for ESPN2 shows, so his show is going to be amazing in the new season. I shot a couple duck hunts in HDon an XHA1 and it was amazing the difference when put on the screen of my plasma, like the ducks were flying into the living room. For people getting started in the filming industry, getting an HD cam is a major expense and I think it will take a little while for the outdoor networks to catch up.
Exactly...then you have the issue of if shot in 760p or 1080i (espn crews shoot a lot with 1080i cameras, even though espn BROADCASTS at 760p). Since no transmission via digital cable is done with 1080p, if your set's native res is 1080i/760p, that original shot quality will degrade slightly because it has to be deinterlaced or upscaled. Digital/HD are going to be a whole new animal in the TV/movie world...it will be interesting to see how it unfolds.