I thought about this question recently when I noticed that most old news or sports clips I see from 2005 still tend to have more of a fuzzy SD look to them, whereas these types of clips become much rarer in 2006, and nearly extinct by 2007.

Has anybody else noticed this when you see older clips from newscasts or sports shows? I would say that 2004 is the last year that's basically 100% SD when it comes to seeing old clips, while 2005 is probably the last year where it was more than 75% SD. What year would you say is the last truly Pre-HD when it comes to TV?

2008

The nationwide HD switch occurred in 2009.

2008

The nationwide HD switch occurred in 2009.


I agree.  In 2008, HD was still a luxury.  A lot of TV stations were still broadcasting in 4:3 standard definition that year.  Where I live, the local news was still broadcasted in SD 4:3 until 2014.

I agree.  In 2008, HD was still a luxury.  A lot of TV stations were still broadcasting in 4:3 standard definition that year.  Where I live, the local news was still broadcasted in SD 4:3 until 2014.

Coincidentally...that was the year that my household got our first HD television! We were amazed to see such sharp pictures in HD.

Probably the threshhold was crossed at some point in 2009. There were still some YouTube series that remained 4:3 or SD for a couple years after that. Both the Angry Video Game Nerd and the Nostalgia Critic switched to HD only in mid-2011.

Summer 2008

after that everything SD started becoming HD

2008.

The Summer of 2008 was the first time that I had seen or even heard of HDTVs. HDTVs started to take over in 2009-2011.

2008 for sure. 2008 was also the last full year YouTube was standard definition too, the very end of the year the website went HD. I consider 2009 to be a huge change for TV's. HD became the norm in 2009, old antenna TV's were shutdown in 2009, and DVR's became quite common in households too, at least that's when my family got it. My family didn't finally upgrade to HD until Christmas 2012.

2008 for sure. 2008 was also the last full year YouTube was standard definition too, the very end of the year the website went HD. I consider 2009 to be a huge change for TV's. HD became the norm in 2009, old antenna TV's were shutdown in 2009, and DVR's became quite common in households too, at least that's when my family got it. My family didn't finally upgrade to HD until Christmas 2012.

Interesting, my family didn't get an HDTV until Black Friday 2011 (November 25, 2011).

For people saying late '00s years, there was definitely HD broadcasting then...I had one and watched HD channels then. There were quite a few already by 2008 actually. 2009 is just when the over the air broadcasting was mandated to be HD ONLY. Machinehead is probably right around 2005 is when HD channels really started first popping up, there weren't that many say in 2005 but a lot by 2010. Still 2005 is not completely "pre HD" because there were definitely at least some HD channels back then.

For people saying late '00s years, there was definitely HD broadcasting then...I had one and watched HD channels then. There were quite a few already by 2008 actually. 2009 is just when the over the air broadcasting was mandated to be HD ONLY. Machinehead is probably right around 2005 is when HD channels really started first popping up, there weren't that many say in 2005 but a lot by 2010. Still 2005 is not completely "pre HD" because there were definitely at least some HD channels back then.

Technically, if we're just talking about HDTVs in general then the last pre-HD year would be 1988. That is because the first HDTV broadcast EVER happened in June 1989 in Japan (here is an article about it: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/04/world/japan-begins-broadcasts-of-high-definition-tv.html).

Even if you're talking about the U.S. then the last pre-HD year would be 1997. "HDTV sets became available in the U.S. in 1998 and broadcasts began around November 1998. The first public HDTV broadcast was of the launch of the space shuttle Discovery and John Glenn's return to space. The first commercial broadcast of a local sporting event in HD was during Major League Baseball's Opening Day on March 31, 1998, the Texas Rangers against the Chicago White Sox from The Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, TX." Here is an article: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/20/technology/hdtv-high-definition-high-in-price.html

Technically, if we're just talking about HDTVs in general then the last pre-HD year would be 1988. That is because the first HDTV broadcast EVER happened in June 1989 in Japan (here is an article about it: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/04/world/japan-begins-broadcasts-of-high-definition-tv.html).

Even if you're talking about the U.S. then the last pre-HD year would be 1997. "HDTV sets became available in the U.S. in 1998 and broadcasts began around November 1998. The first public HDTV broadcast was of the launch of the space shuttle Discovery and John Glenn's return to space. The first commercial broadcast of a local sporting event in HD was during Major League Baseball's Opening Day on March 31, 1998, the Texas Rangers against the Chicago White Sox from The Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, TX." Here is an article: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/20/technology/hdtv-high-definition-high-in-price.html


Yeah I knew the first ever HD broadcast in the US was around late '90s. I remember seeing the first "HD ready" projection tvs back then they were around $5,000 or something. The mid '00s I pointed out as the time when I personally think it started becoming pretty mainstream. I think 2008 is a little too late it HDTV was already pretty well known and popular by then really.

Yeah I knew the first ever HD broadcast in the US was around late '90s. I remember seeing the first "HD ready" projection tvs back then they were around $5,000 or something. The mid '00s I pointed out as the time when I personally think it started becoming pretty mainstream. I think 2008 is a little too late it HDTV was already pretty well known and popular by then really.

You're correct (the part in bold - that is what the second article talks about).

The title of this thread is "What Was The Last Year That Was Truly Pre-HD?".....2 things stick out to me, TRULY and Pre-HD:

1. Truly means "to the fullest degree; genuinely or properly."
2. Pre-HD. The prefix Pre means "previous to; before."...so "Pre-HD" means before High Definition.

So based on those 2 things...I conclude that the "The Last Year That Was Truly Pre-HD" was.......1988.

You're correct (the part in bold - that is what the second article talks about).

The title of this thread is "What Was The Last Year That Was Truly Pre-HD?".....2 things stick out to me, TRULY and Pre-HD:

1. Truly means "to the fullest degree; genuinely or properly."
2. Pre-HD. The prefix Pre means "previous to; before."

So based on those 2 things...I conclude that the "The Last Year That Was Truly Pre-HD" was.......1988.


The first smartphone actually came out around the early '90s too didn't it?

The first smartphone actually came out around the early '90s too didn't it?

Well...the mid '90s but whatever, the IBM Simon which was released in 1994 is widely considered to be the first smartphone.

However, the IBM Simon and the original iPhone have very, very few similarities. The original iPhone is really the true "first" smartphone.

There were also early versions of HD that existed as far back as 1949 but those were used with analog systems (although, the analog version actually existed as late as the 90's. Also, I doubt HD even looked that good in 1949). Digital HD began development in the 70's but didn't really go widespread until the mid-late 90's.

2004/2005 is the answer OP is looking for. I think if you bought an HDTV then, it would be a pain in the ass to get HD channels. 2005 onwards it started becoming much more common until 2008 or 2009, when most channels were finally HD.

Late 2009 is when my household first got a HD TV so I would say 2008

I wonder what the last year was where a majority of events, as in like news events or sporting events, were filmed in SD? I've noticed that, whenever they show clips of old games from the mid '00s on ESPN, the clips are usually in SD. You'll occassionally see some clips from 2005 or 2006 that are clearly HD, but most from then are still fairly blurry and in a lower resolution. After about 2007, though, pretty much every clip is in HD.

I wonder what the last year was where a majority of events, as in like news events or sporting events, were filmed in SD? I've noticed that, whenever they show clips of old games from the mid '00s on ESPN, the clips are usually in SD. You'll occassionally see some clips from 2005 or 2006 that are clearly HD, but most from then are still fairly blurry and in a lower resolution. After about 2007, though, pretty much every clip is in HD.


The quality of a screen has to be at least 720p for it to be HD, otherwise it's not real HD in my book. It's just widescreen in high quality. Even 720p is starting to look old for HD, it's gotta be at least 1080p now. 2140p and 4k are the highest qualities of HD nowadays.

The quality of a screen has to be at least 720p for it to be HD, otherwise it's not real HD in my book. It's just widescreen in high quality. Even 720p is starting to look old for HD, it's gotta be at least 1080p now. 2140p and 4k are the highest qualities of HD nowadays.

I have to agree.

2006

Probably the threshhold was crossed at some point in 2009. There were still some YouTube series that remained 4:3 or SD for a couple years after that. Both the Angry Video Game Nerd and the Nostalgia Critic switched to HD only in mid-2011.

Pretty sure iJustine was like the only youtuber to shoot her videos in HD in 2009. Not even big internet corporations like IGN, CNET or Vevo shot their videos past 480p

My family got a new 1080i rear-projection TV back in 2006. That was when interlaced was still a thing. Broadcasters didn't make the switch from analog to digital until 2011.

Oh, definetly 2008.

Pretty sure iJustine was like the only youtuber to shoot her videos in HD in 2009. Not even big internet corporations like IGN, CNET or Vevo shot their videos past 480p


I know Smosh made the jump to HD in 2009, with their current logo being introduced that year. Also, late 2009 was when buttloads of HD music videos from Vevo popped up on YouTube.

2007-2009 was one big ol' transition. 

2006 and Before was mainly SD.

2007-2009 was when HD was gaining popularity, but it not everything moved to HD until the end of 2008 or 2009 with 2007 being too busy trying to fade out most of the SD videos and TVs.

2010 onward was when HD became the norm. 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 4K, 8K etc.

2007-2009 was one big ol' transition. 

2006 and Before was mainly SD.

2007-2009 was when HD was gaining popularity, but it not everything moved to HD until the end of 2008 or 2009 with 2007 being too busy trying to fade out most of the SD videos and TVs.

2010 onward was when HD became the norm. 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 4K, 8K etc.

I basically agree with that.

I know Smosh made the jump to HD in 2009, with their current logo being introduced that year. Also, late 2009 was when buttloads of HD music videos from Vevo popped up on YouTube.

All of those Vevo videos are 480p max.

2009 or 2010 was the last year before HD became the standard I would say. Just go look at music videos from those years then in 2011 most of them are in crystal clear HD.