Too bad it's another 4:3-to-16:9 chop job...
All of the original acquisition material was shot in 16:9. All of the CGI is rendered full raster HD and 16:9.All of the film archival material is transferred in HD and formatted for 16:9. While the television is in 4:3, it has been scaled up using advanced image processing and is being presented in 16:9. Naturally there are limitations in the television, being that it was originally acquired in 4:3 and the program is in 16:9. There are some aspects of the program where the television is presented in 4:3 with a black border around the television. This is done to demonstrate quality differences in the television and to make comparisons.So it isn't a "4:3 to 16:9 chop job." Great care is being taken to make decisions on the best presentation method for each shot.
Is this related to the original tapes of the Apollo TV transmissions that NASA "lost"?
My... "frustration" comes from wanting to see the whole picture, without aspect-ratio changes, crops or other *solutions*...
My sentiments exactly. "Chopping" just to make a 4:3 image fit the 16:9 format isn't making a better picture, it's actually cheating the viewer out of a full image by chopping off the top and bottom of the frame.