To HD or Not HD? That's a Question for HBO and "The Wire" Creator David Simon

As an avid fan of the HBO series The Wire, every impulse in me would want to obtain the HD version of the series. HBO is creating such a product, but it's worth considering show creator David Simon's perspective on HD vs. a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Simon expands on this conundrum in his blog, the gist of which was captured in a recent post on theverge.com. Some of Simon's concerns about how technical advantages of 4:3 play into The Wire's depiction of character and narrative. The series was also shot so that splitting the display between HD and plain vanilla 4:3 would disrupt The Wire's visual continuity. While Simon disliked the divided format, he did see some of the HD look's virtues.

It's an interesting piece, both for its discussion of the series' technical background and its clips to demonstrate the differences between high-def and "regular."