[toast0]

HDTV (ATSC) was available in 1998 in the US[1]; consumer uptake wasn't much until close to the shutdown of analog broadcasting, but it was out there. NBC broadcasts in 1080i, so it's not terribly surprising that they recorded it in a way that would look good on 1080p. I can't find anything saying exactly how it was recorded, but it wasn't uncommon to film in 1080p/24 and broadcast with 3:2 pulldown. That kind of content will look great as 1080p obviously; but if it was recorded at 1080i, a professional deinterlacing will look pretty good too.

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20140924040947/http://www.highbe...

[thakoppno]

HDTV (ATSC) is a technology that has influenced my life in pretty serious ways. My first tuner was a Sony SAT-HD100[0] in 2001. Witnessing the transition into digital TV through my VGA port, in retrospect, taught me tons about how technology adoption, development, and standardization actually works in the real world.

[0] https://www.crutchfield.com/S-9Pd3SuUnpX0/p_158STHD100/Sony-...

[jdofaz]

I think I started watching that show because it was in HD