[h0l0cube]

David Simon went into great detail in his blog about why they had to completely re-edit The Wire scene-by-scene from source material to suit the HD format. There were scenes where the meaning was changed and details lost if they simply cropped without discretion.

https://davidsimon.com/the-wire-hd-with-videos/

[kevin_thibedeau]

By 2002 widescreen HD was clearly on its way. The video cameras weren't ubiquitous for shows shot on tape, but for film shoots, it's on them for not framing with awareness of a future HD release in syndication. The only excuse for composing shots in full frame 4:3 in the 00s would be retro-themed programs like That 70s Show.