Growing numbers of arts organizations are seeking to build their audiences through high-definition broadcasts. The latest entrant into the field is New York City Ballet, whose December 13 performance of "The Nutcracker" will be transmitted to more than 500 movie theaters around the country.

Cultural institutions like the Ballet see HD transmissions as a way increase revenues and help bolster their art forms' popularity. Skeptics wonder whether the simulcasts are siphoning audiences off from live performances while changing artistic standards. What's more, organizations face increasingly complex questions about revenue-sharing for their artists and stagehands as performances are repackaged in new formats.