The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Tony Peters on September 15, 2010, 06:24:17 PM
-
Since I last posted in the schedule thread, I worked on tweaking our antenna a bit, resulting in (somewhat; the picture sometimes drops out for some unknown reason) the ability to watch one additional station, namely WAAY-ABC-31. For the past 2 days I watched Jeopardy! on said station (where it moved this week from its longtime Huntsville, AL market home of WAFF-NBC-48; BTW,Wheel still airs on WAFF). I was pleasantly surprised to see WAAY air Jeopardy! in 16:9 720p HD, making it (I believe, since I can't confirm how WAFF runs their syndicated shows now) the first syndicated game show, and the first of 2 (The Doctors is the other) syndicated shows to air in HD in the market. Part of the pleasant surprise came from the fact that WAAY is (last I checked) the market's 3rd place station and runs everything else other than live ABC feeds in 4:3 SD, owned by a smaller company (Calkins Media) than either WAFF (Raycom Media) or WHNT-CBS-19 (Local TV LLC), the 2 "power" stations in the market (as some additional background, WAFF is in the midst of converting their news operation to 1080i HD, while WHNT currently does their news and HD-produced syndicated programs in 16:9 SD with some limited 1080p HD capabilities and, I think, will soon be under pressure to fully convert). WZDX-Fox-54 (Grant Broadcasting II) and WHDF-CW-15 (Lockwood Broadcasting), meanwhile, apparently have no plans or funds to upgrade their local/syndicated programming to HD any time soon.
Just curious to know if there are any other posters here who can receive Wheel and/or Jeopardy! in HD, and how soon can they expect to receive these and other shows in HD soon.
-
DMA #86 (South Bend, IN) has them in HD since 2008. Love it. The station's only non-HD programming now I think is any network programming (Bold and Beautiful is the only one?) outside of paid programming.
/Fox Sports is doing it right
//16:9 for all
-
Flint/Saginaw/Bay City ain't got nothin' syndicated in HD. The best we've got is WJRT, the local ABC affiliate, airing Live! with Regis & Kelly in widescreen.
-
In the Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York market in PA, I believe that WGAL and WHTM are the only two stations capable of showing HD syndie programming. WHP, WLYH, and WPMT have not invested in the necessary equipment, which is a substantial expense from what I understand. It was a Big Deal when we got the equipment to air the CBS/King World syndies in HD, like Dr. Phil and Orpah. WHP airs Wheel and J!, and it's a darn shame we can't see them in HD. Folks in about half the market get WPVI on cable, which airs J! and Wheel for the Philly market, but the vast majority don't get WPVI in HD.
We are also the largest DMA (#39) without a single station airing local news in HD, interestingly enough.
-
What is and is not produced in HD these days? Both the "Feud" and "Millionaire" premieres were in SD for me, even though I know that "Millionaire"'s station is capable of airing HD recordings and I think that "Feud"'s station is as well (the two other operations based in the same building certainly are - Wheel and J! air in HD on one of them.)
[quote name=\'tvmitch\' post=\'247654\' date=\'Sep 15 2010, 07:44 PM\']In the Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York market in PA...
We are also the largest DMA (#39) without a single station airing local news in HD, interestingly enough.[/quote]
From what I saw of the local news there about six weeks ago, I would have guessed it was a much smaller market than Austin (#44), but sometimes I get the impression that we've somehow managed to luck into higher production values than a city our size might normally have because all of our stations have corporate siblings in Dallas and/or Houston, and most of them have shared various elements of their newscasts at one point or another.
-
For the Ft. Myers/Naples area:
non-HD syn shows:
Millionaire (only downloaded from Pathfire)
5th Grader (Fox syn)
Bold and Beautiful (CBS)
Let's Make a Deal (CBS)
Charles Atkins
-
HD is a budget-buster, even for network TV. It's being done just so everyone can keep up with the Joneses (only 46% of households are able to receive a HD signal, while only 53% of households even own a HD TV, and we all know that is mostly due to the fact that a. you mostly can't buy a tube TV anymore and b. HD through PS3, Blu-Ray, et. al. makes owning the rectangle worth it), but due to the expense, I wouldn't expect to see too much of it for syndicated game shows real soon.
Not that I watch enough football to know, but does Fox/CBS show all NFL games in HD yet? I know in years past there were only 2 crews worth of HD equipment per network, but has that changed yet? If not, that will just show you how expensive it is.
Really from what I've seen of HD (I refuse to pay extra for it), it really doesn't do much for most programming (sports being what it is best for).
...and just for the sake of griping, and to see if any of you saw this:
I hate HD for the fact that I and most TV homes don't have it, yet so much programming is in HD that those of us without are missing something--the edges of the screen. Trying to watch some things have been awful as graphics on screen are not being fully shown in SD (like someone's name at the bottom of a screen in an interview and their last name is cut off by the right side of the screen). But I did manage to catch a few minutes of football on Fox last week, and was really happy to see it in letterbox format so I could get the full view and graphics an HD viewer would see--anyone else see this on Fox, or the letterbox format for HD on SD display used elsewhere?
-
[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'247652\' date=\'Sep 15 2010, 06:47 PM\']DMA #86 (South Bend, IN) has them in HD since 2008. Love it. The station's only non-HD programming now I think is any network programming (Bold and Beautiful is the only one?) outside of paid programming.
/Fox Sports is doing it right
//16:9 for all[/quote]
I don't know if "The Talk" will be HD or SD this season; the same goes for LMaD.
-
[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' post=\'247671\' date=\'Sep 15 2010, 10:07 PM\']What is and is not produced in HD these days? Both the "Feud" and "Millionaire" premieres were in SD for me, even though I know that "Millionaire"'s station is capable of airing HD recordings and I think that "Feud"'s station is as well (the two other operations based in the same building certainly are - Wheel and J! air in HD on one of them.)[/quote]
Wheel, J!, and TPiR (AFAIK) are the only syndicated game shows in HD.
My station shows Wheel and J! in HD...and we receive the occasional complaint when it airs in SD. :-P
-
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'247682\' date=\'Sep 15 2010, 10:48 PM\']Wheel, J!, and TPiR (AFAIK) are the only syndicated shows in HD.[/quote]
Price hasn't been syndicated since 1994/95.
/We knew you meant game shows.
-
[quote name=\'Mr. Brown\' post=\'247692\' date=\'Sep 16 2010, 12:58 AM\'][quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'247682\' date=\'Sep 15 2010, 10:48 PM\']Wheel, J!, and TPiR (AFAIK) are the only syndicated shows in HD.[/quote]
Price hasn't been syndicated since 1994/95.
/We knew you meant game shows.
[/quote]
Oops...I knew that and yet I still posted it! Thanks. :-P
/Fixed the post for myself
-
[quote name=\'gameshowcrazy\' post=\'247673\' date=\'Sep 15 2010, 07:32 PM\']HD is a budget-buster, even for network TV. It's being done just so everyone can keep up with the Joneses[/quote]
It's being done the same reason that color was done: because THINGS CHANGE FOR THE BETTER.
Not that I watch enough football to know, but does Fox/CBS show all NFL games in HD yet?
Yes.
I hate HD for the fact that I and most TV homes don't have it,
Ah, now it comes out.
yet so much programming is in HD that those of us without are missing something--the edges of the screen.
Suck it up, or...
anyone else see this on Fox, or the letterbox format for HD on SD display used elsewhere?
...write those in charge so you see more of this in the interim. I think this is a perfectly reasonable compromise in the meantime.
-
No HD Wheel or J! in Boise, although twice in four years there was a fluke WS Wheel airing.
-
In my #4 market(Philly), most stations air HD programming, WoF & J! are all in HD as is Millionaire as far as I know. Not sure about FF since I have to resort to WFMZ-TV out of Allentown which just last year converted to HD
The thing that bugs me about HD is that if you switch from an SD channel to an HD channel in 720p, parts of the screen on the sides get cut off. It's most noticable when I watch ESPN's SportsCenter where they show what's ahead on the left side(In HD mode, it doesn't show up at all). I guess having an 83 year-old stepdad needing to watch things in full screen on SD is probably part of the problem. He doesn't want to see those black/gray bars on the sides. I just wonder how to fix something like that when going from a normal setting to something like 720p or 1080p. Does intelace do the same thing as progressive scan?
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'247699\' date=\'Sep 16 2010, 12:14 AM\']
Not that I watch enough football to know, but does Fox/CBS show all NFL games in HD yet?
Yes.[/quote]
Not only is it all in HD, FOX's score bug is now 75% outside of the 4:3 viewing area. All anyone not viewing the game in widescreen can see is the home team's score and timeouts (and maybe the seconds digit of the clock).
-
[quote name=\'Mr. Armadillo\' post=\'247717\' date=\'Sep 16 2010, 09:31 AM\']Not only is it all in HD, FOX's score bug is now 75% outside of the 4:3 viewing area. All anyone not viewing the game in widescreen can see is the home team's score and timeouts (and maybe the seconds digit of the clock).[/quote]
This sounds like a problem with the way your local affiliate is broadcasting the game. All my local SD feeds of NFL games this past weekend were fine when I scrolled through...we get WTXF out of Philly only in SD, and they were airing the Giants game, and it looked fine too.
-
Maybe they moved it back--I remember Mr. Buck mentioning the changes on one of their preseason broadcasts. Oh well, certainly wouldn't be the first time he was wrong about something.
-
[quote name=\'Mr. Armadillo\' post=\'247717\' date=\'Sep 16 2010, 06:31 AM\']Not only is it all in HD, FOX's score bug is now 75% outside of the 4:3 viewing area. All anyone not viewing the game in widescreen can see is the home team's score and timeouts (and maybe the seconds digit of the clock).[/quote]
...which may be why FOX is letterboxing the SD signals.
-
Hmm...that would make more sense. Learn something new every day.
-
[quote name=\'Mr. Armadillo\' post=\'247719\' date=\'Sep 16 2010, 09:36 AM\']Maybe they moved it back--I remember Mr. Buck mentioning the changes on one of their preseason broadcasts. Oh well, certainly wouldn't be the first time he was wrong about something.[/quote]
The preseason games had the bugs outside the 4:3 area, but last week's games moved it back. The field itself is framed for 16:9, so some of the players might get cut off. Baseball still has the bugs outside 4:3 safe.
-
Jeopardy! just started in HD here, WoF has been that way for some time, Oprah, Ellen and ET are in widescreen as well. All four stations have their local news in widescreen, but it's been noted by some that widescreen doesn't always mean HD. WOWT is the only true local news station that uses HD for now.
The night before Labor Day, I was in a motel room with a tube TV watching The Simpsons and there was a gag involving a bogus "Itchy & Scratchy" movie title flashed on the screen, but the sides were cut off and you couldn't read it. I don't have that problem at home since all my TVs are rectangles now.
-
The Erie market stations only air network programming in HD. Wheel, J!, Feud, Millionaire, and Fifth Grader, along with several non-game show programs I watch, look fine in standard, so no beef here.
-
[quote name=\'Mr. Armadillo\' post=\'247719\' date=\'Sep 16 2010, 09:36 AM\']Maybe they moved it back--I remember Mr. Buck mentioning the changes on one of their preseason broadcasts. Oh well, certainly wouldn't be the first time he was wrong about something.[/quote]
I heard someone mention it on the first regular season game. I can't remember if it was the Dick Stockton or Joe Buck game, but they did show how it works.
However, it did NOT work on my job's SD TV.
-
I don't have that problem at home since all my TVs are rectangles now.
Well, technically the old 4:3 TVs are rectangles too. (Maybe slightly convex and, in the case of old TVs, with rounded corners, but rectangles nonetheless.)
-
I, for one do not and will not watch programming that's not in HD. If its not in HD, its not for me. I've invested the money in the gear, I expect HD quality.
SD programming is inferior for numerous reasons (like my local FOX affiliate still uses TAPE to run stuff...that's pretty dinosauric)
What you're seeing is 'center cutting' a practice I hate with a passion.
Although about half of americans have HD sets now, that number IS growing, and the stations are being forced to migrate like it or not. Stations are migrating as gear costs are dropping and the cost and availability of SD gear is changing. (SD gear is getting harder to buy now days and getting far more costly)
Frankly, if you have an HD set, why not just try to hook up an antenna to it and get HD for free? Or if you haave cable box, bypass it and scan your TV to see WHAT you get at no add'l charge. You'd be surprised.
-
[quote name=\'Terry K\' post=\'247912\' date=\'Sep 20 2010, 05:06 AM\']I, for one do not and will not watch programming that's not in HD. If its not in HD, its not for me. I've invested the money in the gear, I expect HD quality.
SD programming is inferior for numerous reasons...
Although about half of americans have HD sets now, that number IS growing, and the stations are being forced to migrate like it or not. Stations are migrating as gear costs are dropping and the cost and availability of SD gear is changing. (SD gear is getting harder to buy now days and getting far more costly) .[/quote]
And if I have multiple SDTV's in my house and can't necessarily afford to plunk down the several hundred dollars to upgrade, do I have the right to take your declarations and shove it up your HD receiver?
-
[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'247929\' date=\'Sep 20 2010, 11:39 AM\'][quote name=\'Terry K\' post=\'247912\' date=\'Sep 20 2010, 05:06 AM\']I, for one do not and will not watch programming that's not in HD. If its not in HD, its not for me. I've invested the money in the gear, I expect HD quality.
SD programming is inferior for numerous reasons...
Although about half of americans have HD sets now, that number IS growing, and the stations are being forced to migrate like it or not. Stations are migrating as gear costs are dropping and the cost and availability of SD gear is changing. (SD gear is getting harder to buy now days and getting far more costly) .[/quote]
And if I have multiple SDTV's in my house and can't necessarily afford to plunk down the several hundred dollars to upgrade, do I have the right to take your declarations and shove it up your HD receiver?
[/quote]
How long did it take for color TV to become previlent in this country? I hear both sides of the argument here.
-
Fox's NFL coverage has it right, much like many primetime dramas realized as they made the transition. They're shooting exclusively in HD now, and downgrading to a widescreen SD format for households needing it. About two-thirds of households have at least one HDTV (source: Washington Business Journal (http://\"http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/05/03/daily61.html\")), so directors should be given the freedom to stop worrying about 4x3 versus 16x9.
And I think that's really where the fight is right now -- SDTV owners who don't want to have some of their screen unused. To that, all I can say is that you need to accept it and move on. It's not going back the other way.
-
[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'247929\' date=\'Sep 20 2010, 08:39 AM\']And if I have multiple SDTV's in my house and can't necessarily afford to plunk down the several hundred dollars to upgrade, do I have the right to take your declarations and shove it up your HD receiver?[/quote]
Funny, I was going to tell him I was intrigued by his ideas and wished to subscribe to his newsletter.
I completely fail to see anything Terry said that justifies you being offended in any way, shape, or form.
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'247936\' date=\'Sep 20 2010, 01:46 PM\'][quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'247929\' date=\'Sep 20 2010, 08:39 AM\']And if I have multiple SDTV's in my house and can't necessarily afford to plunk down the several hundred dollars to upgrade, do I have the right to take your declarations and shove it up your HD receiver?[/quote]
Funny, I was going to tell him I was intrigued by his ideas and wished to subscribe to his newsletter.
I completely fail to see anything Terry said that justifies you being offended in any way, shape, or form.[/quote]
I agree that HD is better, and I don't mind Fox letterboxing (it's probably more efficient that way, too). The problem is the insinuation that the difference between HD and SD is like the difference between a Corvette and a Yugo. It's not, and unless you want to personally pay for my family to experience the mild wonder of HDTV (and get rid of their perfectly serviceable TV sets), you can quit accusing them of living in the Dark Ages.
/Only reason I have HD in my apt is because it was only $4/mo with Verizon
//And still cheaper than Comcast
-
[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'247943\' date=\'Sep 20 2010, 11:25 AM\']The problem is the insinuation that the difference between HD and SD is like the difference between a Corvette and a Yugo. It's not[/quote]
Your opinion. Just like it's Terry's opinion that it's unwatchable for him. All he said is that since he's put down the coin for the hardware, he chooses to only watch the programming that takes full advantage of it. I don't agree with that view, necessarily (for one, it would prevent me from watching Cooking Channel at all), but he's not the only person I have met who holds it, and I hardly take personal offense at it.
you can quit accusing them of living in the Dark Ages.
I fail to see where he did that.
The issue is not with people who still have SD hardware. The issue is with the people who bitch and moan and try to stifle progress through their bitching and moaning because they have SD hardware and aren't willing to accept that hardware eventually becomes obsolete, and that frankly giving them a letterboxed picture is a pretty fair compromise.