Ed's View: Local HD in Indy - Lucky "13"

[Ed Milbourn]

Actually, it's Indianapolis that's lucky to have WTHR, Channel 13, as one of the premier US leaders in providing local HDTV programming. WTHR is at this time the only Indiana station producing HDTV local news and other local programming in this 25th largest market in the US - in which it has been consistently Number 1. This narration is not to be considered a "commercial" for WTHR, (but it would not be judged an affront if so assumed). Rather it is a salute to all those local digital broadcasting pioneers who have had the foresight to fully embraced the technology and adjust their business plans to exploit all the benefits to their customers that can be provided - including, most specifically, locally produced HDTV programming.

It is no secret that the old over-the-air (OTA) TV broadcast business model is in trouble at both the major network and local levels...

[url=http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/columns/2008/10/eds_view_local_hd_in_indy_-_lucky_13.php]Read Column[/url]

[ziggysbone]

Get out and take a look, Ed. WISH-TV news has been in Hi Def for a month and they are also supplying a Hi Def 10:00 pm newscast on WNDY-TV (a "sister station"). The surprising thing is that WISH-TV doesn't present the 7:30 "entertainment" show in HD, but ABC affiliate WRTV is able to, even though they don't have live studio HD capability yet. Go figure.

[myrtlebeachbears]

WMBF (NBC) in Myrtle Beach signed on 8/8/08 as the first new all digital station. They've produce local news in HD as well as having several commercials locally produced in HD. I'll give them credit for how they're doing HD, but there are still things that bother me. I believe HD should ALWAYS be widescreen (not stretched)...what I mean is that there should NEVER be black bars at the sides. If there is no-widescreen content, there should be a mask...as many national stations provide...NBC news, ESPN, and others (and WHY ABC evening news is STILL not HD astounds me). WMBF doesn't have any syndicated programs in HD, though...I don't think the ones they have are produced in HD yet...WBTW here (CBS) has 4 (Ellen, Oprah, Wheel, and Jeopardy) that we don't get in HD...their excuse is that they don't have an HD recorder and these shows come to them by satellite late at night...but they do broadcast their local news in HD. What gets on my nerves is the constant switching back and forth between standard and widescreen WBTW does with network programming...we'll be seeing something in widescreen and at the end it switches back to standard with a split second repeat...why they don't just keep the broadcast in the widescreen mode all the time is beyond me...maybe it's a technical issue....but, all stations here (except WMBF) have done that...I've even had to call one here (WPDE-ABC) to tell them to switch The View to widescreen...they'd forgotten! Maybe one day they'll get their ducks in a row and provide to us HD the way it should be!

[akirby]

The problem is the station doesn't have the equipment to insert the local commercials into the network HD stream so they have to switch back to the upconverted analog feed for those. And sometimes they forget to switch back. All of the Atlanta stations fixed that problem at least 2 years ago - I guess some stations are just running late on technology upgrades.

[algopher]

I guess we're lucky that WEAR out of Pensacola, FL has gone to HD for locally produce news at least. I haven't caught any of there locally produced shows so I'm not sure if they are also HD. They recently changed to their new digital studio within the last month. But, here in the Mobile area we're lagging behind in that the other stations that carry network HD as their locally produced shows are not the 16:9 versions. Some are actually pretty horrible, especially when they use taped spots/interviews or sports shorts.