HD program - 4:3 format

I'm suspecting it's SD programming that's being upsampled at the broadcast end. In Los Angeles, I've seen Jeopardy flop from 4:3 to 16:9 several times.

Remember, just because it's on an HD channel doesn't mean it's an HD source.

Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune both are advertised as HD, but I think sometimes the engineer forgets to flip the switch to stretch them, very annoying.

davring said:

Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune both are advertised as HD, but I think sometimes the engineer forgets to flip the switch to stretch them, very annoying.

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Both of these are always 4:3 on KOMO in Seattle. I asked the station and they said they didn't have equipment to convert from 1080i to 720p for taped programs so they upconvert the SD feed they receive. It still looks pretty sharp, however. I wouldn't want stretch-o-vision.

It's a local station thing.

bobnielsen said:

Both of these are always 4:3 on KOMO in Seattle. I asked the station and they said they didn't have equipment to convert from 1080i to 720p for taped programs so they upconvert the SD feed they receive. It still looks pretty sharp, however. I wouldn't want stretch-o-vision.

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Our local affiate strettches everything, they sometimes forget to turn it off during HD programming. Stretched 16x9 looks like, well...really bad.

Our local station runs both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in native HD. Since WoF is a stupid show (it's just Hangman after all) and Jeopardy simply makes ME feel stupid (how does anybody ever learn that much trivia?), I don't watch either one. However, the few moments I've seen of either is enough to let me know that these are definitely NOT upconverted SD or stretch-o-vision. I've definitely watched shows on multiple local channels that would flip between 16:9 and 4:3 (like coming back from a 4:3 commercial and having the show in 4:3 for a while, then flipping to 16:9) or being entirely in 4:3 one week after having been 16:9 the previous week, so I'm pretty sure the problems are stemming from the local station, not the source of the shows.

Back when I had TW Jeopardy would sometimes start off as 4x3 then flip to 16x9 HD very soon after, and you could tell it wasn't stretched it was going to actual HD.

I have not had this problem with the year I have been with D* though.

Then our local station is taking an upconverted SD picture and stretchng it. Vanna would not like how she looks being stretched

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like it's out of my control and I can continue with the rum and cokes (but what about those snakes??).

When it's 16:9, it's definitely real HD and not stretched. In fact, picture quality is pretty amazing. Really never cared to see Alex in that much detail.

I just started receiving local HD channels yesterday from Savannah. I have HD tv with a 16x9 aspect ration. All the new HDs have pillars on both sides except during commercials. Is it going to be this way permanently?

Hopefully after the feb switchover they will actualy start watching the digital side and stop making these errors..

oops

houskamp said:

Hopefully after the feb switchover they will actualy start watching the digital side and stop making these errors..

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Who knows? Our local NBC affiliate has gone HD with the local news broadcast, which is great, but they can't seem to switch between local HD and the national HD feed (such as when doing the local weather during the Today show) without a lot of flickering between 16:9 HD an 4:3 SD and audio pops and cracks and stutters. Our other local network affiliates have not done anything in HD yet.

davring said:

Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune both are advertised as HD, but I think sometimes the engineer forgets to flip the switch to stretch them, very annoying.

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It is probably not a matter of "forgetting". The HD to SD and back switching is typically done by automation, as a relative event to the primary event of switching SD net to SD local and back. So it is not likely the "engineer's" fault, or at least not entirely his fault.

Automation playlists are composed by the Traffic department of a TV station, and typos by them account for this mistake most of the time. On the other hand, the Master Control Operator (one's worth their salt) are charged with finding and fixing these typos ahead of time, as they are ultimately responsible for what goes to air. So there may be a little casualness in both departments that contributes to this.

It's also not a matter of "stretching" a single feed from one aspect ratio to the other, but rather switching between the two independent SD and HD feeds (which typically have different aspect ratios).

Our local station (WHP) only shows these two programs in 4:3 (SD). They lack the proper equipment to record and show these syndicated shows in HD. No local HD control equipment. The station engr told me this will change in 2009. Yippee.

bobnielsen said:

Both of these are always 4:3 on KOMO in Seattle. I asked the station and they said they didn't have equipment to convert from 1080i to 720p for taped programs so they upconvert the SD feed they receive. It still looks pretty sharp, however. I wouldn't want stretch-o-vision.

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Yeah, this has been their story for more than a full year now. "We don't have the equipment." But they keep running their DTV switchover banner and it always ends with some such crap about how "KOMO is working 4 you." Working for me how? Splattering banners across the screen for months at a time rather than investing in the equipment to bring us HD news (yeah, uh, it's not HD... it's 16x9 480i - have a look at it up close sometime) and actual HD programming... like Wheel and Jeopardy.

What's this machine cost? It must be majorly expensive if they keep making the hollow promise of "coming soon".

JACKHAWK said:

I just started receiving local HD channels yesterday from Savannah. I have HD tv with a 16x9 aspect ration. All the new HDs have pillars on both sides except during commercials. Is it going to be this way permanently?

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I used to live in Savannah and I received my locals in HD through Comcast. The primetime shows should show up in HD but much of their content during the day is SD including the news as well. Some of the station techs also forget to flip the switch and I have watched almost entire shows before they remember to switch it over. Heck, their ABC affiliate just a few months ago gained the ability to relay HD.

Try tuning into one of the locals around 8PM or so on a weekday and you should see the shows are in HD. I also assume your other HD stations are working fine.

M$GUY said:

Yeah, this has been their story for more than a full year now. "We don't have the equipment." But they keep running their DTV switchover banner and it always ends with some such crap about how "KOMO is working 4 you." Working for me how? Splattering banners across the screen for months at a time rather than investing in the equipment to bring us HD news (yeah, uh, it's not HD... it's 16x9 480i - have a look at it up close sometime) and actual HD programming... like Wheel and Jeopardy.

What's this machine cost? It must be majorly expensive if they keep making the hollow promise of "coming soon".

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I was wrong. It has now been 2 years and 2 months since Wheel and Jeopardy went HD (9/13/2006). KOMO-DT's story is still "coming soon."

It’s all dependant on how the program was originally recorded.

I highly doubt that EVERY episode of Jeopardy ever broadcast was recorded with a wide-angle HD camera. (How long has that show been running?). They are not going to recall all the contestants just so they can re-record the old shows using a HD camera.

You are going to see that 4:3 format a lot with the older programs, especially with the re-runs. That’s just the way it is.