Where are all the cable news HD stations?
MostEver watch ESPN's SportsCenter in high-def? Course you have. The picture is beautiful but there is nothing extra that the HDTV format gives you. When they display stats on the screen you can see that they extend right to the spot that a 4:3 TV ends. ESPN can't give you more info just because you have a HDTV. They would be alienating the non-HD owners.
This has to be the same reason that cable stations have not gone high-def yet. They can give you a great picture but nothing more. Moreover, these stations rely on a lot of cameras that are not in the studio to give you most of their programming so there would be a good amoount of non-HD content on the station.
Still, a guy can dream can't he?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
RJ @ Apr 17th 2006 5:02PM
Here in Los Angeles ABC news is in HD all the time. Even when they cover car chases and our traffic
dan @ Apr 17th 2006 5:03PM
" ESPN can't give you more info just because you have a HDTV. They would be alienating the non-HD owners. "
What if they put additional info in the extra space, more stats, etc....not info that couldn't be found online, or whatever. I wouldn't be so concerned about alienating non-HD users, doesn't that happen all the time anyway with the internet?
Did people bitch about being alienated when touch-tone phones first came out? I guess there was always an out though for that.. "to speak to an operator or if you have a rotary phone, please stay on the line"
Wait a second, who really (I mean REALLY) cares about news in HD? I would much rather have a cable company broadcast something a little more visually stunning than just a talking head.
Kevin Trevisan @ Apr 17th 2006 5:29PM
I think that one of the great downfalls to live HDTV programming such as news and sporting events is that the camera shots are created to fit a 4:3 television, not HDTV's 16:9 ratio. For a newscast or sports, you are just getting the same view as standard definition only with some extra screen real estate on either side, albeit incorporating a much more visually appealing picture. So what you are getting is a picture that seems too zoomed out for an HDTV.
There doesn't seem to be any way around this until all programming is in HDTV in the seemingly distant future, unless of course there are dedicated cameras for standard definition and high definition.
Ryan Green @ Apr 17th 2006 5:59PM
It's easy for an affiliate to switch to HD, as they only have to replace a bit of equipment and a few backhauls. CNN would have to have ALL their affiliates/satlinks/cameras switch to HD, not easy when you're worldwide. Yes, NBC has switched, but they've got a smaller news division, and hey, they're not HD. You can get away with HD when you've got huge studio cams, and things dont have to be done in real-time. News on the other hand, is a completely different process.
Personally, I want to start an internet HDTV news station. Easiest/cheapest way to do it.
Dee Dubya @ Apr 17th 2006 8:49PM
I'm totally miffed about ESPN HD too... That's why I love INHD so much... Graphics where they are supposed to be!
Ok this might be a dumb question... but what is really involved in switching a station over from Peasantvision to HD? Yeah you need new cameras... what else?
p.s. While I'm ranting... There's nothing I hate more than seeing non-HD stuff on HD channels. GRRR!!! ie.) Sienfeld anyone?
Ok that's my two cents for today. :D
Todd @ Apr 17th 2006 10:15PM
I really don't need to see my news in HD
Ken @ Apr 18th 2006 2:04AM
Issue is - you may have HD studio footage, but all the news footage (or a lot of it) would not be in HD.
However, they spend most of their time 'in the studio' and I would be willing to live with the switch from HD to SD (as it is with ESPN HD).
I think CNN, FoxNews, etc. should be racing to get there first, as people would watch that channel JUST because it was HD. Also, the second FoxNews or CNN, or both get HD, everyone else will NEED to follow, or they will lose a lot of viewers.
MrSatyre @ Apr 18th 2006 7:37AM
Strangely enough, CNN IS in HD. I took a tour at their Atlanta HQ two years ago, and was startled to see several of their numerous PDPs showing their broadcasts in 720p! I demanded an explanation, and they seemed weirdly reluctant to discuss why no one carries them in HD. They did let drop, however, that they've been using HD cams in the studios for several years. Not sure if they have any in the field, tho'.
CBS News Channel 9 in Washington D.C. has been in HD for about a year now. Even though not all of their field cams are HD, they still have the sense to either shoot with widescreen SD cams, or place HD banners on the left and right of an SD 4:3 shot instead of simply stretching a non-anamorphic shot like some channels I could mention (TNT).
DanMacMan @ Apr 18th 2006 8:43AM
Well in some cases, I think they may already be prepared. If you watch Fox News at all, you'll notice that Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace is in HD every week on the Fox National Network. The show is broadcast from the same studio as Special Report with Brit Hume, which airs on Fox News Channel. I assume they use the same equipment for both programs, but for whatever reason, FNC remains in SD.
Razib Ahmed @ Apr 18th 2006 9:59AM
Unless the number of HD owners substantially increases major cable TV companies will not take the risk of alienating their non-HD users. The good thing is that more and more people are transforming to HD and use of HD is cruising very rapidly. So, most probably within 2010 this problem will not exist anymore. The television channels always love new technology but they have to think of the psychology of the viewers first and foremost.
Andres Collazos @ Apr 18th 2006 1:41PM
I used to watch HD News on VOOM a lot, not because they had great news coverage (it actually was pretty repetitive and basic) but because they image quality was AWESOME!; I think it was all in 1080i, and in my KV34-XBR910 it looked simply beatiful.
In VOOM it used to be ch 100.
I understand that very same channel and 9 other VOOM originals (RAVE was great as well...) is now carried by DISH Network...
ZipperSeven @ Apr 18th 2006 3:25PM
I don't understand why CNN, Headline News, Fox, et al couldn't be broadcast in HD....yes the footage won't be in HD, but you don't have to stretch that, bars on the side would suffice for me. You'd think studio intensive programs (like Robin & Company, the Situation Room, CNN International, and the like) could be broadcast in HD, and the 'scrolling info bar' concept would work just fine, you'd just have a longer space in which to scroll. A 4x3 viewer would see the same bar as they'd always seen, a 16x9 viewer would just see more.
Personally I hate going to the airport/coffee shop/bar etc etc and seeing them stretch analog CNN on their brand spanking new plasmas. What a waste.
Gene Cowan @ Apr 19th 2006 9:49PM
Strangely, the ABC station here in San Francisco has an HD feed from their helicopter, and promotes in incessantly -- but that is the ONLY thing HD about their newscasts! Their news is 4x3 SD, except when they cut to the chopper, which is 16x9 HD. So, they're producing a newscast in SD, then upconverting it, and switching in HD shots at times... then if you're watching on their analog station, the helicopter footage is cropped to 4x3 and downconverted, so I just can't figure out the point of the exercise.
Gene Cowan @ Apr 19th 2006 9:51PM
It occurs to me that stations like CNN, et al, don't actually need to go HD, considering that their footage comes from such widely varying sources including choppy pixelated satellite video phones.
Why would cable companies give such huge bandwidth to such a thing?
No, instead they should start moving to SD widescreen. Think of how much more room they'd have for the annoying tickers, graphics, bugs, and huge chyrons across the screen!