NTSC shut down in 2009

[Pete Deksnis]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

...I do wonder what on earth they mean when they say the broadcast is presented in HD. The station even puts a transparent logo in the lower right corner of all TV screens in its area; the logo plainly shows the number 3, a small peacock logo next to the number, and the letters HD to the right of the peacock. If this is their idea of broadcasting their news "in HD".

Your questions reflect my concerns about the marketing of high definition television. It's too complicated with too many variables, not all of which are technical.

Here, in the NYC area, viewers are on the receiving end of an emerging tug-of-war between broadcast outlets.

It all began about a year ago with one news helicopter being outfitted with an HDTV camera. Then another. Then another still.

What did it mean?

Occasionally during the standard 4:3 newscast, the aspect ratio ballooned out to 16:9 to give you a birds-eye view of a broken water main (or whatever).

The guy with a 4:3 NTSC set didn't see anything different.

The guy with a 16:9 ATSC set saw the wide screen picture.

The guy with the 4:3 NTSC set is confused because all the station hype about their news copter now in HD didn't translate into a damn thing he could see.

The guy with a 16:9 ATSC set sometimes didn't even see the HD water-main break because somebody at the station forgot to configure the HD feed from the copter for 16:9, and so the guy with the expensive HD set saw virtually the same thing the 4:3 NTSC guy did!

That was only the beginning.

Recently the battle for the minds of contented 4:3 NTSC viewers ramped up...

"We are the only station to broadcast local news in high definition."

Then another station jumps on the local HD news bandwagon, so the first station now touts, "We were the FIRST to broadcast local news in high definition."

Bottom line: (1) It's a marketing war for ratings. (2) An OTA broadcast signal as reliable as its NTSC analog counterpart is often lacking, as witnessed by my screen shot.

One correction: the network is not distributing a substandard signal to its affiliates; it was broadcasting perfectly good HD program content OTA to me but with a substandard signal. Naming names, the CBS high definition signal here in the NYC is always solid. The PBS and the NBC high definition signals here in the NYC area are not. FOX HD, UPN HD, ABC HD, and more transmit solid signals.

There can be all sorts of excuses. But here in the number one broadcast market, some of the biggies don't deliver.

As I said before, all the analog signals are solid 5by9. Why not all the digital signals?

Sure, as a techie I want to know why. But as a viewer, I don't care why, nor should I care why. Hey NBC/WNBC and PBS/WNET. Take a tip from your competition. Just transmit an OTA signal for me to watch that doesn't pixelate. Check the calendar; 2009 is moving ever closer :-)

Pete