Thursday, December 27, 2007

Shame on American Television for the lack of HD programming

The United States of America is supposed to the shining star in the world of technology. The conventional thinking has been "There is nothing we can't do when it comes to technology if we just put our minds to it".

Well, something like High Definition television has been around now for about ten years. We already HAVE the technology. But for some reason, which probably has to do with money, HDTV is no where near where it should be. Instead of money, let's make it about pride and good old-fashioned ingenuity. There are plenty of us now with High Definition televisons and however we each have chosen to receive those programs, we deserve the most out of our investment. Especially since the FCC is pushing us toward digital TV (as of 2/17/09) and as a result, HDTV. For the purposes of this post I will address only broadcast TV, not cable or satellite because broadcast TV is free and always will be according to the FCC.
Starting from 7:00 AM we get two (count them, two) programs in High Definition. Good Morning America (ABC) and The Today Show (NBC). CBS has "The Early Show" but it is not in High Definition. Why not?

Does CBS not have the technology? Well, interestingly enough, CBS has the ONLY DAYTIME SOAP OPERA IN HIGH DEFINITION. That's right, The Young and the Restless" is in High Definition. So we know CBS can do HDTV. Also, their entire prime time lineup (you know, like CSI, CSI: New York, CSI: Topeka, CSI: Sewage Treatment Plant, etc, etc) of scripted television shows are in High Definition. Their sports programming, even non-prime-time shows on Saturday and Sunday like football, golf, etc. are all in HD.


Now let's talk about NBC. As I said, the Today Show is in HD. After that, there is literally nothing on in High Definition until the 6:30 pm news cast of "Nightly News with Brian Williams". Now, we all know that the news department of any network is NOT a money making operation, but they have spent the money to produce it in HD. The big money makers in prime time like "Deal or no Deal" are not in HD. Can you figure it out, I can't. Days of our Lives with has been on TV for what, 60 years, must be a cash cow but that show is not in HD.
ABC fares a bit better only because "The View" is in HD, and like CBS and NBC, most of their scripted prime time shows are in HD. Also like the others, reality shows are not.

I will give props to MAINE PBS and NEW HAMPSHIRE PBS. Now PBS historically, or should I say, in the public eye, is not a rich organization. They beg (sorry, have membership drives) for money a few times a year. The FCC mandated that more local programming originate from local television stations. They call it "localism" and our public television stations stepped up to the plate first. Right now I am watching "The Maine Experience" which this week deals with our naval shipyards and was produced in high definition. Now if they can do it, why can't the COMMERCIAL FOR PROFIT television stations at least do the same. In my opinion, the should be doing more.

The part that is difficult to figure out is the syndicated television shows like Oprah, Ellen, other daytime talk shows and game shows, re-runs of sitcoms, etc. Why first run syndicated shows are not in HD, I don't know. I do not believe that shows like Oprah and Ellen are even filmed in HD so obviously we're not going to get them in HD. Then there are shows like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune which are produced in HD but my local affiliate does not broadcast them in HD because according to them, it is too expensive. Too expensive? What? These shows are huge money-makers.

Here's one more wrench. Most local network affiliates do not have the expensive equipment that can record a show in HD and play it back at a later time in HD. In other words, then can pass through an HD show from the Network feed as a pre-assigned time, but can't save it for later.

Local news, well again, another story. I know that in Boston, Channel 5 (WCVB) produces and broadcasts its local news and local magazine show in high definition. That is the only one in my area and it is actually too far away from me to receive it via my antenna. The affiliates I can reach in Portland, Maine do not broadcast any local news or locally produced programming in high definition.

So the bottom line is that I am getting tired of fighting this fight. I heard today that the networks aren't concerned about certain time frames being in HD because the majority watching, say during the day, are women and women aren't technical or concerned about high definition. If I was a woman, I would find that insulting but I'll let them fight their own battles.

Every advertisement, print or television, and even Internet, includes High Definition Televisions on sale. I own one. But now I think, why did I bother. There is certainly not enough HD programming, even if you spend money on cable or satellite, to justify buying a High Def television.

One more thing. Be careful of the fine print. There are "high definition" television and cable stations, for example TBS, that are now what is called "full time high definition". However, TBS makes its money on reruns of Friends, Seinfeld, Sex and the City, etc, etc, etc. NONE OF THESE SHOWS WERE EVER PRODUCED IN HIGH DEFINITION. So you are being sold a bill of goods if you buy into this. All you will get is a stretched out grainy picture that fills up your screen but is NOT, in ANY WAY high definition.

Come on broadcast folks, we're not stupid. It's time to put up and shut up. If you read through this blog you will see how many times I personally have to call my local affiliate to tell them that there is a problem with their HD broadcast and what to do to fix it. If I can do that, coming from knowing NOTHING about HD or broadcasting, and simply by doing research on the Internet, then you should be able to handle this. Don't you think?

No comments: