That can't possibly be true if it's the ONLY station in its market that doesn't broadcast the weather in High Definition (or the entire local news broadcast for that matter).
Here are some screen shots of the 3 major affiliates in Portland. They are just random shots. Open and look.
NBC WCSH 6
CBS WGME 13
ABC WMTW 8
Look at the quality (or lack thereof where appropriate) of each picture. Channel 8 graphics look the same now as they did 10 years ago.
Now that's not to mention the overall broadcast quality of Channel 8. When you add PBS to the the mix, Channel 8 is the only local broadcaster in the Portland market using 720p instead of 1080i. That alone is not WMTW's fault. Their affiliate parent, ABC, decided years ago when they had a choice, to go with 720p instead of 1080i for their HD broadcasting. (You may look elsewhere on this site or others for an explanation of the difference.) And it took all local affiliates years to get up to speed with the right technology, studios, makeup, and field cameras needed to be able to broadcast the local new in High Definition
The problem? WMTW never really caught up. Their prime time programming from ABC is in 720p. Some say it's the same quality as 1080i in that the average user can't tell the difference. I beg to differ - strongly. Just watch any broadcast or cable channel using 1080i including the other networks, plus cable networks like CNN, etc. and you WILL see the difference. 720p was okay (just okay) for HD TV's that were at most 32 inch screens. But as TV's get bigger, the difference in quality becomes even more apparent.
As for WMTW, their local news broadcast appears to me to be in the right ratio (16:9 for HD, as opposed to 4:3 for SD) but the quality of the picture appears to be more like 480i or 480p. These are the picture qualities used prior to HD. So the picture might look correct (not stretched or oddly proportioned as can happen) but the quality is abysmal. Many TV stations around the country try to fool the public by broadcasting in a 16:9 ratio, but use a 480i picture quality. You will see this most prominently in "field" reporting. The studio cuts to a location piece and suddenly the picture looks awful. This happens because the field cameras they use are cheap, crappy cameras that can film in the 16:9 ratio, but can't film in high definition. ANY MODERN SMARTPHONE HAS BETTER BROADCAST QUALITY THAN THE FIELD CAMERAS USED ON WMTW.
In my opinion WMTW should be ASHAMED of the quality of the content they are producing for the public. If you are watching WMTW on a High Def TV on the High Def channel, compare it to the standard definition channel. Every cable operator has both. And even if you're not using cable TV in preference of free HDTV over the air, compare channel 8.1 (their supposed HD channel) to channel 8.5 (the SD version), there is very little difference. On the other hand, do the same with WCSH or WGME. You will be blown away by the better picture in HD.
I don't watch WMTW for local news/weather any more because the picture quality is so bad. It's bad in an era of television that has produced unbelievably crisp, clear, high definition TV. What is WMTW going to do when Ultra HD and 4K HD televisions become norm. Just like flat screen TV's became so prolific 10 years ago, within 5 years, Ultra HD and 4K will be the norm. You can't even buy a TV that's not an HD flat screen anymore. In 4K, watching WMTW will be like watching black and white, grainy, "news reel" footage from the moon walk in 1969 in comparison to every other channel in the Portland market.
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Whoever has the best HD wins!
As the choices for watching television get broader each day, and in a world where the almighty advertising dollar still rules, can WMTW really afford NOT to keep up?
I welcome your comments and opinions
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