Portland Television Stations have a problem with HD broadcasts

I have written about this subject many times. I have written to my local television stations, posted articles on this blog just to unload how discouraged I am. I don't know who to write to any more.

If you read through this blog you will find many articles describing many versions of the same problem. I receive all over-the-air broadcasts for the Portland, Maine televison market for free. I don't have cable or satellite but I do have an HDTV, and an antenna. So I receive all High Definiton programming broadcast from my local stations for free as well. When I flip through my digital channels, I know based on the day, and the time, what should be in high definition, as opposed to just regular digital (or standard definition). When I know a program should be in High Definition but is not, I call the local TV station in question, I let them know the problem (which boils down to the control room flipping a switch) and move on with my life. My call to the station is not usually well-received. I don't know if it is because they are embarassed that an average viewer with no background in broadcasting and no affiliation with broadcasting is calling them to let them know they dropped the ball, or what.

I have in the last week alone called WMTW, ABC Channel 8 in Portland, WCSH, NBC Channel 6 in Portland, and WGME, CBS Channel 13 in Portland to inform them that their prime time broadcast or a particular program which is supposed to be in High Definition, indeed is not.

I know that if I didn't call, they wouldn't notice. And since I spent a lot of money for a good quality HDTV, I feel I am entitled to as much HD programming as possible. I used to PAY for cable and High Definition. Due to financial contraints, I got rid of all the equipment and services I was paying for and went with the old rabbit ears setup. It works fine and I am fine with getting only the major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, CW, MYNETWORK) in digital, and therefore HD when available. In my area, we can not get FOX in HD until 2/17/09 but that's another story and you can find information on this subject elsewhere on this blog.

I would be far more upset if I was paying a cable or satellite company a premium to receive High Definition through their services and was not receiving what I paid for. I don't know how the cable or satllite companies would handle a phone call from a customer complaining that the customer wasn't receiving an HD broadcast even though they were paying for it. Would the cable/satellite company call the local station? Well, actually, I do know the answer.

I remember having this problem when I had HD through my cable company. They simply told me that it wasn't their problem, it was a problem at the station and left it at that. So it was still up to me to call the television station. Before I knew the real deal, the television station would just blame the cable company. So I was stuck in the finger-pointing loop and didn't know any better. So in the end, I suspect that the cable or satellite companies would not go to bat for the consumer. I think this is a problem to which there is no answer, except adequate techical ability at the local television station.

My problem is how do I prevent or stop the problem of these local stations not broadcasting in HD when they should be. How can I prevent the situation of me having to call my local stations on a regular basis to first, tell them there is a problem, and second, ask them to FLIP THE SWITCH for HD? Each and every one of these TV stations is an in-state toll call. So it costs me money on top of it. Do I ask for reimbursement? You know as well as I do that asking for that isn't going to get me too far.

I have presented this problem via email to WGME, WMTW, and WCSH to no avail. The problem still happens. I can't believe it is that difficult for them to control. If I, as an average viewer, can figure out in a matter of seconds that there is a problem at the station, why can't they?

Hey, I"m out of work and looking for a job. I'd be happy if they wanted to hire me to sit there and make sure programming was in HD when it was supposed to be. I would even agree to stop writing this blog and stop exposing the problem, if they would just fix the problem.