Maybe not everywhere, but here in Maine the term "Doppler HD", as used by one local television station, is nothing but a ploy.
Doppler HD refers to a television stations weather system being able to produce and transmit their weather data to the viewer in brilliant High Definition quality.
Well, if this local affiliate doesn’t have the equipment to produce or transmit the local news in high definition, why would it be any different for the weather segment?
The answer is: It isn't.
I have sources in the industry who have told me that the term "Doppler HD" as it is used at Channel 13, WGME, in Portland, Maine, is nothing but a ploy. They reserved the name -- the "brand" so to speak -- so that some day, when they are actually able to broadcast the local news and weather in high definition, they will be ready, with their pet name for their product. (It’s just a brand name. You know, like how all the TV stations have pet names like “Accu-weather” or “Weather-Plus”)
I certainly understand the idea, but I think it is sad. Not one station in my local TV market (Portland/Lewiston/Auburn -- which, by the way, is rated by size as somewhere between 75 and 100 in the country depending on the day) has any ability to produce and/or transmit their own HD programming. In fact not one station in this state or any other Northern New England state can do it either. I don’t know for sure but as far as I can tell, only a few Boston channels produce their own HD programming. WGME apparently finds it important to "copyright" the name "Doppler HD" for our television market as quickly as possible so somebody else can’t use it. Yes, it is such an attention grabber, such a unique take on weather forecasting in High Definition that they felt the need to copyright it. It’s the same idea as when you were a kid and you had to “call it”. “I call shotgun”, I would say as we piled into the station wagon.
In terms of the weather forecasting itself, I've seen the spots on WGME referring to Doppler HD saying things like "the viewers will be amazed" and "it's like nothing you've ever seen before". Well, that is not necessary true. It looks exactly like what I saw before. It looks exactly like the weather forecast and news I saw last week, last month, and last year. Nothing has changed. So maybe the "tease" spot should say "you won't even notice the new and exciting Doppler HD because we haven't changed anything”.
It is understandable that local television stations, who are dropping their analog signal, are trying to find their way in the new digital TV realm. Television is all about revenue which is based on ratings. Advertisers pay more to air commercials during programming that has a higher viewership. In my dealings with the local affiliates, they don't seem to get it. Those of us with High Definition TVs are craving HD programming. I am lucky enough to live in Southern Maine near the New Hampshire border. My cable channel lineup includes all of the Portland, Maine networks affiliates AND all of the Boston network affiliates. Both the ABC and NBC affiliates in Boston can and do broadcast their local news (including the weather) in High Definition. Maine can only sit back and dream that maybe, someday, hopefully, they will be able to do this. As an HD-phile, I tend to watch the Boston stations rather than the Maine stations simply because they are in High Definition. So what the local Maine affiliates don't seem to understand is that whoever gets the HD technology first will win. The winner will have more viewers, which converts to higher ratings, which in turn, converts to more revenue from advertisers.
So that's the lay of the land. All we are left with here in Maine is one television station in Portland who has reserved a name with the word "High Definition" in the title. There is nothing in high definition during the local news but each and every day, the viewers keep looking at the WGME broadcast thinking "Gee, I'm not sure why I spent money on an HD TV, it looks like the same quality as it did before".
Jeers to WGME for coining the term "Doppler HD". I don't have a problem with what they did; they should just be honest about it.
Hmm. TV stations being honest with the public? I've pushed it too far haven't I?
So the bottom line here is: Don't hold your breath. If you have high definition capabilities at your house, don't wait; don't pull your chair up to within inches of the screen trying to determine if something different is going on. Don't worry yourself thinking something is wrong with your eyes or your glass because they said it was in HD but you just don't see it. It's not there.
And finally, speaking of pulling your chair up closer to the TV, inn Maine, if you want high definition, big screen capabilities in your house, do exactly that.
3 comments:
It takes a lot more to go HD than just a flip of a switch. A lot of equipment, wiring, etc have to be replaced and rebuilt from the ground up. This process is incredibly expensive. Of course you see the network affiliates in Boston going HD, Boston is market #7, Portland is market #76. Channel 13 calling their weather "Doppler HD" is a good sign that they are committed to going HD in the future.
Don't think that I'm trying to defend WGME—far from it—but I wouldn't be surprised if the Doppler HD use (and trademarking) were forced upon them by their parent company, Sinclair. It seems like the kind of move Sinclair would make. I used to work in the news department at WGME, and one of the reasons I left was because of the parent company. One example: when the legislation was first introduced that would require broadcast stations to switch from analog to digital, we were required to air a news segment provided by Sinclair was was nothing more than a piece aimed at getting viewers upset about the change over ("You'll need a new TV! No one asked the stations if they want to use digital!" and other rubbish). In reality, it was a thinly-veiled editorial that wanted consumers to get the legislation stopped so Sinclair wouldn't have to pay to convert all their stations to digital. Now that HD is going mainstream, it doesn't surprise me that they use the term HD with actually providing an HD signal and assume the viewer won't notice the difference.
When I read the first comment I knew you had to be involved in the industry somehow so thanks for owning up cuz I was going to call you out on that.
I'm not in the industry and can't imaging the captial investment that TV stations must make for all of the digital and HD stuff. But my role, as I see it, is to inform the public as best I can with the resources I have at my fingertips, which aren't many.
I don't think it is fair to the unsuspecting public to lie to them about things they can't prove or disprove. So I try and keep them honest. There is nothing HD about WGME's newscast and I don't want the public to think they are doing something wrong or that there is something wrong with their equipment.
I appreciate, very much, your comments and input. You obviously liked what you were doing and got caught up with a company you didn't get along with. I had the same problem and ended up losing my job, a job I loved.
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