Once again ABC's World News at 6:30 pm, which began high definition broadcasting on August 25, 2008, was not in high definition on Portland, Maine's Channel 8 - WMTW.
At lease it wasn't for the first several minutes. I don't know how long they went in standard definition because I switched channels to NBC's Nightly News.
At some point, around 6:45 or so, I checked again and this time it was in high definition.
So I ask myself, what does it take to broadcast in high definition?
Well, I'll tell you. I've written this in several posts over the last few years. Whoever is sitting in the control room needs to "flip the switch", literally. There is a little switch and when the network (in this case ABC) is sending the TV station a direct feed that the TV station is simply relaying back out to you, the viewer, that's all they have to do. But can WMTW handle that. Doesn't seem like it.
They are not the first, or last, in Portland to not meet High Definition expectations. They are just the latest. After a hundred emails or so from me at the Maine HDTV Forum, the NBC and CBS affiliates in Portland (WCSH and WGME) have finally figured it out. I guess they got sick of hearing from me every time an HD program wasn't in HD. I keep doing it because if I don't stay on top of these people, who will?
I wrote to Bill Greep, lead engineer at WMTW, last night about ABC World News not being in HD and never heard a thing back from him. This is common. They don't want to respond to my inquiries about their mistakes, the don't think the public is smart enough to understand the technical complexities of their job. How would someone like little old me understand "flip the switch".
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