Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time knows that one of my pet peeves is when a local TV station is not broadcasting in High Definition when they should be. Another thing you might glean from reading this blog is that I often contact our Portland TV stations and let them know when there is a problem with HD broadcasting.
With few exceptions, broadcasting in HD is a pretty simply process for a TV station. Even without all of the very expensive equipment needed to be a 100% high definition TV station, a simple pass-through of an HD feed from the network is child's play compared to what some of the big boys (like Boston and NYC TV stations) deal with.
Stated another way, Portland, Maine TV stations broadcast High Definition when they get a high definition feed from their affiliated network via satellite and simply pass that programming through (either via antenna transmission over-the-air or through cable TV) to your TV set. They can't record HD programming from their network and can't store it for playback later; they can only do this pass through that I describe. Bigger stations in bigger cities with bigger budgets have the sophisticated equipment that allows them to broadcast everything from their local news, to local produced programming (like a news magazine show or a public debate) in High Definition. They can also download/save programming and play it back at a later date/time. Portland stations cannot yet do this.
So that's the set up. Now, on Friday night, I tuned in to "The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (a pass through HD program from CBS) and I immediately noticed that the show was not in HD. I checked to make sure the show as not a re-run from before that show was being produced in HD, and it was not. I also checked WBZ out of Boston (which happens to be another CBS channel on my channel lineup) and they were broadcasting it in HD. So I knew the problem was with WGME - Channel 13, right here in good old Portland, ME.
I was given a tour of Channel 13 about 2 years ago when they had a different general manager. I saw the control room, where there is literally an on/off switch built into the control board which allows the person running the board to switch to HD when a network program is coming across the satellite in HD. So basically, if CBS is transmitting a high definition program to its affiliates over the satellite, this switch must be in the "ON" position so that when WGME re-transmits that live signal over their antenna to Maine, it is transmitted in HD so that your TV or your cable provider can receive it in HD.
As I mentioned, and as you can read on this blog, WGME, WMTW, and WCSH have all made this same mistake from time to time. When this happened on Friday night, I called WGME. I tried calling WGME several times for about 20 minutes. All I ever got was a phone nobody would answer or the "General" voicemail box. If WGME is on the air, somebody has to be in the building so I have no idea why nobody answered the phone. There have been times in the past when I called WGME, WMTW, and WCSH to let them know they were not transmitting in high definition. I got mixed reception from all of them, (I mean, who is this guy calling us) but the problem got fixed. Usually within seconds, and sometimes before I could finish getting all the words out, the station magically started transmitting in High Definition. Some of them got used to me calling.
But on this past Friday night (6/18/10), I had no such luck with WGME. I wrote an email to Tom Humpage, General Manager, and I am waiting to hear back from him, hopefully on Monday, to explain to me what happened at their station on Friday night.
If WGME had this problem two or three years ago, I could understand. HD in Maine was in its infancy and a lot of mistakes and oversights were made. But after several years, and several situations just like this one occurring, one would think that WGME would have this figured out by now.
It truly amazes me that a TV station can't do something as simple as "turning on the HD switch". It shows a lack of dedication, lack of technical knowledge, lack of qualified staff, and an overall lack of respect for the viewing public. More than half of all US households have the ability to view high definition TV. Those who have seen what high definition is all about don't want to go back to regular TV. Once you have enjoyed HD and once you have paid a lot of money for an HD TV set, you want your programming to be in HD; it's that simple.
I gave up and started watching Craig Ferguson on WBZ out of Boston. I'm sure WGME's advertisers would love to know that.
4 comments:
A couple months ago, WGME was broadcasting the Early Show in SD. This was after the Early Show finally started broadcasting in HD. I wrote on channel 13's Facebook wall telling them about it, and I eventually got a reply saying that Master control was sending it in HD. I didn't quite believe that though. Channel 6 and 8 were both broadcasting their morning shows in HD on that day. I think someone at 13 forgot to flip the switch. I wonder when the Portland major network stations will acquire all the necessary HD equipment to start broadcasting local news. Because I'm getting sick of watching SD crap. The funniest thing about WGME (besides their constant mic screw-ups and inability to spell) is Doppler HD in SD. Classy.
Thanks for writing Brett and you get right to the crux of the problem. Of all of the Portland network affiliates WGME has been and continues to be the worst in terms of HD reliability. You need to call the station or write directly to the general manager, Tom Humpage (thumpage@sbgnet.com) when you see a problem. There is a small chance that the satellite feed was in HD, but I agree - not likely. The chances are the someone named "Brandon" was munching on a Snickers bar and forgot to flip the switch. He was too distracted by his skate boarding magazine.
When I notice such things, I can check the Boston channels to see if they are in HD. If so then WGME is the problem. It's that simple. You can always send me an email at mainehdtv@gmail.com and ask me to check if you don't have access to the Boston stations.
As for local news, don't hold your breath. It will be YEARS before that happens. They need new studios, new editing equipment, new cameras for out in the field, and on and on and on. It's very expensive.
The smaller stations like WPXT (CW) and WPME (My Network) are much further along. They are beginning to broadcast their own locally produced programming in HD (like Our Maine Magazine ands stuff like that) and they just installed equipment to be able to broadcast sydicated shows in HD.
Thanks for writing and keep on these guys. If the public doesn't complain, they think the public doesn't care. And if you tell them you won't watch their station if they can't get it right - that's a concern to them because it's all about advertising dollars.
Keep us posted.
WGME makes so many mistakes, I call it the community access station. I'm sure there are some good people that work there, but a lot of the time it seems like it's run by people that just don't care and are there to collect a check.
My thought on the HD news goes along with what you've written about in the past - if either of the major 3 stations were to invest in the equipment/sets for HD content and make people aware of it, they'll probably come out pretty far ahead in ratings. I'd probably end up switching to whatever station goes HD first. I understand that it's extremely expensive to buy all the equipment, but they're going to have to do it eventually so they might as well do it sooner and tout it to everyone.
I talked to a producer at WCSH last year and he made me aware of them being able to do promos in HD, which I have seen and they look great.
I have noticed recently that the cheesy "Maine Auto King" infomercials are now in HD on WPME/WPXT. I was amazed when I first saw it last week. Even though it's an infomercial for a car dealership, it was still impressive and it's obvious that at least someone in local TV understands that people want as much HD programming as possible. Too bad WPME/WPXT don't do local news.
If I see them broadcasting things in SD again (very likely), I'll send you an email and maybe you can check it out.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Brett. I'm always looking for contributors so if you have something you'd like to write about just let me know.
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