HD at local news stations

[tvboy]

Here is what I know so far about news stations going to HD in Milwaukee by the Digital TV Transition in February 2009.  WTMJ is planning to go HD for local news sometime between mid January to early February 2009.  WITI looks like they are going to stretch the image to 720p for local news.  WISN looks to be in HD by November for the ratings period or in December for local news.  WDJT is the only station in town that currently shows their taped local Sunday morning magazine show in Full HD with their own equipment.  WISN currently rents HD equipment from WMVS/WMVT when they shoot things in HD like the Big Bang Fireworks.  So WDJT officially is the first local news station to broadcast a taped program shot in the field in Full HD with their own equipment.

[basshive]

I was really hoping WITI would go full on HD so I could enjoy their packer coverage more ;/

[WITI6fan]

WDJT is the only station in town that currently shows their taped local Sunday morning magazine show in Full HD with their own equipment.

Are you talking about Eye to Eye? Are you sure?

[SRW1000]

WITI looks like they are going to stretch the image to 720p for local news.

Please don't tell me that Channel 6 is going to use stretchy-vision on their newscasts.  I am reading this incorrectly?

They say the camera adds 10 pounds, if they decide to stretch their 4x3 broadcasts to 16x9, all the anchors are going to look like they need to lose a lot of weight.

Scott

[LoadStar]

Please don't tell me that Channel 6 is going to use stretchy-vision on their newscasts.  I am reading this incorrectly?

They say the camera adds 10 pounds, if they decide to stretch their 4x3 broadcasts to 16x9, all the anchors are going to look like they need to lose a lot of weight.

Scott

You are reading it correctly, but I think that if tvboy has inside info, he is likely misinterpreting it. It would be more likely that WITI goes to 16:9 standard definition than it is that they go to stretch-o-vision.

[SRW1000]

You are reading it correctly, but I think that if tvboy has inside info, he is likely misinterpreting it. It would be more likely that WITI goes to 16:9 standard definition than it is that they go to stretch-o-vision.

That's what I was thinking too, but he also said 720p.  Unless he meant widescreen SD upconverted to 720p.

I think if any station would go to widescreen SD, most viewers would accept it as HD - especially if it were used for all coverage, not just studio shots.

But, if we end up seeing stretched SD, they should be laughed off the air.

Scott

[WITI6fan]

AFAIK, WITI's control room is HD-ready. The switcher and character generator was replaced last fall when they picked up their new graphics. I may be wrong, but their studio cameras may be HD-ready as well (Another station in another part of the country has the exact same cameras and they're HD). The only thing they don't have in HD is the field cameras which are switchable between 4:3 and 16:9 SD.

There's no reason they should go stretchyvision.

[js6751]

So when do you think WITI will do their news in 16x9? Before November since they already have most of the necessary equipment?