Why does CW 18-1 broadcast widescreen programming with the green pillars?

[beeper]

This may have been previously covered, but I didn't find anything with a search.

Why does CW 18-1 broadcast programming that was originally widescreen and then cover it with the green pillars?

Now that ION 55-1 is HD, they are showing widescreen programming the way it was intended.
What's keeping CW 18-1 from doing so?

[LoadStar]

This may have been previously covered, but I didn't find anything with a search.

Why does CW 18-1 broadcast programming that was originally widescreen and then cover it with the green pillars?

Now that ION 55-1 is HD, they are showing widescreen programming the way it was intended.
What's keeping CW 18-1 from doing so?

My suspicion, since you didn't mention a specific example, is that you are seeing this with syndicated programming, not network... and they aren't so much "covering" anything up with the green pillars; it's just that the syndicator is (only?) providing a "center cut" 4:3 standard-def version of the program.

Essentially, it's similar to "Bones" on TNT. In that instance, the program WAS originally broadcast in 16:9 HD, but the version being made available to TNT is the 4:3 SD version. Instead of using pillars, TNT uses their "stretch-o-vision."

In a lot of cases, syndicators only make available a SD 4:3 version of the program, unfortunately. There's not anything WVTV can do about it.

[mrschimpf]

My suspicion, since you didn't mention a specific example, is that you are seeing this with syndicated programming, not network... and they aren't so much "covering" anything up with the green pillars; it's just that the syndicator is (only?) providing a "center cut" 4:3 standard-def version of the program.

Essentially, it's similar to "Bones" on TNT. In that instance, the program WAS originally broadcast in 16:9 HD, but the version being made available to TNT is the 4:3 SD version. Instead of using pillars, TNT uses their "stretch-o-vision."

In a lot of cases, syndicators only make available a SD 4:3 version of the program, unfortunately. There's not anything WVTV can do about it.

"The Office", "Two and a Half Men" and 'Raymond" on 18 are HD syndicated programs (one of them has to be what they're referring to), so if the Sinclair facility on N. 35th St had a compatible master control they could pass it through in full HD 16:9. However it's likely that for CW and MyNet stations there is much less pressure to convert all of their operations to HD unlike the Big Four stations so they've been taking their time with the conversion, passing their networks in HD but unable to record syndicated programming in HD onto HD. Also remember that 18 is still doing fine-tuning of their antenna even a year after the transition since they were the only station in town to change to a new post-transition digital channel (down from 61 back to 18), so they're also concentrating on that more than HD programming.

For 18's case it's likely they're taking the 16:9 HD show, but converting it down to 4:3 SD with pillarboxes/letterboxing since they do not have HD playback capabilities for anything not on the network bird. The same with 24, although none of their current non-network programming is in HD.

[Jimboy]

Also remember that 18 is still doing fine-tuning of their antenna even a year after the transition since they were the only station in town to change to a new post-transition digital channel (down from 61 back to 18), so they're also concentrating on that more than HD programming.

Yes...that is correct sir! Tower crew, new antenna, RF system, hopefully completed by the end of July.

For 18's case it's likely they're taking the 16:9 HD show, but converting it down to 4:3 SD with pillarboxes/letterboxing since they do not have HD playback capabilities for anything not on the network bird. The same with 24, although none of their current non-network programming is in HD.

Also correct..........this may change but at the present time I don't know when.  Again the transmission issue takes precedence here.

[John L]

Yes...that is correct sir! Tower crew, new antenna, RF system, hopefully completed by the end of July.

I took notice in the latest issue  June VUD that WVTV applied to the FCC to lower its power from 1000k to 750k.

-John L.

[Xizer]

That's dumb. Why would they want to lower their power and make it harder for people to receive their channel? :bang:

[WITI6fan]

That's dumb. Why would they want to lower their power and make it harder for people to receive their channel? :bang:

This is estimated service area before, and this is estimated service area after the change.

Not much difference.

[Xizer]

Well of course not... since you just linked to the same page twice.

[WITI6fan]

Well of course not... since you just linked to the same page twice.

Whoops! My bad. This is supposed to be the second link: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1362453.html

[John L]

That's dumb. Why would they want to lower their power and make it harder for people to receive their channel? :bang:

It depends on what changes they are making to the antenna I guess. I can see if they increase the height of the antenna that the FCC may tell them to lower the power to protect another DTV ch. 18 somewhere in the mid-west.  I don't know of any other nearby ch. 18 DTV operations other than maybe a analog LPTV in Chicago on ch. 18 but being a LPTV it doesn't require any protection.  Low Power TV transmitters are not protected, only high power transmissions.

-John L.

[Jimboy]

It's all a matter of public record.....for any station.
http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_sear.htm