CBS HD mistakes

[FreQi]

I set my HiPix to record 2 hours of CBS last night to watch a couple shows in HD.  When I started watching, it seemed like someone was making mistakes in switching the format or something.  Here's what happened:

7:00pm - King of Queens.  Starts out just fine, does two commercial breaks, then the final segment is in 4:3 and it was clearly the upconverted analog broadcast.

7:30pm - Yes, Dear.  The first segment of the show is still the upconverted 4:3, and the affil station logo was in the corner.

8:00pm - Everybody Loves Raymond.  I didn't look at this one, but if memory serves, the last segment was in 4:3.

8:30pm - Still Standing.  This was the only one (i saw) that was completly in 16:9.

It's as if there was someone sitting in the control room manually switching the feed from HD to analog, and they just forgot a few times.  Is that really how it works there?

[The Law]

Same thing Sun night watching a Jackie Chan flick.  I even called TW and the cust service (again, very friendly) advised she would ask her lead to contact 58.  10 Mins later....all good (coincidence or job well done...you may debate, but I'll give the bennie of the doubt).  

However, half hour or so later....pickture back to 4:3.

Shame on them
Thanks to TW for the effort

[Tom Snyder]

Last night the Guardian began in 4:3 SD. I called the newsroom and told the guy to tell his engneer to flip the switch.  No sooner did I get back to my couch, and the picture went HD 16:9.

[FreQi]

So this wasn't a fluke... Milwaukee CBS has a habbit of "forgetting" to use the HD equipment.

Maybe they could let FOX use their hardware. :rolleyes:

[Tom Snyder]

I wish getting FOX6 in HD in Germantown was as easy as making a phone call!

[FreQi]

Ah, wouldn't that be keen?  I need some WS 24, Fastlane, Jon Doe, and Bernie Mac (I miss Firefly).

So far, of the "big" networks (abc/cbs/nbc/fox), I'm thinking ABC (wisn) is doing the best job.  Their signal seems to be kind of picky about getting pointed at just right, but the picture quality is great, and I have yet to see any mistakes like cbs is making with the sd vs. hd switchups.  And thank God that stupid 12 isn't in the corner with the abc burn-in logo!  Way to go WISN ;]

Of course then I look at PBS and they have a superior broadcast, for reasons I don't quite understand, but they don't have the content I am looking for (well, some of those hd demos are great, but I'm talking series television).

[Tom Snyder]

A lot of PBS stuff is shot in native High Definition, as is much of the content on HDNet and Discovery HD.  With the exception of Leno and Live sports, the majority of Network HD is transferred from Film. Still a good picture, but not as stunningly realistic as direct to HD.

[mnr929rr]

can you say incompetant

[FreQi]

@Tom:
Yeah I figured they were using special cameras for the HD Demos on PBS, but when I said they had a superior broadcast, I was referring to the signal itself.  I don't really understand how even with a comparatively "weak" signal (70's or less) PBS still comes in crystal, with no blips or blocks.  But if ABC drops to or below 80 it'll choke out.

[Pat]

The difference could be the 5.1 sound carried by 12.  That would presumably require more CPU cycles than 2 channel, and perhaps stresses the CPU in your box (or theirs) a little too much.

I've never noticed a difference with my setup.

[FreQi]

I watched King of Queens tonight and didn't see any mistakes this time.  They even showed theatrical style credits (no promos or comemrcails in a box with scrunched credits)  Hopefully last week was not the norm.

[Tom Snyder]

even with a comparatively "weak" signal (70's or less) PBS still comes in crystal, with no blips or blocks. But if ABC drops to or below 80 it'll choke out.

I'm not an egineer, but I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that one is UHF and the other is VHF... Gregg?

[Gregg Lengling]

No it doesn't matter on the frequency...in theory with the same signal level you should have the same results.  it actually sounds like it may be a bit rate error caused by multipath.  You could have a 100 signal but if there was a lot of multipath you would have errors or even possibly the lack of good data to lock.  Usually the PSIP data is easier to receive as it is a much smaller data stream...so if you get channel info but no picture I would look at the multipath problem  That can only been seen accurately with either a spectrum analyzer or a bit-rate error meter.

[Skipjack]

...final segment is in 4:3...

I've seen that a few times on CBS.  I don't understand... do they have to turn the HD off for the commercial breaks and then they forget to turn it back on over at 58?  

It doesn't make sense why they seem to have such trouble with this.

Whatever you're paying that guy to sit and flip the switch, 58... it's too much!

[FreQi]

@greg
multipath?  I've never seen that term before.