Alright, for all those that are asking about Ellen in HD. Yes it is produced in HD. Yes the station has the ability to record and playback HD content (everyone watched the HD spots during the Olympics). No, corporate governance has not authorized the use of the HD server for syndicated playback. There it is, straight from the horse's mouth.

NBC Engineering

There has been a discussion in the D/FW local forum about the absence of Ellen in HD, but I think this should be shared with the masses. The engineer from KXAS Dallas which is an NBC O/O, made the above statement.

This is outrageous. Discussion on this topic in the main forum is warranted. Perhaps this might get some notice by someone at 30 rock.

Must be the same problem WMAQ in Chicago has in not showing Ellen in HD......If I were them i'd do it anyhow.

KNSD doesn't have HD syndication yet. All NBC O&O's in California use the LA master control at NBC's HQ.

The more the content, the merrier....but I have to think, do I really want to see Ellen in HD?

The more the content, the merrier....but I have to think, do I really want to see Ellen in HD?

Why not? If it's available in HD then in should be broadcast by the networks in HD.

They need corporate approval to record/play something in HD?? That's one of the odder things I've heard this decade. My next question would be, why WOULDN'T they be allowed to do it? It's not like the server is going to last longer if they don't use it.

The more the content, the merrier....but I have to think, do I really want to see Ellen in HD?

The issue is not Ellen in HD, that's what just sparked the discussion. The issue is that NBC O/O's have the ability to record/play HD syndicated programs and the wigs at 30 Rock denying the stations to use the equipment that they have.

That's what's completely absurd. And YES we want to eventually see EVERYTHING in HD!! The same statement was said about Oprah and Dr. Phil. Now they are in HD, who's bitching about it now....HUH?

This doesn't surprise me one bit. WRC, our NBC O&O affiliate, is dead last in the market among the big 3 affiliates, in terms of HD programming. No local news in HD either, and no sign that it will ever get here.

I'm still trying to figure out what's going on here in Dallas. When KXAS local news went HD last year. There was MUCH mention. HD was in the bug, and the studio was referred to as "HD Studio 1". In the last month, No more mention of "HD Studio 1", no HD in the bug. their HD news is not the best. No HD from the field, only the studio shots(which I much say has good PQ). I wonder if that was a result of corporate governance?

It could make some sense if the HD server was provided by the network for the purpose of network programming. If that is the case then the station needs to invest into their own HD infrastructure. It would be similar to a station using a network IRD to receive syndication. On the other hand, NBC seems to have the most rigid corporate structure perhaps due to their parent GE culture. A presentation I saw given by NBC had a GE logo and slogan in each powerpoint slide.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. WRC, our NBC O&O affiliate, is dead last in the market among the big 3 affiliates, in terms of HD programming. No local news in HD either, and no sign that it will ever get here.

WRC is going HD sometime soon. It's on the list. WCAU is in the process of the HD conversion. NBC Universal does it one at a time. KNSD also doesn't have HD news but they are the 28th market. Plus it uses NBC's Burbank HQ for the master control. The downtown streetside studios are very small so it might have to be reconfigured. KSWB though has a very small studio for it's news operation and they do HD.

I should say that NBC is going to convert WVIT in Hartford and WRC in DC after that for HD news. After that I have no idea.

The more the content, the merrier....but I have to think, do I really want to see Ellen in HD?

I don't know...do you?

http://www.fadedyouthblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/christina-ellen-degeneres-aguilera-show.jpg

The issue is not Ellen in HD, that's what just sparked the discussion. The issue is that NBC O/O's have the ability to record/play HD syndicated programs and the wigs at 30 Rock denying the stations to use the equipment that they have.Correct; the issue is NBC doing whatever they want with their stations. They're not denying the stations, they're denying the public. I never said it was about Ellen.




That's what's completely absurd. And YES we want to eventually see EVERYTHING in HD!! The same statement was said about Oprah and Dr. Phil. Now they are in HD, who's bitching about it now....HUH?Ugh. You'd have to tie me down to watch either of them.
And there's a universe of difference between Aguilara and she. It's not like no other talk shows are in HD.

NBC corporate is a bunch of BS..and not fair

The NBC O&O'S must use very cheap equipment for HD programming. I watch WTVJ in Miami and they are always having problems with their equipment. They are experiencing technical problems with the HD network feed now. The picture has been freezing up and I've been getting numerous audio dropouts throughout the programs. They don't seem to fix the problems until I email them to tell them about it (which I'm going to do tonight). This is very frustrating because since I moved, I am no longer able to receive WPTV out of West Palm Beach which is an NBC station, but not owned by them and when I was able to pick up their signal, I never saw any problems with their HD feed.

I think all affiliates use the same equipment supplied by the networks to receive their feeds. Past that point is up to the station.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. WRC, our NBC O&O affiliate, is dead last in the market among the big 3 affiliates, in terms of HD programming. No local news in HD either, and no sign that it will ever get here.

Next up: Recording in B&W as those color pixels cost extra.

This policy is one big piece of BS.

KNBC has been upgraded to do HD syndication since they are showing Ellen in HD. KNSD also can do HD syndication since it's tied to KNBC in LA.

From what has been posted by wizop in the D/FW local thread, all O/O's have the capability but they are prevented by and I quote "corporate governance".

KNBC has been upgraded to do HD syndication since they are showing Ellen in HD. KNSD also can do HD syndication since it's tied to KNBC in LA.

KNTV in SF is also run from LA.

From what has been posted by wizop in the D/FW local thread, all O/O's have the capability but they are prevented by and I quote "corporate governance".

Thats B/S :rolleyes:

The reason might be that the commercial spot playback server is just that: for commercials.

At 40mb/s MPEG-2 MP@HL (for example), a 30-second HD commercial only takes up 175-200MB of space (including pad). A 60-minute HD program uses about 19GB. Load up a couple weeks' worth of syndicated programming and you're talking 750-1000GB of space. Another issue would be "putting all your eggs in one basket." Using one server for everything. The PTB probably frown on that, and would rather have separate systems for advertising and programming.

That's my guess.

Disk space is dirty cheap these days. Besides, most of the HD syndicated programming has a 24 hour or less turnaround, and there's no reason to keep it around for weeks after it airs. I'm actually kind of surprised that NBC hasn't gone fully centralized like Belo and Tribune. All of the delayed programming for both station groups plays out of central facilities over fiber links to each station. This reduces the overall expenditure since less equipment needs to be duplicated at each station. As has been mentioned in this thread, NBC is already running KNSD, KNBC, and KNTV out of Burbank, but I don't think they have anything similar set up for KXAS, WMAQ, WRC, WCAU, WNBC, or WVIT.

KNSD now has Wheel of Fortune in HD. Jeopardy will be added Tonight.

Both Wheel and Jeopardy look great in HD despite KNSD-DT's 12.5 mbps bitrate due to their 2 subchannels.

I'm actually kind of surprised that NBC hasn't gone fully centralized like Belo and Tribune. All of the delayed programming for both station groups plays out of central facilities over fiber links to each station.

Actually, that's not true, at least in the case of Tribune. Nothing "plays" from the central facility -- it is simply captured there (if from a linear satellite feed), and then sent to the playout server at each station -- so each station must have the necessary disk space to store the programs, just as if they recorded the feeds themselves. Material distributed by Pathfire doesn't go through there at all -- it transfers locally at each station from their Pathfire server to the playout server.