www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser reports:

HD CNBC Coming In January
"A high-definition version of CNBC will debut in January," CNBC president Mark Hoffman told financial analysts yesterday.

Hoffman also addressed the upcoming competition from Fox. The Hollywood Reporter says: "Hoffman said the channel had improved, with a 200% increase in business-day viewership since its low point in 2005, and double-digit revenue growth. He touted the greater business focus of primetime and CNBC's revamped daytime, along with investments in longform content."

"We're focused always on playing offense with competitors here today or (those who) might be coming down the road," Hoffman said...

Cramer in HD? He looked OK in HD on Conan O'Brian the other night, so it could work.

Back when I got my first HDTV I was trading index option spreads and tech stocks almost full time from home and had CNBC on a second TV almost all my waking hours. At that time CNBC/HD would have been a top priority for me. I think I posted that here.

But then the market changed, I lost a bucket full of money, and I don't think I've watched CNBC for years now. Things change.

But I'm glad they're finally getting there.

- Tom

Yeah, just think of how many Plasma/LCDs have CNBC running all day long in office. Now they can get rid of stretchy vision and go with true HD.

Why's that, Cyclone? Think of all the sports bars across America running ESPN 24-7 in stretch-o-vision.

Yeah, just think of how many Plasma/LCDs have CNBC running all day long in office. Now they can get rid of stretchy vision and go with true HD.

Do plasmas still have burn in? I wonder how many of those older CNBC plasmas even show the ticker when turned off now. ;)

Heck, now that I think about it, many (including my own) CNBC displays were older legacy model 4:3 TV's. I wonder how that will look if they don't replace those.

But I guess for old times sake I'll have to tune in once they go hd, at least a few times.

- Tom

Why's that, Cyclone? Think of all the sports bars across America running ESPN 24-7 in stretch-o-vision.hehe. Doesn't that just drive you nutz? Still, I get a little happy when I infrequently do catch ESPN-HD in a sports bar. I think that finally someone else gets it.

If CNBCHD is consistent with the NBC network programming in HD aren't we lucky :rolleyes: Who really cares about CNBC anyway; maybe this is part of their corporate strategy to increase viewer share because they know most people will watch anything in HD, even if its not worth watching.

hehe. Doesn't that just drive you nutz? Still, I get a little happy when I infrequently do catch ESPN-HD in a sports bar. I think that finally someone else gets it.

I went to Champps Restaurant in Columbia today. They were showing ESPN and the US Open in HD. The last time I went everything was stretched SD. CJ's Crab House in Owings Mills also has HD.

With HDTV and 16:9, they'll have even more room to crowd graphics and tickers on the screen :) .

BTW....talking about "stretch-alogue" viewing.....
when's someone going to invent a "translating" remote control? Something like a learning remote, but it takes your "legacy" number entry (say, "5-1") and converts it to send out "111-3", or whatever the local Cable company has the station hidden on.

Too many businesses have a huge HDTV on their wall, but watch analog Cable on it, "Because it's too hard to change it to those HDTV channels".

Why's that, Cyclone? Think of all the sports bars across America running ESPN 24-7 in stretch-o-vision.

I was at the TGI Friday's in my town a few weeks ago and they had all new HD LCDs, but were watching ESPN in SD. It looked pretty bad. Wish these people would get with the times.

With HDTV and 16:9, they'll have even more room to crowd graphics and tickers on the screen :) .

BTW....talking about "stretch-alogue" viewing.....
when's someone going to invent a "translating" remote control? Something like a learning remote, but it takes your "legacy" number entry (say, "5-1") and converts it to send out "111-3", or whatever the local Cable company has the station hidden on.

Too many businesses have a huge HDTV on their wall, but watch analog Cable on it, "Because it's too hard to change it to those HDTV channels".


I don't think it has anything to do with the channels that they are on, rather it has everything to do with the fact that their video distribution system is SD.

When restaurants and bars have multiple tv's, specially if the tv's are going to be showing the same content, they have distribution systems so that they don't need a cable and/or satellite box for every tv. Most of these systems, at least older ones are SD, of course newer ones that do HD are more expensive and that is the main reason businesses don't switch.

I went to Champps Restaurant in Columbia today. They were showing ESPN and the US Open in HD. The last time I went everything was stretched SD. CJ's Crab House in Owings Mills also has HD.

Champps recently put in a beautiful huuuuuge HD screen over the bar. Very nice.

I watch a lot of CNBC ("On The Money" is a rather good program, for example), and I think that CNBC-HD would be a waste of bandwidth. Most of the time, it doesn't even need a full SD channel - do I really need to see the heads of those financial analysts ?

I'm still waiting for the NBC Nightly News in HD to have anything in HD, for that matter. Every time, the program consists of Brian Williams in front of an HD camera, introducing footage in 4x3 SD - oh, but with blue curtains on either side. At least, Sportscenter has some of its highlights in HD, but NBC seems to have zero HD cameras in the field.

DirecTV may have 100 HD channels long before there are 100 HD cameras in use ! :(

PS Too many businesses have a huge HDTV on their wall, but watch analog Cable on it, "Because it's too hard to change it to those HDTV channels". Exactly my experience. Before I purchased an HDTV, I went to sports bars a year ago in order to see the World Cup in HD. I anticipated the situation, by looking up the channel number for ESPN2-HD on both DirecTV and Dish Network. Sure enough, they had the SD ESPN2 tuned on their huge HDTV, and I had to tell them the channel number of ESPN2-HD...

I watch a lot of CNBC ("On The Money" is a rather good program, for example), and I think that CNBC-HD would be a waste of bandwidth. Most of the time, it doesn't even need a full SD channel - do I really need to see the heads of those financial analysts ?

I'm still waiting for the NBC Nightly News in HD to have anything in HD, for that matter. Every time, the program consists of Brian Williams in front of an HD camera, introducing footage in 4x3 SD - oh, but with blue curtains on either side. At least, Sportscenter has some of its highlights in HD, but NBC seems to have zero HD cameras in the field.

DirecTV may have 100 HD channels long before there are 100 HD cameras in use ! :(

PS Exactly my experience. Before I purchased an HDTV, I went to sports bars a year ago in order to see the World Cup in HD. I anticipated the situation, by looking up the channel number for ESPN2-HD on both DirecTV and Dish Network. Sure enough, they had the SD ESPN2 tuned on their huge HDTV, and I had to tell them the channel number of ESPN2-HD...

I wouldn't mind seeing Becky Quick in HD. ;)