Colorado Springs, CO - HDTV - Page 8

They want more money because they are greedy. Most likely, the suits will be dropped as this really comes down to extortion.

It shouldn't be an upconvert, though. I'll try and get to the bottom of this debacle.

Well, tonight's "feel good" movie of the year was definitely in HD. Interestingly enough, the 60 Minutes special that preceded it was a non-stretched 4x3 upconvert.

I would really like it if KKTV would continue to not zoom and crop 4x3 shows for future programming.

Ok, talked to Bob at KKTV. He said he just got back from vacation, but speculated that any weird format changes like the one Vaggeto described are most likely due to "operator error." However, he said he would look into what happened last night. BTW, he said that KKTV missed the feed today for the HD broadcast of The Young and the Restless.

So, it just appears KKTV is having growing pains. He said they're trying to get all of their engineers up to speed on the new technology as soon as possible.

In the meantime, he agreed that if WE notice a problem with the signal, we should immediately call their engineering staff so that it can be fixed. Their number is 634-2844 (ask for Engineering). After hours, you can still call that number, but you just have to enter in an additional extension for "news emergencies" and once again request to be patched through to Engineering. I think it's 243 if I remember right (the prompt tells you, either way).

Although this is sort of trivial, I told him how I wish KKTV would only turn on the HD broadcast flag that my SAT520 picks up for true HD material, instead of all programs like they are presently doing. He said he would look into whether this has to be done manually or can be preset.

Last but not least, he expressed my sentiments regarding the current policy of zooming and cropping 4x3 upconverted material. He said he was going to try to convince Tim that they should leave 4x3 material as 4x3 and let the viewer decided if they want it zoomed and cropped (provided, of course, that your display or receiver can do this).

Cheers!

Roy, perhaps I did not make it clear enough, they ARE full time and no longer testing. You should call the station if you notice any weirdness to their signal as it is probably operator error. Their operators are learning this new equipment as fast as they can, but they can still make mistakes.

The word I've received as to why they have not made an official announcement stems from a request from their General Manager. I will try and get some more info on this at a later date.

In the meantime, enjoy!

P.S.- One more thing, because of the lack of publicity, I challenge each of you to make comments to any electronics store managers you run into that the first 1080i OTA station is now active in the Springs. Maybe they will pass this along to their sales staff as a selling point?

Way to go, Frank!

Last Friday, I called the station manager at KKTV, Charles "Charlie" Hogvedt (sic), and he basically indicated that KKTV would not make an official announcement of their DT status until the litigation is finished. He was very tight lipped about the lawsuits too, and wouldn't even budge a word out about it- typical management I guess.

He said that we should expect to see an official announcement within "the next 31 days," so I guess he's hoping the suits will be settled by then.

I also mentioned how they've missed the feeds for several HD programs, and he just said that his engineering staff has "come a long way" and that they're learning how to do things the right way as quickly as they can.

Maybe it's because I'm in the military, but I wouldn't leave brand-new engineers at the helm of a station that just entered the HD arena (which is apparently what has happened lately). I would have also spent all that time between February, when they first started playing around with the equipment, and now to train my existing staff and make sure they were up to speed. Finally, I would make sure that my people knew that they're supposed to record the HD shows each night and present them in HD for local broadcast. I mean, don't they have checklists to follow? Am I just asking for too much here?

I'll look into Faux, KRDO, and PBS sometime this week and post an update.