[whotony]

after a HD show comes back from a commercial why is it not in HD sometimes.

i see people speak of flipping a switch and it being forgotten.

is this literal does someone actually have to flip a switch after each commercial?

and why isn't this automatic, why does someone have to flip a switch after every commercial.

what if the guy is in the bathroom?

isn't this very low tech for something as high tech as HIGH DEFINITION TELIVISION?

can the process be explained for me? ....thanks.

 

[Rob G]

whotony,


There are very, few if any, local commercials produced in 16:9 HD. Advertisers just haven't bought into HD yet. Go figure! This means that most HD stations have to switch between the HD network program and an upconverted 4:3 (NTSC) commercial. Sometimes these switches are done automatically. Most markets except the very smallest have sophisticated software doing this task for the analog channel. However, this is not necessarily the case for the HD channels. Many markets simply cannot afford to automate their HD channels yet. As a result this switching is done manually. In many facilities the operator is also responsible for other functions including revenue generating analog signals that, for now, have a higher priority. As a result, some stations, and viewers, suffer with inconsistencies.

 

[whotony]