[HD-plasma123]

Below is an e-mail I sent to the local CBS station ([email protected]), we should do a mass mailing like this to every station in the country.


Dear KPIX:


Thank you and CBS for the amount of program you simulcast on HDTV, considering there's only a tiny percentage of the population who has the setup to receive it, but we treasure every moment of these broadcasts.


I suggest you devote segments of your local newscast to talk about HDTV: what equipment is needed, what shows are in HD, what are the costs, etc. Stress that anyone buying a new TV should go digital, widescreen, and buy an HD tuner at the same time. It now costs no more than a top-of-line regular TV.


The general public knows practically zero about these broadcasts, only YOU can let them know. Let's keep this fantastic new technology going.


Sincerely,

_______________

 

[samiam]

KPIX has been perhaps the most unresponsive station I have

mailed. I pretty much just am happy that they do HDTV, which

occasionally they mess up (like the time they dropped all of

the 2 hour CSI HDTV premere back to SDTV 5 minutes after

starting).


Like most areas, the SF Bay is remarkably underwhelming about

HDTV matters. The local papers don't mention it (mercury)

except one or two putdown articles on how it is not "ready

for prime time". They left ABCs HDTV rollout unmentioned,

and even in the articles about HDTV, they have never actually

published the HDTV channels (or I missed that ?).


This is probally unremarkable elsewhere. However, here in Silicon

Valley its amazing. HDTVs are on sale everywhere, and people

here are both more aware of HDTV issues and also have money

to buy such sets.


It is also amazing because analog receiption is generally

considered unworkable here, because even with a good antenna

and rotor, most stations have ghosts and noise due to the many

hills in the area. Yet virtually all stations are digital here, and

all of them clean up these problems, a fact that again, has

escaped the attention of the media.


After getting an HDTV, and having to find out the channel

numbers on my own, I went through a period of mailing some

stations and the local newspapers telling them of my experiences

and asking for more exposure of HDTV, all unresponded to,

including a letter to the Merc pointing out factual errors they

made about HDTV in an article.


In the meantime I am heartened to see just how many folks

in the Bay area, here and on other forums are getting HDTV.

Just a count of these people gives numbers better than the

sarcastic reports I have seen printed from stations that claim

their "HDTV audience can be measured on one hand"