Crosswords

[gsfan85]

Hey everyone,

I remember seeing in a few articles that Merv Griffin's Crosswords would be aired in high definition.  It's not airing in HD here in NY on WNBC, but figured I'd see if maybe it's just NY's NBC that didn't pick up the HD feed of the show.  

Anyone seeing it in HD?
Thanks!

[clanky06]

I would really doubt it. HD is Big Budget, and that's what Crosswords is not!

[dzinkin]

A February press release on the Program Partners site said that the show would be produced in HD.  I can't find anything more recent to indicate whether or not those plans changed.

Does WNBC air any other syndicated shows in HD?

[gsfan85]

[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'163927\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 03:10 PM\']
A February press release on the Program Partners site said that the show would be produced in HD.  I can't find anything more recent to indicate whether or not those plans changed.

Does WNBC air any other syndicated shows in HD?
[/quote]

No other Syndicated shows, but all the news/today show and primetime programming are in high def.  
Thanks

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'gsfan85\' post=\'163930\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 12:37 PM\']
No other Syndicated shows, but all the news/today show and primetime programming are in high def.  
Thanks
[/quote]
This might be your answer...the show might not be distributed in an HD format that your station can handle. I have the same problem with J! and WOF on KOMO in Seattle.

[gsfan85]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'163932\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 03:48 PM\']
[quote name=\'gsfan85\' post=\'163930\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 12:37 PM\']
No other Syndicated shows, but all the news/today show and primetime programming are in high def.  
Thanks
[/quote]
This might be your answer...the show might not be distributed in an HD format that your station can handle. I have the same problem with J! and WOF on KOMO in Seattle.
[/quote]

Interesting, I guess I'd think NY, being the number 1 market would have the high def signal.  However can anyone confirm that they are indeed seeing a high def 16X9 picture on this show?

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'gsfan85\' post=\'163935\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 04:32 PM\']
Interesting, I guess I'd think NY, being the number 1 market would have the high def signal.
[/quote]
Remember that NBC owns other stations besides WNBC, and it's expensive to provide them all with the equipment needed to record and play back the HD content from satellite.  Having read a number of stories in which station GMs placed local news as a higher priority than syndicated content when it came to HD, it wouldn't surprise me if NBC was doing likewise with its O&Os.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'163938\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 02:05 PM\']
Having read a number of stories in which station GMs placed local news as a higher priority than syndicated content when it came to HD, it wouldn't surprise me if NBC was doing likewise with its O&Os.
[/quote]
Right...KING-5 is absolutely hidef when it comes to news (they have probably the best-looking hidef news in the market, in fact) and primetime, but some syndicators don't feed in the same hidef format that they use.

That said: one of the nice things about the new Tivo is that it shows me what resolution a station is broadcasting at (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) without having to be concerned about a cable box up- or down-converting the signal. And KOMO-4 (ABC, who runs J! and WOF) broadcasts at 720P, and they were the ones claiming they didn't pick up J! and WOF in hidef because they didn't transmit in the correct format.

But Sony are the ones distributing all of J!, WOF, and Crosswords, right? So ostensibly they would all transmit in the same format. But KONG-6 (KING-5's sister station, who runs Crosswords) is a 1080i station. So if Crosswords *is* being sent in hidef, then you would think that a) it would be sent in 1080i, and therefore would run hidef on KONG. And yet, it does not.

So putting this all together, I think I have a fair amount of circumstantial evidence to suggest that Crosswords is *not* being distributed in hidef. But I'd be interested to be wrong.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'163943\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 06:24 PM\']
But Sony are the ones distributing all of J!, WOF, and Crosswords, right?
[/quote]
Just the first two. Program Partners distributes Crosswords, and a couple of Canadian shows, including CSI: Canada DaVinci's Inquest and Degrassi: The Next Generation. With all they have to work with now, I doubt HD is on PP's slate for the immediate future. Seems they want to get their big break in syndication first.

[mmb5]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'163944\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 06:33 PM\']
Just the first two. Program Partners distributes Crosswords, and a couple of Canadian shows, including CSI: Canada DaVinci's Inquest and Degrassi: The Next Generation. With all they have to work with now, I doubt HD is on PP's slate for the immediate future. Seems they want to get their big break in syndication first.
[/quote]
DaVinci's Inquest actually came before CSI, and is probably closer to Quincy.


--Mike

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'163944\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 03:33 PM\']
Just the first two. Program Partners distributes Crosswords,[/quote]
Ahhh, thanks. Now the lack of HD-ness makes a LOT of sense.

/now if only Sony could get that alleged new distribution system in place so KOMO *can* run J! in HD

[davemackey]

[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'163927\' date=\'Sep 15 2007, 03:10 PM\']
A February press release on the Program Partners site said that the show would be produced in HD.  I can't find anything more recent to indicate whether or not those plans changed.
[/quote]
Well, they did also say that they were going to tape the show in Chicago.... I guess they're pretty lousy at keeping us updated with changes.

[uncamark]

It seems to me that WNBC's logo now officially says "NBC4 HD."  Do they leave it up during "Crosswords" and other syndicated shows and are therefore lying?

(In Chicago, WMAQ doesn't run their infamous time-and-temperature bug during "Crosswords," presumably because it covers up the clue graphics.  Yes, a T&T bug during entertainment programming.)

[sshuffield70]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'164182\' date=\'Sep 18 2007, 02:30 PM\']
It seems to me that WNBC's logo now officially says "NBC4 HD."  Do they leave it up during "Crosswords" and other syndicated shows and are therefore lying?

(In Chicago, WMAQ doesn't run their infamous time-and-temperature bug during "Crosswords," presumably because it covers up the clue graphics.  Yes, a T&T bug during entertainment programming.)
[/quote]

Heh, all the major stations do it here, or put their station ID in the middle of a show for no friggin' reason.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' post=\'164190\' date=\'Sep 18 2007, 03:05 PM\']
[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'164182\' date=\'Sep 18 2007, 02:30 PM\']
It seems to me that WNBC's logo now officially says "NBC4 HD."  Do they leave it up during "Crosswords" and other syndicated shows and are therefore lying?

(In Chicago, WMAQ doesn't run their infamous time-and-temperature bug during "Crosswords," presumably because it covers up the clue graphics.  Yes, a T&T bug during entertainment programming.)
[/quote]

Heh, all the major stations do it here, or put their station ID in the middle of a show for no friggin' reason.
[/quote]

And last week WPWR in Chicago put up during "Temptation" a snipe for "IFL Battleground" covering up the bottom of the Super KnockOff board--a snipe that was up almost through the entire act, including the home shopping spot.  I thought Master Control would be awake at 1 p.m. on a Friday.