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June 20, 2016 11:44 pm  #1


Tv techie question

Watching a newscast tonight.   It's a complete HD facility, everything they produce is HD and the content never touches a tape.

Why would they still shoot the newscast centre cut safe?

I can't imagine.

I know in the old days Cletus & Myrtle would zoom their sd box because they didn't like the black lines on top and bottom, but I can't imagine that's still a consideration.

Are any of the Toronto stations still putting out a 4:3 signal?

Or is this one of those I'm in the centre of the universe and should remember that  there are still SD rebroadcasters out there for cottage country or whatever?

Just wonderin'.

Last edited by ig (June 20, 2016 11:45 pm)


Madness takes its toll.  Please have exact change.
 
 

June 20, 2016 11:59 pm  #2


Re: Tv techie question


Madness takes its toll.  Please have exact change.
 
     Thread Starter
 

June 21, 2016 10:58 pm  #3


Re: Tv techie question

I can think of two reasons:

1.  You'd be amazed how many SD CRT sets are still in use.  I don't have any stats but since rogers doesn't put out an analogue signal anymore, (in Toronto, anyway) you need a digital adapter box.  I believe it only puts out an SD signal.  I'm not a Rogers subscriber myself but on the boxes I've played with, everything seemed to be full-screen.

2. If you've been doing camera for a while, it's probably second nature to you, anyway, so why change?

I suspect the adoption of HD televisions will be much quicker than people buying colour sets because of the technological advances and even more, the price of HD LCD sets is downright cheap in comparison to what a colour TV cost, even in the 80s.

Ahhh, the memories.

I can still remember well into the 70s when sports commentators would still describe colours in the picture "for the benefit of viewers with black and white sets."

My parents didn't buy a colour TV until, I think 1980.  But, suffice it to say, that once my Mother saw The Price is Right in all it's very colourful glory, she knew it was a very good investment.  
 

 

June 22, 2016 7:01 am  #4


Re: Tv techie question

Quote "I can still remember well into the 70s when sports commentators would still describe colours in the picture "for the benefit of viewers with black and white sets." - Peter the K

My recall is that this is the origin of the term "color commentator" (spelled the American way since they came up with the idea).

It's not that job description that is in effect now for the same termed person.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_commentator (Wikipedia) .

Although I did not read or get into every detail on the Wikipedia page, I did not see any reference at all to what I am claiming is the root of the term.
 

Last edited by DeepTracks (June 22, 2016 7:02 am)

 

June 22, 2016 10:12 am  #5


Re: Tv techie question

And, not to get too far off subject. Who remembers this product?
 

Here's a link to someone's memory of it...https://trulyskrumptious.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/instant-color-tv-screen/.

My dad would today be considered an early adopter of technology.

In addition to the two overlays he bought for the two sets we owned - YES, two, we had a 50' tower, with rotor and separate VHF&UHF antennas.  He bought the first colour set in our neighbourhood - a huge round-tube monster that when my mother managed to move it to vaccuum we had to degauss the thing to get the colours back to be right - and YES, we had a degaussing coil.

My dad's been gone now 50+ years. I often remember stuff like this, and not always just on father's days.

 

Last edited by DeepTracks (June 22, 2016 10:26 am)

 

June 22, 2016 10:48 am  #6


Re: Tv techie question

ig wrote:

Are any of the Toronto stations still putting out a 4:3 signal?

Anyone with an antenna knows that Global broadcasts an SD signal on subcarrier 41.2. It's a duplicate of the Global HD output. I've never quite been sure why it's there. Perhaps they still have an analog retransmitter somewhere. But no one else does this. And as far as I know it's the only subcarrier in the GTA (unlike the U.S., which actually uses the spectrum space for extra channels.)  

Last edited by RadioActive (June 22, 2016 11:11 am)