BBC News Channel: Presentation

I just don't understand why anybody watches television these days in 4:3, especially since the broadcasters long ago started doing graphics that were 14:9 safe, not 4:3 safe, in order to persuade everybody over to the widescreen picture.

Like it or not, the future is 16:9 and has been for years.

Well if you're going to buy me a new television then I'll stop watching in 4:3. I, however, won't purchase a new one when my existing 4:3 one does the job just fine.

Both my TV's are 4:3, and I still watch everything in 16:9. It's not the shape of the screen that matters, it's viewing the entire picture that matters. If you watch a 16:9 programme in 4:3 centre cut out, you are missing about 30% of the picture. To me, it's a no-brainer. Watch it in letterbox. You don't need a new TV to experience widescreen.

A new quite brilliant low achieved by the News Channel graphics team today.

The quite nice (but far too big) FTSE graphic that they've been using above the right edge of the aston was expanded to allow both the FTSE and DOW Jones to be shown (around opening bell time for the US). The result was a stacked effect above the aston, at a far more appropriate size for each index. However, they managed to completely ignore the safe area guidelines, meaning that on a 4:3 screen, the FTSE was down a mere 35 points and the DOW a mere 40.

It's really shoddy. And the worst thing is that it was still on the screen when I tuned back in half an hour later.

Assuming the people in charge of these graphics weren't asleep (or on a very long lunch), you can only assume that they decided it wasn't worth correcting. A pretty dire state of affairs.

To clarify, my personal TV is a widescreen TV and I'm all for the widescreen movement. However, I happened to see this particular segment of news on an old 4:3 TV.

The issue isn't really another debate about the merits of widescreen tv- that's been debated ad nauseum

The point I was making was really that the BBC clearly have guidelines for their graphics on the News Channel- hence why every other bit of screen furniture is designed to be seen on a 4:3 screen. The market index graphic simply didn't fit and as such was shoddy in appearance and effect.

But if you have it letterboxed you're wasting 30% of your screen with black bars.

It depends on what you're watching, I usually have it letterboxed because most Australian channels use 14:9 safe areas and you miss bits any other way. But things like news don't need the glory of 16:9.

do you have a tendency to wear wedding dresses by any chance?
that'll go over the heads of 90% of the members no doubt

Mr Wilcox appears to be doing a double shift today... what a surprise...

EDIT: Now James Landale has taken over half hour into the 11am shift

I wouldn't call black bars a waste of the screen, and I honestly think channels should now be setting themselves up graphically as 16:9 channels, rather than 4:3 channels with extra space on either side. We've had 10 years of transition, that's long enough.