PE
Pete
Founding member
on a related note, Waitrose has yanked their ads from Fox News on Sky in protest at Glenn Beck and his drivvelfest.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/04/waitrose-fox-news-barack-obama
Has the clip of Katie Couric asking him what white culture is been posted on here yet? It's exquisite.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/04/waitrose-fox-news-barack-obama
Has the clip of Katie Couric asking him what white culture is been posted on here yet? It's exquisite.
Last edited by Pete on 5 October 2009 10:04am
NG
noggin
Founding member
AIUI many US stations have now stopped creating an independent 4:3 SD (16:9 SD is relatively unheard of in the US for broadcast) distribution feed, and are now downconverting their HD 16:9 feeds for SD audiences.
As many stations still carry 4:3 content, and the US adoption of AFDs (which allow dynamic aspect ratio switching and active picture format signalling) is way behind the UK, most stations have had little choice but to derive their 4:3 SD feed by doing a permanent 4:3 centre-cut of the 16:9 HD feed (whereas previously they switched formats in the 4:3 SD playout areas). This has meant that shows that were once shown letterbox on SD outlets are now shown centre-cut, and the station bugs are all 4:3 safe now on many more shows. This is partially because the 4:3 analogue OTA broadcasts have been switched off, and the cost of running an SD operation separate to the HD one is no longer justifiable.
HOWEVER - Fox News shows little 4:3 long-form content, and there are major benefits to ensuring that all viewers see the same aspect ratio, so they are - it appears - going for a permanent 16:9 letterbox as their SD broadcast for 4:3 viewers. This is much easier to enforce in the US - where there aren't 16:9 SD broadcasts and receivers that take a 4:3 centre of these, and where there are few 16:9 HD receivers feeding 4:3 SD sets on cable/satellite (Fox News isn't an OTA broadcast) which will be doing a 4:3 centre cut.
Sky News and the BBC News Channel couldn't do the same thing over here - as they don't control how people watch in 4:3 SD, and broadcast in 16:9 SD. What Fox are doing is broadcast in 4:3 SD, but with a permanent 16:9 letterbox.
As many stations still carry 4:3 content, and the US adoption of AFDs (which allow dynamic aspect ratio switching and active picture format signalling) is way behind the UK, most stations have had little choice but to derive their 4:3 SD feed by doing a permanent 4:3 centre-cut of the 16:9 HD feed (whereas previously they switched formats in the 4:3 SD playout areas). This has meant that shows that were once shown letterbox on SD outlets are now shown centre-cut, and the station bugs are all 4:3 safe now on many more shows. This is partially because the 4:3 analogue OTA broadcasts have been switched off, and the cost of running an SD operation separate to the HD one is no longer justifiable.
HOWEVER - Fox News shows little 4:3 long-form content, and there are major benefits to ensuring that all viewers see the same aspect ratio, so they are - it appears - going for a permanent 16:9 letterbox as their SD broadcast for 4:3 viewers. This is much easier to enforce in the US - where there aren't 16:9 SD broadcasts and receivers that take a 4:3 centre of these, and where there are few 16:9 HD receivers feeding 4:3 SD sets on cable/satellite (Fox News isn't an OTA broadcast) which will be doing a 4:3 centre cut.
Sky News and the BBC News Channel couldn't do the same thing over here - as they don't control how people watch in 4:3 SD, and broadcast in 16:9 SD. What Fox are doing is broadcast in 4:3 SD, but with a permanent 16:9 letterbox.
SP
From the article...
I'm sure there's a typo in there somewhere.
on a related note, Waitrose has yanked their ads from Fox News on Sky in protest at Glenn Beck and his drivvelfest.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/04/waitrose-fox-news-barack-obama
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/04/waitrose-fox-news-barack-obama
From the article...
Quote:
An angry Waitrose shopper who emailed the chain to express his distaste over its decision "to be associated with this particular form of rightwing cant" received an apology last week.
I'm sure there's a typo in there somewhere.
JA
jay
Founding member
After seeing some HD news channels whilst staying in New York 3 weeks ago, I have to say I wasn't blown away by the US HD Channels. The details didn't seem 'HD' enough - maybe it was just the hotels' set-up, so who knows.
Watching Fox News - It looks a complete mess through my HD box - I have my TV set to Full Pixel and there are white lines at the top of the picture, as well as the picture looking slightly distorted (looks as though it's been stretched and squashed to letterbox). Awful.
Not that I watch it normally anyway, but this is just another reason not to!
Watching Fox News - It looks a complete mess through my HD box - I have my TV set to Full Pixel and there are white lines at the top of the picture, as well as the picture looking slightly distorted (looks as though it's been stretched and squashed to letterbox). Awful.
Not that I watch it normally anyway, but this is just another reason not to!
NG
Most US HD News Channels are only HD in their main presentation studios. Most of their live shots (with a couple of exceptions) and almost all of their field reports are still either 4:3 or 16:9 SD. Many of their secondary studios are also either 4:3 or 16:9 SD.
There is still a lot of discussion as to what the HD ENG format should be - and whilst some network news operations are going for pretty expensive HD camcorder formats (I believe one is using some HDCam, though most are 16:9 SD if they are 16:9 at all) the 24 hour operations need a lower-cost format to become mainstream (35Mbs XDCam HD EX flash, 50Mbs XDCam 422 HD disc and 50/100Mbs P2 flash using AVC Intra or DVC Pro HD codecs are looking to be the three front-runners - all tapeless)
For info - I believe Sky News will be using XDCam EX HD at least partially when they switch. (The ability to use SD cards in SxS converters is a major advantage for this format - as SD cards are getting VERY cheap)
noggin
Founding member
After seeing some HD news channels whilst staying in New York 3 weeks ago, I have to say I wasn't blown away by the US HD Channels. The details didn't seem 'HD' enough - maybe it was just the hotels' set-up, so who knows.
Most US HD News Channels are only HD in their main presentation studios. Most of their live shots (with a couple of exceptions) and almost all of their field reports are still either 4:3 or 16:9 SD. Many of their secondary studios are also either 4:3 or 16:9 SD.
There is still a lot of discussion as to what the HD ENG format should be - and whilst some network news operations are going for pretty expensive HD camcorder formats (I believe one is using some HDCam, though most are 16:9 SD if they are 16:9 at all) the 24 hour operations need a lower-cost format to become mainstream (35Mbs XDCam HD EX flash, 50Mbs XDCam 422 HD disc and 50/100Mbs P2 flash using AVC Intra or DVC Pro HD codecs are looking to be the three front-runners - all tapeless)
For info - I believe Sky News will be using XDCam EX HD at least partially when they switch. (The ability to use SD cards in SxS converters is a major advantage for this format - as SD cards are getting VERY cheap)
JA
Most US HD News Channels are only HD in their main presentation studios. Most of their live shots (with a couple of exceptions) and almost all of their field reports are still either 4:3 or 16:9 SD. Many of their secondary studios are also either 4:3 or 16:9 SD.
There is still a lot of discussion as to what the HD ENG format should be - and whilst some network news operations are going for pretty expensive HD camcorder formats (I believe one is using some HDCam, though most are 16:9 SD if they are 16:9 at all) the 24 hour operations need a lower-cost format to become mainstream (35Mbs XDCam HD EX flash, 50Mbs XDCam 422 HD disc and 50/100Mbs P2 flash using AVC Intra or DVC Pro HD codecs are looking to be the three front-runners - all tapeless)
For info - I believe Sky News will be using XDCam EX HD at least partially when they switch. (The ability to use SD cards in SxS converters is a major advantage for this format - as SD cards are getting VERY cheap)
Most if not all of Sky's current HD camera equipment is tapeless.. - not sure which models they're using, but I've just finished working on a show for Sky, and we used Sky crew for our filming. Maybe I should have taken more notice of the camera models..
The American HD I was referring to was even in the studio shots, it just wasn't that impressive.
jay
Founding member
After seeing some HD news channels whilst staying in New York 3 weeks ago, I have to say I wasn't blown away by the US HD Channels. The details didn't seem 'HD' enough - maybe it was just the hotels' set-up, so who knows.
Most US HD News Channels are only HD in their main presentation studios. Most of their live shots (with a couple of exceptions) and almost all of their field reports are still either 4:3 or 16:9 SD. Many of their secondary studios are also either 4:3 or 16:9 SD.
There is still a lot of discussion as to what the HD ENG format should be - and whilst some network news operations are going for pretty expensive HD camcorder formats (I believe one is using some HDCam, though most are 16:9 SD if they are 16:9 at all) the 24 hour operations need a lower-cost format to become mainstream (35Mbs XDCam HD EX flash, 50Mbs XDCam 422 HD disc and 50/100Mbs P2 flash using AVC Intra or DVC Pro HD codecs are looking to be the three front-runners - all tapeless)
For info - I believe Sky News will be using XDCam EX HD at least partially when they switch. (The ability to use SD cards in SxS converters is a major advantage for this format - as SD cards are getting VERY cheap)
Most if not all of Sky's current HD camera equipment is tapeless.. - not sure which models they're using, but I've just finished working on a show for Sky, and we used Sky crew for our filming. Maybe I should have taken more notice of the camera models..
The American HD I was referring to was even in the studio shots, it just wasn't that impressive.
NG
Most US HD News Channels are only HD in their main presentation studios. Most of their live shots (with a couple of exceptions) and almost all of their field reports are still either 4:3 or 16:9 SD. Many of their secondary studios are also either 4:3 or 16:9 SD.
There is still a lot of discussion as to what the HD ENG format should be - and whilst some network news operations are going for pretty expensive HD camcorder formats (I believe one is using some HDCam, though most are 16:9 SD if they are 16:9 at all) the 24 hour operations need a lower-cost format to become mainstream (35Mbs XDCam HD EX flash, 50Mbs XDCam 422 HD disc and 50/100Mbs P2 flash using AVC Intra or DVC Pro HD codecs are looking to be the three front-runners - all tapeless)
For info - I believe Sky News will be using XDCam EX HD at least partially when they switch. (The ability to use SD cards in SxS converters is a major advantage for this format - as SD cards are getting VERY cheap)
Most if not all of Sky's current HD camera equipment is tapeless.. - not sure which models they're using, but I've just finished working on a show for Sky, and we used Sky crew for our filming. Maybe I should have taken more notice of the camera models..
The American HD I was referring to was even in the studio shots, it just wasn't that impressive.
Yep - Sky News are going to be using XDCam EX for their HD News stuff I believe (which means EX1/EX3 at the moment AIUI). This records to SxS flash cards (which are PCI-Express form factor) but if you don't need to shoot at higher frame rates than 25p/50i then you can use SD cards (much cheaper) in an adaptor.
All the mainstream ENG HD formats are tapeless - P2/XDCam EX are Flash and XD Cam HD is disc (based on Blu-ray tech in a caddy).
For longer form higher-end stuff HDCam, HDCam SR, DVC Pro HD are all tape based (but you can shoot DVC Pro HD codec stuff onto P2 if you want)
noggin
Founding member
After seeing some HD news channels whilst staying in New York 3 weeks ago, I have to say I wasn't blown away by the US HD Channels. The details didn't seem 'HD' enough - maybe it was just the hotels' set-up, so who knows.
Most US HD News Channels are only HD in their main presentation studios. Most of their live shots (with a couple of exceptions) and almost all of their field reports are still either 4:3 or 16:9 SD. Many of their secondary studios are also either 4:3 or 16:9 SD.
There is still a lot of discussion as to what the HD ENG format should be - and whilst some network news operations are going for pretty expensive HD camcorder formats (I believe one is using some HDCam, though most are 16:9 SD if they are 16:9 at all) the 24 hour operations need a lower-cost format to become mainstream (35Mbs XDCam HD EX flash, 50Mbs XDCam 422 HD disc and 50/100Mbs P2 flash using AVC Intra or DVC Pro HD codecs are looking to be the three front-runners - all tapeless)
For info - I believe Sky News will be using XDCam EX HD at least partially when they switch. (The ability to use SD cards in SxS converters is a major advantage for this format - as SD cards are getting VERY cheap)
Most if not all of Sky's current HD camera equipment is tapeless.. - not sure which models they're using, but I've just finished working on a show for Sky, and we used Sky crew for our filming. Maybe I should have taken more notice of the camera models..
The American HD I was referring to was even in the studio shots, it just wasn't that impressive.
Yep - Sky News are going to be using XDCam EX for their HD News stuff I believe (which means EX1/EX3 at the moment AIUI). This records to SxS flash cards (which are PCI-Express form factor) but if you don't need to shoot at higher frame rates than 25p/50i then you can use SD cards (much cheaper) in an adaptor.
All the mainstream ENG HD formats are tapeless - P2/XDCam EX are Flash and XD Cam HD is disc (based on Blu-ray tech in a caddy).
For longer form higher-end stuff HDCam, HDCam SR, DVC Pro HD are all tape based (but you can shoot DVC Pro HD codec stuff onto P2 if you want)
BA
here in the Philippines, I think STAR (http://www.startv.com), which is also NewsCorp-owned, is handling the distribution of FOX News... so there will be no problems on the aspect ratio (ala DW-TV Asia, which is shown in 16:9 squished to 4:3)
but the new problem now is, FOX News Extra.
they have made it in 4:3, so everything is letterboxed!
but the new problem now is, FOX News Extra.
they have made it in 4:3, so everything is letterboxed!
SP
She'll be one of their more left-wing, liberal presenters then. Fair and balanced as always.
She'll be one of their more left-wing, liberal presenters then. Fair and balanced as always.
SN
I really can't see her lasting that long. Fox has so many commentators such as Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove and Brit Hume who all have two things she ultimately doesn't - experience of federal and party politics stretching back decades, and the ability to impart clear, concise and cogent rhetoric to an eager audience.
EDIT: Don't forget over the past year Glenn Beck has turned his 5p ET slot into basically a classroom, complete with blackboards and chalk. He is a commentator who although having few guests on his show, is able to dominate a full hour of tv with powerful opinions. Bill O'Reilly is of course well known for his own abilities, and Newt, Karl and Brit are all political behemoths in their own right. Next to these I think Governor Palin will look stupid (but pretty) - frankly.
Having said that, I read the press release on TVNewser, and it mentioned how she will be presenting segments focusing on the struggles for 'ordinary' Americans, so in that regard it would seem that they have something specific in mind for her to do, beyond the traditional role of a Fox News Contributor.
... note that Sarah Palin is joining Fox and a Commentator
I really can't see her lasting that long. Fox has so many commentators such as Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove and Brit Hume who all have two things she ultimately doesn't - experience of federal and party politics stretching back decades, and the ability to impart clear, concise and cogent rhetoric to an eager audience.
EDIT: Don't forget over the past year Glenn Beck has turned his 5p ET slot into basically a classroom, complete with blackboards and chalk. He is a commentator who although having few guests on his show, is able to dominate a full hour of tv with powerful opinions. Bill O'Reilly is of course well known for his own abilities, and Newt, Karl and Brit are all political behemoths in their own right. Next to these I think Governor Palin will look stupid (but pretty) - frankly.
Having said that, I read the press release on TVNewser, and it mentioned how she will be presenting segments focusing on the struggles for 'ordinary' Americans, so in that regard it would seem that they have something specific in mind for her to do, beyond the traditional role of a Fox News Contributor.