Widescreen Issues

I don't very often watch the ITN news, but am watching it today. With this question in my head "why is it not in widescreen?"

BBC news went to widescreen a few years back, so why have ITN not switched yet?

Anyone know?

Thanks Allan

Apparently people have said that it may be due to the facilities on location rather than Grey's Inn Road. Though I can't remember seeing anything from ITV in widescreen, even if they didn't involve reports.

Of course they could start to broadcast in widescreen if they had the capibilities and edit the reports to 16:9 or broadcast 4:3 in the 16:9 frame with the black bars either side.

Though if you look at ITV News compared to Sky & BBC News, apart from the titles and the use of the virtual wall, other graphics look out of date in comparison.

I would have thought it's more to do with the lack of widescreen facilities in some regions, rather than networked ITV1 programmes.

Can't most regions do widescreen by now?
Especially seems as though the majority are moving into new premises.

I heard the term "desktop editing" mentioned once. Whatever that means.

Tyne Tees have been widescreen capable for many years. They also have widescreen graphics (as seen in the promos), so they really should be broadcasting in widescreen. I can't say the same for the Teeside Opt though, they don't show any evidence of 16:9 capability, even though it's a newer centre (1992). The TTTV North operation will be moving to the MetroCentre area soon, I'll be dissapointed if they dont start broadcasting in 16:9 by or well before then.

It is surprising ITN News is still in 4:3 - and as most regions do have some widescreen output, there is no reason for the delay.

I guess though they are waiting until it can be done properly. BBC News looks fine on analogue TV - but as up until recently most regional widescreen bulletins were 4:3 cropped to 14:9, on digital TV is often looked a mess.

The best solution IMO is to do something similar to what they do with sport - output the programmes in widescreen on digital and in 4:3 on analogue, letterboxing all 4:3 content in 4:3.


I guess though you'd expect both ITV News and C4 News to become widescreen sooner rather or later - have the new titles for both programmes been made in 16:9?

With the arrival of Widescreen screens in all of the new News Studios, both ITV regional and Channel 4, i would guess that there is a plan in the not to distant future to go widescreen, perhaps September. I would imagine by then that all of the regions would have been treated to the new 'London Tonight' look.

Well, C4 have had a widescreen screen since January 1999.

BBC News 24 launched in widescreen in 1997 - before there were any digital TV outlets able to carry it in that format (it was 14:9 letterbox on analogue cable)

It moved to 16:9 digital transmission in 1998 - on DTT and DSat.

BBC News on BBC One/Two moved to 16:9 in 2000, on the same day that Breakfast launched. ISTR that this was just after the Olympics, as Breakfast News came off-air before the Olympics, and News 24 provided an "Olympic Breakfast" service on BBC Two during the Sydney Games? (There was also a brief foray into 16:9 News on BBC One during 2000 Today around the Millennium as well)

AIUI most ITV1 regions have re-equipped their studios with 16:9/4:3 switchable cameras. However some may not have upgraded their location facilities, and may not have suitable editing facilities.

I think ITN have additional problems, in that they have generated many of their cost savings by adopting widespread desktop editing, using very early systems that aren't easily switched to proper 16:9 editing. Similarly, whilst it is relatively simple to install extra aspect ratio conversion kit into tape based edit suites (as the Beeb did to get to 16:9 in 2000) - it is actually more difficult to convert some digital non-linear kit - especially in monitoring terms.

It isn't a trivial, or cheap, exercise. However ITN's output does stick out now as an sore-thumb of 4:3 in a widescreen broadcast landscape in the UK. Sky are doing Five News in 16:9 (though not always very well), as are GMTV (again sometimes not very well)

so what *is* desktop editing?

Journalists editing footage themselves on a desktop PC rather than the job being done by a craft editor in a traditional edit suite.