Hey Charlie! Superstations in HD?

[BobMurdoch]

As I was watching my beloved Mets choke like it was September 2007 again on Sunday, I was struck by how awful the picture looked on WPIX.

I also pay for the superstations on KWGN and KTLA (WPIX and WWOR are already part of my locals in the New York DMA)....

How about giving us HD versions of the CW? Smallville and baseball are the only things drawing me there now (OK, Beauty and the Geek , too).

Any word on when they will show up? If at all?

 

[richiephx]

Probably not "soon".

 

[tomcrown1]

Probably not "soon".

No it is soon very soon--In dish lingo not soon means it will happen next year.

 

[LASooner]

Wasn't WGN-HD on their infamous 'list' of HD coming soon?

 

[js6425]

Wasn't WGN-HD on their infamous 'list' of HD coming soon?

I believe that the local WGN chicago station was uplinked on 61.5, but hasn't been made available yet. But back to the superstations, I really think more people would subscribe to the package if they were available in HD--they would just add them CONUS and the local subscribers would be happy too. But if they only had the bandwidth....

 

[richiephx]

No it is soon very soon--In dish lingo not soon means it will happen next year.

oh

 

[jansan]

WGN-HD maybe coming to Dish Network in the future.

Source: Dish Network Eyes Cubs In HD?

 

[Peter Parker]

WGN is not a superstation.

 

[mike123abc]

There are 2 WGNs one is a cable channel (WGN) one is the superstation (KWGN).

It is not clear what happens to the superstations next year. The law calls them out by their analog call letters as superstations. Does it follow that WPIX-DT is the same as WPIX as spelled out in the law? I hope we do not lose the superstations altogether next year.

 

[reallyniceguy]

Im sure the superstations being in hd are not dish's concern at this moment lol

 

[JohnL]

There are 2 WGNs one is a cable channel (WGN) one is the superstation (KWGN).

It is not clear what happens to the superstations next year. The law calls them out by their analog call letters as superstations. Does it follow that WPIX-DT is the same as WPIX as spelled out in the law? I hope we do not lose the superstations altogether next year.

Mike,

Not quite right WGN has a National Cable Channel and a separate Local WGN. The National WGN has cleared all of its programing so it will NOT interfere with other Local channels Syndicated Exclusive content. The Local WGN has not cleared its Schedule from SYNDEX programing. The Local WGN is only available in the Chicago Market. KWGN is a superstation but it is from DENVER. KWGN and the two WGN's are totally different operations, and carry totally different programs.

John

 

[jansan]

WGN is not a superstation.

Yes, one of the originals. They also own KWGN. If it was not a superstation, I could not receive this station in Paducah.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Q: Is Superstation WGN available on satellite?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
A: In addition to cable systems throughout the U.S. and Canada, Superstation WGN is also available on DIRECTV Channel 307 at 800-DIRECTV and DISH Network Channel 239 at 888-825-2557.[/FONT][/FONT]


Source: SuperstationWGN.com | TV

 

[TNGTony]

WGN channel 9 Chicago, CW affiliate is NOT available in Paducah.
WGNTV.com | WGN TV | Chicago's CW

WGN Superstation, a cable channel that shares about 60% of the WGN 9 Chicago programming, but simulcasts only a few hours a day IS available in Paducah.
SuperstationWGN.com | TV

WGN, channel 9 Chicago is NOT a superstation and hasn't been since the second or third year of the WB. One dark and stormy night, the WB programming was pre-empted by "Star Wars". WB programming (and now CW) was never seen nationally on WGN again.

KWGN, WPIX, WWOR, WSBK, KTLA are the last 5 remaining "true" national superstations. What you see on the air via OTA antenna and what you see on Dish anywhere in the country is 100% the same, 24/7.

Now to the point of them becoming available in HD via satellite: I can't seem to find the line in the SHVIA which detailed the superstations (including WGN at the time), but the list has the suffix "TV" after the call letters. The HD channels have the suffix "DT". It could be argued, that unless the law is updated, the statutory copyright clearances DO NOT apply to the super stations in HD. Only the SD analog channels are covered. I am not saying this is the case, but I can see the argument.

See ya
Tony

 

[levibluewa]

Superstation Package in HD...

SHOULD BE A CONCERN TO DISH. Its about the only thing Charlie has left to distinguish himself from Directv.

 

[TNGTony]

Found it! It wasn't specidically written in the law. The SHVIA does not make specific mention of the stations that qualify as Super Stations. It was in an FCC FAQ sheet:
Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act Fact Sheet

20. Are satellite subscribers able to receive the "superstations"?

A: Distant TV signals that meet certain legal requirements are called "nationally distributed superstations" and include the following six broadcast TV stations: KTLA-TV (Los Angeles); KWGN-TV (Denver); WPIX-TV (New York); WWOR-TV (New York); WGN-TV (Chicago); and WSBK-TV (Boston)

Notice they use "-TV" and do not have "-DT". Again it is a weak argument, but an argument can be made that the DT channels do not qualify as superstations.

BTW, there were other "superstations" that were distributed nationally by Sky Angel until last month. The stations were from Columbus, OH, Pittsburgh PA, Fayetteville AR, and Tampa FL.

See ya
Tony

 

[thedamaja]

I don't think it makes a difference. DT and TV has nothing to do with HD or SD it is just the abbreviation indicating how they broadcast OTA.

Why would the format or resolution matter if the station is still classified as superstation?

 

[trainlazz]

Use an off-air antenna

As I was watching my beloved Mets choke like it was September 2007 again on Sunday, I was struck by how awful the picture looked on WPIX.

I also pay for the superstations on KWGN and KTLA (WPIX and WWOR are already part of my locals in the New York DMA)....

How about giving us HD versions of the CW? Smallville and baseball are the only things drawing me there now (OK, Beauty and the Geek , too).

Any word on when they will show up? If at all?

Hey, where you live you should be able to pick up WPIX-DT via an off-air antenna on UHF channel 33. Your TV must have an HD tuner or you have an HD tuner in your dish receiver. If done via your dish tuner, it should show up as 011-01 in your program guide as it will link itself to its SD channel number to eliminate confusion.

 

[pdxsam]

I don't think it will matter much. Once Feb 2009 rolls around technically TV ceases to exist. I think that was Tony's point. It's a weak argument but could be argued. The pressure on the FCC could be that TV naturally morphed to DT through policy and therefore the superstation exemption should morph also.

I think the superstations will be grandfathered over as digital signals, carried much like they are today. Whether DISH opts to do a carriage agreement with the stations for their HD signals remains to be seen.

 

[BobMurdoch]

Hey, where you live you should be able to pick up WPIX-DT via an off-air antenna on UHF channel 33. Your TV must have an HD tuner or you have an HD tuner in your dish receiver. If done via your dish tuner, it should show up as 011-01 in your program guide as it will link itself to its SD channel number to eliminate confusion.

Dueto the land contours and the fact that I am 52 miles from the tower, I'm guessing I am SOL unless I want to mount a HUGE antenna on my roof.... which I don't....

My SAT dishes are well hidden on my roof, so I have a clean roof line from the front yard.....

 

[TNGTony]

Again, I am not arguing that it is definitely the case that super stations cannot exist after the analog shut-off.

Here is the order from the FCC (essentially their BINDING ruling on the law passed by Congress and signed by the President of the US)
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Ord...0/fcc00388.doc

10. In the Notice, we stated that the television broadcast stations that meet the foregoing criteria are limited to KTLA-TV (Los Angeles), WPIX-TV (New York), KWGN-TV (Denver), WSBK-TV (Boston), WWOR-TV (New York) and WGN-TV (Chicago). We also stated that since no other station could meet these criteria in the future due to the date-specific conditions set forth in the definition, the foregoing constitutes a finite list of the nationally distributed superstations covered by the statute. Commenters directly addressing this issue generally agree with our conclusion that this list of nationally distributed superstations is complete and finite. (emphasis mine)

Notice that the use the -TV suffix again. It can be argued that -DT is a different TV station, just like AM and FM are different from each other.

See ya
Tony