And it won't be the first time. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, the picture distortions have been driving March Madness fans mad during tournament action.
"People have asked us about the TVs: 'Is there something wrong with my television' 'Is there something wrong with our cables?'" Tony Spires, a local electronics retailer, tells the newspaper. "We just have to do a lot of explaining."
____________________________________________
High-def sleuths in Kentucky are pointing to everything from the local CBS station's (WKYT) decision to divide its signal into three channels (called, "multicasting") to CBS' source feed to the transmission of the local cable and satellite providers.
Regardless of the problem's cause, Spires says the picture break-up "can be really annoying."
Florida's Noah and Ohio State's Oden could break-up during tonight's action.
Picture break-up, or sudden blurring, is not uncommon to high-def viewers in any area, particularly during sports broadcasts which feature sudden movement. (This reporter, in fact, has noticed occasional break-up during DIRECTV's broadcast of this year's Madness games; however, Comcast, my local cable operator, has not had the same problem.)
The distortions can be caused by a variety of factors (including the ones stated above).
But the Herald-Leader reports that WKYT's break-ups during March Madness games are a special case.
The newspaper reports that WKYT, the CBS affiliate in the greater Lexington area, which is broadcasting the NCAA tournament in high-def. airs three digital channels: the CBS feed; a 24-hour weather channel, and a feed from the CW network.
Some are saying the digital split is causing the distortion, but WKYT officials say they have solved any signal degradation by recently installing new equipment. The station points the finger of blame at CBS or the cable or satellite operators.
But the newspaper notes that a CBS Sports executive recently told a Syracuse newspaper that signal breakup is caused by multicasting.
WLEX, a rival Lexington station, says its high-def picture improved dramatically after it dropped a second digital feed.
"If you dedicate all (transmission) to your High-Definition signal, it will be inherently more stable than if you dedicate a lower portion to it," WLEX general manager Tim Gilbert told the Herald-Leader.
But WKYT says it's keeping its three digital channels.
"We were afforded the opportunity to also broadcast
The CW network, and we would have been fools not to
have taken advantage of that," said Chas Callaway,
the station's vice president of engineering.
Comment on this article!
Click
TVPredictions.com
to see today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
____________________________________________
Phillip Swann is president and publisher of
TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of
publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN,
Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The
Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial
Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood
Reporter. He can be reached at
swann@tvpredictions.com
or at 703-505-3064.
Click
TVPredictions.com
to read more news and features
on TV technology.