Washington, D.C.
(April 28, 2007) --
The Weather Channel has boasted this year that it will launch a
new High-Definition channel this September.
However, the network has now revealed that the "HD channel" will not deliver real high-def pictures until next year.
That's according to an article in Multichannel News.
However, the network has now revealed that the "HD channel" will not deliver real high-def pictures until next year.
That's according to an article in Multichannel News.
_________________________________________
____________________________________________
DIRECTV has agreed to carry The Weather Channel HD when it's launched in September. But TWC President Debora Wilson tells Multichannel News that the satellite TV service will "upconvert" the network's standard-definition feed until its HD studio is ready.
In layman's terms, upconverting is when a TV provider takes a non-HD signal and stretches it so it will fit a widescreen and appear to be in high-def.
Wilson said the HD studio should be finished in January, but she said TWC doesn't plan to have all programming in high-def until mid-2008 at the earliest.
The Weather Channel next week will break ground on the new HD studio, which will cost roughly $50 million. When it's finished, Wilson said, the network's standard definition feed will be a downconvert of its HD signal.
The new studio, which will be at TWC's headquarters in Atlanta, will include new HD cameras and related equipment.
"We're making major infrastructure investments," Wilson told Multichannel News. "We consider this a cost of doing business."
Wilson said that no cable operator has yet to join DIRECTV in carrying the new high-def channel. But she added that "we're getting a very positive reaction."
Comment on this article!
Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
____________________________________________
Advertisement
_______________________________________________________
____________________________________________
DIRECTV has agreed to carry The Weather Channel HD when it's launched in September. But TWC President Debora Wilson tells Multichannel News that the satellite TV service will "upconvert" the network's standard-definition feed until its HD studio is ready.
In layman's terms, upconverting is when a TV provider takes a non-HD signal and stretches it so it will fit a widescreen and appear to be in high-def.
Wilson said the HD studio should be finished in January, but she said TWC doesn't plan to have all programming in high-def until mid-2008 at the earliest.
The Weather Channel next week will break ground on the new HD studio, which will cost roughly $50 million. When it's finished, Wilson said, the network's standard definition feed will be a downconvert of its HD signal.
The new studio, which will be at TWC's headquarters in Atlanta, will include new HD cameras and related equipment.
"We're making major infrastructure investments," Wilson told Multichannel News. "We consider this a cost of doing business."
Wilson said that no cable operator has yet to join DIRECTV in carrying the new high-def channel. But she added that "we're getting a very positive reaction."
Comment on this article!
Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
____________________________________________
Advertisement
_______________________________________________________
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.