FYI Some more studios have been converted to HD, so Rick Mercer Report will be back in HD. It was widescreen last season.

Great news!

Any news on sporting events? Even though CBC has been broadcasting all the home Montreal Impact games in widescreen, most of the Toronto FC games are still 4:3, though one was in widescreen, and I don't think any this season have been in HD.

Any news on CBC Bold transmitting in HD, now that they have got the new licence to do so from CRTC?

I can't remember the exact reason, but FC in 4:3 is mostly due to hardware availability. It's one of the few shows that isn't at least 16:9 these days.

I don't have a timetable for Bold going HD. An HD version Newsworld will be available first.

Peoples on the west side of mount Royal in Montreal will not receive DTV Until all transmission antennas get moved from east downtown rooftops to The mount Royal transmission tower.
Reported on September 8 on the 'The McGill Daily' web page.
According to CBC the Montreal transmission tower will undergo internal modifications to implement new high-definition technology. Construction on the antenna expected to last 17 days.
Does anyone have informations on the nature of the work that will be perform and what are the timelines?

Good to see RMR back in HD, although the widescreen production last year was not too shabby. It was also in DD5.1 last year (and this year).

I see that 22 Minutes is now also HD or WS (didn't actually look at it that closely), but did notice that it was "improperly encoded" DD5.1 signal.

Are the mobile cameras used by RMR and 22 WS or HD? For example when RMR was in Beijing, or when 22 Minutes is outside the studio.

Improperly encoded? Do you mean stereo encoded as 5.1? (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=464126&postcount=254)
From what I've seen, outside material is shot 16:9 SD. I'll ask.

Do you mean stereo encoded as 5.1?
Yes, I would have expected "new" WS/HD programming on CBC to be DD5.1 since RMR was DD5.1 last year. I guess it's not always.

The set for Newsworld appears to have changed. Is this the first step towards HD?

My shaw guide has Dragon's Den in HD, but it looks like SD. Anyone confirm?

Dragon's Den is widescreen SD.

Marc,

I haven't wrote in for a while, but CBUT-DT is having a re-occurring problem.

For at least the last 3 or 4 (possibly more, I can't really remember) months SD closed captioning has been visible on the first few lines of all SD broadcasts on CBUT-DT.

I first alerted you to this problem in this thread in July 2007. If you get a chance could you please look into it? I have the 18:00 local news on right now and the visible lines are happening if you need a specific time to check tape.

You have fixed this problem at least twice already. It keeps re-occurring though.

One more thing. Any update on the Vancouver local news moving to HD? Do we have to wait for a new studio as part of the building renovations?

Thanks,
ardsa

ardsa,
I can't spot the lines on the logging system. This is a vacation day for me so I won't have a chance to look into myself until Monday. In the meantime I've sent the info to my coworkers.

I'm not aware of any plan to make Vancouver news HD.

For at least the last 3 or 4 (possibly more, I can't really remember) months SD closed captioning has been visible on the first few lines of all SD broadcasts on CBUT-DT.

Analog CC data is on the last few lines (bottom of the screen). Is that what you mean? If not, maybe it is something else.

The VBI information is usually at the top of the screen. Sometimes the affiliate doesn't center the picture properly and VBI is viewable at the top of the screen. It usually doesn't affect SD channels, but apparently the issue does come up from time to time. See the following post.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=793236#post793236

Most TVs have enough overscan that this is not usually visible, even if the affiliate makes a mistake.

We are about 75 miles south of Camp Fortune. Just wondering if CBOT-DT and CBOFT-DT are currently transmitting at full power. We currently receive the digital signals only at night. Was hoping that there will be a signal boost.

-J

According to my database CBOT-DT coverage goes about 86km to the south, so at 120km you are not going to get reliable reception. CBOFT-DT's coverage area is just slightly smaller. Both transmitters are operating normally.

ardsa, I haven't spotted any lines the few times that I have checked. I did find one upconverter that wasn't blanking closed captions, but it is a backup unit. It has been adjusted.

ardsa, I haven't spotted any lines the few times that I have checked. I did find one upconverter that wasn't blanking closed captions, but it is a backup unit. It has been adjusted.

Marc,
First - thank you for all your help and your continued interaction with us on this forum, it really is appreciated.

Second - I finally got a chance to turn on the TV tonight after work. SD 4:3 material (Simpsons) was upconverted to the full vertical frame on CBUT-DT. SD 16:9 material (6 pm news) still has VBI lines.

Here is a screen cap:
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7954/cbcnz4.th.jpg (http://img401.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cbcnz4.jpg)http://img401.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)

I can send a full resolution picture if it will help.
Thanks again,
ardsa

Vancouver news should be good now.