channel 5 news- now in widescreen (digital)

Joe Pineapples · 07-01-2005, 3:45 PM

Not a major event in tv land, but i noticed this lunchtime that channel 5 news was in widescreen (no doubt before today as well). One thing which i noticed though was the nose-dive in picture quality - it looked very soft, and was definelty better than this before, through digital. Then it struck that iit might actually require more bandwidth to tramsit in widescreen, compared to the same in 4:3. So if this is true, then it makes me wonder if they just havent bothered increasing the bandwidth, to compensate, and keep it as sharp as before.

does this makes sense?

Dutch · 07-01-2005, 4:45 PM

About time too! Now then, when can we expect ITV and C4 news to follow suit? Mmm, Lara Lewington in all her mini-skirted widescreen glory...

Steve

P.S. 16:9 broadcasts use the same 720x576 pixels as 4:3 PAL broadcasts, so bandwidth should be the same.

Joe Pineapples · 07-01-2005, 5:02 PM

Quote:

Lara Lewington in all her mini-skirted widescreen glory...

she did look especially nice today

MartinImber · 07-01-2005, 8:04 PM

C5 are having their bit rate squeezed courtesy of SDN and the evil gnome ripoff pay TV joke.

ABC1 is pretty poor as well

OFCOM are totally wet so of course are not interested

SDN are currently I frame every 40 rather than 15 it apppears

**Garrett** · 07-01-2005, 8:13 PM

I do not generally watch five news but saw it between a film the other night and noticed they had that annoying rolling news at the bottom of the screen.

**LV426** · 08-01-2005, 8:05 AM

Can't see any reason why widescreen would require more bandwidth. There's no difference in the technical structure of the signal - only in its contents.

More probably, their studio equipment is still producing 4x3, and they are upscaling and cropping it to 16x9. This is more or less what BBC Leeds did for Look North prior to their move to a new studio, and their PQ was noticeably inferior to the national coverage.

Dutch · 08-01-2005, 2:08 PM

I know what you mean about Look North, Nigel. It's been a big improvement in PQ.

I see that Channel 5 news is now produced by Sky, and not ITN as before. I wonder how many more years before ITN realise the world has moved to 16:9.

Steve

**Garrett** · 09-01-2005, 10:30 AM

Why the name change Nigel to LV426?