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HD Coming at Last
By Michael Page | June 14, 2009
June 14, 2009 Update: Well, Fox 25 is HD as of tonight’s 10 PM broadcast, as we reported it would be earlier this week. The graphics feature the new O & O look, and the new intro is similar to the old intros they had before the previous graphics update (showing the studio, news van, cityscape etc.).
This means Boston is now totally HD for news!! It took long enough, that’s for sure.
June 12, 2009 Update: The latest information I have says that the HD switch will happen this Sunday at 10 PM.
June 1, 2009: The last station to go HD in Boston, Fox 25, is making the transition this month. While no specific date has been set, expect to see FOX 25 newscasts go HD in a few weeks, provided that no major snags come up at the last minute.
We also hear that there will be some graphic refreshes as well.
Topics: WFXT (Channel 25) | 52 Comments »
June 1st, 2009 at 1:51 pm
With the way the transitions have been going, I bet it will be later than they expect. Although, June 17 would be a good day, with the DTV transition taking place.
I don’t really care for fox25, but I’m glad to see they’re finally making the switch.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I’m glad to see Fox 25 going HD. I enjoy the news at 10 P.M. I do hope that they consider toning down the website invites during the newscasts…it has become very irritating.
June 1st, 2009 at 5:14 pm
I think June 17th may be too confusing for some viewers – plus (although last in the market), its better to plug their own HD transition on their own day, vs their HD transition w/ all of the DTV transitions – may get confusing for viewers!
June 1st, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I talk to some of the personalities from FOX. While they too, didn’t give me a specific date, either, I was told in “roughly two weeks.”
They aren’t changing the studio set much- IF at all, as it is already fit for an HD viewing. The cameras are pretty much all ready for the HD switch as well.
As Michael said, the biggest change will be the graphics…and well, clarity of the newscasts.
I, for one, am a big fan of FOX 25…So, I am really pumped for their transition…FINALLY! lol
June 1st, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Any one know when NECN will go HD?
June 1st, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Sorry, no.
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Channel 25’s purchase of high-definition equipment seems somewhat irrelevant in the big picture. It is not going to improve the substance of their news reporting. Also, given the layoffs of 25’s staff and that Fox is shutting down the station’s art department, I have to wonder whether the money spent on HD equipment could be better applied elsewhere.
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:10 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyM-Sd1fvzE&feature=channel_page
An idea of what is to come.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:15 am
Wow.
With all the explosive sounds and twirling red, white and blue graphics, I didn’t know whether I was watching a video game or needed to stand up to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Responding to Des, Doug Meehan is the de facto arts/entertainment reporter these days anyway, now that he’s no longer going up in the chopper to do traffic reports.
June 4th, 2009 at 8:59 am
The “Digital Coliseum” as I call it, also has a custom skyline wipe, so we’ll see if they do anything with that.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:10 am
25 was never big into opening sequences… Expect something much less “intrusive”
June 8th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Kevin Lemanowitz tweeted (Twitter) about going to the news meeting and then having HD make up put on! Must be getting close
June 8th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
on the youtube video…i would like to see them go with the fox 29 or fox 10 look
June 8th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Mike…
I was in the FOX25 5pm news chat today. They are real close to the switch. When I asked, all he said was “very soon” for the switch.
I also agree with you for the graphics. I also think, however, that FOX 5 was nice as well.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I know there very close. Erin Hawksworth and Sara Underwood tweeted they had to go in for HD make up training.
I think Fox 5 is too bland and O and Oish
June 11th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
They ARE an O&O. Now, granted, in Boston, we have our own way of doing things, but we’ll see coming in a week or so’s time.
June 11th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Sources inside FOX25 are telling me they will make the HD switch Sunday night at 10.
June 12th, 2009 at 7:36 am
The station launches HD news Sunday night.
June 13th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
It’s about time….But, I can’t wait!
June 14th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
If you want a sneak peek of the weather graphics…check the temp/special maps on myfoxboston.com. The other graphics haven’t been updated as of this post
June 14th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
i just checked out their site…
5 day, temps, high tide, and daily graphic with new look.
VERY NICE!!!
From what I see, the best weather graphics in HD in Boston!!!! Great Job FX25
June 14th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Very nice! If only ‘BZ would spend the money to upgrade for weather, field video, tape playback, etc…
June 14th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
i know…there is great potential for bz
June 14th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Yeah, WBZs weather is lame and ugly. If WBZ updated to field HD, I would be very delighted. I’m sure 5 will first though, since they have Chronicle field cameras already. I do know however that it is costly to upgrade the live trucks to handle HD live video.
June 14th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
…even wide screen standard-def in the field would be a step-up; only in-studio is HD.
Any info on the proposed new ‘workflow’ space BZ had intended instead of a ‘pop-up’ set? (http://hinghamweather.com/bostontvnews/?p=198#comment-1589).
June 14th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Nothing, sorry.
June 14th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Well, it is HD – picture looks a bit soft, and field shots are 16:9. Longer intro of the cityscape, studio, etc.
That’s a good enough post for the first 60 seconds.
June 14th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
The picture quality looks like crap, I’d say it looks like their cameras are a little above 16:9 SD. The graphics and opening was pretty nice though
June 14th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
So far, so good. I really liked the intro. Picture quality isn’t that bad either.
June 14th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Well, to be honest, now that all of the newscasts in the market (broadcast) are in HD, I can honestly say that 7 takes it. 5 is a close second, the issue is their graphics (not weather) are quite bad, very SD-Upscaled looking. 7’s graphics are great (of course, that’s their whole newscast), and when they are “in close”, the cameras are quite good too – the main issue is that they tend to be a bit too far away.
4 isnt bad in studio, but, 4:3 field and 4:3 weather is just bad.
Hopefully with the market switching over to DENG this month (hopefully, waiting on one last station), then some of the field reports will be HD as well – not too sure which stations have HD field gear, the big issue was the backhaul back to the station.
June 14th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Another bad thing, they have black side-bars, like 7. I think that looks unfinished. So far I am not impressed, I thought the weather graphics were nice, and I thought the camera used for Kevin L (weather guy, won’t try to butcher the spelling of his name) was much clearer. The camera used for the desk seems dark or something.
June 14th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
I overall love the new graphics and picture! Props to everyone at FOX 25!! GOOD JOB!
June 14th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Anyone have any screen shots/clips of Fox 25 News in HD?
June 15th, 2009 at 10:49 am
owine…myfoxboston.com, weather page has wx graphics…
GREAT INTRO! Dont really care for the morning intro though. I know it is pretty much the same but the music just seems like it needs a voice over with it.
love the weather graphics and new opens.
traffic open a bit lame.
hd cameras look great. people looked much clearer this morning than at 10pm
June 15th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I didn’t see it this morning. But last night when I was watching I was thinking that it would be clearer in the morning, because they have all the natural sunlight through the windows. I’ll try to watch today at 5 if this rain goes away. But I really did not think the lighting was HD-par last night at all.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I just watched a little bit of the 5:00 news. It sure did look brighter than last night, but it still did not look quite HD. It must be in a low level HD or something, it just looks like a waste of money to me.
June 15th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Is there a reliable map that shows the ‘reach’ of Boston’s TV channels up into southern New Hampshire? People looking to buy antennas have no clue as to the model they need. A map (like a cell phone coverage map) should be standard at places like Radio Shack & Best Buy. Of course, the maps would have some sort of ‘disclaimer’ on them, but it still would be a useful tool.
June 15th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Theoretically, everyone in the DMA should pick up the signals.
June 15th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Michael, that clearly isn’t the case, unfortunately. I agree completely that everyone in the market should be able to pick up the signals. I have an antenna in my bedroom – every other TV in the house has cable. Pre-switch, I was able to pick up 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 25, 50 and a few other channels. 5 and 7 in particular were the strongest signals. Since the switch, I have not been able to pick up WHDH at all. It shows up with 0% reception. After a little Googling, I came across the Boston Radio Boards – another great TV/radio board: http://lists.bostonradio.org/pipermail/boston-radio-interest/2009-June/021178.html. Apparently, they’re not broadcasting at full power currently.
It puzzles me why pre-switch I had nearly a perfect WHDH signal. Now I have zero signal. Whatever. It doesn’t affect me much, I can go watch another TV in the house!
Chris: If you’re looking for maps, check out http://www.tvfool.com. Great maps on there.
June 15th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/
This is a pretty useful tool, it shows you where to point your antenna. And if you click the station call signs on the side it shows you the areas that should be able to pick up the station.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:24 am
My neighbors and I haven’t been able to receive channel 25 since last October. However, all other Boston stations come in fine through my digital antenna.
It was mentioned that 25 was the last Boston channel to produce local news in HD. WFXT was the last TV station to have a web site, too.
HD is nice; but we are going to see a mixture of standard and high definition material in local newscasts for quite a while to come.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Responding to I witness:
When Des talked about WFXT cutting Art, he didn’t mean that they were cutting coverage of Arts/Entertainment. He meant that they cut their graphic designers. I’m sure Doug the chopper guy can’t help much….
——————————-
I Witness News Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Responding to Des, Doug Meehan is the de facto arts/entertainment reporter these days anyway, now that he’s no longer going up in the chopper to do traffic reports.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:59 am
It looks like CH 7 blew it big time on their switch over…I’d fire someone.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/06/17/signal_glitch_weakens_whdh_tvs_digital_strength/
June 17th, 2009 at 8:13 am
This has been a problem in other big markets like Chicago, Philadelphia, and DC as well…stations cannot be happy about it at all.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Why is NECN running a rebroadcast of Right Now in place of the news at 9
June 17th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Mike, I noticed that too. That’s a good question. Typically Right Now is at 7. IDK.
June 18th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Not sure…if you see it again tonight let me know and I will look into it further.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I watched Fox25 in HD last night at 11 and it was horrible! It doesnt look HD at all, and at times it was fuzzy. As someone already stated, it looks like low-budget HD…
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:46 am
Come September, Fox25 is canning their 5pm news in favor of 30 minutes at 6. If they want to be at all competitive, they should be on when the others aren’t (at 6:30) too. That’s how they’re doing well in the morning and that’s how they exceed CW56 at 10.
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:43 am
I wish the re-broadcast was also in HD.
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:36 am
lol and I wish the live broadcast was in HD… there’s no way their studio cameras are in HD. I am now pretty sure they are 16:9 SD, they look awful.