TG4 Going Widescreen?!

Rick_

Check out TG4, it's broadcasting in 14:9 but the DOG has got smaller and moved down the screen and more in towards the centre. The programming it's showing aswell looks chopped at the sides, and some captions are off the screen at the end of programmes. Is this just an error, or are these the first baby steps towards a full widescreen switch?

Paddy

Mossy Monk

looks normal to me, albeit it is 4:3 atm

Our man in Havana

4:3 on Sky atm.

Phen

No you're right...they do seem to be preparing to go widescreen...in time for the DTT trial I would imagine. Check out the DOG here:



And the weather and in-vision continuity is all in 14:9 now so I imagine it won't be long before they do switch.

aphex™

Phen wrote:

No you're right...they do seem to be preparing to go widescreen...in time for the DTT trial I would imagine.

Great, when is that?

byte

Trials are supposed to begin this Autumn on a few transmitters.

Rick_

Told ya! I noticed the funny DOG a few times yesterday, so somehting must be happening soon.

Paddy

Rick_

Noticed some programmes are being shown in 16:9 letterbox on analogue, but with the new position of the DOG, when the telly zooms up to fill the screen, the DOG is chopped off at the top half way. Weird looking, but still a damn sight better than RTÉ ONE and RTÉ TWO plastered in big letters way down the screen and in to the near centre!

Even the Pop4 DOG is cut off at the moment...

Paddy

Rick_

TG4 is currently showing a film that appears to be in 16:9 but in a 4:3 frame. There is also small black bars at the top and bottom, so it looks like they are showing a 2.35:1 film, partly zoomed to 16:9 and in a 4:3 frame. Flippin' 'eck!

Paddy

Mossy Monk

yeah flicked past it earlier and the picture is all over the place

if this is testing then why not create a satellite test channel like RTÉ did

Rick_

Well Mossy, they must have been listening to you! 9604 is active again on the RTÉ transponder on Sky, and it's broadcasting a black screen but with Widescreen switch signal. Mustn't be long before we get proper widescreen test pictures. 10.744 H 22.0 5/6 for anyone who wants to know where it is.

Paddy

Rick_

Just noticed that TG4 seem to be showing EVERYTHING in 14:9 via analogue and digital. I hope they aren't planning an ITV by cropping all their 4:3 stuff into 16:9, especially the kids programmes. Most of their cartoons, if not all, were made in 4:3, but look like they've been cropped. Hopefully they will sort it out...





Paddy

Round Cable

I'd say it's just during this testing period.

Round Cable

The test channel is now live, ads are in 16:9. Hopefully it wont be long now.

gerryo

Anybody notice this being a bit distorted lately?

Was watching Curb your Enthusiasm last night, the sound was bad.
Seemed to be worse if the program content was loud, distortion not too bad during quiet speech.

Only seems to be TG4, all others OK.
Sound also bad on NTL MMDS TG4, so maybe it's not just Maghera only!

Quinnsey

How long are they planning to keep cropping everything they show?

Rick_

Don't know, but it is very annoying. I hope this is only a temporary measure before they launch the widescreen service. They havn't even got sound on the test channel. I think this trial is going to last a good while yet before we actually see widescreen programming...

Paddy

Quinnsey

I sent them an email about it three weeks ago and got a message straight away stating that "All emails will be answered".

Naturally I still haven't got any reply.

superdudeman007

They've now changed the news grapics to 16:9 even though it's being transmitted in 4:3/14:9/whatever.

Go to the RTE Satellite testing channel if you have Sky Digital TV ("Services", "System Setup", "Add Channels", First box type "10744", second go to "H", next one go to "22.00" and the next one got to "5/6". You get A list of all the Irish channels and some others. The testing channel tg4 are using is calles "9406". Get to it through other channels. All the pictures are in 16:9 (even though cropped) and they've changed the news over-shoulder graphics to fill the whole side of the screen ; you can't really see it in 14:9.

You need an Irish card to watch the channel and there's no sound (yet).

I'd say they'll switch to widescreen on October 31, because it's their 10th anniversary. Maybe the new RTE1 idents will lauch then too.

superdudeman007

BTW when you're watching the test channel just before the Nuacht you'll see that the weather and the news (studio stuff AND reports) are both in widescreen.

(If you can plug an aerial into one TV and on terrestrial get TG4, turn it up a lot and then go to the testing channel on another you get proper 16:9 and SOUND from tg4!)

JohnC.

superdudeman007 wrote:

(If you can plug an aerial into one TV and on terrestrial get TG4, turn it up a lot and then go to the testing channel on another you get proper 16:9 and SOUND from tg4!)

Would there not be an annoying lag between the sound and pictures?

watty

There ought to be, but it depends how the terrestrial is done. You can delay sound on a PC