Review: Finally, All Our Local News in HD

Now that every english speaking television station in the Miami/Ft.Lauderdale market has made the switch to High Definition, I decided to check them all out and see what’s different from when they were all doing news in SD. Read my personal opinions after the jump. 

WFOR-CBS4: CBS4 being the most recent of all the stations to make the switch to HD, it seems as if it was too rushed. Really, if you’re not fully HD in studio, you shouldn’t make the switch just yet. In the field, it’s understandable, that’s an endeavor that will take a while, and quite the chunk of change, but if you have the cameras and the switcher to go HD, make sure you’re fully HD in studio. The set is definitely an improvement, although I kind of liked the plasma TV idea in the past set, gave it a fresher, more modern look, whereas now it looks as if they had less funds, and couldn’t really “modern” it up. I like the image in the background, however it just needs to be fixed due to the fact that there is the world’s largest wrinkle in it, and in HD, it is definitely noticeable. (May be visible in SD, just haven’t seen CBS4 in SD ever since they switched) I’m not too big of a fan they chose for the logo, it’s too blue, and it, again, makes the station look cheaper. Gives it that old “Miami Vice” era look, cheaper Miami kind of look. The mic flags don’t look all that nice, looks as if they had a screen printer do them in a rush. The time bug, in the words of our site administrator, is just “intrusive.” It’s kind of hard  to concentrate on the news, when I have this huge time bug obstructing my view of the story. They really pushed the blue, I personally think it’s too much. It’s all over the set, the logo, the mic flags, and all over the graphics, including the HD Curtains. I think they should add a little bit more color to it. The new intro, I like it a lot, I like the music, also. That’s what I think on CBS4…

WTVJ-NBC6: I am a HUGE fan of NBC6, however they really need to get their act together if they want to stay afloat. I think they concentrate too much on the whole “behind the scenes” portion during their newscasts, since they have the steadicam running through the studio about twenty times in a one-hour newscast. We know what the studio looks like, now just give me the damn news! A lot of people are saying that they need a new set, personally, I’m a big fan of their set. It’s gorgeous, and still suits the current stage of “modern”. It’s very sleek, new-looking, and I think that’s what they were trying to accomplish when it was in the design stages, that they want to keep it around for a while (in this case, 10 years…) I think NBC needs to finally clean up with their reporters and anchors, there’s too much rotation, and they need to just hang tight for a while. Now the whole “cutbacks” thing, that you may have read earlier last week right here on SFLTV, may screw things up even further for NBC, exactly what they need. (Please note the heavy usage of sarcasm) I think it’s time that they need to master that Automated Newscast system, because if there are still mic mistakes, video errors, and whatnot, it shouldn’t be used. Moving on!

WSVN-7: Remember the days when channel 7 used to be so subtle in telling their news stories? Neither do I. All new promos are super flashy, swooshy, and very over the top. I feel bad for people that suffer from Epilepsy, because they can’t watch channel 7 due to all the colors, and swooshes, and flashes. Although, they seem to be extremely over-the-top, they seem to be the most stable during the current struggling economy, which I think is fantastic. Cheers to you WSVN!

WPLG-Local 10: Local 10 also kind of pulled the whole “Pro Player Stadium” thing back in the 90’s, early 00’s with the whole name changes (but not as bad as “Pro Player” or whatever the hell it’s called now). Local 10 really coughed up quite the chunk of change for their new fully HD facility, HD capable live trucks, cameras, switchers, etc. I really like their new set, it has a very fresh look and is somewhat refreshing when you watch it. Although, I am not that big of a fan of Local 10, they seem to be another stable station during the difficult economy.

Now that I have shared my opinion, what are yours? Tell me what you think! If you would like to e-mail me personally regarding my thoughts, or have some criticism that you wish not to be seen on the blog, please e-mail me at jamessfltv@gmail.com.