Scott Fybush said:
iyiyi said:
WBZ stopped referring to itself as "4" anything several years ago. I'd always figured if they ever went back to channel numbers they'd use WBZ 30 to tie in with WBZ 1030.
Oy...not this again :
WBZ-TV is not "channel 30." Yes, it transmits to over-the-air viewers on 566-572 MHz, the bandwidth that was analog channel 30...but it is known to nobody (except a handful of pedantic folks on these boards) as "channel 30." I would guess that somewhere in the neighborhood of 90-95% of WBZ's viewers still punch in "4" or some variation thereof ("4.1" for OTA DT, 804 for HD on Comcast, etc.), while nobody - and I mean
nobody - punches in "30" to see WBZ. Why use that as a brand?
Just received my Tower Site 2012 calendar -- best one yet!
Many people become confused with the real/virtual "channel" designations. WBZ-DT currently transmits within the band of frequencies 566-572 MHz as you stated. The FCC designates that particular band of frequencies as "TV Channel 30", regardless of modulation scheme.
Certainly the majority of cable customers tune WBZ-DT with some variation of a "4" punch. Around here channels 21 (36v), 22 (28v) and 12 (64v) appear on cable as 8 and 508, 9 and 509, 11 and 511 respectively. So, if you were waltzing around on your roof with a Yagi trying to get a peep or mutter from WBZ-DT on your new tv, would you tune channel 30 directly or rather wait as the tv keeps rescanning the available channels trying to find the one hiding the "4"? Every single time you move the antenna?
I actually do punch 30.6 for WBZ-DT. The box tunes 35 (30v) in Hartford otherwise. The box DOES tune WBZ-DT if I punch 4.
Everybody knows WBZ 1030. WBZ-DT is the perfect adjunct as they share the same committment to community, credibility and class that make them so important to New England. Probably 5 years ago WBZ stopped using the channel 4 identity. They quietly moved into the 21st century with a great deal of class and established themselves as "WBZ" and "CBS", opposed to "channel something!" glitz. "Channel 4" became the symbol of the "old", analog, snowy picture, 4x3 aspect ratio, ghosts, 330 line resolution...
WBZ-DT is new, dot com friendly, HD, 16x9 aspect ratio, 1080i, mobile phone friendly... Channel 7 will smoke them for numbers and Channel 5 ain't gonna budge easily. Why resurrect an anachronism (channel 4) to represent them? They've accomplished such a superb transition into the new millennium with class and excellent local television instead of gimmicks. WBZ 1030. WBZ DT30. Something seems to fit well here. All these new features never belonged to 4. They belong to 30.
To me: WBZ-DT made it without using numbers as a crutch. They jumped in as WBZ. They have decided to use numbers again as id. One number represents yesterday. One number represents tomorrow. Choose.
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