A call to KMID to ask the status of their High Definition upgrade has left me puzzled. When asked when they expect to implement their high definition broadcast, an employee (identified by the receptionist as the engineer's assistant) answered, "No idea."
The terseness of the answer made me think maybe the guy just didn't want to be bothered with the question. Politely prompting for some sort of explanation brought nothing.
Thinking maybe my question was not clear, I persisted.
Me: "So, you don't have any schedule for the upgrade?"
KMID: "Nope. No idea."
Me: Hmmm
KMID: "All I know is if something doesn't happen by 2009 we go off the air."
That makes no sense because KMID is already broadcasting in digital so the loss of their analog signal (as per the FCC rule) would have no impact except to those receiving only analog Over-The-Air. That has nothing whatsoever to do with High Def.
Me: "Who decides what you will do and when?"
KMID: "Politicians"
HUH?
Me: "The station owner has to depend upon...
KMID (interrupting) "Politicians. It's up to them."
Me: "Well thanks for your time. Goodbye."
I think I'll call back when the Engineer is available.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
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3 comments:
Les, I was sorry to read this. I used to work at Big 2, twenty years ago. Back then, the engineering staff - top to bottom - was first-rate ..... had to be. It was an important part of what made Big 2 such a dominant player in the West Texas market.
Actually I was able to talk to the station engineer today and was told KMID is supposed to get their High Def equipment in place "sometime next year". He explained the upgrade is out of their hands locally so they just have to wait on the parent company (Nexstar Broadcasting). He was very helpful and professional. I just got the wrong person in my previous attempt to get information. And BTW, my original reference to Clueless was purely about the timeline - not the people at KMID.
Les, I'm glad to hear that at least someone in the engineering department was up-to-speed, and was able to answer your questions in a helpful and professional manner.
And though the blame may be laid at the doortsep of Nexstar's corporate office, rather than at the local station, the result is the same ..... a station that was once a West Texas pioneer, in terms of television technology, is lagging far behind in this instance.
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