CTV News Windsor

[Splouge]

Lately I've been watching a lot of CHWI 16, just out of sheer curiosity, and because of the fact that I can. And I must say, the picture quality on their newscasts is absolutely horrible. The station's digital channel is transmitted in 1080i, but the newscasts look like they're filmed on a standard definition analog format.
Everything is pixelly, and looks like it has analog noise. And no, it's not just their camera, even when there's just text on the screen, it still just looks slightly better than VHS. And it's not compression of the digital channel, because the "CTV News Windsor" logo in the lower right corner looks crisp, clear, and HD.
This is unrelated to their newscasts, but the station also airs the same ~10 commercials every commercial break. No wonder the station almost closed about a decade ago. What's happening to sister station CKCO-42 Sarnia is certainly not a good sign for CHWI. Being optimistic, I say CHWI will lose the Windsor TX, and the Wheatley TX will just become CFPL-DT-2 for about a decade until Bell says "Eh, they can get CFPL on cable. Shut down the Wheatley repeater."

[Deleted User 4520]

CBC Montreal looks terrible on Charter. While the picture is clear, it does does not fill up the whole screen and words are usually cut off.

[Splouge]

As of 6:28 PM EDT Sep 7, 2019, colors are bleeding over on the OTA signal

[fuzzpower]

If CHWI shuts down, I believe they will no longer be able to sell local advertising and simsubs in the Windsor area. Then again, how much are they selling to begin with?

I believe CFPL’s signal still covers Sarnia enough to allow them to advertise and simsub, even with CKCO’s repeater shutting down.

[Some Guy from Toledo]

If CHWI shuts down, I believe they will no longer be able to sell local advertising and simsubs in the Windsor area. Then again, how much are they selling to begin with?

I believe CFPL’s signal still covers Sarnia enough to allow them to advertise and simsub, even with CKCO’s repeater shutting down.

Must suck to lose Windsor to absolutely nothing.

[Splouge]

Simsubbing gives me a headache

[Some Guy from Toledo]

Simsubbing gives me a headache

I'm sure it does.

[Splouge]

Simsubbing gives me a headache

I'm sure it does.

Yeah, and I'm not even Canadian

[RingtailedFox]

Funny you mention CHWI being reduced to "CFPL-DT-2" eventually... it literally started BECAUSE of that goal in mind back in 1992. Baton Broadcasting wanted to start up a station in Wheatley to cover Windsor and Chatham, but they needed a signal to relay, so they bought CFPL and disaffiliated it from the CBC in 1990 and got approval for the station in 1992. It launched in october of 1993.

For much of its history, it was half-a-station, even with the addition of a Windsor repeater... only after the digital transition did CHWI finally become a full stand-alone station with its own master control board... until about 2013 or so, most of the master control and programming was done from CFPL in London. Hell, the station would even relay CFPL's saturday and sunday news programs until then, too. We now have our own news on every day of the week, which is fine... though the station has never pulled a profit (which is what threatened its survival a few years ago)

[innate-in-you]

Lately I've been watching a lot of CHWI 16, just out of sheer curiosity, and because of the fact that I can. And I must say, the picture quality on their newscasts is absolutely horrible. The station's digital channel is transmitted in 1080i, but the newscasts look like they're filmed on a standard definition analog format.
Everything is pixelly, and looks like it has analog noise. And no, it's not just their camera, even when there's just text on the screen, it still just looks slightly better than VHS. And it's not compression of the digital channel, because the "CTV News Windsor" logo in the lower right corner looks crisp, clear, and HD.
This is unrelated to their newscasts, but the station also airs the same ~10 commercials every commercial break. No wonder the station almost closed about a decade ago. What's happening to sister station CKCO-42 Sarnia is certainly not a good sign for CHWI. Being optimistic, I say CHWI will lose the Windsor TX, and the Wheatley TX will just become CFPL-DT-2 for about a decade until Bell says "Eh, they can get CFPL on cable. Shut down the Wheatley repeater."

Years ago, we would go to Manistique for a month or two every summer. The cable company carried CBMT (Montreal 6, not the Sault Set. Marie CBC retransmitter as I would have expected).

I swear the ONLY commercials on CBMT were for an African stage show and an English language live theater in the Eastern Townships.

[Some Guy from Toledo]

Lately I've been watching a lot of CHWI 16, just out of sheer curiosity, and because of the fact that I can. And I must say, the picture quality on their newscasts is absolutely horrible. The station's digital channel is transmitted in 1080i, but the newscasts look like they're filmed on a standard definition analog format.
Everything is pixelly, and looks like it has analog noise. And no, it's not just their camera, even when there's just text on the screen, it still just looks slightly better than VHS. And it's not compression of the digital channel, because the "CTV News Windsor" logo in the lower right corner looks crisp, clear, and HD.
This is unrelated to their newscasts, but the station also airs the same ~10 commercials every commercial break. No wonder the station almost closed about a decade ago. What's happening to sister station CKCO-42 Sarnia is certainly not a good sign for CHWI. Being optimistic, I say CHWI will lose the Windsor TX, and the Wheatley TX will just become CFPL-DT-2 for about a decade until Bell says "Eh, they can get CFPL on cable. Shut down the Wheatley repeater."

Years ago, we would go to Manistique for a month or two every summer. The cable company carried CBMT (Montreal 6, not the Sault Set. Marie CBC retransmitter as I would have expected).

I swear the ONLY commercials on CBMT were for an African stage show and an English language live theater in the Eastern Townships.

I wouldn't doubt anglophone advertising in Montreal is the pits.

[Inundated]

I touched on this earlier, wondering why CBMT was so widely available on Michigan cable systems outside of the Detroit area - instead of CBET.

I believe the answer basically boiled down to easy satellite availability of CBMT...

[rugratsonline]

I touched on this earlier, wondering why CBMT was so widely available on Michigan cable systems outside of the Detroit area - instead of CBET.

I believe the answer basically boiled down to easy satellite availability of CBMT...

At one time, I believe, CKLW-TV / CBET was distributed on the same microwave network as WKBD. After CBMT became available via satellite, many Michigan cable systems that carried CBET picked up CBMT instead.

In Bangor and Eastern Maine, the Spectrum system in that market carries CBMT instead of CBAT Fredericton, also because the satellite feed was easier to get. At one time, back when it was private station CHSJ-TV, CBAT was offered on many Maine cable systems and even listed in TV Guide, but was ditched when CBMT became available. (Curiously, my Spectrum system serving Rockland and Central Maine offers Radio-Canada from CKSH Sherbrooke (as well as TVA outlet CHLT), but no English-language CBC, from CBMT or otherwise.)

[innate-in-you]

Lately I've been watching a lot of CHWI 16, just out of sheer curiosity, and because of the fact that I can. And I must say, the picture quality on their newscasts is absolutely horrible. The station's digital channel is transmitted in 1080i, but the newscasts look like they're filmed on a standard definition analog format.
Everything is pixelly, and looks like it has analog noise. And no, it's not just their camera, even when there's just text on the screen, it still just looks slightly better than VHS. And it's not compression of the digital channel, because the "CTV News Windsor" logo in the lower right corner looks crisp, clear, and HD.
This is unrelated to their newscasts, but the station also airs the same ~10 commercials every commercial break. No wonder the station almost closed about a decade ago. What's happening to sister station CKCO-42 Sarnia is certainly not a good sign for CHWI. Being optimistic, I say CHWI will lose the Windsor TX, and the Wheatley TX will just become CFPL-DT-2 for about a decade until Bell says "Eh, they can get CFPL on cable. Shut down the Wheatley repeater."

Years ago, we would go to Manistique for a month or two every summer. The cable company carried CBMT (Montreal 6, not the Sault Set. Marie CBC retransmitter as I would have expected).

I swear the ONLY commercials on CBMT were for an African stage show and an English language live theater in the Eastern Townships.

I wouldn't doubt anglophone advertising in Montreal is the pits.

Montreal has a very significant Anglophone population, unlike Ville de Québec, where speaking English identifies one as a tourist from the U.S.

[Some Guy from Toledo]

In Bangor and Eastern Maine, the Spectrum system in that market carries CBMT instead of CBAT Fredericton, also because the satellite feed was easier to get. At one time, back when it was private station CHSJ-TV, CBAT was offered on many Maine cable systems and even listed in TV Guide, but was ditched when CBMT became available. (Curiously, my Spectrum system serving Rockland and Central Maine offers Radio-Canada from CKSH Sherbrooke (as well as TVA outlet CHLT), but no English-language CBC, from CBMT or otherwise.)

Odd they wouldn't provide a CBC station, yet pick up Radio-Canada and TVA.

Noticed this image while Googling around...
https://img.newspapers.com/img/thumbnai ... 6_5258.jpg

Montreal has a very significant Anglophone population,

I'm sure there is, unless most companies are advertising on CFCF (CTV) or CKMI (Global) instead.

unlike Ville de Québec, where speaking English identifies one as a tourist from the U.S.

I could believe that.