CET To Simulcast On HDTV

You asked for it. You've got it.

People have been asking CET to synchonize its HDTV feed with its analog Channel 48 broadcast, so the change will be made Monday. The HDTV and analog programs will be simulcast 24/7.

For years, CET has broadcast PBS' high-definition feed, shows shot for HDTV. So HDTV owners never knew what to expect to see. Like tonight when CET's HDTV airs "The Marines," "Indian Pride" and "Wired Science" instead of "P.O.V." and "Are You Being Served?" Or when CET airs "History Detectives" and "Nova" in the afternoon instead simulcasting "Curious George" and "Arthur."

"We had some beautiful HD programs, but they were not the same ones that viewers were watching on Channel 48. Now our schedule will be similar to all of the local broadcasters in Cincinnati, providing the same programs at the same time on both the analog and digital channels," says Susan Howarth, CET president and CEO.

Programs not shot in HDTV – like those old "Lawrence Welk Shows" – will be converted to fit the 16:9 wide-screen aspect ratio. It's all a preparation for Feb. 17, 2009, the government mandated deadline for the transition to digital TV (and end of analog broadcasting).

CET also announced that the CrEaTe channel -- which was bumped from the digital airwaves to only Time Warner Channel 949 a few years ago -- will return as a CET digital broadcasting channel next year. The public TV station needs about $100,000 in new equipment to broadcast both PBS World and CrEaTe as digital channels, says Jack Dominic, vice president and chief operating officer. So don't expect to see it until next fall, at the earliest.