Screen width

[landon1937]

I have noticed since I got my Sony 46" TV that some local programs are shown in a narrow screen but as soon as they go to nationally televised it fills out the whole screen. Someone said that is the way broadcast. Now some of my local station uses the wide screen on local programs. I am confused as to why they do this? Will it change in the future.
As an example when the local news comes on it is narrow but when say Jay Leno comes on the same channel it is wide. A couple of the locals are all wide. Could someone explain?
Also Fox News has a variety of different screens but the main news fills the screen.

 

[papalittle]

What I hate is having a wide screen TV and the show you are watching has bars on top and bottom. USA is always that way but if you expand the picture and then turn channel you have to re-adjust the picture. It is a pain having to use 2 remotes to watch TV.

 

[Jim5506]

Your local station is putting out an HD signal 24/7/365, but they themselves are not able to generate the HD picture to place inside that matrix, so when you see local news you see an SD picture set inside the HD frame, when national network feed kicks in, the frame is filled wit the HD 16X9 picture.

 

[KAB]

I have noticed since I got my Sony 46" TV that some local programs are shown in a narrow screen but as soon as they go to nationally televised it fills out the whole screen. Someone said that is the way broadcast. Now some of my local station uses the wide screen on local programs. I am confused as to why they do this? Will it change in the future.
As an example when the local news comes on it is narrow but when say Jay Leno comes on the same channel it is wide. A couple of the locals are all wide. Could someone explain?
Also Fox News has a variety of different screens but the main news fills the screen.

When the station pony's up the money for an HD studio and production, it will change.

 

[landon1937]

I hope so. Like papalittle said it is really aggravating to have to use the two remotes. But more so when you spend a lot of money for a HD wide screen TV and still not get the full picture.

 

[Jim5506]

I much prefer black or grey bars on the side to fat squatty images of people.