Why does the background music in some of your programs overpower the actors speaking?
Many home televisions have relatively low fidelity speakers that accentuate upper mid-range and high frequencies, and dampen the mid-audio range, which is where the human voice generally resides. Most televisions do not provide a wide enough dynamic range to always maintain a distinct separation between music and voices. In contrast, program producers and editors work in studios outfitted with the best, high fidelity sound systems, and they balance the voices and music on their programs based on that high fidelity. Many modern TV sets offer controls that may improve your listening experience if you find the music too loud. For example, switching from “stereo” to “mono,” or disabling the “surround sound” feature can often help dampen the low and high frequencies where the music is, which may then allow you to hear the voices more clearly.
Why do I hear an extra voice describing things that happen on the programs? How do I make it stop?
If you hear an extra voice describing scenes, then you have activated the SAP (Secondary Audio Program) function of your television or digital converter box. The SAP allows broadcaster to transmit additional audio services like DVS (Descriptive Video Service), which makes visual media accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired by providing descriptive narration of key visual elements in programs. On some programs, a Spanish language track is broadcast over the SAP. To turn off the SAP and return to normal broadcast audio, look for a button on your remote control labeled “Audio,” “SAP,” or “MTS,” and cycle through by repeatedly pressing the button until normal audio is restored. In some cases, the SAP is accessed through an on-screen menu. Because each television or digital converter box implements the SAP differently, we recommend referencing your owner’s manual by looking in the index under “SAP” or “Secondary Audio Program” for instructions on how to enable/disable its function.
How do I contact an appraiser from the Antiques Roadshow?
Visit the Resources section of the Antiques Roadshow website.
How can I get tickets to the Antiques Roadshow?
Visit the On The Road section of the Antiques Roadshow website.
How do I get my house on This Old House, or where can I find an item or supplier I saw on the show?
Visit the FAQs on the This Old House website.
How do I find a piece of music I heard on WGBH Radio?
Visit our Playlists.
How can I find a news story I heard on WGBH Radio?
Choose a program from our Radio Schedules page, and then link through to the program’s website for current and archived stories.
How can I find out what's on WGBH TV?
Visit our TV schedules page for complete, up-to-date daily listings.
How can I find when a specific program will broadcast?
Visit our Program page to search for a specific title. If you cannot locate the program in the alphabetical list, or if the program you found doesn’t show a broadcast time, it means it is not scheduled to broadcast within at least the next two weeks. Check back often for updates.
I missed a show, when will it be repeated?
Visit our Program page to search for specific titles. if a broadcast time is not indicated for a program, or if you cannot locate a program through the search feature, that means we do not have another repeat scheduled. In that case, try visiting the PBS Video site where many of your favorite PBS programs are available to stream on-demand.
How can I find more information about a program I watched?
A series or program website is the best place to go for detailed information, and often we will link to it from our Program pages. If the program/series site is not indicated on our website, try a simple title search using a search engine like Google. In some cases, a program’s producer may not have created a website. In that case, Contact us and we may be able to help.
How can I buy a copy of a program I watched on WGBH?
Many WGBH productions and other PBS programs can be purchased online at Shop WGBH (members receive a 15% discount). Programs are also available from Shop PBS, which has a slightly different inventory. Or you may also need to check a program’s website for information about video availability.
Why is the schedule in WGBH's Members' Magazine sometimes wrong?
The print deadline for Explore! is approximately four weeks before the beginning of the month. Occasionally, we will have to make a schedule change because of technical problems, licensing issues, the readiness of productions, PBS network changes, breaking news, or fundraising. We only make changes when necessary, understanding that many viewers will not learn of them in advance. Most schedule changes will be reflected on our TV Schedule page, so we recommend visiting often to check on the status of your favorite programs. You also can learn about schedule changes by signing up for our weekly e-newsletter (sign-up is available at the top of every page on our site).
How can I find a list of WGBH's TV channels?
Find Where to Tune In WGBH channels on your TV.
Why is the programming different during membership drives?
Membership fundraising drives help contribute to more than half of WGBH's annual operating budget. And pledge drives are WGBH’s single largest, and most efficient, source of acquiring new members. We understand that special fundraising programs do not appeal to everyone, but thousands of viewers support WGBH during our drives, so they remain an important programming service for that audience, as well as contributing valuable resources to our core schedule.
Why are some television programs repeated often during WGBH's membership drives?
Simply put: they work! Membership drives help contribute to more than half of WGBH’s annual operating budget, and they sustain our core schedule. WGBH has very limited time to fundraise on-air, so we must be efficient and schedule the strongest performing programs at various times of the day to reach the most viewers. During fundraising drives we purposefully keep the TV schedule flexible so we can broadcast the best performing programs.
Why don't you show my favorite old programs from years ago?
In general, the television broadcast rights for many of the programs that WGBH airs are for a term of three years. After the term expires, WGBH no longer has the right to broadcast the program. Sometimes we may reacquire broadcast rights, but in many cases that is not possible because of the cost, constraints in the original contracts with participants in a program, or our other programming commitments. But we’re always interested to hear what programs our viewers would like to see, so Contact us to let us know.
