Christmas ‘Yule Log’ — regular and Hi-Def

Paradoxically, “The Yule Log” does very well in the ratings. That’s one of the reasons WPIX decided to restore the show to its original three-hour version for this year’s 40th anniversary, and make a one-hour special on its origins. Its title, “The WPIX Yule Log: A Log’s Life,” is a winking reference to the film can where it was found again.

Restoring the original soundtrack wasn’t easy. Some of the songs had been cut, others shortened. The soundtrack is filled with mid-1960s easy listening artists, and WPIX didn’t have a discography. Of the 70 selections, 34 are out-of-print and 12 had never been on CD.

Enter Arcuri. A holiday music collector, he owned every one of the 70 songs. He helped digitally remaster the soundtrack, and expressed surprise when WPIX insisted he be paid for his work.   Now there’s even a Yule log podcast available.

Jason Patton lived in the New York area for many years and considers himself a passionate Yule log fan. He’s now vice president for business development on INHD, a network that caters to some of the estimated 24 million homes with a high-def set.

He thought a new version of “The Yule Log” would be a great way of letting HDTV owners show off their pictures to friends and family at the holidays. The INHD Yule log has been airing since 2003 and, since the number of HDTV owners has been doubling every year, is available to many more people each year. It will air for 24 hours starting 7 a.m. EST on Christmas.

His was filmed by Ron Roy, the guy behind those computer screen savers that look like tropical fish tanks.

Patton, of course, thinks his Yule log is superior to the competition.

“This Yule log is filmed in high-definition,” Patton said. “I think they’re still using the one made in 1970. It’s a grainy film. It looks like it’s 30 years old and it’s not going to fill up the full screen.”

The WPIX Yule log will air on 10 other stations also owned by Tribune Broadcasting, and on the WGN superstation.

There’s no question which log will be burning Christmas morning in the Arcuri home.

“They can’t hold a candle to the WPIX Yule log,” he said. “There was something special about the fireplace they used. It was just magnificent. And the fire itself — it was a roaring, happy, mesmerizing fire. You can’t compare to the original.”

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