But I have seen some other areas do a thing which I thought was odd at first, but makes sense. That is they have a one to two second 4 way red between swapping the roads that are given the green.
This is standard practice here in Sydney (Oz). There is an all red that is usually long enough to clear the intersection of any cars that run the orange before the next green is given.
This seems to be the most sensible way of doing things.
Example: Try to listen to Tori Amos Winter
http://www.mtvmusic.com/video/?id=47577
And then compare to the youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnboUbOGDOMThe Mtv version got a really bad 'noice' in the background in the beginning of the song.
Or maybe it's just a problem with their player and Linux.
I hear the marked difference in the audio quality between the two also, so it is not just you.
Of course it may not be MTV after all: as nocsript shows:
"franchise=FakeFranchise"
"Been through Hell? Whaddya bring back for me?" -- A. Brilliant