KSDK St Louis,MO (Everything is shot in HD)

They love touting that they are the first TV station in the US to build an HD studio from the ground up.

They can tout all they want but they aren't the fiirst in the country. Maybe in their market, yeah.

I think the difference is that other stations added HD infrastructure on top of the existing SD, while KYW may have been the first to go with an entirely HD infrastructure. I think this implies that SD is always converted to and from HD.

none of ours are and I don't think any are even planning for it at the moment.

WJZ and WBAL in Baltimore are in the process of converting local news to HD.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/technology/bal-to.highdef04dec04,0,4025365.story

I think the difference is that other stations added HD infrastructure on top of the existing SD, while KYW may have been the first to go with an entirely HD infrastructure. I think this implies that SD is always converted to and from HD.

WRAL Raleigh, in 2001 built a complete separate HD news system (including HD ENG) from the ground up and then flipped the switch and then took out the SD analog system after the HD was on the air. Also in 2001, WDBJ Roanoke, VA built a new building that was digital from the get go. It can do either SD or HD, depending on the signal injected into the system. It is a pretty neat setup and cost them a small fortune back in 2001.

I also remember one of the stations in Hawaii built a new building in 1999 and it was herald as the first all digital station in the nation.

Point is, others have done it from the ground up before. You know as well as I do it is a marketing thing and besides, who is really going to challenge them on the statement? No one.

Neat video on KYW's HD studio, they talk to the engineers and talk in some detail about construction of the new building, wiring it up, etc etc.

Watch it here (http://cbs3.com/specialreports/CBS.3.Engineers.2.605760.html)

They love touting that they are the first TV station in the US to build an HD studio from the ground up. After watching for a few months(they went live on 4/2/07), it looks fantastic. They never forget to "flip the switch" either, and have no subchannels(god I hope that stays!)

KYW's new news set looks remarkably similar to the new set which was installed at my facility earlier this year. Why is it that FX Group's sets tend to look so remarkably similar? :)

Interesting video, although I couldn't help but notice that KYW, like many stations with HD newscasts nowadays, is touting their newscast not simply as "HD" but as "completely HD", or something along those lines. Granted, their local content may be HD from now on, but rest assured that those 4:3 pillars will still be be rearing their ugly head for the foreseeable future, as newscasts frequently run file footage or footage from other sources, much of which is still in SD. That said, the concept of a purely HD newscast (without any upconversion) is probably years down the road.

I also found it interesting that they played up the challenges of building the new HD facility from scratch. Maybe it's just me, but in my opinion, it would be a heck of a lot easier to build up a HD facility from scratch than to convert an SD facility to HD and having to keep everything up and running all the while. At our station, for example, we're about to start the process of converting our SD operations facility to HD while keeping multiple programming streams up and running throughout the entire process. That said, not only will we have to deal with the engineering and technical aspects of installing the new equipment, but also deal with the logistics of switching over to new equipment incrementally without affecting the on-air signals. Given what lies ahead, having the ability to start from scratch would be quite a luxury!

KYW's new news set looks remarkably similar to the new set which was installed at my facility earlier this year. Why is it that FX Group's sets tend to look so remarkably similar? :)
They probably used the same design team. Set designers tend to recycle their designs. Remember when the guys who designed the "Who Wants to Be a Millionare" set redid the "Sportscenter" set? ;)

Just wanted to give "two thumbs WAY up" to 9News in Denver, Colorado! Very well done HD! The local NBC "9News" is the only HD local news in Denver.

Speaking of HD news, does anyone know when CNN HD and CNBC HD might come to Dish Network? Also, to those who can watch these channels: Are they improving on their initial HD offerings?

Also, to those who can watch these channels: Are they improving on their initial HD offerings?
CNBC doesn't really have anything to improve on. They don't have HD cameras, and don't plan to any time soon. Only the graphics are in HD. CNN, on the other hand, has been improving. A lot of remotes are HD, or at least widescreen SD.

Washington still lagging for a large market with only WUSA (CBS) in HD in the studio. Everything in the field they shoot is widescreen SD. WRC (NBC), WJLA (ABC) and WTTG (FOX) still SD.

WRAL Raleigh, in 2001 built a complete separate HD news system (including HD ENG) from the ground up and then flipped the switch and then took out the SD analog system after the HD was on the air. Also in 2001, WDBJ Roanoke, VA built a new building that was digital from the get go. It can do either SD or HD, depending on the signal injected into the system. It is a pretty neat setup and cost them a small fortune back in 2001.

I also remember one of the stations in Hawaii built a new building in 1999 and it was herald as the first all digital station in the nation.

Point is, others have done it from the ground up before. You know as well as I do it is a marketing thing and besides, who is really going to challenge them on the statement? No one.Without knowing the details, I will speculate that KYW is treating everything as HD including SD that's upconverted. I think NBC does the same thing. And of course in the entertainment industry hype is king.

And Baltimore is even further behind with not a single local HD newscast.

Washington still lagging for a large market with only WUSA (CBS) in HD in the studio. Everything in the field they shoot is widescreen SD. WRC (NBC), WJLA (ABC) and WTTG (FOX) still SD.

As much as I love HD, I'm not sure I even want to see my local newscasters in high def.:eek:

Mike

KGW (NBC affiliate) in Portland, OR is going HD in January '08.

It will be the first station in Portland to broadcast the news in HD.

Here's some of the press release:

PORTLAND, OR—KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8 announced today it will begin broadcasting its local newscasts in full power high definition on January 21, 2008. NewsChannel 8 will be the first and only Portland station to broadcast in true HD having made the commitment to bring viewers the highest quality pictures only high definition television can offer.

Viewers will be able to receive the most detailed and visually precise weather forecast in the critical severe weather season with NewsChannel 8’s HD weather. The First Alert Storm Team will have the advanced tools of Live Doppler 8000 and 3-D radar in HD. The primary remote sky-cam will showcase Portland’s skyline in high definition. With extended daylight in the spring of 2008, Sky8, the KGW Helicopter, will also broadcast in full HD. NewsChannel 8 will deliver viewers the incredible detail only HD can showcase, significantly enhancing aerial coverage of weather, traffic, and breaking news.

NewsChannel 8’s anchors and reporters appear in high definition from the KGW HD Studios and newsroom cameras. The KGW news studio has been redesigned for the HD environment, and custom HD graphics will also be part of the HD news experience.

Nice seeing the progress of local origination.

We here still don't have even 1 station that has invested in the infrastructure for local broadcasts.

in charlotte we still only have 1(nbc). honestly i dont watch news that much so its not a huge deal.

No HD news in El Paso, Tx... nothing coming soon (at least the stations aren't announcing it)

WAFB (CBS) in Baton Rouge is now broadcasting in HD. Studio only at this time.

Hartford DMA still does not have any HD news. WFSB (CBS) opened a new digital center in September but does not do HD yet. WVIT (NBC) is opening a new studio in late '08 so I guess we still have to wait.

In Dallas, Texas area, 3 of the 4 major networks now have HD newscasts:

CBS - KTVT (11)
NBC - KXAS (5)
ABC - WFAA (8)

We are still missing:

FOX - KDFW (4)

I emailed them at one point, asking them when they would be switching, as the other local major network have switched....and I have not heard anything yet so far!

Fort Myers has 1 in HDTV, 1 in EDTV, and another rumored to be coming in HD on Feb. 1st.

CBS - WINK (1080i)
ABC - WZVN (480p widescreen; to be 720p once they go HD)
NBC - WBBH (launching 1080i on 2/1)

Missing:
FOX - WFTX

In Tallahassee,
ABC - WTXL (720p)
CBS - WCTV (no plans of HD)
FOX - WTLH (produced by WCTV; no plans of HD)
NBC - WTWC (has no news at all)

(In order of HD Conversion)

FOX- WJW/FOX8 - 720p- launched HD News in December 2004.
NBC- WKYC/NBC3 - 1080i- launched HD News in May 2006
ABC- WEWS/ABC5 - 720p- launched HD News in January 2007
CBS- WOIO/CBS19 - 1080i- launched HD News in October 2007
MNTV- WUAB/My43 - 720p- launched HD News in October 2007

*All stations use 16:9 HD cameras for in-studio shots.

*All stations now use 16:9 cameras for out of studio live shots and field reports.

*Only FOX8 has an HD helicopter camera on "SkyFOXHD". WEWS and WKYC sidebar their chopper video, WOIO stretches it.

*FOX8 has a HD camera mounted on the building for outside shots. WKYC uses the HD camera at the former Jacobs Field, since they have the contract to broadcast Indians games. All highway traffic cameras are 4:3.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*WKYC and WJW have 16:9 weather maps and graphics.

*WEWS/ABC has HD radar. ID on air as "Power of 5 HD"

*WOIO/WUAB still use 4:3 maps/graphics with sidebars.

(In order of HD Conversion)

ABC - KABC/7 - 720p - launched in February 2006
CW - KTLA/5 - 1080i - launched in February 2007
CBS - KCBS/2 - 1080i - launched in April 2007
IND - KCAL/9 - 1080i - launched in April 2007
IND - KDOC/56 - 1080i - launched in September 2007
Telemundo - KVEA/52 - 1080i - launched in September 2007
IND - KWHY/22 - 1080i - launched in September 2007
NBC - KNBC/4 - 1080i - (to launch July 2008)
Fox - KTTV/11 - 720p - (to launch October 2008)
MNT - KCOP/13 - 720p - (to launch October 2008)

*All stations use 16:9 HD cameras for in-studio shots.

*KABC, KCBS and KCAL use 16:9 SD cameras for on-location live shots and field reports.

*Only KABC, KTLA and KCBS/KCAL have HD helicopter cameras. KABC has an additional SD widescreen camera on their 1st-gen helicopter.

*There are HD and SD widescreen cameras mounted on various buildings for outside shots throughout the market featured on KABC and KCBS/KCAL. All highway traffic cameras are 4:3.

Seattle

KING (NBC) & KONG (IND) Spring 2007
HD Studio, Graphics, Weather
HD Helicopter (Depends on Receive Site)
HD Towercam (Just 1. Others are 4:3)
16:9 Field Video
HD Local Shows: Most local production is in HD
4:3 Traffic Helicopter

KOMO (ABC) Many Years
16:9 Studio, Graphics, Weather, Field Video
4:3 Helicopter

KIRO (CBS) Fall 2007
16:9 Studio, Graphics, Field Video
4:3 Weather

KCPQ (FOX)
All 4:3

According to people on albanyhdtv.com WRGB(CBS) in Albany, NY has started broadcasting studio shots in HD. I haven't seen it myself yet, but I will watch the news later and see. This is the first station to broadcast local news in HD in Albany. Freedom Communications owns this station.

Edit: Turned on 12 oclock news and the studio shots are indeed in hd. They also seem to have some remotes in either HD or SD widescreen(Im assuming SD widescreen).

WMAQ, our NBC station, will begin broadcasting their newscasts in HD starting with the 4:30pm news today. They were testing HD broadcasts last week during their 1:05am rebroadcasts, but they never made any type of launch announcement until the 6:00am news this morning. Remotes, taped segments, and weather graphics were all SD during the tests last week, so I guess we'll have to see later this afternoon if those are also available in HD.

WLS, which is our ABC station, has been broadcasting their news in full HD for just over a year now. We're still waiting for WBBM (CBS) to switch over later this year when they move into their new building, and WFLD (Fox) has yet to announce their switch date.

According to people on albanyhdtv.com WRGB(CBS) in Albany, NY has started broadcasting studio shots in HD. I haven't seen it myself yet, but I will watch the news later and see. This is the first station to broadcast local news in HD in Albany. Freedom Communications owns this station.

Edit: Turned on 12 oclock news and the studio shots are indeed in hd. They also seem to have some remotes in either HD or SD widescreen(Im assuming SD widescreen).

The 7 AM news on WCWN was also in HD.

The 7 AM news on WCWN was also in HD.

They use the same news resources I believe. I was wondering if it was HD, but when I looked in guide I couldn't find news scheduled on the CW schedule, I was wondering if Freedom decided to only do news on CBS or something while I was gone. Guess I just didn't look hard enough.

I am in Raleigh and WRAL is in HD and probably the best PQ of all the HD's I get.

KGW in Portland, OR went HD today. Studio cameras, graphics, and weather are all HD. Field video is 16:9 SD. Helicopter is SD, but they said it will be HD later this spring.

(In order of HD Conversion)

ABC - KABC/7 - 720p - launched in February 2006
CW - KTLA/5 - 1080i - launched in February 2007
CBS - KCBS/2 - 1080i - launched in April 2007
IND - KCAL/9 - 1080i - launched in April 2007
IND - KDOC/56 - 1080i - launched in September 2007
Telemundo - KVEA/52 - 1080i - launched in September 2007
IND - KWHY/22 - 1080i - launched in September 2007

*All stations use 16:9 HD cameras for in-studio shots.

*KABC, KCBS and KCAL use 16:9 SD cameras for on-location live shots and field reports.

*Only KABC, KTLA and KCBS/KCAL have HD helicopter cameras. KABC has an additional SD widescreen camera on their 1st-gen helicopter.

*There are HD and SD widescreen cameras mounted on various buildings for outside shots throughout the market featured on KABC and KCBS/KCAL. All highway traffic cameras are 4:3.

Are you sure KABC, and KCBS/KCAL don't use HD cameras for remote shots? They look really good to me.

It bugs me how KTLA was the second to go HD and still doesn't (or almost never) has HD remote shots!

KDOC's production values are so low that them going HD almost doesn't make sense, makes me wish Ducks games were still on KCAL.

Anyone know when the last big two networks will go HD (KNBC, KTTV)?

For the most part remote pickups for local news in the US are still microwave shots.
In many markets they may be digital, some a combination of digital and analog, others all analog ... but none of those signals can hold a full 1080i or 720p signal.
As noted in previous posts Sprint/Nextel are fitting out local stations with equipment that could support true HD electronic news gathering. It's taking a lot of time.
Field live shots in many places are 16x9 480i ... giving you the illusion of HD.

I understand that in many markets HD remote feeds are not possible, but from my experiance (I could be wrong of course) SD 16:9 is very easy to spot because the picture has a severe drop in detail and there are lots of "jaggies." To me it appears the KCBS/KCAL and KABC have true HD remote feeds and I think I read somewhere that Sprint/Nextel had been installing stuff for this in the LA area not too long ago so I feel it is possible.

I'm curious though if they aren't getting remote HD feeds then how do thier helicopters provide HD? Is it downcoverted for the remote feed to fit within the bandwidth requirements? I know they switch to SD if they're out of range but usually the feed appears to be HD.

Are you sure KABC, and KCBS/KCAL don't use HD cameras for remote shots? They look really good to me.


I just watched the 11pm KCBS show with this thread in mind, and saw three live shots: Lisa Sigell/Downtown, Greg Phillips/Corona, Mary Beth McDade/Santa Clarita -- all three were clearly sourced from COMPOSITE video. I watch this show quite often, and don't recall ever seeing an HD live shot.

Well that's a shame, oh well. I suppose if thier shots look good to me now then when they go HD for remote shots I'll be totally blown away, any idea when this may happen?

Columbus, OH now has WCMH (NBC) broadcasting in HD. They soft-launched it in the late weeks of 2007, as opposed to the huge fanfare of WBNS (CBS) when it launched its HD broadcasts in spring 2007.

Sinclair is lagging behind in the HD newscasts, though. The rumor is NewsCenter will begin broadcasting in HD on both WSYX (ABC) and WTTE (FOX) this year, but it may be in 420p widescreen at first. Nonetheless, Sinclair is behind on this one.

Well that's a shame, oh well. I suppose if thier shots look good to me now then when they go HD for remote shots I'll be totally blown away, any idea when this may happen?

As with most things in the HD world, it will be a gradual progression. I'm sure there is some station that is already doing it -- certainly there are a number of HD-capable helicopters out there -- but I haven't personally seen it.

In my area:
KFSN (ABC O&O) HD studio cams while 16x9 SD for field reports

WCBS Gives Wider View of New York

Station upgrades field coverage with new cameras, editing tools

By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/21/2008

WCBS New York is upgrading the look of its high-definition newscasts by investing in Sony XDCAM HD camcorders and a server-based production system from BitCentral. The new gear will allow the newscasts to immediately provide widescreen images from the field, and eventually support full high-definition newsgathering.

The CBS owned-and-operated station is making the move to keep pace with HD newscasts from competitors WNBC and WABC, which both capture their field footage in widescreen standard definition and upconvert it for broadcast. Since launching HD newscasts last April, WCBS has been offering HD pictures from its studios, but 4:3 pictures from the field.

WCBS wants to produce its newscast in HD, end to end. But that will have to wait for two things to fall into place.

First, the station needs to overhaul its routing infrastructure to allow it to pass high-definition video around the plant. Second, it needs to receive new digital microwave gear from Sprint Nextel as part of a federally mandated reorganization of broadcasters' ENG (electronic newsgathering) spectrum, a process that has been taking longer than both broadcasters and Sprint Nextel expected.

So in the interim, WCBS is rolling out XDCAM HD camcorders, which CBS has selected as the next-generation ENG format for all its owned stations, and using them in standard-definition mode.

It is also installing a new, standard-definition Precis production system and Oasis disk-based archive from BitCentral that will ingest, store and play out video and link to Thomson Grass Valley's Edius nonlinear editors for cutting stories. The BitCentral Precis server system, which will be upgraded to a hi-def Precis system with more storage when WCBS is ready, was scheduled to go live with the noon newscast on Jan. 18.

The new Sony camcorders, which record video on Blu-ray optical discs, will replace aging Panasonic DVCPRO tape-based camcorders. WCBS will initially put 10 XDCAM units on the street, with another 16 scheduled to arrive soon.

Precis allows WCBS to get off a Panasonic NewsByte nonlinear editing and server system that is almost 10 years old. The NewsByte system, which includes 11 editing seats, requires increasing maintenance and parts are hard to find, says Kris Binder, WCBS director of broadcast operations and engineering. The outdated system also doesn't allow any shared viewing of content from the server, something WCBS considered critical to improving its production workflow.

“It should allow us to work faster and streamline our processes by getting off legacy tape,” says Binder of the new gear. The video-browsing feature of Precis should be one of the biggest improvements. Editors now have to manually log out a tape and take it to a viewing station to browse video. “Editors will spend less time retrieving and viewing,” he adds.

WCBS has created centralized and decentralized ingest paths to feed content to the Precis system, which will have online storage for seven full days of news material. Old material is automatically purged from Precis after being moved to the Oasis archive, which will have 9 terabytes (TB) of initial storage and scale to up to 27 TB of storage for the hi-def system.

WCBS is the latest high-profile customer win for Irvine, Calif.-based BitCentral, which has installed its server-based systems in more than 70 stations and counts the NBC station group and Raycom Media as major customers.

Precis, which launched in 2005, has gained popularity for its flexibility. It is based on non-proprietary HP hardware and can work with a number of video formats and nonlinear editing systems from Thomson Grass Valley, Sony, Apple and Avid. It also has a low price point compared to similar news production systems. Precis systems sell for around $100,000 for a small-market installation with a couple of years of archive storage.

Precis is starting to grab share from server-based content storage systems marketed by Avid and Grass Valley, even if the system is being used in conjunction with their editing software. “One of the beauties of Precis is the customer isn't locked into an editor,” says BitCentral president and CEO Fred Fourcher. The system at WCBS will be integrated with 10 seats of Edius editing software, which BitCentral resells, as well as two existing Avid NewsCutter and two Avid Adrenaline editing systems. It will also eventually interface with Apple's Final Cut Pro for high-end HD editing in the future.

FULL HD IN VEGAS
While WCBS is the first CBS O&O to adopt Precis, 14 CBS affiliates already use the system including Landmark Communications' KLAS Las Vegas, which installed a high-definition system with Edius editors last April. Precis is working well, says KLAS Chief Engineer Doug Kramer, and the station currently does about 90% of its editing in hi-def, using video captured with XDCAM HD camcorders.

KLAS is one of the few stations in the country to transition to full HD field production, and has invested in hi-def microwave links from Microwave Radio Communications to support live remotes.

Binder had already evaluated news production systems from Avid, Apple and Grass Valley, and was leaning toward Grass Valley's Aurora product before BitCentral pitched Precis. While Binder was initially skeptical, he spoke to other BitCentral customers and visited CBS affiliate WRAL Raleigh, N.C., one of BitCentral's earliest adopters, to see the system in action (WRAL chief engineer Pete Sockett is a former colleague of Binder).

“We had a lot of discussions, and we got more proof that they were capable of such a fast-tracked installation,” says Binder. It's been hard work. WCBS and BitCentral staffers have been working seven days a week, eight to 10 hours a day, since Dec. 29, when on-site installation began.

Binder won't disclose how much WCBS is spending on the BitCentral installation, but concedes that the station's move to full HD production, including cameras and microwave gear, will cost millions. He says that BitCentral's part of that bigger pie will be very cost-effective.

The real cost efficiency of the Precis system, says Binder, is the scalable storage. Storage can be added in 9 TB modules that cost $10,800, making the cost of storage about $1,200 per TB.

As Binder puts it: “When all is said and done with process for Phase 2, we'll have done it for half of what we budgeted for a system from their competitors.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6524018.html

KGW in Portland, OR went HD today.

It's funny that KGW had a pretty good ad in HD for their newscast which they aired repeatedly during the 2004 Olympics.

When does WCBS plan on going HD with their field broadcasts? How long does it take for SprintNextel to upgrade the equipment they need to?

And it's nice to see my favorite local station take this leap forward, although their widescreen looks ugly right now.

KPIX - San Francisco CBS O&O, started HD local news today, 01-28-08

KPIX - San Francisco CBS O&O, started HD local news today, 01-28-08

Nice catch! Ironically, I was watching part of their 11pm show on Sunday night, and it was perhaps the ugliest upconvert I'd ever seen. Seriously, it was sub-VHS. I am guessing it now looks somewhat better. :D

Nice catch! Ironically, I was watching part of their 11pm show on Sunday night, and it was perhaps the ugliest upconvert I'd ever seen. Seriously, it was sub-VHS. I am guessing it now looks somewhat better. :D

Actually I saw it mentioned in a local Yahoo group and checked it at 5pm, posted some caps in the Comcast thread. The bug is still 4x3 safe, but they've done a few interesting things with the pillarboxes.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12961560#post12961560
San Francisco, CA - Comcast - Page 167 - AVS Forum

they've done a few interesting things with the pillarboxes.
What's interesting about them, exactly? I looked at your caps, and nothing really stood out to me.

Actually I saw it mentioned in a local Yahoo group and checked it at 5pm, posted some caps in the Comcast thread.

Just watched the 11pm show. My thoughts: Studio cameras are beautiful, both in sharpness and colorimetry. All graphics, with the exception of the "CBS5" bug and pillars are upconverted SD. The weather graphics are upconverted from COMPOSITE, and look pretty bad -- comb filter artifacts abound.

I applaud any station that moves to HD, but SD graphics really don't cut it. This round goes to: KTVU -- still the best!

I am in Raleigh and WRAL is in HD and probably the best PQ of all the HD's I get.

I agree and I believe that WRAL was the first station in the nation to go HD. It's a shame that other stations in the Raleigh area stubbornly stick to SD.

Nice to hear that KPIX has finally entered the 21st century but for me it's a case of too little, too late. I became a fan of KTVU when they were one of the first (if not the first) in the Bay Area to broadcast local news in HD and I am not about to go back to KPIX. I'm guessing other viewers feel the same.

WTVJ (NBC) in Miami started broadcasting in HD today. This is Miami's first HD news station.

Our neighbor to the north, West Palm Beach, already has two local stations broadcasting in HD (WFLX - FOX and WPTV - NBC).

It looks like KIRO (CBS) went HD for news. All new graphics, including weather. Field material appears to be 16:9 SD. There's HD branding in the opens and on the KIRO 7 bug. But, they haven't said anything about the switch on the air and there's nothing posted on their website either.

KING (NBC) went HD last year.
KOMO (ABC) has been 16:9 SD since the late 1990s.
KCPQ (Fox) is still 4:3.

This is from KIRO-DT's earliest AM broadcast this morning, so apparently the switch is here to stay. I noticed my last night's recording of "Dexter" had a few eye-catching frames! For everyone who doesn't live in the Seattle area, KIRO has been doing 16:9 SD for awhile now. ;)

HD studio shots
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/7215/image455xw3.th.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image455xw3.jpg)http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/8431/image456ei9.th.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image456ei9.jpg)http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/4609/image459bx1.th.jpg (http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image459bx1.jpg)

the weather, notice the graphic does say "HD" (bottom left). It rotates with the other two shown above. ;)

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/3052/image463ub5.th.jpg (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image463ub5.jpg)

SD "satellite center"

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/8978/image446rv9.th.jpg (http://img291.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image446rv9.jpg)

and of course where would we be without the bars...:D

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/3587/image465oe2.th.jpg (http://img181.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image465oe2.jpg)

Today while I was watching the inauguration for our New Governor, I noticed that WCBS-TV has new Promotional Ads running. I have to say; they look to be the best-looking HD commercials that I have ever seen. Anyone in the NYC area seen these? Would love to hear other comments.

Great promo ads WCBS has. Very high quality. I can't wait for them to go HD with field broadcasts..They're my number 1 station right now.

WKMG CBS orlando started broadcasting the news in true HD today, no more stretchovision. Now the big 3 are all HD in Orlando.

NAB 2008: What Stations Want at NAB

Different sizes, different agendas, same deadline: Feb. 17, 2009

By Paige Albiniak and Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/31/2008

Among the throngs at the National Association of Broadcasters convention April 11-17 in Las Vegas will be the top engineers for major broadcast groups. All come with slightly different agendas and some with radically different timetables. All of them, however, will have their minds on one date for certain: Feb. 17, 2009, the last day broadcasters will be allowed to transmit an analog signal. Here’s a look at how six of the major broadcast groups will spend their time on the NAB floor making final plans for the digital transition. (For complete coverage of the 2008 NAB Show, click here.)

Fox Television Stations
When you’re buying for 26 stations…

With Fox’s 26 markets just beginning to implement high-definition newscasts, Earl Arbuckle, the Fox Television Stations’ VP of engineering, is looking for equipment in almost every possible category.

“We have three stations broadcasting local, in-studio newscasts in high-definition right now, and we are working on another half-dozen,” Arbuckle says. “It’s going to take us about three years to migrate the entire group.”

Across the board, the group is going with Panasonic P2 cameras, which it is using to shoot high-quality standard-definition video and then upconvert it. “We feel that P2 is the most compelling solution out there with respect to no moving parts and reduced maintenance costs,” Arbuckle says. (For a video Q&A with Earl Arbuckle, click here.)

In its studios, Fox is getting ready to make a serious investment in cameras. Arbuckle expects to purchase Sony HDC 1400 and 1500 cameras, with the HDC-1400 retailing at $65,000 each, plus $8,000 for the viewfinder, and the Sony HDC-1500 retailing at $90,000. “We will be buying a fairly substantial number of studio cameras in the next couple of years,” he says.

While Fox is sticking with upconverting SD from the field for now, it wants get all its news helicopters transmitting in high-definition as soon as possible. “We had the first HD helicopter in New York with SkyFox HD,” Arbuckle says. “That is a compelling application because the panoramic views you get from the helicopter really take advantage of the HD detail.”

Fox needs to upgrades its monitors, but is weighing options. “Our monitor situation is in a state of flux,” he says.

The departure of CRTs has left Fox in a conundrum because the group finds that the alternatives don’t do as good a job of color imaging as CRTs did. “Our lab in Los Angeles has looked at these things, and unfortunately they all have some compromises compared to CRTs,” Arbuckle explains. “We’ve looked at the solutions out there, and we feel that [flat-screen, rear-projection] D-ILA probably offers the best picture [for accurate color imaging] at this point in time. Still, LCDs are destined to be the mainstay of control room monitors, and we’ll probably be considering those for all of our new control rooms.”

Fox also will be switching to new storage systems in the next few years. “For the next several years, HD-based storage is going to be the sweet spot,” Arbuckle says. “We are basically looking for reliability and cost-effectiveness in all of our storage solutions.

“We also are looking at what some people would term near-line archive storage. For that, we are inclined toward spinning-disk storage as opposed to tape-based. For long-term archiving, we’ll stick with LTO [linear-tape open] storage. LTO tape has so much capacity and recording density that with relatively few LTO tapes, you can back up an awful lot of material. It’s expensive but not as expensive as spinning-disk storage.”

Arbuckle wants to integrate digital asset management into his Avid iNews-based newsrooms. “Metadata is still in its infancy. In years past, metadata largely consisted of what people wrote down on the tape with a Sharpie. It’s true that things you’d like to find go unfound because of the lack of metadata. These days, metadata has taken its rightful place—it can be stored within the content files themselves so search engines can delve into those files and pick out keywords.”

Fox also is hunting for a look. “Graphics are an important element of news production, and we want a high bling factor with ours. Standardization has benefits in terms of procurement, operator training, maintenance—it’s helpful all up and down the line. We would like to have the same types of platforms at all of our stations that do news. We are actively investigating what is out there and looking forward to any breakthrough graphics technologies that might present themselves at NAB.” —P.A.

Media General
Going slow, going mobile

Ardell Hill, Media General’s senior VP of broadcast operations, has his eye on high-definition and mobile TV at this year’s NAB.

“NAB is usually an opportunity to see and touch technologies. It gives us hands-on opportunities to see all the new technology that’s being brought to market, and the chance to stay in step with industry developments,” says Hill, who will be accompanied by a small contingent of engineers at this year’s show.

Media General is converting its stations to hi-def newscasts on varying timetables, although all of its 23 stations are broadcasting in digital.

“We have taken a pretty measured approach to making the digital transition,” Hill says. “We still have a number of stations that we will have to make changes once the analog shuts down, and we still have significant expenses related to completing the transition.”

Those costs include moving all of Media General’s stations into the core broadcast spectrum between channels 2 and 51, and shuffling antennas on towers to maximize stations’ digital transmissions. While getting the technology right is important to Media General, none of it will matter if consumers are caught off guard, according to Hill.

“Our primary focus is making sure we’re in compliance and done all the things required to achieve the necessary milestones,” he says.

Meanwhile, Media General is taking a measured approach to high-definition, rolling it out in five markets with two or three more in the planning stages.

“The rollout of high-definition in each market is an individual decision, driven by things such as the age of existing equipment and the activities of our local competitors,” Hill says. “If our competitor decides to beat us over the head with hi-def and we haven’t gone yet, we’re not going to concede that to him. But we’re not going to go HD just to beat the other guy.”

Media General’s stations are continuing to acquire standard-definition from the field, using Panasonic’s P2 cameras and upconverting the video for now.

With technology prices falling and equipment aging, Hill thinks the transition to hi-def in all of Media General’s markets will happen sooner rather than later. Still, the group is not in a hurry: “It’s our intent to move all of our stations to HD. The gory details are really in the timing, and that’s hard to define right now.”

Besides high-definition, Media General is enthusiastic about the prospect of a new mobile video standard that will allow broadcasters’ signals to be received on cellphones, portable media devices and other mobile video players.

The industry is pushing hard for the new standard to be ready by the end of the year, so new products can be on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show by next January and in consumers’ hands in a year or so.

“It really depends on how fast the folks on the device side can get gadgets into the hands of consumers,” Hill says.

“We really expect to see that market grow quickly as consumers get used to having the ability to watch free over-the-air TV on their phones, GPS units or displays on the back of their car seats. We think those opportunities are really exciting.” —P.A.

Sinclair
Broadcast Group sprints toward hi-def

Sinclair Broadcast Group is investing heavily in high-definition in 2008, both to upgrade master control operations to play out HD commercials and syndicated programming, and to launch HD newscasts in several markets.

“This is a pivotal year for us,” says Del Parks, Sinclair VP of engineering and operations, who oversees technology investment and provides sales services to Sinclair’s 58 stations.While Parks has made decisions on HD master-control gear for eight markets and HD news gear for four, he will head to NAB with an open mind.

“We’re in the throes of a major HD build-out, and we’re always looking at ways to do that better, less expensively and more efficiently,” Parks says.

By May, Parks expects to convert master-control operations to HD in eight markets representing 17 stations (reflecting duopolies and/or LMAs): Buffalo, N.Y; Charleston, W.Va; Columbus, Ohio; Baltimore; Pensacola; Asheville, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; and San Antonio. By early third quarter, Sinclair plans to launch local HD news in Columbus, Baltimore, Asheville and Pensacola.

Upgrading master control means not only installing an HD master-control switcher and playout server, but also revamping routing infrastructure to support 1.5 gigabit-per-second uncompressed HD signals, sometimes replacing analog gear that is more than 20 years old. “You throw out the old and bring in the new,” Parks says. “Obviously, there is very little in the existing plant that’s HD-capable. It’s a huge undertaking.”

Sinclair is leaning on Miranda Technologies equipment including its PresStation switching and branding panel, Imagestore HDTV branding processor, Kaleido-X multi-image display processor, and “digital glue” products such as upconverters and digital-to-analog converters. Hi-def playout will be handled by Omneon Spectrum servers, under the control of Sundance Digital automation.

On the news side, Sinclair has purchased 12 Panasonic HD studio cameras and four Panasonic HD “box” cameras for remote shots and installed new sets from Devlin Design Group. Production control rooms have been outfitted with Snell & Wilcox Kahuna switchers and Miranda Kaledio-X multi-image display systems for monitoring. Sinclair has also purchased Avid Pinnacle Deko 3000 and Thunder HD graphics systems, as well as HD weather graphics systems from Weather Central including its ESP:LIVE storm tracking product, which it is installing across all of its news-producing stations to replace AccuWeather graphics systems. Parks likes Weather Central’s touch-screen presentation technology.

Sinclair has standardized on Panasonic’s P2 solid-state standard-def camcorders, and will continue to capture field footage in standard-definition for some time. Parks is in no rush to replace the standard-def Avid NewsCutter nonlinear editing and ISIS (Infinitely Scalable Intelligent Storage) server-based storage systems that stations currently use, and even if he were, Avid doesn’t yet have a cost-effective solution for HD. Parks is looking closely at BitCentral’s Precis server and Oasis storage products, which he views as more affordable than comparable HD systems from Avid. Raycom and several other groups already successfully use BitCentral.

“I saw the product in the field, and it works really well,” Parks says. “It’s something we’re going to consider.”

Sinclair still has work to do to complete its DTV conversion; it wants to maximize transmission power in a few markets and switch three VHF assignments for DTV to UHF channels if possible. So it will be looking at transmission equipment such as filters and antennas.

Parks is interested in seeing file-based solutions for delivering syndicated content in HD, a challenge that delivery service Pathfire and various server and automation vendors have been working to address. “That’s really important to us,” Parks says. “We want to get as much program content as we can in HD.”—G.D.

Hearst-Argyle
Seeking interoperability, better service

As he considers new equipment purchases, Hearst-Argyle VP of engineering Marty Faubell has a problem. He says the interoperability and troubleshooting capabilities of broadcast equipment vendors lags behind other industries.

In particular, interoperability solutions between file-based camcorders, nonlinear editing systems and servers is lacking, despite industry efforts to make it easier to pass files between different vendors’ gear with the Material Exchange Format (MXF).

“The industry right now is problematic,” Faubell says. “There are too many codecs, too many [file] wrappers. What happened to the premise of MXF? Where is it? That doesn’t work.”

Faubell wants vendors to back up the IP-based equipment they sell. “We have to have diagnostics as smart as the tools embedded in the system from vendors,” he says. “I’ll push every vendor in this direction. Why don’t they have an online NOC [network operating center] to monitor the performance of the equipment that they sold me? I pay huge annual warranties, and they won’t tell me when it’s about to fail?”

Four of Hearst-Argyle’s 28 stations have launched local newscasts in HD, and two more will go by this summer. As he considers smaller-market HD launches, Faubell is looking to economize. “Now as we get down to the meat of the group, I don’t want to write the same checks as I did in the big markets,” he says.

HD news stations are shooting field footage in widescreen standard-definition, but Faubell is considering whether stations need to produce field footage in HD. Besides the cost of new cameras, editors and microwave links necessary to do true HD ENG, Hearst-Argyle also does a lot of satellite newsgathering, which presents a bandwidth challenge.

At NAB, Faubell is looking for equipment with Active Format Descriptor (AFD) technology to automatically deal with ingesting content in a mix of 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. Hearst-Argyle plans to upgrade its weather and traffic graphics to hi-def, and in master control, to have HD channel branding ready to go for all stations by the Feb. 17, 2009, analog turnoff; Faubell says the group is close to picking a vendor.

He is also searching for an HD play-to-air server to replace the Avid Pinnacle MediaStream servers that two-thirds of Hearst-Argyle stations currently use to play out commercials and syndicated content.

Avid has discontinued the MediaStream line, removing a major vendor from the traditional broadcast server market. While stations certainly are buying HD servers today, Faubell isn’t sure existing products meet all of his requirements for closed-captioning, multichannel playback, storage, file-based ingest and transcoding of syndicated content.

“Right about the time we need the most solutions for the industry, we have the least choice,” Faubell says. “I’m most frustrated about it.”—G.D.


Scripps
The script’s already written

Michael Doback, VP of engineering for Scripps Television Station Group, is taking engineers from all 10 Scripps stations to NAB, but after spending the past three years upgrading its stations, many of Scripps’ technology decisions have already been made.

“We’ve committed to JVC for HD ENG cameras, NuComm for digital microwave equipment, Fujinon for high-definition lenses, and Apple for Final Cut Pro and other editing solutions,” Doback says.

Doback expects to have all of Scripps’ stations—WXYZ Detroit; KNXV Phoenix; WFTS Tampa; WEWS Cleveland; WMAR Baltimore; KMCI/KSHB Kansas City, Mo.; WCPO Cincinnati; WPTV West Palm Beach, Fla.; and KJRH Tulsa, Okla.—broadcasting their local newscasts in high-definition by the end of this year. Seven of the stations are already up and running in HD.

Otherwise, Scripps’ digital transition is practically complete. Its remaining conversion tasks involve fine-tuning its transmission equipment so the entire group is fully up and broadcasting in digital by Feb. 18, 2009.

“We are still overwhelmingly committed financially to the digital television conversion,” Doback says. “We’re still investing in antennas, transmitters and towers, but we are currently broadcasting digitally in all our markets. At this point, we are refining our facilities, building out to cover the most viewers that we can by moving antennas around, and installing new transmitters where required.”

Although a heavy financial commitment still is required to complete Scripps’ conversion to digital, HD equipment prices have finally fallen to the point where it is affordable to replace aging SD equipment with state-of-the-art HD.

Doback has been particularly happy with JVC’s GY-HD250 line of cameras, which cost less than $10,000 apiece. Scripps has been testing the JVCs in the field for a year. “It’s very hard to justify buying a very expensive camera in light of the high-quality stuff coming from JVC and Panasonic,” Doback says.

With storage prices falling as well, Doback plans to investigate some options while he’s out in Las Vegas. “The cost of spinning-disk storage makes the question of online, near-line and off-line very blurred at this point. We might be looking at some long-term off-line media, but we haven’t made a determination of what direction we’re going in yet. At this point, we still use [Linear Tape-Open} LTO tape for our archival storage.”

Like most, Doback is replacing aging systems with ones that are open-standards-based when possible. “I have not been in favor of dedicated box hardware for functionality for quite some time,” he says. The Scripps stations use Apple’s Final Cut Pro, and “we’re happy with our Mac-based graphics departments. They communicate seamlessly with our news and promotional editing systems.”

Still, many of Scripps’ older systems still function, and the company has no plans to replace them. For example, while many networks and station group engineers are looking for digital asset management solutions, Doback says that “we have no plans to uproot existing infrastructures and architectures to make room for a brand-new approach to doing business.”

Like others at the NAB Show, Doback will be looking around to see what competitors are doing, and he wants to compare notes. “We’re looking to see where the industry is going,” he says. “NAB has always been an educational opportunity to listen and look to see what people know that we don’t know.”—P.A.

CBS
Jeff Birch is looking for the gear no one else has

If you’re a vendor with the latest and greatest to show at this year’s NAB, you’d better grab the attention of Jeff Birch, VP of engineering for CBS Television Stations.

“If a guy has a product out there that would set me apart, a whiz-bang [gadget] that no one else has that might grab a couple of new eyeballs, I want to know about it,” says Birch, who is attending NAB this year with a team of just four.

CBS recently built new high-definition facilities at KCBS/KCAL Los Angeles and KYW/WPSG Philadelphia, with WBBM Chicago due for a rebuild this summer.

In addition, the CBS station group is producing hi-def newscasts at WCBS New York, KPIX/KBCW San Francisco and KTVT/KTXA Dallas-Fort Worth.

“Everyone is in the process of being upgraded. It’s going to take a tremendous amount of retrofitting to get all the graphics done, all the ENG [electronic newsgathering] done, all the little peripheral stuff you don’t think of,” Birch says. “All these stations have digital master control today, but they don’t necessarily have all the ancillary equipment you need to do all the little things on-air.”

Besides talking with vendors in Las Vegas and seeing what’s new, Birch looks forward to chatting with other engineers who face the same challenges he does.

“We’d like to believe we’ve done a lot of it right, but the only way to know is to compare notes with our peers at NAB and then try to do things with the best of the best,” Birch says. “We want to see what we can use to improve our lot in the industry and make sure we are on the cutting edge.”

Birch is in the market for two specific categories: nonlinear editors and graphics systems. In three markets, including WCBS, CBS is using Thomson Grass Valley’s Edius system to cut stories, but that doesn’t mean Birch isn’t always on the lookout for the next generation of improvements.

“Every year someone comes out with something that’s a little bit better,” he says. “I want to see what’s out there that nobody else has that I can be first with.”

He says CBS now is “standardized as a company” on Sony’s XDCam camcorders and Sony studio cameras. It did stick with Panasonic studio cameras at KYW/WPSG because the stations already owned them and upgrading them to HD was cheaper.

For now, CBS—like its New York competitors—is shooting in standard-definition in the field and upconverting the pictures until the Sprint-Nextel-led BAS 2 GHz migration is complete.

“The next step is to do live shots as easily in high-definition as we do them in NTSC today,” Birch says.

“A lot of that is hinging on getting equipment from the Nextel conversion. It’s a shame I’ve got these brand-new high-definition stations out there and I’ve got very limited ability to do HD ENG.”

Besides the slow-moving spectrum migration, Birch says another problem is acquiring enough encoders to make full HD ENG possible.

“At a price range of $20,000-$50,000 per encoder times every helicopter and every truck, that starts to run into serious money,” he says.

“We’ve been doing some testing with Sprint/Nextel off the Empire State Building. We can set up an analog shot and almost with our eyes closed get that signal to air. It takes some finessing to get that HD shot home.” —P.A.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6546067.html

Details of Sinclair’s local HD news plans emerge

Apr 17, 2008 8:55 AM

Sinclair Broadcast Group, if all goes as planned, will launch HD local newscasts within the next three to four weeks in Baltimore and Columbus, OH, and sometime this summer, follow suit in Ashville, NC, and Pensacola, FL.

Speaking with Broadcast Engineering following the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC) breakfast at NAB2008 April 14, Sinclair VP engineering of operations Del Parks revealed that the station group will use the rollout at stations in its four biggest markets to evaluate its approach to HD news operations and make any midcourse corrections, if needed, before continuing the HD local news rollout in its other nine news markets.

“Broadcast TV cannot become the AM radio of the 21st Century. One way around that is to deliver as much HD content as we can,” Parks said.

The centerpiece of Sinclair’s news control room strategy is the Snell & Wilcox multi-definition production switcher, he said. With built-in up/downconversion, the switcher will allow Sinclair to work in a mixed 4:3 SD and 16:9 HD world without relying on external conversion. “What happens when you start inserting upconverters and downconverters is you get a series of delay,” he explained. “And that makes the audio problems worse. A big problem with DTV that everyone is finding out is lip-sync problems.” With built-in conversion, audio and video delay is consistent and doesn’t add to lip-syncing difficulties, he added.

For acquisition, Sinclair is at the show evaluating competitive long GOP MPEG and intraframe systems. While the broadcast group has a 20-year history with Panasonic using DVCPRO equipment, a major issue with which Sinclair is wrestling is the trade off between file size and maintaining more original image data, he said.

Following NAB2008, Sinclair also will receive four new electronic newsgathering (ENG)/satellite newsgathering (SNG) vehicles that are HD-ready, he said.

http://broadcastengineering.com/news/details_sinclairs_local_hd_0417/

Came across this news in the Harrisonburg / Charlottesville, VA thread:

WVIR-TV NBC29 Launches High Definition Local News on April 19"

Charlottesville, VA – April 18, 2008 – WVIR-TV today announced that, effective Saturday, April 19, at 6 p.m., NBC29 News is available in high definition. This is the Charlottesville station’s first live, locally-produced, HD broadcast, and is the result of more than five years of planning and construction and an expenditure of more than 3 million dollars."
Full post at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13682456&postcount=2404. DMA #181 - is the smallest market with HD local news so far?

Also, Fox owned WTTG-DT Fox 5 in Washington DC and Sinclair owned WBFF-DT Fox 45 in Baltimore have been widely reported to be going HD local news for the May sweeps. The HD local news table in the HD Programming Synopsis needs to be updated. I would expect a bunch of stations across the US will go HD local news in the next month from the reports.

Here's a quick update on what would probably be among the last of the top NBC O&Os making the transition to HD in the west coast. Three weeks ago (March 29, to be exact) KNBC forecaster Carl Bell said (word by word):

"You know guys, we should let our viewers know this morning that and give a moment of silence to that this is our last broadcast from this set. We're moving to the newsroom and we'll be back here after a few months, and, I don't know... Well, I think we should let them know. Were going High-Def in a whole new fancy home!"

They then started clapping and after about 5 seconds, Carl went ahead with his weather report. I wonder what the set will look like and what graphics they will be using.

I'm just REALLY glad they are making this change after so long! What is weird though is he said "this will be our last morning low-def broadcast". Also, he keeps saying that this will be our "last low-def" this and that. But then he said a few months? Oh well. At least they are going High Definition soon!

KCNC CBS 4 Denver went HD today on thier noon newscast

WJBK Fox 2 Detroit has started doing their news in HD as of today. This means that all Detroit newscasts are now HD. How many other markets have 100% HD newscasts?

WJBK Fox 2 Detroit has started doing their news in HD as of today. This means that all Detroit newscasts are now HD. How many other markets have 100% HD newscasts?

U lucky

How many other markets have 100% HD newscasts?

Just Cleveland.

Just Cleveland.
Wow, so Detroit is actually in 2nd place for something that isn't negative. I can't remember the last time that happened! :D

WPIX NYC did their first HD newscast tonight (4/26)

Just Cleveland.

I think Bay Area too, although not 100% sure about KNTV (NBC). Someone can chime in on that...

I think Bay Area too, although not 100% sure about KNTV (NBC). Someone can chime in on that...

Three HD news stations in the Bay Area: KTVU, KGO, and KPIX. KNTV is 4:3 SD, and KRON is doing 16:9 SD.

WPIX NYC did their first HD newscast tonight (4/26)

So all that's missing in our area is WNYW and WWOR, both Fox owned stations...

KSHB 41, NBC affiliate in Kansas City went HD last week. Looking good so far. That gives us ABC and NBC local news in HD so far. Hopefully the CBS and FOX locals get with the program soon.

Palm Springs just got our first HD local news, from our ABC station; but they still don't show sindication shows (like Jeopardy)in HD. Does that take different equiptment?

Does that take different equiptment?
Yep.

Cross-posting for added visibility.

Please note any corrections/additions.

Stations with HD News...(list)


is anyone going to update this list with all the recent HD news additions? (sorry if this has been answered, it's what I found in the Thread Search)

DFW-TX
KXAS NBC 5, WFAA ABC 8, KTVT CBS 11, and KTXA 21 are...KDFW Fox 4 isn't.

So all that's missing in our area is WNYW and WWOR, both Fox owned stations...

At least we have a 10pm newscast in HD now. Fox is really falling behind and I can't understand why they wouldn't be in HD already.

KESQ in Palm Springs, CA has HD news.

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=8243636&nav=menu191_11_5

We here in Boston have 1 whole station in HD what a joke but I guess others aren't to far behind.

Three HD news stations in the Bay Area: KTVU, KGO, and KPIX. KNTV is 4:3 SD, and KRON is doing 16:9 SD.

thx for clarification... ;)

WFMZ Allentown Pa ind.
In the Philly DMA WFMZ beat out WCAU NBC O&O which is rumored to move to HD after the Olympics.
http://wfmz.com/view/?id=260643

Here's my question. I know that we're up to about 80-90 HD local newscasts nationwide, but what percentage of all local newscasts is that? In other words, how many total local newscasts are there? If I knew that I'd have a better idea of what kind of progress we're making here.

Google has been no help with this one. The closest I've come is someone saying that total local newscasts are up 70% in the last few years. That's nice - nicer would have been to say what number is up 70% from what number. Anyone know?

WBFF in Baltimore will reportedly go HD next week.

WBFF in Baltimore will reportedly go HD next week.
Also, KVUE in Austin (ABC) should be going HD within the next couple of weeks, at least according to recent announcements. They will join KEYE (CBS), which has been in HD since late last year.

none, and none have immediate plans either from what I can tell.

FOX 44 WFFF in Burlington, VT/Plattsburgh, NY has there 7 and 10 news in HD!
CBS 3 WCAX upconverts there news, looks good but not HD.

CW 11 in NY went HD with their news a short time ago, giving the NY area 4 newscasts in HD and 2 still in SD (FOX 5 and My 9).

Looks like WBBM in Chicago'll have their news in HD by July[then all we're missing is WFLD and then all 4 major network stations will have their news in HD].

WBFF (Fox45) in Baltimore will have HD news starting Monday at 5:30. This time it's official.

With HD, WBFF redefines its news

By Chris Kaltenbach | Sun reporter
June 2, 2008

He's not exactly journeying into a brave new world, but Bill Fanshawe clearly gets a kick out of being something of a pioneer. Today his TV station becomes the first in Baltimore to broadcast its local newscasts in high definition, meaning that viewers will be able to see anchors Jeff Barnd and Jennifer Gilbert more clearly than ever.

Welcome to the future, TV watchers.

"I don't know if it's the same as going from black and white to color, but it's comparable," says Fan- shawe, general manager of WBFF (Channel 45). "It's a better viewing experience - the clarity of the picture, the detail. Anyone who has ever had an HD set, they'll never want to go back."

Of course, that's part of the rub. Less than one-third of Baltimore's homes currently have TV sets capable of receiving the HD signal, according to Nielsen Media Research. For most of the area's television audience, the only difference between last week's WBFF news and today's will be the appearance of a flashy new studio, complete with enhanced graphics and multiple backgrounds.

But at a time when TV stations are rushing to keep up with new technology - and to meet the federal government's February deadline for going digital - the early transition to HD at least gives WBFF bragging rights. And in a competitive marketplace where the Fox affiliate is anxious to make inroads against entrenched powers WBAL (Channel 11) and WJZ (Channel 13), Fanshawe is hoping the novelty will pique some viewers' curiosity enough to sample his station's broadcasts - and maybe then stick with them.

"Being first in converting over to HD should help us in getting to a stronger position," he says. "We don't want to be second to anyone."

Those who do have HD will notice not only the sets and the picture clarity. Broadcasting in HD will enable WBFF to eliminate those vertical black bars that until today appeared on both sides of the newscast; now, the picture will take up the entire HD screen, which is considerably more horizontal than the traditional TV screen.

For the station's on-air talent, the transition to high definition has had a practical ramification: They've had to pay even more attention to their appearance. Softer, more forgiving lighting has been installed on the set. Special consultants were brought in for a two-day workshop on makeup. People didn't panic, but they definitely paid attention.

"When they said that you'll see every nook and cranny in HD, it made some of the ladies raise their eyebrows a little bit," says Patrice Harris, co-anchor of the station's morning news. "It was a little scary to think, 'Oh, wow, we're going into this new realm of television, where people will see everything.'"

Overall, Harris says, the transition has proven "no big deal" - at least so far.

"Ask me again next Friday, after I've had a few days to see myself," she says with a laugh, "and I may say something different."

The transition to HD will also turn WBFF's news, at least temporarily, into something of a hybrid, since only the studio broadcasts will be shown in the new format. Remote transmissions from reporters in the field, as well as many videotape sequences, will revert to the old format - meaning that the image sometimes will take up the entire screen, and sometimes it won't. Broadcasting an entire news show in HD is still "a couple" months away, Fanshawe says.

Phase-in plans

Both WBAL and WJZ foresee similar phase-ins for their high-definition broadcasts. WJZ plans to have its studio broadcasts in HD by the end of the year, says Vice President and General Manager Jay Newman, with the rest of the newscast following suit in March or April next year. WBAL plans to broadcast the studio portion of its newscasts in HD by February, says President and General Manager Jordan Wertlieb.

WMAR (Channel 2) has no plans to broadcast local news in HD, but is "investigating our options," says Vice President General Manager Bill Hooper. "We're more focused on making sure that we're up to speed on the digital conversion, which we have no choice on," he says.

By government decree, all TV stations must switch from analog to digital broadcasting in February. That switch, which will make analog TV sets without a converter box (or satellite or cable connections) obsolete, will improve picture quality everywhere. Adding HD kicks the quality up yet another notch.

But adding HD technology is not cheap. Channel 45 has spent more than a year getting ready for the conversion, and spent "a couple million" on the new set, cameras and other equipment, Fanshawe says.

Technological changes, such as broadcasting in HD, have not always translated to improved ratings. In 2005, WUSA (Channel 9), for example, became the first station in the D.C. market to broadcast all its local news in HD. Its ratings remained unchanged immediately after the transition.

Advertising advantage

Jane Goldstrom, executive vice president and media director for MGH Inc., a Baltimore-based advertising agency, says some advertisers - such as the National Aquarium in Baltimore - are anxious to take advantage of HD technology. Even if adding high definition doesn't bump up the ratings, she said, it should pique advertisers' interest.

"There will be advertisers, when the technology is done, that will want to run on stations that accept HD," she says. "I think it's going to make a difference more on the advertising side than on the ratings side in the beginning."

Both Newman and Wertlieb, whose stations have been in a years-long battle for ratings dominance, maintain it will take more than technological innovations to change local viewing habits.

"For the viewer, their first point of reference is the content and the people who deliver it," Wertlieb says. "They appreciate the improved picture that HD provides, but it's still the content and the people that keep them coming back."

But for WBFF News Director Scott Livingston, being the first station in Baltimore to broadcast the news in high definition is groundbreaking.

"We're the only ones," he says. "That's a huge competitive advantage, to say you're the first, and the only one for now. I think that's the key. At least for several months, if you want to watch local news in high definition, we're the only choice."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/custom/today/bal-to.hdnews02jun02,0,7332367.story

Still one in DC (WUSA-CBS) despite rumors abound about WTTG (FOX) going HD in May later this summer. Absolutely pathetic.

Here in New York, WABC ABC 7, WNBC NBC 4, WCBS CBS 2, and WPIX CW 11 have their news in HD. WNYW FOX 5 and WWOR MNTV 9 are still in SD.

WBFF now has HD news. Looks great.

WBFF now has HD news. Looks great.

That's great to hear. Here's to hoping that it's sister stations, WLOS and WMYA, follow suit in the coming months. They're rumored to have HD Local News (In-Studio) by September 1st.

WMC in Memphis went HD yesterday. First one in our market.

None here in Wichita, KS, but I heard rumours that our NBC affiliate was working on plans to go HD in the next few years. I figure all it takes is one to do it, then the rest will feel the pressure. But Wichita isn't exactly a "Progressive" city, and my bet is on very few people actually watching HD broadcasts. So yeah, not crossing my fingers.

knbc news just debuted their 5 PM broadcast in HD. So far, it's the 5th LA local channel to have HD news. Now if only kttv (FOX 11 news) can hop on the bandwagon....

Only KVEO, NBC affiliate here in the Harlingen-McAllen-Brownsville, Texas market, but I heard that the other stations were waiting for the switch to all digital before they convert. That's probably the case for other markets too.

WGN in Chicago's now doing the news in HD[i'm not sure when they started doing it in HD].

WGN in Chicago's now doing the news in HD[i'm not sure when they started doing it in HD].

They started over the weekend. It also airs on WGN America which I have in HD on Comcast in Baltimore.

There are no HD news broadcasts here in the UK.

They started over the weekend. It also airs on WGN America which I have in HD on Comcast in Baltimore.

Thats because the noon and 9pm newscasts are all simicasted on WGN America

Wow, KTTV, WTTG and FOX 5 in NY are not HD? And they're O&Os!! They did HD on FOX O&O in Cleveland back in 2004.

Wow, KTTV, WTTG and FOX 5 in NY are not HD? And they're O&Os!! They did HD on FOX O&O in Cleveland back in 2004.
Neither is WHBQ, FOX O&O. I would expect WNYW to be in HD though.

Thats because the noon and 9pm newscasts are all simicasted on WGN America

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

Fox as a network was late to the HD party to begin with, so it's not particularly surprising that their O&Os are behind the curve on HD news. In Phoenix, 3 of the 5 stations with news are HD and a fourth is planning to go live for fall sweeps. Not a peep out of the Fox O&O yet.

Detroit's Fox O&O just went HD a few months ago, after both of their competitors had been doing HD news for a long time.

KPRC-DT (NBC) in Houston is still in test mode, but is airing news in HD. That brings the market to three HD news stations:

KHOU-DT (CBS)
KTRK-DT (ABC)
KPRC-DT (NBC)

Reports are that KRIV-DT (FOX) is going to be throwing the HD switch soon.

WAVY in Norfolk-Hamton Roads market went HD today with their 12pm newscast.

WAVY in Norfolk-Hampton Roads market went HD today with their 12pm newscast.

Here's a link for more info: WAVY10 and FOX43

http://www.myfoxhamptonroads.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7028944&version=5&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Just tuned to KNTV (Bay Area NBC O&O) and they are broadcasting their 11pm in HD. They seem to be referring to themselves as "NBC Bay Area News" now instead of "NBC 11 News". I'm not sure if this started with the 11pm newscast as I did not watch the 5pm & 6pm. Its about time, seems like all the channels broadcast their newscasts in HD in the Bay Area now (kinda at least... KRON in SD 16:9).

yep we have 2 of our local news ch in HD. a bit of background info:

WAVY(NBC) & WVBT(Fox) are owned by Lin. the stations actually share the studio(a NICE new one!!-they just change the logo on the big screen behind the anchor desk for the Fox 10pm newscast) & news staff(the senior news anchors are at WAVY). same C.E. too(and an excellent one!!!)

PQ of the studio shots was A-One!! many props to C.E Les Garrenton & crew for all the hard work.

another link:


http://www.wavy.com/

Fox as a network was late to the HD party to begin with, so it's not particularly surprising that their O&Os are behind the curve on HD news

Yeah, FOX was the last network to go HD(I think it was 2003 or 2004(?)). But it seems surprising that they would not do an HD conversion when they did new sets/graphics. Most of the FOX O&O stations got new sets and graphics that all match(disturbingly close to FOX News-too so much for my taste). You would think HD would be a priority for #1 and #2 and even DC. Cleveland's FOX even has an HD chopper camera.

Just tuned to KNTV (Bay Area NBC O&O) and they are broadcasting their 11pm in HD. They seem to be referring to themselves as "NBC Bay Area News" now instead of "NBC 11 News".

That may have something to do with the digital transition. I'm excited to see how stations will handle the changes in channel numbers. It's realistic to keep the "old analog" channel position alive with PSIP channel mapping(as they do now). Buit I wonder if anyone will change their channel numbers on air as well(especially higher UHF channels).

Plus with cable TV and HDTV services, having your channel(like ABC 5 on aactually on channel 5 on cable) is becoming something of the past. Our Time Warner system has the HD version of most channels on their actual OTA numbers(ie 405). But with many channels(higher UHF) it isn't possible so that city name branding works.

The Illinois Lottery on WGN (shown during the newscast) is in HD.

The Illinois Lottery on WGN (shown during the newscast) is in HD.

Because its in the same studio...:rolleyes: just in the other room only..

Because its in the same studio...:rolleyes: just in the other room only..

No kidding. Thanks for the news flash.:rolleyes:

Audio sync is very slightly off during the news, haven't noticed it on other programs.

I live in Richmond, VA. There's no local news in HD whatsoever, nor are any syndicated shows in HD, due to lack of up to date equipment.

It's pretty disappointing, considering that Charlottesville (much smaller place) has HD news, and Hampton Roads now has it.

NBC 4 news in Los Angeles just went to HD about a week ago.

Audio sync is very slightly off during the news, haven't noticed it on other programs.
I caught the WGN news on HD for the first time this past Sunday. I also noticed this, but it is so slight that it is not distracting. WGN news in HD is the only one we have here in Champaign-Urbana, IL. I thought the picture quality was good.

The locals here haven't even addressed this yet. Given we are a fairly small market, it will probably be a while before we see the local news in HD.

Just tuned to KNTV (Bay Area NBC O&O) and they are broadcasting their 11pm in HD.

Disappointed to see that like a lot of stations, they didn't invest in HD graphics, or HD weather. Too bad, because to me, that's what really makes the video "pop." That still leaves KTVU and KGO as the only Bay Area stations with HD graphics.

WRGB CBS Albany, New York
WTSP CBS Tampa-Bay/St. Petersburg, Florida
WPEC CBS West Palm Beach, Florida
KMOV CBS St. Louis, Missouri
KPIX CBS San Fransico, California
KCNC CBS Denver, Colorado
WDBJ CBS Roanoke, Virginia
KUTV CBS Salt Lake City, Utah
KENS CBS San Antonio, Texas
WRAL CBS Raleigh, NC
WUSA CBS Washington DC
KLAS CBS Las Vegas, NV
KFMB CBS San Diego, CA
KHOU CBS Houston, TX
WTVF CBS Nashville, TN
WBNS CBS Columbus, OH
WKYT CBS Lexington, KY
KYW CBS Philadelphia, PA
KCBS CBS Los Angeles, CA
WCBS CBS New York, NY
WSPA CBS Spartanburg, SC
KEYE CBS Austin, TX
WAFB CBS BATON ROUGE, LA
WOIO CBS Cleveland, Ohio
WINK CBS Fort Myers, FL
KTVT CBS Dallas/Fort Worth
KTXA CBS Dallas/Fort Worth
WTVD ABC Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina
KESQ ABC Palm Springs, California
WSYX ABC Columbus, Ohio
WZVN ABC Fort Myers, Florida
WFAA ABC Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
KGO ABC San Francisco, CA
WSB ABC Atlanta, GA
KTRK ABC Houston, TX
WABC ABC New York, NY
WXYZ ABC Detroit, MI
WLS ABC Chicago, IL
WEWS ABC Cleveland, OH
WSOC ABC Charlotte, NC
KFSN, ABC Fresno, CA
KMBC ABC Kansas City, MO
KNXV ABC Phoenix, AZ
KOMO ABC Seattle, WA
WPVI ABC Philadelphia, PA
WFTV ABC Orlando, FL
KABC ABC Los Angeles, CA
WCPO ABC Cincinnati, OH
WBRZ ABC BATON ROUGE, LA
WGNO ABC NEW ORLEANS, LA
WCVB ABC Boston, MA
WTXL ABC Tallahassee, FL
KRDO ABC Colorado Springs. CO
WMAQ NBC Chicago, Illinois
KGW NBC Portland, Oregon
KJRH NBC Tulsa, Oklahoma
WTVJ NBC Miami, Florida
KSHB NBC Kansas City, Missouri
WBBH NBC Fort Myers, Florida
WLTZ NBC Columbus, Georgia
WAVE NBC Louisville, Kentucky
KNBC NBC Los Angeles, California
WAVY NBC Norfolk, Virginia
KRPC NBC Houston, Texas
KUSA NBC Denver, CO
WXIA NBC Atlanta, GA
KARE NBC Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
WKYC NBC Cleveland, OH
KSDK NBC St. Louis, MO
WNBC NBC New York, NY
KVOA NBC Tucson, AZ
KPNX NBC Phoenix, AZ
WTHR NBC Indianapolis, IN
KRNV NBC Reno, NV
WLEX NBC Lexington, KY
KVBC NBC Las Vegas, NV
WPTV NBC West Palm Beach, FL
WDIV NBC Detroit, MI
WFLA NBC Tampa, FL
WPXI NBC Pittsburgh, PA
KING NBC Seattle, WA
KNTV NBC San Francisco, CA
WMAQ NBC Chicago, IL
WVTM NBC Birmingham, Alabama
KXAS NBC Dallas/Fort Worth
WWBT NBC Richmond, VA
WHDH NBC Boston, MA
WMC NBC Memphis, Tennessee
WVIR NBC Charlottsville, VA
KCRA NBC Sacramento, CA
KWKT FOX Central Texas
WJBK FOX Detroit, Michigan
WBFF FOX Baltimore, Maryland
WVBT FOX Norfolk, Virginia
WJW FOX Cleveland, OH
WTXF FOX Philadelphia, PA
KTVU FOX San Francisco
WRAZ FOX Raleigh, NC
WVUE FOX NEW ORLEANS, LA
WDKY FOX Lexington, KY
KSWB FOX San Diego, CA
WPIX CW New York, New York
KREN CW Reno, NV
WYCW CW Asheville, NC
KTLA CW, Los Angeles, CA
WXCW CW Fort Myers, Florida
WCWN CW Albany, NY
KTVD MNTV Denver, CO
KQCA MNTV Sacramento, California
WUAB MNTV Cleveland, Ohio
NY1 TWC New York, New York
WGN Superstation Chicago, Illinois
KTVK IND Phoenix, AZ
KCAL IND Los Angeles, CA
WRDQ IND Orlando, FL
KVEA Telemundo Los Angeles, CA
KAZR Tuvision Reno, NV


WMBF NBC Florence-Myrtle Beach, SC (08/08/08)
KGTV ABC San Diego, California (Sept.)
WBBM CBS Chicago, IL (09/22/08)
WTVQ ABC Lexington, KY (Nov.)

92 stations in your list. We're almost to 100!

Make that 94. WOIO CBS Cleveland, Ohio and WUAB Cleveland, Ohio are missing.

Also didn't include WCVB Boston.

My local news KWWL which is NBC out of Waterloo, IA has not be showing anything in HD on it's HD channel for the last 2 weeks. Is there any way this is possible because they are upgrading equipment for an HD change-over? I wrote them 3 times about that and got no reply.

Update - The finally got back to me after I sent the e-mail to several people that work there. Some piece of HD NBC equipment had the sound go out so they had to air in SD for 2 weeks waiting for them to get a temporary replacement sent. They didn't say anything about me asking about HD news or syndication.

Also missing from the list

WAFB CBS 9 BATON ROUGE, LA.
WBRZ ABC 2 BATON ROUGE, LA.
WGNO ABC 26 NEW ORLEANS. LA.
WVUE FOX 8 NEW ORLEANS, LA.

Andy... don't forget KNTV NBC San Jose/San Francisco, mentioned above. They went HD yesterday.

I think that makes 100!

Larry
SF

It's updated. 100 it is!!!

You missed one more.. WMAQ NBC5 Chicago

WINK CBS Fort Myers, FL
WTXL ABC Tallahassee, FL

WCWN Albany does their news in HD. Not sure if its actually counted though, because they do use WRGBs resources and graphics(but its a different broadcast than the CBS Broadcast).

WCWN Albany does their news in HD. Not sure if its actually counted though, because they do use WRGBs resources and graphics(but its a different broadcast than the CBS Broadcast).

Count it!

104 it is.

I'm adding on complete faith now.

KGTV ABC San Diego, California

Sorry, not HD (yet).

Don't see

KTXA local Dallas/Fort Worth
KTVT CBS Dallas/Fort Worth
KXAS NBC Dallas/Fort Worth

in the list

Add WVTM NBC 13 in Birmingham, Alabama to the list...they are the only HD newscast in Alabama and have been broadcasting in HD since Nov 07.

WXCW CW Fort Myers

Use WINK's resources, but it is an HD production for their morning and 10pm newscasts that is original to WXCW.

Added the rest, up to 108.

KSWB Fox 5. When KSWB switches from CW to Fox then they will reintroduce news in 720p HD.

KSWB Fox 5. When KSWB switches from CW to Fox then they will reintroduce news in 720p HD.

Scheduled for August 1, 2008.

WHDH Boston will begin doing news in HD at 4pm on either Monday or Tuesday.

WWBT, the NBC affiliate in Richmond, VA, just went live with local news in HD tonight. It looks great. It's our first channel to do so.

WMBF, the upcoming new full-time NBC affiliate in the Florence-Myrtle Beach, SC DMA, will debut on August 8th with their new HD Newscast. (Source: http://www.wmbftv.com )

WHDH Boston will begin doing news in HD at 4pm on either Monday or Tuesday.

It's been confirmed as Tuesday at 4pm.

Hi, what's your source? Thanks,

http://hinghamweather.com/bostontvnews/?p=228#comment-4263

KRDO (ABC) in Colorado Springs went HD last week with their local newcast. Our first :)

WDKY FOX-56 has been broadcasting their newscast in HD since the middle of April of this year.

WTVQ ABC 36 goes HD this November, and it will be the last major network to broadcast HD news here in Lexington.

Added

you sure about WDKY? widescreen does not mean HD. nowhere is there an reference to local HD production at WDKY - not at their site or anywhere else, TV Titan etc. Me thinks you got duped by a digital widescreen SD newscast. If it's HD, what's your source?

Wow, KTTV, WTTG and FOX 5 in NY are not HD? And they're O&Os!! They did HD on FOX O&O in Cleveland back in 2004.

WNYW Fox 5 here in NYC sucks and they know it maybe that is why they haven't gone HD. They have an HD Chopper and that is it. The fact that the other four local news are high def and they haven't mentioned a word about HD says it all.

KNSD San Diego is an NBC O&O and they're not even close to going HD locally. You'd think they would get some corporate love for this...

you sure about WDKY? widescreen does not mean HD. nowhere is there an reference to local HD production at WDKY - not at their site or anywhere else, TV Titan etc. Me thinks you got duped by a digital widescreen SD newscast. If it's HD, what's your source?

WKYT-TV/DT does their newscast and it's in HD. WDKY has promos that their newscast is in HD. The picture is just really sharp to be just a widescreen format.


http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6550790.html
"Stations from top to bottom are enhancing their news product. WLEX and WKYT have offered local programming in HD for about a year, and WDKY is days away. “It's all ready to go, we just have to flip the switch,” says Brickey. “It's pretty exciting.”"

Source for WTVQ-TV this fall.
http://www.kentucky.com/101/story/463299.html

KSWB is now officially broadcasting HD news. There were some glitches though.

Complete list with DMA rank, call letters, affiliation, DMA and owner:

Call letters in alphabetical order:

KABC-TV
KARE-TV
KCAL-TV
KCBS-TV
KCNC-TV
KCRA-TV
KCWE-TV
KENS-TV
KESQ-TV
KEYE-TV
KFMB-TV
KFSN-TV
KGO-TV
KGW-TV
KHOU-TV
KICU-TV
KING-TV
KJRH-TV
KLAS-TV
KMBC-TV
KMOV-TV
KNBC-TV
KNTV-TV
KNXV-TV
KOMO-TV
KPIX-TV
KPNX-TV
KPRC-TV
KQCA-TV
KRDO-TV
KRNV-TV
KSDK-TV
KSHB-TV
KSWB-TV
KTLA-TV
KTRK-TV
KTVD-TV
KTVK-TV
KTVT-TV
KTVU-TV
KTVZ-TV
KTXA-TV
KUSA-TV
KUTV-TV
KVBC-TV
KVEO-TV
KVOA-TV
KXAS-TV
KXLY-TV
KYW-TV
WABC-TV
WAFB-TV
WAVE-TV
WAVY-TV
WBBH-TV
WBFF-TV
WBNS-TV
WBRZ-TV
WCBS-TV
WCPO-TV
WCVB-TV
WDBJ-TV
WDIV-TV
WDKY-TV
WESH-TV
WEWS-TV
WFAA-TV
WFLA-TV
WFTS-TV
WFTV-TV
WGNO-TV
WGN-TV
WHDH-TV
WINK-TV
WJBK-TV
WJW-TV
WKYC-TV
WKYT-TV
WLEX-TV
WLS-TV
WLTZ-TV
WMAQ-TV
WNBC-TV
WOIO-TV
WPEC-TV
WPIX-TV
WPTV-TV
WPVI-TV
WPXI-TV
WRAL-TV
WRAZ-TV
WRDQ-TV
WRGB-TV
WSB-TV
WSCV-TV
WSOC-TV
WSPA-TV
WSYX-TV
WTHR-TV
WTSP-TV
WTTE-TV
WTVD-TV
WTVF-TV
WTVJ-TV
WTXF-TV
WTXL-TV
WUAB-TV
WUSA-TV
WVBT-TV
WVTM-TV
WVUE-TV
WWBT-TV
WXCW-TV
WXIA-TV
WXYZ-TV
WYCW-TV
WZVN-TV

Let me know if you find any mistakes.
Thanks :^)

[fred]

Missing WMC-TV

Let me know if you find any mistakes.

I found three already. :D They left out L.A.'s respective UHF stations...

KDOC
KVEA
KWHY

You left out WVIR NBC 29 Charlottsville, VA.

How come no one's posting pictures anymore. ARE YOUR NEWS PEOPLE THAT UGLY!!! ;)

How come no one's posting pictures anymore. ARE YOUR NEWS PEOPLE THAT UGLY!!! ;)

Here are two postings for Chicago: WMAQ (NBC) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12815487#post12815487) and WGN (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14328018#post14328018). I never took screen caps for WLS (ABC) when it went HD early last year. WBBM (CBS) is scheduled to go HD on September 22. No idea when our Fox station will go HD.

It is amazing that it is taking this long for local stations to go HD. We have only 2 in Boston

Due to recent forum info loss, reposting

KTSM-TV Channel 9, El Paso TX.

It is amazing that it is taking this long for local stations to go HD. We have only 2 in Boston

It's not that amazing when you consider the cost to do it and the ROI...

[fred]

I was happy to hear that our local CBS here in Salisbury MD is going HD sometime soon. They did a complete upgrade (http://www.wboc.com/global/story.asp?s=8822081) of their whole newsroom/set at a cost of $13 million, and are hyping the fact that they'll have HD news before most of the Baltimore stations do.

I imagine, being in a DMA in the low 140s, we'll probably be the lowest DMA with HD News though I dont know for sure.

Edit: The PDF of news stations in HD by DMA shows WBOC got beat out by WVIR in Charlottesville (181) and KTVZ in Bend OR (192). Oh well, its still pretty impressive.

I was happy to hear that our local CBS here in Salisbury MD is going HD sometime soon. They did a complete upgrade (http://www.wboc.com/global/story.asp?s=8822081) of their whole newsroom/set at a cost of $13 million, and are hyping the fact that they'll have HD news before most of the Baltimore stations do.

I imagine, being in a DMA in the low 140s, we'll probably be the lowest DMA with HD News though I dont know for sure.

Edit: The PDF of news stations in HD by DMA shows WBOC got beat out by WVIR in Charlottesville (181) and KTVZ in Bend OR (192). Oh well, its still pretty impressive.

That is pretty impressive indeed!

[fred]

KMGH and WHNT have gone HD with their local news.

(Source: http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/08/20/huntsville-al-and-denver-co-net-hd-news-stations/ )

WBOC switches to HD news this week.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6588019.html

You can add KVIA to the list Now.

Here are some pictures:

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/2605/snapshot20080825223919tg6.th.jpg (http://img512.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080825223919tg6.jpg)

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/6117/snapshot20080825224123kr4.th.jpg (http://img512.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080825224123kr4.jpg)

You can add KVIA to the list Now.

Here are some picturesThose look like upconverted widescreen SD pics to me.

Those look like upconverted widescreen SD pics to me.

I agree also

Yeah, I figured someone might say that, but it was HD, I just didn't take good pictures, I'll post better pictures later. the HD Channel had more on the sides, than the analog channel.

They need to upgrade their graphics package - that ABC 7 logo in the second pic is definitely stretched.

KTTV and KCOP need to be in HD already. although they are my last choice for news here in LA. theyre kinda like the "joke" stations for news in my opinion.

Those look like upconverted widescreen SD pics to me.

And the graphics are still being rendered for 4:3 (and stretched to 16:9) rather than being designed / rendered in 16:9.

In SD-land this can be interesting - as the resolution for SD 4:3 and 16:9 in broadcast terms is the same (the pixels change aspect ratio...)

They need to upgrade their graphics package - that ABC 7 logo in the second pic is definitely stretched.

I think that's what They're doing right now, Because the news rarely has the logo on now.

I don't know what happened I saved the picture in BMP then converted to PNG, but it still looks bad, maybe my tv card didn't record right, because this looked much better on my HDTV.
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/184/snapshot20080826022939clc2.th.png (http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080826022939clc2.png)

I woke up early to watch Good morning El Paso in HD, and the show looked much better than the 10 PM News. I think the 10 PM news might have problem with the lighting, or they haven't learned to adjust the cameras properly.

Warning click a your own risk, Bob Harp looks much older in HD!!! :eek:

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/5514/snapshot20080826061306cvz1.th.png (http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080826061306cvz1.png)

Rachel Abel In HD, Sort of, but it looks like they need to adjust the Camera.

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/4471/snapshot20080826061413cfy9.th.png (http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080826061413cfy9.png)

Hillary Floren.

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/2695/snapshot20080826061851ceg6.th.png (http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080826061851ceg6.png)

The show just looked weird without the logo, And it looked even worse, when they turned on the Logo. It Was like 2 or 3 times its normal size, and it was half in the 4:3 area, and half in the 16:9 area. I put the analog channel for awhile and it had half the ABC 7 logo cut off. I also noticed that there was something wrong with the Weather, it was like it was in the middle of the screen in a 16:9 graphic and looked SD. I think they still need to upgrade it to HD. There was alot of HD on Good Morning El Paso, Most of the Local News stories were HD and the national stuff was cut to 16:9, or recorded in SD 16:9.

Will Local HD commercials go on the list? or that's a different one?

NBC KTSM Ch. 9 is airing some local HD commercials now

Yeah, I figured someone might say that, but it was HD, I just didn't take good pictures, I'll post better pictures later. the HD Channel had more on the sides, than the analog channel.

I gotta agree with the other guys - your screen caps definitely look like they're broadcasting in widescreen SD. Here are some screen caps from our Chicago ABC station for comparison:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/2801658108_36dd75fa7f_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/2801658192_8a4b2fa68d_o.jpg

KTTV and KCOP need to be in HD already. although they are my last choice for news here in LA. theyre kinda like the "joke" stations for news in my opinion.

Lauren Sanchez would look good in HD, she looks good in sd also:D

http://www.askmen.com/celebs/women/models_300/328_lauren_sanchez.html
http://images.askmen.com/galleries/model/lauren-sanchez/pictures/lauren-sanchez-picture-2.jpg

I gotta agree with the other guys - your screen caps definitely look like they're broadcasting in widescreen SD. Here are some screen caps from our Chicago ABC station for comparison

All right fine but trust me the screenshots don't do it justice, who knows it could be the software I use to take screenshots. also it's not really very fair to compare the Chicago HD News to the El Paso HD News. Chicago is the #3 DMA and El Paso is the #98 DMA.

Also maybe I should stop posting screenshots since it seems that KVIA is still adjusting stuff, they don't even have sidebars yet. Each News broadcast is looking better than the Previous one, so I'll just wait for them to iron out all the bugs before I post Screenshots again.

Anyway, moving on, I forgot to readd the Screenshots of KTSM that were lost, because of the Crash.



Ben swann in HD
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/3638/snapshot20080804200441fl1.th.jpg (http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080804200441fl1.jpg)

The Sidebars
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/6761/snapshot20080804202400ae4.th.jpg (http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080804202400ae4.jpg)

The new HD Graphics
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/7936/snapshot20080804202502ceh7.th.jpg (http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080804202502ceh7.jpg)

The Weather
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/8131/snapshot20080804202713cjm7.th.jpg (http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20080804202713cjm7.jpg)

Those KVIA screens definitely aren't HD. I seem to remember someone else posting about their wannabe-HD news during the Days of Lost Posts, but obviously those messages are long gone thanks to the database gremlins. Rarely (if ever) do true HD newscasts have giant black bars at the top like those. They normally indicate upconversion, with a few well-known exceptions like SNF because camera signalling information is carried up there and blacked out for the broadcast.

Once again proving that HD is not the key to more viewers:

WTVT is the Fox O&O and is the ONLY Non-HD local Newscast - as thus, the only station with NON-HD Weather Packages as well.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/08/26/daily.8/#top


Fay Brings Viewers, Page Views to WTVT
By Staff
TVNEWSDAY, Aug 26 2008, 3:24 PM ET

As viewers across portions of Tampa Bay, Fla., awakened to warnings last week due to the approach of what turned out to be Tropical Storm Fay, they turned to Fox O&O WTVT for information.

On Monday, Aug. 18, Fox O&O WTVT ranked No. 1 in DMA households during each hour of news coverage from 5 to 9 a.m., as well as during the station's midday and 5-5:30 p.m. newscasts.

During late news, WTVT's 10 p.m. news was the most watched overall.

On Tuesday, Aug. 19, WTVT again ranked first at 5-9 a.m.; 5-6 p.m.; and its 10pm news led the late newscasts.

The station's Web sites, MyFoxTampaBay.com and MyFoxHurricane.com, together generated more than 21 million page views and 1.7 million visits between Saturday (Aug. 16) and Wednesday (Aug. 20) as the area focused on the storm track, preparations and coverage.

MyFoxHurricane.com features a data, storm-related links, satellite views and storm tracks, as well as a chat box that at times had more than 3,000 users on the page.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2008 TV Newsday, Inc. All rights reserved.



It's the content.......not the HD that brings viewers.

WSOC in Charlotte has had HD news since April '07 but I haven't seen any screenshots posted yet, so here's one (http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/TV/images/WSOC-1.jpg) from my new EyeTV tuner / software combo.

WSMV Nashville begins broadcasting local news in HD on September 15th. They are the second station in the Nashville market to go HD. WTVF made the switch a year and a half ago.

Those KVIA screens definitely aren't HD. I seem to remember someone else posting about their wannabe-HD news during the Days of Lost Posts, but obviously those messages are long gone thanks to the database gremlins. Rarely (if ever) do true HD newscasts have giant black bars at the top like those. They normally indicate upconversion, with a few well-known exceptions like SNF because camera signalling information is carried up there and blacked out for the broadcast.

Oh My Gosh!!! I didn't even notice those giant black bars!! :o

Also the person complaining about them like that was me. The People at this station broadcasted in Stretch-o-Vision while claiming it was HD for 3 days. During those 3 days, they said at least 5 times that they were HD. After that they pushed the ZOOM button. Seriously it took 3 days for them to realize they could just push the zoom button!! BOY WHAT A BUNCH OF GENIUSES!!!! :rolleyes:

Also what does SNF Mean.

[/B]Also what does SNF Mean.

Sunday Night Football

I love to check this thread periodically to see the progress of locally generated HD.

Here in Jacksonville, the story remains the same: not one of our 7 stations generate any locally produced HD. We do have two that take their 4:3 picture and apply a worse stretch-o-vision than TNT uses, if you can belive that.

In Charlotte, WAXN began airing its news in HD last Monday, August 25. This is an independent station which is co-owned with WSOC (ABC), and has only a 10pm newscast.

WSOC has been airing its news in HD since April 2007, but WAXN had only a SD (480i) signal until Monday, when it switched to HD (720p). This may be in anticipation of some of its syndicated shows (e.g. Oprah) becoming available in HD soon. Since WAXN uses WSOC's facilities for its news, they were able to go HD immediately when they had the HD signal to carry it.

I can't receive WAXN very often, maybe a couple of nights a week, because it's low power (50 kW) and 85 miles away. I got a glimpse tonight during the news but wasn't set up to record a screenshot.

Will Local HD commercials go on the list? or that's a different one?

NBC KTSM Ch. 9 is airing some local HD commercials now

There are 144 TV stations currently accepting HD spots.

[fred]

KMGH and WHNT have gone HD with their local news.

(Source: http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/08/20/huntsville-al-and-denver-co-net-hd-news-stations/ )

WHNT is doing news in SD 16:9 (not HD).

[fred]

KGTV in the San Diego market now has HD news. They did tweak some of their graphics but they finally did it. They have had HD equipment since this year. Now the San Diego market has 3 HD news sourcews. KFMB (CBS), KSWB (Fox), and KGTV (ABC). Add KGTV to the list.

KTTV has their helicopter in HD. Not sure if they have HD equipment in the control room. KTTV says they want to get their HD launch just right but that's easier said than done.

i was watching the ABC eyewitness news this morning in LA and i noticed that they had HD cameras in the field now instead of just doing widescreen SD like the other stations. it couldve happened earlier but i just noticed it today. AFAIK, its the only news station in LA that does it. after all, they were the first to go HD in california a few years ago.

i also noticed that the camera in KTLAs news chopper is in HD now (the one that shows the newscaster on the inside). a few days ago it wasnt.

WHNT is doing news in SD 16:9 (not HD).

[fred]

Bummer for Huntsville...

Edit: The PDF of news stations in HD by DMA shows WBOC got beat out by WVIR in Charlottesville (181) and KTVZ in Bend OR (192). Oh well, its still pretty impressive.

WVIR's switch, I must say, has been quite impressive. They do a fair amount of field reporting in HD, some local ads in HD, and some promos in HD.

In Charlotte, WAXN began airing its news in HD last Monday, August 25. This is an independent station which is co-owned with WSOC (ABC), and has only a 10pm newscast.

Here's a screenshot (http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/TV/images/WAXN-1.jpg), finally.

Here's a screenshot (http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/TV/images/WAXN-1.jpg), finally.

Great illustration of protecting for 4:3. At least the picture's better.

Promos for WBFF news are in HD. They really grab your attention during a block of SD commercials.

More News In HD:

WRGB CBS Albany, New York
WTSP CBS Tampa-Bay/St. Petersburg, Florida
WPEC CBS West Palm Beach, Florida
KMOV CBS St. Louis, Missouri
KPIX CBS San Fransico, California
KCNC CBS Denver, Colorado
WDBJ CBS Roanoke, Virginia
KUTV CBS Salt Lake City, Utah
KENS CBS San Antonio, Texas
WRAL CBS Raleigh, NC
WUSA CBS Washington DC
KLAS CBS Las Vegas, NV
KFMB CBS San Diego, CA
KHOU CBS Houston, TX
WTVF CBS Nashville, TN
WBNS CBS Columbus, OH
WKYT CBS Lexington, KY
KYW CBS Philadelphia, PA
KCBS CBS Los Angeles, CA
WCBS CBS New York, NY
WSPA CBS Spartanburg, SC
KEYE CBS Austin, TX
WAFB CBS BATON ROUGE, LA
WOIO CBS Cleveland, Ohio
WINK CBS Fort Myers, FL
KTVT CBS Dallas/Fort Worth
KTXA CBS Dallas/Fort Worth
WBOC CBS Salisbury, Maryland
WHNT CBS Huntsville, Alabama
KIRO CBS Seattle, WA


WTVD ABC Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina
KESQ ABC Palm Springs, California
WSYX ABC Columbus, Ohio
WZVN ABC Fort Myers, Florida
WFAA ABC Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
KGO ABC San Francisco, CA
WSB ABC Atlanta, GA
KTRK ABC Houston, TX
WABC ABC New York, NY
WXYZ ABC Detroit, MI
WLS ABC Chicago, IL
WEWS ABC Cleveland, OH
WSOC ABC Charlotte, NC
KFSN, ABC Fresno, CA
KMBC ABC Kansas City, MO
KNXV ABC Phoenix, AZ
WPVI ABC Philadelphia, PA
WFTV ABC Orlando, FL
KABC ABC Los Angeles, CA
WCPO ABC Cincinnati, OH
WBRZ ABC BATON ROUGE, LA
WGNO ABC NEW ORLEANS, LA
WCVB ABC Boston, MA
WTXL ABC Tallahassee, FL
KRDO ABC Colorado Springs. CO
KGTV ABC San Diego, California
WEAR ABC Pensacola/Mobile, Alabama
KVIA ABC El Paso, Texas
KMGH ABC Denver, Colorado
KTNV ABC Las Vegas, NV
WFTS ABC Tampa-St.Pete, FL


WMAQ NBC Chicago, Illinois
KGW NBC Portland, Oregon
KJRH NBC Tulsa, Oklahoma
WTVJ NBC Miami, Florida
KSHB NBC Kansas City, Missouri
WBBH NBC Fort Myers, Florida
WLTZ NBC Columbus, Georgia
WAVE NBC Louisville, Kentucky
KNBC NBC Los Angeles, California
WAVY NBC Norfolk, Virginia
KRPC NBC Houston, Texas
KUSA NBC Denver, CO
WXIA NBC Atlanta, GA
KARE NBC Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
WKYC NBC Cleveland, OH
KSDK NBC St. Louis, MO
WNBC NBC New York, NY
KVOA NBC Tucson, AZ
KPNX NBC Phoenix, AZ
WTHR NBC Indianapolis, IN
KRNV NBC Reno, NV
WLEX NBC Lexington, KY
KVBC NBC Las Vegas, NV
WPTV NBC West Palm Beach, FL
WDIV NBC Detroit, MI
WFLA NBC Tampa, FL
WPXI NBC Pittsburgh, PA
KING NBC Seattle, WA
KNTV NBC San Francisco, CA
WMAQ NBC Chicago, IL
WVTM NBC Birmingham, Alabama
KXAS NBC Dallas/Fort Worth
WWBT NBC Richmond, VA
WHDH NBC Boston, MA
WMC NBC Memphis, Tennessee
WVIR NBC Charlottsville, VA
KCRA NBC Sacramento, CA
WMBF NBC Florence-Myrtle Beach, SC
KOMU NBC Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri
KTSM NBC El Paso, Texas


KWKT FOX Central Texas
WJBK FOX Detroit, Michigan
WBFF FOX Baltimore, Maryland
WVBT FOX Norfolk, Virginia
WJW FOX Cleveland, OH
WTXF FOX Philadelphia, PA
KTVU FOX San Francisco
WRAZ FOX Raleigh, NC
WVUE FOX NEW ORLEANS, LA
WDKY FOX Lexington, KY
KSWB FOX San Diego, CA


WPIX CW New York, New York
WYCW CW Asheville, NC
KTLA CW, Los Angeles, CA
WXCW CW Fort Myers, Florida
WCWN CW Albany, NY


KTVD MNTV Denver, CO
KQCA MNTV Sacramento, California
WUAB MNTV Cleveland, Ohio


NY1 TWC New York, New York
WGN Superstation Chicago, Illinois
KTVK IND Phoenix, AZ
KCAL IND Los Angeles, CA
WRDQ IND Orlando, FL
WAXN IND Charlotte, North Carolina


KVEA Telemundo Los Angeles, CA


WSMV NBC Nashville (09/15/08)
WBBM CBS Chicago, IL (09/22/08)
WTVQ ABC Lexington, KY (Nov.)

Andy - re: your list of stations doing news in HD:

In Seattle/Tacoma, KIRO (CBS - Cox) is in HD and KOMO (ABC - Fisher) is not.

AndyHDTV, you omitted these ABC affiliates:

• WFTS Tampa-St.Pete FL
• KTNV Las Vegas NV

Was it on purpose, or do they still do HD news?

Wow, I just had to post this here.

I think CW11 WPIX did an HD remote from the financial district in Manhattan. Not 16:9 SD, but HD.

Wow, I just had to post this here.

I think CW11 WPIX did an HD remote from the financial district in Manhattan. Not 16:9 SD, but HD.

Yeah it looks like they have one field HD camera. They started using it a couple of months ago.

From the list above, you can remove KREN CW/KAZR TuVision in Reno, NV. The stations cancelled news altogether a few months ago, in HD, SD or any-D.

From America's first all-HD news market, Cleveland...two of our stations have fixed HD cameras they can use.

WKYC/NBC uses and controls HD cameras via fiber at Progressive Field (Indians home park), and turns 'em around to do traffic/downtown skycam shots during news. WKYC is the Indians over-air flagship and controls TV for all home Indians games, as the technical ops center for SportsTime Ohio.

WJW/FOX, in addition to the only non-fixed HD cam in the market with SkyFOX HD (helicopter), has a fixed camera atop its studio overseeing the East Shoreway (I-90) just east of downtown Cleveland.

Updated list

Added
KIRO CBS Seattle/Tacoma, WA
WFTS ABC Tampa-St.Pete, FL
KTNV ABC Las Vegas, NV

Removed
KOMO ABC Seattle/Tacoma, WA
KREN CW/KAZR TuVision in Reno, NV.

Yeah it looks like they have one field HD camera. They started using it a couple of months ago.

If they can do it why can't WCBS, WNBC, or WABC? They all shoot 16:9 SD from the field.

And does anyone have any idea when the heck WNYW (Fox) or WWOR (My9) will go HD here in NYC?

Announced during their morning news a few moments ago, WLOS is going HD with their local news at 5 p.m. Today. It's unknown if their sister station, WMYA, will be airing the 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts in HD, as well.

Add on to the list WECT NBC and WSFX FOX Wilmington, North Carolina. Those have been in HD for over a week. WWAY ABC Wilmington coming soon.

Announced during their morning news a few moments ago, WLOS is going HD with their local news at 5 p.m. Today. It's unknown if their sister station, WMYA, will be airing the 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts in HD, as well.
For my table of HDTV News Stations, please tell me what Nielsen DMA contains WLOS and WMYA. Also please tell us whether WMYA did indeed do the news in HD.

For my table of HDTV News Stations, please tell me what Nielsen DMA contains WLOS and WMYA. Also please tell us whether WMYA did indeed do the news in HD.

DMA #36 (same as WSPA/WYCW). I'll post on the "Greenville, SC - HDTV" thread to solicit responses on whether WMYA does go HD with the newscasts (don't get it via Cable or OTA in HD).

WMYA was in HD with WLOS' 6:30 p.m. Newscast. (Source: http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/TV/images/WMYA-1a.jpg ; screenshot courtesy of AVSForum.com Member jtbell )

Please add KONG-DT, an "independent" sister station of KING-DT in Seattle. They have been doing news in HD for some time now. They are also now showing some of the syndicated HD shows as replays as well (Oprah, Doc Phil, etc).

Also, apparently KING-DT will be doing a test tonight where they presumably will be turning off their analog signal for a short time so people can see if they will be affected by the DTV conversion.

All the posts in this thread should now be reflected in my table in the Local Over-the-air HDTV News Stations (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14618838#post14618838) thread.

I can confirm WBBM CBS2 Chicago went HD today with their news.

WBBM's news started in HD last night btw.

WCCB in Charlotte had its first local HD news broadcast today, a minute or two during halftime of the Dallas / Washington football game on FOX. I suppose the first full broadcast will be tonight at 10 pm.

WBZ (CBS O&O) in Boston is currently doing set upgrades in preparation for going HD. They have had the cameras and gear for a while. It is expected to take a month or so for them to be ready to flip.

KOVR (CBS O&O) in Sacramento announced that they are launching HD news on October 1st -- but they did a "soft launch" last week. The only HD sources seen so far have been the studio cameras, but supposedly there will be more on Oct. 1.

Once that happens, they will have a crazy amount of HD on weekdays. Unless CBS has something in SD, they'll have HD programming from 3pm - 12:35am.

WCCB in Charlotte had its first local HD news broadcast today, a minute or two during halftime of the Dallas / Washington football game on FOX. I suppose the first full broadcast will be tonight at 10 pm.

It was. :D Here's a screenshot (http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/TV/images/WCCB-1.jpg).

It was. :D Here's a screenshot (http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/TV/images/WCCB-1.jpg).
Interesting that they don't have the new O&O branding. I thought Fox had completed that.

WCCB isn't a FOX O&O. It's owned by Bahakel.

WCCB isn't a FOX O&O. It's owned by Bahakel.
Ah, I got confused because their website has the whole My Fox thing, which I thought was something only O&Os did.

KWCH in Wichita/Hutchinson, Kansas is running locally produced ads in HiDef promoting the arrival of local HD news later this month. Dr. Phil and Oprah already HD.

As of 10-1, KOVR (CBS O&O) in Sacramento is HD for their local news. Just studio and graphics package for now, more to come later per their engineer in the Sacramento OTA thread. That's 2 of 4 news channels in Sacramento now.

WBTV (CBS) in Charlotte now has its local news in HD, joining WSOC (ABC), WCCB (FOX) and WAXN (Ind). However, the 10pm news that they produce for WJZY (CW) is not in HD, at least not tonight.

As of 10-1, KOVR (CBS O&O) in Sacramento is HD for their local news... That's 2 of 4 news channels in Sacramento now.My Local Over-the-air HDTV News Stations (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14618838#post14618838) table currently shows 2 others:

• KCRA (NBC)
• KQCA (MNTV)

Please correct me (for my table) if that's wrong.

My Local Over-the-air HDTV News Stations (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14618838#post14618838) table currently shows 2 others:

• KCRA (NBC)
• KQCA (MNTV)

Please correct me (for my table) if that's wrong.

That is correct. The confusion probably arises from the fact that KQCA is a duopoly with KCRA, operating in the same facility. KCRA produces all the newscasts that air on KQCA -- they're essentially the exact same show, with a different bug.

No signs of HD News rumors in the Little Rock (DMA #56) market.

That is correct. The confusion probably arises from the fact that KQCA is a duopoly with KCRA, operating in the same facility. KCRA produces all the newscasts that air on KQCA -- they're essentially the exact same show, with a different bug.

Correct. I didn't count the secondary channel. KCRA and KOVR are the two primary, major news channels in town that are doing their local news. I know KXTV wants to do it, but as of yet, their corporate offices haven't kicked down to do it.

Newport Sails Into HD News With JVC

Newport Television invests big in �ProHD� HDV-format cameras from JVC to transition local news production to hi-def

By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/13/2008

Newport Television, the 56-station group controlled by private equity firm Providence Equity Partners and run by broadcast veteran Sandy DiPasquale, is making a large investment in “ProHD” HDV-format cameras from JVC to transition its local news production to high-definition.

The deal is a significant win for the cost-effective JVC ProHD line, which has found favor with both large groups like Scripps Television and Raycom Media and small broadcasters like Waterman Broadcasting in Florida.

Newport, which consists of the former Clear Channel Television stations, is buying over 200 units of JVC's ProHD 250 and 200 series camcorders to convert both studio production and field reporting to HD. The company, which runs duopolies and/or secondary digital affiliates in most markets, is first taking delivery of the new JVC units at CBS affiliate WKRC Cincinnati, which it hopes to convert to HD news this year.

Newport, which offers news at 23 stations in 18 markets, then hopes to convert WTEV and WAWS Jacksonville, Fla., and WOIA San Antonio to HD news production next year. The rest of the Newport stations that produce news will get the JVC ProHD camcorders in 2010.

“We're trying to equip everybody with the new camera,” says Newport vice president of engineering Mike DeClue. “In our principle markets, one of the strategies we're trying to employ is a commonality of experience and equipment.”

Newport is also trying to adopt IT technology and file-based workflows wherever possible, so it will be pairing the JVC camcorders with Firestore hard disk recorders from Focus Enhancements to store video, with the cameras' integral HDV tape recorder serving as backup. The group is evaluating server-based production systems and nonlinear editors and aims to move completely to file-based production in a few years.

Another objective for Newport was to make its conversion to HD news as cost effective as possible. The list prices of the ProHD 200 and 250 series camcorders, which start at $5,995 and $10,995, respectively (prices vary depending on lens choice), made them very attractive compared to competing professional camcorders like Sony XDCAM and Panasonic P2, says DeClue, particularly when they are paired with 100-gigabyte Firestore drives that cost just over $1,000.

“Our target was to have an average camera-deployed price at $10,000 or less, and I think we came very close to accomplishing that,” says DeClue.

DeClue also likes JVC's plan to offer a solid-state recording option for the ProHD camcorders next year by licensing Sony's XDCAM EX MPEG-2 camera format and the SxS flash memory cards that it uses to create a new dockable solid-state recorder. DeClue looked seriously at Sony's handheld XDCAM EX camcorder, both for its recording media and its sub-$10,000 price, but preferred the more traditional JVC ergonomics.

One of the big cost-savings with the ProHD approach is that the 250 series camera has several features that allow it to be easily configured for studio use through an optional adapter, a capability which customers like Raycom and Waterman are currently utilizing. Newport is already installing 250 series cameras in the studio at WKRC Cincinnati to replace the existing traditional standard-definition studio cameras.

“These are much higher-resolution than the old studio cameras that cost five times as much,” says DeClue.

While Newport is certainly taking a cost-conscious approach to HD news by adopting ProHD, it is still making a sizable investment amidst a tough economy. DeClue credits DiPasquale, who is a Newport investor in addition to serving as president and CEO, and the rest of his management team for staying the course. “I've got to take my hat off to him,” DeClue says “He's been a stalwart ally in taking care of all of this.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6604460.html

Not being flipant about this as 2 people died, but for accuracy on the lists, we know of one TV Station that does not have a HD Chopper any longer after today - and thus should be removed from the list.

FOX 11 news KTTV in Los Angeles is now broadcasting the news in HD. Field reports are in SD widescreen.

Are you guys an O&O?

Are you guys an O&O?

KTTV owned and operated by FOX Broadcasting Company

Hmm

WNYW is an O&O in NYC DMA 1 and they're still not HD...they're the last people (besides their co-owned WWOR) to be in SD! All of the big ones plus WPIX (ind Tribune) have gone HD!

I wonder what the hold up is here...

FOX 11 news KTTV in Los Angeles is now broadcasting the news in HD. Field reports are in SD widescreen.

And KCOP-DT also started broadcasting their 11pm newscast in HD tonight from parts of the same set as KTTV(makes sense since Fox owns KCOP).
This makes Los Angeles all HD local news at least the major stations.

Well lets compare NYC (DMA #1) vs. LA (DMA #2) HD news deployments:

CBS
NY's WCBS 2 went HD before LA's KCBS 2. LA has a duopoly where CBS also owns a station called KCAL 9 that went HD at the same time as KCBS.

NBC
NY's WNBC 4 went HD nearly two years before LA' KNBC 4 did.

ABC
LA's KABC 7 went HD first before NY's WABC 7; KABC was also the first network O&O to do HD news (which it actually started with HD helicopter shots). KABC's HD helicopter shots started in May 2005 while the whole newscast went HD February 2006. KABC also has the capability to do HD remotes.

FOX
LA's KTTV FOX 11 and KCOP MyNetworkTV are now in HD before NY's WNYW FOX 5 and WWOR MyNetworkTV 9.

Tribune
I dont remember this one, but I think LA's KTLA 5 went HD before NY's WPIX 11.


KNBC dragged their feet starting their HD newscasts that after WNBC went HD, other smaller markets went HD before LA did; KNBC went HD in time for the Beijing Olympics.

Well lets compare NYC (DMA #1) vs. LA (DMA #2) HD news deployments:

CBS
NY's WCBS 2 went HD before LA's KCBS 2. LA has a duopoly where CBS also owns a station called KCAL 9 that went HD at the same time as KCBS.

NBC
NY's WNBC 4 went HD nearly two years before LA' KNBC 4 did.

ABC
LA's KABC 7 went HD first before NY's WABC 7; KABC was also the first network O&O to do HD news (which it actually started with HD helicopter shots). KABC's HD helicopter shots started in May 2005 while the whole newscast went HD February 2006. KABC also has the capability to do HD remotes.

FOX
LA's KTTV FOX 11 and KCOP MyNetworkTV are now in HD before NY's WNYW FOX 5 and WWOR MyNetworkTV 9.

Tribune
I dont remember this one, but I think LA's KTLA 5 went HD before NY's WPIX 11.


KNBC dragged their feet starting their HD newscasts that after WNBC went HD, other smaller markets went HD before LA did; KNBC went HD in time for the Beijing Olympics.

120 miles to the south of KNBC is NBC O&O station KNSD - one of the only stations in San Diego NOT to have news in HD (the (now CW based) XETV being the other). KNSD is still "slaved" to KNBC for their NBC network feed.

My Local Over-the-air HDTV News Stations (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14618838#post14618838) table has been updated...

• KTTV and its sister station KCOP in Los Angeles have begun airing HD news.
• WHDH in Boston: Affiliation changed from CW to NBC. Is WLVI showing local news in HD?
• Indianapolis's WISH-TV and WNDY have begun HD news.
• WWBT (an NBC affiliate showing local news in HD) isn't in Fresno; it's in Richmond, VA. (In Fresno, only KFSN seems to be showing local news in HD.)
• WSLS in Roanoke added.
• WSFA (Montgomery-Selma, AL, DMA) added.

My Local Over-the-air HDTV News Stations (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14618838#post14618838) table has been updated...

• KTTV and its sister station KCOP in Los Angeles have begun airing HD news.
• WHDH in Boston: Affiliation changed from CW to NBC. Is WLVI showing local news in HD?
• Indianapolis's WISH-TV and WNDY have begun HD news.
• WWBT (an NBC affiliate showing local news in HD) isn't in Fresno; it's in Richmond, VA. (In Fresno, only KFSN seems to be showing local news in HD.)
• WSLS in Roanoke added.
• WSFA (Montgomery-Selma, AL, DMA) added.
WLVI is WHDH's sister station and shows a special 10pm newscast that is in HD. It is produced by WHDH.

• Boston's WLVI (CW) added to table.

My Local Over-the-air HDTV News Stations (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14618838#post14618838) table has been updated...Thank you very much.

WTVQ-36 in Lexington to go HD on Oct. 30th. The last in Lexington to finally do so.

http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/562809.html

"That same day, the station will unveil a new set and graphics, as well as begin broadcasting its news in high-definition. It's the last station in the market to go to HD."

WTVQ-36 in Lexington to go HD on Oct. 30th. The last in Lexington to finally do so...[/I]What about WKLE (PBS)?

I notice that "my" chart of HD news stations (which I inherited about a month ago) seems to have no PBS affliliates. What's up wid dat? Are there no PBS stations doing the news in hi-def?

Are there no PBS stations doing the news in hi-def?

How many PBS stations have local news programs at all? South Carolina ETV and North Carolina's UNC-TV are statewide systems with little if any purely local (as opposed to statewide) programming. Neither of them have even a statewide news program comparable to PBS's Newshour.

KWCH in Wichita, Kansas launched HD news yesterday (10/28). Only studio and some graphics at this time. 4:3 material, including weather graphics, superimposed over 16:9 blue graphic background.

I've received an email from Al Shjarback, VP of Engineering and Ops at WNYW/WWOR...

He said that WNYW will go HD for news within the next few weeks, and WWOR will go HD in early 09.

Indianapolis now has the ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates with local HD news.

NBC10 in Philly is going HD in December.

WNYW-DT in NYC debuted their HD newscasts tonight (11/9)

NBC10 in Philly is going HD in December.
I'll add Philly's WCAU (NBC10) to my table when its news actually goes HD.

Wikipedia indicates that Philly's WPHL (MNTV) and WPSG (CW) are still doing the news in SD. Izzat so?

BTW, KWCH (Wichita, CBS) and WNYW (NY, Fox) have been added to the table.

And in last place among Top 10 markets (still)... Washington DC. WRC soon to be one of only two NBC affiliates in the top 25 STILL broadcasting news in SD. Nothing over on the Baltimore/Washington thread indicates the FOX, ABC, and NBC stations making the switch.

I'll add Philly's WCAU (NBC10) to my table when its news actually goes HD.

Wikipedia indicates that Philly's WPHL (MNTV) and WPSG (CW) are still doing the news in SD. Izzat so?

BTW, KWCH (Wichita, CBS) and WNYW (NY, Fox) have been added to the table.

WPSG does not produce or air a regular local newscast. They are owned by KYW(CBS O&O) and run out of the same new building that was built in 2007.

WPHL does have a 10PM newscast that is "Powered by NBC10". No idea if the HD upgrade at WCAU(NBC O&O) will put the 10PM newscast on WPHL in HD. I'm guessing no. WPHL does have decent HD capabilities though, including HD syndication.

yeah Fox 5 News here in NYC just turned HD last night. Looks great.