Audio Video News

Sunday, January 28 is notable for being Super Bowl Sunday, arguably the biggest US holiday. It's also a significant date in the development of high definition television, because it is the first day that a local broadcaster began airing news shot, edited, and played back on HD equipment.

The broadcaster is Raleigh, NC's WRAL-TV, a CBS affiilate and a unit of Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. WRAL was one of the first stations in the US to create programming in the new format, and the station is continuing its pioneering work with the nation's first regularly scheduled HD news shows. Such progress has been made possible by a sponsorship from Panasonic, maker of the HD studio equipment being used.

"The benefits of HDTV are not limited to movies and sports," said Bill Mannion, Panasonic's vice president and general manager of the company's Television and Network Systems Division. "HDTV can provide the clarity, detail, and sound that will help bring the drama and importance of local news to viewers. Panasonic is pleased to support WRAL-TV in the launch of its HDTV news programming. They are not only bringing the benefits of the new format to their viewers; they are once again leading the way for other broadcasters, demonstrating the viability of over-the-air HDTV broadcasting."

End-to-end newsgathering, editing, and broadcasting has never before been attempted entirely in high definition, according to WRAL's general manager Bill Peterson. "This conversion to HD has, quite frankly, never been done before," he stated. "Virtually every piece of equipment we use in putting together a newscast, from field cameras to editing to the control room, has been completely changed. What viewers will see, even those with standard sets, is truly a one-of-a-kind news operation. They'll see a clearer picture, more detail, and a greatly enhanced newsroom designed to function at the highest possible technical standard."

Manufacturers like Mitsubishi and Panasonic have been the primary sponsors of HDTV broadcasts, with commercial backing for major sports events despite the small audience. Panasonic has sponsored HDTV broadcasts of Monday Night Football and Super Bowl XXXIV, and supported the efforts of CBS Television to convert 17 of its prime time shows to the 1080i HDTV format during the 2000-2001 television season. In 1999, broadcasts of Monday Night Football in HD were made possible by the use of a Panasonic HD-equipped broadcast truck, the only one of its kind. WRAL received the first FCC high definition license, was the first station in the nation to broadcast HDTV, and was the first to produce an all-HD news program, delivered live from the North Carolina State Fair on October 13, 2000.