HD NewsBytes

- No more Bill Ratner: CBS 2 is using a different announcer. It sounds like it's the one the station used to use as a backup for when Ratner was on vacation. This new announcer's voice replaced Ratner's on several promos beginning last week, including ones for the primetime lineup, wcbstv.com and the topical ones for each newscast.

- In the open, a glassy CBS eye zoomed toward the camera and reveals a flyover of the city, which will likely be different depending on the time of day. The eye then flies back into the picture along with the CBS 2 News logo on top of it as the announcer says "You're watching CBS 2 News... in high definition." An "[HDTV]" expands to say "[ HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION ]". The graphics then quickly fly away as the studio appears.

- The evening set was used today at noon. This is the first time it has been seen in three and a half weeks. The change is not drastic as the same desk and blue skyline backdrop (which seems to be a bit faded) are used. The biggest change looks to be a lit-up blue border around the backdrop and some of the wood paneling has been replaced by gray. The two banks of 16 monitors each have both been replaced by a blue skyline as well, but with the wood paneling bordering it. (Is the set that's used for the morning, noon and 5 p.m. broadcasts getting a makeover now?)

- The bug bears resemblance to the one used from January 2003 until April 2006 as it is outlined rather than semitransparent. The letters "HDTV" sits below the eye-2. The bug lights up as white when a lower-third graphic appears. The time and temperature are back on top of the bug.

- The graphics are not only animated but also have transitions, such as the April 2006 and August 2006 graphics sets. The lower-third flashes and stretches out from the middle as the text rolls in. A gold CBS eye flashes to reveal the "LIVE". They are much more detailed than the previous set of graphics and look somewhat similar to the graphics that debuted last April, with the color scheme for the lower-thirds (blue and gold/orange) looking a bit like the April 2000 set.

- The microphone flag is back to being four-sided for the first time since May 1997. The blue cube has a white eye-2 "HDTV" logo.

- Over-the-shoulder graphics appear on both the left and the right side of the screen.

- What exactly does this mean? "CBS 2 HD is going green. Look for our easy tips and help make the world a better place."

- At the end of the noon newscast, a flyover of a part of the area was shown with the "CBS 2 HDTV" logo centered along the bottom and the copyright information beneath that. The announcer says, "You've been watching CBS 2 News... in high definition."