Newsroom Adds High Def Monitors

It looks like CBS 2's newsroom has undergone recent renovations. The bank of 12 monitors displaying the competition and other feeds has been replaced by six high definition screens, the top three of which are separated into quarters. Check out the snapshots below for a comparison.

Today:


July 14th:

One Year in High Definition

One year ago today, CBS 2 News began broadcasting in high definition. Chris Wragge anchored the first HD newscast at noon (Kristine Johnson was still on maternity leave), which sported an updated logo, new graphics, new music and an updated studio. Weatherman Lonnie Quinn made his CBS 2 debut that evening at 6:00 and 11:00

It was also the day that CBS 2 launched its "Going Green" initiative, with spots reminding viewers to protect the environment. More spots would air later with specific tips on what they could do.

Only graphics and studio shots were in high definition in the beginning, with all live shots and nearly every piece of video remaining in 4:3 standard definition. That changed on January 21st when the station upgraded its equipment and began airing most local video in 16:9 standard definition.

Click here for full NewsByte2 coverage of CBS 2 HD.

CBS 2 HD Fills the Screen

For the first time yesterday, some of CBS 2 News' video from the field filled the 16:9 screen. Since the changeover to high definition on April 11th, only CBS 2's studio shots and graphics did this. For the video that was not yet 16:9, CBS 2 used new pillar bar graphics on the sides (though the original ones were also used).



The on-air change comes as CBS 2 invests in some new technology behind-the-scenes. According to this Broadcasting & Cable article, the station has purchased 10 new Sony XDCAM HD cameras, which now allows for those widescreen field reports. Eventually, field video will be broadcast in high definition and 16 more XDCAMs will also be put into use. Additionally, CBS 2 has installed BitCentral's Precis server-based production system. Check out the article for more technical information from Kris Binder, the director of broadcast operations and engineering.

Only HD Studio Shots For Now, HD Field Reports Later

TVPredictions.com reports that only in-studio shots are in high definition at the moment, but a WCBS spokeswoman said that field reports will be shot in HD in the fourth quarter of this year.

HD Snapshots

The poster IceManNYR captured these HD snapshots of the new CBS 2 News last night for TVNewsTalk.net and he's been kind enough to allow them to be displayed here:

11:00 Snapshots

Evening Snapshots