KOMO-TV WORKS OUT HDTV KINKS

May 31, 1999

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KOMO-TV in Seattle is airing all of its newscasts in high-definition TV and crossing technological hurdles as it encounters them.

The station, which last week began simulcasting its newscasts on both its analog channel and digital channel, explained to viewers that they'll need either a digital TV set or a converter to see the digital broadcast.

Last week, only studio cameras were shooting in high definition. This week, the station plans to deploy high-definition field cameras. KOMO is buying HDCams and other equipment from Sony.
Dick Warsinske, general manager of KOMO, said high-definition equipment wasn't cheap, but it was important to the station to be first with the technology, especially since the station had been first with color, stereo and digital.

Seattle, a technology-driven city, is also fairly far along the digital curve, with the station estimating there are 3,500 digital sets in the market.

The station will have to juggle video footage in several formats. While high- definition footage is being shot in the wide-screen 16-by-9 aspect ratio, the standard definition material is still being shot using the 4-by-3 ratio.

News footage from the network and suppliers such as CNN will also be in standard definition and the narrow-screen format. The standard-definition video is being upconverted to provide a sharper picture for viewers with high- definition sets.

News director Joe Barnes said the station's photographers will be framing their shots for the 4-by-3 ratio. ``This will be a learning experience for our photojournalists,'' he said.

Although there had been some concern that high definition would make unattractive details discernible to the viewer, Mr. Barnes said KOMO's anchors and sets looked good in high definition. The only adjustment that needed to be made, he said, was to have anchors apply makeup all the way down to the collar to keep viewers from seeing a line.

Mr. Barnes added that he was ``amazed'' that the shift from the 16-by-9 to the 4-by-3 formats went so smoothly. Instead of focusing on the black panels on the side of the picture, the eye tends to concentrate on the picture, he said.

Still to be worked out is the ability to transmit live high-definition pictures from the field and from the station's helicopter. The station has some fiber lines that should be able to handle high-definition video in a few weeks.

Sony's equipment uses the 1080-interlaced format for HDTV, and the station will broadcast its news using that format for now. But the station, an ABC affiliate, is committed to using the 720-progressive format when more news- gathering equipment becomes available, said Mr. Warsinske.

For now, the station has two high-definition encoders, one to transmit news in 1080i and one for other programming in 720p. When switching from one format to another, the station says viewers see just a second or two of black before the picture returns.
Larry Thorpe, vice president of acquisition systems at Sony Electronics Broadcast and Professional Co., said the company plans to support both the 1080i and 720p formats. Sony will soon develop circuit boards for its cameras that will downconvert the 1080i picture to 720p, he said, adding that the company would consider building native 720p equipment.

[Copyright 1999, Crain Communications]