CBS11 news in HD: smooth segue
09/24/07 04:58 PM
By ED BARK
Look sharp. Be sharp. CBS11 made that happen Monday with its inaugural high-definition local newscast.
The 4 p.m. debut, anchored by Doug Dunbar and Maria Arita, had only a split-second transmission problem during the newscast's second story by reporter Mark Johnson. The station otherwise made it from start to finish in sparkling, seamless fashion. That's in stark contrast to NBC's problem-plagued, stealth HD launch on Sept. 7th. Meanwhile, Belo8 is an old hand at this game after inaugurating HD news in D-FW on Feb. 2nd.
CBS11 anchors now have a rich blue backdrop adorned with a large HD monitor and at least five smaller ones. A faint city skyline and the CBS eye logo also can be glimpsed at times. All in all it's a very classy look, particularly compared to NBC5's nondescript, basic blue approach.
"We've been feelin' pretty good around here," Arita said before Dunbar lauded the "5,500 hours of labor, sweat as well." Then he got a bit carried away in describing "our brand new, beautiful, spankin' high-tech, state-of-the-art, high-def studio." Easy boy.
A majority of CBS11's out-of-studio news coverage is still in the old format, as are the reports on NBC5 and Belo8.
TXA21, sister station of CBS11, also went to high-def newscasts Monday, leaving Fox4 as the only remaining chuck wagon among D-FW's major TV news providers. The station is yet to announce any plans.