Tulsa's NBC affiliate, KJRH Channel 2, made history Monday night by becoming the first Oklahoma station to broadcast its local news in high definition.
The station unveiled its new format in its 10:00 p.m. broadcast, featuring anchors
Russ McCaskey and
Karen Larsen.
It will now broadcast all of its news programming in high definition, a total of 28 hours per week.
However, several stations have already begun broadcasting local news in "high def" or "HD," mostly in larger markets such as New York and Los Angeles.
Currently, only about 70 stations in 47 markets broadcast local news in HD.
The closest stations to Tulsa with HD local news are in Dallas.
“We have made this major investment in technology so that we could provide Green Country residents with the richest viewing experience possible,” said 2 News Vice-President & General Manager Michael Vrabac.
2 News’ Director of Engineering, Dale Vennes, said: "The planning and work behind the scenes to convert our newsroom, studio and control room was an all-consuming task, and we are proud our team of engineers and station staff are the first to serve Oklahoma viewers in HD."
Even consumers using a standard, analog television will notice an improvement in the clarity and quality of both the audio and video signal.
The switch also means that 2 News Meteorologists can take full advantage of state-of-the-art weather graphics and maps.
“The combination of Vipir 2HD and Double Doppler 2HD give us the ability to track possible tornadoes with the highest definition velocity data I've ever seen - giving us an unparalleled look inside the storms,” said Chief Meteorologist Dan Threlkeld. “Whenever any kind of weather affects Green Country, we'll be the only place for live HD weather”.
The combination of local and NBC programming in HD now means that the majority of the KJRH broadcast day will be in high definition.
You can learn much more about HDTV and the conversion process by clicking on the kjrh.com "Best HDTV" page.
