Ascent Transforms Discovery Networks to HD

Ascent Media Group said it has now completed its transition of six Discovery channels to HD, a project that took about six months at Discovery Communication’s origination base in Sterling, Va., outside Washington, D.C.

Ascent said it was responsible for the design and construction of Discovery’s HD infrastructure, and was tasked with completing the major permanent upgrade as quickly as possible by Discovery.

John Honeycutt, Discovery’s executive vice president and chief media technology officer, said in a statement his channels “needed a partner with design and execution expertise and supplier relationships necessary to complete this project on an extremely tight timeline.” The HD transition, Honeycutt said, was designed to quickly satisfy the growing demand among viewers for HD content.