KLAS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas, will debut a new 3-D animated HD traffic report next week on its broadcasts as well as its Web site, Lasvegasnow.com.
The station and Web site will rely on Beat The Traffic, a traffic reporting system that will present viewers with real-time, 3-D animated HD maps with unique, recognizable landmarks to help them better assess traffic conditions. The 3-D maps include full-featured topography and easy-to-read roadway exits and signs. The system also includes KLAS-TV branded Web site elements for consistent on-air and online information display.
“There’s simply nothing like it,” said KLAS-TV news director Ron Comings. “It is an extraordinarily accurate program that will allow us to move around our market in real-time without rendering to show live traffic conditions.”
Comings, who first used the system at KXTV in Sacramento, said there’s an important difference between showing viewers maps and a 3-D rendering of an area. “This is a logical way for viewers to see what part of the city you are talking about and how it relates to where they are headed,” he said. The station has other uses for the system as well, Comings said. For instance, it can collect historical traffic data and generate a “traffic forecast” for views, he said. Additionally, it will be used for local breaking news mapping. According to Beat The Traffic spokesman Andre Gueziec, the real-time traffic maps are based on mapping imagery, waterways, roads and hand-built computer 3-D representations of landmarks recognizable to viewers.
For more information, visit www.lasvegasnow.com and www.beatthetraffic.com.
