CBS O&O WBBM-TV, in Chicago, is transitioning to high-definition newsgathering with the purchase of 25 Sony XDCAM HD cameras and Canon HD lenses.
Over the next two months, the station will deploy these cameras. CBS 2 is also converting every live news truck and traveling crew to laptop/desktop computer editing. The new gear also provides editing capability in the camera.
However, the transition is limited to news acquisition in the field. The station's studio cameras remain standard definition, and the station's newscasts will continue to be broadcast in SD for the foreseeable future.
These Sony XDCAM HD cameras will allow CBS 2 photographers to record video and audio of superb quality directly onto a DVD-like disc. CBS 2 gains the ability to report spot news faster than technology has ever allowed before. The days of shooting videotape, which takes longer to screen and edit, are over.
CBS 2 said it is also acquiring microphones capable of storing audio as a computer file. This, in combination with technology available in the camera, will allow news material to be fed to the station through normal internet technology making any place with connectivity a place to file a story.
