News Broadcasting
HD TV is the new way to Nab 2005: Sony
MUMBAI: With more than 60 per cent of US households expected to have high definition television (HDTV) sets in 2005, the demand for HD production equipment is rapidly rising. Sony is looking to take advantage of this in a big way.
At this week’s National Association of Broadcasters (Nab) convention in Las Vegas Sony Electronics is ready to meet this demand, with more than 50 per cent of its professional broadcast products on display featuring HD production capabilities.
Under the theme of HD Highway the new Sony professional products at Nab include cameras, camcorders, optical disc technology, production switchers, non-linear editors, tape recorders and videotape, for use by TV and motion picture directors, network and affiliate news organisations and post-production facilities.
Sony Electronics president broadcast and business solutions John Scarcella said, “Sony broadcast and professional products are helping to drive the growth of HD consumer entertainment in every form, from the digital production of TV shows and movies, and even to digital projection in your local movie theatre. Applications for these products stretch beyond broadcast and video and into all aspects of everyday life, from medical and education to corporate and government uses.”
For broadcasters, Sony’s XDCam Professional Disc system, uses blue-laser optical media to capture footage instead of tape. Sony has announced that the ten owned and operated networks of ABC Television will adopt XDCam technology over the next 18 months for their newsgathering and production processes. This announcement comes on the heels of CBS Television’s decision to adopt XDCam technology for its network news division and 16 owned-and-operated stations.
Other high-profile XDCam customers include the E! Entertainment Network and five stations within the Gray Television Group. Also on display at Nab will be a technology demonstration of a high-definition version of Sony’s XDCAM system. For the growing digital cinema industry, Sony is showing its SXRD digital projector. This product is capable of displaying images at nearly four times the resolution of current HD displays, and higher levels of contrast than competing technology.
Sony claims that its SXRD technology is driving the introduction of digital cinema to the American mainstream. In the coming months Landmark Theatres takes delivery of six Sony projectors. The theatre chain will eventually convert all of its 59 theatres to digital projection. Sony’s HD production equipment is also prominent throughout the current TV prime time schedule. More than 50 new and returning shows have been shot digitally with Sony’s CineAlta line of acquisition and recording products.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
