If you've ever wondered why Fox Business News looks so sharp on HDTV, it's because Fox Business News spent a fortune to upgrade their cablecast, as detailed in this interview with Greg Ahlquist, tech chief at FBN, appearing in Broadcast Engineering.
Here's a sample:
Could you give me an overview of the technology used to launch FOX Business Network in HD?
: We launched the FOX Business Network completely in 720p HD. We have two simultaneous feeds going out for our subscribers. One is a complete HD feed in which we do something special, which is the FOX HD Wing. We took the sum of both of the wings — those separate from the 4:3 center — and combined them on the side to add value with financial data for HD viewers. We also do a standard 4:3 center cut for the SD audience.
The studios and all of the cameras, the systems in the studios and the graphics system are all HD. We are using Evertz converters, Sony switchers, Viz graphics and Ikegami studio cameras for the HD conversion.
This is all pretty deep stuff, although even this notoriously low-tech Cable Gamer kept reading because she knows that this stuff is important. And I espied enough references to technology that I am at least somewhat familiar with, such as Apple's Final Cut Pro that I kept slogging through it.
The real point is that HD is coming. It's just that for some, it's already here.
