KARE 11 News in the Twin Cities became the first local news program in Minnesota on April 27 to broadcast in HD. The NBC affiliate said it invested a lot of time, effort and money to prepare for its launch, with its new HD equipment package (not yet publicized) and its first completely new news set in 15 years. (No longer can worse for wear sets count on hiding behind the very forgiving lens of NTSC images.)
One of still only a handful of local broadcasters nationally to go HD for local news, KARE made the changeover last week starting with its 5 p.m. news, the station said on its Web site. Apart from the Twin Cities viewers with HD sets, the news operation is counting on analog viewers to notice a distinct difference, too.
"Even non-HD viewers will get a better image," said News Director Tom Lindner. "And our new set is beautiful -- very modern, yet mindful of where we live and who we are."
Local viewers wishing to learn more about HD are being directed to KARE 11's Web site. As a preview, the station aired a special locally produced program the night preceding the local news launch, shot entirely in HD, entitled "Rolling on Three Rivers."
