[LU'sbestmanager]

Dr. Falwell announced today that over the weekend there will be bigger and better screens replacing the screens that are up now. The screens will be HD. a step in the right direction for LU.

[Flamesfanva]

That's going to be nice!

[LU'sbestmanager]

i thought he was going to say that we were getting the big scoreboard thingy(i dont the what it's called ) in the middle.

[ATrain]

Unfortunately, I don't think the roof can support one...plus it would make the acoustics for Convo far worse than they already are b/c you'd have to remove that weird ceiling thing (some call it a soundcloud...but I think its not very effective). I just wish we'd get new scoreboards, maybe make them LCD projected as well.

[LU'sbestmanager]

that would be nice. you guys should stop by and see the new editions to the locker room

[Purple Haize]

You are correct sir. THe state of the art arena (Circa 1980) does not have a roof that can support the massive scoreboard. I am not sure why there is a need for HD screens in the Vines. Will they be replacing all four screens now or just have 1 or 2 HD screens (which would make more sense IMO) Let's hope that who ever is doing the measuring gets the right dimensions this time. It would be very hard to take a razor to those HD screens to get them to fit.

[LUconn]

I'm very confused by all of this. The screens are just screens. So are you talking about the projectors? Because those should already in HD much like all of the ones in the different classrooms are. I've never heard of them being standard definition because they act similar to a computer monitor. Now, I doubt the cameras filming games and convo are HD cameras so it wouldn't be projecting HD stuff on there anyway. So the real question is are they going to put up huge monitors and ditch the whole projector thing altogether? I'm sure nobody here knows since you are just repeating what you heard in convo.

[Rocketfan]

I would imagine in order to get HD those cameras would have to be HD cameras as well, but not 100 % sure. The projectors are obviously going to be replaced with ones that are much higher end i would imagine as well. I think saying " we are getting HD screens" was probably easier to explain to the masses then pouring a bunch of technical jargon on them. Someone needs to just ask Coach D, i am sure he knows exactly what is going on.......

[A.G.]

Lets just hope and pray the team is good this winter. It would really s**k to have to watch them play lousy in HD.

[TDDance234]

The screens are going to be larger.

[TallyW]

The guy who runs the video/graphics for Convo/Campus Church/Christmas Tree, etc. came out of my youth department so I'll shoot him an email to get the details. He told me about this move last semester. They supposedly wanted to do this over the summer but with the camps, TRBC getting finished and the floor getting repainted it was not able to be done. I'll see if he can shed more light on it.

[LUconn]

Man, they're already huge. Well now that I think about it, HD brings with it a wide screen format. Maybe they're gonna put up widescreen screens? (or would that be just wide screens)

[TIMSCAR20]

I think that means our broadcasts will be going out in HD. I will have to make sure my haircut is tight and I don't have blemishes on the ol kisser! MAKEUP! "Ok I'm ready for my close up Mr. Demill." That sounds like it is gonna be cool. I need to talk with our production folks to see what new and exciting things they have planned. I believe the Radford Liberty Volleyball game this weekend is on TV so maybe we will get a taste of the HD then. I will be tuning in via the internet.

[LUconn]

Well shoot, this brings up another point. I don't get the Liberty Channel and right now I'm receiving all of the over-the-air digital broadcasts in the area. So I assumed they weren't broadcasting one. and HD is only available to be broadcasted with a digital signal. So this confuses me further.

[TIMSCAR20]

That is true about the digital channel. Maybe the Liberty Channel is going HD and will have an HD channel put on all of its carriers soon. Also how does HD work on a Webcast? Can it be broadcast in HD? Lots of Questions.

[El Scorcho]

I think that LBN/The Liberty Channel will be getting their HD cameras soon so they can take advantage of the HD projectors already in at TRBC. HD projection is nice, but the actual definition is rarely noticeable in an environment like the Vines Center. All anyone will notice is that the aspect ratio changed from 4:3 to 16:9 (aka widescreen).

Unfortunately, if we're going to keep running our own television network, we have to make the move toward the digital format for all of our gear over the next 3 years. The FCC has mandated that analog television be dead by February 1, 2009. Seriously. http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#whencomplete

[TIMSCAR20]

Everything will be broadcast in HD by 2009? I am too lazy to click on the link to find out the answers to my questions. If that is true then I will finally buy an HD TV. I don't like them because so many shows are NOT in HD and it looks terrible to me when you have to stretch the screen or whatever you have to do to a non HD show. I will say that sports in HD are so facinating you can't turn away. You feel like you can stick your hand through the screen and touch the field.

[WWJFD]

Sounds like a women's volleyball game in HD would be interesting

[TallyW]

From the source:

It's just the projectors. The screens will remain. We're doing it today, actually. LBN will keep their 4 x 3 standard-def cameras, but our smaller cameras will at least do a 16 x x 9 aspect ratio.

We're going to have to wait to upgrade the true hi-def for a while. A complete upgrade at this point would be in the ballpark of $16 million.

[LUconn]

Booo. That's a lot of money. So despite being the huge homer that I normally am, I have to break away from the foster mother on this one. What the point of changing projectors? The other ones were just fine.

[Sly Fox]

By the time I read this thread most of your questions were already answered. I assumed the projectors or screens were 19:9 aspect ratio and that appears to be the case.

As for the FCC requirements, the only necessity at this point is to broadcast a digital signal. 90% of all broadcast work is already done in digital in some format or another so it shouldn't be a killer issue for most these days. The cost of HD & digital equipment in the industry has dropped dramatically the past couple of years as more manfacturers have come online.

The $16M price tag would be for a mass replacement of remaining gear. I'm sure the new TRBC was wired for HD and they should be able to get get cameras that should 16:9 for a fraction of that overall cost. We've been boradcasting digital at my station for several years but we still haven't moved completely to HD. We're not that terribly far from the transition but there is no rush. Down in Raleigh, WRAL made news years ago as being the first fully HDTV station int he country. Unfortunately for them their rush to be first means they are behind the curve with technological developments that have occurred since. All the cameras at our place and most medium to major markets these days are digital where you can flip a switch from 4:3 to 16:9.

But yes Cars, you will have to buy a new set at some point. But I wouldn't sweat right now since since digital cable or digital satellite are doing the conversion for you in 4:3.

[El Scorcho]

Down in Raleigh, WRAL made news years ago as being the first fully HDTV station int he country.

Which is why, for a long time, when you'd go into Best Buy and other such stores, all of the HDTV demos were showing ACC Tournament highlights.

[TallyW]

I asked him why they decided to make the switch and will there be a noticable difference in quality:

The projectors in there are just getting old. They're only projecting at
about half what they're rated at. Quite frankly though, yes. The difference
is a huge one. The new screens we're getting are called 5-gain screens.
They, alone, will make the projector 5% brighter, plus the actual increase
in lumens, from the projectors, themselves.

The company we ended up going with is not the same one that provided the
projectors in Thomas Road.

[LUconn]

I asked him why they decided to make the switch and will there be a noticable difference in quality:

The projectors in there are just getting old. They're only projecting at
about half what they're rated at. Quite frankly though, yes. The difference
is a huge one. The new screens we're getting are called 5-gain screens.
They, alone, will make the projector 5% brighter, plus the actual increase
in lumens, from the projectors, themselves.

The company we ended up going with is not the same one that provided the
projectors in Thomas Road.

ahhhh, see the brightness factor is huge. I thought dim picture was something that you'd just have to deal with since it's so bright in the vines. They were even using 2 projectors per screen. I bet those bulbs that you have to replace every year or so on these new ones cost a pretty penny.

[LU'sbestmanager]

From the source:

It's just the projectors. The screens will remain. We're doing it today, actually. LBN will keep their 4 x 3 standard-def cameras, but our smaller cameras will at least do a 16 x x 9 aspect ratio.

We're going to have to wait to upgrade the true hi-def for a while. A complete upgrade at this point would be in the ballpark of $16 million.

but Jerry himself said that the screens will be bigger.