Channel 3 Launches All Digital, High Definition Remotes

By Frank Macek

For the first time in this new digital age, Channel 3 broadcast its first news shows with all digital, all high definition remotes on Thursday, May 3rd at 6 & 7 pm, as the station sent all our main on-air talent to different locations to break in the new system.

And it worked perfectly thanks to the hard work and dedication of our engineering team at Channel 3 led by Director of Technology Jim Miller.

Except for some standard definition signals coming into the station from satellite and other lower quality sources, you will now see all our live shots in true high definition. The station has been shooting video with high definition cameras in the field since last year. However, this is the first time that the station could transmit live pictures in high definition from our remote trucks.

At 6 & 7 pm, WKYC anchor Russ Mitchell broadcast from the 3rd floor deck at Channel 3, along with sports anchor Jim Donovan as they overlooked a beautiful background of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Cleveland Browns stadium on the hottest day of the year so far in Cleveland.

Co-anchors Kris Pickel and Robin Swoboda broadcast live from Mitchell's Ice Cream Shop in Rocky River as WKYC Chief Metorologist Betsy Kling did weather with a live all digital remote signal from the front of the station using the chromakey wall outside, Dick Russ broadcast live from a moving boat inside the breakwall of Cleveland Harbor while traveling at 30 knots, and Brandon Simmons was on Mobile 3 cruising the city and giving away from ice cream while broadcasting live using a Live Vu broadband backpack.

It's another step in the ever changing world of digital broadcasting that Channel 3 continues to lead the way in in Cleveland and northeast Ohio.

Click on the video below to see the first block on the 6 pm show on Thursday:

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