Super Bowl Update

We've known for a while that WTHI-TV would soon be vacating its longtime home at 918 Ohio St. in downtown Terre Haute, and it looks like this week is the last before the station moves a block west to its beautiful new home at 8th and Ohio.

And, with the move will come a transition to news in high definition, according to the station's Facebook page.

Last week, someone at WTHI posted a preview photo of the station's new news set on Facebook, but that photo was quickly removed.  Based on what I saw before its removal, though, it appears the station hasn't gone too far "out there" with its new look, but instead chose a functional and modern layout that should be pleasing to the eye.

I guess viewers will find out for sure on Monday!

If you've been watching either WEHT Local or Local 7 WTVW - or both - this evening, by now you've seen their first newscasts in high definition.

For the most part, to my eye, Eyewitness News looks great in HD, with a crisp, clear picture that is miles ahead of what it was in standard definition.  The newly-enhanced news set really "pops" in HD, much as I hoped it would when it was unveiled earlier this year.  The recent changes to brighten it up only make it that much better.

But perhaps the most impressive on-screen change (to me, as a weather geek!) has been in the area of weather graphics.  They are greatly improved, crisp, clear and easy to see on screen.  The animated transitions as the elements appear on screen are also very cool.

Now, there have been some minor glitches that have popped up in passing (as I'd expect from such a major change), but the team behind the scenes has been working hard to make corrections.  They're getting the job done, as improvements have been obvious as the newscasts roll along.

If you've not checked out Eyewitness News lately, tune in and take a look during the 9 and 10 p.m. newscasts later tonight.  I think you'll find much to like.

We've been waiting quite a while, and it's finally - really! - going to happen.

Eyewitness News will broadcast in high definition on both WEHT Local and Local 7 WTVW starting Monday afternoon.  The stations have been airing promo spots telling viewers about the coming change.

If you've been watching tonight's Titans/Seahawks preseason game on Local 7, you've no doubt noticed that it's in 720p HD, and to my eye, it looks very nice.  I'm hoping the same will be true of the newscasts, and from what I hear, it should be.

The change to HD has already brought some other enhancements along with it; the stations' news set has gotten some minor tweaks, as well as a new logo integrated into the set that looks very similar to the one used by Nexstar/Mission sister stations WBRE and WYOU in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.  (It's pictured above.)

It's been just over a year since 14WFIE transitioned its newscasts to high definition, and now Nexstar Broadcasting is wrapping up the necessary work to do the same for Eyewitness News on WEHT Local and Local 7 WTVW, making Evansville - at last - an all-HD TV news market.

I'm told that the first newscasts in HD on 25 and 7 will air next week.

While I'm not privy to the details of the specific work that was involved on Marywood Drive, when 14 made the switch last year, they had to replace cameras, the set, and their entire master control, just to hit the highlights.  It seems certain that the same would be true of the work and WEHT/WTVW.  

When Eyewitness News moved to its new set earlier this year, it was described as being HD-ready, so the remainder of the work likely involved the more technical behind-the-scenes stuff - the "guts" of the operation, if you will.

Stay tuned ...