Since its inception in 2000, the High Definition National
News Consortium (HD-NNC) has worked hard to bring HD resources to its members in
an effort to make newsgathering in HD less expensive and to disseminate major
events in HD to a larger audience. Membership is free and enables broadcasters
to coordinate and exchange ever-evolving HD information and receive live feed of
major historical, political and news events—from the 2000 presidential election
to the dedication of the World War II Memorial.
Recently, the HD-NNC helped coordinate 46 hours of live
HDTV coverage of the Democratic and Republican National conventions that will
soon be broadcast via streaming video on the HD-NNC website, www.hdnnc.org. HD-NNC also hopes to capture the excitement of the January 2005
presidential inauguration.
Through satellite or fiber optic transmissions, Intelstat,
HD-NNC’s official distributor, helps provide HDTV pool feed to HD-NNC members.
This is especially beneficial during events when security is high, such as the
National Conventions, and access to live coverage is limited. Whether on the
delegate floor or by the president’s side as he is sworn into office, the HD-NNC
uses HD radio frequency cameras as well as robotic cameras to capture a view of
historical events that gives viewers a real sense of “being
there.”