I recall a promise of better quality TV picture and a threat that if I didn’t upgrade my perfectly good television set by January 2005 I wouldn’t be able to watch Jack Bauer run around the United States with his trusty bag, cell phone with a battery that lasts forever and of course the classic hoody on a weekly basis during my dedicated hour of “24″. Well that date came and went and HD quality TV didn’t take off as promised but it is quickly making its way to a become a standard, but not just on TV. Companies such as mDialog are looking to bring that same level of quality to your online videos, or Apple TV and making things really easy for content producer to deliver this upgraded content. Centennial College is also recognizing the growing demand and has revamped their Broadcast and Film program with the addition of HD cameras and other equipment to allow the students to take advantage of these changes that are sweeping the broadcast industry.
“It’s not just about learning to work with new technology,” says Sheldon Reisler, coordinator of Centennial’s Broadcasting and Film program, “it’s learning about the new format and how the information-rich images impact the telling of our stories.”
Centennial is the first college in the Toronto region to add HD cameras to a broadcast program and have said this is just the first step in three-year plan to bring Centennial’s broadcasting program up to the same standards the industry is slowly incorporating. Graduating students will now be armed and ready to apply for jobs at American TV stations which have to comply with the new HD digital broadcasting date of February 2009, while Canadian stations have more to to comply.
